#E.J. Caswell

[one-time-i-dreamt]

I had a boyfriend (I’m a lesbian) and I told him in secret that the only man I would ever date is E.J. Caswell from High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.

[overhatedcharacterspoll]

OVERHATED CHARACTERS POLL: E.J. Caswell (High School Musical: The Musical: The Series)

Feel free to explain your position in the comments or tags, but any harassment, over-the-top fighting, or personal attacks will result in you being blocked. Do not attack real people, be they fans or creators, over fictional characters.

[thousand-page-dreams]

HSMTMTS Rewatch: The Auditions

So this isn’t a review, it’s just my various thoughts while rewatching the pilot. There’s other shows I wanted to do a rewatch post for as well, but HSMTMTS is pretty short so it’s easier. I do spoil some of the later episodes and seasons, so be warned.

Gina watches Nini and Ricky fight in the hallway. She doesn't know they're auditioning, perhaps she's just interested in watching the drama unfold. Or maybe because she changes schools so much, she likes to observe her surroundings to figure out the social scene.

Kourtney has pretty awkward dialogue in the early episodes, not sure why they only let her be comic relief for most of the season. She was only supposed to be in this episode, but thankfully the powers that be saw Dara's talent. Though it's kind of weird how they wanted Ricky to have a best friend throughout the show, but not Nini initially.

Ricky says Camp Shallow Lake is one month long, not two weeks as in Season 3. Although it is kind of funny to think about Nini and E.J. becoming an official couple in two weeks, would kind of explain why their relationship doesn't work out.

It's sweet that Kourtney, Natalie, and Seb all comment on Nini's instagram post. 

"I'm not threatened by guys who voluntarily wear tights" Would Ricky have wanted to take a break if he'd known Nini would've been around E.J., someone he views as a threat?

 I always find it funny in these shows whenever theater is depicted as being uncool. At my high school, the “popular” kids were all in musical theater.

Carlos is captain of the color guard team, as a sophomore, which is impressive and never brought up again. Though it must be lonely to be surrounded by people, yet not friends with any of them.

Pretty sad that Nini's newfound confidence is based essentially on a lie. She only got the part at camp because of E.J. There's also hints of insecurity; she thinks her grandmother is letting her win at UNO and she's worried she'll jinx getting Gabriella.

The scene between Nini and her grandmother is probably my favorite of the episode. HSMTMTS is relatively fast paced, so the moments it slows down are nice.

The whole "dad is incompetent at basic household activities" trope is stupid and dated. But the immediate contrast between Nini's happy family and Ricky's tense interactions with his father is poignant.

Big Red pretty much describes High School Musical as a love triangle; Troy has to choose between Chad and Gabriella. He's only revealed to be bisexual in the finale of Season 3, it’s cool foreshadowing.

When I first watched this episode, I actually really liked E.J. and Nini's relationship. He encourages her a lot. But the writers couldn't think of any logical reason to break them up, so they made E.J. an awful boyfriend. Alternatively, they could've had Ricky realize she wasn't interested in him anymore.

However, it makes sense why Ricky is desperate to get back together. He's desperate for stability in the midst of his parent's failing marriage.

Sure, Gina is a little condescending to Nini when they meet, but she still seems friendly. No idea where Ashlyn gets the evil "Gina 1.0" idea from in Season 3.

Ashlyn doesn't choose to audition as Ms Darbus, Ms Jen just assigns it to her. And yeah, she seems enthusiastic but maybe she would've liked to try out for the lead. Or maybe she doesn't think she's good enough for a main role, based on season 2.

"Gabriella. I wanna audition for Gabriella." - I always felt that Nini lacks agency as a character. But I love this small moment where Nini stands up for herself. She's responsible for her first success.

Ms Jen's comment to E.J after his audition is creepy, not gonna lie.

E.J. saying "I love you" after only knowing Nini for a month...

Big Red tries to sit by Kourtney, but she scoots away. The breakup affected them too. I wonder if they were friends before.

God, poor Nini. Ricky is telling her everything she wanted to hear now, but he broke her heart first. Also he hates musicals, and she's in musicals. I hope while they were dating he went to her performances.

Gina smiles during Ricky's audition. That's sweet. 

Also Gina's rendition of "Start of Something Knew" is pretty good. I never listened to it much before.

Ricky is being failed by all the adult figures in his life. Of course, Nini's confession shocked him. His reaction wasn't right, but it didn't come out of nowhere.

