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𝗡𝗢𝗪 𝗢𝗥 𝗡𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥

chapter eighteen:
her ricky, his athena !

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AFTER THE SHOW, everyone got out of their costumes so they could celebrate with each other for finishing the show and the documentary. Athena was more than willing to get out of Anna's dress costume — it was pretty, but crazy uncomfortable. She had gotten changed back into her regular clothes, removed all of the makeup on her face, and took her hair out of the French braids, leaving her hair a little wavy.

She walked back into the barn onto the stage, hand-in-hand with Ricky, who had his guitar slung over his shoulder in preparation for their campfire. The others followed them. Maddox was cleaning up the fake snow on the floor, and Miss Jenn and Big Red were there as well.

"So . . ." Ricky began.

"My babies," Miss Jenn said.

Kourtney stepped right in front of her. "Were we good?"

"No. You were incredible."

"Wait," Corbin cut in, who had just walked in with Channing. "Jessica? From the first High School Musical movie?"

Athena's eyes widened and she looked over at Violetta, who was standing in between her and EJ (the two had disappeared some time during the show, and now they seemed sort of okay?.) Miss Jenn had been so devastated that her line about the last apple was cut out of the original movie, but Corbin had actually recognized her. He got her name wrong, but it was the thought that counted.

Corbin chuckled as he got a better look at Miss Jenn. "It is you. Jessica."

"Close enough," Miss Jenn replied.

Corbin hugged her for a moment before letting go. "You were our favorite extra."

"You were my favorite Corbin."

Ricky squeezed Athena's hand, making her look up at him. "How many other Corbin's are there?"

"Shh," Athena scolded, a smile on her face.

"Should we give you space, or . . ." Carlos offered.

"You know what?" Channing interjected, digging in his bag. "Hold on. Actually, I wanna put a microphone on the girl. This is really good."

Corbin turned to him. "Actually, Channing, why don't you take a long five, okay?" He pulled off his microphone and shoved it into Channing's hand. "Get lost. It's done. We're done."

"We're done? Yeah, okay. Well, I always have final say in the editing room."

Corbin and Channing did nothing but stare at each other before Channing turned around and exited the barn. Athena blinked in shock. Did that really just happen? Corbin apparently had enough of Channing, too.

"What team?" Corbin asked.

"He's doing it," Gina voiced excitedly.

"Wildcats," Ricky answered.

"What team?" Corbin repeated, louder this time.

"Wildcats," they all chorused.

"What team?"

"Wildcats!"

"Wildcats!"

"Get'cha head in the game!"

Corbin smiled at all of them. "That felt right."

"Last night of camp, huh, kids?" Miss Jenn questioned, walking up and sitting on the stage.

"So that's it?" Violetta inquired quietly, slowly walking and sitting next to Miss Jenn. "It's over?"

Ricky tugged on Athena's hand. He sat down on the stage on the other side of Miss Jenn, letting go of her hand. Athena sat down next to him and watched as Ricky took his guitar off of his back.

"What is it?" EJ asked.

Violetta shrugged. "I don't know, it's stupid, but . . . it kind of feels like something's ended."

"Sometimes the really good stuff begins only when something else ends," Miss Jenn responded.

"Once in a lifetime means there's no second chance," Corbin started to sing. "So I believe that you and me should grab it while we can."

"Make it last forever, and never give it back," Miss Jenn recited, looking over at Corbin as he sat down next to her on the stage, and the rest gathered around in a circle, either standing or sitting on chairs.

"It's our turn, and I'm loving where we're at."

Ricky then pulled his guitar up onto his lap and started to strum along to the song. He looked over at his girlfriend, and Athena grinned softly at him. The two of them had always loved this song — well, when Ricky had actually paid attention to High School Musical 2, of course.

"Because this moment's really all we have," Athena and Ricky recited together, and Ricky leaned forwards, pressing their foreheads together for a moment.

"Everyday, of our lives," Ricky voiced before he picked his forehead up from hers and kissed her cheek.

"Wanna find you there, wanna hold on tight," Ashlyn added.

"Gonna run," Big Red said.

"While we're young and keep the faith," Maddox and Jet sang together.

"Everyday," Carlos began.

Kourtney joined in with him. "From right now, gonna use our voices and scream out loud."

Miss Jenn extended her hand to Violetta. "Take my hand."

"Together we will celebrate," EJ stated.

"Celebrate," Miss Jenn recited.

"Oh, everyday," all of them sang.

It was camp tradition for the cast to sign a mural of the musical they had done on the wall. In the wings, there was a large snowflake that said Frozen on it. Athena took her pink marker — of course it had to be pink, she had to match her hair — and signed Athena on it, putting a heart next to her name. She smiled at her signature for a moment before handing the pink marker back to Maddox.

