hearteyesbowenstart of something new ☆ ricky bowen
what’s worse: accidentally auditioning for a play you didn’t want to be in, or falling in love with the lead actor in it?
warnings: fluff
♡ ♡ ♡ ♡
It’s not that you hated school musicals, but you hated High School Musical. You never understood how they could break out into song and dance, or how everyone knows the choreography, or why Troy is so indecisive, or why Gabriella keeps having to leave somewhere every movie. The whole concept of that movie was so odd to you.
Nonetheless, you had to watch those movies for your friends, constantly. You’re best friends, Nini and Kourtney, became part of the cast and crew for your high school’s own production of the show. While they begged you to come along and audition for one of the parts or to help with costumes, you always said no. You did, however, help Kourtney buy fabrics and play the piano for Nini when she practiced her songs. You didn’t have any creativity in you to try and actually design costumes, and you definitely didn’t want to sing in front of a bunch of kids you barely notice in a school day. The only other kid you knew there was EJ Caswell, Nini’s boyfriend, and Ricky Bowen, Ninis gorgeous ex-boyfriend.
You and Ricky were lab partners for chemistry class. He usually didn’t get the lecture and would always ask you for help with the class work or homework, but he was really sweet and funny. You developed a small crush for him a long time ago, but you never told anyone. Nini and Ricky began to date sophomore year, so out of respect for your best friend you got over your feelings for him and became more than happy for the two. They only dated for a month, ending on good terms after realizing they didn’t like each other in that way, but as friends only. Nini soon found EJ, you couldn’t deny developing those feelings again for Ricky. But you wouldn’t break girl code with Nini, so you shut out your crush once more.
“Come on, Y/N. Just come with us and you can see how fun it is.” Kourtney begged, using both arms to drag you across the halls and in front of the theatre door.
Nini was behind you, pushing your back tiredly. “You’re going to have so much fun! Maybe we can get you a part!”
“As what? The trash can?” You screamed, fighting back at your two friends. “I don’t want to spend my after school still at school! And Kourtney I swear if you keep digging your nails into my arm I will kick you.”
“Try me.” Kourtney warned.
You let out a loud whine and finally pull Kourtney’s strong grip on your arms out. You fixed your scrunched up sleeves on your sweater and held up your hands in defeat, hoping they would stop pushing and dragging you.
“I’ll go one time, and if I hate it then you both owe me.” You gave in.
They squealed in joy and grabbed at your arm again, rushing you both into the doors to the theatre. Nini opened the door so Kourtney can push you in. However, they didn’t realize that someone inside was already by the door. You were roughly pushed into a hard body, causing you both to fall. You landed on top of them, and heard a loud groan in pain. It took you a minute to get past your instant headache so you could look up and see who it was.
“Y/N, are you ok-oh no.” You heard Nini worry.
You placed your hands on both sides of the body you fell on and pushed yourself up, at the same time, feeling their hands at your waist. You were met with Ricky. His face was extremely close to you, so much so that your noses touched.
“I guess I can say that you fell for me, huh?” Ricky joked, pain clear in his voice.
“Sorry about that, Ricky. My friends are absolutely crazy.” You apologized.
You got up from the floor, offering a hand to Ricky. He took your offer, nearly pulling you onto the ground again with his strength. He rubbed the back of his head to where he landed.
“It’s fine, there’s no way I can be mad at you anyways.” He smiled. “Are you ok?” He moved his hand to the back of your head, rubbing in circular motions to soothe the pain.
You closed your eyes in peace, earning a chuckle from Ricky, “Yeah, I should be fine.”
“I’m really sorry, Y/N.” Kourtney yelled, running to you with Nini trailing behind her. “I’m also really sorry about that, Ricky.”
“All good, as long as Y/N’s fine then I’ll be ok.” Ricky said, looking at you with a grin. You shot him a quick smile. You looked back at your friends who gave you a confused, yet cheeky glance. You eyed them to stop making them act weird about you two.
“We’re going to go, I have to help Kourtney dress up Nini as Gabriella. See you around, sorry about falling on you again.” You rushed, dragging your best friends away from the now baffled Ricky.
