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𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗬 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘

chapter ten:
there's always gonna be another
mountain, I'm always gonna
wanna make it move !

┗━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┛

SEB'S BARN LOOKED absolutely incredible. It was no longer dark and was in the midst of being decorated beautifully by everyone. The atmosphere felt very bright and lively. In the matter of maybe about two days, Seb's barn had transformed into a scene that only screamed party, thanks to the collaboration of Kourtney and Howie, the boy at the pizza shop who she definitely had a crush on.

Athena stood in a line with Big Red, Kourtney, and Nini. They were helping Big Red attach more decorations to some bales of hay. It was like a little mini assembly line.

"Wow, you guys decorated this place crazy fast," Nini commented.

"You should see him at the pizza shop," Kourtney told her. "Nobody folds a box faster. We call him Oregano Origami."

"Wow, really?" Big Red asked. "I always wanted a nickname."

Athena raised an eyebrow. "Was Red not a good enough nickname for you?"

"Shut up, Athena."

"Oh, this makes me so happy," Nini cut in.

"Big Red doing manual labor?" Kourtney questioned.

"No, you guys! Uh, for a minute I was feeling sad about not being in the show, but now, looking at you all, spreading your wings, working at the pizza shop, getting the lead role, doing a thousand different things at once. I don't know, it's like a very small reminder that the world is my oyster."

"Okay, uh, but never mix oysters and pizza," Big Red stated.

Kourtney looked down at Nini. "Wait, do you want a job?"

"Oh, we aren't currently hiring. That is, unless Howie and Kourtney actually get together, and then they break up, and then one of them quits."

Athena laughed. "He didn't lie."

Kourtney chuckled nervously. "Wait, what are you even . . . that's crazy. You can't . . . it's insane with that . . . that little man is my employee."

"Technically, not really," Big Red countered. "So, you are free to date each other."

"You know what? I think I'm gonna go. That's enough."

Kourtney set down her decorations and rushed off. While Nini stepped up to join Big Red on a higher bale of hay, Athena watched after Kourtney while giggling to herself. She was just in the denial phase.

"Athena!" a voice suddenly exclaimed.

The girl quickly turned around, her eyes widening upon seeing Seb approaching her. "Oh my God, Seb! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Carlos right now?"

"Yeah, but I really just needed to run an idea by you really fast."

She nodded. "Yeah, yeah, of course. What's up?"

"So I was thinking . . . I want to sing The Climb by Miley Cyrus tonight. We all have our own climbs in life, especially with Carlos and I discovering our identities, and I'd just think it'd be the perfect song to sing for a birthday present."

"That's an incredible gift idea," Athena replied sincerely. "I'm serious. It's really beautiful, Seb. Carlos will love it."

"One more thing," Seb admitted, holding up a couple pieces of paper. "I need a favor."

She nodded in reassurance. "Yeah, anything."

"I want you to play the piano for it."

Athena blinked. "What?"

"I know I can do it myself, but I've realized that you haven't played in a while since you got the lead. Not only that, but you mean so much to me and to Carlos, too, so . . . I would love for you to play the music while I sing."

"Really?" Athena asked in confirmation, still a little stunned. "You want me to?" Seb nodded, making her smile widen. "Oh my God, Seb, of course! I'd love to play the piano for this special moment between you and Carlos." She reached forwards and squeezed his hand. "Thank you for letting me be a part of it."

Seb nodded rapidly. "Okay, perfect. I gotta go run and distract Carlos." He thrusted the papers into her hands. "Here's the music. Piano's outside on the truck. Thank you again."

"Good luck!" Athena called after him as he briskly walked away.

Athena looked back down at the music in her hands. Her heart glowed as she looked around the barn. Just like Seb said, a white piano on the bed of a pickup truck was outside, so she headed in that direction. However, on the way, Ricky stepped straight into her pathway and forced her to stop.

"Hey, Attie, should we talk to Miss Jenn—" Ricky began.

"Not right now," she interrupted. Athena held up the papers to show him. "I have to go practice some music. I'll be back soon, okay?" She kissed him quickly. "Love you."

"To the moon and to Saturn," Ricky responded, his voice fading into the background as she walked away, Ricky slightly frowning as he stared after his girlfriend.

After another half hour of Athena learning the song (she already slightly knew the melody, which therefore helped her with knowing the chords and such — she pretty much had it down), more decorating, and some video messages to Carlos conducted by EJ, it was finally time for Carlos to arrive.

Athena got off the bed of the truck and joined her friends by the doors. She gravitated to the space between Gina and Violetta. Athena smiled at the two of them in greeting. Violetta gave her one back, but Gina seemed to ignore it. Athena slightly frowned but brushed it off. This was Carlos' night. No drama.

"Open the doors!" Seb yelled from outside.

