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𝗡𝗢𝗪 𝗢𝗥 𝗡𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥

chapter one:
summer time is finally here !

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REMEMBER HOW IN High School Musical 2, everyone in Miss Darbus' drama class was staring at the clock, waiting for it to count down while chanting summer so they could all throw their papers in the air and finally be let out for break?

Yeah, that's basically how Athena Blake felt right now.

There she sat in her last class of her junior year — history — sporting a dark jean skirt, a white t-shirt with a small pink embroidered butterfly on it, her white Converse high-tops with her pink laces, and, of course, the necklace that she always wore with the owl, the letter R, and the planet Saturn charms.

She had gotten a haircut after Beauty and the Beast ended — quite a large one, might she add. Her hair was now cut just above her shoulders and she was hoping that in one of the upcoming days she could dye some of it pink.

If it wasn't obvious, Athena was going through a bit of a pink phase.

She sat there bored, her chin in the palm of her hand as she absentmindedly doodled in her notebook. The teacher was playing some movie that had something to do with American history, but Athena wasn't really bothering to play attention. Nobody was. The teacher was on her phone and whispered conversations were heard all throughout the classroom. It was the last day of school, after all.

Athena suddenly felt something hit her shoulder. She looked down to the side only to see it was a small crumpled up piece of paper. Athena turned her head around to see who the culprit was, only to be met with the smirking gaze of her boyfriend, Ricky Bowen, in the back of the classroom (the two were originally sitting next to each other, but the teacher noticed Ricky kept bothering Athena during class, so she moved him.) She smiled at him before turning back around towards her notebook.

She had been going out with Ricky since she was sixteen, or in other words, a couple of months ago (November seventh, to be exact, when he had asked her to be his girlfriend after Miss Jenn's board meeting.) Meanwhile, Ricky was seventeen. They were both born in the summer, just in different years. However, Lynne and Mike Bowen had kept Ricky back a year so he could learn to pronounce his words better, so that's why they were still in the same grade.

Anyways, she's getting off track. Back to what she was talking about.

As she was saying, she had been dating Ricky since she was sixteen. He liked skateboarding (his number one mode of transportation), and playing the guitar (he's really good at it!), his friends — especially Big Red (the bromance is real), big romantic confessions (Athena had been on the receiving end of those), talking on the phone (they talked every night), Vans (literally the only shoes he wore, besides from the occasional Converse), acting in musicals (she knew he loved it), writing songs (one of his favorite past times), and movie nights (their tradition.) He also liked Athena (sounds a little conceited, but he literally said he loved her every single day.) His hair is dark brown and his eyes are brown, and he's eight inches taller than Athena, if people care about that sort of thing. Athena thinks he's pretty hot, but that might just be her opinion.

As she was in the middle of drawing another flower, something else hit her shoulder. Of course it was another crumpled up piece of paper. Athena shook her head before turning and looking at Ricky. He gestured to the floor where the pieces of paper were.

Her eyebrows knit in thought, Athena reached down and picked up the two crumpled up pieces of paper. She took the one that Ricky had thrown first and opened it. In Ricky's messy handwriting in blue pen, it read:

you look pretty today
p.s. I love you

Athena smiled to herself and felt her cheeks heat up. Despite dating for months, she still managed to melt every time Ricky told her that he loved her. Athena then opened the other piece of paper.

this is so boring, we should both pretend to go to the bathroom and actually meet in the stairway

Her blush only deepened. Athena rolled her eyes and turned around, giving Ricky a look. He merely smirked wider and shrugged, as if to say, why not? Athena shook her head once more before turning back to her desk. She picked up her pencil and wrote on the same paper:

no. nice try, but we're not going to the stairway to kiss. there's only five minutes left in class, anyways

Athena then crumpled up the paper again. She quickly checked to make sure the teacher wasn't looking before throwing it back to him. Athena watched as Ricky read it and wrote down another message. He crumpled up the paper again before throwing it back to her, and she caught it. Athena turned and face forwards as she opened it.

but I miss you ☹
also who said anything about kissing? sounds like you just want to kiss me

Athena rolled her eyes and wrote another message.

shut up, you're a dork
p.s. I love you too

She crumpled up the piece of paper and threw it back at him. Athena focused back on her drawing of a flower in her notebook for a moment when she felt the paper hit her shoulder again. She picked it up off the floor and opened it.

to the moon and to saturn, my love ♡

"Okay, everyone," the teacher announced, and Athena glanced up from the note to see the movie had paused. "There's about a minute left until the bell, so I just wanted to say have a great summer. Stay safe and have a lot of fun. See you next year. Just, please, stay in your seats until the bell rings."

