SHILOH THREW her hair into a ponytail and dragged her chair towards the couch.

Today the club along with the minis would be meeting with Carlos about his current relationship with Seb Matthew-Smith.

"Okay," Shiloh sighed, "do any of you remember what I said?"

Cameron Rutherford, the eldest of the minis raised their hand, "Don't do anything on the couch unless you clean it."

Shiloh nodded, "I did say that." She bowed her head, "Why did I say that?" She muttered.

Ryan Scott nudged Cameron's shoulder. The two of them knowing each other the longest by being neighbors and attending the same school since forever.

"Listen, be cautious, and tell it like it is." Megan Chu answered. She was the youngest of the group. A transfer student like Emmy, except she wasn't homeschooled and came from Portland.

"Yeah, sort of." Shiloh smiled, "We all know Carlos' side of the story and what the documentary portrayed. Whatever he tells us—"

"Stays in the walls of this room." Emmy smiled.

Shiloh nodded, "Exactly. He's coming to us because he wants to be heard."

There was a soft knock in the door and Shiloh stood to her feet, "Remember—"

"The couch—"

"No." She smiled, "Be yourselves. That's why we chose you guys." She made her way towards the door, resting her hand on the doorknob, "Don't hesitate to ask any questions."

Shiloh smiled, opening the door to see Carlos on the other side, "Right on time."

Carlos pushed himself inside the club room, instantly sitting in the couch, not bothering to see the group on the couch as he rested his head in his hands.

Shiloh nodded to herself, shutting the door behind her, "Carlos, I hope you don't mind that I invited the mini club to join us today?"

Carlos slowly raised his head, looking to his left and right at the kids sitting on the couch with him.

"As long as they can help me, I don't care."

"Great."

Shiloh pulled her purple chair closer to couch, sitting down with her leg over the other and her long, brown cardigan covering her legs.

"So, I and Emmy know why Carlos is here and who he is, but, as tradition, we need you to introduce yourself and tell the others why you're here."

Carlos stood his feet, looking down at the kids who looked up at him.

"My name is Carlos Rodriguez, junior, and I'm here because my boyfriend, Seb, isn't speaking to me, let alone looking my way."

"Because of the documentary?" Cameron asked.

"Yes, young one."

Shiloh nodded, gesturing for Carlos to take a seat.

"Before we delved down a very large rabbit hole, I want to introduce the club members." She smiled, "On your left is Ryan and Cameron and on the right, Emmy, Megan, and Scout. They'll do the same thing that we normally do as a club to help you with your relationship problem."

"That's fine." Carlos muttered, his hands clasped together over his knee, "So, my boyfriend thinks I've cheated on him at camp last summer and—"

"Did you?" Ryan asked.

Carlos gasped, "No! That documentary wanted us to fail in more ways than one! It even broke up Ricky and Shiloh."

"You and Ricky broke up?" Megan asked.

Shiloh held a tight lip, "This isn't about me, remember? This is about Carlos and Seb. Focus on that, I'm begging."

"Fine..." Carlos muttered, looking at the group on the couch, "You can read the article about it on Entertainment Tonight."

"Shiloh?"

She furrowed her brows, turning to grab her walkie-talkie from the file cabinet.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's Quinn—"

"I know."

"I need you on set. I'm having chemistry problems on set." She whispered.

"Why are you whispering?"

"Just come!"

Shiloh sighed, connecting her walkie to her waist and turned towards the others, "This is going great so far."

"It is?" Carlos asked.

"Yes, so well, that I'm going to step out, call Evie, pray I'm not interrupting, and leave them in charge and I will hear how great this went when I see them later."

"Shiloh—"

"I've gotta go, but don't forget the five star review Carlos." She smiled and shut the door behind her.

Her cardigan flowed behind her as she made her way down the halls. She finally found the set and when she stepped inside, Dani gave her a look and Mack smiled her way.

"You called?" Shiloh asked.

"Yes, thank you." Quinn said, "I've read several articles about this club of yours, so what I've read better be true. So, fix" Quinn said, waving her hand over towards the couple, "this."

Shiloh nodded, turning towards Dani and Mack, "What's the problem?"

"There is no problem." Dani said, "Is there babe?"

Mack held a tight lip, nodding his head, "No problem at all."

Shiloh nodded, quickly looking back at Quinn before looking at the couple.

"Okay, if there is no problem, act." She smiled, clapping her hands together, "Show me what you got."

Quinn stepped forward, leaning towards Shiloh's ear, "What are you doing?"

"If they aren't going to admit that there's a problem, I can't help. So, if I can see what's happening, then maybe I can be useful."

Shiloh grabbed the phone extra script from Quinn's hands and sat in the chair that would later be occupied by Alyson Reed.

"Hey, Bailey, can I talk to you about something?" Mack read as Sam.

"You know you can talk to me about anything, Sam." Dani read.

But you could tell who was the actor and who wasn't. It was clear and it was clear to Shiloh that if they couldn't act like a couple on screen, what made them the best couple off.

"Okay," Shiloh smiled, "why don't we try this. You two are in love, think of Pragma."

