Ophelia was just getting ready to go to bed when Seb and Gina texted the group chat for everyone to meet at Seb's barn so she was confused as to why they wanted everyone at a smelly barn late on a school night. She didn't bother with trying to dress nicer since she was planning on going to bed when she got home so she decided on just putting on a grey jacket over her white tank top, changed out of her pj shorts to black sweatpants and put on white tennis shoes. She didn't do much makeup, just regular foundation, and for her hair, her hair was already braided so she just pulled back her hair, putting half of it up in a ponytail leaving the other half of her hair down.

(this is her outfit) 

She stood between Fallon and Luca, holding a lantern to help light the area like some of the other teens. Fallon was half awake and had her head leaned on EJ's shoulder and Ophelia couldn't stop yawning. Ophelia didn't blame Fallon for being tired, Gina had facetimed her for some help with a dance for something she wouldn't tell her about. Luca was the only one of the trio actually wide awake, but it was clear that he was tired too by the way he would yawn every once in a while. 

Kourtney was upset and worried about her boots getting dirty while Nini did her best to reassure her they were fine. The animals in the barn were loud every once in a while, but they were in a part of the barn that the teens couldn't see. When a sheep makes a noise, Ashlyn holds onto her boyfriend's arm with a nervous expression on her face. "Why do I hear sheep but don't see sheep?"

"Oh, that's Jimmy." Seb replies. "He has social anxiety."

"Same, Jimmy." Fallon remarked, earning a few laughs from her friends.

Kourtney raises a hand. "Well, I'm team Jimmy. I don't camp, glamp or sleep without a silk pillow case." Everyone chuckled at her comment and a sheep bleated a few moments later, scaring EJ. He yelped, looking around with wide eyes and because of his movement Fallon lifted her head off his shoulder with a whine and stood up straighter.

"Dude, it's just a sheep." Fallon mumbled, crossing her arms as some of the other teens chuckled at EJ. 

"Cool." EJ sheepishly smiled, moving back to stand next to Fallon so she can lean her head on his shoulder if she wanted to. That's exactly what she did as she closed her eyes.

"Listen, I'm sure Seb and Gina have a good reason for bringing us to his barn so late, on a school night." Ricky spoke.

"If there's not a good reason I'm gonna throw hands." Fallon tiredly threatened.

Ophelia chuckles, rolling her eyes. She glances at Seb and Gina with a small smile. "Pretty sure that's more of an empty threat, so I think you're good."

Ricky chuckles lightly and glances at Nini beside him with a smile. "Not that I mind the romantic setting."

"Romantic is debatable. But I like where you're headed." Nini smiled back at him.

"Okay," Gina speaks up. "So we gathered you guys here tonight 'cause I've got this idea." She smiles at everyone. "And because we only have forty-eight hours to pull it off, it's gonna take all of us."

Seb looks at everyone with a grin and then his gaze lands on Nini. "The whole family."

Everyone smiles at Nini, causing her to smile. "Aw, you guys."

 "So, I talked to Gina and we thought we could throw a big surprise party to celebrate the guy Carlos is." Seb explained.

"And a quinceañero he always wanted and never got. It's a birthday party but seriously zhuzhed up." Gina explains. She smiles. "'Cause Carlos is one of the good guys."

"Oh, so that's why you asked Lonnie for help on a dance." Ophelia realized and Gina nodded in response.

"Well, duh. She's, like, one of the best dancers here." Gina complimented, glancing at the sleepy girl with a small smile.

"Yeah, I know." Fallon mumbled, not bothering to open her eyes, and everyone chuckled at her.

"Okay, somebody say something because maybe this is a terrible idea?" Seb questioned after a few moments of silence filled the air.

"It's a great idea, Seb." Luca commented.

"Yeah," Nini agrees with a smile. "It's an amazing idea. I'm in!"

"I'm down!" Kourtney exclaimed.

Everyone chimed in with their words of agreement and then everyone cheered.

Ricky puts his hand in the middle and smiles. "For Carlos.

"For Carlos!" Everyone repeats, putting their hands in the middle next to Ricky's. "Whoo!" They all exclaimed as they raised their arms up.

****

"And on the third count of eight, the wolves will attack the beast." Carlos explained in practice the next day just after the school bell rang.

