Chapter 11: Sleepovers
Welcome to December (holy cow, where did the time go?), and the final 'Starburst' update of the year. This chapter's more of a Filler/Breather scene for Cress and the girls to hang out, and some tea gets spilled while discussing Homecoming plans.
Disclaimer: I do not own 'High School Musical: The Musical: The Series' or Ten from "Weightless". Ten and Jeonghan belong to my friend zealous_light. I only own my original characters. Enjoy the chapter.
So Zale decided to drop Cress off at the Triplet's place first before stopping by the Dance Studio. Probably for the better because he's reducing the chances of his sister meeting Jeonghan.
[ That thought alone sent chills up Ten and Zale's spines ]
Of course, the platinum blond just dropped Ten off and went away.
Why? You asked.
"COME BACK AND PAY FOR CHILD SUPPORT, YOU COWARD!" Jeonghan was the first to run out of the studio to greet Ten.
Yeah, now Ten can see why Zale dropped Cress off at the Martinez Triplets' place first.
See? This is why Zale was never really able to get dates back in Salt Lakeshore Academy.
"For the last time, I'm not going on a blind date with any of your sisters or cousins or whoever you think fits the description!" Zale shouted back.
"Whoops." One of the guys there shrugged and promptly apologized to their older sister, "Sorry, looks like he's not interested."
"Ducklings, I appreciate your offer, but I'm really not into dating right now. Also I have Midterms to get ready for." Zale sighed wearily.
Look, it's not because the Ducklings are being nosy. The Ducklings have fairly attractive siblings. It's just that it could affect Zale's relationship with his former mentees if he ever dated one of their relatives.
Usually, Zale never really 'clicks' with the blind dates. Or the fact it gets ruined when one of the Ducklings (often Jeonghan) OR Cress gets into trouble. On a really bad day, they could both cause problems in different locations at almost the same time.
Meanwhile
"Welcome to Casa Martinez!" Marisol greeted the guests with a big grin.
"Wow, your house is incredible!" "It's always fun to sleepover at your place."
Some of the girls were admiring the interior design.
"Obviously, our sleepovers are legendary!" Marissa beamed with pride.
"It's definitely more welcoming after Tiana went to college." Marina chimed in.
"Take that, society! She's your problem now!" Marisol flashed crude hand gestures at Tatiana's high school graduation portrait.
A few minutes later, the pizza delivery arrived.
"That pizza delivery guy is cute!" Marissa hummed, watching the 'Slices' delivery boy leave on his motorbike.
"Howie? I guess he's alright." Cress raised her eyebrows. She shared the same class with him back in middle school.
"He's a bit on the short side though." Lumi commented, "I like my boyfriends tall."
"Then he's the perfect height for you, Cressie!" Marina looked at her friend.
"Oh har har!" Cress mockingly laughed at their bad jokes.
Two boxes of pizzas and some takeout food later, they were all sitting and gossiping in one of the Triplet's rooms.
"2 weeks! All it took was 2 WEEKS out of camp for EJini to fall apart!" Cress exclaimed, pacing back and forth.
She was hanging out with a couple of girls from the drama club: the Martinez triplets, Amelia, Lumi, Natalie, Steph, Lauryn, Kenidee and Addie.
The triplets (mostly Marisol and Marissa, the more sociable sisters) had contemplated inviting some of the other girls, but figured the current drama is messy enough with EJ and Nini's very recent breakup: -
(1.) Kourtney is Nini's best friend, so they're out of the equation. (plus Nini and EJ just broke up, so Kourtney's likely comforting her BFF)
(2.) Ashlyn is avoiding the drama. (that and she's having a sleepover with Phyrros and another friend from middle school 'Elise Yoon', and probably having a Zoom video call with their long-distance friend)
(3.) Gina is part of the cause of said drama, she's a tough shell to crack and still hasn't really talked to everyone else yet.
(4.) And none of the girls were actually getting along with Tonya Freeman (Cress had an awkward breakup with her last year. Don't ask)
Yes, Cress is friends with (almost) everyone, this involves having separate sleepovers with her friendship circle to strengthen their bonds.
"EJini?" Kenidee looked up from her phone.
"It's their ship name. It was supposed to catch on." Cress sighed.
"He DID steal her phone." Steph pointed out.
"Actually Gina stole her phone and passed it to EJ." Cress corrected, remembering what EJ told her. She quickly covered her mouth when she realized what she said. But she didn't actually say EJ saw it happen, right?
"No way, would Gina stoop that low?" Lauryn's eyes widened.
"Hhm..." Lumi tapped the bottom of her chin, in thoughts, "I did see Gina loom around the bags last week, her bag was close to Nini's but I didn't think much of it at the time."
"I wonder if the security footage caught something?" Marina muttered thoughtfully.
"Speaking of stealing, I saw Nini steal Gina's shoes from her bag the other day." Lumi Song suddenly remembered.
