CHAPTER SIXTEEN
·.¸¸.·♩♪♫ mr perfectly fine ♫♪♩·.¸¸.·

REECE MADE HER WAY BACKSTAGE. It was finally time for act two and she began to grow more and more excited. She'd gotten over her nerves, as she'd already performed Chosen Last which people loved.

Steph, one of the dancers, told her Carlos needed her backstage and she could see why. She stopped dead in her tracks as she saw the scene before her. There, in the dressing room, sat EJ Caswell in Troy Bolton's jersey with Ashlyn beside him. "Ok, where is the body?" She asked crossing her arms.

The Caswells look at her, "I didn't kill Ricky, Reece." EJ said.

Reece was unconvinced, "Right," she winked as she dragged out the word. "You can trust me, Caswell, I watch Criminal Minds so I know exactly what to do and what not to do."

Ashlyn had a shocked/scared expression on her face. EJ, on the other hand, remained neutral as he'd heard that line many times before. When they were dating Reece watch the show religiously, meaning he did as well. She had gotten really good at figuring out the unsub, as well as (like she said) knowing what to do and what not to do.

"Wait, if you're Troy, then who's playing Chad?" Ashlyn asked as Carlos came in with a Wildcats jersey in his hands.

"Reece, perfect! I need you to put this on." Carlos handed her the jersey.

Reece looked at him with a stunned expression, "I- I'm sorry what? Carlos, I can't play Chad, I'm already Kelsi."

"Yes, you can, and you must." He insisted. "Kelsi doesn't come on for a while, and everything will be fine."

"Why me?"

Carlos sighed, not understanding why the girl was being so difficult, "Because every rehearsal, since Thanksgiving, you've been mouthing everyone's lines and you've never messed up."

Reece left out a deep sigh, "Fine," she grabbed the jersey from his hands. "But, you owe me." She made her out of the dressing room and into one of the bathroom stalls across the hall.

She quickly changed into the costume and made her way out of the bathroom where she saw EJ waiting for her. He looked her up and down, trying not to laugh. "Stop it." She said firmly.

"What?" He smiled, biting back a laugh that was bound to come out.

"EJ, if you laugh I swear I'll kill you." She pointed her finger at him. He let out a laugh but quickly shut his mouth as Reece began to smack him lightly. "Shut up."

As he continued to laugh and make fun of her, they made their way on stage. It was a quick scene that lead to Ashlyn singing Wondering.

"I cannot take you seriously right now." EJ smiled.

"You don't think I looked macho enough?" She flexed her muscles (surprisingly she had some). "I could take you."

EJ laughed, "I'm sure you could." They smiled at each other. For a moment everyone else in the world disappeared. It was hard to imagine that only a few months ago they were mad at each other and a few months before that they were in love.

Reece cleared her throat as they quickly moved away from each other. "I should go change," she said pointing behind her awkwardly. "I'll see you later."

She let out a breath as she turned out of EJ's eyesight. "This needs to stop. I'm with Willow." She told herself, but she couldn't shake off the feeling she'd felt only moments ago. She just hoped it would go away soon.

♪♫ ♫♪

Despite a few bumps in the road opening night was a success. It was time for the final act, Breaking Free, she watched as Nini and EJ made their way onstage, and Ashlyn exited.

Reece made her way over to Ricky and Gina, giving the boy's shoulder a tight squeeze. "Kourtney told me what happened." He gave her a sad smile. "It sucks. But it gets better."

"Thanks, Reece." They turned their attention back onto EJ and Nini. Gina quickly excused herself as she saw Carlos waving her to go backstage.

"I can't do it, Troy. Not with all these people staring at me." Nini said (well more like Gabriela said).

"Look at me, Gabby," EJ told the girl, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Right at me. Like the first time, we sang together. Like kindergarten, remember?"

Nini didn't respond. Instead, she looked at Ricky, unable to speak. EJ quietly sighed, he knew what he'd have to do and despite not wanting to, he knew this would be what's best.

