Ricky was far and away the least motivated to take part in a dance competition with North High. Theater wasn't something he was very into to begin with. And even after the miracle, or rather tragedy, that was East High's production of High School Musical, they hadn't really grown on him too much. But thanks to Gina and Lily's annoyingly fiery and competitive attitude, he found himself alone getting ready for what he imagined would be the embarrassment of a lifetime.

The sight of everyone stretching, running through a few dance moves, and giving pep-talks only made this sickening feeling worsen.

Ricky silently cursed Miss Jenn for practically dragging them all into an age-old feud with her ex-boyfriend. It was almost comical. Yes, he auditioned for High School Musical simply to get Nini back, but he ended up sticking through with it and putting in the same amount of work as the rest of the cast. In the end, nobody was more affected than he was - having to deal with the pressure of being a lead for the first time ever all while every single pair or eyes were fixated on him and expecting him to perform despite his fractured mind and broken family acting as a weight. Ricky never dragged anyone down with him the way Miss Jenn was doing. All it did was make it harder for him to accept. What was it all for?

And as the universe reveled in his misery, it sent Lily over to him to strike up a conversation, "Hi! Ricky Bowen, right?"

It was the last thing he needed. Without giving a proper response, because he knew she already knew the answer considering they met before, Ricky scoffed and began walking down the aisle.

Lily, not appearing bothered by being ignored continued, "I have something to say to you."

"That you're a huge traitor?" Ricky replied coldly, enough to wipe the smile off the blonde's face. It wasn't enough, however, to get her to walk away.

"Okay, I actually wanted to give you a compliment."

"Why're you even doing this?" Ricky asked, not really paying any mind to her offer of a compliment.

The two stopped walking, "Excuse me?"

Ricky turned to face her. It was hard for him to admit, but Lily was talented. Possibly more talented than anyone he had ever met before. And like he'd told himself many times already, he wasn't going to let the competition get in the way of who he wanted to become. He was no longer going to hold anyone back from their dreams, even if she was supposed to be the competition.

"What I mean is, why are you wasting your time with this? This "dance contest" isn't going to prove anything." Ricky quickly glanced over his shoulder to make sure none of his friends were within earshot of their conversation.

"I remember your audition. You know, even after your frankly rude behavior, I think you should've been casted as Belle. Your voice is. . . I don't know. I guess to put it plainly: you sound like how I imagined angels would sound if we could hear them sing. I think your talents are being wasted here in school productions. You should be auditioning for a role as an actual Disney Princess, or in some big-budget musical in Hollywood. North High, East High, it really doesn't take away from the fact that you're being limited here. And things like this", he motioned his hand towards the two prepping schools, "don't help anyone. That's all."

Lily was stunned into silence. Her normally cold and extremely calculated exterior was broken for a moment. It was clear from the soft look on her face that hearing any sort of praise from East High's lead was the last thing she expected. The whole "give you a compliment" thing completely flipped on her.

"Look, I didn't mean to offend you or anything. It's just this competition with the Menken's is really stressing me out."

Lily spoke up, "I think it's admirable how you're dealing with it, though. You've had every chance so far to walk away from the production, but you haven't. That shows how dependable you are."

It was Ricky's turn to be silent. What she said was word-for-word the exact opposite of what Mr. Mazzara said to him in the hallway.

She took his silence as a cue to keep going, "Just like I think it's admirable how well you handled your girlfriend stabbing you in the back with that quasi-viral song of hers."

And there it was. The proverbial knife in the back that Ricky was waiting for from Utah's greatest manipulator. The glimmer of appreciation in his eyes from her previous compliment immediately dissipated and was replaced with annoyance and contempt.

"What are you talking about? I love Nini's song."

Lily went on to explain how Nini's lyrics weren't fitting for a rose singing to a beast. That her song was more about the relationship with him rather than from a theatrical perspective. And questioned if Ricky really loved the song or was just saying so for the sake of his relationship with her.

She hit all the correct notes. Something totally expected from an actress/singer of her caliber. But all in all, Lily was right. Ricky didn't like the song. Not because he wasn't in it despite it originally being written as a duo, but because it basically laments the fact that he is making Nini feel confined and unhappy. If the school and all of Utah heard her sing it, they would attack him. He didn't want that. He loved Nini, but that wasn't fair to him.

"It sounds more like a girl who wants some space." Lily broke his train of thought, "Anyway, let me know if you're looking for one who doesn't." She finished with a flirtatious smile before walking away, throwing a smug glance at Nini. Ricky was more confused than ever.

The informal competition was a complete nightmare. Not only was their best dancer wearing a form-fitting dress and heels, but the Frenchman was a talented DJ and singer, their beast had a functioning costume and played guitar, Lily was on their side, and as the cherry on top of the fantastic failure it was, Ashlyn almost fell off the set, forcing the competition to end.

As East High's drama department walked away with their heads down, Lily ran in with one last blow to their morale by stating that North High won.

Ricky wished more than anything that someone tied a scarf around his friends' mouths because they couldn't leave well enough alone. They just had to add the fact that East High would come back stronger than before with Nini's rose song.

However, when Lily mentioned that the Menken's didn't allow for any alteration of the original text to be included, Ricky felt a breath of fresh air. All though he knew that may have very well cost them the competition - screwed if they do, damned if they don't kind of thing - he was pleased to know the school won't hear her song.

"Well, let's just perform it anyway. Stick to the plan, take the risk." Nini said with misplaced confidence.

"And risk letting them win?!" Carols added.

Thank you, Carlos, Ricky thought before saying, "Well, what if we just don't perform the song? It doesn't really fit, anyway."

"What? What do you mean?" Nini said, clearly offended by the lack of support.

"The song doesn't really sound like a rose singing to a beast anyway. Right?" Ricky glanced at Lily but quickly pulled himself back in the moment, hoping to God nobody noticed. Everyone, however, did. He saw each one of his friends take their turn looking between him and Lily who had a visible smile on her face. "I just think that maybe we should focus on what's allowed so we don't risk the chance to win."

Carlos raised his hand, "I'm with that idea, honestly. Whatever it takes to win. Sorry, Nini, but Miss Jenn is really adamant about winning."

Nini looked even more offended. Everyone else remained quiet at the quarrel between the three, "Wait, Carlos you were the one who posted my song in the first place."

"That was before I knew it was against the rules."

"Well, then let's double check. For all we know she's lying."

Lily didn't seem the least bit offended by Nini's accusation. Ricky spoke up without taking a moment to consider who he was talking to and where he was, "Hey, don't talk like that! You're the one who wants so desperately to have your song heard you're willing to risk everything we've all worked for. For all we know, Lily is just trying to help."

"Are you saying I'm being selfish?"

"I didn't say that."

"But you meant it. And since when did you start caring about what I called her? What are you two friends now? Also, why'd you look at her when you suggested we take my song out?" Nini's attention shifted towards the blonde who still had her arms crossed and whose eyes were rolling, "Did you suggest that to him?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. But if I did, I'd say he's right. You shouldn't risk everyone's hard work over a subpar song. Ricky's just looking out for everyone. Maybe you should do the same."

Nini took a step forward before getting her arm grabbed by Seb and Gina, "What did you-"

"Okay. Okay, enough. We'll double check the rules and talk to Miss Jenn about it. But let's not let her get under our skin. Come on, we're going." Carlos said with finality, taking the initiative to leave first.

Everyone followed closely behind with Ricky being the last one. He took a quick look over his shoulder to see Lily staring right at him. She sent him a wink before disappearing behind the door to the auditorium.

Oh yes, Ricky was more confused than ever.