"Weird, I saw Kourtney stealing Gina's laptop just last Thursday." Lauryn recalled.
"I saw Nini stealing Gina's water bottle too." Addie pointed out, "I think she was trying to be subtle, but really isn't that good at it."
"Is stealing stuff from someone you hate some kind of friendship trend I didn't know about?" Marina remarked.
"Ricky Bowen ran in at the last minute to audition without a number and serenaded his ex's love song in front of her and her then-beau. He's already stooped lower than the new girl. Or the dirt on the ground." Cress deadpanned.
"Eh, if I lost my dream role to someone who is less deserving and puts in significantly lower effort, I'd be just as mad and petty." Marissa Martinez did a 'so-and-so' motion.
"Risa, you're not helping here." Marisol deadpanned.
"See, this is why Dani thinks it's ok to follow our sister's prima donna personality." Marina declared.
Their younger cousin Danica was just as much of a queen bee as Tatiana. Casepoint: Tiana was one of the only 4 people Dani follows online. As you can see, Tatiana is the WORST person you could be related to and an even worse influence in your life.
"Do NOT put me, our prima donna cousin AND that Diva in the same sentence together!" Marissa gasped, taking offense to her triplet's statement.
"If it's any consolation, I've been secretly calling her Thot-iana since she dumped EJ." Cress raised her hand, before taking a long sip of her soda.
Those who were drinking water immediately snorted or choked on their drinks.
"Cressida!"
"You're not wrong." Marina laughed in amusement. "We all hate her."
"Hold up, the Tiktok sensation Dani is your cousin?" Addie's eyes widened in surprise.
"Danica Martinez. We're the Martinez triplets. Do the last names ring any bells for you?" Marisol helped connect the dots.
"What a small world." Steph blinked.
Lauryn was comparing pictures of Dani on TikTok to the Martinez triplets. There are some similarities between the girls, given they're relatives.
"Her hair is straight, just like her sexuality. Our hair is anything BUT straight." Marina joked, earning a loud laugh from the rest of the girls.
"As much as I love an underdog story, it makes it all that underwhelming when you pass the role to the lamest boy who walks in with a guitar with hair hygiene poorer than a lice-infected deodorant-deprived rodent." Cress was venting about her frustration towards Ricky Bowen.
"Is this because Miss Jenn went for a heteronormative Troyella and you're sad you didn't get to share a role with Zac Efron?" Lumi joked, attempting to lighten the mood.
"Yeah! I got the hair and charisma for Troy." Cress puffed her chest.
"Agree to disagree, I think Sol would have made a better Troy." Amelia shook her head, winking at her girlfriend.
"Aww, and you'd be my Gabi!" Marisol grinned goofily at her girlfriend.
"Get a room." Lauryn pretended to gag at the sickening sweethearts.
"We're in one. My room specifically." Marina retorted.
"Wanna take it to my room then, mi vida?" Marisol winked at her girlfriend, earning a gag from their friends as they watched the two girlfriends leave the room. Presumably to go make out.
"Homecoming's coming up! Any plans of going?" Lauryn switched the subject.
"Obviously, I've already got my dress picked out!" Marissa gestured to herself, pulling up a picture from her phone to show off her Homecoming gown.
"Ooh, that's a stunning dress!" Kennidee gushed.
"Clearly, we know who's going together." Natalie dryly motioned at the two girlfriends kissing outside.
"I'm going with Sean as friends." Marina shrugged. She and Sean have been friends for years and going to school dances as each other's dates is always the go-to option.
"I'm going solo." Natalie replied, turning her attention to her freshly painted nails. "My boyfriend and I just broke up."
"Dated." The stage manager corrected her friends, "We broke up yesterday."
Her declaration had taken most of them by surprise.
"Wait, you're dating Seb?!" "Hold up, SINCE WHEN?!" "But why? You and Seb make such a cute couple!"
"Because I'm not the one he wants. Nor am I his type." Natalie answered coolly, "As much as I liked him, we just work better as friends."
"I KNEW IT!" Cress gleefully exclaimed at the revelation.
"How? I thought I was being secretive with the whole Secret Dating with him!" Natalie grimaced.
"Remember on the last 4th of July BBQ when I caught you two secretly kissing in the haystack," Cress rebuked and made air quotes, "and you lied to me that you were 'checking if he had any toothaches'?"
"Natalie, you're a fiercely gorgeous girl. I'm sure you'll find someone who treats you like the damn queen you are." Marissa's 'older sister instincts' kicked in and consoled the younger teen.
"Next question: who would be on your Homecoming date list if you have the chance?" Cress decided it's now the perfect time to change the subject. I mean they were already discussing Homecoming plans, might as well find out who her friends considered as their Backup Date.
All the girls shared a look before answering.
"Ten." Lauryn confessed.
"Same girl, same!" Addie nodded.
"I'm technically going with Anthony Marcos, but yeah I'd have asked out Ten if given the opportunity." Marissa admitted.
