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𝗡𝗢𝗪 𝗢𝗥 𝗡𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥

chapter fourteen:
I feel more and more like I
was made for you !

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RICKY BOWEN WAS definitely the prettiest boy Athena Blake had ever laid her eyes on.

Athena had left the Honeycomb cabin, looking for her boyfriend. She found him sitting on the grass with his legs crossed, a guitar in his lap and a journal in front of him. Ricky's eyebrows were knit together in concentration and his fingers were absentmindedly strumming the strings on his guitar. Underneath the sunlight, he seemed to glow.

Yep. Prettiest boy.

Deciding to go over there, Athena crossed over the grass. Ricky didn't look up, even when she was by him. It was clear he was busy with something. He was muttering something underneath his breath, something that Athena couldn't quite hear.

Athena sat down on the ground in front of him, also crossing her legs. She then leaned forwards and pressed her forehead against his so that their eyes were extremely close. Ricky's eyes flickered up to meet hers at the sudden contact and grinned.

"Hey, you," Ricky said.

"Hey," Athena replied. "Happy day before opening night and happy last day of being seventeen."

"Thanks. Happy day before opening night to you, too, my Anna."

She smiled at him. "Thanks, my Kristoff. What are you doing out here all by yourself?"

"Resting," Ricky answered. "I just ate three pizzas, so I decided to just sit and write for a while."

Athena blinked. "Three pizzas?"

"It was for my bucket list."

Athena rolled her eyes fondly at him. She took her forehead off of his, breaking their eye contact, before leaning forwards and pressing a quick kiss to his forehead.

"Would you like to share what you're writing?" Athena asked.

"Only if you would like to share what you got me for my birthday," Ricky replied, smiling innocently.

Athena gave him a look. "I already gave you a hint. And you have to wait until tomorrow morning for that."

"I'm kidding." He handed her his journal. "Here."

Athena took it and looked down at it. At the top of the page read Halley's Comet. Underneath it were a couple of scattered sentences in Ricky's slightly messy handwriting which Athena presumed were lyrics.

But in my dreams I seem to be more honest, and I must admit, you've been in quite a few.

But you're all it takes for me to break a promise, silly me to fall in love with you.

I was good at feeling nothing, now I'm hopeless.

Halley's Comet comes around more than I do.

And the one that stood out the most — the thing Athena had said herself.

I've been loved before, but right now in this moment, I feel more and more like I was made for you.

"I couldn't stop thinking about what you said about Halley's Comet the night overlooking the city," Ricky admitted. "So . . . I decided to write it."

Athena looked up from his journal and stared at Ricky in a mixture of amazement and adoration. "I'm so in love with you."

"Likewise."

She handed him his journal back. "Stop writing so many songs about me, I need to catch up."

Ricky's eyes glinted. "No, because I'm winning."

Her eyes narrowed playfully. "Is that a challenge, Bowen?"

"Only if you're up for it, Blake."

"Hey, Athena," Ashlyn's voice called, and Athena turned to see her standing in the doorway of the Honeycomb. "We have a dance to get ready for, and Kourtney's curling iron is heating up."

"Coming, Ash," Athena responded before looking back to Ricky. She kissed his cheek quickly. "Duty calls."

"Have fun getting ready," Ricky told her, his eyes brightening. "What'cha wearing?"

"When I walk into the barn you'll find out." Athena stood up, and she started to walk back towards the Honeycomb, running her hands through Ricky's curls as she passed him. "See you tonight, Pretty Boy."

So, Violetta had actually told them that they weren't allowed to have dates at the Camp Prom, which made EJ shut her down the previous night (minus many points for EJ.) Although Athena had asked Ricky to the Camp Prom, they weren't going together anymore. Well, they were, but not together together. Athena was mostly looking forwards to spending her time with Violetta, who was clearly hurting from EJ's behavior lately.

"You look dreamy," Ashlyn commented as Athena walked back inside the cabin.

Athena raised an eyebrow. "Dreamy?"

"Yeah. Like every time you're around him, you seem to get this look on your face, one that just makes you glow. What's Ricky do just then?"

