Prom Dress - EJ Caswell ³

"Keep your camera guy in check."

Scarlett woke up by Valentina shaking her shoulders harshly. She rubbed her eyes with one hand, the other shoving the girl off. "My lord, what is wrong with you?"

Val threw a hoodie towards her as well as a pair of sliders. "We're going to surprise Ricky, come on."

She shrugged her covers off, as she chucked the jumper over her head and slid on the shoes whilst simultaneously walking toward the Honeycomb front door which was held open by Gina who ushered them out.

Scarlett was the last one through the door of the boy's cabin and she quietly closed the door behind her before joining the crowd that had formed around Ricky's bed. She felt the peering eyes of EJ staring into her skull and the idea of making eye contact with the boy sent shudders through her body so she kept her gaze locked on the sleeping birthday boy in front of her.

Carlos silenced them all. "I'm going to count to three."

"On three or after three?" Scarlett questioned quietly as she pulled the sleeves of her jumper over her hands.

He rolled his eyes with a harsh sigh. "Not this again."

"Happy Birthday!"

It was Maddox who broke the silence, screaming the praise from the top of her lungs before everyone joined in, startling the boy awake.

"And happy opening night, for those who are keeping score," EJ announced and Scarlett felt the way her eyes dramatically rolled to the back of her head. Could he give it a rest, they were here for Ricky right now and the idea of getting on that stage later today was honestly a thought that made her want to crawl into a ball and cry a little. "Our show might be in danger, but right now our focus is Ricky."

Ricky chuckled nervously. "Guys, you shouldn't have." He sat up as he spoke, dangling his legs off his top bunk. "For real, you almost gave me a heart attack."

"You're an old man now?" Jet replied earning a small chuckle from a few of them.

Carlos then smirked, "But wait, there's more."

"There is?" Ashlyn asked in confusion as everyone's eyes turned to the door where Carlos was pointing.

"Come on in. Your best friend is old enough to vote."

Ashlyns answer then walked through the door with a baby blue cake and a warm smile. "Please tell me these bunks are air-conditioned."

"Biggie?"

Ricky grinned as he pulled him into a hug. "Of course you showed up."

"We've spent every birthday together since pre-school."

Scarlett watched as they reunited with a small smile before she squeezed Val's hand gently before nodding her head towards the door, signalling she was out of there before EJ's eyes lasered into her head and killed her.

She gently closed the door behind her and took a deep breath as she heard them all enjoy the moment together. She felt guilty leaving, but she couldn't bear another second in that room so she swiftly turned around to make her way back to the comforting walls of the Honeycomb before stumbling into Val.

"Hey, can I just have like two seconds with you?"

Scarlett nodded quickly. "Yeah, of course."

"So, I'm starting to make the rounds and saying some goodbyes, because I've gotta get back to campus tomorrow, so I'm leaving right after the show."

Scarlett wrapped her arms around herself. "Back to college already." Val nodded and the girl smiled in return. "Must be nice. I hope this semester goes better for you."