Ricky and I walked up to Ashlyn's door; the entire walk over here, as we talked, our hands brushed one another, an action that was so small but somehow made my heart flutter with anticipation.

As we walked into Ashlyn's, I could hear the sound of drama students deeper in the house, all except for Nini, who sat on the steps nearby, "Hey Eloise," She greeted me, standing up, "and Ricky..." She sang, her eyes glancing between the two of us in a questioning manner, "Happy Thanksgiving!" She finally said, replacing her confused expression with a smile.

"Hey," I nodded at her, "you too, so have we missed-"before I could finish my question, EJ rushed over frantically.

"Eloise, hey," He greeted me, sighing in relief as if he'd been waiting for me to show up, "can we talk?"

The two of us have barely spoken since the night of the dance, "sure," I finally say, following him deeper into the house; once we're in the kitchen and alone, EJ continues.

"I am turning over a new leaf," He explains; I furrowed my brows together, nodding for him to continue, "So, I just wanted to apologize for that night at the dance and explain myself."

What was there to explain? He asked me out not because he liked me, but because he wanted to make someone jealous, and it's taken this long for him to apologize; I nod anyway, "After Nini broke up with me, Gina told me she had a way for the both of us to get what we want. She said if I brought you to the dance, it would make Nini jealous and maybe put a wedge between you and Ricky, causing him to quit the show."

A wedge between me and Ricky? I had known about the whole Nini thing, but did he really think me going out with him would make Ricky quit? "And you're telling me this because..." I ask, quirking my head to the side; so far, he hadn't actually apologized.

"I'm telling you this because I was a jerk and oblivious to how what I was doing might've hurt you." He responds, I scan his face for any indication that he's lying, but his expression remains serious and genuine, "Eloise, I'm really, really sorry."

"I forgive you," I say, shrugging my shoulders nonchalantly; I'd gotten over the whole dance drama weeks ago, of course, it still stung that no one had thought to apologize, but I no longer thought about it.

EJ let out a breath, "so we're good?" He asks hopefully, "friends?"

Friends, something I'd never thought the two of us would be; something I used to hope would lead to more, but now, I was happy with that, "Friends."

"Apparently Carlos brought some board game, wanna go join everyone else," EJ asked; Carlos and a board game, I've known him long enough to realize he detests most boardgames, all except one.

I followed behind EJ into the living room, laughing once I saw the game placed on the table, "Oh my gosh," I moved closer to the board, "I haven't seen this in ages."

I had helped Carlos put the board together; we had never actually played it, though; Carlos had designed the game for more than two players, and neither of us had had any other friends at the time.

"You remember the rules?" Carlos asked, smiling up at me excitedly; I nod, "You're with me then; we know all the answers," I giggled, sliding down beside Carlos.

Carlos gave everyone a rundown on the game, and then we began; Ricky's team, the West High Knights, went first, singing a butchered version of What I've Been Looking For to the tune of Getcha Head in the Game. Each team took turns facing off in various challenges (including Ricky and EJ competing against one another doing Sharpay's warm-up; both seemed tense and awkward at first, but towards the end, everyone, including them, were in fits of giggles)

Halfway through the game, I got up to grab a drink; Gina, who was on Ricky's team, trailed behind, "Oh, hey," I awkwardly greeted her, "I was just getting...."

"I just came in for a little,"

"Root beer," We both said at the same time; I nodded, awkwardly passing her a can.

"Thank you," she smiled; I didn't have anything against Gina; she was new, and from what I've heard, she moves around a lot; it must be hard.

I gestured to the living room, "Well, we should probably-"

"I'm really sorry about the whole making EJ ask you out thing," Gina cut me off; huh, seems like everyone is apologizing tonight, must be the thanksgiving spirit, "I just wanted to be Gabriella so badly, I went blind to how I might've been hurting others in the process; anyway, I just hope we can be friends if not, it's cool-"

Now it was my turn to cut her off, "Gina, it's okay," I reassure her; Gina, who usually came off as confident and cool, seemed almost anxious; it was weird, "I'd like that." I began walking away before turning around one last time for getting the message Ashlyn had asked Nini and I to pass on to the other girls, "Do you wanna stay the night? Ashlyn's having all the girls stay over for a sleepover."

