XXVIII. little miss sunshine

There was three things Marlowe loved the most on her life. her family, her friends, and celebrating birthdays, and Carlos deserved the best. Since they were kids, the Aguilar twins always went out of their way to give their friends the best birthdays and now that Carlos and Seb were together, him, along with Gina, joined in on their big ideas.

Marlowe ran into Seb's barn, full of excitement. "Where's my girl?" She asked repeatedly and looked around the dark building. "Dottie?"

The other theater kids were not as excited to be on the scary looking barn. "For somebody who's terrified of haunted house, she has no problem being in here." Knox said out loud.

She gasped when she spotted her brown calf in her pin. "There's my girl!" She squealed and Dottie came walking slowly to the gate. "EJ, come here!"

EJ stood in the middle of the farm with everyone else, looking around, slightly in fear. "I think I'm good right here." He responded and let out a small scream when one of the sheep's bleated.

Luca chortled. "Oh my god, don't tell me you're afraid of farm animals."

"I'm not!" He quickly defended himself, his voice going up an octave.

Ricky laughed. "Listen, I'm sure Seb, Gina, and the twins have a good reason for bringing us to his so late, on a school night." He glanced at Nini. "Not that I mind the romantic setting."

Luca looked around them. "This is romantic?"

Marlowe finally left Dottie and came back to EJ. She wrapped her arms around his torso.

"Okay, so, we all gathered you guys here tonight cause Marley and I got this idea. And because we only have 48 hours to pull it off, it's going to take all of us." Gina announced.

"The whole family." Seb added with a smile.

Nini awed. "You guys."

"And because this is for Carlos, and Luca and I are very over the top, we need to make this quinceañero the best thing he's ever had in his life." Marlowe told them all.

The others smiled at the idea. "Okay, somebody say something because maybe this is a terrible idea?" Seb started to doubt.

Knox immediately disagreed. "Are you kidding? It's a great idea!"

"I'm in." Nini chimed.

They all cheered. "For Carlos!" Ricky declared and put his hand out.

Everyone out their hands on top of each other. "For Carlos! Whoo!"

Seb was not the best liar. Even when they were younger and Marlowe first got her braces put on, he just outright said that she looked like Betty Suarez from Ugly Betty (given that she had very messed up teeth and glasses) but after a while of having them,  everybody got used to them. Seb's motto was if he just kept his mouth shut and didn't say anything, then he would have no issue.

Since having Nini back at East High, Ricky's focus and dedication to the musical was getting better. It made Marlowe worry the slightest bit because she didn't want him to be dedicated only because of Nini, but he was working hard. She was proud of him. "There's something sweet and almost kind," she sang from There's Something. "But he was mean and was coarser and always unrefined."

Ricky grabbed her hand and twirled her, making her smile. "And now he's so dear and so unsure. I wonder why I didn't see it there before."

The people in the rehearsal room smiled as they watched and Miss Jenn stood to the side,  observing with proud eyes.

"She glanced this way, I thought I saw," Ricky sang his part and when he looked her way, Marlowe avoided eye contact with a smile, making everyone laugh. "And when we touched she didn't shudder at my paw." He touched her arm and she pretended to shudder. "No, it can't be. I'll just ignore it,"

Marlowe walked his way and stood behind him, Ricky followed her gaze as she moved to his left side. "But then she's never looked at me that way before."

"New and a bit alarming," the girl sang and closed her eyes briefly. "Who'd ever thought that this could be?"  She looked to Ricky and they grabbed hands. "True that he's no Prince Charming, but there's something in him that I simply didn't see."

"Pause!" Miss Jenn announced and the two of them froze, their hands still together. "That was wonderful,  the two of you."

The best friends immediately dropped hands and shuddered. "Ew, I can't believe that I have to do this."  Ricky cringed.

"Not even imaging you as EJ makes it better." Marlowe agreed and walked away to get a drink of her water.

Miss Jenn blinked. "Well, it's a good thing you guys can act."

She sat on the bleachers with Seb and leaned close to him. "So, are you exited for tonight?" She whispered so only they could hear each other.

"I'm freaking out, Mars!" He responded very quickly. "He already things I forgot his birthday. What if he decides not to show up?"

"That won't happen, believe me. Luca already has plans to tie him up and throw him in the jeep if he tries to get out of it."

Seb narrowed his eyes. "That's. . . a little much, don't you think?"

Marlowe shrugged. "It's Luca. He once tied me to the roof of the Jeep when I was still sleeping." She shook her head. "That's beside the point. The point is that we're going to throw him the best party ever and he's going to fall more in love with you than he already is."

He scoffed a laugh. "He's not in love with me."

"Then he's crazy, because I love you."

Seb smiled widely.

Marlowe was spending all of her time helping Miss Jenn set up the candy table for Carlos' birthday. "I swear I should've never sworn off candy." She sighed while positioning the lollipops so that they were all turned different ways.

"You swore off candy?" Miss Jenn asked her.

"When I was fifteen, I read that sugar can decrease vocal quality and since my voice is my best asset, I swore that I would never touch candy again."  Marlowe declared. She took a look at the bowl of gummy worms and pouted. "But they do look so good."

