We'd been so busy with the musical; Carlos and I had barely seen each other unless it was in rehearsals or passing each other in the hall; we were long overdue a good ole best friend night.

I laid on my bed, on my stomach, scrolling through movies on my laptop, while Carlos sits criss-cross on the floor, typing away on his phone.

"So," Carlos sang, standing up from his spot on the floor, I look up to see him opening my closet, "What are you wearing for homecoming?"

"I'm not going," I remind him, shutting my laptop; I didn't do school dances; Carlos knew this, "So sweats?"

Carlos sighed dramatically, "Eloise," She whined, pouting at me, "you have to come." I quirked an eyebrow at him, and he continued, "all the drama club is, and I want my best friend there." He pointed out, turning back around to go through my wardrobe; he wasn't going to find anything in there.

I sighed, "I'll think about it."

Satisfied with my answer, Carlos nodded, continuing his search through my closet, "Some of this stuff is cute." He finally said, holding up pieces of clothes I'd never worn, "why don't you wear this?"

"Mom bought me those," I shrugged, standing up from my bed; before I started High School, mom took me to the mall and bought me an entirely new wardrobe. I wanted to tell her I didn't need it and that the money should go towards her hospital bills, but she insisted we have a girl's day.

She was so happy that day, so full of energy; it almost felt like she wasn't sick. Keyword, almost; after that day, mom declined rapidly, and she never made it to see me on my first day of high school.

"I'm sorry," Carlos frowned, folding up the denim skirt he was holding, "I shouldn't have -"

"Carlos," I place my hand on his shoulder, "you're fine; I think mom would want you to be pushing me to wear this stuff."

"You're right," Carlos nodded, laughing at the thought, "maybe if you come to homecoming, we can go shopping?" Carlos nudged me; I appreciated his offer, nodding at him.

"Sure, if I-"my phone ringing cut off my response; Carlos peered over my shoulder to see who it was, a number I've never seen before flashed across my screen, "Hello?" I answered, putting the phone on speaker.

"Eloise?" Big Red's voice greeted me; he sounded relieved that I'd picked up.

"Hey," I greeted, both Carlos and I shared a look; why was Big Red calling me? "did you need something?"

"Are you busy?" He asked; before I can reply, he adds, "if not, how fast can you get here?"

"I'm with Carlos right now," I respond, "so, I don't-"

"She's free," Carlos yelled, cutting me off; I furrow my brows at him, shooting him a questioning glance.

"I guess I'm free."

"Cool," Big Red sighs, "Ricky's kind of freaking out; I'll text you my address."

"What was that about? Aren't we having a movie night?" I ask Carlos once I'm off the phone.

He shrugs, grabbing his backpack, "We can have a movie night any night," Carlos reminded me, "and besides, Ricky needs you."

Carlos subtly winks as he walks past me, nudging me teasingly, "What was that?"

Carlos shrugged, slipping his shoes on, "What was what?"

"That look?" I ask, sliding my converse on, "why are you smirking like that?"

"El, seriously?" Carlos asked, shocked I didn't get it, "you like him."

I laugh, shaking my head, "Ricky?" Carlos nodded, "Carlos, I'm helping him win back his ex," I remind him, "and I like EJ."

"Feelings change," Carlos reminded me, opening my front door; I followed him out, "I'm just saying, you'd be cute together." He turned to walk back to his place, "think about it." He yelled before walking in the other direction.

I thought about it as I walked to Big Red, quickly pushing it away once I realized how ridiculous it sounded. The only reason Ricky and I even became friends was so I could help him win back Nini. Did I think he was cute? Sure, I'd be lying if I said otherwise, but I couldn't get EJ's blue eyes and perfect smile out of my head; I didn't feel that way about Ricky.

I rang Big Reds' doorbell a few minutes later, and a woman who I assume is his mom answered the door, "Hi," I smile at her, "I'm Eloise, I'm a friend of Big Reds."

The women looked shocked, "Our Big Red?"

I nodded, "yeah, he invited me over, is that okay?"

"Oh, of course," She nodded, ushering me into the house, "Him and Ricky are downstairs, if you anything, just holler."

as I walked down the steps, I could hear his mom whispering to someone, "she's pretty; who knew our Big Red was friends with such pretty girls." I smiled at her compliment, pushing open the door to the basement.

"Eloise?" Big Red called out as soon as he heard the door shut; I walked down the steps to see Big Red laying on his bed and Ricky balancing his skateboard on something, swaying back and forth.

"Hey," I nodded, awkwardly walking towards the two of them, "Big Red said you were freaking out? Did Nini hear the message?"

Ricky immediately begins rambling about Nini, "and then she said, "not so hot." You don't think she was talking about my message, do you?"

"Definitely not,"

"Probably," Big Red said at the exact same time as me.

Ricky sighed in frustration, tugging his curls, "This is not good."

"I know," Big Red responded as if he'd heard this story a dozen times already, throwing a ball up in the air.

"No, this is really not good," Ricky said, stepping off his skateboard, moving to sit on the edge of the nearby chair.

"Yeah, but it's not news either," Big Red pointed out, "I mean, you broke her heart, you crashed her play, you bugged her for a little bit, and then left her an extra sad voicemail." I hated to admit it, but Big Red is kind of right; Nini had every right to be upset with Ricky, even if he was trying to make things better now.

"Do you think maybe it's time to move on?" Ricky looked over at me now, his hazel eyes connecting with mine.

"I mean I wouldn't," Big Red answered before I could reply, "but you have that other thing," he moved his gaze from the ceiling and onto Ricky and me, "pride."

"Okay," Ricky let out a breath, "tell me what to do."

"Just be yourself," I finally spoke, placing a reassuring hand on Ricky's shoulder.

"I agree," Big Red sat up, scooting to the end of the bed, "be the bigger man."

Ricky glanced between the two of us, "okay, which one?"

"Why not both?" I asked; Ricky furrowed his brows at me, "Ricky, you're a great guy; when Nini liked you, it was because you were being yourself," I remind him, "but you're also the lead in the play; you need to stop doubting yourself if there's one thing all girls love its confidence."

"I agree," Big Red nodded, throwing the ball in his hands at Ricky.

Ricky stared at his friend blankly for a minute before turning back to me, "you're right, thanks, Eloise."

"This was like the scene in the movie, where troy goes, "you're my guys, and this is our spam." Big Red exclaimed, causing us both to look at him.

"When does he say that?" Ricky asked.

Big Red thought for a moment, "huh, I just realized my allergist keeps the sound off in the waiting room, and I can't read lips."

Ricky shook his head, shooting the ball Big Red threw at him into a nearby basketball hoop, "I should probably get going; dad wants to eat dinner together tonight."

"I should get going too," I say; if I hurried, I could still make movie night with Carlos; Big Red waved goodbye as Ricky, and I climbed the stairs. I shoot Big Red's mom a smile, waving to her before exiting the house, Ricky right behind me.

"So, I've been working on my part of our deal," Ricky informed me after a minute of walking alongside each other. I looked over at him, nodding for him to continue, "Miss Jenn asked EJ and I to come in early for rehearsal on Thursday, and initially, it was just going to be her and us, but I persuaded her to let you run our rehearsal instead.

"So, now all I have to do is build up the courage to talk to EJ?" I asked, letting out a nervous laugh.

"You've got this," Ricky encouraged me, nudging my arm, "just be yourself; how could he not love you?"
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^^ Eloises outfit
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This chapter is a bit of a filler, but I hope you all enjoyed it anyway🤍🤍