Ricky and EJ opened the door together. Seb and Carlos were standing there, Carlos looking completely and utterly shocked.

"Happy Birthday Carlos!" everyone chorused.

Carlos reached up and touched his hat. "Wait, this can't be happening."

"It is," Seb voiced.

"I'm not wearing a party outfit."

"We got you covered."

Carlos greeted everyone before leaving to go change into his party clothes. Gina left as well with Violetta so they could get ready for the number Gina had put together. Once Carlos came back in his totally glamorous outfit, it was time for the party to begin.

While everyone else found spots on the hay bales, Athena and Ricky went up on stage with microphones. Big Red shone a huge spotlight on them, making Ricky momentarily squint from the bright light. Athena merely chuckled at him.

"Yes, Athena and Ricky!" Kourtney shouted.

"Hey guys!" Athena exclaimed. She glanced over at Ricky. "Here's the one thing I want you to know . . ."

"It's Carlos' quinceañero!" Ricky finished. He waited for some of the applause to die down. "Gina, get on up here!" Everyone cheered again as Gina got up on stage, looking fabulous in a huge salsa skirt and an embellished jacket Kourtney made for her. "Gina, everybody!"

"Go, G!" Athena added. She lowered her microphone and squeezed Gina's shoulder momentarily. "You're gonna kill it."

She grabbed her boyfriend's hand and led the two of them off the stage. After they set their microphones down, Athena and Ricky found an empty bale of hay to sit on. The two sat next to each other, their interlocked hands resting in Athena's lap as Ricky's thumb gently traced over her knuckles.

Gina tapped on the microphone on her headset. "Testing, testing. Hello. Carlos Rodriguez, we, um, 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. Because I remember where I was in seventh grade, or, uh, all of the places that I was that year, 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." She scoffed quietly. "Haters gonna hate. 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. No matter what happens tomorrow . . ." Gina's voice quivered and tears shone in her eyes underneath the lights. Athena frowned slightly at it as Gina began to get choked up, wondering what was wrong. "Or the day after that, we just keep on dancing." She walked backwards to the rope hanging from the ceiling. "Roll the tape."

She pulled on the rope, and everyone cheered again as a white sheet dropped down. The lights dimmed and a video of a younger Carlos projected onto the sheet. Athena laughed slightly to herself as she saw it. She remembered watching that video a couple years ago and absolutely loving it.

"Hello, world!" Carlos on the video greeted. "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. Now, please enjoy this dance I made up. It is on fleek."

Carlos began to dance, even going as far to pick up a blanket to use as a makeshift skirt. Athena cheered and shared an excited look with Ricky as Gina stepped in front of the sheet. Music started, and Gina began to perform her song A Dancer's Heart. Two dancers pulled the sheet away. Gina's choreography was intricate and detailed (duh, it's Gina) and slightly mirrored the moves that Carlos used in his video. Three dancers then joined Gina on stage as she removed her large skirt and each had turns dancing with her.

"Oh, wow," Ricky commented.

"Get it, G!" Athena yelled.

The comments from everyone seemed to make Gina just a little bit more confident. Steph and Violetta, each in huge skirts like Gina once was, got up on stage and joined their dance partner. Athena gasped and watched as everyone.

Athena cheered even louder. "Yeah, Vi!"

"That's my girlfriend!" EJ announced.

The routine continued. All of the dancers moved in a different formation so instead of dancing with partners they were dancing as a whole. Seb grabbed Carlos' hand and pulled him up closer to the stage. Gina approached them and offered her hand out to Carlos. He got up on stage and stood in the very center. And as Gina finished her song, she placed a crown right on top of Carlos' head.

Everyone inside the barn gave Gina and her dancers an enthusiastic applause. Gina and Carlos shared a long hug on stage. Athena then looked up to see Seb rushing towards her. He leaned down so she could hear him better over everyone.

"It's almost time," Seb voiced. "Mike will back up the truck — don't worry, I already asked — in about five minutes. I have to go change really fast. Be ready."

Athena nodded. "I'll be there. Go."

"Be ready for what?" Ricky asked as Seb walked away.

She kissed his cheek momentarily. "You'll see. Just get everyone to sit together."

Athena stood up from next to him. She briskly walked as fast as she could outside, shivering slightly as the cold air hit her skin. Athena got up onto the bed of the truck and sat onto the piano bench. A white microphone in a white stand was next to it, obviously for Seb. She placed her fingers onto the keys and mimicked the song without actually playing anything to make sure she had it right.

Footsteps in the grass was then heard. Athena looked up to see Seb walking towards her in the same maroon suit he wore to Homecoming just a few months ago. She smiled as he got up into the bed of the truck and stood by his microphone.

"Seb, you look amazing," Athena told him.

"Thank you," he replied. Seb gripped his microphone in his hand. "I'm nervous, 'Thena."