Ricky's dad walked over to them dressed in a clean and fancy suit. Marlowe gasped. "Mr. Bowen, you look handsome as ever."

Mike touched his chest and smiled. "You always flatter me, Marlowe."

"Michael Bowen,bI didn't expect to see you here," Miss Jenn said to the man with a smile.

"Hey, anyone Ricky loves, I love." Mike basically flirted with her.

Marlowe looked between them.

"Carlos, that is," he quickly corrected himself. "Uh,  Ricky loves that kid."

Miss Jenn grinned.  "Of course."

Marlowe noticed the way they were looking at each other and she scratched the back of her neck. "Uhh, I'm going to go see if Ashlyn needs help with the lights." She took a pause. "Yeah, that's what I'm gonna do."

She quickly found Ricky and Big Red at the pizza table and she walked up behind them, draping her arms around their shoulders. "Richard, when did your dad become such a ladies man?"

Marlowe was amazed at how quickly they were able to get the barn decorated. She finished helping set up the lights (she had to walk away when Knox accidentally fell off the latter) and she spotted EJ setting up the camera for everyone to make tributes about Carlos. She snuck up behind him and wrapped her arms around his torso. "Hey, good looking."

EJ instantly smiled. "Hi, Star." He said back and kissed the top of her head. "Are you ready for your speech?"

"Of course I am. Luca and I spent hours working on them." She told him and sat on the hay bell in front of the camera. She quickly fixed her hair. "How do I look?"

"The prettiest girl I've ever seen," EJ answered with a sweet smile, making her smile back. "Are you ready?"

Marlowe quickly nodded and he started recording. "Hey, bestie!" She said brightly into the camera. "It's your birthday and I just want to say that I love you so much and without your dedication and your love for dance, the musicals that we do wouldn't be possible.

I'll never forget the day I found out I got casted as a seahorse in the Under the Sea school play and you spent hours helping me with the choreography. Or when you always ask me to do your makeup for color guard because I know how flashy you like everything to be." Marlowe started to get emotional and her eyes filled with tears. "I'm so proud of all the things you've accomplished and proud of the person you're becoming. I hope you have the greatest birthday. I love you." She blew a kiss to the camera.

EJ ended the video and looked at her with a warm expression. "That was really sweet, Marley."

She wiped her tears. "Yeah, well, you know me. I love my friends." She said with a slight laugh. "Shall I go get Luca?"

"Yeah, yeah, that would be great."

Marlowe hopped down from the key bell and ran to find her twin. EJ's eyes followed her as she went and he simply could not look away because in that moment, she was everything. The feeling came to him every so often when he would just look at her and remember how lucky he was, how much she meant to him, and how thankful he was for how things worked out the way they were supposed to.

Mr. Mazzara walked by and noticed the love struck expression on his face. He followed his eye and then looked back and forth between them. "I could've sworn you two hated each other."

EJ finally looked away and he flinched. "We didn't hate – well, she hated me—" He closed his eyes for a brief second. "We just misunderstood each other is all. She gave me a huge reality check."

The teacher hummed. "Seems like it." He looked over to the girl again and saw her trying to yank her twin off the latter. "She's one of the only theater kids in here who isn't. . . strange."

EJ chuckled and Marlowe finally came back with Luca.  Mr. Mazarra walked away. "He hates making speeches but Knox convinced him." She told the senior with a big smile.

Luca rolled his eyes. "I chose not to take communications for a reason."

EJ laughed. "You want to be on Broadway but you can't make a speech in front of a camera?"

"Hey, one venture at a time, Caswell." The brother pointed at him and sat down in front of the camera.

"I'll leave you to it. I'm going to make sure everything's in place before they get there!" Marlowe told them and skipped off to do a last minute check around the barn,  the skirt of her red dress swishing as she moved.

At the sound of Seb's loud when, EJ and Ricky slid open the barn door. "Happy birthday, Carlos!" They all shouted to the birthday boy.

Carlos looked absolutely stunned and he raised his hands to his head. "Wait. This can't be happening." He said in shock.

"It is!" Seb beamed.

"I'm not wearing a party outfit!" He looked at Knox,  who was dressed in a sparkly black dress suit. "Knox,  switch with me!"

The senior raised his arms. "No can do, buddy. We already got you covered." He said with a side grin.

Carlos's face softened and they all cheered again.  Marlowe held her hands out as she squealed and he walked right to them,  gripping her palms. "Happy birthday, sweetie!" She squealed and wrapped him in a hug.

Luca patted him on the back and smiled. "Happy birthday,  dancing king."

Carlos beamed. "I love you guys so much!"

Ricky and Nini hopped on the stage they made and everyone turned their attention to them. "Yes, Nini and Ricky!" Kourtney hollered as everyone clapped.

"Hey, everyone! I think you kinda, you know. . ." Nini said into the microphone, giving Ricky a teasing smile.

"It's Carlos' quincerañero!" Ricky finished.

They all sat together on the hey bells. Marlowe sat close to Seb with their arms locked together. She couldn't quit bouncing with excitement.

