E.J. and Gina

**Portwell** is the official friendship/romantic pairing between Gina **Port**er and E.J. Cas**well**. They are portrayed by Sofia Wylie and Matt Cornett.

## Other Names

* **Ejina** (**E.J.** and G**ina**)
* **G.J.** (**G**ina and E**.J.**)
* Team Wonderstudy

## History

In The Auditions, E.J. Caswell and Gina Porter first met at the East High School Drama Club during Auditions for *High School Musical*. During Auditions when everyone was in a line when Miss Jenn was going through the line asking everyone who they are reading for Gina stands next to E.J. on his left side. E.J. originally tried out to played Troy Bolton and Gina originally tried out to played Troy Bolton's love interest Gabriella Montez. E.J. didn't get the part for Troy Bolton instead he got the part for Chad Danforth and Gina didn't get the part for Gabriella Montez instead she got the part for Taylor McKessie. E.J. and Gina both got mad when they got the part for the main characters understudy. In The Read-Through, one day during rehearsals when no one was looking Gina steals E.J.’s girlfriend at the time Nini Salazar-Roberts phone for E.J. and puts it in his backpack. E.J. finds Nini’s phone in his backpack and thanks his cousin Ashlyn Caswell for stealing it for him which confuses Ashlyn Caswell because she never stole it to begin with. Then Gina walks up behind E.J. and talks to him for the very first time offering him an alliance to team up with her because they both “want the same thing.” In Blocking, Gina walks up to E.J. at his locker offering to help him out to get the part of Troy and to win back his ex Nini who just broke up with him that day. They end up becoming friends. Then later that night E.J. shows up at Gina’s house after he got her text asking her about her plan. Gina tells him that he is taking her to the Homecoming date as his date to help him make Nini jealous. In Homecoming, E.J. and Gina went together as each other dates to make E.J.’s ex-girlfriend Nini Salazar-Roberts jealous who ends up not going to Homecoming anyways. Gina gets mad at E.J. and pours Punch over E.J.'s head and leaves. In What Team?, the next day E.J. sees Gina after the Homecoming incident is on the day of the Photo Shoot for the program. E.J. walks up to Gina and asked her what happened to the plan at Homecoming. Gina replies that everything has changed since Homecoming. Then E.J. asks Gina "Do you care about Ricky?" and Gina replies "And what if I do?" In Thanksgiving, Gina got a called from her mother during the Drama Club Thanksgiving party telling her that she got a new job and that they would have to move again before Opening Night. Gina was upset that she had to move again before Opening Night because she didn't want to missed the show. Gina ended up moving away with her mother but, she surprised everyone by coming back to see the show. In Act Two, it was revealed that E.J. was the one that bought her plane ticket because he didn't want her to missed the show. Gina thanks E.J. when Nini and Ricky are performing *Breaking Free* for buying her a plane ticket.

