XXXIV. how do I know what this feeling is?

      Marlowe was happy that Nini took her advice on starting her own music account. It was clear to her that Nini wanted to take her music further than what it was now, like she always wanted since she was a kid. But she was noticing a distance between her and Ricky, everybody was noticing it. It was hard to watch considering Marlowe had already watched them go through one break up, and Nini was devastated. She didn't want either of them to go through it again.

But Ricky was afraid of change and Nini wanted to grow, to do bigger things with her life. It was a tough situation to be in.

"You're out of touch. I'm out of time. But I'm out of my head when you're not around!" Marlowe belted out singing. Her hair was blowing in the wind from EJ's car windows being rolled down, and she stuck out her arm.

"You're out of touch. I'm out of time. But I'm out of my head when you're not around!" EJ sang as well, working into his fist that he was using as a microphone. Looking at her, he smiled widely and leaned his fist towards her.

She grabbed it with her hands and leaned towards him. "Reaching out for something to hold. Looking for a love where the climate is cold!"

EJ took his fist back and held it to his mouth. "Manic moves and drowsy dreams," he hit the high note and closed his eyes for half a second. "Or living in the middle, between two extremes."

Marlowe laughed loudly over the loud music playing. She moved her hair out of her face, though it went right back, and she titled her head back. "We're soul alone and soul really matters to me!" She belted out.

When the song was over, the couple laughed with their faces bright red. "That's a great way to start a morning." EJ said and opened his hand for her to take.

She grabbed it immediately and held it close to her heart. "Oh, absolutely. Even when we have to be at rehearsal this early."

Coming into rehearsal this early in the morning was someway shape or form a punishment made by Miss Jenn. After learning that they broke into North High, she was livid, and she was already angry at the fact that Zach Roy had stolen the beast mask.

"I'm just ready to rehearse Gaston. I've been waiting forever."

Marlowe looked at him and smiled. "I'm so excited for that. I know you and Red'll do great."

EJ looked at her quickly and smiled, the smile that made her heart flutter.

When they got to school, the couple walked hand in hand to the bomb shelter. Everyone was already with dreary expressions, complete opposite of them. "Good morning, guys." Marlowe said brightly.

Luca got there before her because he rode with Knox. Seeing her so happy, he narrowed his eyes. "Why are you so happy?"

She lifted her hand up that was attached to EJ's.

"Oh, right. My bad."

"We jammed out to a little Hall and Oates on the way here. That puts everyone in a good mood." EJ explained and he wrapped his arm around her, the one that her hand was holding.

Miss Jenn came into the room with her binder and they formed a circle. "Hi. Thank you all for coming to rehearsal in the morning. I know it's a crazy day with the career fair and all, but given all your behavior last week, I believe we are lucky to be rehearsing at all." She lectured them. "For future reference, singing and dancing good. Breaking and entering, bad."

"Miss Jenn, we didn't break anything—" Seb started.

She quickly looked at him. "Would you like me to be the first?"

He immediately shook his head. "I'm good."

"And technically, we didn't break in. We just walked through the door." Knox chimed with a smile. Slowly, they all looked at him. "Right. I'll stop talking."

Carlos raised his hand. "Okay, I'm just gonna say it," he began to say and looked at Miss Jenn. "Zach Roy stole our beast mask. Why are you not freaking out?"

"Because winners don't freak out, Carlos! They rise. When they got low, we sing high." She replied. She sang a very high opera note, making them all flinch. "Why aren't you all smiling like Marley is?"

They turned to Marlowe, who was leaning against EJ with a smile on her face, and it reaching her ears. "Because we're not nutcases." Luca grumbled.

His twin casted in a glare, the smile falling.

"Okay, let's rehearse!" Miss Jenn chimed again. She looked at EJ. "EJ, remember where you are emotionally. Belle has just rebuked your marriage proposal and LeFou—" she motioned to Big Red. "—is rallying the guys to boost you back up. Let's hit it."

Marlowe let go of EJ and smiled at him. "Good luck, Gaston."

He bowed to her. "Thank you, Belle." He responded with a cheeky grin.

