— act one, scene ten: you're the missing piece

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     Ricky had sworn that he had never heard a voice like this before... except that would be a total lie.  He had, and he had been crazy enough to believe that it had belonged to someone talented and beautiful.  Which would have taken Megara out of the equation for him almost completely, on the account that from time to time he could agree that she was decent looking.

     About a year ago, Ricky had forgotten his skateboard inside the school and got sidetracked by a voice singing.  It had taken him a while (plus some googling of the lyrics) to remember what the song was; I Won't Say I'm In Love from the movie Hercules.

     He thought of Meg not because of the comparison in voice — as far as he knew, Meg was a horrible singer.  But he knew Hercules was one of her favorite movies.  Obviously.  Her dad literally picked that name from it.

     The animation, the colors, the dream.  He didn't know much about her anymore, but he didn't have to because anyone could see her tough exterior was a front.  Or at least, he noticed.

     Megara was there because she ran away from home that week, in a protest from her parents, and decided to use the school showers that morning.  No, she wasn't showering when Ricky heard her, she was just doodling in the theatre room afterwards.  No one used it anyway.

     And for the most part, she was undetected.  In a perfect divine intervention, the air conditioning had kicked on, sending her paper flying to the floor.  When Megara ducked down to get it, Ricky had poked his head inside the room and saw not a trance of any person.  "Hello?" he asked out loud, just in case he was missing something.

     Megara, upon hearing someone else, froze in her tracks and stayed quiet.  Only a couple of stray strands from her hair moved gently in front of her eyes as she placed her palms flat against the paper, flat against the floor of the stage.  Looking back, it was so childish, but it was important to her that no one could have guessed Megara liked to sing.  She never in her wildest dreams would have thought Ricky of all people would have taken to her voice.

     A year later, with a role in the winter musical, Megara was sitting on the same bench for the same piano she previously hid behind, singing her little heart out.

     "Maybe I should turn around and take the other road, or maybe I'm just looking for what I already know?  I'm just wondering..."

     And with those lyrics, Ricky Bowen was shot down like a bird in the sky.

     When the song came to an end, Ashlyn and Megara sat back with a sigh.  Almost immediately did they start giggling.  "Ash, this is going to sound so amazing when we perform it live."

     "You really think?" Ashlyn asked with an infectious smile.

     Megara nodded as she stood up and smoothed out her sweatshirt.  As Ashlyn began collecting her sheets, Megara tapped her fingernails against the top of the piano.  "I'm suddenly feeling a whole lot better about this play."

     "You'll do just fine," Ashlyn said, and somehow it was the most reassured Megara had felt in a long time.  "I'll make a copy of these for you so we can rehearse more."

     Megara couldn't help but smile.  "Absolutely, and thank you."

     Ashlyn's smile faded in the slightest as her eyes trailed to the doorway behind Megara.  "Have you been here this whole time?"

     Megara whipped her head around, surely thinking maybe it was Miss Jenn or maybe even Carlos, but nope.  There stood Ricky Bowen, hands tucked into the front pockets of his jeans as his wide eyes looked on.  It hadn't clicked until that moment when she saw him, that he might be able to hear her sing for the role of Kelsi, but she didn't think much of it past the obvious embarrassment of admitting she liked to sing.

     "Yeah, sorry, I caught that last part, it's..." he gulped hard.  "Really good."

      Obviously as confused as Megara, Ashlyn nodded.  "Thanks..." she glanced at Megara and back to Ricky before catching onto the weird tension in the air and clearing her throat.  "Okay, well, I've gotta get going, but I'll catch you later!" she said, throwing her backpack over her shoulder and making a break for the door.

     "Thanks again, Ash!" Megara shouted after her.  "What's with the eyes, Bowen?  You look like you've just seen a ghost."

     "I have a weird question," he finally found the courage to look her in the eye.

     "I mean, you're a weird guy, so sure."

     "Can you sing something else?"

     "Why?" Megara asked, a wrinkle on her forehead as she searched over his features, confused as to why he was acting weird all of a sudden.

     "Just... humor me," Ricky sighed.

     "What do you wanna hear?" she asked.

     "Um..." he thought for a minute, trying to remember something that she used to sing all the time as a kid.  "Hannah Montana."

     "If we were a movie, you'd be the right guy!" Megara quietly sang, swaying her shoulders awkwardly.  Ricky raised his eyebrows when he heard her, and she still continued on and singing the guy's part as well.  "And I'd be the best friend that you'd fall in love with in the end!"

     "Wow, Megara Montez can sing.  Like, she can actually seriously sing.  Really well."

     "Ricky—"

     "I thought we were friends."

      "Well, eh..." Megara shrugged.  She then relaxed her facial expression, upon seeing how tense Ricky was.  "Okay, okay.  We're friends.  I guess."

     "Then how come I didn't know you could sing like that?!"

