The waiter brings complimentary chips and salsa to the table, which are gone within minutes. Theo doesn’t like salsa, but he munches on the chips. Julian shovels salsa into his mouth, only slightly disappointed by the flavor. His mom makes salsa better, usually for parties or family reunions.

Soon enough, Elena and Susan depart to sing their duet. They choose to sing “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey, and as two extroverted musical theatre kids, they totally rock it. They don’t even need to look at the scrolling screen for the lyrics, since they both have the song memorized after watching Glee. At one point, they get the crowd to clap along during the chorus, which has Julian cowering from second-hand embarrassment. For the rest of the night, middle-aged parties come up to the table to compliment their performance on their way out.

Next, Val sings “Valerie” by Amy Winehouse. A fitting choice, considering her namesake and her sultry voice. She is less mobile than Susan and Elena were, since she still needs to watch the lyrics.

“Don’t you think she’s sooo pretty, Quinn?” Elena teases, flashing her a snarky smile. Quinn’s pale skin flushes a deep red quickly, and she covers her face with her hands.

“Wh- don’t- I’m not- What do you mean?” Quinn struggles.

“Quinn, you are not slick,” Susan laughs.

“What are you all talking about?” Theo cuts in.

“Isn’t it obvious? Quinn has a crush on Val!” Elena practically shrieks, causing Quinn to slap a hand over her mouth to shut her up.

“And we’re all pretty sure Val likes her too, but she doesn’t talk about her emotions very often,” Susan continues, dodging Quinn’s attempt to kick her under the table.

“Oh my god,” Quinn whimpers, shrinking in on herself.

Val’s powerful voice fills the restaurant as she belts one of the final notes of the song, causing their table to erupt in cheers, jumping to their feet to applaud. She tugs the edges of her short skirt into a curtsy before leaving the stage.

“You all looked distracted there in the middle,” she says as she approaches the table, “was there tea being spilt?”

“Nope! Nothing interesting here! Come on Tracy, Tina, it’s our turn! Let’s go!” Quinn ushers her partners out of their seats and in the direction of the stage before Val, or god forbid Elena, can say another word.

Tina, Quinn, and Tracy sing “Love Shack” by the B-52’s, with Tina doing the spoken word bits and Quinn and Tracy doing the chorus. They make a nice team, and they have a fun time playing with the harmonies even though they don’t sing as strongly as the other three.

“So, I hear you two are doing a duet from Grease?” Val says to Theo and Julian.

“It was his idea,” Julian says quickly.

“Well yeah, it’s a good song!” Theo defends his choice.

“It’s an iconic romantic duet, I agree,” Elena agrees, wiggling her eyebrows at the pair.

“Oh… should I… should I pick another song?” Theo says nervously, wondering how he didn’t think of the implications sooner.

“Hell no! I think you guys singing that will be iconic!” Susan says.

Julian blushes furiously and Theo shifts uncomfortably.

“Do you think I should switch the song?” Theo asks Julian in a hushed tone.

“Listen. I think it’s a good song, and I’d be happy to sing it with you,” Julian says with a reassuring smile.

Finally, it comes time for Theo and Julian to sing. The crowd has dwindled slightly, but there are still enough tables full to make Theo’s stomach flip flop. As they make their way to the stage, Julian reaches to him and gives his shoulder a squeeze. Theo hesitates for a moment before accepting the microphone from the DJ.

With a deep breath, he sings out loud and proud.

“I got chiiills! They’re multiplying, and I’m looosing control, ‘cause the power you’re supplying, it’s electrifying!”

He uses a silly voice to emphasize the fact that he won’t be winning any awards for his performance. However, Julian’s voice flows smoothly with the lyrics like melted chocolate, and it sounds just as sweet. His voice sounds so natural and effortless, like that of a trained vocalist. Like a princess singing softly to forest animals, while also strong like a rock star.

