Seb's Journey- A Seblos Fanfic

Bop to the Sky, Baby (ep. 9 + 10)

December 7, 2019
Backstage on opening night was absolute chaos by the time Seb got there. There were actors sitting on counters, fixing each other's makeup, doing vocal warm-ups, searching down costume pieces, and generally just trying to release the oodles of nervous energy. The tech crew had their job cut out for them as well, trying to set up lights and sound in their new set-up in the gym. Show tunes blared through the dressing room as Seb searched for his rack. He wiggled into his tight pants and kept his undershirt on to get his make-up and hair done. He chatted with Stephy while he was waiting for Kourtney to help him. (Boys and girls were all in the same dressing room- they had all gotten comfortable changing in front of each other, besides they were all wearing under garments and none of them really cared about preserving modesty anyways.)
Eventually, Kourtney came over and stiffened his hair with glitter and hairspray and painted his face, and Seb felt much more like himself. There was still a pit in his stomach that was growing larger by the minute as the reality of the curtain rising set in, but now that he had his game face on he could channel Sharpay and just think about the part.
"30 minutes," Natalie called, barging into the room just as Kourtney stepped away from Seb.
"Speak now or forever hold your face," Kourtney told the room. Seb flipped around to face her.
"Why? Where are you going to be during the show?" he asked. He didn't trust himself not to mess up her work, so he needed her on call at all times. Before she could answer though, Miss Jenn came into the room.
"My beautiful babies!" she cried, clapping her hands together to get their attention. "Let's all gather around for some housekeeping. First of all, who brought Versailles?" she asked in reference to the giant mountain of flowers someone had received as a bouquet.
"No one knows," Carlos chuckled. There had been quite a commotion trying to track down who had sent them. They all assumed they were for Nini. By now, everyone had gathered around in a large circle.
"Well I suppose we'll just have to share then," Miss Jenn mused. "Speaking of sharing, most of you know that our dazzling Taylor had to leave under family circumstances. Gina sends her love and support to all of you, but unfortunately she's on the East Coast and won't be able to make it to tonight's performance. And so, I have asked Kourtney to fill in her stead." There was a long moment of  cheers for Kourtney at this moment. That made perfect sense! Seb couldn't think of anyone else more deserving or someone who could pull this off as quickly as Kourtney. Miss Jenn spoke again once the applause had died down. "And now, what I'd like to do is please think of a word or phrase from the show that expresses where your head is, or your goals for tonight. If anyone wants to share?" There was a moment of silence as everyone pondered this.
"You're my guys, and this is our team," Big Red started, breaking the ice.
"What if you want to try something really new, and it's a total disaster and all your friends laugh at you?" Ricky said next. Seb smiled nostalgically as he remembered that day at auditions where Ricky had shown up frantically halfway through and basically turned it into an open mic. He, and the whole cast really, had come so far since that day.
"Do you ever feel like there's a whole other person inside of you just waiting to come out?" Nini said next. Seb's heart panged at that line. It was such a good one; he was so glad she had thought of it! He had always related to it, but it had never felt truer than it did right now. His whole life, he had been too afraid to let himself be who he fully was. Slowly but surely, that had changed this year, and it all cumilated to this moment. Suddenly, Seb was shaking and he had to keep himself from crying and ruining his make-up.
"Do your romp, and strut your stuff," Carlos said in his usual flamboyant nature. That put a smile on Seb's face. Of course, Carlos had chosen a Sharpay quote.
"My shower head is very impressed with me," Kourtney chose. That would change today for her.
"I'm proud to call you my sister," EJ said to his cousin who was standing next to him. That was surprisingly sweet for EJ. Seb had to give him credit, he was slowly winning Seb over.
"Awwwwwww," Ashlyn smiled. "It's close enough." There were laughs throughout the room. Ashlyn said a quote, but he didn't really hear it because he was looking around the circle. He realized it was going to have to be his turn to go.
"Sharpay's kinda cute too," he blurted. It wasn't exactly how he was feeling, but it was the first thing he thought of. And why shouldn't he just embrace it and acknowledge that he looked good as Sharpay?
"So is a mountain lion, but you don't pet it," the cast finished the line in unison. Seb's heart felt extremely full. He was so happy to have so many inside jokes with them all. Miss Jenn took over to wrap it up then.
