𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗞 𝗪𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 ➯ 𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗞𝗬 𝗕𝗢𝗪𝗘𝗡

𝗶𝘃. 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 (𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝘄𝗼.)

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

EJ STOOD IN FRONT OF ALEX, much taller and looking much more determined than Alex was. "Hi, I'm EJ! I'm not sure if we've ever met before but I'd like to both introduce myself and be your partner." Alex was screaming on the inside. If EJ was his partner, he'd find out they're both auditioning for Troy and probably begin conspiring against him to end Alex's chances at getting the role.

Alex wasn't thinking, he couldn't think. So instead of thinking, he grabbed EJ's hand and shook it while making direct eye contact. He expected EJ to sense the awkwardness and walk away, but instead, his smile grew wider. "I love the confidence. I'm sure you're going to get the role you're auditioning for. So that's a yes to being my partner?" Alex kept quiet and nodded his head at EJ.

"I never got your name, you're a junior right?" Alex cleared his throat before speaking up. EJ was intimidating, He wasn't sure if EJ was making himself come off as intimidating on purpose, or if his mind was playing tricks on him like usual.

"And we're back." Alex heard Miss Jenn say. He was glad she spoke because he knew if he had to talk to EJ any longer, he would embarrass himself and make everything uncomfortable between them. He exhaled and stood next to EJ at the front of the stage.  "I can do this," he whispered to himself.

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MISS JENN WAS GIVING people scripts to read from, #1 got Gabriella, who was certainly perfect for the role, EJ was immediately given Troy, which made his heart sink into his stomach, and Nini was given Kelsi, but asked to audition for Gabriella instead. Alex was ready to be given any role other than Troy, and keep quiet instead of speaking up like Nini. His heart began to pound heavily in his chest as Miss Jenn walked over to him with a script.

"You. I'm gonna have you read for Troy as well." Alex could see EJ staring at him from the corner of his eye. He turned his head slowly as their eyes met. EJ gave him a small smile and Alex looked back over to Miss Jenn without peeking over at him again to see if he was still staring.

Alex watched from the side as EJ got ready to audition. The piano music began, and he immediately started to sing. He sang Start of Something New flawlessly. EJ seemed perfect for the role which only made Alex want to run away and hide even more.

Alex didn't realize it was already his turn to go up, as he was nudged by someone else who was auditioning as well. He stood up and walked to the center of the stage. Alex felt a million eyes on him as he waited for the piano to begin playing. Since he was also auditioning for Troy, he would have to top EJ's performance if he wanted to get the role.

He began singing as soon as he heard the piano. He did his best to not pass out due to how anxious he was feeling and felt his face burning after Miss Jenn asked him to sing louder.

After his audition was over, he felt a wave of relief wash over him knowing that the hard part he had been dreading was over. "Well, aren't you adorable?" Miss Jenn smiled at him and wrote something down on the notepad next to her.

"We're moving on to the Gabriellas!" Alex quickly walked to the side of the stage where EJ was also standing. "You were awesome out there," EJ said to him. Alex still wasn't sure if EJ was trying to be intimidating on purpose.

Both Nini and EJ looked determined. They both came ready for the lead roles and made it known they wanted to audition for Gabriella and Troy. Alex hopes that by the next musical he auditions for, he'll have that same amount of self-confidence.

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ALEX SAT ON THE STAGE with the others, eager to hear Nini's audition. He could faintly hear Carlos giving Miss Jenn a brief overview of Nini's history, and was surprised to find out she had never landed a major role before. As she started to sing, the door to the auditorium opened loudly and harshly, and Ricky ran in while holding his guitar case.

"Am I too late?" He yelled out. Everyone turned their heads to look at him as he stumbled his way down the small ramp. "We're all set on Troys, but we're low on Chads. You can read after the Gabriellas." Miss Jenn called out. He stopped running once he got on stage and took a minute to breathe before continuing.

"I only studied the Troy scenes in the movie." Ricky was completely disheveled. "Troy would have arrived on time," Carlos said, and Alex laughed quietly but shut up when he felt Ricky glare at him.

"Okay Nini, let's try this again." Miss Jenn signaled for Nini to begin singing again and EJ yelled out to encourage her. His sudden outburst startled Miss Jenn, as she spilled coffee all over the table and on the controls in front of her. The lights immediately dimmed and small gasps were heard around the auditorium.

"Nini, let's wait for the lights to come back on. I don't want this to throw you." Miss Jenn motioned for her to continue as Nini mumbled something to herself and finally started to sing. While she sang, Ricky turned on his phone's flashlight and pointed it toward her. Almost instantly, EJ stood up and did the same. There was a weird tension between the two.

After she was done, the lights came back on. Alex clapped before he could process what he was doing. Nini smiled at him, but he stopped once he realized that he was the only one clapping.

"You! late boy. Let's do the Chad sides." Ricky introduced himself to Miss Jenn and Carlos and began reading Chad's part. He was nervous and everyone could tell he was seriously unprepared. Alex gave him a sympathetic look as he began to fidget with the strings on his hoodie.

"This isn't working." He crumpled up the script in his hand and huffed in annoyance. "If you don't mind, I kinda prepared my own song?" He grabbed his guitar and began to play an unfamiliar tune.

Alex decided that Ricky's performance was his favorite.

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hi everyone! i hope you liked reading this chapter. ricky and alex finally met! as always, thank you for reading.