Didn't Know It Before( An EJ Caswell/HSMTMTS Fanfiction)

Chapter Ten: What Did We Just Do?

Ricky was gone by the time everyone came back, and rehearsal carried on with EJ filling in for Troy. Nobody had said anything official about him quitting but...walking out of rehearsal? We all know what that probably means.

I had to admit, I was sad to see him go though. I mean, I think EJ's right, he is trying to get Nini back, and I don't think its right to try and mess with someone's relationship. Plus, I know EJ really wants to play Troy, and Ricky quitting would give him the opportunity to do that, but I didn't want Ricky to give up. Regardless of his reasoning for joining the musical, the love of theater has a way of sneaking up on you when you least expect it.

So I kept the boldness going...and I went to Ricky's house.

I asked Big Red for the address and then went there immediately after practice. I had no clue if he'd even listen to me but theater is amazing, and I don't want to see Ricky quit before he's even really had a chance to experience it.

My heart was pounding in my chest as I raised my fist to knock on his door. Showing up to people's houses uninvited, let alone people I barely know, was way outside of my comfort zone, but once I did one thing, it seemed to set off a chain reaction of me seeing the things that give me anxiety and doing them anyway, so...here I am.

The door opened and there was Ricky, his eyebrows furrowed, looking confused.

"Megan?" He asked.

"Yeah, um...hi?" I said.

"What are you doing here?" He asked. "Wait, how did you even know where I live?"

"Big Red," I answered, "Can I come in?"

"Uh...yeah, I guess." He stepped aside and I walked into his living room, setting my backpack down in a chair and turning to face him. "What are you doing here?"

"You can't quit the show." I told him. He nodded.

"I know."

"Theater has so much to offer, and its such a great experience that's unlike anything else. I only just now got a part, and its already changed the way I look at everything-wait, what did you say?" I asked.

"I said, I know." He said. "I'm not quitting. That's the whole problem with Nini, she thinks I 'quit' our relationship, so if I quit the play...I'll just be proving her right."

"Ricky..." I trailed off. For some reason, I was even more nervous to talk to Ricky than I was to talk to EJ. Maybe its just because I've never talked to Ricky before the first day of school. "Nini has a boyfriend." He sighed.

"Tell me something I don't know." He said, sitting down on the couch.

"But you can't...you can't interfere with their relationship." I told him. "Nini is dating EJ, and the whole trying to win her back thing not only isn't working, it...its not right." He sighed again.

"I don't know what else to do." He stated. I sat down on the couch beside him.

"Well...I know you don't know me, and my advice probably doesn't mean anything to you but...I think you should stay in the Musical, just...not for the same reason." He furrowed his eyebrows.  "You want Nini to be happy, right?"

"Of course."

"Well...she is happy. With EJ." He shook his head. "And I think she'd be a lot happier, if you two could move past this and be friends rather than be at each other's throats all the time."

"Yeah..." He agreed.

"So...stay in the musical. Not to win Nini back, or break her up with EJ but...try to understand something Nini is passionate about. The thing about theater is...it has this weird tendency to change you. It can allow you to do things you couldn't do before, it brings out aspects of your personality that you didn't even know you had and I think if you stick with the musical for the sake of trying to do something new and form a friendship with Nini...you'll be surprised at the results." I explained. "And who knows? Maybe you will get back together, but it has to be her decision. It can't be something you force on her with acoustic serenades and excessive amounts of cologne." He nodded.