"Honestly, I've tried to ask Ten to be my date but he redirected me to Kaden." Kennidee commented.
"Wait, how many of you here have or had crushes on Ten?" Cress suddenly asked out loud.
A slew of hands went up.
Cress was grateful her friends weren't here right now. Ten would have been extremely mortified by the number of admirers he has. EJ would have been laughing his head off by the revelation.
"Sean and I thought he was cool when we were freshmen." Marina shrugged.
"What? He's very handsome." Lumi nodded in agreement.
"And smart too!" Marissa commented.
"Meh, guys aren't really for me." Marisol shook her head, "I prefer girls."
"Oh, we can tell." Amelia smirked, leaning in to kiss Marisol's cheek.
"I'm pretty sure one third of East High's student body liked Ten." Lauryn stated in a matter-of-factly tone.
"There are 3 types of people in this world: Those who are attracted to men, those who solely prefer women, and people with no soul." Cress pointed out.
She didn't want to discourage her friends from asking out Ten, but it never really works to catch his at-Ten-tion. (hehe, Zale would be proud of that pun)
"Yup, that nails the final coffin of me being a lesbian." Marisol nodded in confirmation.
"Speaking of Homecoming dates, any thoughts on going with someone you know?" Addie hummed mysteriously, "Kaison's got a thing for you."
"As a friend," Cress nodded sagely, not noticing some of her friends facepalming.
"Besides, I met a guy over the summer. He's very charming and fun to hang out with. And I'm thinking about asking him to be my homecoming partner." Cress's face broke into a big smile when she mentioned her new friend.
"He doesn't attend East High?" Addie wondered out loud.
"Nope, he goes to Salt Lakeshore Academy." Cress replied.
"That fancy boarding school?" Lumi raised her eyebrows.
"Isn't that the rumored school that's famous for having very attractive students?" Amelia asked.
"That's a thing? I thought it was an urban legend." Steph made a face at the strange
And so they all spent the rest of the night watching movies, eating ice cream and overall enjoying each other's company.
Here's to hoping EJ and Ten are having a good time without her company.
Meanwhile
Unknown to his best friends (and Ten's voice internally yelling at his better sense of judgment), EJ had gone off to visit Gina. Apparently, Gina has this big plan on helping EJ win back the role of Troy Bolton for the play and Nini.
...This involves them attending Homecoming together somehow?
Hope you've enjoyed this Breather episode and the Dance Crew get some love they deserve. We're inching closer to Homecoming ep, and let me say it's gonna be fun to write.
Chapter Talk
(1.) I added a short bit of Zale and Ten at the Dance Studio. Considering most of the guys there have siblings, sometimes the Ducklings will try to set their former Dorm Big Brother up with their literal older sisters/cousins.
(2.) The Dance Crew get some ship teases and appearances. I get attached to the side characters too much that I end up expanding them to their own characters. Kennidee is a fan-favorite for me in season 4 (hence the ship-tease between her and Kaden since they played Marta/Jason in HSM3).
(3.) A few (future) characters are mentioned, I like foreshadowing and the world is THAT small:
~ Howie (who delivered the pizzas) whom some of the girls thought was cute
~ Phyrros (Cress' brother) & 'Elise' (Jisoo, Jeonghan's sister) are Ashlyn's friends from middle school. Those two get promoted to Main Characters in 'The Sibling Squad'. Tern gets offhand mentioned as the Long Distance Friend.
~ Dani from Season 4 makes an early mention as the Martinez sisters' cousin. Here, her name is Danica.
(4.) I like calling forward some of the S4 reveals (Seb/Natalie dated) so they're making early mentions here. Here, her relationship with Seb is somewhat known by few of their classmates (assuming they dated long enough to go to Halloween together the previous year) but they agree they're better off as friends instead. Natalie in my version is Bi and ends up finding her own love eventually.
(5.) While the show hardly acknowledges some of the potential consequences for their actions, the Side Characters noticed more than they let on. Like noticing Kourtney and Nini stealing Gina's belongings. Or Lumi noticing Gina lurking around Nini's bag a bit too long. These characters are throwing mild shade at the Main Characters' nonsense.
(6.) ⅓ of the East High student population had crushes on Ten, hands down. He's popular but has no clue his popularity has extended to high places. Most of the student body agree he's very handsome alongside EJ Caswell. The other ⅓ simp for EJ and Cress. We love the consistency.
(7.) So in 'Weightless', zealous_light mentions the NCT/Seventeen counterparts go to a boarding school. It wasn't until recently when I coined 'Salt Lakeshore Academy' as the school name, with the school uniforms from 'XO, Kitty' as what Lakeshore's uniforms look like. Anyways, Lakeshore is popular for being an urban legend where lots of attractive students there strangely resemble popstars.
And that's all for December. See you all next year. Thanks for reading, and feel free to let me know your thoughts on this chapter. Have a wonderful day.