Overall, I think this episode is a pretty strong pilot. It introduces most of the characters pretty well, and not just Ricky and Nini. I do think the second half of the season is significantly weaker, though. I'll try to post my thoughts on episode 2 next weekend.

[mindyabusines]

Chapters: 1/3 Fandom: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Ricky Bowen/E.J. Caswell, Original Male Character/Original Female Character Characters: E.J. Caswell, Original Male Character(s), Original Female Character(s), Ricky Bowen (mentioned), Gina Porter (Mentioned) Additional Tags: University Life, E.J. Caswell Needs a Hug, attack of the OC's, the mortifying ordeal of someone wanting to know you, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Developing Friendships, Idiots in Love Series: Part 3 of all I wanna do (is go to you) Summary:

A tale of E.J.’s first semester of university, how some things can’t be prevented no matter how hard you try, the terrifying ordeal of being in love without knowing it and how the real gift is the friendships we are forced to make along the way.

[sarahk4]

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV) Rating: Not Rated Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Ricky Bowen/E.J. Caswell/Gina Porter, Ricky Bowen/Gina Porter, E.J. Caswell/Gina Porter, Ricky Bowen/E.J. Caswell, Ashlyn Caswell & Gina Porter, Ashlyn Caswell & E.J. Caswell Characters: Gina Porter, Ricky Bowen (HSMTMTS), E.J. Caswell, Ashlyn Caswell, Kourtney Greene, Nini Salazar-Roberts, Carlos Rodriguez, Seb Matthew-Smith, Big Red (HSMTMTS), Natalie Bagley, Maddox (HSMTMTS), Jet (HSMTMTS), Miss Jenn (HSMTMTS) Additional Tags: Polyamory, Long-Distance Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Protective E.J. Caswell, Protective Ricky Bowen (HSMTMS), Gina Porter Needs A Hug, Fluff, E.J. Caswell Loves Gina Porter, Ricky Bowen Loves Gina Porter, Everyone loves gina porter Summary:

Gina, EJ and Ricky are in a polyamorous relationship. When EJ moves to New York for college, Gina struggles but at least she still has Ricky by her side all the time. When Ricky graduates from East High and moves to New York foo, Gina struggles even more. But she knows she'll always have her boys for support.

This is going to be very much Gina centric by the way. She deserves all the love in the world :)

P.S. Title is from Lover by Taylor Swift!

[hsmtmts-daily]

HSMTMTS Casts (Oldest to Youngest) - p. 1/2

Kate Reinders as Miss Jenn (1x01-4x08) - December 10, 1980

Mark St. Cyr as Mr. Benjamin Mazzara (1x01-4x08) - November 16, 1987

Joe Serafini as Seb Matthew-Smith (1x01-4x08) - January 22, 1998

Larry Sagerstein as Big Red (1x01-4x08) - April 12, 1998

Matt Cornett as Elton John “E.J.” Caswell (1x01-4x08) - October 6, 1998

Frankie A. Rodriguez as Carlos Rodriguez (1x01-4x08) - July 14, 1999

[hiddenpxpercuts]

@impcrfct (gwen)

“i felt like i’ve been sitting here for like hours but it’s only been about ten minutes.” he chuckled, shaking his head. “well, i am hungry so that might be why it is feeling so long but also maybe it’s just because i’m exhausted after work...whi knows.”

[scoobycool9]

So my friend @bluetrainer tagged me to make a poll of my five time favorite characters ( and tag five people to do the same)

I’m tagging @blufoxstar @saintlesbian @cleoselene @mysticalcloudkingdom and @1296-very-good-year

[marvuk]

And I told you that this isn't the last picture according to @lightningstorm115 idea!! >:D

Okay, have you ever watched a series based on a Hish School Musical from 2019 ? You should not. I got excited about the idea of a crossover of these universes, so I watched the first episode and I have some curious observations!

Interestingly, the new generation of HSM is also pretentious and at the same time insensitive, like the new generation of racers in Cars 3. It's really funny to watch how much pathos and audacity there is in both rookies, so it seemed to me a good idea to draw Storms in the role of E.J. Caswell

[galaxysharks]

I have not owned an Au yet. So I shall, bask in my niche interests.

Space Ranger/Military Au

Ship: SS East. AKA: The Wildcat

Reporting Officer: Ms. Jenn (name/rank unknown)

Crew

Captain: Kourtney Greene

Co-Captain: E.J. Caswell

Navigation: Ashlyn Moon Caswell

Defense: Regina "Gina" Porter

Communications: Carlos Rodriguez

Engineering: Noah "Big Red" Redonovich

Chef/Botanical: Sebastian "Seb" Matthee-Smith

Supply Liaison: Richard "Ricky" Bowen

Supply Station 77

Reporting Officer: Lt. Benjamin Mazzara

Notable Crew

Docking/Security Officer: Jettson (name unknown)

Supplies Manager/Repair Expert for the 5000th Fleet: Maddox (name unknown)

Main Supplier of natural resources: Dewey Wood.