Ricky nods with a smile and points at him. "Can't wait."

"Ricky, stand center stage and look afraid." Carlos said, gesturing for him to stand in the middle of the room. Rickys gets up off the risers and moves to stand where Carlos wanted him. "Dancers, please stand in for the wolves who are currently being potty-trained at the animal shelter."

"Have fun being a wolf, Lonnie." Ophelia teased Fallon as she got up from her place by her and Luca on the risers.

"Woof." Fallon said, pretending to claw at her and Luca and she laughed along with Ophelia and Luca.

Fallon joined the other dancers on the floor surrounding Ricky and they all pretend to be the wolves attacking the beast. 

****

Before it was time for Carlos' party, Ophelia spent some time at a coffee shop called 'Publis' with her boyfriend, Eric. They haven't been able to spend that much time together with her being the female lead of the play and him having football practice. So they treasured each time they spent together. Whether it was just walking each other to the next class, sitting together at lunch or texting or calling each other. 

Ophelia invited Eric to the party because even though he wasn't in the drama club he was still friends with everyone. Ophelia was glad that the others weren't upset or mad with her for inviting him and in fact they were all excited and happy to see him. Speaking of the party, Ophelia had decided on wearing a dress with part of the top half being white and the top half of the dress being light pink colored lace while the bottom half of it was a shiny silver color. She also wore a light pink and white jacket and for the shoes she went with light pink flats. Her makeup matched her outfit, she wore a light pink colored necklace, some silver rings on both hands, and her nails were painted white. Part of her hair was braided back on one side while the rest of it was curly. 

Her and Eric had decided on color coordinating their outfits. Eric wore a silver suit with a link pink color tie. Currently Ophelia was at the other end of the hay barrels with Eric, Luca, and Fallon, finishing putting the decorations on that side while Big Red, Kourtney, and Nini put decorations on the other side of the hay barrels.

"I'm so glad you're here, Eric." Fallon smiled at the blonde-haired boy, who was attaching the fairy lights onto the hay barrel with a stapler while Fallon held the fairy lights in place. 

"Yeah," Luca glances at the blonde-haired boy with a small smile. "It feels like it's been forever since you've hung out with us."

"That's partially my fault." Eric admits, sheepishly smiling at them. "Football has been taking up a lot of my time and plus I recently got a job at a music store in town."

The owners were family friends and so that was part of the reason why he got the job so easily. Also because he was musically talented and had a lot of knowledge about music and different instruments. The owners were also understanding enough about him having to focus on football as well that they were able to work around his schedule. Meaning he would have work on the days he didn't have football practice.

"Oh, speaking of football, dude, the last football game was sick!" Luca commented, earning a grin from Eric.

"I know, right?" Eric agrees. "Got the touchdown at the last second."

Ophelia and Fallon shared an annoyed look in a playful manner, rolling their eyes as well when the boys started talking about football which was something the two girls didn't exactly understand.

Luca smiles, hanging up a flower decoration Fallon handed him. "Oh, also, I've actually been meaning to get a new guitar so I might stop by at the music store you work at some time."

"Cool." Eric nods and finishes hanging up the rest of the fairy lights on the hay barrel. "I can give you the insight of what guitars at the store are the best to use." 

"Awesome." Luca grinned.

"Blah blah blah. Football. Blah blah blah. Music." Fallon rolls her eyes, leaning forward slightly so she was resting her weight more on the hay barrel in front of her. "Can we just get this done with?" She whines, gesturing with a nod of her head to her arm that was helping keeping the fairy lights in place so Eric could attach them to the hay barrel. "My arm is getting tired."

Ophelia laughs along with the boys. "Okay, Whiney." She teases, earning a small glare from Fallon. She hands Luca another flower decoration to up. "We'll go faster."

****

Seb arrives with Carlos a few minutes later and after Seb yells "Open the doors!" Ricky and EJ opened the big doors of the barn to show Carlos his surprise birthday party.

"Haooy birthday, Carlos!" Everyone exclaimed.

Carlos smiles widely at everyone. The smile quickly fell and a panicked look forms on his face. He touches both sides of his hat he wore. "Wait. This can't be happening."

"It is." Seb responded with a wide smile on his face.