And so, he went off-script. "Remember kindergarten? There's nothing like the friends you made back then. And they never really leave do they?" He asked rhetorically.

"What are you doing?" Nini asked.

"Something right, I hope. I'm going to play to lose." He looked back at Reece, who had a confused look on her face not understanding what he was doing, before turning around. "I'm not the Troy you want." EJ chuckled lightly. He gently patted Nini's shoulder, gesturing towards Ricky, and walked away.

Reece finally understood what her ex-boyfriend was doing. As Nini made her way towards Ricky, she sang, "You know the world can see us, in a way that's different than who we are. Creating space between us, till we're separate hearts." In doing so she pulled out her phone just as Ricky had done during auditions.

Reece subconsciously moved away from the...couple? Whatever they were it didn't matter at that moment.

"I'm really not at my best." She heard Ricky say.

But Nini didn't care what the curly haired boy had to say, "Just look at me, Ricky. Right at me." Nini nodded towards the musicians, signaling to start the song. "But your faith it gives me strength..." Nini began singing.

"Strength to believe." Ricky joined in and soon the two were dancing and singing around the stage. "We're breaking free, we're soaring, flying. There's not a star in heaven that we can't reach. If we're trying, yeah, we're breaking free. Oh, we're breakin' free. Ohhhh."

Reece blocked out the rest of the song as EJ came up behind her. "Tonight turned out pretty good if I do say so myself." Reece smiled, looking at the boy who'd already been looking down at her.

"Yeah, it did." He replied.

There was a beat of silence, when Reece finally spoke, "It was nice what you did." EJ looked at her confused, despite not realizing he'd done quite a few nice things today, but he still wasn't sure what she was talking about. "What you did for Nini and Ricky." She cleared up the confusion. "It was a very selfless thing to do...I like this EJ a lot more."

Reece looked back to watch her friends perform so she didn't see the small smile that appeared on his face. She didn't know how much he needed to hear that. All EJ Caswell wanted was for Reece Hastings to not hate him anymore, and that was finally accomplished.

"Also, buying a plane ticket for Gina must've been difficult, especially under such short notice." She didn't take her eyes off the stage but she could feel EJ's shocked look.

"You knew?" He exclaimed.

Reece laughed, "No, but you just confirmed it."

EJ shook his head as he chuckled. Pushing her slightly he continued to watch Nini and Ricky perform. It was Reece's turn to look at EJ and as she did she realized something.

She realized, she missed having him around. She missed being able to tell him everything, or not telling him at all, and him still knowing what to do. She missed the late night drives and talks. She missed the five hour phone calls they'd have even if no one was talking. But most importantly she missed him.

But Reece knew better. She was in a relationship, there was no need for any of that. She was just confused, she told herself. But how long could she keep telling herself the same excuse?

Unbeknownst to Reece, Willow Sloan watched from afar. She knew it would only be a matter of time before Reece realized she didn't truly love Willow but she never thought it would be at that moment. Everything was leading up to that very moment and Willow didn't know how to react.

♪♫ ♫♪

The curtain call went rather smoothly. Each cast member took a bow and danced as the rest piled up. When it was Reece's turn EJ even spun her around, causing her to break out in a fit of laughter. But what made it really special was when Nini and Gina pushed Carlos and Ms. Jen over on stage and instructed the teacher to say her long lost line.

It was an unforgettable night, and it was about to get a lot more unforgettable.

♪♫ ♫♪

Reece was swarmed with hugs as she reached the school's entrance, where all the families and friends who'd come to see the show stood. Her mother was the first to rush up to her daughter, though she seemed to be moving much slower than usual Reece reminded herself that Scarlett was a nurse so wasn't unusual for her to be tired.

"That was amazing, Reece!" She exclaimed cupping her face and kissing her daughter's cheeks. "And you're a song, I knew you were good but I didn't know you were that good."