"Pragma?" Dani questioned.

"It's unconditional love between an older, longing couple of extremely close friendship. Sort of like Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prince Jr. or Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift." Shiloh explained, "The true commitment that comes from understanding, compromise, and tolerance."

Shiloh stepped forward, placing her hand into Mack's shoulder, "Mack, or in this case, Sam, is utterly in love with you or Bailey, right?"

Dani crossed her arms, raising her brow as Mack seemed to relax into Shiloh's simple touch.

"I guess so." She muttered.

"Great." Shiloh smiled, "He's coming to you with this secret about Miss. Darbus because he trust you. So, take any situation with Mack where he put his all into you, his trust, his love, anything, and stick it in your mind. Take that and let that emotion play out into Bailey." She turned, "Does that make sense?"

"No." Dani muttered as Mack smiled, "Yes."

"Okay." Shiloh sighed, "I'll read as Bailey, yeah? I'll take a time where I put my trust into someone I care about deeply and use that to make my emotions in this scene seem real."

Quinn gestured for Dani to step back as Shiloh turned to face Mack.

"You do you, actor boy and I'll follow your lead."

Mack smiled, "What ever you say, Love Club Girl."

Shiloh rolled her eyes as Quinn reluctantly called action.

"I know, babe. But this is really hard for me to say." Mack read as Sam.

Shiloh glanced down at her script, "Babe, you're scaring me. What?" She read as Bailey.

Mack took Shiloh's hand sitting on top of a nearby desk.

Quinn watched with amusement... Dani on the other hand wasn't really rocking with the idea of Shiloh acting like a couple with her boyfriend.

To Dani's knowledge, Shiloh was single and Mack, of course, wasn't.

Shiloh smiled, turning towards Dani, "See. All you've got to is act. Whatever you're reading, try and add a real life situation to it to make it feel more realistic."

Quinn stepped forward as Shiloh handed the script back to Dani.

"Thank you, Shiloh."

"No problem." She smiled.

Her phone soon buzzed on her back pocket.

"Um, I've gotta go, if you need anything... it has to wait until tomorrow." Shiloh said, "Good luck."

Shiloh soon rushed out the room and would make her way home.

Her first official date with Ricky only hours away.

RICKY PUT Shiloh's glasses into his hair as he tied a makeshift blindfold over her eyes.

"Is this necessary?" Shiloh laughed.

"Yes." He smiled.

He finally tied the blindfold and stepped back, moving to be in front of her.

She had changed her outfit from what she wore to school that day to a long brown, floral printed skirt with a light brown ribbed tank top with a black cardigan and a pair of vintage, platform boots.

"Ricky?" Shiloh called, "You didn't leave did you? This would be the worst date ever."

"No, no." Ricky spoke softly, taking Shiloh's hand, "I'm right here, baby. Just follow me."

Ricky held Shiloh's hand and led her towards the small cabin like building.

"Watch your step."

Ricky took both of her hands, guiding her up the steps when something brushed against her legs.

"What was that?" She gasped, wrapping her arms around Ricky.

Ricky chuckled, slipping Shiloh's blindfold off and putting her glasses on for her.

She looked down a saw a litter of golden retriever puppies surrounding her and Ricky.

She gasped once more and squatted down to pick one of them up as they began to surround her legs, "Ricky, oh my, God!" She smiled, "Why all this?"

"Why not." He smiled, "...Okay, maybe a part of me is a bit threatened by Mack and so I'm overcompensating."

Shiloh gave Ricky a small smile, adjusting the puppy in her arms to hold it almost like a baby. She looked up at the boy, resting her hand against her bicep.

"I told you earlier that there is absolutely, one hundred percent, nothing to worry about."

"Copy that." He smiled, "As they say in Hollywood. And as they say in musicals, "Sit down and let me sing you a song"."

"Do they say that in musicals?"

"Maybe, I've never seen one."

Shiloh slowly sat down, the other puppies crowding around her as Ricky took a seat next to her.

"This is U Smile, Ricky's version."

Shiloh gently smiled, allowing one of the puppies to hop into her lap as Ricky gently strummed his guitar and softly sang the words of the Justin Bieber song that he debated over the entire drive there.

"You smile, I smile. You smile, I smile."

Shiloh let the puppy roll off her lap as she knelt down, cradling the smaller puppy in her arms like a baby while resting her hand against Ricky's cheek.

Their lips met in a slow, lingering kiss that tasted like the sweetest peach... probably because that's what her lipgloss tasted like, but to digress.

Ricky's hand found its way to Shiloh's waist, pulling her closer. Shiloh's fingers continued to stroke Ricky's cheek.

When they finally parted, their lips remained tantalizingly close, their breaths mingling in a shared moment.

As they pulled away, their eyes locked, and they shared a knowing smile.

He softly smiled, his hand still resting on her waist, "So you liked the song, huh?"

"I love the song." She smiled, "Thank you. And I can't get our song out of my head."

"Our song." Ricky smiled, "I like the sound of that."