"I'm not wearin' a party outfit." Carlos complained.

Seb smiles at him. "We got you covered." A bright smile formed on Carlos' face as he looked back at everyone, who were cheering for him. 

Everyone gathers on the hay barrels that were set up as chairs in front. Ricky and Nini got on stage with mics in hand as Big Red shined the spotlight on them. "Yes, Nini and Ricky!" Kourtney cheered for the couple and everyone else cheered along with her.

"Hey, everyone!" Nini exclaims. She smiles. "I think you kinda, you know..." She glanced at Ricky with a smile and he smiled back at her.

"It's Carlos' quinceañero!" Ricky finished her sentence, the two teens looking at Carlos with a big smile.

Carlos, who was now dressed in a party outfit, smiles and chuckles. "Oh, wow."

Ricky turns to off stage where Gina was standing, gesturing for the girl to get on stage. "Gina, get on up here!"

"Yeah, G! Whoo!" Ashlyn exclaimed, clapping along with everyone else. 

"Gina, everybody!" Ricky smiled, gesturing to Gina. 

Nini smiles. "Whoo! Gina!"

"Go, G!" Kourtney cheered.

"That's my girlfriend!" Luca shouted, pointing at Gina with a proud smile on his face, ignoring the light blush on his face when he said that. Gina locked eyes with him after hearing him say that, smiling widely at him and she looked down shyly.

"You got this, girl!" Ophelia encourages, clapping along with the others. She immediately cringed after she said that. She glances at her boyfriend, who was standing beside her and was looking at her with an amused smile. "That sounded weird, didn't it?"

"Just a little bit." Eric chuckles, leaning forward to place a kiss on the top of her head, earning a smile from her. "But it was cute."

Ricky and Gina got off stage and sat down while Gina tested her microphone. Gina smiles widely at everyone. She presses her microphone headset she wore to test it. She sighs. "Testing, testing."

After Gina said her speech she came up with and explained how they didn't have many things in common but having a dancers heart was one of them. A light applause fills the room when she was done with her speech. "Roll the tape." Gina pulled on the rope that was hanging down to have a white sheet fall. 

Ophelia looks down at the sound system in front of her and presses the button that would roll the tape. Since she was in the yearbook club and she knew some stuff about technical things EJ had asked her for some help since he knew he and Big Red couldn't do all technical things for this party by themselves. Ophelia, of course, agreed to help them since she honestly enjoyed doing stuff like that.

Eric whispered to Ophelia that he was going to sit down and she nodded and smiled at him. He went over to the hay barrels, sitting on one next to Kourtney. He shared a smile with Kourtney as he sat down beside her. A few seconds later a video clip of young Carlos played on the white sheet. 

At the end of the video, Gina stood in front of it, getting ready for the dance she planned (with Fallon's help). "Yes, G!" Kourtney shouted.

After seeing Gina was ready, Ophelia presses the button that would play the music for the song she wrote called 'A Dancer's Heart'. The white sheet is pulled away by two dancers as Gina twirled, her skirt twirling around with her. The choreography she partially came up with and the other part of it was Fallon and to top of it all off Gina had added in some move Carlos used in the video. Once Gina sang and dance to the first verse of the song, three male dancers joined her on stage for the chorus and the second verse. Fallon, another female dancer, and three male dancers joined Gina on stage as Gina took off the skirt to reveal a colorful jumper full of glittery designs and floral patterns that Kourtney had made at the chorus of the song.

EJ may or may not have stared at Fallon the whole time with an awestruck look on his face. He knew that she could dance, but he was always in awe of watching her move so gracefully and effortlessly when she danced. Ophelia noticed him staring at Fallon and smirked. She playfully elbowed him, looking at him with a teasing smile and gestured to Fallon with a nod of her head when he looked at her with furrowed eyebrows. EJ rolled his eyes and looked back at the stage, a light color of blush appearing on his face because he thought he wouldn't get caught staring at Fallon.

Carlos gets pulled up onto stage towards the end of the song and all the dancers all smile at him and pat him on the shoulder. Gina grabs a crown while the dancers did that and turned to Carlos with a smile as she sings. "A dancer's heart." 

