┏━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┓

𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗬

chapter fifteen:
doing what they do best !

┗━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┛

TWO HOURS AND one sheet of chocolate chip cookies later, Athena and Ricky were laying on her bed together upstairs in her room. A plate of cookies rested on her nightstand and every so often the two would eat one. Ricky was resting on his back with his head on Athena's lap, absentmindedly strumming a couple of chords on his guitar. Meanwhile, Athena was sitting up against her headboard while writing lyrics to a new song called Edge of Great down on a piece of paper.

"Sometimes we gotta lean, lean on someone else," Athena mumbled to herself as she wrote down the words from her head. "To get a little help, until we find our way. I believe, I believe that we're just one dream—"

Ricky strummed another chord. "Hey, Athena?"

"Hmm?" she hummed, looking from her piece of paper to him.

"Do you think that everything will work out?"

"You mean with the musical?" Athena asked. "I hope so."

"No, I — um, I meant with us."

Athena tensed slightly. She was not expecting that question. Athena set her piece of paper and pencil down, leaving Edge of Great discarded to the side for now. She gestured for him to sit up, and Ricky obliged, setting his guitar off to the side. Both of them sat with their legs crossed underneath them while facing each other.

"Artemis told me something the night of Homecoming," Athena admitted. "She said you wouldn't have asked me as more than friends if you weren't confident that a relationship would work between us. And . . . I believe her."

Ricky shrugged. "I asked you because it felt right. There wasn't anybody else I wanted to go to Homecoming with."

Athena tilted her head at him. "Even Nini?"

"Even Nini," Ricky confirmed. "I really did like her, but I think the back of my mind was always telling me it was you that I wanted to be with."

She smiled gently. "You were always the one I wanted to be with, too. So . . . the answer is yes, Ricky. I do think things will work out between us. At least I hope they do." She then held her pinky out to him. "But I did promise you that you would always have me no matter what. Whatever happens between us, let's promise that we'll always be there for each other, okay?"

Ricky interlocked his pinky with hers. "I promise."

He then used their locked pinkies to pull Athena forwards. Ricky immediately pressed his lips onto hers. Athena responded as enthusiastically as he did and kissed him back. The world around Athena seemed to fade away, just like every other time they had kissed before. Athena loved that feeling. There was nothing quite like Ricky Bowen's kisses. They made her heart rate speed up and knees weak. She was sure that if they continued she would completely melt.

Ricky was the first one to pull away, much to Athena's dismay. "I could get used to this."

Athena rolled her eyes. "Shut up and kiss me, you dork."

He leaned in to kiss her again, only for them to be interrupted by a knock at the door. Athena laughed slightly at Ricky's pout before she looked to the door.

"You can come in," she called.

Her mother then peeked her head through. "I wasn't interrupting anything, was I?"

"Not at all, Mrs. Blake," Ricky replied.

"Ricky, please. How many times do I have to tell you to call me Amanda." Amanda opened the door a little further in stepped in. "What are you two up to?"

"Nothing much," Athena answered. "We've kind of just been sitting here. I was writing a song while Ricky was playing his guitar. You know, the usual."

Amanda nodded in understanding. "So, Ricky, are you staying for dinner? Just asking so I know to set an extra place or not."

Athena's phone screen then lit up. She reached over and grabbed it to see it was a text from Big Red asking if they could come over.

"Actually, mom, Ricky and I are gonna go to Big Red's," Athena announced.

Ricky sent her a confused look. "We are?" Athena showed him her phone screen, and he let out a soft oh. "Yeah, we're gonna go to Big Red's."

"I'm not sure when we'll be back, but I'll text you."

"Don't stay out too long," Amanda told them as they stood up from Athena's bed. "It's still a school night."

Athena slipped her feet into her shoes and took Ricky's offered hand as his other held his guitar case. "We got it. See you later mom."

"Have fun!" Amanda exclaimed as the two of them left Athena's room.