She giggled and followed the others to the bleachers. She sat close by Gina. "Go get em, Biggie!" Ashlyn cheered.

"Thanks. All good!" Big replied with a kid like smile.

"I wasn't saying you weren't. Just know that I am loyaly rooting for you, okay?"

"Oui oui." He said back with a fading smile.

Marlowe nudged Gina's shoulder. "I'm so excited for this one."

The sophomore smiled at her happy expression. "I'm excited for you to see it."

"Big Red," said Miss Jenn. "Whenever you're ready." She said with a smile.

"Let's go, Red!" Luca cheered and clapped for him.

Seb started the music and they all cheered. "Gosh it disturbs me to see you, Gaston. Looking so down in t dumps." Big Red started to sing to EJ and he stood from the chest he was on. "Every guy here love'd to be you, Gaston. Even when taking your lumps."

Marlowe giggled and she clasped her hands together. She leaned her elbows on her legs and rested her chin on her hands.

"There's no guy in town as admired as you. You're everyone's favorite guy—" Big Red sat on the table and the dancers pushed him across till he was lifted by one of the other dancers. He twirled him around. "—everyone's awed and inspired by you, and it's not even hard to see why." He belted again and he took out a mirror, holding it up in front of EJ's face.

Red and the boys came together and stood in a line. "No one's slick as Gaston. No one's quick as Gaston. No one's neck is incredibly thick as Gaston—"

Everyone started to cheer as they danced. Marlowe continued to laugh, the sound contagious like hundreds of little bells, and she nudged Gina again, the sophomore looking extra happy that they were bowling the choreography.

"For there's no one in town half as manly," Red fell back into one of the dancer's arms and he dragged him back. "Perfect, a pure paragon." EJ's brows flickered up as a way of saying he wasn't wrong. Kayden and the other dances sat at the bar with their mugs. "You can ask any Tom, Dick, or Stanley—" they spun around in the chairs. "—and they'll tell you whose team they prefer to be on."

"Whoo!" Marlowe cheered into her hands as EJ stood from his chair and walked around to the back table to sit down.

"Let's go!" Knox hollered.

"No one's been like Gaston. A kingpin like Gaston." All of the boys snag together and they moved the chairs out of the way. They all gathered around EJ. "No one's got a swell clef in his chin like Gaston." Sang Red.

EJ stood from the chair. "As a specimen, yes, I'm intimidating." He began to sing and flexed his muscles. His girlfriend cheered again, her happy smile widening.

He walked off and the dancers clinked their mugs together. "My what a guy that Gaston."

EJ began juggling eggs. "When I was a lad I'd eat four dozen eggs every morning to help me get large." He tossed them in the air and Kayden and the other dancers ran by and caught them. "And now that I'm grown, I eat five dozen eggs. So I'm roughly the size of a barge." He ran to the bar and grabbed a mug. Big Red tossed one of the eggs and it landed in the mug.

Collectively, the theater kids cheered again and the accomplishment. Gina and Marlowe held onto each other, freaking out.

The dancers circled the table and began dragging it. "No one shoots like Gaston, makes those beauts like Gaston." Big Red slid under the table and gripped the end of a mop, the dancer holding it pulling him up. "Then goes tromping around wearing boots like Gaston."

They put the mugs on the table that was now centered in the middle of the room. EJ walked forward with a mug and a pair of antlers in his hands. "I use antlers in all of my decorating." He sang beautifully and jumped onto the table, kneeling on it.

The dancers started spinning the table with him on it and Big Red was still under it. "Say it again!" They snag collectively. "Gaston!" EJ clinked his mug with theirs as they walked by and at the end of the song, they came together and held their mugs in the air. Then, they collapsed to the ground.

They erupted in cheers and Marlowe stood from the bleachers. She was practically jumping as she clapped for the performance, her happy smile never wavering and she felt proud of them.

EJ found her eyes as he was smiling himself, and seeing her so proud only made him feel greater. He climbed off the table and the boys stood from the floor.

"Dancers, glorious," Miss Jenn praised them. "Big Red, hilarious. And EJ. . ." She directed to him. The senior looked anxious for her commentary. "Victorious."

