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𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗢𝗢 𝗗𝗘𝗘𝗣

chapter nineteen:
sad realizations !

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INTERMISSION WAS ALMOST over, and Violetta was found backstage, helping move around some props. Something There was the first song to be sung after intermission — which was Violetta's favorite song from Beauty and the Beast, might she add — and they had to set up the whole courtyard. She had just helped put the bench on the stage before she walked back into the wings.

"Oh, there you are," EJ stated, and Violetta looked up at him, grinning as he appeared in front of her. "Didn't get to catch you after Be Our Guest, which you absolutely killed, by the way."

Violetta let out a small laugh. "Thank you. And yeah, sorry, I was just helping them move props and stuff. Having a role as a dancer makes me have an extra set of hands, so it's all good. But can we talk about Gaston? It was perfect."

EJ waved her off. "Oh, stop it. But tell me more."

She rolled her eyes fondly. "You're such a dork."

"Yeah, well." EJ shrugged. "That's just who I am."

"Well, I guess it's good that I lo—" Violetta suddenly paused, her cheeks flushing red as she cleared her throat. "Like you just the way you are."

EJ smiled back at her, thankfully not noticing her mix-up. "Good to hear."

"Hey, you haven't seen Athena, have you?" Violetta asked. "I was going to try and convince her to talk to Ricky after the show."

"No, but I did see Ricky in one of the dressing rooms with Big Red on the way here."

Speaking of those two, they suddenly came into the wings as Natalie announced it was places. Violetta backed up into the shadows, taking EJ's hand in hers and pulling him with her. She peered at them from around the corner. Athena had her pinky extended to Ricky, and Ricky instantly interlocked his pinky with hers.

"I love you," Athena said to Ricky, making Violetta's eyes widen.

Ricky nodded in agreement, smiling at her like a lovesick puppy. "To the moon and to Saturn." They let go. "You okay now?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Would now be the right time to compliment how stunning you look in that costume?"

"It would, but we've got a show to put on. Let's do this."

They then walked onto the stage. Violetta's smile was large. Watching her two best friends get together again was incredible, and she was just glad that she wouldn't be slamming her head against the wall in annoyance at them anymore. She could tell that after their break they would be stronger than ever.

She didn't notice that EJ's gaze was on her. A soft grin was on his face and his eyes held nothing but adoration. In that moment, seeing her stand there in a villager dress with half of her curly hair tied back in a ribbon, EJ knew. He had known for a while, but for some reason, this really solidified it. Tonight was the night he had to tell her for sure, or else he was sure his heart would burst out of his chest.

Violetta gently nudged his side. "Well look at that. There may be something there that wasn't there before."

EJ rolled his eyes playfully at her. "I think it's always been there, V. They just needed some time to come together again."

Together, the two of them watched Ricky and Athena go on stage and start the song. Belle and the Beast had to act like they were falling in love, and obviously the two of them portrayed it perfectly because they were also falling in love. Violetta squeezed EJ's hand, staring out at the stage with literal stars in her eyes.

Her eyebrows started to knit in thought as she listened to the words. Back when her and EJ had started dating, he was a little bit mean. Well, maybe not mean, just doing the wrong things for the right reasons. But now he was dear to her. He took up most of her heart and had Violetta wondering why she hadn't seen how much of a big heart he had, too.

"New and a bit alarming," Athena sang, and the words flew around Violetta's brain.

The l-word feeling that she had been feeling for EJ was definitely new and alarming. Violetta had never felt something like that towards anyone before — at least, not in a romantic way. And it was totally alarming.

Violetta slowly looked up at EJ. EJ was still holding onto her hand tightly, and even if her head started to float away from how pretty he looked even with those ridiculous sideburns and eyebrows, he grounded her. He always did. Violetta felt her heart beat against her chest and she couldn't get herself to look away.

"Good, right?" EJ questioned softly.