"It's okay to be," she reassured him. "But Carlos will adore this. I mean, who doesn't like The Climb?"

He laughed a little. "Thank you again for doing this. You'll probably play it better than I could."

"Nonsense, Seb. You're incredible at piano. And of course. Thank you for asking me. Truly, I'm honored."

"Okay, who stole my boyfriend?" Carlos's voice questioned.

"And my girlfriend?" Ricky added.

Athena raised an eyebrow at Seb. "That's our cue. Mike, you can go."

Mike started the truck and slowly backed up into the barn. Once everyone's eyes set on them, they cheered loudly. Athena looked over to see them all gathered on the bales of hay. She locked eyes with Ricky and gave him a grin. He blew her a discreet kiss, making her heart flutter. She then glanced back to see a band of people playing a cello, a violin, and the drums up on stage.

"Carlos, hi," Seb began, speaking into his white microphone that matched the white piano. "Um, I think you know that there is nothing greater than the love we share for power ballads originally sung by iconic women. Yes, you're my boyfriend, but you're also sort of my hero. Here's something I never told you. That video from when you were thirteen has one thousand views. I would say roughly one hundred of them were from me. I was twelve years old and hiding in my room — in every sense of that word. Uh, your post kinda went viral. Semi-viral for Utah. Um, I — I didn't know who you were. I barely knew who I was. I just knew that I felt . . . inspired. So I just kept on hitting repeat. So, thank you, and happy birthday."

Everyone clapped. Athena turned her head back around and placed her fingers onto the keys of the first chord she had to play.

"And we have our beautiful girl Athena on the piano," Seb announced, gesturing to her. Athena waved at all of them. She went to go press her fingers onto the keys to start, but Seb quickly stopped her. "Oh, and I hope it's not disappointing to the king of fashion that I'm wearing the same suit that I wore to Homecoming. My parents said that I have to wear this till I grow out of it. Okay, here goes."

Athena finally started to play the soft familiar melody. She smiled to herself at the feeling of playing the piano again. Recently, she hadn't had much time to with play rehearsal (which this time she wasn't playing the piano because of her lead role) and homework. It felt good to get back to doing one thing she adored the most.

"I can almost see it," Seb sang incredibly after Athena played the intro. "That dream I'm dreaming but, there's a voice inside my head saying, you'll never reach it. Every step I'm taking, every move I make feels lost with no direction, my faith is shaking. But I, I gotta keep trying. Gotta keep my head held high. There's always gonna be another mountain, I'm always gonna wanna make it move. Always gonna be an uphill battle, sometimes I'm gonna have to lose. Ain't about how fast I get there, ain't about what's waiting on the other side. It's the climb."

Seb continued on with the song, the band joining in with the song now. Athena kept her gaze on the piano keys so she wouldn't mess up, but she soon realized that she knew the song and that she had no sheet music in front of her. So on that part of the chorus where she stopped playing the piano intermittently so Seb could belt out the lyrics, she looked up.

Instantly, her eyes filled with tears. Seb was staring at Carlos with so much love and adoration that she couldn't help but cry. The two of them were so incredibly strong. Within a community where not a lot of people were LGBTQ+, they found the strength to come out and finally be themselves. Athena had no idea how hard that could've been for them. Truly, they did have to climb over some horrible obstacles. And in a song like this for reasons like that, Seb wanted Athena to be a part of something this special? She was crying the most over that. Athena still couldn't believe it.

She looked over at her friends on the hay. Everyone was crying too, even Ricky. Their gazes met. She chuckled softly, careful not to interrupt Seb's singing, as some tears fell down her cheeks. He cheered louder than everyone else. That honestly made her cry more because she could feel how proud he was even from here.

Seb finished singing, and Athena played a couple more soft notes before stopping. All of their friends clapped for them. Athena stood up from the piano bench and wrapped Seb up in a tight hug. She sniffled a bit as he hugged her back momentarily. Athena was the first one to pull away, but she reached up and placed her hands on either side of his face, smiling widely at him despite the tears on her face.

"You did amazing," she told him quietly.

"So did you," Seb replied, lifting his hands up and squeezing her wrists gently.

The two of them dropped their hands once they noticed Carlos stand up from the hay and start to approach the truck. Athena leaned down and carefully got off of the truck first. She stepped down onto the ground and smiled at Carlos as he approached her.

Carlos hugged her tightly. "You're incredible."

She squeezed him back. "Happy birthday, you icon."

The two of them pulled away. While Carlos went to Seb — who kneeled down on the bed of the truck to give him a hug as well — Athena gravitated to Ricky who was standing up now. Once she got close enough, he reached up his hands and cupped her face. He gently traced his thumbs against her cheeks to wipe away some stray tears while tears of his own were in his eyes.

"You never fail to amaze me," Ricky whispered to her.

"It was all Seb," Athena responded. "I was just along for the ride."

