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𝗜 𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗟𝗟 𝗗𝗢

chapter fourteen:
long live all the magic we made !

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VIOLETTA GOT INTO her blue dress and got her makeup touched up, along with her curls. She was completely photo-ready, but somehow, she didn't feel like . . . herself. Don't get her wrong, she looked pretty, but she definitely needed to see everyone first before she left.

She entered the room, trying her best to control her emotions by taking a deep breath. Everyone gasped at the sight of her, making her smile a little. And . . . yep. She felt like herself again.

Violetta stopped in her tracks. "Hey, guys."

"Maybe everyone should sit down for this," Miss Jenn stated.

Truth be told, Violetta couldn't be alone for this. Not right now. Ricky and Athena were already standing in front of everyone, anyways.

"Actually, Athena, could you stay up here with me?" Violetta asked, her vulnerable side seeping through her tone.

Athena nodded. "Of course."

Violetta moved to where Ricky once stood, and where Athena remained, before looking around at all of her best friends. "I have a lot to say to everyone, and I don't even know where to begin. And the makeup people told me I couldn't cry before the press conference, but . . . I guess I'll just say it." She exhaled again. "I got cast as the lead in Quinn's next movie, and I'm getting in a limo in about twenty minutes that's going to take me to the airport, where I'll fly to New Zealand." Violetta then turned to Mr. Mazzara. "Sorry for bringing up New Zealand, I know it's a sore subject for you after the whole Six Below Zero thing."

"It hurts less now," Mr. Mazzara told her.

"And I just wanted to say . . . before I met you guys, I didn't realize how lost I was. I felt like I was just floating around, being all these people depending on who I was with, but now . . ." Violetta felt tears well up in her eyes — well, so much for not crying. It was basically pointless now. "I'm just Violetta. Or Vi. Or V. And Now I'm supposed to leave here for a really long time because I'm going to be Juliet in a hundred million dollar Romeo and Juliet movie."

There was so much she wanted to say before she left. So, she decided to address each person individually.

"This isn't goodbye, but . . ." Violetta looked to the dancers. "Kaden, Lauryn, my dancers . . . see, acting was never my scene. It was always dance. But you guys have taught me that I can multitask, no matter how big or small the role was. I have found such incredible friendships in you guys, and I don't know who I would be if I hadn't met you and danced with you."

Violetta turned to Ashlyn, tears now actively rolling down her face. "Ash. Ever since the day we met, I've watched you grow into the person you are today. You've taught me that our identities can keep growing and nobody else can define us."

She looked to Kourtney. "And Kourt. For all of my life, I've put on such a tough exterior to truly hide how hurt and scared I was. You are so, so brave. Strength doesn't come from being fearless, it comes from overcoming that fear. Also, your style is unmatched."

Violetta sniffled before turning to Gina. "G. Not going to lie, I wasn't exactly your biggest fan at first. Anyone who messed with Athena Blake messed with me. But then I got to know you, and you are the kindest, most genuine person ever. Whenever I dance with you, we just move so in sync. And our double intimidation factor is definitely lethal."

She looked to Carlos. "And Carlos, you're absolutely hilarious. I mean, you never miss a beat. Learning your choreography as been the highlight of my life, and I can't believe you even allowed me to help sometimes. No matter what happens to us, we just keep on dancing."

Violetta turned to Seb. "Oh, my Seb. You're the most precious person I've ever met. Not going to lie, you're like a dog in a human form. You see the world in such a pure light, and God, I wish the world was as pure as you see it."

She looked to Jet. "Jet, you're with G and I on the intimidation factor. You definitely all freaked us out when we got to camp. Yet underneath all that, you're just a big softie like the rest of us. And I swear, if you don't ask Kourtney out before she graduates, you're doing life wrong."

Violetta turned to Emmy. "Emmy. We may have only known each other for a few months, but you're like a little sister to me now. Not going to lie, I don't get you sometimes, like how you disappear and only write in cryptic messages, but I love you for it. You've grown a lot, and you're definitely going to take over the world. Just take us with you, okay?"

She looked to Miss Jenn. "And Miss Jenn, you have taught me, and taught all of us that it's not about what part you get, it's about creating something with the people you love. It's one of the lessons I've cherished the most. My mom and my dad haven't been there for me for most of my life, but you were last semester. You've been so much more than a teacher. Words can't describe how much that has meant to me."

And now, probably for the ones that were going to wreck her the most. Violetta sniffled again, doing her best not to wipe her face so she wouldn't wipe her makeup off.

Violetta turned to Big Red. "Big Red, welcome back from Cairo. I know we fight and I know we tease each other, but you have stuck by my side through it all. You have the biggest heart and you love so unconditionally. Now, you may be stupid, but I love you for it. I truly don't know what I would do without you."

She looked to Ricky. "And Ricky. You've always been an idiot, and you can't deny it. But I see how happy you make my best friend, and that's all I've wanted for her. I've never told you this, but our friendship is something that I value a lot. You're like my brother, and as someone who always wanted a sibling growing up, you've filled those shoes. Even though you get a little scared sometimes, you have so much love to give."