The barn erupts into cheers and applause while Carlos and Gina hug each other. "I love you! Day one." Carlos smiled widely. Gina returned the smile and hugged him again. Gina then pushed him to the front of the stage after the hug and everyone cheered and clapped for him. 

****

Fallon now was with EJ at the area where EJ was filming everyone's part of the birthday tribute for Carlos. "Fallon, that was amazing." EJ smiles widely at Fallon. "You were awesome. Incredible. Spectacular." 

Fallon giggles and shakes her head, glancing at the floor so her hair would fall and cover the blush that's now on her face. "Oh, stop it." She glances at him with a wide smile and gestures for him to go on. "No, but actually, continue." 

EJ chuckles. "If you want me to I will 'cause that's how great you were at it."

The blush continues to darken on Fallon's face and butterflies were swarming around in her stomach. "Thank you, EJ." The two teens smiled at each other, staring at each other a little longer than they should've.

"Okay," Fallon clears her throat, deciding on changing the subject as she folds her hands in her lap. She smiles slightly at EJ. "So, should I say, like, how great of a friend Carlos is or..." Her voice trailed off as she raised her eyebrows at him.

"Uh, yeah," EJ nods in agreement, turning his attention to the video camera to press record. "Let me hit record here."

"Hold the front door," Fallon pointed at him with a wide-eyed expression and he glanced at her with an amused smile. 

"Who says that anymore?" EJ chuckled lightly.

"I do when I want someone to hold the front door." Fallon said in an obvious tone. She shakes her head, her heartbeat increasing. "EJ, y-you weren't recording already?"

"Yeah." EJ nods. He raises his eyebrows at her. "Why?"

"Well, uh," Fallon nervously bites her lower lip and brings her gaze to the floor. "Part of me just thought you were saying that for the video."

"No, I wasn't. I actually feel that way about you." EJ admitted with a shy smile on his face and a bright shade of blush coloring his face. 

Fallon looked at him with surprise and smiled softly at him. She knew her face was a bright red color, but she didn't care. Part of her was wondering if he meant that romantically and she honestly wanted to say she felt the same way, but she didn't want things to be awkward or weird between them if he didn't mean that romantically so she decided on not saying anything.

****

"Okay, who stole my boyfriend?" Carlos questioned.

As if on cue Mike, Ricky's dad, backs up a truck into the barn that had a trailer on it. On the trailer was a white baby grand piano and Seb was sitting at it. On stage was a band consisting of drums, a violin and a cello. Everyone cheered for Seb and he smiled and waved at Carlos. Carlos looked at him with surprise and smiled.

Ophelia sat on one of the seats by the hay barrels next to Eric, who smiled softly at her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Ophelia returned the smile and leaned into his side, wrapping her arm around his waist.  

Seb sighs. "Carlos," He moves the white microphone closer to him and smiles. "Hi." He said a speech about how Carlos is his hero. He then begins to play the song 'The Climb' by Miley Cyrus. He stops after playing a few chords. "Oh, and I hope it's not disappointing to the King of Fashion that I'm wearing the same suit that I wore to homecoming. My parents said that I have to wear this 'till I grow out of it. Okay, here goes."

He played the song beautifully and the band accompanying him perfectly. Everyone loved the performance. The performance was so incredible it brought tears to some eyes. Everyone cheered loudly for him when he was done. Carlos stood and walked over to Seb. Seb kneeled and the two hugged. 

"Where did you come from and why am I so lucky?" Carlos inquired.

"Wasatch County and you just are." Seb responded with a smile.

"Speech, speech, speech!" Gina shouted after the couple shared a kiss.

"Speech!" Everyone yelled and some laughter filled the air.

Seb gets the white microphone for Carlos and then he sits on the edge of the trailer. "Um, I'm not sure how I can thank you all for this." Carlos said, smiling widely at everyone. "I've never been accused of being speechless. I can't thank you all enough for just getting me. Everybody should have people who just get them."

Luca was sitting on a hay barrel on the ground while Gina sat on a hay barrel on another one behind Luca. Meaning she was higher up. And so he had to glance up at her because of that. He glances up at his girlfriend to smile at her, frowning when he saw she was crying. "G," He whispers to her, putting his hand on her knee to get her attention. She sniffles, quickly wiping the tears from her eyes. "You okay?" Gina nodded and forced a smile. Luca nodded slowly, not fully believing her, but he didn't say anything and turned his attention back to Carlos. Although he did leave his hand on her knee to which Gina intertwined their hands together. 