Ricky shook his head and kissed her forehead. "You were still a part of that performance and absolutely killed it. Let me be a proud boyfriend."

"Where did you come from and why am I so lucky?" Carlos asked to Seb.

Athena and Ricky looked away from each other to watch their friends. She snaked her arms around Ricky's waist and held him tight as she laid her head on his chest. Ricky rested his chin on top of her head and put his arms around her as well, rubbing her back softly.

"Wasatch County, and you just are," Seb answered.

The two of them shared a sweet kiss. Athena softly smiled at it and held Ricky just a little bit tighter, the two of them slightly swaying in their hug. There were absolutely no words to describe how much she adored Carlos and Seb.

"Speech, speech, speech!" Gina encouraged.

Everyone else began to urge him on, too. Seb stood back up and grabbed his microphone before handing it to Carlos. Carlos took it, and Seb sat down on the bed of the truck.

"Um . . . I'm not sure how I can thank you all for this," Carlos admitted. "I've never been accused of being speechless. I can't thank you all enough for just getting me. Everybody should have people who just get them."

"We love you Carlos!" Rico, one of the dancers, called out, and everybody echoed after him.

Seb took the microphone from Carlos' hand. "I've done a little research, and if this is, in fact, your quinceañero, then he must choose his madrina." He leaned closer to Carlos. "That means godmother."

Carlos grabbed the microphone again. "Honey, I'm not that bad at Spanish."

"One, two, three, not it!" Kourtney shouted. "I got enough jobs as it is already."

Carlos let out a deep breath. "I choose, as my madrina . . ."

He ended up picking Miss Jenn as his madrina. Judging by how close they were, it wasn't really surprising, but it was a wholesome moment for the two of them. Miss Jenn was left a blubbering mess and couldn't stop crying when EJ tried to get her to film a video message for Carlos.

Meanwhile, Athena sat at a table with Ricky, Nini, and Violetta. Violetta had long changed out of that dancer costume and was wearing a pretty green dress with EJ's pink blazer over it because she was getting cold.

"Remember my fifteenth birthday party?" Violetta questioned to the table. "Now that was a time."

Athena laughed. "Oh, man. Your parents were so mad that Big Red jumped into the pool from the roof."

Nini pointed at her. "Was that the same night we played an extreme game of hide and seek and literally none of us could find Ricky?"

"I was in a good hiding spot," Ricky protested.

"You were in a small sink cabinet for, like, thirty minutes," Athena voiced. "How did you even fit in there?"

Ricky rested his forearms on the table and leaned closer to her. "Magic, Athena. Magic."

"Speaking of magic . . ." Miss Jenn's voice stated, and the four of them looked to see her approaching their table. "Hi."

Ricky blinked at her. "Hi."

"Hi. You know how I always say the craziest ideas occur either in the shower or in an airplane bathroom during turbulence?"

"I'm pretty sure you've never said that," Violetta said.

Miss Jenn, however, was staring right at Nini. "Nini, I think you belong on stage with us. No, I know you do."

Athena gasped excitedly. "Wait, she's joining the show?"

Their teacher pulled out a rose from the centerpiece and raised it dramatically. "I have an idea that'll blow the competition out of the water."

Miss Jenn didn't exactly tell them her idea yet. Apparently she wanted it to be a surprise, so she just left the four at the table with nothing but wonder of what Nini could possibly do. Nevertheless, the night continued on. The whole group (except Gina, she was talking to someone on the phone) found themselves dancing with each other in a circle to the familiar song of Teenage Dream.

Athena jumped up and down next to Violetta as Big Red and Ashlyn danced with each other in the middle of the circle. She suddenly felt Ricky grab her hand, and she giggled as he pulled her to the middle once Big Red and Ashlyn left. He spun her around a couple of times before pulling her in by her hand very quickly. She gently slammed into him, making both of them laugh harder as they laced their fingers together. Athena's heart raced from both their close proximity and the love she had for this boy.

However, little did they know that their fun wouldn't last very long. The competition between them and North High was rising. And that blonde girl, Lily? Yeah, let's just say she has some tricks up her sleeve. Things were just getting started.

═ • ° • ✧ • ° • ═

this book 🤝 me
highlighting ricky and athena's love language of physical touch

I'M ALSO VERY MUCH MALFUCTIONING OVER RED (TAYLOR'S VERSION) IT'S GONNA HAVE 30 SONGS AND ALL TOO WELL IS GONNA BE 10 MINUTES I CAN'T I AM VERY UNWELL

notice how I did some wake up lyrics instead of I think I kinda, you know lyrics when they introduced gina bc itikyk was the first song nini wrote for ricky while wake up was the first song athena wrote for ricky? I'm so smart sometimes go me

anyways seb singing the climb for carlos gave me fucking LIFE I can die happily now. stop it I literally cried