"Oh." Athena was suddenly hyper-aware of how Gina was close by her in the cabin. "Uh, nothing. Just Ricky being Ricky."

"Stop playing it off," Kourtney agreed. "You look extra glowy right now."

Athena shrugged, feeling her face get warm. "He just always makes me feel like I'm glowing."

"Tell me what cute thing he did now or I'm not curling your hair."

"He just wrote me another song," Athena explained. "Now please curl my hair, I really don't want to burn myself again."

Her and the other girls had started to get ready in the cabin together. Kourtney had indeed curled Athena's hair slightly, giving her an extra wave. They had all taken turns having their makeup done by Kourtney — Maddox included. Athena's was finished, her makeup consisting of pink eyeliner that had been slightly smudged out with pink eyeshadow underneath her eyes, mascara, blush, and pink lip gloss. She sat on her bunk in her pajamas, just waiting now until she would have to put her outfit on, watching as Kourtney did Violetta's makeup.

"Okay, I am very hyped for this dance tonight, but someone needs to explain to me why we're doing a vintage theme for Camp Prom," Ashlyn stated, curlers in her hair.

"Ooh, I think it has to do with Susan Fine's birthday," Gina said from her bunk. "Or the day she died."

Ashlyn squinted at her. "Definitely one of those two."

"Honestly, I've never known," Maddox admitted.

"Look, any camp tradition that doesn't involve climbing a wall is good by me," Kourtney voiced, applying lip gloss to Violetta's lips.

Violetta sighed. "You know, I'm really gonna miss this. Spending time with you guys."

Gina nodded in agreement. "Sisterhood vibes all night, okay?"

Athena froze for a second. Bit hypocritical coming from her, wasn't it?

"It's gonna be a night of many vibes," Ashlyn replied. She checked her curlers in the mirror for a moment. "Hey, Vi, are you good going solo to the dance tonight?"

"Not so solo if I have you all by my side," Violetta protested. She then caved under the knowing look Athena gave her. "I'll be fine. Just another Shallow Lake tradition."

Maddox stood up. "That's right, it is."

"Nobody has dates, so I'm just like everyone else. And to be honest, Ash, your cousin's probably going to spend the night away from me like I'm not his girlfriend, like he's been acting all of camp. Who knows, maybe he'll realize he's literally been ignoring me for a week and a half and come to his senses. Whatever happens, he did promise to save the last dance for me, so I'm holding onto hope. Maybe the night will end with a bang."

"In one way or another, it always does."

The door then opened, followed by the sound of rapping knuckles on the lockers by the door. Athena looked over to see Jet walking in, totally decked out in seventies attire.

"Excuse me," Jet began, pausing for a moment to let them all make noises of shock at his outfit. "Uh, Maddie, can we talk? Alone?"

They all left the cabin, Athena sliding off of her bunk to do so. Athena, Violetta, Ashlyn, Kourtney, and Gina all stayed close to the cabin, trying to listen into their conversation — hey, they were nosey.

"Okay, should we be spying on them?" Kourtney questioned.

"No, we should not," Gina answered.

"Can you guys keep it down?" Ashlyn whispered. "I'm trying to spy on them."

"Hi," a new voice began. All of them instantly turned around, trying to act as casual as possible. Standing there was a girl with blonde hair, wearing a very sparkly suit. "Is, uh, Gadget still in there?"

Athena nodded, despite her confusion, and pointed to the cabin. "Yeah."

The girl walked into the cabin. All of them decided that it probably wasn't the best idea to spy on them anymore, especially when Jet left the cabin and noticed them all standing there.

Finally, after a little while of milling around camp, the girls decided to go back inside so they could actually finish getting ready. Athena now stood in front of the mirror by the sinks, wearing a cropped shirt that was decorated in pink and white swirls on it which had bell sleeves and tied in the front, a white mini skirt, and a pair of white block-heeled boots. A white headband was placed upon her head as well. And, obviously, she was wearing the necklace she always wore, the owl, the letter R, and the planet Saturn charms glinting against her chest.

