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𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗢𝗢 𝗗𝗘𝗘𝗣

chapter nine:
the quinceañero !

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VIOLETTA HAD FILMED a Happy Birthday message for Carlos. EJ had started working with Mr. Mazzara in the AV club — which Violetta never saw coming. It was actually his whole idea to set up video messages. Violetta had just finished her speech about how much she adored Carlos when Miss Jenn came up to them, saying that there was only two minutes left until Carlos came.

The two of them joined their friends by the door of the barn to wait. EJ kissed the top of Violetta's head gently before going over to the door to help Ricky open it. Athena then came — she had been somewhere in the barn all night, but Violetta hadn't seen much of her. She situated herself in between Violetta and Gina, giving them a small smile in greeting. Violetta grinned back at her best friend. However, it slightly dropped when Gina just seemed to ignore it altogether.

"Open the doors!" Seb calledfrom outside, making Violetta snap her head towards the door.

EJ and Ricky opened the door together to reveal Seb and Carlos standing outside. Violetta slightly laughed at the way Carlos' face morphed into one of shock.

"Happy Birthday Carlos!" all of them yelled.

Carlos' eyes widened and he reached up, touching his hat. "Wait, this can't be happening."

"It is," Seb told him.

"I'm not wearing a party outfit."

"We got you covered."

Carlos quickly greeted everyone — Violetta giving him a tight hug — before leaving to go change into the party clothes Seb had gotten for him. Gina then tapped Violetta's shoulder and nodded her head towards the stage. It was time. Violetta scurried backstage and changed from her green dress and Converse into the costume for the dance, which was a floral dress with a huge removable skirt and black boots.

Violetta watched the stage from the wings. Everyone else was sitting on the hay bales, which included Carlos in a very glamorous outfit. Athena and Ricky then got up on the stage with microphones to introduce the number. Big Red shined a huge spotlight on them, making Ricky wince and squint. Athena slightly laughed at him.

"Yes, Athena and Ricky!" Kourtney shouted.

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

Violetta shook her head, a small smile on her face. She loved the Wake Up reference.

"It's Carlos' quinceañero!" Ricky finished. He waited for some of the applause to die down. "Gina, get on up here!" Gina then got up on stage in a huge salsa skirt and an embellished jacket Kourtney had made for her, Violetta clapping for her loudly. "Gina, everybody!"

"Go, G!" Athena added.

She lowered her microphone and said something quiet to Gina before leaving the stage with Ricky. Violetta felt a presence next to her, and she looked up to see that it was Kaden — probably one of the dancers she was closest to. He elbowed her side, making her roll her eyes playfully and elbow him back.

Gina tapped on her microphone, which was on the headset she was wearing. "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 quietly scoffed. "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 . . ." Her voice started to quiver and her eyes filled with tears, making Violetta frown in concern. "Or the day after that, we just keep on dancing." She walked backwards to the rope that was hanging from the ceiling. "Roll the tape."

Gina pulled on the rope, and everyone cheered once more as a white sheet dropped down. The lights dimmed darker and a video of a younger Carlos projected onto the sheet. Violetta smiled at it. She remembered seeing that video for the first time when it came out and admiring his confidence.

"Hello, world!" Carlos on the video stated. "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 started to salsa dance, even going as far to pick up a blanket to use as a makeshift skirt. Violetta let out a deep breath, running her hands down her skirt as Gina stepped in front of the sheet. The very familiar music of A Dancer's Heart started, and Rico and one of the other dancers pulled the sheet away. Gina started to dance her intricate and detailed choreography (well, duh, it was Gina) and mirrored the moves Carlos had in his video while singing the song she had wrritten. Kaden, Rico, and the other dancer joined Gina on stage as she removed her large skirt. Each one of them had turns dancing with her.

The comments from the crowd made Gina even more confident than she already was. Finally, it was time for Violetta and Steph to be added. They shared a glance from across the stage, both nodding their heads at each other to signal that they were ready.

Violetta stepped onto the stage, joining Rico, her partner for the dance. She took his hand and moved her skirt around, allowing her to twirl and be moved around.

Athena cheered loudly from the audience. "Yeah, Vi!"

"That's my girlfriend!" EJ yelled.

Violetta grinned even brighter at those comments as well as doing the one thing she loved the most — dance. The music slowed down, and Violetta and Steph removed their skirts, flying them around in the air in a beautiful pattern. They threw them to the side and got in formation, starting to dance together as a whole. Violetta continued the routine as Gina got out of line, going to get Carlos from the side of the stage as Seb brought him up.

She smiled brightly at him and placed a hand on his shoulder as Carlos joined them on stage. Gina moved him to the very center, and as she finished her song, she placed a crown on top of her head. Violetta stood there, breathing slightly heavily as she clapped for Carlos while the audience clapped for the number. Gina and Carlos then shared quite a long hug on stage before Gina pushed him back forwards, allowing Carlos to have his moment.

Carlos then got off stage to take pictures with the others in his crown. Violetta snuck backstage again and changed back into her green dress and her more comfortable shoes before going out into the barn.

She hadn't even appeared for a second when she was swept up into someone's arms, her feet leaving the ground. Violetta slightly shrieked from the sudden movements, but the feel of whose arms it was told her that there was nothing to be worried about. She laughed for a moment and put her arms around EJ's neck, holding on tight as he moved them in a circle for a moment.

"You're incredible," EJ voiced, pulling away so that he was looking at her face. "Like, truly. That was amazing."

Violetta shook her head. "It was all Gina. Trust me."

"And yet you're the one who seems to be glowing the brightest."

"Thank you," Violetta replied quietly. "Can you put me down now?"