In Season 2, Gina Porter moves in with E.J.’s cousin Ashlyn Caswell so, she can still stay in Salt Lake City and be with her friends. Gina Porter and E.J. Caswell become closer over time. In The Quinceañero, E.J. realizes he has feelings for Gina when he finds himself staring at her across the room. In Yes, And..., when Miss Jenn asks everyone to partner up for a mirror exercise Ricky Bowen asks Gina Porter to be his partner because his girlfriend at the time Nini Salazar-Roberts wasn't there. Gina Porter ignores Ricky Bowen when he asks her to be his partner until E.J. Caswell asks her "May I have this exercise?" Gina Porter agrees to be his partner. In The Field Trip, they both host the first East High Morning Show as co-anchors with Nini Salazar-Roberts as their first guest star. Later that day the Drama Club go on a little field trip to North High School to get back their Beast mask that North High stole. Gina is on look out duty while the rest of the East High Drama Club looks for their Beast mask that North High stole. When Gina is on look out, she meets a random North High Guy who hits on Gina asking her for Snap Chat. Then E.J. swoops in pretending to be Gina’s boyfriend by putting his arm around her and calls her “Babe” to get the North High Guy to leave her alone. In Most Likely To, during rehearsals one day Gina gives E.J. last minute dancing tips before he performs Gaston during rehearsals. On Career Day at East High School, E.J.'s father Cash Caswell comes in as guest speaker in the classroom E.J. and Gina are in together. Cash tells E.J. to get up in front of the class and gives him the Duke Sweatshirt that his father gave him when he got into Duke. E.J. is very confused why his father is giving him a Duke Sweatshirt because he got rejected from Duke. Cash tells E.J. that he made some calls and now he is accepted to Duke. Later that night E.J. comes over to Ashlyn's house because he wants to talk to his cousin Ashlyn about his college situation. Gina ends up answering the door and explains Ashlyn is not home because she went out to get a T-Shirt. E.J. ends up sitting next to Gina on the Orange couch holding the wool to help her when she is knitting and ends up confiding to Gina about his college situation. Then Gina tells him to close his eyes and asked him what he sees when he thinks about his life. E.J. ended up talking about the horrible mistakes he has made in the past and then Gina told him what she saw, a great guy that bought her a plane ticket so she can be apart of the show, when he made a birthday tribute that made everybody cry, and him constantly trying to do the right thing but ended up failing in a joking manner. E.J. then pushed a little closer to her and tells her she's one of the bravest people he knows. Then Ashlyn walks in and interrupted them when they are looking at each other by asking if E.J. still needed to talk but he looked back at Gina and said that he's okay now. Later that night E.J. and Gina end up watching something on TV until Gina falls asleep next to E.J. on the couch. Then E.J. turns off the TV and covers Gina with his Duke sweatshirt and smiles as he turns off the light when he leaves. In Spring Break, Gina gets stuck at the airport when her flight gets delayed and posts a picture on her story about taking Uber home late at night. E.J. sees Gina's story and picks Gina up at the airport late at night to take her home and brings her a granola bar just in case she was hungry. Then Gina realizes that she has feelings for E.J. Caswell. In The Transformation, E.J. asks Gina out on a date to get some Risotto with him sometime for real this time which she gladly accepts. In *Showtime*, Gina is talking to E.J. after *Be Our Guest* when she gets a text that her mom is not coming but she send a surprise instead Jamie Porter Gina’s absent older brother. After *Something There* E.J. runs into Gina’s older brother Jamie Porter out in the hallway where he officially meets Gina’s brother Jamie Porter. At first E.J. is excited to meet Gina's older brother not just because he is a famous Music Producer it was due to the fact that Jamie is related to Gina instead. Jamie tells E.J. that him and his mom are so happy that Gina has E.J. as a "big brother figure" in her life which makes E.J. upset causing him to second guess everything. In Second Chances, they both plan to go on a date that E.J. ends up calling off due to a misunderstanding from Gina's older brother Jamie Porter who tells E.J. that he is glad that Gina has him as a big brother figure in her life which makes him second guessing everything. E.J. distanced himself from Gina at the afterparty at Salt Lake Slices by sitting across the room from Gina next to Ricky Bowen. Right before E.J. heads out his cousin Ashlyn comforts E.J. and he tells her that he thinks Gina sees him as a big brother figure due to what Gina's older brother Jamie Porter told him. Then Ashlyn goes up to Gina and tells her about her most recent conversation with E.J. before he left the afterparty. Gina looks at Ashlyn very confused why E.J. would think that she sees him as a older brother figure. Gina chases after E.J. as he is heading out to his car and tells him that he got "bad intel" which causes E.J. to turn around. Gina asks E.J. if he would be her first kiss which causes E.J. to drop his backpack and smiles at her. They both run into each other arms and share their first kiss (offscreen).

At some point in between Second Chances and Happy Campers, E.J. and Gina officially started dating. In Happy Campers, E.J. invites Gina and the wildcats to come with him to Camp Shallow Lake a theater camp he has been going to for years. E.J. picks up Gina who gives him a kiss on the cheek. E.J. drives to Camp Shallow Lake with Gina sitting next to him in the shotgun seat. On the way to Camp Shallow Lake they sing some songs in the car with their friends. When they arrive to Camp Shallow Lake, E.J. runs into one of his old friends Maddox which causes Gina to be confused what language they are speaking. E.J. shows Gina and their friends around Camp Shallow Lake. Right before E.J. leaves to go to his bunk he runs over to Gina and gives her a quick kiss on the lips before he leaves which causes Gina to blush. Later that night they walk together to the The Amphitheater for the special announcement and they sit next to each other for the announcement. The Camp Director Dewey Wood announces that Camp Shallow Lake will be putting on the first student production of *Frozen* and Corbin Bleu will be directing, hosting and producing a documentary at Camp.

In Into the Unknown, the next morning on the day of Auditions for *Frozen*, E.J. wakes up early in the morning drinking Coffee near the Barn and Gina comes over to talk to E.J. along with drinking Coffee with him. Gina asks E.J. when is he going to tell everybody that he is Directing the Musical and he replies that he will tell everyone soon at Auditions. E.J. tells Gina to not tell anyone that he is Directing the Musical before Auditions.

In The Woman in the Woods, the day after auditions Gina wakes up early in the morning where she sees that she was cast as Anna and gets super excited. E.J. is shock to find out not only he will be Directing the musical his friend Val also cast him as Sven. Gina goes back to her Bunk to get ready for Newbie night and E.J. comes over to knock on The Honeycomb window telling Gina that she needs to talk to her. Then Gina opens the door for E.J. and says "Love is an Open Door" where E.J. surprises Gina with handpick flowers he picked out in the field in the woods at Camp Shallow Lake. E.J. tells Gina that he is proud of her for getting the lead role even though he knew she would get the lead because she is super talented and gives her the handpick flowers.