Violetta blinked and snapped out of her trance, looking back at the stage just to see that the song had ended. "Oh. Um, yeah. Really good."

The rest of the show had continued out without any major hiccups . . . well, right until it got to the biggest moment in their show when the worst possible hiccup imaginable happened.

They had practiced the transformation the way they did it in the original Broadway show over and over, and the one object that was crucial had disappeared into thin air. Everyone was scrambling backstage, frantically looking for Ricky's harness. Meanwhile, the orchestra was playing music to try and buy them some time.

"How?" Violetta inquired in exasperation. "It's not like the harness could just grow legs and walk away."

Athena let out a nervous laugh. "Well, I mean, this is Beauty and the Beast. Inanimate objects can actually talk—"

Violetta gave her an incredulous look. "You know I love you, but Athena, now is not the time."

"Right, sorry."

"You guys, the orchestra hasn't vamped this much since Bop to the Top," Carlos stated.

"I know it's here," Natalie insisted. "I preset it."

Miss Jenn sprinted in. "What's wrong?"

"My harness is missing," Ricky replied.

"The new one for the transformation," Ashlyn added

"What?" Miss Jenn exclaimed, obviously panicked. "No, no, this can't be happening."

"It was here," Natalie protested.

"What else can I use?" Ricky asked.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, can't you just jump off something high?" Miss Jenn snapped.

Everyone froze in place. Violetta's eyes widened and her jaw dropped slightly. She stared at Miss Jenn in shock. Okay, Violetta understood she was panicked, but that was just totally uncalled for.

Miss Jenn's face flashed with regret. "Nope. Forget I said that. I will be . . . not here."

She ran back out of the room.

"I knew something would go wrong," Ricky complained.

Athena put a hand on her temple. "I just want to go to sleep."

Violetta agreed.

"Hey, hey, you guys!" Nini voiced. "All of you, stop it! Richard, let's just spin you around without the harness and you can toss the mask into the wings, okay? Just like rehearsal."

"Right, which I never got right once," Ricky reminded her. He then held up his wrist with the brace on it. "And now I'm supposed to do it with one hand?"

"Little harsh, Ric," Athena scolded quietly. "Uncalled for."

"Sorry. Second acts haven't traditionally been my strong suit."

Nini sighed. "First time for everything, right?"

"I can spin the table," EJ suggested.

"Ooh, I can throw snow," Carlos offered.

"And I'll catch your mask," Nini finished.

"Okay," Natalie voiced. "Our judge is literally doing sudoku." She took Ricky's arm. "I'm pushing you on stage. Aim for my face."

Violetta let out a breath and looked up at EJ. "You got this."

"I think it's Ricky you should be telling that to, not me," EJ responded.

"Maybe, but you're a part of this transformation now, so good luck."

EJ walked backwards and pointed at her. "I'm expecting a kiss after curtain call for it."

"Depends on your performance," Violetta argued lightly.

EJ shook his head at her before following after Ricky. Violetta watched him go, a fond smile on her face.

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VIOLETTA WATCHED AS EJ took his bow, a wide smile on his face that was illuminated by the stage lights, and everything suddenly hit her all at once.

This was his last show. He was a senior, and in a couple of months, he would be leaving her at East High to go into the real world. Violetta wondered why she had forgotten that major detail these past couple of months. She was just so stuck in the present and loving life with him that she hadn't even thought of the prospect that she would have to let him go.

The curtain closed, and all of the cast started to hug each other. Violetta's smile slipped off of her face as she watched her boyfriend high-five everyone, and her mind started to spin. There was a familiar tightness in her throat, and she turned around to leave. She had to get out of here, she had to go—

"V, I'm ready for my kiss because the transformation was successful," EJ announced, and she stopped in her tracks. She slowly turned back around, but her gaze was on the floor. "V? What—"

"Can you give me some time?" Violetta pleaded. "Just . . . please."