They clapped again and Marlowe sat back down. She leaned her cheek on her clasped hands and felt happy that EJ finally knew how Miss Jenn thought of him.

Carlos stood from where he was sitting. "Nice emotional connection to the material." He praised.

EJ lifted his hands. "Yeah, well, I had a great teacher." He stated and looked at Marlowe, sending her a wink.

Her cheeks were hurting from how much she was smiling. The others smiled at her.

Gina stood as well. "I've got no notes." She said and showed them her blank notebook.

Mr. Mazzara walked into the room. "And as much as I hate to break the connection, I'm afraid I'm the bearer of some hard news." He announced. "We just got a call the disciplinary board of an organization I'm not sure really exists." He glanced down at a piece of paper. "Effective immediately, this production will shut down rehearsal for one week as punishment for trespassing by order of the. . .monkeys."

Luca's heart dropped to his stomach. "What?"

"It's pronounced Menkies." Miss Jenn corrected him and crossed her arms.

Marlowe started to freak out. "Oh, no, esto no está bien. Esto no es bueno!" Oh no, this isn't good. This is not good!

"For the record, your competition has been punished as well. North High is benched for the week." Mazzara tried making them feel better, which it didn't.

"Okay, feels generous." Said Ashlyn.

"I'm going to be sick. I feel nauseous." Luca said and touched his forehead.

"Miss Jenn, what are we going to do? We can't miss a whole week when we haven't even started blocking the second act yet?" Carlos panicked.

"We're—We are going to keep our heads down and our chins up." Miss Jenn tried to keep the situation calm.

Everyone looked confused. Seb tried to demonstrate. "I don't—I don't think that's physically possible."

"It's an expression, Sebastian!"

Marlowe had to sit back down when her legs started to feel like jelly. "Oh, esto lo arruina todo!" She continued to freak out. Oh, this ruins everything!

"Marlowe, deja de hablar espiñol!" Said Luca. Marlowe, stop speaking Spanish!

"Lo siento!" I'm sorry!

Ricky and Big Red looked at each other, knowing that the twins spoke Spanish the most when they were stressed out.

The bell rang and they collectively left in disappointment. EJ wrapped his arm around Marlowe and led her out to the hallway. "Are you okay?" He asked, studying her panicked expression.

"Sure. Maybe." She nodded at a fast pace. She looked up at him. "But let's not worry about that yet. Let's talk about that amazing performance you just did." She pushed away her panic and cupped his face. "That was amazing, E. Like, the best thing you've ever done."

EJ smiled down at her. "You really think so?"

"Are you kidding me?" Her eyes went wide and she dropped her hands to wave them around. "It was spectacular. Star quality!"

He got shy from her praise. "Oh, please. The only one with star quality is you."

Marlowe titled her head and gave him a look. "Hey, don't do that." She pressed her hands to his face again. "I know you have doubts about your talent but believe me when I say, you're amazing, EJ Caswell. I've always known it, even if I was jealous of it."

EJ jerked his head back, causing her hands to fall on his shoulders. "Jealous? Of me?"

Marlowe realized she never told him the truth about why she was so competitive when it came to him. "Well yeah." She said lowly and took her hands back. She clutched the straps of her bag. "You were EJ Caswell, popular guy and the best in drama club. What was there not to be jealous of?"

EJ was in shock. How did he not know that? How did he never think to ask? He just went along with the whole rivalry thing because he never saw the two of them becoming friends, let alone boyfriend and girlfriend. "What—You. . .this is blowing my mind." He expressed and locked his hands behind his neck, and then quickly took them off again. "You, Marlowe Aguilar, you were jealous of me?"

She had to laugh. "Why do you think I tried so hard to beat you at everything?"

"Well, I-I don't know. I just thought it was because you hated me." He stuttered. "I never thought it was because of that."

Marlowe nodded slightly, feeling somewhat embarrassed that she brought it up.

This time, EJ cupped her face and he lifted it so that she was looking at him. "I feel extremely flattered that someone as talented as you could ever think to be jealous of me." That made her giggle. "But it's not like that anymore, right?"