## Moments

### Season 1

#### The Auditions

* E.J. raises an eyebrow when he sees Gina dance for the first time during warm ups at auditions.
* During Auditions Gina is standing next to E.J. on his right side.

#### The Read-Through

* During rehearsals when the dancers are practicing the Curtain Call E.J. and Gina are both standing off to the side standing next to each other.
* When Nini wasn't looking Gina stole Nini's phone for E.J. to help him out.
* Then Gina walks up behind E.J. and talks to him for the very first time offering him an alliance to team up with her because they both “want the same thing.”

#### The Wonderstudies

* In the recap Gina says "E.J. fell in love with himself."
* During rehearsal E.J. watches Gina and the rest of the dancers go through their dance routine for "Stick to the Status Quo".

#### Blocking

* Gina stops by E.J.'s locker and tells him "Now you have the chance to be the hero."
* E.J. goes over to Gina's house.
* E.J. tells Gina that he got her text.
* Gina tells E.J. that he's taking her to the Homecoming dance.

#### Homecoming

* They go to Homecoming together.
* Gina asks E.J. if he can go get her some punch.
* E.J. replies "Sure, Babe."
* E.J. smiles at Gina when he calls her "Babe."
* They both get into an argument about the "Plan" and Gina pours Punch on E.J.'s head and walks away.

#### Opening Night

* Gina surprises everyone by showing up at Opening Night last minute. When she was asked how she got there she mentions a "friend" bought her a last minute Plane Ticket so, she wouldn't miss the show (it was later revealed that E.J. was the "friend" that bought her that Plane Ticket in Act Two).

#### Act Two

* Gina and E.J. glance at each other when Nini Salazar-Roberts and Ricky Bowen are performing *Breaking Free*.
* Gina thanks E.J. for buying her a plane ticket so she wouldn’t miss the show.

### **Season 2**

#### New Year's Eve

* When the Drama Club are performing Something in the air for their Instagram’s Page all the canon ships Big Red and Ashlyn, Carlos and Seb, and Nini and Ricky are all dancing and singing with their significant other. While E.J. and Gina are the only ones that are dancing and singing together that aren’t currently a couple at this point.
* Gina asks E.J. at the New Year’s Eve Party if he has heard what musical they are doing and E.J. is very confused what she is talking about.
* When Ricky Bowen walks into the New Year’s Eve Party singing *Bet on It,* E.J. and Gina are sitting next to each other.

#### Typecasting

* At lunch E.J. sits down next to Gina.
* Gina puts both of her hands on top of E.J.'s hands and they both smile each other.
* During auditions they stand next to each other and hold hands when everyone is standing in a circle.

#### Valentine’s Day

* In the musical number Red Means Love E.J. stands behind the huge "Ashlyn" sign next to Gina on her left side.

#### The Quinceañero

* After Gina performs and sings A Dancer's Heart at Carlos Birthday Party E.J. compliments her performance.
* E.J. asks Gina how she is feeling after her performance, and Gina asks if he was asking simply for the sake of asking, and not for Carlos' video. He replies with "Is that okay?" And Gina nods looking pleasantly surprised.
* E.J. realizes he has feelings for Gina when he finds himself staring at her from across the room, to the point where he can't even hear what Mr. Mazzara is asking him.

#### Yes, And...

* E.J. asks Gina if she wants to pair up with him for the exercise, by saying "May I have this exercise?" and offering her a hand, she smiles and takes it.
* E.J. sits down next to Gina.
* Gina puts her hand on E.J.'s shoulder when he sits down next to Gina.

#### The Field Trip

* E.J. and Gina do the East High Morning Show together.
* A guy from North High flirts with Gina, so E.J. swoops in and pretends to be her boyfriend.
* Gina asks E.J. what he was doing anyway when she was supposed to be on lookout, and he said he felt bad she got stuck on lookout.
* Gina thinks its sweet E.J. tried to keep her company on lookout.
* E.J. appears slightly disappointed that he doesn't get to pretend to be Gina's boyfriend anymore, and they have a playful banter as they talk about going back to being co-stars when they are walking out of North High School with the Drama Club.

#### Most Likely To

* Gina gives E.J. advice on dancing.
* Gina cheers for E.J. during play rehearsal.
* Gina sits right behind E.J. on career day when they are in the same classroom.
* E.J. smiles at Gina.
* E.J. mentions that he has been getting closer to Gina since The Field Trip to North High School when they were pretending to be together.
* E.J. said they were just pretending to be together and they are just friends.
* Gina walks into the classroom when E.J. is talking to the camera then leaves when she sees E.J.
* E.J. goes to Ashlyn's house (where Gina is staying) to ask Ashlyn for advice. Since she isn't there, he ends up confiding in Gina about his worries about Duke.
* E.J. sits down next to Gina on the couch.
* Gina asks E.J. if he can hold her wool while she knits because it keeps getting tangled.
* E.J. helps Gina when she is knitting by holding her wool.
* Gina asks E.J. to close his eyes and picture himself, and E.J. makes a bunch of self deprecating comments, Gina quickly reassures him that he "is a really good guy" and "If you would just forgive yourself a little, you could see what I-the rest of us see."
* E.J. calls Gina one of the bravest people he knows.
* E.J. and Gina watch TV on the couch together until Gina falls asleep next to E.J. on the couch.
* E.J. turns off the TV and covers Gina with his Duke sweatshirt and smiles as he turns off the light when he leaves.

