Violet's Outfit

The El Rey theatre was a total dump, but it was everything I wanted and more. You see, after the East High auditorium was completely trashed in a fire, we had to move our production ten minutes away to the El Rey. It was this completely old-fashioned theater that gave me total Old Hollywood vibes. Like it had seen way more talent than a bunch of teenagers singing Disney Channel songs.

As Miss Jen called for a five minute break, and everyone else was out in the lobby just hanging out, Ashlynn and I sat in the back of the theater.

"Do you think that this whole thing is gonna work out?", I asked.

"Hopefully. I've missed two months worth of baking club meetings for this", Ashlynn replied.

"That sounds like a fun club. All I've missed these months were sitting alone in my room and watching TLC reality shows", I said.

"You don't do theatre outside of school? I could've sworn you were into the whole community theatre scene", Ashlynn said.

"Nope, not anymore. I quit last spring. I wish I stuck with it though", I said.

"Yeah same. I used to be really into it. I played Martha Dunstock in that awful, highly illegal junior production they did of Heathers in 8th grade", she said.

"No way! I played Heather Duke in that production. Wasn't it just awful?", I said.

"It was so bad. Nini played Heather McNamara, and EJ played J.D. it was probably the worst production I've ever been in. But it was super fun", she said.

"It was really fun. Although I often wonder what possessed them to do a Heather Jr.", I said.

"Exactly!", Ashlynn exclaimed.

"Heather Chandler used to be my dream theatre role, but I've totally moved on since then", I said.

"Wait, what's your dream theatre role now?", Ashlynn asked.

"Oh gosh, that's difficult. I have like a top three. Lydia in Beetlejuice, Wendla in Spring Awakening, and Kathy in The Last Five Years. What about you?", I replied.

"I have two, and they're completely different. Regina George in Mean Girls and Christine in Phantom", she said.

"I could honestly see you doing great in either role. I love knowing what people's dream roles are, I just think it tells a lot about a person", I said.

"Yeah same. What's Ricky's?", Ashlynn asked.

"Well, he's not really a theater person, but when I asked him he said that he "wouldn't mind" being Jack Kelly in Newsies, which proves that he really did like Newsies all of the times I forced him to watch it", I said.

"Yeah, I could definitely see that. Hey did you guys ever make up after the whole thing at the party?", Ashlynn asked.

"How do you know about that?", I asked.

"You guys we're pretty loud with your whole argument thing. And since EJ always has his nose in other people's business he told me that you were crying on the staircase", she replied.

"Yeah, I do tend to get pretty loud. I'm half Italian, so being loud is kind of in my DNA. But yeah, we did make up. I called him in tears in the middle of the night because i felt so bad about everything that I said. I apologized, and then he apologized to me and said that he overreacted. And then we watched John Mulaney's Kid Gorgeous special together over FaceTime, so I guess things are pretty back to normal now", I said.

Ashlynn started to reply when Miss Jen walked into the auditorium and said, "Girls, you can't be in here right now! Ashlynn, go help Big Red with the lights, Violet, Nini asked for your help with her and Ricky running the "What I've Been Looking For" scene".

Ashlynn and I looked at one another and then split off to where we needed to go.

I walked to the little piano room off of the stage, and knocked on the door.

"Come in!", Nini said.

"Hey! What do you need help with?", I asked.

"We need help with the music and warming up", Nini asked.

"Okay cool", I replied.

I got behind the piano and looked at the sheet music that was there.

The only song that was there was "You Matter To Me" from Waitress. I guess that's what they wanted me to warm them up with? Weird, but I always loved me some Waitress.

I began to play the opening chords, when Nini suddenly got up and said, "Uh, I got to go to the bathroom!".

She winked and smiled at me as she left, and then it all clicked. She did this on purpose. She got Ricky and I alone and planted that song from Waitress to try and get Ricky and I together. Back in middle school, I'd told Nini at a sleepover that "You Matter To Me" was one of my favorite songs ever and my dream was to sing that with a guy that I liked. She remembered that, and she did all of this for me.

Once she was gone, Ricky said, "That was kind of weird".

"Yeah...", I agreed.

"Again, I'm sorry for the other night. I totally overreacted. I was just so overwhelmed with everything and it just wasn't a good night. That's not an excuse, I know, I just feel really bad for saying all that to you. That was super shitty of me", he said.

"No, you're right. I was a bitch to Gina and there's no way I'll ever make it up to her. It was a shitty night for me too. Let's just put that in the past?", I said.

"Agreed. So, let's get this warmup thing started", he said.

I looked down at the paper. Nini had even highlighted the different parts for us to sing. Damn she was good.

"Okay, cool. So you'll sing the verses that are highlighted in yellow, and I'll sing the ones that are highlighted in pink", I said.

"Awesome, let's do it", he said, sitting next to me on the piano bench.

I played the opening notes, and he began to sing,

"I could find the whole meaning of life in those sad eyes. They've seen things you never write say, but I hear. Come out of hiding I'm right here beside you and I'll stay there as long as you let me, because you matter to me. Simple and plain and not much to ask from somebody, you matter to me. I promise you do, you matter too, I promise you do, you'll see, you matter to me".

Then I sang, "It's addictive the minutes you'll let yourself think. The things that I say might matter to someone. All of this time I've been keeping my mind on the running away, and for the first time I'll consider this day. Because you matter to me. Simple and plain and not much to ask from somebody. You matter to me, I promise you do, you matter too, I promise you do, you'll see you matter to me".

Then he looked into my eyes, and we sang together, "You matter to me. Simple and plain and not much to ask from somebody, you matter to me. I promise you do, come out of hiding I'm right here beside you, I promise you do, you matter to me. You'll see, you matter to me".

As we sang, I began to tear up. This was everything I'd always wanted.

As we finished singing, he leaned over and kissed me. No little peck like our first kiss when we were twelve. This was a full kiss.

"Violet, I'm in love with you", he whispered into my ear as he pulled away.

And then Big Red burst into the room.

Author's Note: Hi! This chapter is honestly super weird. There were things I was trying to convey, and scenes that I imagined as I wrote, and I hope that those came through. I love Ricky and Violet together, and I thought that the scene with the Waitress scene was the prefect thing for getting them together. My next chapter will me up in a couple of days and will center around a cute little date between Ricky and Violet. I have time as it is my winter break, so I'm looking to get the next chapter up ASAP!

Lots of Love, Beth 😘🧡