They all went out to the campfire, where there were supplies for s'mores. The air was quite chilly since it was night time, and Athena pulled on Ricky's fuzzy jean jacket, which she had stolen quite a long time ago and never really gave back to him. And much to everyone's delight, Corbin had put on his iconic t-shirt that said I Majored In Vacation.

Athena stood in between Violetta and Ricky, roasting her marshmallow. She started to laugh as she saw Ricky feed EJ his marshmallow off of his stick. Athena took a quick glance at Violetta, who was laughing and smiling brightly as well. Her heart warmed. As compared to last night, where Violetta had broken down completely, it was nice to see her smile like that again.

Violetta would heal, she just needed some time. And Athena was going to be there every step of the way.

Athena suddenly felt a familiar arm wrap around the front of her chest, tucking her securely into them. She smiled and reached up, holding onto Ricky's arm as he pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"I love you," Ricky told her quietly over the chatter of everyone else.

Athena looked up at him, nothing but adoration in her eyes. "To the moon and to Saturn."

At the insistence of Carlos, who kept shouting do the couple thing, do the couple thing!, Athena and Ricky put together a s'more. Once it was finished, they put the s'more in between them and took a bite out of the sides at the same time, Athena pressing up onto her toes to make it level. Athena giggled as graham cracker crumbs fell to the ground and melted marshmallow stretched. Her friends clapped around them, and after they both swallowed their bite, Ricky leaned down and kissed her. He tasted like marshmallows, chocolate, graham crackers, and home.

They all got sparklers, and once they were lit, they all separated into two rows while lifting their sparklers up into the air so they could walk down it. Athena cheered for her friends as they walked (or danced) underneath the sparklers.

Athena walked through the makeshift aisle, her arms up in the air as she spun around once. Her friends cheered for her, and Athena was sure her heart had never soared so high before. And as she finished spinning, her eyes caught on Ricky's. Her smile was as bright as the sparklers, and she was wearing his jacket that he didn't even care she stole because it looked better on her anyways, and she looked radiant, and she was his everything, and he was sure that he just fell in love with her all over again.

Finally, they were all just standing around each other when the festivities ended. Athena had her arm linked through Ricky's and she was leaning comfortably against his side.

"Uh, you guys?" EJ announced, and Athena looked over to see him staring at his phone in shock. "We're trending in Brazil."

Her eyes slightly widened. That meant a lot of people saw her. Athena still didn't know how to feel about this whole documentary thing, but if Channing said that trending in Brazil was good, that meant that they had to have done something right.

"Oh, dude, I forgot," Jet said, walking up to Ricky. "You got an opening night card." He pulled an envelope out of his pocket. "Found it behind the couch."

"From Nini," Maddox voiced.

Ricky glanced down at Athena.

"Go ahead," she urged softly. "Open it. What are you waiting for, Wildcat?"

Ricky opened up the envelope. Once Athena saw what was inside, she grinned softly. Sure enough, they could always count on Nini.

"Yep, she remembered" Ricky stated. He pulled the lottery ticket out of the envelope. "She remembered the lottery ticket."

Athena nudged his side. "You've finally done everything you wanted to do before you turned eighteen. Happy Birthday, my love."

Ricky pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Couldn't have done it without you."

--- ☆ • ♫ • ♪ • ♫ • ☆ ---

one month later.

IT WAS FINALLY the day of the premiere for Frozen: The Musical: The Documentary (the name was kind of ridiculous, wasn't it?.) The premiere was happening in Los Angeles, more specifically Hollywood, which is a place Athena never thought she would go, but here she was.

The underside of her hair was freshly dyed pink again, due to it fading since camp. She at least wanted to keep it pink until the school year started. Maybe she would dye it another color, but for now, her summer pink was going strong. Her hair was curled and just down, freshly trimmed right above her shoulders, just how she liked it. She was wearing a gold dress that stopped at her mid-thigh and had off-the-shoulder puffy sleeves, paired with a pair of pink short heels to match her hair.

And, of course, her necklace. The owl, letter R, and the planet Saturn charms. Her stylist said it didn't match her dress because her necklace was silver and her dress was gold, but Athena absolutely refused to take it off. She never took it off, actually.

If she was being honest, all the interviews and pictures that happened outside were kind of a blur. She answered all of the questions that came her way. Athena was way beyond nervous with all of the cameras, but with a couple reassuring glances from Ricky, she got through it.

They got moved inside, away from all of the press. Athena sat in the front row next to Ricky and Kourtney, her fingers absentmindedly tapping against the bare skin of her knees.

