there's not a star in heaven that we can't reach

chapter 5: well, are you busy tonight?

((note: tw // mention of animal death)

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It's Friday, which means it's another early morning dance lesson with Seb. So far they have had two together: the last Friday when Carlos first mentioned it, and the previous Tuesday.

Seb had definitely been improving, nearly nailing the entire 'Bop to the Top' choreo. They had decided to practice that song more outside of rehearsals because they practiced 'Stick to the 'Status Quo' more often in rehearsal. Carlos was constantly running around that he would never be able to assist any time Rico and Seb ran 'Bop to the Top' during that time unless he was teaching them something new.

The few glimpses Carlos was able to get from Seb during rehearsal, though, it seemed like he was struggling every time. It was strange since Seb had been doing well in their private rehearsals, but it became very apparent to both Seb and Carlos that Rico was having trouble leading. Carlos at one point considered inviting Rico to the private rehearsals but decided against. He might in the future, but for now... it was just nice to spend time alone with Seb even if it was just for the show.

Today, though. Today was different, and for one reason only.

Homecoming .

Seb had been telling Carlos and Natalie that Wednesday during lunch about how Nini didn't want to go to homecoming anymore because she had no one to go with, and that's when it hit him. He had no idea if Seb was planning on going to homecoming, but maybe, maybe this was his chance to finally ask him out. Or, at least ask him to the dance. Same thing though, right?

He recalled the conversation he had with Ashlyn over FaceTime the previous night about possibly asking Seb to homecoming. Of course, she was 100% behind it, but Carlos still had doubts, even with her constant assurance that Seb almost definitely liked him back.

"I see the way he watches you during rehearsal", Ashlyn had told him, which had also made Carlos immediately blush like crazy. "If our choreographer was anyone else, there's no way he would voluntarily go to school early."

"He already wakes up at 5:30 in the morning, though. He's passionate about dance and performance, maybe he just genuinely wants to improve!" he had countered with.

"I'm sure he does, Carlos but I don't know if he would have accepted so quickly if it didn't mean hanging out with someone he likes," Ashlyn had explained, which earned her an eye roll from him. "I love you, but you're crazy. Why are you trying to deny it anyway?"

That comment had left Carlos wordless. Honestly, he didn't know why he kept deflecting the possibility of Seb liking him. He knew what Ash was saying was probably true, but that little bit of uncertainty was holding him back from telling Seb the things he wanted to. It was the first time he had met someone passionate about the same things he was, and he so easily clicked with. He didn't want to go and ruin that.

And yet, every moment he shared with Seb felt real. The looks, the conversations, and subtle touches, it was like they were both holding back from something.

Carlos didn't want to hold back anymore.

Their rehearsal ran as normal, once again running through the same dance sequence. Seb had nearly perfected it at this point with Carlos, but maybe that was only because he had both sides of this choreo memorized front to back. That's why dancing with Seb was nice; he never had to think too much about how close the two of them were together or what to do if either of them messed up. This was his field, and not even a cute boy and his cute smile, riffing, and commentary, while they rehearsed, could take away from that.