↳ 25

1.3K 36 2
                                    


Nini watched curiously as Ashlyn approached Big Red, who was unsuccessfully trying to figure out which hand crank could turn on the lights above the stage. "Hey, are you okay? It's a lot." Ashlyn says sweetly to the ginger boy.

"I just don't know how to make things... light up," Red answered, still staring at the multiple cranks disposed in front of him. He had no qualifications to be a stage manager and prayed that Natalie would feel good enough to return soon so he could leave the position.

"You walk into a room," Ashlyn replies, a flirtatious tone in her voice. For a moment, Big Red didn't seem to get the implication of the girl's words, until suddenly his face lit up with a bashful smile. 

Ashlyn smiles in return, before going back to the previous subject. "Seriously though, I've been through a few tech rehearsals in my day. Just holler if you need me." The Caswell offered.

"Thanks, Ash." Big Red said gratefully, his cheeks adopting a light blush when Ashlyn placed her hand on his shoulder to reassure him.

"You can do this." She told him before she walked away, leaving behind a flustered yet more confident Big Red.

⠂⠄⠄⠂⠂⠄⠄⠂⠂⠄⠄⠂⠂⠄⠄⠂⠂⠄⠄⠂⠂⠄⠄⠂⠂

ɴɪɴɪ sᴀʟᴀᴢᴀʀ-ʀᴏʙᴇʀᴛs, ᴊᴜɴɪᴏʀ

Is it just me or there is some serious romantic tension between Ashlyn and Red? Did you guys see that? They look so cute together. I bet they're getting together before winter break. 

⠂⠄⠄⠂⠂⠄⠄⠂⠂⠄⠄⠂⠂⠄⠄⠂

﹏﹏﹏

Autumn repeated her line once more, making sure to pronounce the right words this time. EJ smiled, encouraging her, before the sound of a knock on the door echoed through the small piano room they had managed to find to practice their lines as Miss Jenn had requested.

"The door is open!" EJ said, turning around in time to see the door opening slightly, Carlos' head appearing in the doorway.

"Hi, guys. I'm sorry to interrupt, but Miss Jenn asked me to clear the theater. It seems we have broken the lights and the sound system." Carlos informed, rushing out of the room as soon as he finished the last sentence. Autumn reunited the script pages she had spread on top of the piano and placed them in her bag, before following EJ out.

﹏﹏﹏

Ricky sighs, leaning against the wall behind him as he looked at Nini. A few minutes ago he had pulled her to a quiet corner, expecting to be able to confess his feelings when they had some privacy. However, now that she was standing right in front of him, he felt his courage slowly fade.

While Ricky was thinking of how to break the ice, his phone rang to indicate a new notification. He swiftly pulled it out of his pocket and turned on his phone, before a frown formed on his face. "It's from my mom. She says she'll be in Salt Lake soon to pick up the rest of her stuff. After years of being married to dad, she stands up and leaves."

"I get it though. Moving is a big deal." Nini states, sighing. "I mean, I just mentioned this performing arts school I was looking at to Kourtney, and, uh, she was not exactly thrilled for me."

Ricky's eyes widened as he processed what the brunette said. "Wait, that's amazing. Like a drama school?"

Nini nods enthusiastically, a bright smile on her face. "Yes. It's in Denver." Upon seeing Ricky's reaction, Nini quickly added. "Yeah, it's never gonna happen. It's super-elite, they'd never take me."

Ricky furrows his eyebrows, looking at the girl with a confused smile. "What? You're like one-in-a-million talented, what are you talking about?"

"You've never left Salt Lake, you don't know how much talent there is out there," Nini remarked with a chuckle.

"That's not fair. My parents took me to Disneyland once, and I met a very talented Minnie Mouse." Ricky reminded her, a proud grin on his lips as he proved her wrong.

"Ah, yes, Minnie Mouse, your first crush." The young girl said, reminiscing a conversation the two had around a decade before, when they were still kids, about how Ricky was enamored by a Minnie Mouse he had encountered on his birthday trip to Disneyland.

"Well, actually she was the second." He says quietly, hoping she had heard him. Ricky was hopelessly in love with Nini and, for once, he wanted to be able to show her, to make everything right again.

Nini bit her lip, only then noticing how close they were to each other. Just as she was about to close the distance between them and press a kiss on his lips, Big Read appeared with a flickering flashlight, causing Nini and Ricky to jump away from each other.

"Hey! We're..." Big Red says, oblivious to the tension in the air that his interruption caused. He hits his flashlight, trying to turn it off. "We're ordering pizza while Miss Jenn is having some kind of real-time mid-life crisis. Are you both good with pepperoni and soy cheese?"

The two teenagers agree, sharing an embarrassed look as they saw Big Red leave to reunite with the rest of the crew.

﹏﹏﹏

"And then we rescued Barbra." Seb smiled, telling Autumn the story of how he once saved a poor sheep from being turned into dinner. Autumn gasped in awe, moved by his story.

Nini walked up to the two of them, playing nervously with the sleeve of her wool sweater. "Hum, Autumn, could we maybe talk for a second?"

Autumn nodded in agreement, analyzing Nini's anxious expression. "Sure. I'll see you later, Seb." She said goodbye to her friend before taking Nini to a more private environment, near the stairs of the theater.

"So, I..." Nini takes a deep breath before proceeding with her speech. "I know you're with EJ now, and I just wanted to tell you there are absolutely no hard feelings on my part. I don't want you to think I hold any grudge against you or whatever. Me and EJ never really felt right anyway. I'm thrilled you guys found each other, you make such a good couple."

"Thank you, Nin," Autumn said, pulling the shorter girl into an unexpected hug. "You don't know how much it means to me. All this time, I've been afraid you would hate me for dating him... I know we've never been very close, but I appreciate this."

"Yeah." Nini laughs, whipping a single tear that threatened to fall as they let go of each other. "I know what it's like to really love someone like you love EJ."

"When are you going to tell Ricky how you feel?" Autumn asked gently, taking Nini by surprise - after all, she didn't mention any names. Nini blushes, realizing it must've been quite obvious to everyone around them. Minus for Ricky himself, she supposes.

"I, hum, I don't know," Nini replies, her hand reaching out to scratch the back of her neck. "I almost told him today... We were about to kiss, but we got interrupted."

Autumn grabbed Nini's hand and guided her outside of the El Rey. "Really? How about you tell all about it over a cup of ice cream, honey?" 

"I'd be more than glad to," Nini replies as they walk toward a nearby ice cream shop, giggling all the way.

𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 - 𝙀𝙅 𝘾𝙖𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡Where stories live. Discover now