Gina nodded, "Uh, yeah," She chuckled, biting her lip to repress a grin, "I'd like that." The two of us shared a smile, our conversation getting cut off by our names being called.

Everyone had squeezed onto the small couch for a group photo, "Eloise, Gina, come on," Carlos waved; I linked my arm through Gina's, walking over to the group. I almost stop beside Ricky until I notice Nini's lying across everyone on the couch, with her legs on top of Ricky. Instead, Gina and I find a spot behind everyone, next to Sebastian.

Tonight felt like a dream, having my best friend and all my new friends all together, playing a game Carlos and I had spent an entire summer creating; for the first time in a long time, I didn't feel alone; everything was perfect.

"Okay, you guys," Carlos called out as the game came to an end, "according to the musical, choosical handbook of rulesicals; the only way to resolve a tie at the end of regulation play is with a lightning round of getcha head in the frame trivia questions. Are you ready? Because people have been known to cry during this."

"I thought you never actually played this?" Seb questioned, glancing between Carlos and I.

"Honey, not today of all days," Carlos groaned dramatically, "Okay, here we go." Carlos went back and forth between our teams, all of us getting the answers correct; that is until EJ admits he cheated (turns out he vowed to be honest from now on, hence the apology and explanation earlier.)

"Well, the West High Knights have a chance to steal," I turned to face the other team, "What is the name of the girl, who pops and locks?"

Gina was quick to shoot up from her seat, dancing as she answered the question, "I love to pop and lock and jam and break," She sings, "Martha Cox!"

Carlos throws red confetti in the air, declaring their team the winner; everyone in the room cheers, even the losing team, "You, my dear get this homemade scholastic decathlon ribbon," Carlos declared, pulling the ribbon out of his pocket.

"Careful," I remind him as he pins it onto Gina, "it's just a straight pin, and it's never been sanitized," Gina didn't care though, she held up her phone, motioning for whoever is closest to get in the selfie.

"Okay, hold on, I have to share this honor with my loved ones," Gina began typing on her phone before holding it up to her ear, "Mom, mom, mom okay, two things. One, I was just crowned the queen of crazy town, and two, can I spend the night at Ashlyn's house?" She asked politely; Carlos interjected, causing Gina to sassily shush him, "Uh, mom, sorry I can't hear you, okay." Gina takes the phone off her ear, placing it on speaker instead, "okay, you're on speaker, say happy thanksgiving to my mom, everyone."

"Happy thanksgiving," We all called out in unison.

"Oh, same to you. Gina, honey, can you take me off speaker?" Gina's mom spoke softly; Carlos and I shared a glance as Gina left the room, both of us cringing for the poor girl.

"They can't do this to us again; we just moved here," Gina yelled after a minute or so, causing all of us to glance around at one another with concern, none of us quite sure what to do at this moment.

At the same time, Nini and I both stand up, rushing to the front door to make sure Gina is okay, "Hey Gina," Nini stops her, "I'm so-"

"are you-"Nini and I both begin asking questions at the same time, ultimately getting cut off by the door shutting.

Nini and I both sigh sadly, turning around to find Ricky shrugging on his coat, "Hey," the other girl spoke, "are you okay?"

I already knew he wasn't; it was as if the mention of Gina's drama with her mom had snapped Ricky back into reality, "are you leaving? Do you wanna walk-"

"No," Ricky cut me off; I flinched at how harsh he sounded, "I just need some space; I don't need any more advice from my "friend." He shut the door before I could reply; leaving Nini and I at the front door alone.

"I should get going," I mumble, slipping my shoes on; Nini watched me with a concerned expression, "Happy Thanksgiving Nini, tell everyone I said bye." I spoke quietly, exiting the house.

I make it home a couple of minutes later, letting out a sigh when I see that dad is still at work; I don't feel like answering questions about how tonight was; dad would be able to see right through my lies anyway. Instead, I flop into bed, Laurie at my side, replaying everything that happened with Ricky in my head; how did we go from holding hands in his kitchen to him slamming a door in my face and telling me to leave him alone? I just hoped tomorrow would be better.

This chapter is long overdue and kind of all over the place, but I hope you enjoy anyway!