     "Oh, come on, it's not like I was hitting the Ariana notes," Megara rolled her eyes, unsure why he was freaking out.  "Why are you surprised?  You've heard me sing before," Megara was now practicing the art of jazz hands, seeing as her arms were extended from her sides, waving around as she talked.  Ricky Bowen did that sort of thing to her, made her act crazy.

     "Yeah, when you were like, six!  Your voice has changed since then," he stated but she caught on to the way he dropped his gaze from hers.

     "What's with the eyes?" she asked, waving one hand in front of Ricky to get his attention, but that only upset him.  He turned the other way, now looking at the empty red seats in the audience and not her.  "Bowen?"

     He shook his head, unable to comprehend everything he had just seen and heard.  "Your voice, it's your voice."

     "What are you talking about?"

     "I've been holding onto fragments of my imagination, something that isn't even real," he rambled, shaking his head as his eyes flickered over the empty room.  He was so relieved that it was currently empty, it wasn't like he wanted anybody to see him freaking out, but at the same time, he would rather have a meltdown in front of the entire school if it meant Megara didn't have to see him be vulnerable.

     "Bowen?" Megara asked again.  "What's going on?  You're not making any sense."

     "And of course you're a good singer, you're a great dancer," Ricky rambled on, shaking his head as he looked on into the empty seats in the crowd.

     Not sure what he was getting at, Megara racked her brain for a time when Ricky would've been dancing with her.  After a couple of seconds, Megara's eyes widened as she remembered what he was talking about.  She wasn't sure why he hung onto that night they spent dancing in her backyard when her family threw that party, but like every pesky memory you wished you could erase, it came crawling back.  "What we're not gonna do is talk about that night."

     "Even if it was the best night of my life?" he asked without a second moment of hesitation, spinning on his heel fast.  Despite how quick he was with his question, his chest still rose with every deep breath he took.  It was silent for a long moment before Megara spoke again.

     "There's no way that could've been the best night of your life," she decided.

     Ricky ignored her with ease.  "So it's been your voice all along."

     "I'm afraid I'm not following a single thing you've been saying."

     Shaking his head as he frantically ran his tough hand through his head of curls, he kept on.   "Just forget I said anything."

     "No, no," now it was Megara who was shaking her head as she stepped forward, closer to the boy and staring into his honey-colored eyes — even if he was currently refusing to make eye contact with her.  "You don't get to do that.  Spill it, Ricky."

     Ricky took a deep breath, and Megara could see the hesitancy resting in his eyes as he began to speak, the wheels spinning in his head as he started choosing his words.  "I heard you singing a long time ago.  Only, I didn't know it was you.  And now I do."

     Suddenly Megara found herself interested in the detailing of his shirt, doe eyes glued to the stitching in the hem as she took some deep breaths in and out.  With every word that came from his pouted lips, Megara only fell deeper down the well of intricate stories.  Ricky was always really good at providing too much detail with not enough context, but as confused as she was at that moment, she was still determined to calm him and understand the point he was trying to make.  Besides, Ricky seemed to be getting more frazzled the quieter Megara was.

     "Okay, so why is it a big deal now?" the dark-haired beauty asked, still unable to tear her eyes away from his shirt.

     But Ricky was sure that if she looked him in the eye, his knees would buckle then and there.

     "It's... not."

     Finally, after a long moment of thinking over all the facts she had just been presented with, Megara looked up at him and met his gaze.  "You know you can tell me anything, good or bad," Megara offered a half-smile.  "We're in this for the long haul, you know."

     Ricky nodded, maintaining his fixated look.  "Yeah, you're right."

     Megara gave him one strong solid nod, and against her will, her smile grew.  "Great."

     "I guess I was just realizing how much we've really grown up," Ricky swallowed hard, trying to hide his embarrassment.

     Megara clicked her tongue and sighed, opening her arms to fit around his slim figure.  "Daww, c'mere.  This is a safe space."

     Ricky huffed, allowing his feet to move so he could gravitate closer to her.  Megara patted his shoulder as he rested his chin on top of her head.  "Sorry..." he mumbled against her.

     "It's cool, ya big softie," she scratched her fingernails along his sweater, pressing her ear into his chest.  "I promise I'll be cool about everything if you promise to be cool about everything."

     "God, I'm so bad at being cool," Ricky wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

     Megara chuckled at this.  "Well, as long as we don't start lying to each other and being overly emotional about this deal, we'll be cool."

     "Right."

     "And I get it, it's a weird deal," Megara added.

     Ricky softly rolled his eyes before closing them completely.  "Yeah well... I couldn't do it with anybody else.  I'd even go as far as to say you're the missing piece I need."

     "Wow, do you get this mushy with everybody?" Megara asked as she jerked away from his chest.  She dropped her arms to her side as she watched a slightly irritated Ricky ignore her and walk over to Megara's backpack.  She chuckled to herself as he swooped up her backpack and muttered something about being late.  Rolling up her sleeves, she ran to catch up with him, grateful nobody saw their intimate moment what with her being in his arms and everything.

     And she wouldn't admit it, but it wasn't the worst place to be at that moment.

#JJ
and that concludes act one!