#### Spring Break

* Gina answers E.J.'s FaceTime call and calls him by his dad's nickname "Eej."
* Gina wears E.J.'s Duke Sweatshirt to the Airport.
* Jack asks Gina if the Duke's Sweatshirt belongs to her boyfriend and she replies "Not that I know of." Gina starts to question if her and E.J. are more than friends.
* Gina posts on her story that she will have to Uber home because her flight was cancelled that day. E.J. shows up to the Airport with a huge smile on his face to pick Gina up late at night.
* E.J. brings Gina a granola bar ("in case you're hungry").
* E.J. carries Gina's suitcases to his car.
* Gina smiles in realization that she sees E.J. as more than a friend whilst looking at him carry her bags.

#### The Transformation

* E.J. denies having feelings for Gina and says they are just friends when Carlos Rodriguez points out that he has seen E.J. make heart eyes at his co-choreographer Gina.
* Carlos Rodriguez calls E.J. out because he doesn't believe that him and Gina are "just friends." Then E.J. admits his fear on not wanting to get rejected again because of his last relationship was bad with his previous girlfriend Nini Salazar-Roberts.
* E.J. asks Gina if she wants to get some Risotto with him sometime for real this time and Gina replies "Yeah."

#### Showtime

* Nini Salazar-Roberts refers to them as "Duster and the Bluster."
* They both exchange looks when Nini Salazar-Roberts gives them their Good Luck Opening Night Cards and says to not opened them until the afterparty.
* E.J. and Gina were planning on skipping the cast party for their risotto date.
* In their confessionals, E.J. described Gina as “someone he digs… a lot” and Gina wondered “what do you wear on a date?”
* E.J. watched Gina perform in *Be Our Guest* from the wings with a proud smile on his face.
* Gina drops her feather dusters on the floor backstage and E.J. picks them up off the floor and holds on to them for Gina when she is performing on stage.
* During the intermission, Gina found E.J. and he gushed over her performance. He told her that the squid ink risotto at the place they were going was a little rich.
* They glance at each other several times while *Something There* was being performed.
* When E.J. met Gina’s brother, Jamie, he was excited to meet him not just because he is a famous Music Producer it was due to the fact that Jamie is related to Gina instead.
* Then Jamie tells E.J. that him and his mom are so happy that Gina has E.J. as a "big brother figure" in her life which makes E.J. upset causing him to second guess everything.

#### Second Chances

* Gina found E.J. after the show, and she was really excited for their date and shows off her date outfit.
* Thinking that Gina saw him as a brother, E.J. canceled their date. Gina walked away with a smile, but she was later shown crying, fixing her makeup.
* Later, Ashlyn came to Gina and apologized for giving her relationship advice with E.J. when she only saw him as a brother, much to Gina’s confusion. She learned that E.J. was under the impression that she didn’t have feelings for him.
* Gina ran outside and got E.J.‘s attention before he left. She told him that what he heard was wrong, and then asked him if he would be her first kiss, receiving a wide smile from him. They both run into each other arms where they share their first kiss (offscreen) in the Parking lot at Salt Lake Slices.

### Season 3

#### Happy Campers

* E.J. picks up Gina to take her to camp with the other wildcats. E.J. waits for Gina in his car while she makes a wish before she gets into his car.
* E.J. smiles at Gina when she gets into his car and sits down next to him in the shotgun seat.
* E.J. asks Gina what she wished for, and Gina tells him that she can't tell him because who knows what could happen.
* Gina kisses E.J.'s cheek which makes him smile.
* When they arrived at Camp Shallow Lake E.J. refers to Camp Shallow Lake as his "second home." Then Gina replies, "Don't you have a second home?" then E.J. replies "No, my second second-home."
* Gina sneaks up behind E.J. and puts her arm around his shoulder.
* E.J. makes a joke and Ashlyn, Carlos and Kourtney all give E.J. a weird look. Then Gina defends him by saying "He's sorry." Then wraps her arm around his shoulder.
* Then Carlos tells E.J. and Gina "It's just hitting me now that you two are gonna be a thing all summer." Then E.J. and Gina exchange looks and smile.
* E.J.'s cousin Ashlyn refers herself as a "thing-in-law that has never felt more prouder."
* Gina rests her head on E.J. shoulder.
* Gina refers to E.J. as her "first boyfriend" in a confessional.
* E.J. was about ready to walk away then he runs back to give Gina a quick kiss.