You brought them to the costume rack that held all of the clothes you remember seeing Kourtney designing. The theatre was almost full, but everyone’s attention was mainly set on Carlos teaching them about the first dance number. You tried your best to hide yourself from Ricky, who you were afraid you would be foolish in front of again. Your two friends glanced at each other in confusion as to why you were being so nervous. They noticed you fiddling with your phone, almost dropping it as you grabbed it from your back pocket.
“What’s wrong, Y/N?” Kourtney asked, giggling at your panicking.
“I totally embarrassed myself in front of Ricky!” You whined.
Nini smirked at you, “So you do like Ricky.”
Your eyes widened in fear, and you were at a loss for words. You couldn’t just tell your best friend that you may or may not like her ex, especially after you told yourself you wouldn’t like him again.
“No, you’re crazy.” You denied, massaging your head from the pain earlier.
“Y/N, tell me the truth. Do you like Ricky? Because I won’t get mad if you do.” She replied, holding onto your shoulders.
You let out a sigh in defeat, rubbing your temples, “I didn’t want to, I fought with myself to try and get rid of that thought of him for you. I’m the worst friend ever.”
“Hey, don’t ever think that. Look, I have EJ now, and we’re really happy together. And Ricky and I are friends. So if you like Ricky, then I’ll be happy for you. Besides, I always did think of you two together at one point when we were in middle school.” Nini smiled, bringing you into a tight hug.
“But isn’t that weird to date your best friend’s ex boyfriend? Like that’s just wrong.” You argued.
“Ricky and I were just confused sophomores trying to figure out if we really did like each other or if listening to those stupid fortune tellers was a good idea. You could barely call that a relationship. I want you to be happy, Y/N. And if it’s with Ricky then let it be with Ricky.”
“Thank you, but I’m not going to try and ask out Ricky.” You said, looking down at your phone.
“Why not? You know how those boys are, if you don’t do anything then nothing will happen.” Kourtney argued.
“Then I guess nothing will happen, it’s just a crush. I’ll get over it in like a week.” You lied, stuffing your hands in the back pockets of your jeans.
You heard the squeak of the theatre door opening, revealing the drama teacher, Miss Jenn. You had never formally met her, but you always heard great things about her from Kourtney and Nini. Apparently she was an extra from the original movie, but you wouldn’t know.
She strutted into the room confidently, holding a large stack of papers stapled together that you assumed was the script for the musical. She walked up to Ricky and began talking to him, so you turned away. You didn’t want to seem like you were staring, although her voice was loud enough for you to hear across the school.
“Is Ashlyn here? Ricky needs help learning ‘Start of Something New.’” Miss Jenn asked loudly, causing everyone to avert their attention to the two. You saw Ricky’s uncomfortable face, making you giggle to yourself.
“Ashlyn has a dentist appointment today, she won’t make it.” EJ answered.
“What about Seb?”
“He’s learning choreography with Carlos.” Gina replied.
“Does anyone else know how to play the piano?” Miss Jenn helplessly looked around for anyone who knew.
You now regretted coming with your friends to their rehearsal, because you knew exactly what was coming up next.
Nini and Kourtney jumped up, raising their hands and screaming for Miss Jenn’s attention. They furiously pointed at you, and you hid your face in your hands so no one would see you.
“Y/N knows how to play the piano! She’s so amazing at it!” Nini exclaimed, pushing you towards the teacher.
“Is this true?” She pondered, removing your hands from your face.
“I’m not that good.” You answered, shaking your head. You couldn’t help but look at Ricky who gave you a small grin.
“She’s lying. She learned how to play Mozart’s pieces when she was in the second grade!” Nini and Kourtney held your shoulders as they continued to talk about you. “And she has a beautiful voice.”
Miss Jenn raised her eyebrows at their claims of you, and she pointed to Ricky as if she were asking you to help him.
You tried to defend yourself, “I can play a little, but I don’t sing.”
“Liar.” Kourtney blurted out.
You let out a large exhale, closing your eyes and rolling your head back to the ceiling. Why did you have to have such supportive friends? You looked back down and opened your eyes, nodding to Miss Jenn and walking with Ricky to the piano. As you both walked together, you could hear the screeching from your best friends.