"And I'll just say, no matter what happens tonight, we're all in this together." There was a beat of silence as everyone took a moment to let that sink in. "Okay wildcats," Miss Jenn continued. "Take a moment to settle your nerves. If we had a curtain, it would be up in 20 minutes!" There were cheers before everyone scattered for last minute prep (setting props, finishing getting in costume, handing out break a leg notes). Seb put on his jacket and headed to their quick prayer circle before places. Before he knew it, the lights were flashing saying the show was about to start and Miss Jenn came to herd them all to places.
The beginning of the show went pretty uneventfully, considering that they were still trying to work out tech issues. Kourtney did amazing; Seb didn't think anyone in the audience would even be able to tell that she had picked up the role that week.
They were working out the Status Quo dance break just before they had to go on when suddenly Kourtney paused. They all realized that Gina was standing right there in the doorway, cupcakes in hand. Seb followed the rest of the cast as they leaped across the dressing room to greet her. Apparently, she had gotten a last-minute flight back and was going to hide out in the gym to watch them.
"Gina, no one in the gym wants to hide more than I do right now," Kourtney told her. Gina looked up at her in surprise.
"Wait, are you playing Taylor?" she asked.
"I was and it was nice, but now it's your turn to save my butt and do the dance," Kourtney shot back, holding out the tray to her. "Please, I'm asking you." There was a moment of anticipation while they all waited for Gina to accept.
"Can I?" Gina asked Miss Jenn. The director paused like she was thinking but then dropped the face.
"Of course, you can do the curtain call together," she decided. "Let's hit the halls, people!"
Seb bounded down the hall to his spot excitedly. As much as he loved Kourtney's version of Taylor, he was glad Gina was here. The world deserved to see her dance; she had worked so hard on it. Plus, it would take some of the attention off of Seb if he messed up his own choreography.
The music was already building as Seb tip-toed into the wings. He started rocking back and forth on his heels to keep himself from shaking. This was his big moment- he needed to nail this. He started running through the movements in his head but he didn't get very far before he felt a familiar hand on his shoulder. He turned around slowly and smiled. It was Carlos. They hadn't gotten to talk at all today because of all the craziness. It wasn't exactly that Seb was avoiding him after their conversation on Monday, but there had been so much going on that Seb hadn't even really had the chance to think about it.
"How are you feeling?" Carlos asked. It almost seemed if he was only asking it to be polite though or because he didn't know what else to say.
"Honestly, you seem more nervous than I am," Seb admitted. Carlos had to stifle back laughter at that.
"Well, not all of us have your unbridled confidence, Sharpay," Carlos replied sarcastically. Hearing Carlos call him Sharpay made Seb so happy in a way he couldn't describe. He beamed and stepped even closer to Carlos.
"Something about this outfit does make me feel powerful," Seb mused. Carlos raised an eyebrow at that and stepped back to look him up and down. Seb tried but failed not to blush.
"You do look incredible," Carlos agreed. Seb's heart started fluttering at the soft expression on the choreographer's face.
"Thanks," Seb beamed. "You do too." Carlos's suit was actually amazing. It was well fitted, flowery to match Seb's, and it looked like it was soft. They smiled at each other for a moment. Even though Seb had expected it to be weird between them today, he was still extremely grateful to have Carlos as a friend.
Suddenly, the music changed for the dance break and Seb knew he needed to get in position. "That's my cue," he told Carlos. Carlos nodded and smiled encouragingly.
"Do my choreography justice like I know you will," he requested. Before Seb could turn around, Carlos took his hand and looked him in the eyes. "You're making history, remember that." Seb eyes widened and it felt like a jolt of lightning had hit him. He stared at Carlos for a minute, their fingers intertwined, as he processed the weight of that concept. As it settled on his shoulders, he felt his whole body rise with energy. This was the magic of theater- there really wasn't anything else like it. He could change other people's lives by embracing this. He sighed and smiled gratefully at Carlos before dropping his hand and turning around to face the stage. Adrenaline and a heightened sense of the gravity of this moment coursed through Seb as he looked across the stage to Rico. The boy playing Ryan nodded, and they made their way up the stairs on opposite sides of the set just as Gina's dance break was ending.