[shadowbrn]

maddox seong ( @famefckr ) said to e.j. caswell:     ❛  what are your plans for today?  ❜

e.j.'s first reaction is to shrug his shoulders. he hadn't really thought that far ahead. he knows he should probably work on stuff for the show, but he doesn't have the energy for it lately. he's so stressed out from everything going on both personally and professionally that he just . . . can't wrap his head around doing anything that matters.     ❝  honestly?  ❞     he rubbed the back of his neck as he looked at his best friend,     ❝  i'm kind of thinking of just taking a day off. go swim in the lake, relax. you in?  ❞

[cassiiealexxwrites]

So I did a thing. I spent a weekend two weeks ago re watching the ENTIRE HSM franchise. Literally. The 3 original movies. The Sharpay spin off. HSMTMTS, and both of its specials. And I am officially in a Caswen spiral. I have read literally EVERYTHING I could find on ao3 for Caswen. Like. I need all the Caswen fluff. So. I decided that I needed to create my own as THERE IS NOT ENOUGH OF THEM 😭 I am over 11k words into this rewrite. I may be posting it soon on AO3. Will post link when I do.

For now, here is some basic info on my rewrite:

- starts during the scene where Ricky hits E.J. with the ball, Ricky chases after him and they talk

- Nini and Ricky best friends since childhood. They figured out that they never actually felt that deeply for each other but were going along with the motions of what they thought they should do

- E.J. and Nini already broke up because Nini decided she wanted to focus on herself

- Everyone thinks Nini dumped E.J. for Ricky

- both are Bi

- basketball captain Ricky, and water polo captain E.J. because why not

- EJ is a junior with the rest instead of a senior

- Ricky enjoys flirting with E.J. and making him blush, boy has a massive crush

- slow burn. Like. So slow. I’m 11k words in and we only just got to homecoming and neither of them have made a move yet.

- Lynne Bowen is the worst

- angst is mostly due to Lynne Bowen

- We love EJ in this household so we’re giving him supportive parents.

- Ricky owns an obsessive amount of vans and is also a little spoiled. Like not Caswell level of spoiled/rich but they’re a lot more well off than in canon.

I don’t want to give away too much so that’s all I’m saying for now. I’m considering starting to post the first chapter once I make up a summary.

[rainforest-daisies]

100 follower/Christmas event!

Request a blurb with a character and prompt number!

Characters I will be writing for:

Marvel:

Natasha romanoff

Steve Rogers

Peter parker

Wanda maximoff

Bucky Barnes

Kate bishop(No smut)

Yelena belova(No smut)

Harry Potter:

Harry Potter

Hermione granger

Ron Weasley

Weasley twins

Ginny weasley(No smut)

Neville longbottom

Luna lovegood(No smut)

(Young)Remus lupin

(Young)James potter

(Young)Sirius black

(Young)regulus black

DSMP(No smut):

Wilbur soot

Karl jacobs

Niki nihachu

Quackity

Stranger things:

Eleven(No smut)

Max mayfield(No smut)

Steve Harrington

Robin Buckley

Mike wheeler(No smut)

Will byers(No smut)

Eddie munson

Nancy wheeler

Jonathan Byers

Jim hopper(No smut)

Cobra kai:

Danny larusso

Johnny Lawrence

Sam larusso

Robby keene

Eli moskowitz/hawk

Miguel Diaz

Tory nichols

Devon lee(No smut)

Kenny Payne(No smut)

Anthony larusso(No smut)

American horror story:

Tate langdon/kit walker/Kyle spencer

Violet Harmon/zoe benson

Misty day/Nora Montgomery

Grace Bertrand(No smut)

Cordelia Goode/Lana winters(No smut)

HSMTMTS:

Ricky bowen

Nini Salazar-roberts

Gina porter(No smut)

E.J. caswell

Ashlyn caswell(No smut)

Big red(No smut)

Enola Holmes:

Enola holmes

Viscount Tewksbury

Sherlock Holmes

William Lyon

Sarah/cicely(No smut)

Wednesday:

Wednesday Addams(No smut)

Xavier Thorpe

Enid Sinclair(No smut)

Tyler galpin

Bianca barclay

Ajax petropolus

(Young) Gomez Addams

(Young) morticia frump

Fluff prompts:

1. “Look! It’s snowing!”