Violetta turned to EJ, and her entire vision got blurry with tears. "Oh, this one's going to kill me. EJ, when I first started to fall for you, I was like oh, God, please no. I made this entire love back plan to get it to stop, but it evidently didn't work, because the heart wants what it wants. And it definitely chose a good one. I mean, you saw I didn't want to go in an empty house and brought me to get ice cream, and you even invited me to your Thanksgiving dinner because I didn't have anywhere to go. You taught me how to truly love." She grinned at him, twisting her ring around her finger. "We might be young, and we might be stupid, but I don't want to learn how to love anyone but you."

She looked to Athena right next to her, and her chest felt tight. "And finally, Athena. I've always thought of myself as a mirrorball. Somebody broken into a million pieces but still shines for everyone. But you've always managed to see just . . . me. The real me. I've never imagined a life without you right by my side." Violetta let out a sob, her hand reaching up to cover her mouth as she cried impossibly hard. "And now we're going to be seven-thousand miles away from each other."

Athena didn't even hesitate for a second. She reached out and pulled Violetta into a hug. Violetta held onto her tightly and cried into her shoulder. She didn't want this to be the last time she saw Athena for months.

Maddox entered the room. "Vi, we . . . wow." Violetta looked up and sniffled. A makeup artist instantly rushed up to her, dabbing underneath her eyes with a makeup sponge to fix her ruined makeup. "Um, we need you in the auditorium."

Ashlyn got up. "Wait, Maddox, are you . . ."

"I am. I'm supposed to do the movie, too. And I didn't . . . um . . . God, I'm so sorry. I didn't know how to tell you after . . . you know."

"So sorry for being a mess," Violetta told them, sniffling again. "I've talked a lot, so does anyone else want to speak?"

"You and Mack are gonna be late for your flight, Vi," Maddox explained, but honestly, Violetta didn't even care.

"Violetta," Miss Jenn cut in, and Violetta looked at her. "Never forget, tonight or any night. You can take the girl out of Salt Lake, but you can't take the Salt Lake out of the girl."

That hit truly close to home. Violetta nodded to her, a very tiny smile on her face. Maddox grabbed onto her arm urgently, and Violetta got the message. She turned and picked up her dress with her free hand, running out of the room.

Violetta ran as fast as she could in the silver heels she was wearing until she got to the auditorium. Her parents were waiting outside, smiling at her proudly. In all honesty, she hated that they were only looking at her like that because of the movie deal, but she gave them a tiny grin back. She peeked into the auditorium, which was full of people. There was a crowd of reporters all sitting in seats, their cameras flashing and their notepads in hand. Quinn was up at the podium that read Romeo & Juliet, speaking into the microphones.

"Now, I would like you to meet our stars, who are here to sign their contracts in front of the entire world, because transparency matters," Quinn voiced. "You'll meet Mack in just a moment. But right now, I would like to introduce you to our Juliet. Who, just moments ago, finished her own High School Musical production in a gymnasium down the hall. Please welcome, the world will know her name, Miss Violetta Chase."

That was her cue. She let out a deep breath and stepped into the auditorium. Instantly, all the cameras turned to her, blinding her with flashing lights. Violetta kept a smile on her face, but it was mostly fake. This was reminding her of the whole Frozen documentary disaster. Yet she had to keep it cool.

"Be bold," Quinn instructed when she reached the podium. "Let's make some headlines tonight."

Violetta nodded and stepped up onto the podium. "Hi. It's an incredible honor to be here tonight on the stage at East High for what is definitely the biggest night of my life. An opportunity like this one only comes once in a lifetime, and I'm very aware of that. I've never been a quitter, and I've been tasked with making some headlines tonight . . ."

She looked up, her voice trailing off as she watched all of her friends — her true family, run into the auditorium. All of them were watching her proudly, making her smile brighten. Athena waved at her and gave her a single nod. Her eyes then moved to EJ, who smiled softly at her and placed a hand over his heart and tapped it twice.

"And the only reason that I'm strong enough to play a big role like Juliet is because of everyone at East High that made me who I am," Violetta continued. "They taught me how to love, especially when it hurt."

She picked up the pink pen from the podium and looked down at the contract. However, when the pen hit the paper, she just froze. This couldn't be the end.

Be bold.

"And that's why I'm incredibly grateful to Quinn, who asked me to be bold tonight," Violetta said, turning around to Quinn. "So, thank you, Quinn, for agreeing last minute to have the shooting for Romeo and Juliet be here in Salt Lake City, where I can continue being a student with the best drama class ever."

And bold she could be.

The reporters all gasped, and all of her friends cheered and clapped. Violetta suddenly felt a huge amount of relief enter her, and she felt so much lighter. If she shot High School Musical 4 here while being a student, why couldn't she do the same for Romeo and Juliet?

"This is an incredible way to announce a movie!" a reporter shouted.

Quinn placed a hand on Violetta's shoulder, making her step to the side so she could have the podium. "Thank you, thank you. Yeah. Thank you. This was the plan the whole time. You know, to — to really, uh, make some headlines, as they say. You know, uh, Utah is a beautiful and surprising place. Uh, as are the people."