Right on cue, Seb gripped the edge of the upper railing and yelled "Everybody quiet!" From there on, Seb's memory pretty much went completely blank as he was so focused on his character and on the steps of the dance. He must've pulled it off though, because as soon as he stepped offstage at the end of the song, Carlos wrapped him in a huge hug.
"That was incredible!" the choreographer whispered. Their faces were pressed together and Seb could feel Carlos's breath on his neck. "They loved you- listen." Seb's hearing seemed to come back in a sudden rush as he tuned into the cheers coming from the crowd. It felt like a dream to believe they were all for him. "You absolutely nailed it," Carlos told him, stepping away and patting Seb on the back. Seb had to take his word for it, because he knew the choreographer wouldn't lie about that.
Glowing with exhilaration, Seb rushed back to the dressing room with the rest of the cast. They were all on an absolute energy high. There was nothing like the feedback from a live audience.
Seb went back to the wings after a few minutes to watch Getcha Head in the Game. It was one of his favorite numbers in the show. Carlos had absolutely hit it out of the park with his choreography. Seb stood next to the choreographer, and he could tell that they were both just enjoying spending time together.
The dancers were all doing awesome, especially Ricky. Seb was glad to see that he was enjoying himself. He was excited that Ricky had caught the theater bug, because he added a lot of great energy to the cast.
The dancers got Ricky strapped into the harness as part of the choreography, and it went smoothly. Seb still held his breath in anticipation though as their Troy was lifted up slowly lifted up on a basketball. Thankfully, it went off without a hitch and the audience absolutely ate it up. He looked over at Carlos who was standing next to him and the choreographer was positively beaming.
Once Ricky got to the top though, he looked down at the audience. Uh-oh, rookie mistake. His face went pale and there was a long pause before he stammered out "I've got the shake this, yikes." He was lowered down to the ground, but for the rest of the song his head was decidedly NOT in the game. Seb knew what he must have been feeling. It was really easy to get thrown off your groove sometimes if you weren't fully thinking about the show. Hopefully, it was just some nerves and he could pull himself together during intermission, because this was honestly a little confusing and not like him. Seb looked over at Carlos to see his expression was equally as confused and a little hurt. The light in his eyes from earlier was completely doused. Carlos had poured his whole heart and soul into this show. Seb couldn't imagine how frustrating watching this must be.
"Ricky what happened at the end?" the choreographer asked as soon as Ricky stepped into the wings.
"It's a long story," Ricky sighed. He looked a little dazed, and much more shaken than Seb had realized.
"Are you okay?" Seb asked, trying to get RIcky back on track in the gentlest way possible.
"Has anyone seen Nini? I could really use a pep talk right now," Ricky asked. Seb remembered their convo in Big Red's basement where Ricky said he usually confided in Nini. Apparently, they had patched up their relationship enough to be back on those terms. "My mom's new boyfriend just showed up, and I wanna punch a wall. I feel like I need a miracle to face Act Two." Woah, okay, so Ricky was in the middle of a full-blown crisis. Emotions had been so high today that Seb couldn't blame Ricky for spewing all of this right here. But, the boy really needed to calm down.
"Nini's in the quick change booth right now. She seems a little nervous," Carlos told Ricky. Great! Seb thought sarcastically. That would definitely help the situation. Both of their leads were having mental breakdowns. He had to give all of them some grace, though. They were his friends, and they were all dealing with some tough stuff. And, sure Carlos was a little blunt but that might actually not be a bad thing in this situation.
"Wait, why, what happened?" Ricky asked, voicing Seb's worry. Nini had always seemed like nothing could get in the way of her performance.
"Uh.... I thought I was doing a good thing, but I think it backfired," replied a voice from behind them. Seb's eyes shot over to see Kourtney coming to stand next to them. "You see that lady with the clipboard out there?" she asked. They all looked back out towards the audience where she pointing. "That's the dean from the performing arts school she was looking at."
"You invited her?" Ricky asked in surprise. His voice was shaking and it caught all of their attention.
"Ricky you look like you're shaking. Do you need to sit down?" Kourtney asked.
"Actually I do," Ricky replied. "Excuse me." He pushed through them and escaped back towards the dressing rooms. They all watched him leave worriedly but knowing there wasn't much they could do to help him. Seb hoped that Ricky could see that they all were rooting for him to pull through, but he knew one thing at least for sure. Act 2 was going to be a wild ride.