She knew she wouldn't cry anymore and would feel a bit better if she had some kind of support. And Luca was her support, whether he knew it or not. She had been feeling guilty for keeping him in the dark about her plan on leaving. Part of her was dreading leaving because that meant she would be leaving him. She knew that if she told him about it, it would make it even more real. She hated that Luca would most likely feel heart broken either way, but she knew that her leaving was for the best.

"We love you, Carlos!" Fallon exclaimed.

"We love you!" Everyone repeated.

Seb takes the microphone from Carlos to speak. He smiles. "I've done a little research, and if this is, in fact, your quinceañero then he must choose his madrina." He leans over to Carlos to whisper, "That means godmother."

"Honey, I'm not that bad at Spanish." Carlos remarked, taking the microphone back from Seb and Seb chuckled.

"One, two, three, not it!" Kourtney shouts, raising her hand, and everyone laughs. Kourtney shrugs. "I got enough jobs as it is already."

Carlos sighs and smiles. "I choose, as my madrina..."

****

Ophelia thought it was so sweet Carlos chose Miss Jenn as his madrina. And it seemed like Miss Jenn was honored to be his godmother. She and Eric were now taking a selfie with Carlos. "Eric, I'm so glad you came!" Carlos grins at the blonde-haired boy, pulling him into a hug. "It feels like it has been years since we've hung out."

"I'm glad I came too!" Eric said, hugging him back. After they pull away from the hug, he stands by Ophelia again, who was watching them with a soft smile on her face. She loved how Eric was friends with her friends as well. It just made things easier for them. "I missed hanging out with you guys." Eric glances at Ophelia with a soft smile, wrapping his arm around her waist to pull her closer to him. "I'm just glad this sweet girl was nice enough to invite me." 

Ophelia feels her face heat up at his comment and she smiles at him, wrapping her arm around his waist in response. "You're pretty sweet too." A light shade of blush formed on Eric's face and he smiled at her.

Carlos smiles at the couple. "Stop it. You guys are so cute."

After talking with Carlos a little bit more, Ophelia and Eric decided to go sit down. She and Eric were now sitting at a table with Nini and Ricky, conversing with them about the play when Miss Jenn suddenly walked over to them. Miss Jenn explained to them she just knew Nini had to be in the show. Even though she didn't say how Nini would be in the show, Ophelia had an idea it had to do something with a rose since Miss Jenn picked up one of the roses out of the display on the middle of the table as she said that. Still no matter how Nini is in the play, Ophelia is excited for her friend possibly joining the play. 

The party continued and eventually the friend group (besides Gina who was talking to someone on the phone) found themselves dancing with each other in a circle. Eric had gotten a phone call when they had started dancing so he excused himself and walked to a quieter part of the barn to answer the call. The call was not exactly one he liked. His mom had some news that was both good and bad. She got a new job offer that would pay more money, but if she took it meant they would have to move to London where the job is at. His mom said that she's not going to decide anything until she talks about it with the rest of the family and so she asked for him to come home. She felt bad for asking him to leave early since she knew he was at Carlos' birthday party, but she needed to have that talk with the family sooner rather than later and she didn't have that many days to decide on what to do. Even though she was offered a job, there was a deadline to when she had the opportunity to take the job. 

Eric walked back to where everyone was at, and even though he had a heavy heart, he smiled slightly upon seeing his girlfriend and friends having a great time dancing. His smile widened when he heard the beautiful laughter of his girlfriend and he searched for her, finding her dancing with Ricky. His smile faltered, watching Ricky twirl her around with a big smile on his face. 

He knew that Ophelia deserved to know the news of him possibly leaving, but he didn't want to ruin her night when it seemed like she was having a blast without him. So he left her a voicemail on her phone, telling her he needed to get home and he would see her tomorrow, and after saying goodbye to the adults, he left.

A/N this chapter was packed ! so many cute moments with all the couples !! but also some sad moments as well :( not for sure if this was a lil plot twist with eric possibly leaving but surprise !