Shiloh leaned in, closing the gap between them. Their lips met in a gentle, unhurried kiss. Their lips moving together with a gentle grace.

But his phone soon vibrated in his pocket. He backed away from Shiloh slowly, pecking her lips once more before pulling his phone out of his pocket.

"Emergency cast meeting to announce the HSM3 cast list." Ricky read.

Shiloh furrowed her brows, "Why are they at my house?"

SHILOH RUSHED upstairs and opened her bedroom door to see the majority of the theater department in her bedroom.

"Look who decided to show up." Victoria smiled.

"I'm so sorry, but I hadn't realize anyone would just let any and everyone into my room." She smiled.

"Everyone, sit!" Carlos smiled, taking the envelope from Emmy, "Everyone, breathe. Today was big. We rehearsed for a Hollywood movie. But in my humble opinion the following is even bigger."

"Am I too late?" Ricky called, pulling open Shiloh's bedroom door.

"For Ricky Bowen, you're right on time." Carlos smiled, "Sharpay will be played by Kourtney Greene."

Ryan would be played by Carlos.

Kelsi played by Ashlyn.

Martha by Gina.

Taylor by Emmy.

"Troy will be played by, not shockingly, Featured Extra Number Two, aka Richard Bowen." Carlos smiled, "And now the moment we've all been waiting for, Gabriella... Shiloh Molina."

Shiloh only looked up from her hands as Victoria wrapped her arms around the girl.

Ricky, from the corner of the room smile brightly and gave Shiloh a big thumbs up.

Truly, this isn't what she wanted, but she put on a smile anyway and thanked the others who congratulated her.

So, she had the movie, the musical, the club, soccer, college, finishing her senior year, and trying to convince her boyfriend that there was absolutely nothing going on with Mack.

She could handle that... right?

"By the way, can we talk about the energy between you and Mack today?" Kourtney asked.

"Please," Shiloh scoffed, "Mack was trying to help Dani."

"Exactly," Evie smiled, "his girlfriend. And while my best friend is absolutely, definitely, one hundred percent single she's respecting the boundary. It would be breaking a Love Club rule is she were."

"But didn't she do that exact thing with Ricky and Nini?" Gina asked.

Evie turned, "Which is why we added that rule."

"Come on," Jenna smiled, "You know that if it were me I would've already gone for it, but I really do think that's he's into it. I think you should try."

"Excuse me, there's more." Carlos said, "I am personally lobbying for Miss. Jenn to play Miss. Darbus. And that's it."

"That's it?" Ashley questioned, "No Chad? Coach Bolton?"

"They have not been cast yet." Carlos answered.

"Look, I know that I'm only in this musical thing because... well, because of Ricky, but I stuck with it because of Miss. Jenn." Madison continued, "But even I know that isn't enough people for the musical."

"The movie sucked up all other potential drama kids." Carlos said, "They're getting 100 bucks a week plus free kettle corn."

"That's a steal." Ashley muttered.

"You guys, Dani just posted something really cryptic on Instagram." Kourtney called, "It reads, "Hollywood is brutal. Stay grounded out there, babes." Mack commented, "Shit's messed up.""

Madison pulled her phone out, the only one in the club who could figure out any drama with ease and looked up at the others.

"She was replaced in the movie."

Victoria unwrapped herself from Shiloh's touch to sit next to Gina and the others.

Ricky and Shiloh sat further away, sitting down on the loft that led to Shiloh's bed.

"Troy and Gabriella." He muttered.

"Oh how things always seem to go Ricky Bowen's way." She smiled.

She turned to look at him just as he began to make a noise that caused her to laugh.

Her phone soon rang, her brows furrowed as an unrecognizable number flashed across her screen.

"Do any of you guys now any 301 numbers?"

"301!" Jenna smiled, "Shiloh! That's Hollywood!"

The group soon moved to sit around Shiloh, crowding around her as the phone continue to ring.

"Look, if you're fired from the movie, you're still Gabriella."

Shiloh furrowed her brows, "Thank you, Ricky. Really reassuring."

She finally answered the call, Jenna scooting over to put it on speaker.

"Hello?"

"Shiloh Molina! Hi, It's Quinn the director. Sundance runner-up for Where Has All The Money Gone?"

Shiloh rested her elbow on her knee, her head resting in her hand as she shut her eyes, "If this is about earlier... you called me down there to help and that's what I tried to do and—"

"Listen, you've helped in more ways than one. I spoke to your drama teacher today and found out that you were the lead in a Disney+ documentary and they absolutely loved you in it."

"They did?"

"Hell yeah, Molina. You're a rising star! Which is why I'm asking you to replace Dani in High School Musical 4."

Shiloh eyes widen as the others around her gasped in excitement.

"Hell yeah! My sister's gonna make Hollywood her bitch!" Victoria smiled.

Shiloh slapped her hand over her mouth and shut her eyes.

Life was truly coming at her fast and she didn't know if she would crash and burn or beat the track.

Only time would tell.

— lucy has something to say !!

i am NOT putting gina on the back burner just know that xoxo

bye :))))