"Nope." EJ adjusted her so that he was holding her better and held on tight. "Let me show off my beautiful girlfriend for a moment."

"EJ, seriously?"

"Yes," EJ answered. He started to walk, making Violetta giggle and clutch onto him so she wouldn't fall, although she knew EJ wouldn't dare drop her. "Hey guys, look, it's V!"

After a lot of compliments and EJ finally setting her back down on the ground, the group migrated to sit on some hay. The only ones who were missing were Seb and Athena for some reason. However, there were two people with violins on the stage, so she kind of had an inkling of what was going on. Violetta sat on one of the higher up hay bales, near Miss Jenn.

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

"And my girlfriend?" Ricky added.

A truck then backed into the barn slowly by none other than Mike Bowen. Violetta looked up and gasped. On the bed of the truck was a white piano, which Athena was sitting at. Seb stood next to her with a microphone and now wearing a red suit. EJ then came and stood next to Violetta, a camera in his hand to record the whole thing.

"Carlos, hi," Seb began, a white microphone in his hand 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."

They all clapped for a moment.

"And we have our beautiful girl Athena on the piano." Seb gestured to her, and Athena waved. He then stopped her again as she went to play. "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 started to play the piano. The melody was soft, but ultimately familiar. Violetta smiled softly at herself at the song — The Climb. She placed a hand over her heart as she watched Athena play the piano and Seb sing the song. The violins joined in, making the song even more beautiful.

Violetta suddenly felt tears fill in her eyes against her own will. She usually hated crying, but she couldn't help it. Everything about this was just so beautiful. The violins, Athena playing the piano, Seb singing. Not to mention, Seb was staring at Carlos with so much love an adoration that there was no way she couldn't.

The two of them were so strong. Not a lot of people were LGBTQ+ at East High, but the they had found the courage to come out and be themselves. It must've been so incredibly hard for them to do that, well, for anyone to do that. They truly deserved the whole world.

Suddenly, Athena played a chord at a time on the piano, allowing Seb to belt out the lyrics. Violetta clapped loudly, letting out a small sniffle as to not disrupt the song. She reached up and wiped away a tear right at her eye, careful not to ruin her makeup. EJ noticed this and reached one hand over, taking hers in it. Violetta interlocked their fingers together and held on tight. She snuck a glance at everyone else. They were also crying, and the one that was crying the most (besides Carlos) was Ricky, probably nothing but pride for Athena.

Seb finished singing the song, and Athena played a couple more soft notes on the piano before stopping. Violetta clapped her free hand against her knee gently. She leaned over and rested her head on EJ's shoulder, smiling softly at how Athena stood up and hugged Seb.

"I always knew you had a soft side," EJ whispered as Athena moved off of the truck to hug Carlos.

Violetta rolled her eyes, sniffling again. "Way to ruin the moment, honey."

EJ leaned over and kissed her forehead gently, causing another tear to drip down her cheek. "I'm kidding." He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Is it weird to say that you look pretty when you cry?"

Violetta laughed through her slight tears. "As long as you're not the one who's making me cry, I think it's okay."

"I never want to be the one that makes you cry."

"That's a good goal to have."

"Where did you come from and why am I so lucky?" Carlos then questioned to Seb, making Violetta look away from her boyfriend and back at the couple by the truck.

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

Carlos and Seb shared a sweet kiss. Violetta grinned at it and nuzzled her head a little farther into EJ's shoulder. She really loved the two of them.

"Speech, speech, speech!" Gina urged.

All of them urged him on as well. Seb stood up from kneeling on the truck and grabbed his microphone. He handed it to Carlos before sitting back down next to where his boyfriend was standing.

"Um . . . I'm not sure how I can thank you all for this," Carlos said. "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 shouted, and they all echoed after him.

Seb took the microphone from Carlos. "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 back. "Honey, I'm not that bad at Spanish."

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

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

Then — surprise, surprise — he chose Miss Jenn as his madrina. It was a wholesome moment between the two of them. Miss Jenn was left a crying mess with her mascara running down her cheeks as EJ tried to get her to film a video message for Carlos.

That's where Violetta found herself now, sitting at a table with Athena, Ricky, and Nini. EJ had so graciously given her his pink blazer since she was getting cold from just wearing her green dress.

"Remember my fifteenth birthday party?" Violetta inquired to her friends. "Now that was a time."

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

Nini pointed to Violetta. "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 insisted.

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

Ricky leaned closer to her. "Magic, Athena. Magic."

"Speaking of magic . . ." Miss Jenn's voice began, and they all looked to see her approaching the table. "Hi."

Ricky blinked at their teacher. "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 stated.

Miss Jenn, however, ignored her and was stared 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?"

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

She didn't tell them her idea just yet, wanting to keep it a surprise. Miss Jenn left the four of them at the table, all of them glancing at each other in confusion. Nevertheless, the light continued on. The whole group found themselves in a circle with each other (besides Gina, who was talking to someone on the phone.) They were all dancing to Teenage Dream.

Violetta jumped up and down next to Athena while Big Red and Ashlyn danced with each other in the middle. Ricky then pulled Athena in, and they danced around — well, it was mostly Ricky just twirling Athena around.

They went back to their original spots, making Violetta grab EJ's hand and pull him into the circle. She pressed up onto her toes and reached their hands up as far as she could go. EJ had to duck a little bit, but he let her twirl him. He then lifted up their hands higher and twirled her, which went a lot better. She laughed loudly as EJ spun her back into him and caught her, dipping her back. He brought her back up and they spun around a couple more times until they went back to their places in the circle.

However, little did they know that all the fun they had night wouldn't last very long. The competition between them and North High was rising, a lot quicker than they expected it to.

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a dancer's heart is such an underrated bop