Esme sat beside Lilly at the piano as she watched them rehearse the song Start of Something New.

The girl couldn't help but let out a light chuckle as she watched the dancers struggle to lift the ladder over Ricky and Nini's heads as they rushed by.

The Ortiz girl's attention slowly turned to the Bowen boy, causing a small smile to creep on her face.

now who'd have ever thought that, oh
we'd both be here tonight (oo, yeah)
and the world looks so much brighter (brighter, brighter)
with you by my side (by my side)

The sound of the bell ringing caused the pair to trail off.

"Yes! Yes! Whoo!" EJ shot up in excitement, making Esme and Lilly give him a confused look. "Sorry, I really love Thanksgiving."

That caused the duo to chuckle, looking away from the boy as they began gathering their belongings.

"Okay, hold on!" Miss Jenn stood up from her chair as she made her way toward the front of the teens. "I know that everyone is excited for the holiday break, but I'm me, and I have notes. Ricky and Nini, that was good, but it could be better. She said, In the spirit of holiday cheer."

"Good save." Carlos quietly said but it was still heard.

"Your homework over this break, all of you, is to please go on vocal rest." Miss Jenn instructed. "And to go over your lines, too. Which is hard to do on vocal rest, but make it work. And remember, may nothing ever block your doorway to happiness."

"Excuse me." Mr. Mazzara stepped into the bunker.

"Okay, starting now." Miss Jenn muttered, looking over at Mr. Mazzara.

"Don't mind me, I just came to return a missing item." Mr. Mazzara said, turning to the Caswell girl with a big smile as he held out a massive binder. "Ashlyn. We cannot have our robotics team co-captain going home without her binder over break."

Ashlyn quickly took the book and smiled at the entire cast before walking away.

"Ah, Esme dear." Miss Jenn called, causing the girl to perk up at the sound of her name. "I will need those final touches done on the costume once we're back from break."

"Hanging, completed backstage of the auditorium as we speak." Esme nodded, sending the woman a smile.

"I knew I could count on you." Miss Jenn grinned before she turned on her heels and walked away.

"I'm so ready for this break." Zay sighed in relief. "Who doesn't like Thanksgiving? I mean, it's a day dedicated to eating. Who doesn't love that?"

"I definitely love that, but what I don't love is when all the family comes over and I get stuck watching my baby cousins. And my mom's bringing her new boyfriend over to meet the family. That's only going to lead to chaos." Lilly stated, causing the boy to nod as the duo glanced over at the Ortiz girl. "You okay, E?"

"Yeah, sorry. I'm fine." Esme sent the duo a small smile. "It's just that my parents are supposed to be home for Thanksgiving, and I have yet to hear from either of them."

"We're sorry, Es." Zay frowned.

"You're more than welcome to come to my place for Thanksgiving dinner." Lilly offered. "Mom and Meemaw always make enough to feed the entire neighborhood."

"Or..." Zay dragged out, glancing from the Reid girl to Esme. "If you don't want a sharpie written all over your face by menances, you could always come hang with me and Gram. She just got a new bingo set and I can't wait to test it out."

"That's sweet of you guys, really. But I'll be fine. I'm used to being alone."

"Party at Ashlyn's after Thanksgiving tomorrow!" Carlos excitedly announced, gaining the trio's attention as everyone turned their attention to the Rodriguez boy. "Everyone's invited."

"Maybe you won't have to be alone after all." Zay said, sharing a look with Lilly as they both grinned.

⊱ ──────ஓ๑♡๑ஓ ────── ⊰

The small girl was in the kitchen stirring up some cookie dough mix when the sound of tapping on the kitchen window caused her to let out a scream.

The girl quickly looked up to find the Bowen boy standing there with a smile on his face.

"Ricky." Esme breathed out, waving at the boy, causing her to notice flour on her hand, causing her to chuckle. "Come in."

The girl went to grab a towel to wipe off her hands as the Bowen boy slipped in through the back door.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's okay." Esme said. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing here?"