Reece grinned at that statement. Scarlett hadn't been the first person to tell her how much she enjoyed her song. Classmates and their families had come up to her to share their excitement.

Next was Victor, who shared the same look of happiness and gave the girl a hug. "That was phenomenal. Honestly the best version of High School Musical I've ever seen."

Finally, Anne rushed up to her sister, engulfing her in a hug. "The show was great, a lot of weird changes in the cast, but great."

Reece laughed, "Yeah, going on as Chad was definitely something I'll remember for the rest of my life."

Regina and Matthew Sinclair quickly gave a hug to the young redhead, praising her as they did so. Reece thought it was odd that the couple refused to look at each other, or even be near one another. The Sinclair couple were usually quite touchy with one another.

She looked over at Josie who had a knowing look on her face as she saw her parent's actions (or lack thereof). Her frown quickly disappeared as she turned to her best friend and gave her a tight squeeze. "We need to talk about that little moment between you and EJ that happened off stage." She whispered.

Reece's eyes widened.

She wasn't exactly surprised Josie had known about that because Josie seemed to know about everything. But, she thought everyone's focus would be on Nini and Ricky, or at least she hoped. But, the person she hoped hadn't seen the most was Willow, but she did see. And it could be seen on Willow's face as she approached the Hastings and Sinclair's.

Maybe Reece was blinded by 'love' (or whatever it was she felt) but she refused to believe Willow had seen the looks she'd given EJ only a few minutes before.

As Willow gave the girl a hug, and a quick peck on the cheek, Reece instantly knew something was wrong. "Willow, are you okay?" She asked.

The blonde didn't respond, instead, she put on an even brighter (and faker) smile and nodded. "I'm fine, come on everyone else is going to Denny's."

But, Reece wasn't going to let it go. She continued to pressure her girlfriend into telling her what was wrong.

Willow finally gave in. "Can we talk somewhere else?" She paused to look at the adults. "Somewhere private."

Victor cleared his throat, "Scarlett, love, let's go home. I'm sure Reece can find a way to Denny's."

Scarlett quickly nodded, understanding what her fiancé was trying to do. "Of course." And with that the four adults left in their cars, the Hastings in one and the Sinclair's in two others (which was, once again, odd).

Which left Josie and Anne to make their way to Ricky, who'd offered to drive them, and Nini who was talking to a strange woman with a clipboard.

As the hallway began to get less crowded, Willow and Reece made their way to an empty classroom. The blonde closed the door, mentally preparing herself for what was to come. The redhead sat herself on one of the empty desks, Willow mimicked her actions.

"What's wrong?" Reece asked teaching for the girls hand. Willow quickly pushed her hand away, causing Reece to give her girlfriend a confused look. "Did I do something?"

Willow's breath hitched. Did she really not know? She kept her head down, letting out a shaky breath. "I can't keep doing this."

"Doing what?"

Willow fidgeted with her hands, "This." She motioned between the two of them. "I know you can't control it, but I can't be with someone who is still in love with her and ex."

Reece shook her head, how could she say that? She wasn't in love with her ex...she just wasn't. "I'm not in love with EJ."

Willow scoffed, finally looking at Reece. "Maybe you're not in love but you definitely care about him differently then you do me."

The tension in the air began to grow thicker. "I don't!"

Willow pushed herself off the desk, "Ever since Thanksgiving I've been telling myself 'no, there's no way.' but we all know it's a lie. I understand forgiving him was a huge part of your healing process but I haven't felt the spark between us since, and I know you haven't either."

"I-" She cut Reece off.

"The way I loved you, isn't the same way you loved me and I have to live with that." She took a shaky breath. Tears began forming (and spilling) in both girls eyes. "I never intended on doing this today, especially after Josie needing to move after her parents divorce-"

"Wait what?" Reece cut off her (in the process of becoming) ex-girlfriend. "Josie never told me that."

Willow's eyes widened, "I- I thought you knew."