Excited chatter surrounded the entire room. Athena put her notebook, her pencil, and the notes back in her backpack and zipped it shut. She focused her attention to the clock, only to see the second hand hit the nine. Her heart started to race in excitement as she watched the seconds tick by. Only a couple more seconds until it was finally summer, until no more homework, until no more waking up early, until the countdown to camp started, until her and Ricky were free to be as couple-y as they had ever been—

The bell rang.

A swarm of people instantly sat up from their seats and rushed out of the classroom. Athena felt an excited smile spread across her lips as she also stood up, slinging her backpack across her shoulder. She went to push her chair in when she felt her hand get grabbed and start to drag her out of the classroom. Athena already knew who the culprit was just by the feel of their hand, but nevertheless, she focused on the boy with curly hair in front of her.

Ricky weaved them through the crowds of people gathering around in the excited halls, clearly ready to get home and let their summer begin. He was apparently one of them, because Ricky wasted no time in trying to get them out.

Athena giggled. "Baby, slow down."

Ricky turned around and looked at her, his eyes flashing with love. "You know you make me melt every time you call me baby?"

"Well, you're not a puddle on the floor, so I assume we're not quite there yet."

"I very might as well be a puddle. I feel all mushy right now."

She raised an eyebrow as Ricky slowed down, settling to walk by her side instead. Athena shook her head at him and lifted their interlocked hands up, kissing the back of his. Ricky then let go of her hand and slung an arm around her shoulder, pulling her in close and kissing the top of her head. Athena smiled to herself and reached up, holding his hand that was dangling by her shoulder.

"'Thena!" a familiar voice shouted.

The girl in question turned. Coming down the hallway was her very best friend, Violetta Chase. A large and happy smile was painted on her face, which made Athena's heart warm — she had never really seen Violetta so happy. Also, for some reason, she was resting comfortably on her boyfriend's, EJ Caswell's, back. EJ didn't seem all that bothered by it. Instead, he also looked extremely happy.

It's the summer of love, Athena thought to herself. Aw.

"Hey, Vi," Athena greeted. "Hi, EJ."

"You're not driving with us to camp, right?" Violetta asked, holding onto EJ a little tighter as he hiked her up to sit more comfortably on his back.

Athena shook her head. "No, Ricky and I are going separately. If we get there late, it'll be his fault."

Ricky gave her an incredulous expression. "No, it will not be. As long as you don't leave packing until the last minute, we'll make it there on time."

"You know that's not going to happen," Violetta replied.

"Yeah, but one can dream."

"You guys have no faith in me," Athena complained. "Whatever. What are you guys up to today?"

"Vi and I are going swimming at my house," EJ told them. "You're free to join, if you want."

Athena and Ricky shared a glance. They had lots of time to go to EJ's house if they wanted, considering that camp was only two weeks and there was lots of time before EJ finally went to college. Besides, they really just wanted to spend the first day of summer just the two of them — it was their first summer being a couple, after all. And Athena and Ricky could just use her pool if they wanted.

"We're okay," Athena responded. "We'll leave you two to spend the first day of summer together. Have fun swimming."

EJ adjusted Violetta again and turned his head in effort to look at her. "You ready?"

Violetta's eyebrows knit in confusion. "Ready for what?"

EJ smirked at Athena and Ricky. "Gotta run."

Violetta's eyes widened. "EJ. EJ, no—"

She was cut off by EJ breaking into a run down the crowded hallway. Athena watched after them, a fond grin on her face as she heard Violetta and EJ's laughs until they were drowned out by the crowd. She absolutely adored them. They worked so well.

"Ready to go home, Attie?" Ricky questioned as they exited out of the doors into the hot summer air.

"Definitely," Athena answered. "Come on. If we're late, Artemis is going to kill us."

Artemis was Athena's older sister, who was (well, no longer) a senior at East High, like EJ. She was able to drive her car to school for the senior parking lot, and so graciously drove Athena and Ricky to and from school on the days where Ricky didn't skateboard. Athena, on the other hand, was always a passenger. Artemis was going to San Diego State University in the fall. Athena couldn't have been more proud of her, but she was really, really going to miss her sister.

