dancing in the stars (ballerina x singer wlw romance)

chapter twenty-four

"A thing." I point out.

"Yup."

My heart sinks with guilt when I see his face. I love my brother, I really do but he has so much hope for someone that does not love us. "I'll be there."

His face lightens up. "You will?"

"Yeah, when and where?"

Leo says he'll get me tickets and then starts telling me all about his new life in Chicago and I listen to every word he says, wishing I could be there with him. Seeing accomplish all his dreams and I wish he could see me accomplish mine.
I tell him about me working in a new showcase, about me having friends–he is genuinely shocked about it– and how's my life been, leaving out the details about our mother being a pain in the ass. I know Mom doesn't ask him for anything, if she could have a favorite child, it would be Leo and she's making sure to ruin my life and not his. But whatever, I should be used to this by now and maybe grateful that she's not making his life harder.
He seems happy talking about all his friends in the States and all the pretty girls he has behind him, apparently, while he's waiting to get drafted. But if he's happy, that's all that matters.

The only thing I can do is focus on my music, my writing and winning this thing with Summer. Ah, fuck Summer. Who I still haven't told if I was coming to their thanksgiving dinner. And the one I admitted just yesterday that she made me feel safe. I have no idea where that came from and I absolutely have no idea how long I held her in my arms while praying that she didn't hear the way my heart raced in my chest. I could feel hers beating at the same speed but that– doesn't mean anything. I don't like her, not that way, anyway. She's just my friend, who's helping me to win money and a full scholarship to survive the rest of my years here. Yup, that's all.
I've only known her for a little more than a month but Summer Bennett found a way into my life that terrifies me just to think about it and I'm scared it won't stop. It will, right?

My brother and I finish our lunch and then we head to his hotel room– yes, he's cool enough to stay at a hotel with his teammates– all payed from his college, it seems.
I'm a little nervous about meeting all his friends, they probably don't know him like I do and I'm one hundred percent sure they know absolutely nothing about his life here, Leo is good at hiding it.

And I was absolutely right, he introduced me as his twin sister who just happened to live here, leaving out all the details. His friends were nice, all super welcoming and asking questions about my career and a bunch of other stuff. I suck at meeting new people so my answers had been short and boring, but hey! I'm happy for my brother. His whole face lights up when he's with them.

I'm looking through my phone, deciding if I should join Summer or not– I miss her and I saw her just yesterday. Everyone is talking loudly, drinking beer at three p.m, my brother has already forgotten about me but I don't care.
My mind drifts away to the pretty girl with the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen in my life. I think about she comforted me yesterday, she took me away just to disconnect from the world and she caught me when I was falling. Is it normal to feel the things I feel for her? I shouldn't, I know I shouldn't– but I can't help it. She's everywhere. I have never felt this way with someone before. The way my heart skips a beat when she smiles. How pretty her eyes shine when she laughs. How she throws her head back, the sweet sound filling my ears and, probably, my heart. The way she looks at me and the way the whole world disappears when I'm her. God, I'm so pathetic. She's such a good friend, I should not be feeling like this towards her.

"Holy shit, the Bennett girls are hot." someone's voice pulls me out of my daydreaming and I look at finding all my brother's teammates looking at the hotel lobby.