"Uh, Zay told me that you might need a ride over to Ash's. Something about a very intense game and demon children." Ricky explained, making the girl chuckle as a smile grew on his face before it slowly left as realization hit. "Wait, are you spending Thanksgiving alone?"

"Yeah. My parents are still out of the states." Esme explained.

"I'm sorry, that must suck."

"Yeah sometimes." Esme shrugged as she sent the boy a small smile. "But it's nothing I can't handle."

"If it makes you feel any better, my day isn't going so hot either." Ricky said, causing the girl to raise her eyebrow. "I found out my mom has a new boyfriend. Todd."

"And are you okay?" Esme asked, placing her hand on the boy's arm.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Ricky lied, causing the girl to give him a knowing look, making him sigh. "No, and it's just a lot... Sorry. I don't mean to be a downer."

"Well, you came to the wrong place. I am literally the queen of being a downer." Esme joked, causing the boy to smile lightly. "Look, your feelings matter, Ricky. And if your mom having a new boyfriend upsets you. That's okay. Maybe, for now, just ignore it. And take your mind off things by having some fun with your friends. Do what makes you happy. Be a drama dork."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Ricky chuckled.

"Now, let me just stick these in the oven real quick."

"Here, let me give you a hand." Ricky offered, taking off his coat, causing the girl to look over at him.

"Sure." Esme smiled before she led him over to where she was baking.

Quickly grabbing a baking sheet and lining it with parchment paper, the boy stepped up beside her after he quickly washed his hands.

"So what do you need, boss?" Ricky jokingly asked, causing the girl to chuckle.

"Just roll the cookie dough into small circles."

Esme quickly demonstrated, rolling a perfect circle before placing it on the tray as she turned to watch the Bowen boy.

The boy started off with too much dough and was pressing it so hard that it continued to flatten back out.

"I think I ruined it." Ricky chuckled, causing the girl to shake her head.

"No, you're just doing it wrong. First, you have too much." Esme explained, ripping the dough he had in half. "Now be gentle and don't press too hard."

Ricky began to roll his hands once again, but they were too soft, causing Esme to step toward the boy, placing her hand on top of his as she helped him roll the dough into a ball.

"See. Perfect ball." Esme said, looking up at the boy to see him already looking down at her.

"Yeah, perfect." Ricky cleared his throat, placing it on the tray.

The duo joked back and forth as they rolled the rest of the dough out before Esme placed the tray into the oven.

"Now we wait." Esme closed the oven door, turning to face the boy as her face lit up. "Oh, I almost forgot. I made you something."

"You made me something?" Ricky chuckled as he watched the girl rush over to her purse.

"I was working on a new crocheting technique, and I thought who else would look great in this hat?" Esme teased, pulling out a hat with a grin. "I mean, if you spend enough time in a house alone with nothing but fashion tools, you'll learn a new technique or two."

"Yeah, it's great, thanks." Ricky smiled as he stuck it on his head, causing the girl to laugh as she covered her mouth.

"Maybe I should have used less yarn. Because that's too big."

"I'll grow into it."

"I mean, it works. Kinda." Esme chuckled, reaching up to fix the hat on the boy's head.

The girl stopped as she felt his eyes following her every move, causing hers to flick down to his.

She felt her breath hitch when she realized the boy was leaning in, and she didn't know what overcame her because she began to lean in too.

Just as their lips were about to touch, the timer began to ring from the oven, causing them to quickly pull away.

"I should go grab those." Esme mumbled, sending the boy a small smile.

"Yeah." Ricky nodded.

Esme brushed past the boy as she carefully placed the hot tray on the stovetop to cool off.

"There, now I just have to pack them up, and we should be good to -." Esme started, turning around to face the boy, but was cut off as his lips were pressed onto hers.

The girl froze in place for a second before her eyes fluttered closed as her hand made its way to the back of the boy's neck, pulling him closer to her and deepening the kiss in the process.

The boy's hand was placed loosely on the girl's back.

As they kissed, Esme's heart felt as if it was going to come out of her chest, and her stomach was full of butterflies.

Ricky Bowen was making Esmerelda Ortiz feel things she had never felt before.

And she liked the rush.