"Gina, get on up here!"

"Let's go, Gina!" Luca bellowed as Knox whooped.

"Go, G!"

"Go, Gina!"

Ricky and Nini quickly exited the stage and Gina stood in the center. She tapped on her ear piece. "Testing, testing. Hello! Carlos Rodriguez," she directed to the birthday boy. "We, um, we haven't always seen eye-to-eye when it comes to running rehearsal. . . And, honestly, I sorta had no idea what to get you tonight. And then Sebbie showed me that clip of you in seventh grade, dancing. I was like 'Oh. . . Okay, so, we're actually the exact same,"

Marlowe smiled widely and glanced at Carlos, seeing his soft smile.

"Because I remember where I was in seventh grade, or, uh, all of the places that I was that year," Gina continued. "And I would just dance and dance alone in my bedroom to stay busy and escape. But the difference between us is, I never would have put that out into the world and I never would have left that up on Instagram after some of the comments you got. . ."

Luca's heart dropped slightly because he remembered when Carlos posted that video. He watched all the comments come through and it disgusted him because Carlos was just being himself, authentically and unapologetically. He understood that.

"Haters gonna hate."

"Amen!" Knox shouted into his hands, making them all laugh.

Gina chuckled. "Anyways, um, tonight I'm recreating your dance. Because, we might not share a choreography brain, but I think you know we share a dancer heart." Marlowe almost started crying when her voice began to quiver. "No matter what happens tomorrow, or the day after that, we just keep on dancing."

"Yes, we do." Kourtney agreed.

Gina clutched the rope that was attached to the screen projector. "Roll the tape!" She said and tugged on it.

EJ cut the lights and started playing the tape. Carlos' seventh grade Instagram video played on the projector. "Hello, world!" His younger self said to the camera.

"Yes sir!" Luca obnoxious cheered through everyone's applause.

"This is a time capsule because someday I hope I am studied. It is almost my thirteenth birthday, and in some cultures that makes me a man. As a man, I demand the following gifts for my birthday: a new phone, a Tony Award, and someday. . . I'm putting this out there early, a quinceañero."

Marlowe giggled and she put her hand on Seb's arm.

"Now, please enjoy this dance I made up. It's on fleek."

"Let's go, baby!" Hollered Knox.

Little Carlos started dancing and everyone in the barn started to applaud and cheer. Marlowe looked at Carlos and laughed, seeing him shake his head with a smile on his face.

Gina moved her skirt and stood in front of the projector. "Yes, G!" Kourtney cheered.

The Latin music started playing and Gina belted out the first note. "Whoa. . ." She spun around and the projector came down and the lights came back on. "It's time to turn it up. Let the music take over your body and dance, everyone is watching."

"That's my girl!" Marlowe yelled into her hands.

"Swing that ponytail!" Luca followed.

Carlos threw his hands up. "Yes, Gina!" He cheered.

"When you move, I move with you. Together as one. It don't matter who you are. When we dance, we're all stars. Different in so many ways. But when we hit the stage, we all share the same thing: a dancer's heart."

Everyone continued with their praise and applause throughout the performance and Seb guided Carlos to the stage. Marlowe threw her hands up and cheered as loud as she could. "Let's go!"

"A dancer's heart." Gina placed a fake crown on the birthday boy's head. 

Instantly, everyone started hollering. "YEAH! WHOO!"

"Go, Gina! Yeah!"

"Go,Gina!"

"That's what I'm talking about!"

"That's my G!"

Carlos and her embrace into a heart felt hug. Marlowe was moved to the point of almost tears until Seb quickly ran up to her and grabbed her hand. "I need a famous Marlowe pep talk!" He hurried.

She let him drag her outside. "Are you still nervous?"

"Yes! I'm freaking out!" He quickly said and fear crossed over his face. "What if I mess up? How can I top what Gina just did? What if he doesn't like it—"

"Sebbie!" Marlowe interrupted his ramble and cupped his face in her hands. She laughed. "Stop scaring yourself. You know it and I damn well know it that anything you do, Carlos is going to love it because he loves you. You've been working so hard on this. This is your gift to him. We're all going to cheering our asses off no matter what happens."

Seb's nerves died down slightly and she felt him relax under her touch. "You really think that?" He asked and his hands touched her wrists.

"Of course I do."

"Oh my god, I love you so much." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. "Thank you for being you."

Marlowe smiled softly and leaned back slightly,  kissing his cheek. "Okay, go prepare yourself. I'll see you in there." She squeezed his shoulders one last time and quickly went back inside.

She saw everyone taking pictures with the birthday boy when she went back in. Carlos spotted her and gasped.  "Mars." He cried out and ran to her, the crown titled on his head.

"Birthday boy!" She cried back and he threw himself into her arms. "Oh, how did you like your surprise?"

"I'm, like, on top of the world right now." He laughed and pulled away from the hug. His smile was wide.  "This is the best thing anyone's ever done for me."

She titled her head and grinned. "Well, it's only going to get better, I promise." She fixed the crown so that it was sitting right on his head. "Dancing king. ABBA would be proud."

Carlos  squealed at that.