2. “Why are you wearing my sweater?”

3. “Hun, We’re not putting the tree up. It’s November.”

4. “Hey, look, mistletoe!”

5. “Don’t eat those cookies! They’re for Santa!”

6. “I cant believe you just slipped on ice-”

7. “Can we please get hot chocolate?!”

8. “So were just snowed in??”

9. “This is just what I wanted, thank you!”

10. “How do you hate Christmas!? It’s the best holiday!”

11. “Give me my mittens back!” “Come take them!”

12. “I cant reach the Christmas lights..”

13. “Why are all the gifts in paper bags?” “The cat/dog chewed up the wrapping paper…”

Angst prompts:

1. “Nice job, you ruined Christmas.”

2. “I cant believe you wont be home for Christmas Eve.”

3. “What do you mean, the flight was canceled?”

4. “Stop calling me, you’re making me loose Christmas spirit.”

5. “That eggnog had some rotten eggs in it huh…”

6. “I should have never bought you that gift.”

7. “Don’t touch me.”

8. “It’s cold out here, I’m leaving.”

9. “Just take me home.” *car breaks down*

10. “A gift isnt going to fix this.”

Smut prompts:

1. “Keep acting like that, and you’ll end up on the naughty list.”

2. “Stop throwing snowballs at me.” “Why don’t you come over here and make me?”

3. “You Sure you’re not hot with all those clothes on?”

4. “I could help warm you up…”

5. “Your cheeks are so warm…did I get you flustered?”

6. “You look great in that Mrs. Clause costume, hun.”

7. “You poor thing…you’re quivering..”

8. “Ready for your gift now? *Pulls out handcuffs*”

9. “Hun, I can see through your shirt…”

10. “I didn’t know this movie was rated R…”

11. “Is that a mistletoe in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?”

[brekker-by-brekkerr]

It's interesting that you say it's "unfair" that ricky didn't work for his relationship with gina but he did with nini based on how he acted in season 1 and season 3, suggesting that gina deserves better than this, but if anything I think his actions in the 2 seasons prove that he worked WAY harder for his relationship with gina than with nini, especially considering he was in a similar boat in the two seasons.

In season 1 , ricky is reckless inconsiderate and impulsive in the way he handles his situation with nini. Going into the season, he wasn't sure where they stood & he had unresolved feelings for her. He learns that she is in a happy relationship with E.J. and that over summer she discovered a lot about herself and that she's grown & matured since their breakup, she makes it known that she's not interested in getting back together. At this point, Ricky decides that it doesn't matter whether or not nini is happy, bc her needs and desires don't align with his own. So he forces his way back into her life and obtrudes on the one place that he knows is nini's comfort space (theatre) in some thoughtless attempt to win her back against her wishes. He sends a voicemail about them having a moment (cue insecure elton self sabotaging and invading her privacy - no one's fault but his own btw). Fastforward to the end of the season, where he's regressed after gina's moving and finding out about Todd, he steps down so nini can shine and eventually tells her he loves her bc he's scared of what happens next. Throughout all of this you can see that he love for nini is selfish

In season 3, Ricky finds himself in an eerily similar situation to season 1- unresolved feelings for a girl he hurt who is now dating E.J Caswell and is seemingly in a very happy relationship. This time around however, Ricky does not decide that he's going to win Gina back 'whatever it takes, consequences be damned', but instead resolves to do what's best for Gina and makes it his priority to keep her happy, whatever it takes. From that moment on he spends the entire summer doing the one thing that Gina has been wanting from the people around her for as long as she can remember - showing up and sticking around, never expecting anything in return and simply being grateful to be around her. He goes looking for the shrine with her in 3x03, offers to sing LIAOD with her in 3x04 when jet bails, so that his actions wouldn't fall back on gina and so corbin would still get to see how talented and hard working she is, and rushes to practice after watching her duet w EJ bc he wants to be the best leading man for her he can be, 3x05 he apologises to her for being too intense during WDYKAL bc he unintentionally let his feelings get out of control, he respects what she told him in confidence and doesn't tell EJ what she's said to him, 3x06 he stays by her side the entire day- cheering her on through colour wars and at the end of the day helps her set up a PROMPOSAL for her boyfriend who he's well aware doesn't deserve it despite the sirens that were definitely going off in his head, then goes to his bunk to cry bc he doesn't want to ruin her moment. 3x07, he learns that there's a good chance his confession is going to be public soon and opts to keep it to himself for now after finding out about her breakup (Elton fucking up again but what's new) to avoid overwhelming her. He let's Gina come to the realization on her own that she wants to be with him instead of taking advantage of the many opportunities he was given to sabotage her relationship with E.J., because he loves her selflessly. He would do anything to make her happy, whether it's hunting down a ghost with her or setting up a date for her bf- even at the expense of his own feelings.