#### Color War

* E.J. walks into The Barn to see Gina so he can talk to her after their fight from yesterday. When Gina sees E.J. she calls him by his real name Elton.
* Then right before the Color War, E.J. asks Gina if they can start over. Then Gina replies "Getting started is not something I do."

### Season 4

#### High School Musical 4

* Gina's mom Terri Porter tells Gina that she knew how hard it was ending things with E.J. at the end of summer.

#### Admissions

* E.J. tells Ricky "Losing Gina hurt like hell. But you’re my brother and she was happy. So, I moved on."

#### Night of Nights

* Gina texts E.J. to meet up with her in the hallway because she wants to talk to him.
* Gina is waiting out in the Hallway and E.J. comes out and says "Listen, I am not playing Troy tonight."
* Gina tells E.J. "Thank you for meeting up with me."
* E.J. says to Gina "What are old friends for?"
* Gina tells E.J. "I just want to apologize."
* E.J. tells Gina "That's not necessary."
* Gina tells E.J. "The thing is I was hurt about your plan to leave Salt Lake last summer. I thought you were keeping things because you didn't trust me."
* E.J. admits to Gina "I don't know what I was thinking."

## Tropes

### **Fake Dating**

* In Homecoming they pretend to romantically go to homecoming together as part of their wonderstudy schemes
* In The Field Trip EJ pretends to be Gina's boyfriend so a boy leaves her alone

### **Enemies to Friends to Lovers**

* EJ gets mad at Gina when Nini breaks up with him after he gets her to steal Nini's phone
* They later get closer and share a kiss in Second Chance.

### **Showmance**

* They play love interests of each other in High School Musical.
* They also understudy for love interests of each other in High School Musical.

## Portwell Trademarks

### Clothing

**Duke Sweatshirt:** In Most Likely To, on Career Day E.J.'s father Cash Caswell gives E.J. his Duke Sweatshirt that his father gave him when he got into Duke. Later that day E.J. goes over to Ashlyn Caswell's house because he wants to talk to his cousin Ashlyn Caswell about the truth about Duke. Gina opens the door and tells E.J. that Ashlyn Caswell is not home. E.J. ended up telling Gina the truth about Duke even though he really wanted to talk to his cousin about it. E.J. and Gina ended up watching TV together after their deep conversation. Gina falls asleep next to E.J. on the couch while they are watching TV together. E.J. covers Gina with the Duke Sweatshirt that his father gave him earlier that day. In Spring Break, Gina wears the Duke Sweatshirt when she goes to the Airport.

### Food

**Risotto:** In The Field Trip, a North High student flirts with Gina, and E.J. overhears. He pretends that they are dating, asking her if they were still on for risotto later. In The Transformation, E.J. asks Gina if she wants to get risotto with him sometime, "for real this time." In Showtime, E.J. and Gina mentioned in their confessionals that they are not going to the afterparty because they are going on their Risotto date. In Second Chances, E.J. cancels their Risotto date because of what Gina's older brother Jamie Porter said to him earlier that night that is making him second guess everything.

**Granola Bar:** In Spring Break, Gina complains about having to forget to bring a Granola bar to the airport, and even though E.J. wasn't even there to hear her complain about it, when her flight gets cancelled, he picks her up from the airport without being asked, and gives her a granola bar.

### Lucky Number

**19:** In many ways 19 is Portwell's lucky number for several reasons.

* There are a total of 19 letters when you combined both the names they go by and both their last names. Gina=4 letters. Porter=6 letters. EJ=2 letters. Caswell=7 letters. 4+6+2+7=19.
* In Blocking, the Homecoming poster says the Homecoming Dance is on October 9th when you write out the date its 10/09 because October is the 10th month. 10+9=19. E.J. and Gina both went to Homecoming Dance as each other dates.
* Gina first realized she had feelings for E.J. at the end of Spring Break which is the 19th episode of the series overall when E.J. picked up Gina from the Airport after her flight was delayed.
* Portwell was ranked #19 on Top 20 Ships trending on Tumblr during the week July 19, 2021 - July 25, 2021.

### Songs

* We're All In This Together
* Something in the Air
* If I Can’t Love Her
* Be Our Guest
* Something There
* Second Chance
* Love is an Open Door: This is Portwell first duet together as a couple.

### Transportation

**Airplane:** In Opening Night, Gina shows up last minute to the show saying that her "friend" bought her a last minute flight to Salt Lake City, Utah so, she wouldn't miss the show. It was later revealed in Act Two that E.J. was the one that bought her a last minute Plane Ticket so, she wouldn't miss the show. In Spring Break, Gina flight to go see her mom in Louisiana was delayed due to mechanical issues. Later that day Gina's flight was cancelled and E.J. comes over to pick Gina up at the Airport late at night.

