The Wildcats' school year is over, and it's now summer. They all miss theatre, and when they find out a piece of information from Miss Jenn, they all decide to do a musical. There are twist and turns in the musical, and there are twists and turns ou...
I stood on Ashlyn's front porch, watching EJ's car drive away. I waved, smiling. After the kiss we had stayed out for about 2 more hours, and it was a great time. Now I hesitated to go inside.
Of course Ashlyn had messed around with the fact EJ and I had been, to a degree, flirting, but I had to wonder what she actually thought about us dating. It didn't matter, but I didn't want a layer of awkwardness between the 3 of us.
I went inside, spotting Ashlyn scrolling through her phone on the couch. I walked over and sat next to her. "Hey."
"Hey. You were out for longer than I expected." She raised an eyebrow.
"Can I do anything with your cousin without you assuming something happened?"
"No, not really, he doesn't usually have a crush on a girl this long before anything happens. Obviously, he's changed. I'm just curious." She shrugged. "If it's annoying I can stop."
"No, it's not annoying... and this time it was kinda... you know, true." I admitted.
"By that you mean what?"
"We kissed." I paused for a moment, watching Ashlyn gasp. "And I guess we're dating now... so that's nice."
"I've never seen someone say they're dating someone else more awkward than that, Gi. Is something wrong about it?"
"I don't know. Everything will be super awkward if we break up. Or even as we're dating. And I guess with him being my first boyfriend and first kiss I don't know how to tell someone I have a boyfriend."
"Yeah, that makes sense." She nodded. "Feelings are weird sometimes."
"Definitely."
"But you kissed!"
"Yep." I smiled.
"Ugh, I'm so happy for you!" Ashlyn wrapped me in a hug. I hugged her back. She pulled back a few seconds later.
"So how are you?"
"I'm... mostly fine. I got off the phone with Nini awhile ago."
"I thought you were going on a date?" I asked.
"We thought about it, but he was busy." She explained.
"Well the musical is just as fun, I'm sure."
"See, what you don't understand about dating-" she started, acting as if she had much more life experience than me in a dramatic voice. "-is that when you fall in love nothing's as good as being with them, no matter how much you love your friends. Especially when they cancel shortly before the date." She ended with a sigh.
"Then something last minute came up, right?"
"Probably, because I don't think he would just cancel on me. But he didn't tell me why. I'll see him tomorrow, I'm sure I'll find out." She shrugged. "But what about you and EJ? Plans anytime soon?"
"Well since we're all going to Miss Jenn's tomorrow, probably not tomorrow. We'll see. I think we're just taking it... sorta slow. My first relationship, EJ's still growing, you know."
"That makes sense. I'm proud of both of you." Ashlyn gave me another hug. I laughed, hugging her back again.
"Why?"
"Almost a year ago you guys were both stealing phones and now you're in love."
"We are not in love!" I protested. "We just got together."
"I know, I know." She rolled her eyes, smiling. "But I do know. Things move at their own paces. It's not like I immediately fell in love either."
"Yep."
"Anyways, I'm gonna call it a night." She told me. "I'm so tired."
"I'll be in soon."
"Goodnight." She left, yawning. I opened my phone, seeing a text.
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Ricky's POV
"It's just kinda stressful, you know?" I asked Big Red. We were in his basement. He was on his phone, probably texting Ashlyn, but I knew he was paying attention. I was pacing.
"I know what you mean."
"Like... therapy. That's weird, right? I mean, I know a lot of people do it... but..."
"That's a stupid stigma, Ricky." He said. "My mom's in therapy, I might go sometime. I know some other people, but I don't think they're open about it yet, so..."
"I know it's good, but it feels like I'd be judged."
"Better than panic attacks."
"True." I nodded. "Whatcha doing?"
"Talking to—"
"Ashlyn?" I assumed.
"Dude, I'm not always texting my girlfriend."
"Just used to third wheeling at this point. Sorry for when you had to third wheel with me and, uh, Nina." I said. Maybe I was still a little salty about Nini's name change, sometimes I called her Nina with a bit of spite. It was weird, because after we broke up she went back to Nini everywhere but online. It seemed like it really was all about me.
"Aw, I'm sorry." He apologized, turning off his phone and setting it down. "I didn't realize."
"No it's fine, I'm glad you've got someone you love."
"But I'll make some more time for you if you want." He offered.
"Thanks." I smiled.
"So... therapy?"
"I should go."
"Great job, I know it takes people a long time to decide sometimes." He said with a small smile.
"Well, I guess it'll be like the beginning of getting better, you know? A newfound comfort."
"Yeah."
"Anyways, I should get home." I told him. "My mom's in town. My dad still isn't, but Todd isn't here either, so it should be pretty good with the two of us."
