Breathe In, Breathe Out.

“And, scene!” The director called out, and we all relaxed, sitting back in our seats on Miley’s ‘house’ couch.

“That’s a wrap, you guys!” We all clapped, and then Emily turned to me.

“So, how was your date with Spencer?”

“It was going well, until-”

“Did you do the name slip? Girls hate when you do the name slip.” Miley piped up, moving to sit on my other side. I shook my head.

“Can I finish my sentence? I didn’t do the name slip. I know better than that, gosh.” I said, looking between the two of them. They nodded, prodding me to go on.

“Bridget showed up in the restaurant, with another guy. Lucas Grabeel, you know, the High School Musical guy.”

Miley and Emily’s eyes widened.

“Were they on like, a date?” Emily asked, and I shrugged.

“It’s not like I asked.” I pointed out. “And I don’t know.” I added.

Emily and Miley frowned simultaneously, and then grinned.

“Do you want us to find out?” They asked in unison. Sometimes it creeped me out how they could do that. This was one of those times.

“I….I guess. If you guys wanna.” I said, blinking. They laughed.

“Great. We’ll find out if Bridget is going out with Lucas.” Miley said, grinning.

“Thanks. I think.” I said, frowning slightly.

I had a girlfriend. I shouldn’t care if Bridget was going out with Lucas. It shouldn’t matter to me.

But it did.

A lot.

I ran my fingers through my hair, leaning back against the couch.

“What’s the matter, Mitchel?” Emily asked, her voice low.

I sighed, looking over at her.

“I should love Spencer.” I said quietly, summing up the whole problem in four little words.

When I spoke it, everything became clear, the reason I couldn’t get Bridget out of my head, the reason I said her name instead of Spencer’s…

Love at first sight existed, and I was a victim.

Emily nodded understandingly. Sometimes, girls could be so intuitive.

“Ah.” She said simply. She saw no need to go into great detail about it. That’s what made
Emily such a great friend, she knew just what I was thinking.

“I don’t know what to do, Em.” I said.

“Do what your heart says.” She said simply, standing up and patting my shoulder.

“You’re a smart kid, you’ll figure it out.” She added, and then moved to go talk to someone offstage. I thought about that for a few moments before getting up.

I knew what I had to do.

As I got off the couch and began heading for the exit, Miley’s Hannah song, ‘He Could Be The One’ began playing. I laughed quietly to myself at the irony, and then opened the door, leaving the studio and climbing into my car, driving off.

~**~

I finished filming a few minutes earlier than they had expected, so Sam, Cole, Dylan and I were going to grab some ice cream before heading back to our own hotels. As we walked, my phone rang, playing Owl City like it did for a number I didn’t know. I looked at it, hesitated for a moment, before flipping it open.

“Hello?”

“Hey Bridget!”

“Miley?”

I was a little confused. Miley Cyrus and I didn’t talk much.

“Yeah! How are you?”

“I’m good. How are you?” I asked, trying to think of some reason why she would be calling me out of the blue.

“Oh, I’m good. Where are you at? We should hang out.”

“Uh, I’m heading to the ice cream parlor near the studio.” I said, a little awkwardly. I could see Sam trying to figure out who it was, and I waved her off.

“Do you mind if me and Emily come by?”

“Uh, I guess not. The more the merrier.” I said, and I could hear her grinning.

“Great! We’ll meet you there.” And with that, the conversation was over. I stared at my phone for a few seconds, before Sam snapped her fingers.

“Hey! Earth to Bridget. Who was that?”

“Miley Cyrus.” I said slowly, still not sure if it was real. “She’s coming with Emily to hang out with us.” I added, shaking my head and moving again.

“Why?” Sam asked bluntly. I shrugged.

“Beats me.” I said, and we finished walking to the ice cream shop, Cole and Dylan holding the doors open like gentlemen. We all moved in, and quickly ordered our ice cream. I licked my homemade vanilla cone while we sat at a table with high stools, and I swung my legs like a little girl. Moments later, Miley and Emily walked in, smiling when they saw us. I still hadn’t figured out what they were up to, and it was a little unnerving.

“Hey guys!” Emily said, sliding onto the stool next to me. Miley sat across from her, next to Dylan.

“How’s it going?” Miley asked, smiling a little too brightly.

“…good.” I said, looking between them warily.

“So, Bridget, I heard you and Lucas Grabeel were going out.” She said, obviously cutting to the chase. I was a little surprised.

“No, we’re not. Where did you hear that?” I asked, confused. I mean, we had gone out to lunch that one time, but it wasn’t a date.

“Oh…you’re not?” She asked, sounding just as surprised as I was.

“Uh, no.” I said, shaking my head slightly.

“Oh.” She said, looking at Emily, who shrugged. Emily casually pulled out her cell phone, quickly texting something, and then put it away, looking back at us.

Miley’s phone began ringing, and she answered it, moving away from the table. A few awkward moments later, she came back.

“Em, that was my dad. He wants to see us, like now.” She said, snapping her phone shut and putting it back in her pocket. Emily hopped off the stool, beaming at us in goodbye. I waved a little, and they walked out of the ice cream shop.

“….that was strange.” Sam said, licking her ice cream again. I laughed.

“You can say that again. I wonder what was going on there.” I said, finishing my ice cream. I analyzed the conversation. It was obvious that they were trying to figure out if I was dating Lucas. I mean, duh. The part I couldn’t figure out was why. Before I could come to a conclusion, my phone beeped.

Hey Bridget! Just wanted to know what color your dress is for the ball. I don’t want to clash.

I chuckled quietly. Leave it to Lucas to worry that his tie would clash with my dress.

My dress is dark red. Breathe!

I sent the text and we all finished our ice cream cones, chatting pleasantly about the day and how the filming went. We started talking about the Halloween ball, which was now a week away. I was excited for it; it was going to be great!