“You better shape up, ‘cause I need a man, and my heart is set on you,” he starts sweetly, casting a glance in Theo’s direction, making his breath catch in his throat. He can’t say he’s surprised by the tan boy’s musical talent, since his voice had a melodic quality even when he’s merely speaking. But something about hearing him sing these particular words to him had Theo’s heart pattering swiftly in his chest.

As the song goes on, they both loosen up and forget their original worries. No one in the restaurant seems effected by their song choice, other than the table of girls they came with. Theo finds himself mesmerized by Julian’s singing voice. He had no idea how talented he was. Listening to him felt like listening to an angel, especially when he hit the high notes in their song. He had difficulty tearing his eyes away to look at the screen with the lyrics scrolling across.

Julian noticed Theo’s staring, almost like he was in a trance. His head was filled with worries and he was grateful that the song was almost over. Did he really sound that bad? Why else would Theo be staring at him like that? Was he embarrassed to sing with him after all?

They finish the song’s repeated chorus and bow dramatically together before heading back to the table.

“John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John better take notes, because THAT was the best performance I’ve ever seen!” Elena shouts before they can even sit down.

“I had a lot of fun,” Theo admits, smiling shyly at his duet partner.

By now, they all have plates of food in front of them, some eaten and some not. The girls end up in a heated argument about who will have to buy the cookie dough flautas. Elena nominates Quinn or Tracy since they were in a trio and the rest were duets or solos. Plus, they are upperclassmen. Theo offers Julian a bite of his chicken enchilada in what he hopes is a platonic fashion. Julian offers Theo a sip of his horchata as a thank you. He can already hear Elena’s teasing words echoing in his head.

You guys already act like a couple, she would say. I can hear the wedding bells already!

Julian shakes that thought from his mind and shovels more black beans into his mouth. He can’t have those thoughts; he doesn’t want to scare Theo away when he’s already a flight risk. How would he react if he caught Julian blushing at a shared bite of food? He didn’t talk to him for a week after a single awkward moment at Jimmy’s, so he would definitely run for the hills if he knew Julian liked him.

But you don’t like him, Julian reminds himself. He’s just the tall, pale, dark-haired boy who got roped into hanging out with you and your friends. That’s it.

“That horchata was crazy good,” Theo says, pulling Julian out of his contemplative state. “Do you know how they make it?”

“Yeah, my dad makes it when he has friends over, but he adds Gem & Bolt,” Julian says.

“So you’re telling me if I become friends with your dad, I could have homemade horchata, like, regularly?”

“Well, you’re already friends with me, so all you gotta do is ask nicely,” Julian says, “but obviously I’m gonna leave out the tequila.”

Theo makes a sound of mock disappointment before chuckling. Julian notices that Theo’s pale cheeks are starting to show a hint of pink. Probably because his food was spicy, right? But Julian had tried a bite, and he knew the chicken enchiladas he ordered were pretty mild.

After much squabbling, Quinn and Tracy split the cost of the cookie dough flautas for the table. Theo drives Julian home after dinner, and they chat about which karaoke performance they liked the best. Theo was a big fan of the drunk college guy who sang “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele, with so much passion that he must have been deep in his feels. Julian liked the older lady who came to dinner with her husband, kids, and grandkids and sang “Like a Virgin” by Madonna.

“Do they do this every Thursday?” Theo asks, turning onto Julian’s street when he points.

“Almost, but it’s usually only Elena and Susan. They’re crowd favorites,” Julian says.

“Would you go too if I can go next time?”

“If I’m not busy, then sure,” Julian says, feigning indifference.

Theo pulls into Julian’s driveway and puts his car in park.

“So… I’ll see you tomorrow for lunch practice, right?” he asks.

“Yep! Will Jessica be joining us?”

“Eh, I’ll figure it out tomorrow if she sits with us.”

“Ok… see you tomorrow then,” Julian says with a wave, pushing the heavy SUV door shut. He rings the doorbell twice to let his parents know he’s home, then heads to his room before they can ask him questions. He flops onto his bed without taking off his shoes, his head swirling with thoughts he isn’t sure if he should think about.