"I know, I'm just that talented."
I had to laugh at that, and tiny sweat beads formed on my neck. It's been a long time since I had met a girl who could speak for herself.
I raised an eyebrow at her challengingly, waiting for her to say more. She just had that kind of vibe radiating off her.
"Well, I'm way better than you," she said and I smiled with a certain amount of satisfaction. That was a kind of answer I was expecting.
Why? A tiny part of my brain asked me, loud enough to destroy my senses. Why am I getting the feeling of déjà vu?
"Well, then, let's take your talent to the next level." I pulled out my brand new iPhone and showed it to her, my eyes gleaming with mischief. "Choreograph your own steps for this song. I'll play it three times."
She nodded at once, her eyes set in a determined state. She didn't look like the kind of person who'd give up without a fight.
I proceeded to repeat the song thrice, observing her in the meantime. She was deep in thought, her eyes narrowed in concentration. She kept biting her lip as if she was nervous but didn't want to show it.
She was tapping her feet constantly and despite her confident air, her leg shook slightly.
At the end of the song, I raised her eyebrows at her and mouthed, "Ready?"
She nodded, immediately averting her eyes from mine. She inhaled deeply and exhaled fast, doing this a couple of times. Her eyes were closed, a pre-dance procedure, I presumed.
And then she began dancing.
That's when I knew -- she was not just good, but excellent. She was absolutely amazing, and she knew it.
Her hair bounced back and forth as she danced, her lips moving synchronizedly with the words of the song. She didn't waver even once; she didn't pause to take a breath.
When she stopped, I couldn't help but let out a low whistle in awe. I tried to hold back my huge grin in but I couldn't, and soon gave up trying.
"That was impressive," I said, meaning each and every word.
She curtseyed once before motioning me to sit on the bench again, her heels clicking on the floor.
We sat in silence, and at first, it was comfortable. But soon, the seconds stretched into long minutes to still, neither of us had said a word.
"This is nice," Mystery Girl commented sarcastically, placing a hand around her stomach. "Thank you for the wonderful conversation.
"Hey, in my defense, I don't even know you. It's hard to make conversation when your face is all covered up." I was quick to defend myself, so as to not sound dumb and incredibly stupid.
"But what if it wasn't?"
My eyes snapped up to meet hers which were, now that I could see them, dark brown. They had an air of daringness which I would never be able to muster. I rubbed the back of my neck again, goosebumps dotting my arms. "What do you mean?" I slowly asked.
"I think," she swallowed, "I'm ready to reveal my face."
Dun, dun, dun.
My eyes widened in surprise, not having expected that to happen so soon. I'd give it maybe an hour or two at most, but I wasn't complaining.
I needed to know who that girl was. She seemed to be an opportunity to finally, once and for all, get over my best friend.
That didn't mean I wasn't nervous.
My legs shook slightly as I stood up, and I did my best to cover it by stretching. My eyes flitted up to meet hers and I swallowed heavily. Slowly, I nodded. "I'm ready to see if it."
"On the count of three, yeah?" she asked, her voice a little shaky. I didn't respond.
One. What if it was somebody I knew? My cousin, my friend?
Two. What if it was actually a guy in disguise?
Three. And the mask went flying out of her hands revealing her face.
It was her. The one I wanted to get over, in vain. The one who I'd secretly been crushing on since fourth grade.
She was my best friend.
As I stared at her, I got a gut-wrenching knot in my stomach and was hit by a hard realization. Something which made me feel dizzy and want to burst out into a panic attack. Something which made my cheeks tinge red and my hair slick back with sweat.
I was falling for my best friend.
I was scared, and I wasn't thinking straight. All I thought was about how I never seemed to be able to get away from her.
And therefore, I ran away, reliving Cinderella all over again.
Nothing to say, except that I hope you enjoyed this bonus chapter! The second part will be out soon -- Zach's POV!
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Untitled Part 13
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