She was already sitting in the car when Athena and Ricky got there. Athena let out a small breath as she climbed into the backseat of the car, Ricky taking the seat on the other side.

"You're late," Artemis commented.

"The hallways were crowded," Athena protested as she put her backpack on the floor and buckling her seatbelt.

"And yet I still got out before you two."

Athena sighed. "We talked to Vi and EJ for, like, a minute. How long have you been sitting here?"

"Forever, it feels like," Artemis stated.

"You're being dramatic."

"Whatever." Artemis put her sunglasses on her face and looked in the rearview mirror. "Seatbelt, lover boy."

Ricky's face flushed a light shade of red as he buckled his seatbelt. Athena laughed slightly at him, making him playfully glare at her.

The ride home was fun. Artemis seemingly got in a better mood when music started to play. Once they finally got out of the parking lot due to all the traffic, Cruel Summer by Taylor Swift instantly came on. Artemis had turned up her radio and put all the windows down in the car. The two sisters sang along to the song, Ricky watching them in slight adoration (well, mostly Athena.)

Finally, Artemis parked her car in the driveway of the house, pushing her sunglasses up so they rested on top of her head. Athena climbed out of the car and slung her backpack over one shoulder. She took Ricky's hand, which was already outstretched to her, and led them up to the front porch of her house. Artemis pushed the door open and the three of them walked into the air conditioned house.

Adam and Amanda Blake, Athena and Artemis' parents, were seen in backyard, sitting next to each other on the back deck in the shade as they enjoyed the summer air. A faint Bruce Springsteen was heard from the speaker through the door. Athena grinned fondly at them. She loved their parents. However, she wondered why they weren't in the pool considering that it was so hot outside.

Artemis made a beeline for the kitchen and instantly got a glass of water, placing her signature straw in it. "Are you guys going be disgusting down here or upstairs?"

Athena rolled her eyes. "We'll be upstairs."

"Great. I know to close my door, then." Artemis saluted the two of them as she headed towards the stairs. "Love you two, see you at dinner."

"No one quite like her," Athena voiced softly, making Ricky chuckle. She grinned at the sound. "Let's go to my room." The two of them started to climb the stairs. "We can go in the pool later if you want? I think one of your bathing suits is still here."

"As long as I'm with you, everything's good," Ricky said.

Athena couldn't help the blush that spread across her cheeks from that. She took Ricky into her room where they had been so many times before and slightly shut the door behind them — not all the way, but basically almost closed. Athena let her backpack fall off of her shoulder and onto the ground, completely discarding it. That was no longer in her list of worries.

"Thank goodness," Athena admitted as Ricky also discarded his backpack. "You know what we should do? Watch High School Musical 2. It's only fitting."

"Can I have a kiss first, though?" Ricky inquired. "You gave me one at lunch, but that was way too long ago."

Athena pretended to think about it for a moment before pressing up onto her toes and kissing the very corner of his mouth quickly. She slightly laughed at the way Ricky instantly got annoyed.

"What?" she replied innocently. "You didn't say where."

"Nuh-uh," Ricky insisted. "C'mere."

He used their interlocked hands to bring Athena closer to him, forcing her to spin around as well. Ricky placed his hands on either side of her waist, staring down at her with nothing short of love and adoration. Athena's heart immediately started to beat fast against her chest and she could feel her skin, even under her shirt, ignite from Ricky's touch. She thought that it was crazy how someone could make her feel like this, make her basically melt into a puddle, make her dizzy in the best possibly way, but when Ricky placed his lips on hers, all rational thoughts were thrown out the window.

Because Ricky Bowen so had her wrapped around his finger.

And yet the same could be said the other way — Athena Blake definitely had Ricky Bowen wrapped around her finger.

In short, the two were absolutely crazy for each other. Despite dating for months, even through all the ups and downs they had, the honeymoon phase hadn't ended. In fact, it seemed like it was never going to go away. Maybe it was the prospect that they were going to finally be together during the summer or maybe it was just the fact that they were so hopelessly in love with each other. Nevertheless, Athena Blake and Ricky Bowen were obsessed with each other in the best way possible.

They were honestly weird. Athena and Ricky managed to hang out with each other every single day, even if it was only for five minutes. They constantly wanted to be with each other all the time. Every day, Athena stopped and wondered if she was going to stop feeling the way she did about Ricky and get over their teenage relationship, but as each day went by, it never happened. They just kept on going.

