mount everest ain't got shit on me

Mason: I don’t even know dude. Like the chances of making the NFL are so fucking slim. I’m not gonna get my hopes up for it to all work out.

Mason: it’s fine. We were gonna have to talk anyway. I just haven’t talked to her besides seeing the baby

LEMON: i know the shows aren't for a couple more days but i just wanted to tell you good luck and that you're literally going to kill it!!

LEMON: i cannot wait to see you on stage!! im so excited

THEO: woooooooow u rly are the best

THEO: i love u thank u

THEO: i'm pretty pumped tbh! this show is fun as fuck

As they walked out of the room and over to the elevator, Lemon attempted to peer over Theo’s shoulder. “Want me to Venmo you?” She asked, looking up at him and bashfully fluttering her eyelashes. She knew Theo worked for her money which she loved and appreciated but she also felt bad when he’d pay for something when her bank account was flooding with monthly allowances from her dads. Once they were in the elevator and Theo brought up Ivy, she pondered on what to say about everything. She didn’t want to give up Ivy’s secret because it meant so much to Lemon that Ivy would even ask her to do any of that but she also sucked at keeping secrets from Theo, re: Trace’s college secret. “Yeah, they really did,” she nodded slowly, chewing on the inside of her cheek, a habit she’d developed whenever she was nervous. “I guess we should have seen it coming. They just weren’t on the same page with each other which,” Lemon shrugged. “They are two completely different people,” and she left it vaguely at that. It wasn’t a complete lie and really, Lemon didn’t know why they broke up but given the timeline she could connect the dots. Once they left the elevator and outside, Theo moved on the conversation which was a relief to her but her breathing only hitched again when the name Leia was dropped. She was trying to leave that all in the past but with the upcoming musical and her and Theo were understudies that would have to kiss, it made her a little nervous. “Yeah?” She replied, faking a soft smile to be the dutiful and understanding girlfriend. “What about?”

“Nah,” he started, glancing down at her as he squeezed her hand, “you can get the next one.” Theo and Lemon had fallen into a groove early on in their relationship in terms of who paid for what. Even though his girlfriend had money, he still liked to treat her. On the flip side, she was independent and a feminist and it was important to her to defy those gender roles, which Theo was cool with. It worked for them. When he casually brought up Ivy in the elevator, he could see Lemon thinking about it. He’d noticed that she and the younger cheerio had started hanging out more, which was dope because he always dug Ivy, but maybe they weren’t as close as he thought. “Yeah, they were crazy different,” he agreed as the elevator dinged and they stepped out of it, “I just thought maybe you knew something since you guys have been like chilling and stuff. I feel bad for her. Or...well, I just kind of assumed he broke up with her because,” he thought about it for a moment, “I don’t know I guess she just seemed more into him. Am I off base with that?” Theo knew little to nothing about Leo, but he’d seen enough of the guy around to note how disinterested he seemed in everything—including Ivy. But maybe he was wrong. Whatever, it didn’t matter that much. As they settled into their uber, what mattered was clearing the air about Leia. “With the musical and all that stuff coming up,” he started explaining, finding Lemon’s big blue eyes and smiling at her as their gazes locked, “I didn’t want us to be on like...bad terms. I don’t wanna lie to you...I miss having Leia around. Like as a friend, obviously. So we just kind of apologized to each other at Schuester’s house at that cast party and things haven’t totally gone back to normal yet...but part of me thinks that’s because I haven’t really gotten your opinion on the whole thing.” Theo was rambling a bit, but ever since him and Lemon had made their relationship official, he felt way more at ease talking to her about his feelings and being candid with where he was at. “So, I don’t know,” he sighed out, mindlessly playing with her fingers, “how do you feel about her at this point?”

mason: she's still fucking pissed

theo: shit dude

theo: i fucked up i shouldn't have said anything

shit...I think it might be...kap lake? lmao ur a fuckin clown dude

he’s kind

nah prolly not. i haven’t figured it out yet exactly but like...maybe politics? idk

damn...pass

good thing you’re not me then. fuck outta here

Lemon had oddly enough seen a lot of the world. Her dads loved travelling and typically every summer or fall they would go somewhere warm and out of the country; Cancun, Bahamas, Punta Cana, but oddly enough she had never been to Los Angeles. Her dads just preferred travelling out of the country which was significantly more fun in Lemon’s opinion which also meant that she had been on a buttload of planes in her almost nineteen years of life and was not scared of planes at all which was probably for the best given how anxious Theo had been and it was quite… sweet that he was nervous. She wouldn’t encourage fears but Theo never seemed scared of anything and it was interesting to learn that planes were not his strong suit. Almost like how sad movies were not his strong suit either. When she laid down, she watched her boyfriend as he unpacked, waiting for him to finish up. When he finally did and laid down beside her, she turned her body to face him. “Unfortunately, I think you’re right,” all jokes because in reality she’d love to go run around and hang out with Theo but a nap? Would also be lovely. At his suggestion, she nodded and grabbed his hand, lifting herself off the bed. “Awe, not everyone is going to want to be around me. It’s Ivy’s celebration too,” she pointed out, standing on her tip toes to press a kiss to his kiss. “You know I’ll make time just for you tomorrow,” she added, releasing Theo’s hand to grab her purse off one of the drawers, swinging it over her shoulder. “Come on, loverboy,” she teased, walking over to the door and holding her hand out for Theo to take.

Unpacking didn’t take that long since Theo was a pretty light traveler. He brought just the right amount of stuff and in no time, he was throwing his empty bag into the top of the closet until he needed it again at the end of the trip. Once he was done and it was decided that they’d spend their afternoon together in Santa Monica, Theo watched with hearts in his eyes as Lemon hopped off the bed and kissed him quickly. He rolled his eyes playfully and put his arm around Lemon at her modest comment, giving her a squeeze as he planted a kiss on the side of her head, “you better make time for me.” He released her briefly while she grabbed her purse and quickly found her hand again when she extended it towards him. Theo pulled his phone out of his pocket as they walked towards the elevator together, quickly calling an uber so they wouldn’t have to wait long once they were down in the lobby. “Speaking of Ivy,” T started once they were on their way down to the ground floor, “what’s up with her lately? Did her and that Leo guy really break-up?” he asked casually, intertwining his fingers with Lemon and mindlessly rubbing his thumb across the back of her hand as the elevator door dinged. He led the way out of the elevator and then briskly walked them out of the hotel towards their car. “Also,” he started once they were in the vehicle, “completely unrelated but I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something.” Theo got situated in the backseat of the car with Lemon after politely greeting their driver, “it’s about Leia. We like...talked, I guess.”