"Hey, guys," Corbin began. "We're gonna keep this super casual, okay? Before we welcome all of the audience in for the premiere, we're gonna show you the first full-length trailer for your reactions. Just be you."

"Where's Channing?" Carlos questioned.

"Channing edited the doc, but we're no longer working together. Okay, here we go. Just your honest reactions. And for the record, I haven't even seen this."

All of them started to cheer. However, Athena felt her stomach turn uncomfortably. She had a bad feeling about it since Corbin said Channing edited it.

"Summer," Corbin's voice said, and the screen showed Camp Shallow Lake. "Time to kick back, relax, and have fun, right?" It then began to show all of them, and Athena gave Ricky a small smile when he tapped her shoulder excitedly because she was on the screen. "But when you take the first-ever student production of Frozen and add a bunch of drama kids to the mix, sparks fly."

"Gina is my sister," Kourtney said. "I mean, you know Gina." It showed Gina sitting on the steps of the barn, rolling her eyes. "Gina, Gina, Gina." It went back to Kourtney. "She's fantastic, right?" Kourtney winked.

"I'm sorry, she said what?" Gina questioned. "You think you know someone."

Kourtney gasped.

"I didn't say — that wasn't about you, I swear," Gina insisted.

EJ then came onto the screen. "Honestly, you come to Shallow Lake one way, and you always change."

"I have never been happier," Violetta admitted, and Athena's eyes slightly widened as she winced. "EJ and I are going good, and I'm so in love with him. This is going to be the best summer ever."

"Hello, Val," EJ on the screen greeted, and it showed EJ and Val walking together during Color War.

"Yeah, I have a lot of questions about those two," Ricky revealed.

"I was talking about the characters in Frozen," Ricky protested. "I — I finally learned their names." He looked around helplessly. "You guys. Mr. Bleu?"

Maddox came onto the screen. "There was a lot of new people this summer." It cut to Maddox looking at Ashlyn during Color War, almost longingly. "Some more memorable than others."

Athena blinked. Oh?

"I've never been to summer camp and I'm open to anything happening," Ashlyn stated, and it went back to the same scene of Maddox and Ashlyn.

EJ chuckled. "Yeah, that's gonna be a thing."

"Oh, God," Ashlyn commented. "We should not have signed that release."

"Oh, I — I've got a boyfriend back home, and I can't wait to see him again," Carlos voiced. There were then scenes of Carlos and Crash, one of the guys in his cabin, whispering on the bench and walking out of the cabin together. "Honestly, I didn't come here to make friends."

"They cut off the second part," Carlos argued. "I said I didn't come here to make friends, I came to be a star."

"Yeah, dude, that's actually not much better," Ricky told him.

"I'm in love with the girl playing Elsa, and it's eating me alive," Jet admitted.

Athena slapped a hand to her mouth. Oh. My. God. Maddox, however, didn't even try to control anything. She just laughed loudly.

"This summer is gonna get hot," Kourtney said.

Athena then appeared on the screen, smiling softly. "I'm just looking forward to spending summer with my boyfriend."

It showed a quick montage of moments of her and Ricky that had been captured on camera. However, it suddenly switched to black and white, and it started to become a montage of times that her and EJ had been captured on camera together, including when they sang Love Is an Open Door that day in the canteen. It was finished with a shot of Ricky watching from afar, his jaw clenched and his arms crossed. Athena's jaw dropped and her eyes widened.

"I was talking about Ricky," Athena insisted. "Why would I be talking about EJ?"

Violetta then came on the screen. "Her?" Athena came back on the screen, laughing slightly, before it went back to Violetta. "Oh, yeah, she's got to go."

"I did not say that about you," Violetta insisted in panic. "You know I wouldn't do that. I was saying that about Val before I got to know her! My mind was screaming that it was going to be my version of a blonde girl situation!"

"I know, Vi," Athena reassured her.

Gina came on the screen. "I have my eyes set on one thing this summer, and one thing only." It showed Ricky, who grinned, before it went back to Gina. "And I'm gonna get it." Gina flipped her hair. "Don't get me started."

Athena was sure her heart stopped right then and there.

Big Red appeared on the screen. "I'm Big Red, I'm Ashlyn's boyfriend, and I'm bi."

They were all stuck in tense silence for a moment.

Athena pointed at the screen as it showed the logo of their documentary, not even phased by what he said. "How'd he get in it?"

Ricky glanced back at Ashlyn, who nodded. "Good for him."

"I knew it," Violetta muttered. "I knew it."

"Is everyone okay?" Corbin inquired.

"I'm calling Seb," Carlos stated.

