CHAPTER SIXTEEN!

"Do you remember in Kindergarten, you'd meet a kid, know nothing about them then ten seconds later, you were best friends?" Eliza read from the script.

"Yeah?"

"Singing with you felt like that," Eliza said.

"I never thought about singing, that's for sure. Until you. And now, I don't wanna stop. Ever," Ricky stopped. "Wait. You yelled at me yesterday for using the script, and you're reading from yours. We both know the words, why don't we lose the scripts?"

"Yeah, okay," Eliza agreed setting her script down. She fixed her hair, and looked up at Ricky before starting the scene again. "Do you remember in Kindergarten, you'd meet a kid, know nothing about them then ten seconds later, you're best friends?"

"Yeah."

"Singing with you felt like that," Eliza said.

"I never really thought about singing, that's— I'm sorry, do you remember in kindergarten, we were really close. There was no you without me."

"I think it helped that we always saw each other, especially outside of school," Eliza responded. They lived across each other since they were born— and because their parents were friends they grew up with each other. "You were my first ever friend."

"Don't ever tell Big Red this, but I think you were my first best friend. You still kind of are," Ricky stated.

"I think Big Red was a big improvement for a best friend for you," Eliza said. "I kind of forgot we were friends for a couple years."

"Well, we got into different things, had different interests. You were doing all those crazy flips and jumps, and I was just watching you from the stands."

"Are you referencing a Taylor Swift song? She's cheer captain and I'm in the bleachers," Eliza jokingly sang, as she sat down beside the piano. "Wait, when have you ever seen me cheer?"

"At every football game— you're the reason I even went. I wouldn't have went for any other reason," Ricky admitted, sitting beside her. "It's really cool to see you doing something you enjoy, which is why I'm glad I stayed with the show. I'll be on the stage with you, watching you perform up close. Which is not as creepy as it sounds."

"Oh, no, I think it is. I might have to call the police since it seems like I have a stalker," Eliza joked, making herself laugh. She covered her face when she snorted. "You know, we should probably continue the scene."

"Liza, you and I both know the scene, I could say it in my sleep, backwards, possibly a different language if I knew a different language," Ricky stated.

"Yeah, well, if we know this scene, should we do any other scene?" Eliza asked, she was flipping through her script, trying to find a scene she hadn't memorized. She had the entire play memorized, and could possibly make the show a one woman play.

"We could do page 97," Ricky suggested. The kiss that Miss Jenn added.

"Ricky, I'm serious."

"Me too. It's the only scene I don't know— you're really going to go on stage and have me not know this scene because you won't—" Eliza grabbed Ricky's face and pulled him into a kiss. "I lied, I do know the lines," Ricky said when they pulled apart.

"Yeah, I know. I don't care," Eliza whispered kissing him again. A repeat of the past weekend, sneaking kisses while they ran lines. They just practiced the last scene more than the other scenes.

"Hey guys!" Big Red announced as he walked into the room Ricky and Eliza were in. Nini was right behind him. Ricky and Eliza stood up quickly, and Ricky some of Eliza's lipgloss shining on his lips.

🏀

"Nini, wait!" Eliza called out following Nini after she walked off. "Can we just talk?"

"There's nothing to talk about," Nini stated. "What is there to talk about? You were just kissing Ricky—"

"You were kissing Ricky?" Kourtney interrupted.

"Look, I don't want to be the bad guy—"

"You're already the bad guy, here, Eliza," Nini said. "You know how I felt about Ricky—"

"You knew how I felt about him," Eliza interrupted. "You knew that I liked him way before you did, and yet you went after him. I liked him for years before you even noticed him like that."

"He was my boyfriend."

"Was— he was. Now he's your ex, has been since August, it's almost December," Eliza said. "I'm not going to apologize for kissing someone who was single. And I didn't kiss him first, he kissed me." Eliza knew how Nini and Ricky's first kiss was— Nini had kissed Ricky first. "I wanted to tell you, have a conversation before he and I could be anything. I really thought you were my friend and would want me to be happy. I wanted your opinion before anything, but right now, I don't care."

In the heat of the moment, Eliza walked up to Ricky, who was at the other side of the room avoiding the argument between the two girls. She grabbed him by his collar and kissed him in front of the theater kids.

The last time I edited this chapter was in July... :-)

Hope you guys like this chapter <3