"Of course not. I'm proud of you and how far we've come. I—" Marlowe quickly stopped herself. Suddenly, every feeling inside of her numbed. EJ's eyebrows went up, wondering what she was going to say. "Uhhh, I-I should get to class." She stood on her toes and quickly kissed him on the lips. "I'll see you at the career fair. Bye!"

EJ watched her quickly take off. "O-kayyy." He dragged slightly.

Marlowe stared into the camera. "No. No. I'm not saying it." She quickly shook her head. "It's too soon. That would be awkward. EJ and I haven't been together for that long. You can't know that you love someone just a few months." She laughed it off, but then sound slowly faded, and she rubbed the back of her neck.

Luca stood with Knox at his locker. "A whole week of no rehearsal? What if I get lazy and don't want to come back? What if I find something better to do with my time?" He continued to panic.

Knox laughed. "Yeah, like what?"

"Uhhh. . ." He thought about it. "Well, I don't know. Maybe join the water polo team."

His boyfriend snorted a laugh. "You on the water polo team?"

"Hey, I'm not that bad of a swimmer!"

"No, no, of course not. But, uh. . ." The senior continued to laugh. "I don't think sports are your thing, babe."

Luca pouted. "I have a thing. It's theater."

"And theater's still here." Knox closed his locker and leaned against it. He smiled down at him. "Luke, it's only a week. Think about how much time we can spend together in a week."

The junior grew a smile. "Yeah, I guess."

"And if you need someone to drag you back to rehearsal, you got me. I'll carry you no problem."

Luca always knew how he felt about Knox Fletcher. He always knew they would end up together somehow, even if he was scared to tell him how he felt. But now, Luca couldn't express properly how much he liked Knox. It was a feeling in your stomach that twisted and turned until you felt sick, but it was a feeling Luca never wanted to go away.

Marlowe joined their conversation and she looked in a hurry. "Twintervention!" She said to her brother and grabbed his arm. "Sorry, Knox!" She quickly dragged Luca away.

"Bye!" Knox waved while smiling.

She dragged her twin down the hall and they stood in the corner of the lockers. "Jesus, what's up with you, crazy?" Luca inspired and took back his arm.

"I almost told EJ that I love him."

He felt like a brick just hit him in the face. "Huh?"

"I know. I know. It almost slipped, but I stopped myself." Marlowe dreaded and rubbed her face.

Luca blinked multiple teams. "I mean, do you?" He asked.

"Do I what?"

"Do you love EJ?"

"No! Of course I don't!" She expressed and hit him on the arm, causing him to yelp. "How can I? I don't even know what love is. I'm sixteen."

"Love knows no time or age, sister."

Marlowe rolled her eyes. "Don't go all poet on, Luke. This is serious."

Her agitated state made him laugh. "Mars, calm down." He told her and put his hands on her arms. "Breathe before you pass out and I have to drag you to the nurse."

The twin inhaled a deep breath, and then did it again. "Do you love Knox?" She blurted out.

Again, Luca felt like a brick hit him in the face. "Whoa, now."

He took his hands off her arms and Marlowe groaned. "I'm sorry. I just. . .I need to know how love feels to someone. Like Ricky and Nini. Like our mom and dad. Maybe even Ashlyn and Big Red, I don't know. But I know you, Luca, and I know how you think. Do you love Knox or not?" She rambled.

Luca had thought about the question, sure, but he never had an answer. All he knew was that he liked Knox a lot, so much that he didn't see himself with anyone else. Was that love? "I mean, I. . ." He paused. "I-I think I do. I've liked him for so long. I don't know how I couldn't."

Marlowe almost awed. Luca always got a love struck look on his face when he talked about Knox. He always smiled when someone brought up his name. He blushed when Knox was around. Marlowe felt the same was about EJ. "What do we do now?"

Luca blinked again. "I dunno, Mars. Maybe we need a one on one with them?" He suggested.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, like a date?"

He nodded. "Yeah. You with EJ and me with Knox. Well, obviously."

She laughed. "That's a good idea. Let's go find them."

Again, Luca nodded. "Yes."

They walked the opposite way.