Athena and Ricky bounded down the stairs, passing Artemis on the way who seemed very preoccupied with her phone. Soon enough, they were on the sidewalk on the way to Big Red's house.

--- ☆ • ♫ • ♪ • ♫ • ☆ ---

WHEN ATHENA AND Ricky entered Big Red's basement, they saw Big Red sitting in a chair while Violetta was sprawled out on the couch. Ricky immediately sat in the chair across from Big Red and took out his guitar, beginning to mess with it — probably to keep his hands busy to distract himself from all his thoughts.

"Hey guys," Athena greeted. "What's up?"

"Thank God you're here," Big Red said. "Vi kept booing at me while I was playing video games."

"Because I was getting bored with you not talking to me, idiot," Violetta replied.

Athena lifted up Violetta's legs and sat down on the couch, lowering the girl's legs back down to drape across her lap. "Well, we're here now. How long have you been here, Vi?"

Violetta thought for a moment. "I'm not sure. Maybe half an hour? Red invited me and I really had nothing better to do with my time."

"I'm so glad you were so excited to see me," Big Red voiced sarcastically.

"It's not like I was going to do anything else today. So, I saw your text and thought maybe he'll provide me with some entertainment. This is much better than sitting at home sulking at how our musical is literally going down the drain with Miss Jenn being fired."

Ricky nodded in agreement. "It's weird not being at rehearsal. How stupid is that?"

"It's not stupid, Ricky," Athena argued gently, although she knew he thought missing rehearsal wasn't stupid at all. "You've gotten used to it, and now it's suddenly been taken away. I also feel really weird about it." She sighed. "I miss playing High School Musical songs on the piano."

"What if we just did the show without her?" Big Red suggested.

"We can't even take a picture without her," Ricky countered. "No offense."

"Nah, you're right, dude."

The doorbell then rang. Athena focused on the stairs, her eyebrows knitting in confusion at who that could possibly be. Violetta also sat up straighter and took her legs off of Athena's lap.

"Down here, Kaden!" Big Red shouted.

Kaden then descended down the steps. "Hope it's cool I invited Steph and Rico."

Sure enough, Steph and Rico — two of the other dancers — appeared behind him. Athena waved at them, although she was still hopefully confused.

"What's up guys?" Ricky asked.

"Uh, well you guys didn't text back, so I reached out to some peeps," Big Red explained. "I wanted some company tonight."

"Hey, I texted you back," Violetta commented. "Was my company not enough for you?"

Big Red rolled his eyes. "I didn't mean it like that, Vi. I'm just saying I wanted more people than just the two of us."

The doorbell rang again. However, this time, Big Red didn't seem to expect it.

"It's open?" he called in a questioning tone.

Ashlyn then descended down the stairs. "Hey, guys."

Ricky stood up from his chair. "Okay, how many people are coming?"

"Uh, that should be it," Big Red responded.

"Actually, give it a minute," Ashlyn told them.

Sure enough, in the span of about five minutes, the whole entire cast of High School Musical: The Musical were gathered around Big Red's basement. Athena was situated on the arm of the chair Ricky was sitting on, her legs laying across his lap as his arm was wound around her hips so she wouldn't fall off. None of them were saying anything. They were just sitting there in awkward silence. Athena shared a confused glance with Violetta from across the room. Violetta shrugged from her place next to EJ.

"This is a terrible party," Natalie announced, breaking the silence. "There aren't even pretzels. What are we all doing here?"

"We all ended up in the same basement after a really bad day, so someone should say something," Ashlyn stated.

"Fine, I'll say something," Carlos declared. "I'm mad at Miss Jenn."

"Why?" Gina asked, scoffing afterwards. "Because she's got a couple skeletons in her closet?"

"No, because she's giving up. She was the first teacher to not see me as a punchline, and now she's not even a real teacher?"

Athena frowned. "I'm sorry, Carlos."