“Apologies for having to work with me, you didn’t seem to excited.” Ricky said nervously.
He pulled the piano bench back for the two of you, ushering you to sit down first. You sat down and waved your hands, “No, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just not that confident about playing in front of a lot of people. Theatre isn’t really my thing.”
“I didn’t think it was mine too, but you might be surprised once you get involved in it.” He chimed.
You looked down at your hands and smiled, feeling heat rise to your cheeks. You cracked your knuckles and your neck aimlessly, something you tend to do before playing. Ricky laughed at your actions, attempting to do the same.
“Have you warmed up?” You questioned, quickly playing different scales to get you ready to read the music he placed in front of you.
“Yeah, I’m all set. Do you know this song?” He asked, turning the page to show the music, which so happened to be the only song you liked from the movie. You quickly skimmed over the notes, playing along small parts.
“This is the only thing I like from that movie.” You confessed, quickly learning the music.
“You didn’t like the movie?”
“Nope, now focus, you need to learn this song for your play.” You laughed, nudging his shoulders.
Ricky chuckled, and watched as your fingers glides across the keys seamlessly. He was amazed at how beautifully you played the piano, learning and playing the song at the same time. You took a small glimpse at Ricky, smiling and gesturing your head to the music sheets.
“Living in my own world, didn’t understand
that anything can happen, when you take a chance.”
He sang, looking at you for approval. You nodded at him and eyed him to keep singing.
“Can you sing Gabriella’s part? Nini’s busy right now and they sound really proud of your voice, although you don’t seem to be.” He smiled politely.
“I can’t sing.” You denied.
“That’s a lie, because I remember I accidentally walked in on you freshman year playing and singing to Adele. You were right here, alone, and singing your heart out.” Josh countered.
Your eyebrows furrowed as you slightly tilted your head, “Stalker, much?” You giggled.
Ricky’s face instantly grew red as he realized what he confessed to. His hand went to scratch the back of his neck. “Yeah, that does sound pretty stalker-ish, my bad. But I know you can sing, plus you owe me one for falling on me. So start at the chorus.”
You laughed, gazing at the music before reaching for the keys and building up the song from the verse to the chorus. You cleared your throat, getting your voice ready to sing with Ricky.
This could be the start of something new
It feels so right to be here with you, oh.
And now, lookin' in your eyes
I feel in my heart the start of something new.”
You let the notes from the piano ring out, allowing you to take in your small duet. You stared down at your hands, biting your lip to hold back the smile forming. You gazed up at Ricky, who already stared down at you. He had an adoring smile, breathing out softly.
“Beautiful.” He whispered.
You felt yourself blush, so you moved your head a little to the side to hide the flushed color forming in your cheeks. Ricky’s hand softly pushed your cheek to look back at him. He scooted next to you even more so that no space was left between you two. He hesitantly leaned in, you instinctively doing the same. Both your eyes closed as your faces grew more near.
“You could play Kelsi!” Miss Jenn’s voice erupted in your ears from the other side of the stage.
You and Ricky jumped at her scream, bumping your foreheads together. You both let out a soft laugh from the moment. He mumbled ‘sorry’ to you as he rubbed your arm soothingly. Then the clicking of Miss Jenn’s heels rushing towards you burned your ears.
You turned around in your seat so you could face her. The moment she was up to you, she grabbed your shoulders, bringing you up from the bench and shook you.
“You would play a perfect Kelsi! You have such an amazing voice, and no one auditioned for her.” Miss Jenn screamed excitedly. Nini and Kourtney popped their heads up from behind the costume rack giving you a thumbs up. “Please say you will take her part. We would love to have a talent like you in our production.”
“I’m not sure if I can do that. I’ve never even talked in front of my class.” You acknowledged, pulling Miss Jenn’s hands from your shoulders as politely as you could.
Ricky stood up from the bench and next to you, placing his arm on your lower back. “You know, I’ve never thought about being in a play either, and now I’m playing Troy. You should give it a shot.”
You smiled up at Ricky, almost saying yes on the spot as you knew you got to be with him more.