Once all of them had completely gotten ready, they headed to the barn when it was dark. On the outside was an orange buggy car decorated in flowers, and a sign that said Flower Power covered the sign that usually said the barn on the outside. Athena and Violetta walked in first, trailed by Kourtney, Ashlyn, and Gina. She glanced up at the bright decorations, smiling slightly at it. It all looked so vibrant. Not to mention that so many people were having fun on the dance floor.

Hey, remember that song A Night to Remember from High School Musical 3, and how it said who's that girl, she's so fine?

It seemed like that one line was stuck in Ricky's head like a broken record when his girlfriend walked through the door.

Ricky full-on choked on his drink the second he saw her, and his eyes widened to the point where they were practically bulging out of his head. His eyes instantly scanned over her outfit, which highlighted all of her best features — but to him, all her features were the best. The necklace that he had given her stuck out against her tan skin, and the pink of her hair was especially vibrant against the white of her headband. And her smile — God, don't even get him started on her smile.

Despite dating for months, all the heart racing and butterflies still hadn't gone away. Ricky Bowen was truly head-over-heels.

Carlos patted his back to get him to stop choking. "Are you okay?"

Ricky swallowed. "I think I just fell more in love with Athena."

Athena, Violetta, Gina, Ashlyn, and Kourtney stopped. All of them turned to see EJ, Ricky, and Carlos standing by a table. Carlos' jaw was completely dropped, completely loving their outfits and makeup. EJ seemed to have his eyes locked on Violetta's, and Ricky . . . well, Ricky was tugging on the collar of his suit, wondering if it was hot in here or if it was just Athena.

"Hello, boys," Gina greeted, which kind of made Athena's stomach turn for a moment, but she pushed it away.

Ricky didn't respond. All he did was just clear his throat.

"You okay?" Athena inquired, but the raised eyebrow and the glint in her eyes told Ricky that she totally knew what was going on. "You seem a little . . . tongue-tied."

Ricky's eyes narrowed at her. "Yeah. It's just, uh, polyester, am I right?"

"Uh-huh," Violetta commented, clearly not convinced.

Kourtney suddenly squealed. "Ooh! The photo wall is lit."

Ashlyn rushed up to Athena and Violetta. "Oh, we're stealing them. Come on."

"I'll be there in a sec," Athena promised.

The girls rushed off. Athena looked back at Ricky. She gestured for him to come closer to her, a small smile on her face. Ricky set his cup down on the table behind him and took a step forwards closer to her. Athena instantly rested a hand on his shoulder and pressed up onto her toes, placing a kiss onto his cheek.

"You look very handsome," Athena told him. "Love the gold chain, by the way."

"Thanks, you're gorgeous," Ricky blurted out. His face then burned a light shade of pink. "I — I mean—"

Athena let out a small laugh. "Thank you. Now, I can practically feel Violetta's stare on me, so I gotta go. Save me a dance?"

"Definitely."

She then walked up to the photo wall, practically being dragged into frame by Ashlyn. Athena smiled and laughed as she took many, many pictures with her friends, just deciding to live in the moment. After a while, she left the photos to the other girls, deciding to find her boyfriend.

However, as she was making her way through the crowd, she saw a very familiar head of blonde hair coming through the door, accompanied by an outfit that looked like a grandpa would wear. Seb Matthew-Smith's eyes instantly found hers, and he grinned, its usual sunshine nature brightening up the room.

Athena gasped excitedly. "Sebbie!" She ran up to him and wrapped him in a tight hug. "Oh my God, I've missed you."

"I missed you too, 'Thena," Seb responded. "I don't mean to blow you off like this, but—"

"Carlos is over there." Athena glanced back to where Carlos, Ashlyn, and Violetta were having a conversation. "You go see your boyfriend, I'll see mine."

Seb gave her one last bright smile before wandering up to their little group. Athena couldn't help but smile at Seb's contagious energy as well. He was just so precious.

She glanced around the room for a moment, only to see Ricky laying on one of the props for the Prom. Kourtney was watching the whole scene unfold. Athena's eyebrows knit in thought and she walked up closer, only to see Ricky was practicing superhero poses. She tilted her head at him. Ricky looked more in pain than anything.