"Define real teacher," Ashlyn retorted.

"He's got a point," Kourtney remarked.

"Does he, though?" Natalie questioned.

"Guys," Big Red interrupted.

"So, why are we all here then?"

"Yeah, good question," EJ agreed. "This is a waste of time."

They all went silent again. Athena looked down to her hands sadly.

"Honestly?" Carlos inquired softly. "Because she gave me a shot. And it's been a long time since someone gave me a shot."

"Yeah," Seb said quietly, placing a hand on Carlos' knee.

"She gave me a voice," Nini added.

Kourtney crossed her arms. "Yeah, and now nobody's gonna get to hear it because Miss Jenn screwed up."

"Okay, does anyone here actually care if her past is a little bit sketchy?" Ashlyn asked. "Anyone?"

"I do," Ricky answered, making Athena look at him.

"Seriously, dude?" Big Red questioned.

"What, because you live some perfect life?" Kourtney commented.

"He never said that, Kourtney," Athena shot back.

Ricky shook his head, tapping Athena's hip so she wouldn't yell at Kourtney. "Not at all." He then stood up, making Athena do so as well so she wouldn't fall off the arm of the chair. "Because she put our show in jeopardy. And now we're all here, maybe for the last time, together. And for some of us, this has become . . ." He paused. "I don't know . . ."

"A family," Athena finished, moving to stand next to him and taking his hand.

"What team?" Ricky inquired.

"Wildcats," everyone chorused with small smiles.

"Okay, wildcats," Ashlyn began. "So what are we doing about it?"

All of them began to rattle off ideas. However, a thought popped into Athena's head. She left Ricky's side and began to search Big Red's basement for a piece of paper.

"What are you doing, Athena?" Violetta asked, which also gained the attention of the group.

She took a deep breath and turned to look at Big Red. "Red, do you have a piece of paper and a pencil down here?"

He nodded. Big Red walked over to his desk and got the piece of paper and pencil she asked for. He handed it to her, and Athena took them with a quiet thank you.

Athena sat down on the ground and placed the materials down. "Well, we're theater kids, right? Some of us are old and some of us are new, but we all have one thing in common: music. Whether it be singing or dancing, we work together in perfect harmony." She looked up and locked eyes with Ricky, giving him a small smile. "So, let's put those talents together and make a performance to save our drama teacher."

Everyone stared at her in shock.

Carlos then slapped a hand to his forehead. "Why did I not think of that?"

"You're a genius, Athena," Ricky voiced, making her face dust a light pink.

"We should start with the song, and then Carlos and the dancers can choreograph a routine to go along with it," Nini suggested. "Do you have any ideas of what the song could be?"

"I did have one," Athena replied. "Miss Jenn kind of saved us all in a way. We were all sort of stuck in different situations, and whatever it may be, she helped us get through it with this musical. So, since she saved us, that makes her almost like a superhero. And who's a superhero that has a famous slogan?"

"The Flash," Ricky responded. Everyone turned to look at him. "What? Run, Barry, run."

Athena blinked. "I was actually talking about Superman, but okay. Anyways, I was thinking we should base the song off of his slogan: Truth, Justice, and The American Way. But instead of The American Way, we have to make it more musical related. So Truth, Justice, and . . ."

"Songs in Our Key?" EJ suggested.

Her head snapped up from beginning to write the title and she smiled widely at him. "Exactly. What do you guys say?"

Everyone immediately began to agree with Athena's plan.

"Ashlyn, Nini, I could use your help with writing," Athena told them.

Nini nodded. "Okay. Let's start."

And as the three of them walked to a secluded part of Big Red's basement to begin writing the song, Athena's eyes caught Ricky's. The two of them knew that this plan could go either way, but in the end, they wouldn't go down without a fight.

═ • ° • ✧ • ° • ═

people are getting out of their drivers license phase ????? . . . couldn't be me