EJ was alone in the car for all of two minutes before the side door swung open and Nova pulled herself inside, "That was a quick discussion."

"I didn't go in." Nova said as she buckled her seat belt, "I saw her sitting with just a water and I ran for the hills."

"Don't you think you guys should talk?" EJ asked, getting a look of disbelief, "Nope, definitely not."

"Can we go?" Nova asked back, "Wanna swim?"

"In November?" he asked her with a odd look.

Nova suddenly smirked, "Wanna do something illegal?"

"Is this actually illegal?" EJ asked as Nova lead them into the school.

"I don't know." Nova laughed as her tone echoed off the empty hallway, "Listen. Echo!"

EJ's eyes widned im a panic as he took a large step toward her and pushed his hand over her mouth, "Do you have any clue who all could still be here?"

Nova looked up at him with his hand clasped over her mouth, waiting for him to move it as she gave a smirk, "Sorry, Mr Duke."

EJ gave her a look as Nova giggled and turned on her heels, "Cmon, I promise I won't get you in trouble, good boy."

EJ flushed as she held out her hand, letting him take it as they walked through the empty halls, "Are you being reckless because you are mad at your mom or because you didn't get into your school?"

"EJ, can't I just roam the hallways at school without having a reason behind it?" Nova asked as she gave a spin, letting his hand go, "We can go if you really want to."

EJ hesitated, "If you get me in trouble-"

"When have I ever gotten you in trouble?" Nova giggled as she began spinning around him, her toes curling on the floors.

"Ugh, you mean when you spray painted the boys bathroom, snuck us into a movie, stole the parmesan cheese from Olive Garden, and tried to get in the water with the dolphins at the zoo?" EJ asked as Nova stopped spinning and fell into his arms as the dizzy feeling took over her. EJ caught her, helping her stand as his hands tightened around her waist slightly. They were close.

"Yeah, I remember that." Nova gave a cheeky grin before pushed his chest back some, "Let's go look at the damage of the theater."

EJ took a second to regain himself before following close behind her.

"Is everyone ready for this?" Nova called from the other side of the dressing room, "I want all eyes on me."

"We're looking." Ashlyn called back as Nova came around the corner. The grey button up tucked into a army green skin with the iconic Bop To The Top hat to go with it.

"Twinnyyy." Seb gushed as he hugged her in his sparkly pink costume.

"Both of you are living and breathing breaking gender norms." Ashlyn gushed as she took a picture of the two, "I love it!"

"I feel like puking." Nova said honestly, "I've never been nervous before. Not for a play, but now I feel it."

"Couldn't have to do with the fact that EJ is gonna have to throw a baseball at you, or anything?" Ashlyn suggested as Nova looked with wide eyes, "Hey, you're ready for this."

"I hope so." Nova nodded as she took a breath, "Should we do the thing..."

Seb and Nova turned to each other as the mimicked Sharpay and Ryan's warm ups for a few moments. Nova sighed when they were done, "That was better, I feel better. I wish my Gina was here to talk me down."

"She sends her love." Seb squeezed Novas hands.

"Half hour!" Natalie called into the air as everyone gushed in panic and excitement.

"Okay, last touches, anyone? Speak now, or forever hold your face." Kourtney called out as she held the makeup brush, looking around.

"Why? Where are you gonna be during the show?" Seb asked in worry as he looked her way.

"EJ." Nova said as she walked over to him with wide eyes, "Do you think we have enough tension for people to really get into the vibe for Ryan and Chad?"

"More then enough." Ashlyn mumbled as she walked past them.

"We're gonna be perfectly fine, I think. The only think i'm worried about is the baseball scene." EJ said honestly as they sat down on sync, "My aim is so off."

"I still can't hold the baseball bat correctly." Nova agreed as the pair shared a worried look.

"We'll be fine." they spoke on sync.

"My beautiful babies, let's gather around for some housekeeping!" Miss Jenn called as she walked in.

"Miss Jenn, I really wanna stress eat." Nova panicked as she rubbed her hands together.

"Why are these nerves coming? Everyone said you'd be the one I didn't have to worry about." Miss Jenn gave a worried expression as she pulled a granola bar from her pocket, "Eat up and take a breather."

"First of all, who brought Versailles?" Miss Jenn questioned as she looked at the large flowers.

"No one knows." Carlos shrugged.

"Well I suppose we'll just have to share, then." Miss Jenn cleared her throat, "Oh, and speaking of sharing, most of you know that our dazzling Taylor had to leave under family circumstances. Gina sends her love and support to all of you but unfortunately she's on the East Coast and won't be able to make it to tonight's performance. And so, I have asked Kourtney to fill in in her stead."

The students cheered for Kourtney as she became bashful.

"So now, what I would like to do is, please think of a word or phrase from the show that expressed where your head is, or your goals for tonight." Miss Jenn suggested as she smiled around at each other them.

"You're my guys and this is our team." Big Red spoke up with a grin.

"What if you wanna try something really new, and it's a total disaster and all your friends laugh at you?" Ricky stood up and went along with Big Reds words.

"You were always there beside me." Nova spoke as she grabbed Ashlyn and Sebs hands as they hugged into her.

"Do you ever feel like there's this whole other person inside of you just looking for a way to come out?" Nini spoke up in questioning, having plenty of people agree from around her.

"Do the romp, and strut your stuff." Carlos gave a little dance move along with his words.

"My shower head is very impressed with me." Kourtney gave a comical look.

"I'm proud to call you my sister." EJ said as he looked over at Ashlyn. Nova gushed as she put a hand on her heart.

"Aw. It's close enough." Ashlyn laughed at him, "My nail beds are history."

"I admire you so much." Nova spoke again as Miss Jenn looked over at her, "That goes for all of you."

"Is she being a softie?" Carlos gasped in disbelief.

"Don't ruin it." Seb encouraged, "Sharpay's kinda cute, too."

"So is a mountain lion, but you don't pet it!" the rest of them said on sync before sharing a laugh.

"And i'll just say, no matter what happens tonight, we're all in this together." Miss Jenn gave a soft smile as her eyes watered, "Okay, Wildcats, take a moment to settle your nerves. If we had a curtain, it would be up in 20 minutes!"

Everyone spread out again.

"Nova, your phone as been buzzing like crazy." Ricky said as he nodded over to her bag. Nova gave a odd look as she walked over, pulling her phone out and looked down. EJ caught her stare, seeing the odd and unreadable look on her face.

"Hey, what's the matter?" he came behind her in questioning.

Nova spun around with alarming eyes, "DePaul scouts are in the audience."

•

kylie speaks

i'm in the process of
making a ej x nova edit
for my insta!!!

also, remember in one of
the first chapters when nova
was writing something on
ej's hand when they were
forced to join hands? KEEP
THAT IN MIND FOR THE
NEXT CHAPTER!!!