"Oh, thank God," Kourtney said once she noticed Athena was there. "Keep your boyfriend in line."

"Ricky, you look like this is hurting you," Athena revealed. "Stand up, baby."

Kourtney giggled. "Child, do you even know where your parts are?"

Ricky pushed himself up off of the prop. "I'm worried if I move too fast, a little pizza might come out."

Athena shook her head. "That is something you did not have to share."

"What is this?" EJ asked, pointing to Ricky.

"I'm trying to figure out how to be a superhero, okay?" Ricky admitted.

"Ricky, come on," Athena protested lightly. "I already told you that you're my superhero."

"But you only said that because you read it," Ricky argued lightly. "I need someone to actually tell me that because they mean it."

Athena frowned. "I meant it."

"I know you did. I'm just thinking more so an out of the blue thing, you know? I need to finish my bucket list by tomorrow," Ricky hit his one hand against his palm to show his stress. "Only got two to go."

"And you will," Athena reassured him. "Go place your moon rock down on the ground and walk on it."

"I'm being serious, Athena."

"So am I."

Ricky then started to place his hands on his hips like Superman would. Athena laughed slightly at his antics.

"Hey, Eej," Violetta's voice called, and Athena turned to see her walking up to them, smiling as she linked her arm through EJ's. "Dance with me?"

EJ smiled at her. "Yes, definitely. Just a couple of more prompts and then I will be all yours."

He then turned to Kourtney, opening up his binder. Athena stared at EJ incredulously, her eyes flickering to Violetta's crestfallen face and how Violetta's arm fell limp back to her side. There was no way he was doing this right now.

"Elsa, when Anna says . . ." EJ flipped through his binder. "But why? I don't understand, you say . . ."

"Uh, I know this one," Kourtney replied. "Um . . ."

She didn't say anything for a moment.

"Curtain's up, cameras are rolling," EJ urged, making Athena frown.

"Yeah, uh, I — I know," Kourtney continued, looking positively panicked now. "Um . . ."

"Kourt?"

"You know it, Kourt," Athena voiced softly, smiling at the girl. "Remember?"

Kourtney struggled with herself for a moment. "I'm blank."

EJ shut his binder. "You've still got twenty-four hours."

"And counting."

Athena then noticed Violetta look back up at EJ. It was abundantly clear that she was disappointed that EJ wouldn't dance with her, and what kind of best friend would Athena be if she didn't fix that? Violetta had encouraged her to dance at Homecoming when Ricky took Gina home after that whole punch thing with EJ. It was time for Athena to do the same.

"Come on," Athena offered, extending her hand out to Violetta. "You and me."

"Hang on, I think Maddox is taking the stage," EJ cut in.

"Uh, one second," Ricky stated, brushing past their group and kissing Athena's forehead as he passed her.

Violetta grinned sadly at Athena and took her hand. Athena then extended her other hand out to Kourtney, who took it as well with a nervous laugh. The three of them went back into the crowd, starting to dance towards the stage.

"Hey, gang," Maddox began.

"We love you, Gadget!" a boy exclaimed.

"Thank you. Uh, just a . . . just wanna make an announcement. Actually, it's not an announcement, it's, um, an explanation."

Violetta leaned closer to Athena as Gina and Ashlyn joined their group. "Thank you."

Athena shook her head, giving her a small smile. "You would've done the same."

"I would've punched Ricky if he didn't dance with you."

"Who says I don't want to punch EJ?"

"I push people away," Maddox said. "Good people who screwed up like I probably screw up, basically, every day. So I thought I might sing something tonight."

"Shallow Lake song!" a girl shouted.

"Actually, I had another idea. It's a song that used to be my favorite when I was little. It made me happy, and it made my little brother happy, and I think maybe we're ready to be happy again."

"Maddie, I—" Jet started to say.

"And I know we've had a hundred ups and downs since then, but, Jet, I wouldn't change a thing."

Athena's eyes widened and she grinned. Oh, no way. Maddox was about to sing one of her favorite Disney Channel songs. She snuck a glance at Ricky, who was sitting to the side of the barn with Jet. One time, Ricky had actually learned the lyrics to the song, and they had performed a very dramatic rendition of it while he drove them in the car.