And honestly all of this means more to me (and Gina clearly) and speaks volumes about which girl he truly loves and wants the best for, and who he worked harder to be with. 🙏🏾

(Sorry for the thinkpiece, it just seems like a lot of people only look at Ricky's behaviour in the two love triangles from one perspective and its kinda frustrating lmao).

When I mean Ricky had to work for his relationship with Nini, I mean more so that Nini didn’t put up with his behavior and held him accountable. He didn’t go about getting back with Nini in the best way at the beginning, but he had to do a lot of learning during that time, and on top of that we also get this whole speech to Nini, versus with Gina, it just feels like he sort of randomly is like “wait i like her” and the best thing he does for her is help her with her promposal (that was really great of him and I appreciated that. it’s a point in his favour and in the favour of r*na). he isn’t really held accountable for his actions in the past, and it’s Gina who is once again having to put herself out there and confess how she feels, not Ricky. Ricky could have said, after she and EJ broke up, “look, I know that you’re a person who likes to know where she stands with people, so that’s why I’m telling you this, but you’re under no pressure to reciprocate or even say anything back. you can just walk away if you want” or something along those lines, because that way, it’s not gina going through putting her feelings out there again and she gets to know how Ricky feels about her and we as an audience could fully understand what he has been feeling and when those feelings started. we could have even gotten an apology from him.

with nini, he was growing a lot and he didn’t make the best decisions, so I can say that Ricky went about his relationship with Gina in a healthier way than season 1 with Nini. that doesn’t discount all the ways Ricky was held accountable by Nini and the way she didn’t put up with him hurting her. Gina in season 2 at least has her moment where she shuts things down with Ricky, but then seeing them back together this season with little understanding on Ricky’s part of how Gina has been put through the ringer by him and no apology and Gina just being fine with that is disappointing as a viewer. 

I’m not denying that Ricky was nice this season. I was actually pretty proud of Ricky in some ways because he didn’t immediately try to sabotage Gina’s relationship like he did with Nini in season 1, and he seemed to be in a lot better state this season. That being said, I don’t think he was this exceptionally great person to Gina in comparison to what other characters have done for her, too. A lot of his actions could have been done by any good friend (and things like ghost hunting would have been done by EJ if he hadn’t been in the circumstances of having to direct the show) and while I’m proud of him for not trying to ruin portwell, that should be the bare minimum expectation of a person, that they wouldn’t try to ruin other people’s relationships. 

You seem to not have a very high opinion of EJ and so it’s kind of frustrating to have you say that people only look at Ricky through one perspective then make little digs about EJ while neglecting all he went through this season. Like saying it was EJ effing up again and putting the breakup blame on him when he was trying everything he could to stay in the relationship with Gina feels kind of wack. it’s not like EJ was purposefully neglecting Gina this whole season (a season that lasted only two weeks lol), he made time for her whenever he could but unfortunately, he was in circumstances that were out of his control (unless he wanted to give up on the show and screw all of them over as well as his relationship with Gina, because of the situation with his father). to me, someone who has free time and can do whatever he wants going to hang out with someone in the woods isn’t as impactful as someone taking the time to pick flowers for someone and stop by to encourage that person and give them flowers and listen to their worries when they have an entire show to throw together in a very limited time and they have no experience directing.

I’ll say what I have said to every R*na shipper who keeps bothering me: I do not care enough about this show or these relationships to keep answering these sort of asks and comments, especially bc i’m being careful to always tag anti r*na. I don’t think R*na is toxic or awful. I just really, really like Portwell, especially season 2 Portwell, and I don’t like the way things were handled, and I think portwell is better for Gina. I think if R*na was going to happen, there were better ways of going about it and I’m allowed to have that opinion and tag posts as anti r*na without having everyone and their mom try to convince me otherwise. If people want to talk to me about portwell, i will be here for them to vent, but i do not care enough to deal with people trying to start debates when neither of us is going to change our minds and i’m tired and i just want tumblr to be a place where i can talk with people about our shared interests and likes and frustrations without getting into debates with random people. i’m happy for you that r*na is a ship you like and enjoy, because they have had some pretty cute moments and i think ricky and gina are both great characters. i hope the best for them in season 4, and i hope the best for you in your new year.