“Just think about it, alright sweetheart?” Miss Jenn asked sweetly. You nodded your head and she walked back to Carlos.
Nini and Kourtney called your name repeatedly, waving you to come over to them. You looked back at Ricky, who noticed them as well. He pulled your arm so you could stand closer to him.
“Before you go, I wanted to ask if you were free tomorrow. I want to hang out more together.” He spoke lowly, hoping no one around you would listen.
“That would be nice.” You respond, sending a smile before walking back to your friends.
Once you reached the front of the costume rack, they both popped out from between the costumes, climbing through the rack and in front of you. They jumped up excitedly as they heard the offer from their teacher.
“Are you going to say yes?” Nini held your hands, giving you a hopeful smile.
“You know I can barely sing in front of you guys. Now I’ll have to sing and play the piano in front of the whole school and more?” You complained.
Kourtney eyed you, “Do you really want to spend the rest of your high school years doing nothing? Have you ever even joined a club?”
“I joined marching band freshman year, that was fun.” You replied, scrunching your nose up at the memory.
“You played the clarinet for half a year because some flute player threatened to fight you after she thought you hooked up with her boyfriend. Have you done anything else that hasn’t almost gotten you killed?” Kourtney sassed.
You gave a large sigh, scratching the back of your head. If you were to join the play, you could be with your best friends even longer than usual, but you would have to sing in front of a bunch of people. But your friends were still right, you should put yourself out there and do something, besides almost getting into fights with jealous flute players.
“I’ll do it, but don’t expect this to be a regular thing.” You warned.
Kourtney and Nini screamed in excitement, pulling you into a group hug. They started to jump up and down, gaining looks from the other theatre kids. Nini was the first to pull away, bringing you in front of her.
“Now let’s talk about that moment you and Ricky had right now!” She squealed.
You pinched your nose in embarrassment, “I thought no one saw that.”
“Girl, everyone couldn’t help but watch you two.” Kourtney giggled.
“Can we save this conversation for later? I want to go home now and finish my work so I can sleep in earlier.”
“We’ll make it quick!” Nini exclaimed.
“Did he tell you anything?” Kourtney wondered enthusiastically.
“He told me he wanted to hang out tomorrow.” Kourtney and Nini awed at his invitation.
“I’m so happy for you, Y/N. Now go home and do your homework, we’ll facetime you later.” Nini brought you into a warm hug. You smiled at her and went to hug Kourtney too before you grabbed your backpack and left the auditorium.
➢➣ ➢➣
You closed your laptop after finishing your essay for english. You lazily cleaned up your desk of all your school supplies. You had just finished calling Kourtney and Nini again after explaining the details of what happened with Ricky. The night was still young, enough for you to put in a little practice time. Might as well get ready for the play.
You yawned, stretching your arms and back once you stood up from your chair that you had been sitting at for more than two hours. You moved to the other corner of your room where your keyboard was. It was placed right next to your balcony door, which was purposely there so you could play while looking out at the nature below you, or the tree that covered your view. You closed the curtains, though, you didn’t want anyone to watch you in your room late at night.
You sat back down, cracking your back again of the discomfort from earlier. The sheet music Miss Jenn has given you before you left was already on the stand: “What I’ve Been Looking For.”
“This song is weird.” You mumbled to yourself.
You spent the next 15 minutes playing along to the music. It didn’t take long for you to master it. Curiosity overtook you; what would it be like if you sang it?
“It’s hard to believe
that I couldn’t see,
you were always there beside me-”
The sound of a tiny pebble hitting your balcony window startled you. You stopped playing, listening closer for a few seconds to see if you were crazy. You shook it off, playing the notes again. You were disrupted again by another rock. Now you were sure someone was there.
You stood up and hastily walked to the glass door. You unveiled the curtain, but you didn’t see anyone through the glass. You unlocked the door and slid it open. No one was on the streets or the sidewalks.
“Y/N!” Someone from directly below the balcony whispered loudly.
You look over and see none other than Ricky Bowen. You sighed in relief, happy that it wasn’t a robber. His guitar was strapped behind him and he had the biggest smile on his face.
“Are you crazy? What are you doing here so late?” You whispered, smiling at how insane he was.