**Canoe:** In Color War EJ talks to Gina about how he's been distracted while she's practicing for the canoe relay and they kiss in the canoe. That night Gina gets Ricky to bring EJ to The Barn for a promposal she set up in a canoe and they wait for the fireworks while sitting in the canoe.

## Supporters

### Characters

* Ashlyn Caswell
* Nini Salazar-Roberts
* Carlos Rodriguez
* Kourtney Greene
* Val
* Ricky Bowen
* Maddox

### Cast

* Matt Cornett
* Joe Serafini
* Frankie A Rodriguez
* Larry Saperstein
* Dara Reneé
* Mark St. Cyr
* Jordan Fisher
* Jason Earles
* Joshua Bassett
* Saylor Bell Curda

## Quotes

### **Season 1**

#### Blocking

Gina: Now you have a chance to be a hero.

EJ: Stay away from me.

Gina: Girls like her love a comeback.

EJ: You set me up and then sold me out. So if I were you, I would cool it.

Gina: Please don't waste your energy hating on me. Start thinking of the long game Opening night is six weeks out, dude. Follow me, and you'll have the part of Troy and the girl.

EJ: I hate to tell you this but around here, seniors don't follow sophomores.

EJ: Hey, I got your text. Yes, I still want her back more than anything. What's your plan?

Gina: You are taking me to the Homecoming dance.

EJ: What?

Gina: Don't ask questions.

#### Act Two

EJ: Some wonderstudies we are, huh?

Gina: Hell yeah, we are. Thank you, for buying me that plane ticket.

EJ: It just didn't seem fair for you to miss all this.

### Season 2

#### The Quinceañero

EJ: Gina, that was amazing.

Gina: Thank you.

EJ: How do you feel right now?

Gina: Honestly, like I did everything I needed to do here.

EJ: Well you’re glowing! Remind me to hire you to throw me a birthday party.

Gina: Um, should I give a final shout-out to Carlos, or...

EJ: Uh, yeah, let me hit record here.

Gina: That was just you asking? How I was feeling?

EJ: Is that okay?

*Gina nods her head.*

#### Yes, And...

EJ: May I have this exercise?

Gina: Team Wonderstudy. Yeah, I got you.

#### The Field Trip

EJ: Hey, babe.

*E.J. wraps his arm around Gina.*

Gina: Babe! I'm so glad you're here.

EJ: So, we still on for Risotto later?

Gina: You know I would never miss Risotto right.

Gina: Okay, Risotto?

EJ: I guess Miss Jenn's improv class really paid off.

Gina: Yes, and also made you weirder.

EJ: Mmm..

Gina: Wait what are you even doing here?

EJ: I felt bad that you got stuck here alone on lookout.

Gina: Seriously? Oh, that's, um.... That's sort of sweet.

EJ: Well, hey, what are fake boyfriends if not sort of sweet?

#### Most Likely To

Gina: When I think of you. I see the guy who bought me a plane ticket back to East High so I can be a part of the show. A guy whose birthday video for Carlos made everybody cry. I see someone who tries really hard to do the right thing. He fails a lot. But he keeps on trying.

EJ: That’s what you think of me?

Gina: EJ, you are a really good guy. Maybe if you just forgave yourself a little, you would see what I… the rest of us see, and maybe then, you would recover from all your exhausting good fortune.

EJ: Yeah, that’s fair. You wanna know what I see right now?

Gina: No, you don’t have to do that.

EJ: I see one of the bravest people I know.

#### Spring Break

EJ: Excuse me, have you seen a Duke sweatshirt anywhere?

Gina: What are you doing at the airport?

EJ: Gotta show up for your peeps, you know? Bring you back in the morning? Oh, uh, also I bought you a granola bar in case you were hungry.

#### The Transformation

EJ: Do you want to get Risotto with me sometime? For real this time.

Gina: Did Ashlyn put you up to this?

EJ: Not that I know of.

Gina: Yeah. Yeah, Risotto sounds great.

EJ: Okay.

#### Showtime

Gina: Hey!

EJ: You absolutely dusted that stage and Be Our Guest, amazing.

Gina: Stop it! Say that again.

EJ: Yeah, well, I hope all that singing helped you work up an appetite because I hear the squid ink Risotto at this place can be a little rich.

#### Second Chances

Gina: E.J.! You got bad intel!

E.J: What?

Gina: Can I…?

E.J: Can you what?

Gina: Can I kiss you? Will you be my first kiss?

*E.J breaks into a wide smile, and drops his backpack. They start off walking to each other, and then start jogging before the scene ends.*

### Season 3

#### Happy Campers

Gina: Hey. What did I miss?

EJ: Uh, small change of plans in the celebrity arrangement. But nothing is going to ruined our perfect summer together. I’m the guy who shows up remember? Nothing’s gonna get in our way.