"I'm calling Big Red," Ashlyn agreed.

Kourtney stood up, too. "I'm calling my agent."

"Wait, you have an agent?" Gina asked.

"That's your number one question after seeing that?" EJ replied.

"Yeah, okay, I think we're just gonna, like . . ." Maddox trailed off.

Jet stood up. "Yeah."

"Yeah."

Violetta and EJ then went off the stage as well, due to Violetta asking him if they could talk. That just left Athena, Ricky, and Gina. Athena stood up from her chair, feeling sort of stuck in this tense air that they had. Ricky was staring at Gina in something that matched disbelief. Gina looked apologetic.

"I'm sorry," Gina told him. "I didn't — you weren't meant to find out this way, or find out at all."

"You . . ." Ricky started to say, but words seemed to fail him. "You like me?"

Gina cleared her throat and looked at Athena. "Athena, did you tell Ricky about what I said in that fight we had at camp?"

Athena shook her head. "No, I would never. That's your secret to tell, not mine."

"Tell him."

"G—"

"It's okay," Gina reassured her, giving her a tight smile. "I'm okay. We're okay. Just tell him. It'll always be you, anyways, so it doesn't matter."

Gina then walked off of the stage. Athena watched her figure disappear into the dark wings, her heart suddenly beating very fast against her chest.

"Honestly, this is just what it was like when the High School Musical movie debut," Corbin explained. "It's all gonna work out. In the end. Probably."

Athena looked over at Ricky, who was staring at her curiously. She said nothing and only held her hand out, inviting for him to take it. Ricky took it immediately. Athena walked the two of them to the end of the stage, and they sat down, their legs dangling over the edge and their interlocked hands resting between them.

"Is there anything we can do to stop this documentary from coming out?" Ricky questioned softly.

"Considering we're already here and there's people waiting outside, no," Athena answered. "But I need to tell you about Gina. Do you remember that night at camp when I was crying and I asked to borrow your guitar?"

Ricky nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, that night, Gina and I had a fight. I just didn't tell you about what. The reason I was crying so much was because . . . because Gina asked me why I had stolen you away from her."

Ricky was stunned for a moment. "That's — that's not true. You know that. I've always been yours."

Athena shrugged, her face flushing. "I let her words get to my head."

He let out a deep breath. "You shouldn't have. I meant what I said, Attie. I meant it when I said you're my everything and I meant it when I said you're my home. And I mean it right now when I say you make me feel whole. I'm not me without you. Gina's a great girl." Ricky squeezed her hand. "But she's no you."

She glanced down at her lap for a moment before giving him a small grin. "You mean it?"

"Obviously I do. I guess I have to start displaying my endless love for you so you truly understand how much you mean to me."

Athena let out a small laugh. "Okay, okay. I get it."

He nudged her side. "I have something that'll make you feel better."

Ricky let go of her hand and pulled something out of his suit jacket pocket. It was a slip of paper — one of the lyrics that was a part of Athena's birthday present to him. He handed it off to her, a small, inviting smile on his face. Athena took it from him and opened it up, smiling softly at what it said.

"Look in my eyes, they will tell you the truth, the girl in my story has always been you," Athena recited.

"Gina wasn't wrong with what she said a moment ago," Ricky revealed. "You know, it'll always be you. Because truly, Athena, it will always be you." He pointed at the slip of paper. "And that goes to prove it, because I had no idea what song lyric that was going to be."

"Seems like you shook the box," Athena commented, looking away from the lyric and up at him. "It's not High School Musical this time."

"Must've been fate drawing me to pick that one. And it's fate drawing me to pick you, every time. I'm yours. Fully yours. Remember, I'm your Ricky."

Athena grinned back at him, her heart practically soaring. "And I'm your Athena."

"And I'll love you to the moon and to Saturn," Ricky promised. "Or throughout the entire universe, because like you said, our love might be bigger than the distance from the moon to Saturn."

"What did I ever do to deserve you?"

"I feel the same." Ricky took her face in his hands. "C'mere."

Ricky leaned forwards and pressed his lips onto hers. Athena melted into it, letting the slip of paper fall onto her lap as she reached forwards and gently fisted the bottom of his suit jacket in her hands. It felt so natural and so right, and Athena could literally not picture herself with anyone other than Ricky.

Athena immediately agreed with everything that Ricky had said, only from her perspective. It'll always be him. He was her everything. And as they kissed . . . yep.

He was definitely her home.

═ • ° • ✧ • ° • ═

𝑻𝑯𝑬   𝑬𝑵𝑫

nope I actually refuse

anyways

rina? sorry I only know rathena 🥰

MY ENDGAME FUCK EVERYONE ELSE