( 𝘨𝘪𝘧: 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘭 )

𝐑𝐈𝐂'𝐒 𝐍𝐔𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋

𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒂𝒔 : 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒔

𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐀𝐏

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𝑮𝑰𝑵𝑨, 𝑳𝑶𝑶𝑲𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑨𝑻 𝑪𝑨𝑴𝑬𝑹𝑨: My sister August had her moment with a piano, which her summer fling rudely interrupted ( eye roll ). Honestly, doesn't Ricky realize August is way out of his league? I won't let him ruin this for her. Luckily, EJ, as self-centered as he is, will help me get rid of Ricky. It's a good idea.

( camera zooms on her face )

Right?

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Rehearsals had been going really well for the last two weeks. Ever since August had established that the whole summer was now water under the bridge ( which it wasn't really, seeing as feelings still very much remained there ), her and Ricky had started to get along. Or at least they weren't in each other's throats constantly. Sometimes they even laughed at each other's jokes. 

The rest of the cast had realised the progress between the two. A bet had started to go around on how long it would take for them to get back together. Some said before the final performance, others said after. One anonymous person said that Ricky still had feelings for Nini. 

Gina wasn't happy with the rumours. She was the only one who had to console August after the 'break up'. Only she knew the heartbreak her sister went through. Ricky didn't deserve her. And Gina didn't want to give him the chance to break her heart again. Her motto was: Let your heart remain breakable, but never by the same hand twice.

Ricky, however, felt hopeful. He thought that maybe if he managed to fix the bridge between them completely, and cross over it, then it could be how it was that summer. Or at least be friends. More than the acquaintances that they were at the moment. Sure, they nodded at each other in the hallway. But Ricky wanted more than that. Sure, it was selfish. Yet August was something different.

And maybe by fixing his relationship with August, it would prove to Nini that she could give him a second chance. What Ricky wasn't sure was what he wanted that second chance for. For a relationship with his first love? Or just friendship?

Ricky paced around the hallway, fidling with the phone in his hand. Scrolling down the contacts of his phone. His finger hesitated over Nini, but he didn't know what to say. Sighing, he nearly clicked off his phone until he saw August on his contacts. She was still called 'ric's number one girl ;)'. Before he had a chance to reconsider, he pressed on her name, and pressed his phone to his ear.

It rang a few seconds before going to voicemail. "Hey, it's Auggie! Sorry I'm away, I'm probably doing a Spiderman marathon. Anyways, leave your message after the tone, and I'll try and call you back if I'm not avoiding you. Ciao! Or, uhm, just bye." Ricky smiled, shaking his head. He remembered how Spiderman was August's comfort movie, and how many times she had told Ricky how he reminded her of Peter Parker.

"Hey, it's me, Ric, Ricky, your buddy..." he trailed off. "I'm sorry to interrupt your Spiderman marathon, I know how much you love watching Tom Holland big on screen. But uhm, just wanted to apologise for interrupting your song the other day. It was amazing, by the way! I, uhm, just wanted to say that." he hesitated, looking around to see if there was someone around. "Actually, there's something I need to get of my chest. You were right that I auditioned for Nini, but...shit, August, I can't get you out of my head." he ran his fingers through his curls. "If this is too soon, or you're like, over me, which would be understandable, just delete this. Just...I wanted to let you know that our summer together meant everything to me. More than I think you realize." licking his lips, he dug his hand in his pockets. "Anyway, see you at rehearsal. Bye."

Ricky disconnected the call, nodding softly. "Nailed it."

What the curly-haired boy didn't know was that Gina was hiding behind the corner of the hallway, and had overheard everything. And as an understatement, she did not like it. At all. She frowned, pretending to tie her laces when Ricky passed by without giving her a second look. She watched him leave with a frown.

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𝑮𝑰𝑵𝑨, 𝑳𝑶𝑶𝑲𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑨𝑻 𝑪𝑨𝑴𝑬𝑹𝑨: No. August cannot listen to that voicemail. It would ruin everything. So...I maybe have done something

( holds up August's phone )

I may have just borrowed it for a while. And I know her password. peterparkerisahottie. Unoriginal, I know. And ( clicks a button ) deleted voicemail!

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August rushed into the theatre, interrupting a Status Quo rehearsal as she gasped for air. She glanced around apologetically as Miss Jenn raised an eyebrow. "I'm so sorry I'm late, my phone's missing and I didn't know rehearsal was starting earlier today." August missed Gina's guilty face as she looked down.

"It's fine. But next time, as a lead, you have to be more organised, okay?" Miss Jenn clapped when August nodded. "Let's get into positions for the dance, this time Gabriella included." 

Ricky watched her cross the room, and rubbed his hands nervously before approaching the curly-haired girl. "Hey, how are you? How was your night?"

August's night had been awful. She had a nightmare and woke up tossing and turning with a headache, and then fell of the bed. "Not great. Cried while watching Titanic. Stupid Rose, there was space enough for the two of them. Instead she let him drown. Sound familiar?" Ricky's smile fell, and August rubbed her face tired. "I'm sorry, I...let's just get to rehearsing." she quickly walked away, leaving Ricky to slump over and sit next to Big Red.

"Okay, so I'm pretty sure that was an answer for the voicemail. Guess I really messed up, huh?"

Big Red shrugged, bouncing the basketball. "Well, you did lie to her, break her heart, bugged her, and left her a sad voicemail. But hey, I'm sure there's something you can do. Just be yourself, and be the bigger man."

Ricky glared at his redhead best friend. "Okay, choose one."

"Wow, you're a lost cause." Big red patted him on the back. "Good luck dude."

"Do you think..." Ricky hesitated, glancing at Nini, who stood with EJ's arms around her as she chatted to Kourtney. Nini looked over at him and smiled before resuming her conversation. "That maybe this is the world telling me that it's Nini for me?"

"Honestly? Both situations seemed rather hopeless." Ricky's shoulders slumped over. "But I think it's your decision, not the 'world's'. Go with your heart, and not with what you think is easier. Because whoever you go for, there's no going back. The other relationship will be past any chance of recovery."

"Why has everything got to be so complicated?"

ej and august will become friends in the next chapter!

and do you think gina had good intentions in deleting the voicemail? will august ever know?

thank you for 2k! should i add small flashbacks of august and ricky's summer?