Reece shook her head softly. She wiped away the tears that split from her eyes. "I'm sorry." She said so faintly Willow almost missed it. "I'm so sorry, Willow. I never meant for any of this to happen." The worries of her best friend were pushed aside for the time being, right now Reece need to focus on one thing at a time.

Willow nodded, "I know." She whispered back, a sad smile appeared on her face.

As the two inched closer together they took each other's hands. They stood there silently for a few seconds before Willow unclasped their hands and made her way to the door. "Goodbye, Reece."

Willow left the girl alone in the dimly lite classroom as she tried to control her breathing and keep herself from falling apart completely.

Reece opened her phone to reveal a text message from Josie.

JOJO SIWA 🎀
Ricky drove Anne and I to Denny's
Hope everything's alright

CECE 👒
Willow and I broke up

She waited for the girls' reply, which only took a few seconds

JOJO SIWA 🎀
WHAT?!
WHY?!
ARE YOU OKAY?!

CECE 👒
Bc I'm apparently not over EJ

JOJO SIWA 🎀
Well are you?

CECE 👒

Yes! Why does everyone think I'm not?
Also I'm not has heart broken as I should be
Is that bad?

She lied straight through her teeth...or screen, and Josie knew it but she let her friend do what she needed to in order to get over the pain.

JOJO SIWA 🎀
I'm always here for you

CECE 👒
Are you?

JOJO SIWA 🎀
What?

CECE 👒
Bc I just heard you're moving
and your parents are getting a divorce

Josie's text bubble came to a stop. It seemed as though Reece was more upset about her best friend leaving, then her girlfriend breaking up with her.

JOJO SIWA 🎀
I'm so sorry
I wanted to tell you sooner

but I didn't know how

CECE 👒
When are you leaving?

JOJO SIWA 🎀
Next week

Reece's breath hitched. How could it be so soon? Oh how she hated having this conversation over text.

CECE 👒
We can talk and be sad tomorrow okay?
Right now let's enjoy

JOJO SIWA 🎀
Sounds good to me 💗

CECE 👒
💗

Reece finally wiped away the fallen tears. Making her way out of the classroom she noticed how no one, except for a few staff members, were left. In all honesty she was glad no one was around to ask her how she was, because if they did she wasn't sure she'd be able to keep it together.

She made her way outside, the fresh cold breeze hitting her face.

Reece sat on the steps of the high school, her eyes bloodshot red and her face stained with tears. She kept her head buried in her knees as she heard someone come out the doorway.

Everyone had already left for Denny's except for Reece and someone else. They wrapped their arms around the redhead letting her soak their t-shirt with her tears.

"Today was supposed to be perfect," she sobbed. The person didn't reply, the two just sat there as they stroked the girl's hair in silence. "Everything is happening so fast, and I can't keep up with it, EJ, I just can't." She continued to sob. "It's too much to handle."

EJ began to whisper sweet nothings into her ears, as he leaned his head onto her own. "What happened, Reece?" he asked in a calming tone.

Reece sniffled, "Willow broke up with me," she wiped her nose on her sleeve. "And the worst part is, I don't feel that bad about it. I'm more heartbroken over the fact my best friend is moving in a week and didn't bother telling me."

Even though Reece moved away from her crouched position, she continued to hold EJ's hand in fear that if she were to left go something bad might happen.

Contrary to Reece's belief, the worst had yet to come because, after the many minutes of sitting on the steps with EJ Caswell, the second the redhead answered Anne Hastings' phone call everything would go to shit.

The second the young redhead opened her mouth to say five words, Reece's world fell apart.

"Reece, it's mom," the voice said, "she collapsed."

INEZ SPEAKS

I'm sorry.

Actually the only thing I'm sorry for is the extremely long wait for this chapter to come out. Also I'm aware it's a lot to take in seeing as this all happened in one chapter but the show is very fast pace and I like - no need - to make Reece's life more difficult.

Anyways...please refrain from killing me (especially if you're Grace or Mel) <3