[hiddenpxpercuts]

@lavendaers​ (gina)

“gina?” e.j questioned when he saw the other. it couldn't be, could it? that she was actually here in town. e.j thought he would never see anyone again, considering he kind of just left abruptly or so that was how it felt to him. “hey. if that is you...how are you?”

[dhufflebee]

pressure points (a HSMTMTS fanfiction)

One-shot Fandom: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: E.J. Caswell/Val Characters: E.J. Caswell; Val  Additional Tags: Feelings Realization; discussions of motion sickness; Future Fic; but like a couple of years - they're in college together

Also read on: ao3

Summary: “Wait. You want to go back home… by car?” “Uhm, yeah?” “Not that I don’t like the idea of a road-trip, mind you, but it’s what? 12 hours? Why won’t we take a plane?” “Well, it’s kind of embarrassing.”

this fic is silly and very self-indulgent, mostly because I needed to give at least a smidge of happiness to my boy EJ after the enraging, horrible choices the show made re: him it is also a love letter to my faithful acupressure wristbands, which have accompanied me on countless travels (including two transoceanic italy-australia flights) — thanks, and onto our next adventures!

“Hiya, theater boy!” Val greeted, plopping down unceremoniously on EJ’s bed.

“Hi Val,” he answered from behind the wardrobe door, before reemerging with a stack of jeans in his arms. He reached for the duffel bag at the end of the bed and put the clothes inside. “How’s packing going?”

“I’m almost done. Any idea what the timetable is?”

“Yeah, so,” EJ straightened up, counting with his fingers. “Tomorrow’s the last day of class for us both, then I have a costume fitting mid-afternoon and the last training before the break.” He glanced at Val, who spurred him on with a gesture. “Then I’d say the next morning we get in the car at 8 sharp and head on eastward.”

“Wait. You want to go back home… by car?”

“Uhm, yeah?”

“To Salt Lake City?” Val sounded more incredulous than EJ expected.

“I mean, yeah! I thought that was clear by now? We’re off in two days and we’ve never mentioned other means of transportation, what did you expect?” EJ added with a half-laugh.

“I don’t know, I thought you had it taken care of!” Val answered, her eyes wide. “Maybe you’d come knocking the day after tomorrow with, I don’t know, last-minute plane tickets you’d obtained through mysterious, high-fidelity-airline-members-only ways…”

“Oh,” EJ squeaked, scratching his neck. “Sorry, I should have been clearer. I should have asked you beforehand, actually.”

“Not that I don’t like the idea of a road-trip, mind you, but it’s what? 12 hours?” Val said, and EJ nodded reluctantly at her questioning eyes. “Why won’t we take a plane?”

“Ah, mh. It’s… well, it’s kind of embarrassing,” EJ mumbled, busying himself with the half-full duffel bag on the bed to avoid Val’s waiting expression. She would have to wrench the information out of him, no way he was sharing that willingly.

“EJ,” Val said after a little while, in her psych-major voice.

“Oh alright, I'll tell you.” Wow. So much for being a tough nut to crack. “It’s just… I don’t exactly have a good track record with airplanes. We used to fly – as a family, I mean – back when I was a kid, but I remember it was always terrible for me.”

“Mh.”

“And then, when I was 8 I was sick on the plane, and it was absolutely horrible and one the most embarrassing moments of my life,” EJ confessed, feeling a blush creep up his neck. “After that I never wanted to get back on a plane again, and I still don’t, I guess. Hence, car.” He shrugged and glanced at Val, fully expecting her to start laughing.

When their eyes met, however, EJ found only a hint of amusement, drowning in a sea of fondness. He was taken aback, so used as he was to being made fun of by his dad about the whole ordeal.

“Oh EJ,” Val smiled, scooting closer. “It’s been a dozen years… you’ve never tried anything for this motion sickness of yours?”

“It’s not even motion sickness, really,” EJ shook his head. “I have no problems with trains or cars – not even with boats, if you can believe it! It’s truly just planes that make my stomach lurch,” he added, forlornly.

Val stood up and closed the space between them, rubbing a hand comfortingly on EJ’s arm. “Don’t hate me for saying this,” she said, while EJ stared a bit stupidly at her hand smoothing the fabric of his sweater. “But I think maybe you could like, try again? Perhaps growing up helped, and you might never know!”

