Braver Than I Used to Be

Chapter Seventeen

The world started to blur around me and I looked around and everyone was looking expectedly at me. The Dream Team dancers came down and pulled me onto the stage and sat me on the stool.

"Alright, now we are ready!" Matthew said.

The girls surrounded us and Matthew stared at me adoringly, just like the night we first kissed. I could feel my heart skipping beats already and he hadn't even started singing. He stared at me as he started singing, the song was slower, but I knew it. It was the song he sang to me in the ice cream shop that night. I had learned the song was called Fallin All In You and I loved it to no end. He brushed his fingers against my cheek and I realized he was wiping tears. I smiled and he stared me so in depth, dedicating every single word to me. He pulled me up and twirled me around and sang to me as I stood awkwardly on stage until he dropped to one knee and I worried he was about to propose. But he didn't. When he said the lines "Every time I see you baby I get lost, if I'm dreaming, baby please don't wake me up, every night I'm with you I fall more in love..." I had to let my hair fall in my face because I had to hold back sobs from my ugly cry. Sometimes when he thought I was sleeping and he couldn't sleep, he would sing those lines a few times and tell the sleeping me that it was for me. He doesn't know that I know he sings to me when I sleep, but I felt him thinking he was doing it in secret was so much better. He held my hand in his as he uttered the last few lines to the song. The entire time the girls danced around us in perfect unison twirling and dipping on their tip toes like ballerinas.

The crowd roared as soon as the music stopped, but we stayed still a few more moments staring at each other and that was the moment I knew this was the man I would marry. He stood up and kissed me and it reminded me of that first night, it was just him and I. When he pulled away, I wiped my face and was escorted off the stage but a teacher and Matthew and the Dream Team took their final bow on stage.

After the talent show Victor had a party at his house. It seemed like half of the school was planning on showing up. While I waited for Matthew to meet us, various people stopped by to say hello to Ray, Victor and me. It felt weird having people pretend to like me for ten minutes until Matthew finally came over. This was when people stopped paying attention to us and started congratulating Matthew.

Matthew and I rode alone to Victor's house and the entire way there I was sure he sang every Shawn Mendes song he could. I just laughed and giggled the whole way there and told him to watch the road. He took the long way and some extra back roads just so we could have more time to ourselves. I had the feeling it was because he hadn't really seen me smile in weeks. Today was the first day in about three weeks that I smiled and laughed and Matthew was the only one that could do it. I couldn't get over the way he looked at me while we were on stage. I don't think anyone could ever look at me that way.

When we pulled into spot that Victor saved for us in the driveway, I stopped him from getting out.

"Wait." I put my hand on his and squeezed it. "There's something I want to tell you."
He stared at me patiently with that half smile on his face showing his dimple. "You were amazing tonight. Absolutely amazing." I took a deep breath because I was starting to get butterflies.

He placed his hand on my cheek and rubbed it softly. "It's okay my love, you know you can tell me anything."

"I love you, so much Matthew." I blurted out because I couldn't hold it back anymore.

He leaned his forehead on mine and took a deep breath, "I have been waiting so long to hear you say those words." He said before kissing me as if we were back on the stage.

When he pulled away, I wiped a single tear from my face. "Let's go to this party." I smiled.

I think more than half school was at the party, along with a bunch of Victor's family and friends. There were people we met from the last party and then some. The backyard was packed with people. When we walked back Ray and Victor were sitting in chairs on the deck with Vivian and Adriana.