Gina: Who said anybody would?

#### Into the Unknown

Gina: I'm sorry, Can I just believe in the potential of my incredibly smart, wildly talented boyfriend?

EJ: You forgot handsome.

EJ: You killed it today. I know it's not up to me, but you're gonna be Anna.

Gina: Thanks. Today was an interesting audition day. I mean...it was a bit of a blimey mess, mate.

EJ: Okay. Yeah. Val told me to act like I knew what I was doing and clearly no accent can hide the fact that I'm totally and completely drowning up here.

Gina: Oh, my gosh. You are not drowning. Just maybe no more acting. Just be yourself.

EJ: Duh. I don't think anyone wants that.

Gina: Miss Jenns aren't build in a day. You'll be great and you have help, right? You have Val.

EJ: Yeah, Val's the best.

Gina: Seriously, EJ, if you're too stressed about directing this summer. I don't wanna give you something else to be worried about, so maybe you and I should just play it cool...

EJ: Hey.

Gina: What?

EJ: You and me, it's the only thing I'm not worried about. But maybe it wouldn't be the worst idea if we kept a professional distance at rehearsals.

Gina: Yeah. Several feet apart. No hand holding. Definitely no meaningful eye contact.

EJ: You mean, like this?

Gina: Yes.

#### The Woman in the Woods

EJ: Sorry to barge in.

Gina: Love is an open door.

EJ: I knew you would get the lead. You're a star.

Gina: Thank you. That means... Yeah, that means a lot.

#### No Drama

Gina: So, I was summoned to the office.

EJ: Hey, don't panic. Whatever it is, I'll handle it. Dewey Wood has a few skeletons in his closet.

Gina: I'm not in trouble. My mom called. My mom is moving back.

EJ: Back?

Gina: To Salt Lake.

EJ: What?

Gina: And she rented a place in Sugar House so she can be with me for junior year. We're gonna be actual, down-the-street neighbors for your gap year. Like, no more Ashlyn's place across town.

EJ: That's shockingly fantastic.

#### The Real Campers of Shallow Lake

EJ: Whatever you saw in the letter, it's not what it looks like.

Gina: St. Louis, E.J.? You let me think we were gonna be neighbors.

EJ: And we will be. My dad is trying to make me go to Caswell Success School, but I'm going to change his mind. I know if he sees that I can make this docuseries a success, he will let up on the whole training thing. But I'm not leaving Salt Lake without a fight.

Gina: Then why didn't you just tell me? I don't wanna feel like you're keeping things from me. Ever.

#### Color War

EJ: While I have you, can we start over?

Gina: Getting started is something that I apparently don't do.

EJ: I made a phone call last night. I'm taking some big steps to make sure the show is perfect.

Gina: E.J., this isn't about that.

EJ: But a perfect show is how I stay in Salt Lake. A perfect show means that my dad sees that I'm great at something, and he doesn't send me to leadership training. A perfect show is how I stay with you.

Gina: Why don't we not talk about the future for a sec?

EJ: So, what's all this?

Gina: So, I was kind of hoping we would have a win after that very weird rehearsal.

EJ: Gina, I know.

Gina: But I learned how to throw a ball today, so I'm gonna go for a Hail Mary here. E.J., will you be my date to the Camp Prom?

EJ: Wait. That's what this is?

Gina: That's what this is.

#### Camp Prom

Gina: E.J., you missed the last dance.

EJ: Crap. Hold on. I'll put on a song and we can just boogie around.

Gina: E.J., stop. We had two completely different nights. And I'm starting to think we're having two completely different summers.

EJ: Look, I'm a little distracted with opening night tomorrow, but...

Gina: But maybe it goes deeper than that, you know? I mean, you graduated from East High. Your world is getting bigger, and I'm still at the photo booth trying to fit three mustaches on my face for a group photo.

EJ: I could do those things.

Gina: That's just it. You've done those things when you were a camper here. But you're not a camper anymore. I mean, you missed out on the woman in the woods, you haven't joined the whole bucket list quest thing, which has actually been super fun.

EJ: Sorry. Is it me or do both of those things have the same person in common?

Gina: This is not about Ricky.

EJ: Well, I know there's history there.

Gina: I was trying to make a future with you.

EJ: And I know that I don't have a solid plan for the fall, but if everything works out, then I think maybe...

Gina: I think the problem is... I think the problem is that "maybe" isn't good enough for me right now. All my life has been about change. "Maybe" is all I've ever known. And maybe I came to the dance solo, and maybe I... I don't know, E.J. Maybe I should leave solo, too.

EJ: Don't do that. We're great together.

Gina: For five minutes at the beginning of the summer. But we haven't really been together this summer. Not really. And if that's a preview to some future where we can't be together at all, I think I need to skip ahead.

EJ: What do you mean by "skip ahead"?