Athena pressed up onto her toes, winding her arms around her neck in effort to get closer to Ricky. His hands slid from her waist to wrap his arms all the way around her. He pulled her in as close as he could so that their bodies were pressed right upon one another's.

Her mind spun, Athena's thoughts were just Ricky, Ricky, Ricky. He saw stars in his vision, and Ricky's thoughts were just Athena, Athena, Athena. They truly couldn't get enough of each other.

Despite wanting to stay there literally forever, Athena was the first one to pull away. Her face was still extremely close to Ricky's, their noses brushing against one another as she smiled up at him lovingly.

"Hm, no," Ricky commented, closing the space between them and re-attaching their lips.

Athena indulged in the second kiss for a moment before she pulled away, moving her face much farther away this time. "Ricky, you know we can't just stand here and kiss all afternoon."

"Why not? It's summer. We've got nothing to do."

Her face feeling hot, she shook her head. "Because if I leave my room with red and swollen lips, I think my parents and Artemis are going to connect the dots."

Ricky shrugged. "Just say you had an allergic reaction."

"To what? You?"

"Yeah. You can say you have a bad case of the Ricky Bowens."

Athena let out a small laugh. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

"Are you saying that you don't have a bad case of the Ricky Bowens?" Ricky teased.

Athena rolled her eyes playfully at him. "You know I've got it bad for you."

Ricky gently squeezed her waist. "Same." His voice dropped down quieter. "I love you."

Athena smiled slightly. "To the moon and to Saturn."

There was a specific reason why Athena started replying to Ricky like that every time he told her he loved her. It was because saying I love you too back to him didn't feel quite adequate, even though she did love him with her whole heart. But Ricky already knew that.

--- ☆ • ♫ • ♪ • ♫ • ☆ ---

ATHENA COULD TELL that Ricky thought helping her dye some of her hair pink the night before leaving for camp was not in the list of things he would have to do as a boyfriend.

Artemis had helped her bleach the bottom, some sides, and the two front pieces of her hair the previous day, because with the kind of pink Athena was going for, there was no way it was going to show up if it wasn't blonde. It looked a little crazy with half of her hair being blonde and half of her hair being brown, but she knew it would be worth it.

Athena and Ricky both stood in the bathroom of Athena's house, standing in front of the mirror. She was wearing an old t-shirt that was probably Ricky's considering how long it was on her. The natural brown of her hair had been completely parted from the blonde and was and tied up in a messy top knot. Meanwhile, the blonde parts were currently being slathered in pink hair dye.

"You really roped me into this," Ricky commented, picking up more hair dye onto his gloved hands. "How did you manage to do that?"

Athena shrugged, running the pink hair dye down her hair. "Because you love me. And besides, I needed somebody to help me with the back. You're being a very good boyfriend right now."

"Uh-huh." Ricky ran his fingers carefully towards where the part was made in her short hair, putting the pink dye to the roots. He looked up in the mirror, their eyes meeting through the reflective surface. "You're so lucky I love you."

"I am," Athena replied sincerely.

Ricky dramatically sighed and dropped his hands, the dye carefully applied. "Now, how am I supposed to keep complaining when you say stuff like that?"

She smiled innocently. "That's the whole point, baby."

Ricky's cheeks flushed a shade of pink that was almost as vibrant as the hair dye. "Still melting."

"I love you too, by the way."

He pressed a kiss to the part of her hair that wasn't being dyed. "To the moon and to Saturn."

Athena applied the last of the dye on her hair and looked in the mirror. "Do you think this is good?"

"We basically put on the whole box, so if it doesn't turn out pink, I will be thoroughly surprised."

"Okay," Athena stated. She started to peel off the plastic gloves on her hands, Ricky doing the same. "Now I just leave it in for, like, thirty minutes." Athena threw the gloves away in the trash can, set a timer for thirty minutes on her phone, and looked at Ricky with a bright smile. "What do you want to do?"

"Teach me more piano?" Ricky suggested, and sure, maybe it was just an excuse to sit awfully close to his girlfriend on the piano bench, but he also really enjoyed the piano.

Athena's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yes, really." He then placed his hands on her hips and gently maneuvered her so that she was leaning against the bathroom counter. "Can I have a kiss first, though?"

Athena rolled her eyes playfully. "C'mere."