Music then started to play. It was evidently a more upbeat remix of the song to match the vibe of the dance, but it worked. Athena started to nod her head along to the beat, nudging Violetta to get her to start moving.

"Ooh," Maddox sang.

"Woah," Jet added.

"Yeah. It's like he doesn't hear a word I say, his mind is somewhere far away, and I don't know how to get there. It's like."

"She's way too serious."

"All he wants is to chill out."

"She's always in a rush and interrupting."

"He makes me wanna pull all my hair out."

"Like he doesn't even care," Maddox voiced at the same time as Jet voiced, "Like she doesn't even care."

Maddox pointed at Jet. "You."

"Me," Jet continued.

"We're face-to-face."

"But we don't see eye to eye," the two chorused, and everyone started to dance.

"We're like fire and rain," Maddox stated.

"Like fire and rain," Jet repeated.

"You can drive me insane."

"Drive me insane."

"But I can't stay mad at you for anything," they dueted.

Maddox turned back to Jet. "We're Venus and Mars."

Jet moved past her. "We're Venus and Mars."

"We're like different stars."

"Like different stars."

"You're the harmony to every song I sing," they sang together. "And I wouldn't change a thing."

Ricky then went to the front of the crowd and signaled them to stand on two sides so there was row down the middle. While Jet and Maddox still sang, Ricky and Ashlyn were the first ones to dance down the two rows. Athena cheered and clapped for them as they went. More and more people went, mostly in pairs, except for Gina who went by herself.

Knowing all Violetta wanted to do was dance, Athena linked her arm through Violetta's and practically dragged her out to the aisle. Violetta started to laugh a little bit, making Athena smile. Athena then unlinked her arm and offered her hand to Violetta. Violetta rolled her eyes playfully, and with a smile on her face, she took it. And together, hand-in-hand, the two best friends danced down the aisle together.

As Carlos and Seb started to sing together with Jet, the rows dispersed, and everybody wanted to dance with each other as a whole. Athena locked eyes with Ricky across the way, and Violetta suddenly squeezed her hand. She looked down at Violetta, only to see her give Athena a small nod, saying that it was okay and that she would be fine. Athena squeezed her hand back in understanding.

Athena extended her hands out to Ricky as they got closer to each other, and he took them. He instantly spun her around, making Athena giggle. Ricky suddenly let go of her hands and leaned his head closer to hers, moving his fingers in front of his eyes in the shape of peace signs. Athena laughed louder and took his hands back, twirling them around the dance floor.

The song finally ended. Athena and Ricky stopped twirling, his arm resting around her waist, holding her close. She clapped and cheered for the song along with everyone else. Athena couldn't help but notice, however, that Violetta wasn't cheering at all.

Her heart suddenly stopped. EJ hadn't danced with her at all, even though it was the last dance. And Athena had left her.

"Everyone, everyone," Maddox announced, pulling the blonde girl in the sparkly suit from earlier over. "This is Madison of Mad and Mad fame."

Athena's eyes widened in understanding. Oh. So this was the girl Maddox had mentioned. The one that had texts with Maddox that Jet showed their parents.

"What's up, Wildcats?" Madison greeted.

"We have heard so much about you," Ashlyn revealed.

Madison looked at Maddox. "Hey, I have a long drive home."

"I know," Maddox responded.

"You'll call when camp's over?"

"Like I could forget your number."

Athena, however, was looking at Violetta. "Vi—"

"Will you be here?" Violetta questioned. "When I get back?"

"Get back from doing what?"

"Athena, please. Will you be here?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I'll be here. I'll always be here."

Violetta gave her a tight smile before disappearing backstage. Athena felt her heart sink to her stomach, and even Ricky's comforting presence couldn't shake off her own feeling of dread. She had an inkling of what Violetta was about to do.

═ • ° • ✧ • ° • ═

NOT RICKY WRITING HALLEY'S COMET I'M SOBBING

also ricky being down bad for athena 🫡 as he should be