Gina: I mean I can't be a "maybe" anymore, E.J. Not now and not later. Look. You're wonderful.

EJ: But it's over.

Gina: Can it really be over if it never really got a chance to start?

### Season 4

#### Night of Nights

EJ: Listen, I am not playing Troy tonight.

Gina: Thank you for meeting up.

EJ: What are old friends for?

Gina: I just want to apologize. That's not necessary. The thing is, I was hurt about your plan to leave Salt Lake last summer. I thought you were keeping things because you didn't trust me.

EJ: I don't know what I was thinking.

Gina: Now I'm doing the same thing. ( Sighs ) Quinn wants me to leave school and star in this big movie starting in January. It's a six-month shoot in New Zealand which means it's the entire second half of certain people's senior year.

EJ: That's a lot at once.

Gina: And I haven't told...

EJ: Ricky? We can say his name without turning to dust.

Gina: I just don't wanna ruin his night. It's clear you didn't wanna ruin my summer.

EJ: There's a lot I would have done different. So, what's the plan?

Gina: Oh, right. Okay. So, I was starting with an apology to you, and then the rest is up for grabs. I'm sorry.

EJ: Gina, it's mutual. We'll always have risotto, thought, right?

Gina: EJ, we literally never had risotto.

EJ: Yeah.

( Audience laughing in distance )

I'm gonna get back. Hey. Congrats, by the way. For the movie.

####  Born to Be Brave

Gina: And E.J., you have taught me so much about myself. I am so thankful for all our times together. And Yes, I do not get things right the first time. And thank goodness we can laugh about it now.

### **Season 1**

#### Opening Night

Carlos: How did you get here?

Gina: A friend bought me a last-minute flight back I was going to drop off these cupcakes and then hide in the gym and cheer you guys on.

### **Season 2**

#### Most Likely To

EJ: Yeah. Gina and I have gotten a little bit closer since North High when we were pretending to be together. But, no, that was just pretend. We're friends. Why? Did she say something?

#### The Transformation

Nini: Okay. Also, did I see you and E.J. giggling at the Pizza Place?

Ashlyn: I have some questions in the same general area.

Gina: Are they disapproving questions?

Ashlyn: Gina, you're my sister. He's my cousin. And if that didn't sound so weird, you would know what I'm trying to say. I love you both.

Gina: He was really sweet over the break, and kind of saved me. But it was just a nice thing. There's nothing romantic in the cards for us.

Kourtney: Uh, you sure?

Gina: Trust me. I've been wrong before, so I feel pretty safe putting that idea to bed.

EJ: People are complicated, man.

Ricky: I don't think anybody has it together as much as they seem.

EJ: And some of us even less than that.

Ricky: Oh, okay, pretty boy, just because you're single for the first time in your life.

Carlos: When he isn't making eyes at my co-choreographer.

Ricky: Wait, Gina?

EJ: It's not a thing, you guys. Okay? Yes, she is the best, but we're buddies, it's cool.

## Trivia

* In Season 1, they were casted as each other on-stage love interests for *High School Musical*. E.J. Caswell was casted as Chad Danforth and Gina Porter was casted as Taylor McKessie who happens to be Chad's love interest.
* In Homecoming they went to Homecoming together as each other dates to make Nini Salazar-Roberts jealous.
* E.J. is shown to care about Gina because in Act Two it was revealed that he was the one that bought Gina a plane ticket to fly to Utah so, she wouldn't missed the show.
* E.J. picks Gina up from the airport in without being asked, gives her a granola bar, and carries her bags to his car.
* Portwell was ranked #19 on Top Ships trending on Tumblr during the week July 19, 2021 - July 25, 2021.
* E.J.'s verse in Second Chance "Was I a fool to read between the lines? Did I misread the signs that much? Who would have thought we'd come this far as friends Maybe that should have been enough" is about Gina Porter.
* They faked dated twice before they started dating in Second Chances.
* There was at least one Portwell moment in every episode of Season 2 excepted for The Storm.
* E.J. Caswell is who Gina Porter shared her first kiss with on the lips and her first boyfriend.
* Sofia Wylie (who plays Gina) in a interview for Season 3 that Gina is in love with E.J. when describing her character in three words.
* They have both been hit in the head with a basketball. EJ in The Wonderstudies and Gina in Color War.
* They have kissed at least four times so far.
	+ In Second Chances, they shared their first kiss offscreen.
	+ In Happy Campers, Gina kisses E.J. on the cheek right before they leave to go to Camp Shallow Lake.
	+ In Happy Campers, E.J. was about ready to walk away then he runs back to give Gina a quick kiss.
	+ In Color War, they share a kiss after they make up.

## References

1. ↑  https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/pictures/high-school-musical-the-musical-the-series-season-3-details/amp/
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 No Drama
3. ↑ [1]
4. ↑ [2]
5. ↑ [3]