Not The Same (sequel to "Abby Ultimate Dance Competition: Season of Love")

Chapter 28

After an eventful night, Thanksgiving was, thankfully, off to an uneventful start. The hours of rehearsal in the morning seemed fly by, and I simply just moved through the motions. There were no challenging costume changes, no rounds of notes, no runs, just pure dancing and rehearsal, which was exactly what I needed. I had left a message for Riley and a pass at the front desk, but she never showed. I gathered my bags, unfazed by her lack of an appearance, and climbed into Zack's car for him to drive me home. All of our moms had stayed at home to prepare for the evening's festivities, which was refreshing for rehearsal. We sat in silence as I opened Spotify and scrolled through my playlists to try to find the best car music. Zack shifted in his seat uncomfortably, trying to find the right words to say.

"Mads, I know you said you're fine, but," Zack started but I quickly looked up and cut him off.

"I am. If she can't see that I'm sorry for being flakey, and she can't realize that she was an absolute jerk about it yesterday, then that's on her. If our "bracelet power" can be thrown away in a matter of seconds, after four years all over the country, because I had new opportunities and took them, and accidentally missed a lunch date because of them, then whatever. If our friendship can be thrown away that easily on her end, then that's fine." I shrugged, putting on a smile, but the tears coming out of my eyes clearly told a different story. Zack unbuckled his seat belt and pulled me in close for a hug. I didn't break down crying, but I let the existing tears flow. "I know I'm not entirely innocent, but I don't think all the blame should be put on me, you know?" I explained with my ear pressed against his chest. I could feel him nodding as his stroked my hair.

"I only know you from the time we met to now. I know you two have a long history, and it means so much to both of you, but history is in the past, right?" He tried to reason and I titled my head up to look at him. "I'm not saying that you guys aren't meant to be friends anymore at all. I'm just saying things change. She knows you as the Madison who would die on every hill possible to protect her friends, even if it means putting everyone in the world before you. That was the Madison I knew first too, until you won. You realized you have this crazy talent, and finally put yourself before others. You're working your ass off to be the best Madison you can be, by putting in a ridiculous amount of hours every week training, taking opportunities, hosting showcases, doing interviews, but you are still managing to do the important things to you. Spending time with your friends, being a bridesmaid, applying to every school in the nation, spending so much time with those sweet little dancers at DAC, and you know, me." He laughed at the last part, causing a small smile to form at the corners of my mouth. "You're balancing a lot more than any of us, you know that. And we all know that. You're growing and changing for the better, but sometimes that can be really hard if someone's stuck in the past."

"Wait, what do you mean though? How is she stuck in the past, it's been almost five years. She's not exactly the same person she was when she was thirteen either." I suddenly became defensive, sitting up straight to face him.

"Well, okay, think of it like this. Kyle was a lot younger when you left, and now he's almost a teenager." He tried to level with me and I put my hand up.

"Oh don't remind me. He's still the little eight year old running around with all his clothes on backwards because he thought it was funny." I let out a small laugh and Zack nodded.

"Exactly. In your mind, he hasn't changed in the slightest since you left. But a lot can change in a few years, and if you're not there to witness it, you come back acting like it's the same. There was a pretty large gap from the time we last saw each other, and the both of us had grown and changed quite a bit. It was really weird for us, and almost abrasive. You were so confident in who you were, so strong in your opinions, and you weren't scared of anything. Little Mads was a tiny bit of a pushover." I gently shoved him and he let out a chuckle. "I mean it with love, but you were! But to Riley, you're still her best friend who would bend over backwards at the drop of a hat to make sure she feels heard or loved. And even though you want to do that now, you know that you have priorities, including yourself. Which is so important that you learned that, and that you grew as a person. It's just kind of hard for her to realize that you grew up, even though she did too, because you didn't necessarily do it together." Zack finished explaining, and I stared at him, blankly, and his eyes darted around the car. "But that's just me, I could be entirely wrong. I've known her for a much shorter period of time, so you know better than me." He quickly started to backpedal on everything he just proved.