"Well, it worked."

While she went to go talk to the reporters, Violetta rounded around the podium and started to approach her friends. EJ practically pushed everyone away and rushed up to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and picking her frame up off the ground. Violetta giggled, throwing her arms around his neck to hold on.

"You just did that," EJ stated. "V — why — how did you—"

Violetta pulled away a little to look at his face. "I'm not leaving you. Not when I just got you back."

He grinned at her. EJ then leaned forwards and pressed their lips together in a sweet kiss. Violetta kissed him back for a moment before pulling away. He — although a bit reluctantly — set her back down. The next person to practically tackle her, no surprise here, was Athena.

Violetta laughed loudly, catching her in her arms. "Okay, okay, Athena, I get it."

"I can't believe you're staying," Athena admitted. "We get to spend senior year together, and you get to be a movie star."

"This is what Hannah Montana was talking about." Violetta looked at her fully. "I wasn't giving up on East High so easily."

She accepted hugs from the rest of her friends while all the reporters and her parents, who were a bit shellshocked, cleared out of the auditorium. Almost all of the drama club sat in the auditorium seats, just hanging out. Violetta and EJ, however, remained up on the stage.

EJ offered his hand to her. "Guess I have an excuse to visit East High more now."

Violetta grinned and laced their fingers together. "I'm not going anywhere, promise."

He squeezed her hand and leaned down, kissing her forehead.

Quinn marched up to them. "Hey, that little stunt you pulled back there?"

Violetta stared at her. "Yeah?"

"More of that as Juliet."

"Um, actually, I have another request."

Quinn offered her a fake smile. "Great."

Violetta glanced back at everyone for a moment. "I know my schedule will be crazy busy, but I'm going to need some time to do my spring musical."

"Yeah, uh, I get that. I could probably learn a thing or two from that teacher of yours." She then peered around Violetta. "Hey, Maddox, you still PA'ing this thing?"

"Absolutely," Maddox agreed, standing up from her chair. "As long as I also get to stage manage Miss Jenn's next show."

Ashlyn got up as well and ran to Maddox, pulling her into her arms. Oh, yeah, that had happened. The two of them had finally gotten their act together and were a couple now.

Quinn nodded. "Great."

She walked off the stage. Violetta turned back around, ready to join all of her friends by the seats. Maddox immediately held out a hand to her.

"Thank you," Violetta said. She then felt the back of her dress lift up off the ground, and she turned for a moment to see EJ had picked it up for her so she wouldn't fall. "And thanks to you, too."

She descended down the stairs. Violetta stood by everyone, and she high-fived Athena when she held out her hand. EJ then appeared next to her, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her close to him.

"Okay, okay," Carlos began. "So, if I've done the math correctly, there are two unnecessary tickets to New Zealand currently waiting at the Salt Lake Airport."

"Two first-class tickets," Seb added.

"Plus, a limo idling out front," EJ stated.

"I'm just saying, Benny the boy band member never got to play New Zealand," Jet revealed.

Mr. Mazzara's head snapped up to look at him. "What? Oh, no. No, I couldn't."

"Couldn't we?" Miss Jenn argued gently, smiling at him fondly.

Violetta's eyes widened, and she shared a look with EJ. Wow, tonight was really the night where everybody was figuring things out, wasn't it?

Mr. Mazzara just stared at her in bewilderment. "We?"

"Oh, finally," EJ commented, and Violetta laughed, slightly elbowing his side. "Sorry."

"Please, God, yes," Ricky pleaded. "Just take my dad out of the equation."

Instantly, all of them cheered and clapped. Mr. Mazzara reached out and pulled Miss Jenn into a hug. She gladly accepted it, resting her hand on his chest.

"So, we have a stretch limo out front, and I'm wearing a dress that costs fifteen thousand dollars," Violetta explained.

"So, what do theater kids do after opening night of their high school musical?" Big Red questioned

Ricky chuckled. "I have an idea."

And boy, did he. EJ had given her the jacket to his suit so she wouldn't be so cold before they latched hands again. Ricky brought out a camcorder, and filmed them all running out to where the limo was in front of the school. Violetta stared up at EJ for a second before looking around at all her friends, her heart warm. God, imagine if she had gone to New Zealand? She would've missed all of this.

They all clambered into the limo, and even though it was large, it was a tight squeeze with all of them. That didn't matter, though. Instantly, Born to Be Brave started playing, and they all sang along. It felt right, honestly. This was the song that practically defined who they were. Of course, Ricky filmed it all on his camcorder for the memories.

Finally, the limo stopped in front of the Denny's in Salt Lake. All of them got out, and Violetta accepted EJ's hand to help her. It felt a little strange to be showing up to Denny's in a dress like this, but she didn't care.

"Us, dressed up in fancy clothes going to a not so fancy place?" Violetta inquired, looking up at EJ with a fond look in her eyes. "I think we've seen this before."

"Taking you to get ice cream after Homecoming was the greatest decision I've ever made," EJ admitted. "I love you so much, V."

She smiled softly. "And I love you more."

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OH GOD THE SPEECH

also next chapter last chapter . . . how'd this happen