EJ scoffed, focusing once again on his duffel bag and zipping it close with a bit too much force. “You know what the funny thing is? I was actually dead set on overcoming this particular problem a few years ago,” he said in a clipped tone, picking up the bag and brusquely shoving it into the wardrobe. “I had a whole vacation in Hawaii booked and planned, and you can’t get there by car, can you? No, you gotta take a plane,” he rambled, pacing in the middle of the room. “And I was ready to take that plane, because come on, at 18 one can expect to be able to face a bit of airsickness, no? Especially if you’re traveling with your girlfriend--”

At that, EJ’s voice cracked and he stopped abruptly, a pained expression on his face and his hands slightly trembling. Had he looked up even for a second, he would have seen Val’s eyes glistening with unshed tears. His slumped shoulders gave her the time to blink them away, though, and she schooled her sad, knowing expression into a more lighthearted one.

“Well,” she chirped, drawing EJ’s attention. “I think avoiding a 12-hour ride might be a good reason to try again, don’t you think?”

“I guess?”

“Excellent! So, if you somehow manage to locate plane tickets in these two days…”

“What was it you said? ‘high-fidelity-members’?” EJ replied, his frown lines smoothing. “We Caswells actually are, even with me never flying. I can get us last minute tickets, sure thing.”

“I think I might have a solution to your problem, then,” Val grinned, standing closer to EJ. “I'll lend you my old acupressure wristbands, you know the ones to combat motion sickness?”

“How old, exactly?”

“‘You’ll look like a child’ old, I'm afraid,” she answered sheepishly. “At least they’re grey and not some weird garish color, though.”

“That wouldn’t have been a problem, but thank you,” EJ said sincerely, warmth spreading in his chest and a smile blooming on his face.

“I’ll also get you some ginger sour gummies to help settle the nausea.”

“Not too many of those, though – gotta stay fit for water polo,” EJ replied, with a chuckle and a wink.

“Zero chance you’ll lose form over those,” Val teased him, poking him in the abs and looking up at him from under her eyelashes.

EJ hadn’t realized just how close they’d ended up standing, lost in the familiarity of their banter. He felt the overwhelming urge to cup Val’s cheek, and was struck so dumb by the unusual sensation that he barely registered his arm moving.

He managed to stop before doing anything he might regret, his hand grasping at nothing. He couldn’t tell if Val had noticed, however, because she had been staring at his face for so long that his cheeks were starting to burn.

EJ averted his eyes after a beat and stepped back, busying himself with his backpack and blabbering about classes, unable to look at Val to gauge her reaction. For some reason, his mind supplied him with a single, scathing thought. Coward.

-----------------------------

EJ squirmed for the umpteenth time, his knees hitting the seat in front of him, as sleep eluded him once again. He tried to find a comfortable position, but between his mild anxiety and his height being ill-suited for the flying monstrosity they were currently in, he only got more frustrated. Almost subconsciously, he fiddled with the tight grey bands on his wrists, dreading a repetition of his past plane-related embarrassment.

Suddenly, a small hand caught his, and EJ’s eyes snapped open at the contact. Val leaned into him, her weight on his shoulder familiar and grounding. “Stop worrying about the wristbands,” she said softly. “You put them on properly, believe me. The more you think about it, the worse it’s going to feel.”

EJ turned his head slightly, and saw the half smile on Val’s face. She had taken off her shoes as soon as the plane had started moving, and with her feet tucked under her on the seat she looked relaxed and very endearing. EJ envied her – but he also felt a bunch of other things happening in the space between his stomach and chest, which he didn’t have the strength ( nor the courage, really) to dwell on.

“Try to sleep a bit, EJ. It actually helps with motion sickness,” Val continued, poking him in the shoulder. “Unclench,” she chuckled.

EJ was trying to, really. “I know that, yeah… I guess I'm just on edge. Also I reckon I don’t want to leave you alone the whole flight,” he explained, frowning.

“Not much company you are if you’re feeling unwell,” Val answered. “Thank you for the kind thought, but I mean it: sleep. I’ll be here,” and smiled encouragingly.

EJ took a moment to just look at her, trying to commit to memory the way she looked in the low light of the plane, sitting by his side. Then he nodded, settled in his seat and closed his eyes – Val still holding onto his hand the last thought in his mind before he finally drifted off to sleep.

-----------------------------

EJ was lying on the bed, an arm over his face to shield his eyes from the sunlight. He had started unpacking, but the flight had left him with the beginning of a headache, and for now being comfortable was more important than being tidy. It was his childhood bedroom, after all.

A little while later, Val came knocking at his door. “How’re you feeling?”