EJ didn't say anything else, so she took it as a yes. Violetta rushed out of the stage and went to the bomb shelter, where she quickly got changed out of her costume and back into her regular clothes. She then heard people start to trickle in, and she silently left, looking for an empty room.

Violetta found that the dressing room was empty, and she sat down at one of the tables, looking at herself in the mirror. As soon as she saw her reflection, her bottom lip quivered and her eyes shone with tears. Violetta reached over and grabbed a tissue off of the table. She wiped away a tear that had fallen, but it was no use, because more kept coming.

"Violetta?" a familiar voice questioned, and she turned her head to see Nini walking into the room with a concerned look on her face. "Violetta, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Violetta answered, giving her an evident fake smile. "I'm fine. Can you just . . . leave me alone for a little while?"

Nini nodded. "Yeah, sure. No problem."

She then turned around and left. Violetta let out a quiet sob, but quickly reached up and covered her mouth to silence it. She then rested both of her elbows on the table and put her face in her hands. Her hair spilled around her as she continued to cry, not really knowing what else to do in that current moment. When all her emotions hit her at once, it seemed like she could do nothing else but cry.

"Vi?" the voice of her best friend began. Violetta picked her face up out of her hands, and Athena frowned at her. "Oh, Violetta, what's wrong?"

Violetta instantly started to wipe some tears off of her cheeks as Athena approached her table. "Nothing, it's stupid."

"It's not stupid if you're crying about it." Athena sat down in the chair next to Violetta and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, Vi. You can talk to me. You've told me numerous times not to bottle up my feelings. It's my turn now to tell you the exact same thing."

Curse her for having so much logic.

Violetta sniffled. "It's EJ."

"Did you get into a fight?" Athena inquired.

"No, no, it's none of that." She wiped more tears away that had fallen. "We're actually doing really well. It's just . . . tonight, I really, really realized that it's his last show. I always knew, but it just hit me hard. He's leaving for college in a couple months, and I . . ." Her bottom lip quivered again, a new wave of emotions flowing throughout her. "I'm not one for sappy stuff like this, but 'Thena . . . I don't think I'm ready to let him go."

"And you're not going to let him go. Wherever he goes, the both of are going to make it work. If anyone can do it, it's you two. Come on, you're Violetta and EJ. Vi, we've been best friends since we were practically born. I have never seen you like a guy this much. And when you want a relationship to grow strong, you have to fight for it." She raised an eyebrow. "And Violetta Chase is no quitter."

Violetta let out a watery laugh. "I should go to you for advice more often."

Athena chuckled with her and shook her head. "No, Vi. You should be taking your own. Most of what I just said were things that you've said to me in the past." She took Violetta's hand. "You're the strongest person I know. It's okay to let yourself be afraid of things once in a while. You and EJ have only been dating for a couple months, but you guys work well." Athena squeezed Violetta's shoulder comfortingly. "I think you should talk to him about it. It's always good to communicate feelings in a relationship."

Violetta gave her a small smile. "Thank you, 'Thena."

"Any time, Vi." Athena stood up and offered her hand out to Violetta, who took it and used it to stand up as well. "EJ's also worried about you. He's back in the bomb shelter with the others, so . . ."

"I'll go find him." Violetta slung her backpack over her shoulder. "See you at Slices, yeah?"

"Yeah."

Violetta then left the room. She let out a deep breath as she walked back towards the bomb shelter. Violetta entered the bomb shelter, where everyone was getting out of their costume and cleaning up. She slowly walked up to the chair EJ was sitting at, silently announcing her presence.

EJ looked up at her and immediately stood up. "V."

"Hey," she greeted. "You ready to go?"

He blinked at her. "You look like you've been crying. Violetta—"

"Later," she promised. "We can talk about everything later, but right now, I just kind of want some pizza."

EJ didn't look totally convinced, but he nodded nonetheless. "That, we can do."

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MY MIRRORBALL CHARACTER UGH VI :(