She reached up and took his face in her hands, pulling his face closer so that she could press her lips to his. Her back pressed a little further into the counter and she felt herself leaning back as Ricky moved closer to her. They kissed for a long moment before Ricky pulled away from her, smiling softly. Athena grinned back up at him, running her thumbs across his cheeks as her heart raced.

"Come on," Ricky said quietly. "Let's go play some piano."

The scene was so domestically normal that it hurt. Athena and Ricky sat at the keyboard in her room, a book of piano parts from Disney songs open. They had decided to learn a new song together, and this time, it was Right Here, Right Now from High School Musical 3. Neither of them could resist laughing slightly when the other person messed up, or maybe they were laughing because of how giddy they felt by being next to each other. It was hard to tell.

It didn't even feel like thirty minutes when Athena's timer went off. She had momentarily forgotten about the dye in her hair, having been so concentrated on playing piano. Athena stood up from the piano, a little nervous, and grabbed some new clothes before going to the bathroom to wash her hair out.

Athena got into the shower and made the water cold, instantly shivering from how freezing it was. She rinsed her hair with cold water, watching as hot pink water went down her drain. Finally, when all the dye was out, she got out of the shower and put on a gray zip-up hoodie that was probably Ricky's, an old black tank top, and a pair of gray athletic shorts.

Finally, she looked at herself in the mirror for the first time. Her eyes slightly widened in wonder as she looked at her wet hair. Some of her hair was pink — shockingly pink. Even in the warm light of the bathroom it was incredibly vibrant. Athena tilted her head at her reflection, smiling softly.

She loved it.

Athena quickly brushed her hair before taking her blow drier. Once her hair was dry, she looked at it again. The pink was even more vibrant once it was dry, if that was possible. Now, in all of the years that she had been alive, Athena had never thought that she would get such a drastic haircut and dye her hair pink. It really seemed to suit her, though. More like herself.

Suddenly, a knock sounded at the door. She glanced over at it.

"Attie?" Ricky called. "Are you almost done?"

"Yeah," she answered. "Go sit on my bed with your eyes closed. It's a surprise."

She heard his footsteps pad back to her bedroom. Athena looked back at her reflection in the mirror and took a deep breath before leaving the bathroom. She peered around the corner in her bedroom, just to see that Ricky was sitting on the edge of the bed with his eyes squinted shut. Athena smiled at his figure before walking up to him. He reached up once he felt her presence, and she took his hands in hers.

"Are you ready?" Athena asked.

Ricky nodded, squeezing her hands. "Absolutely."

"Okay, open."

Ricky let his eyes flutter open. Once they set on hers, they instantly widened. He slowly stood up and continued to stare at her hair in wonder. Ricky let go of her hands and reached up, taking a pink strand in his fingers and looking down at it.

"Do you like it?" Athena questioned, a little nervously.

"Um, duh," Ricky responded, laughing slightly. "Do you?"

"I do. I think it really suits me."

Ricky threaded his hands through her hair so that some of it was pushed back and more of the pink was visible until his palms were resting behind her ears. Athena felt her stomach flutter with butterflies as he stared down at her.

"You look incredible," Ricky told her softly. He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "My beautiful girl."

Athena was sure her face was as pink as her hair. "Shut up."

She already had a feeling that this summer would be the best one yet.

═ • ° • ✧ • ° • ═

!!!!! THEY'RE BACK BABY !!!!!

I'M SOBBING

words cannot DESCRIBE how much I missed these mfs. they were on my mind CONSTANTLY

I even went back and read perfect harmony and finally free, my own fucking books, just to feel alive again

anyways, welcome to the third installment of the goddess trilogy, now or never! always keeping it with the jatp songs lol

my goal in this book is to make athena and ricky as happy as possible bc they deserve it, and it's summer for them aka my favorite season, but there will also be some ✨spice✨

don't worry, they won't break up again. I actually cannot physically or mentally put myself through that or I will go insane. ricky and athena literally deserve each other after all they've been through so this book will be happy <3

violetta and ej on the other hand . . . uhhhhh

WHOOPSIES

okay okay that's enough. anyways, welcome to the continuation of the story about my babies ricky and athena ❤️

WHO'S READY FOR THEM TO BE DISGUSTINGLY CUTE BECAUSE I SURE AM

p.s. yes heartstopper aka the novella nick and charlie did influence some of my paragraphs but I changed them so it fit ricky & athena better. alice oseman you are a GOD. and artemis really gives me tori spring vibes with her straw and such

p.p.s. athena having the iconic charli short hair that's dyed pink 😍