EJ hummed, moving the arm from his face and trying to smile, only managing a half-wince. “I guess better than I would in similar circumstances if you hadn’t helped me, but still… not great.”

He looked at Val, once again expecting derision but finding nothing but softness. And maybe the hint of something more that he was feeling too unwell ( afraid) to actually address.

He scooted up the bed, sitting upright and leaving more space for Val, who immediately crossed the room and sat cross-legged beside him, the mattress dipping under their weight.

“Thanks for the hospitality, by the way,” Val said. “I haven’t had the chance to tell you yet.”

EJ matched her grin with one of his own. “Don’t even mention it – if anything I’m sorry I feel so wobbly that I left you alone to settle in. And to fend for yourself,” he added, his smile turning into a grimace. “Hopefully my dad wasn’t too unpleasant?”

“Oh, no worries,” she shrugged. “He barely acknowledged me and then got out, actually.”

“Mh. Typical.”

“Besides, it’s not like I have anywhere to be… not without you, that is.” Val picked shyly at the hem of her jeans, then looked up with a lopsided smile. “I’m the one who’s sorry, though, since I forced you to take a plane and all.”

“No no no,” EJ replied, shaking his head quite vigorously. “It was high time I found a way to get past my block. That psych major is really paying off, huh?” he added with a wink.

Val laughed, a short and humorless thing, before turning to look warily outside the window.

EJ straightened up, concern painted on his features. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Val’s shoulders sagged, a sigh pushing past her lips as she stared at the pale blue sky to her right. “It’s just--” she began with an unsteady voice. “This is the last break before graduation and then I am a proper adult and I’m not sure if I'm ready to actually be a proper adult, you know?”

Val’s hands were trembling in her lap – something that hadn’t escaped EJ’s notice, who was fighting the urge to grab them and hold them and steady them. He didn’t want to startle Val, though (meaning he didn’t have the guts to do it), and forced himself to stay put, focusing on the light reflecting on her profile instead.

“I guess I'm scared of what’s coming after this chapter of my life ends.” Val deflated, closing her eyes as if to stop tears from falling down. “I don’t wanna fail.”

EJ’s heart all but cracked. He wasn’t sure what hurt him the most, though – whether Val’s self doubt or the fact she couldn’t stand to look at him while admitting it. He was devastated she wasn’t feeling her usual confident self, and he silently willed her to just look at him so she could see his encouraging smile. Instead, a tear rolled down Val’s cheek and she hastily wiped it away, her trembling hand opening a door into the part of EJ’s heart he hadn’t been brave enough to acknowledge until now.

He surged forward, eyes blazing. “Hey, look at me,” he urged, getting no answer from Val, who kept still and crumpled in front of him. Then he figured he had to just spell everything out that he would’ve tried to communicate with an understanding smile – and, well, it was now or never, wasn’t it? No more being chicken.

“Val,” EJ said, softly, and she let her eyes meet his, at last. “You’ll do great. You’ll ace your last semester and you’re going to be a psychologist so good people’s socks will be blown off. You won’t fail, I believe that. But even in the remote possibility that you do --” Val’s breath caught in her throat, but EJ couldn’t stop – didn’t want to stop – now that the dam had broken. “Let me tell you this: you are a wonderful woman and an even more wonderful friend, and that’s far from a failure in my book. I'd be damn lucky to have someone special like you in my corner forever, psych or no psych.”

EJ’s heart was beating like crazy. He’d been looking into Val’s eyes the whole time, but it only hit him when her cheeks flushed deep red. Oh god, was I too intense? He panicked, scrambling to apologize, to retract, to laugh it off – anything to put a damper on the feelings threatening to burst out, scary and too real.

It all came to a halt, though, when Val’s face softened and she grabbed EJ’s arm. His gaze dropped to where their skin touched, warmth spreading in his body as if Val’s fingers were burning him. His breath hitched the moment she began massaging the inside of his wrist, delicately rubbing over the pressure marks the wristbands had left on his skin.

EJ was breathing somewhat raggedly, sparks dancing in his brain at the prolonged, soft contact, his hands itching to reach for Val’s face and touch her hair, her neck, her cheek. And yet, he forced himself to be as still as possible, terrified of bursting that little bubble of intimacy, of losing the physical connection that was making him rethink and rediscover and reassess his feelings while sitting on his childhood bed alongside his best friend. (Maybe something more than that.)

EJ knew then that something had ineluctably, finally shifted between them. He lifted his head to look at Val, and she closely matched his movement, looking back with a small smile – fond and familiar, yet so splendidly new.

Well, fuck.