“I couldn’t wait until tomorrow to see you. Can I come up?” He asked.
“How? I can’t let you in through the front door, my parents will see you.”
“I can climb trees too, you know.” He laughed.
You smiled while nodding. He instantly started to climb the tree that stood tall enough to reach you. It didn’t take him long until he stood in front of you. You felt instant déjà vu when you remember how similar this moment was to the original High School Musical.
“I couldn’t think of something original to do without disrupting your parents, so I saw you had a tree and decided to be totally cliche instead.” Ricky laughed.
“You missed me that much, huh?” You teased.
He stepped directly in front of you, “You have no idea.”
You giggled, leaning up to his face. He smiled widely at you, staring between your eyes and your lips. You inched closer to his lips, Ricky doing the same. Why not tease him a bit first? You moved your head to the side of his and kissed his cheek.
Ricky rolled his eyes playfully, then gasped. You raised an eyebrow, wondering what sparked in his brain. His hand reached inside his denim jacket and pulled out a singular red rose. Your heart melted at the gesture. You took the flower and held it to your chest.
You grabbed Ricky’s hand and led him to the inside of your room. He looked around interestingly at the inside.
“What?” You laughed.
“Your room is nice. I hope I can be on here more often.” He sent you a wink.
He witnessed the music on your piano, making him smile. It didn’t take long until he also noticed the guitar hidden behind one of your dressers. He took off his own guitar that was still strapped behind him and set it down next to your bed.
“I didn’t know you played.” Ricky pointed to your hidden instrument and picked it up.
You smiled as he saw it, “Not as much as you do, I barely know how to play it anymore.” You took it way from his hands and set it next by your nightstand.
You sat down in the center of your bed cross-legged. You patted the empty space in front of you for Ricky to sit. He gladly sat down next to you.
“I came here for a reason, and it’s because I wanted to sing you something.” He picked up his guitar again and put it on his lap. “I’ll try and sing quietly.”
You clapped your hands excitedly. Ricky blushed as you watched him fumble with his fingers, feeling more nervous to play in front of you.
“When we’re underneath the lights
my heart’s no longer broken.
For a moment,
just for a moment.
When we’re singin’ side by side
there’s so much left unspoken.
For a moment,
just for a moment.”
Ricky strummed the remainder of the song, smiling to himself. You couldn’t help but tear up at the music. He looked up as he finished playing to see your flushed face. He quickly took off the guitar and placed it beside you on your bed.
“That was beautiful, Ricky.” You gushed.
Ricky moved in front of you, holding onto your hand. “Nothing is as beautiful as you.”
Ricky placed his lips at yours, finally kissing you after hours of anticipation. He left his other hand at your neck, and you held the same hand. You kissed back hungrily, and Ricky took note of this.
He pushed you back against your headboard, his legs in between yours. You tangled your hands in his hair. Ricky placed his hands on either side of your body. You couldn’t have been more happier than you were now. Everything felt so right.
“Y/N? Are you ok? Are you talking to someone?” Your mother’s voice from downstairs interrupted you and Ricky.
You pushed Ricky off of your body and smoothed out your bed. He quietly got up and tried to grab his guitar, making his way to the balcony.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just watching some tv.” You yelled, motioning Ricky out the door.
You secretly opened the window, letting Ricky step out. You both silently laughed. He was about to climb back down until you grabbed his arm to pull him back to you.
You pulled from his neck down to you, reconnecting your lips. It was quick, but still gentle. He pulled away, a dazed look in his eyes. You smiled at his reaction.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, beautiful.” Ricky whispered, pecking your lips once more.
“See you tomorrow.” You waved at him before he sneakily climbed back down the tree.
You locked the door again and closed the curtain before your mother opened the door. She inspected the room, anticipating a person on your bed or hiding in your closet. She only grinned once she saw your guitar out from hiding.
“Since when did you start playing guitar again?” She wondered.
“I just really, really like the guitar a lot more now.”
A/N - this one is a more fluffy story , i really like it though lol hope u guys like it !! love y’all xx
wanderlostkidi will sell my soul for a part 2 of this 🥺
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