A month passed. Garnet and Sean grew closer every day. There was no sign of Mayne, but Sean still never left her side. Garnet fell into a comfortable routine: school, homework, workout, dinner, homework, workout, homework, shower, sleep. She didn't need to fit time in for Sean, because he was present every minute of the day. Most people would have felt suffocated, but Garnet felt...safe.
There was a nagging fear at the back of her mind all the time, but it was dulled now that she had Sean. She felt protected.
Really, the thing ruling her life was the waiting.
Waiting anxiously for Mayne to attack again, waiting anxiously to hear from Juliard...it was driving her crazy.
Garnet laid awake at night, exhausted but scared for both things to happen.
What if she didn't get accepted to Juliard? Her whole life plan would be totally ruined. Not in a way she could fix it, either; she'd literally given her whole life to dancing. Since she was two, she'd taken every dance class possible, skipped school for contests and professional rehearsals, dedicated her free time to workouts, taken classes that would help her dancing career, and even sacrificed a social life and normal eating habits. If she didn't get accepted to Juliard, all of her preparations would be for nothing, and she'd have to totally turn her life around and go in a different direction, one she wasn't passionate about at all.
Garnet knew she was good, and she'd given her auditions her best...but it was terrifying waiting to see if she was accepted or not. To see if the work she'd done her whole life would pay off.
Add school and Mayne to everything, and the normally composed and cool Garnet was a total nervous wreck.
***
Sean opened the door for Garnet one day after school. She hurried to get out of the lightly falling snow, stamping her boots on the doormat inside. She hung her coat and took Sean's, hanging it beside hers. The couple raced for the living room, trying to beat each other to the plush chair by the fire.
Garnet reached the chair first, throwing herself into it with a contented sigh. Sean grinned and forced himself next to her, pulling her partially onto his lap and wrapping a strong arm around her waist. She rolled her eyes and relaxed into him, enjoying the warmth from the fireplace and Sean's body heat. He was always warm.
Her mom walked into the living room, not batting an eye at their position. She'd figured out early on that they were dating and accepted it completely. Her dad...was another story. He was starting to come around, a fact that made Garnet extremely happy.
Her mom held out an envelope.
Garnet hesitantly reached out, instantly sitting up straight.
Her heart pounded and her hands shook in anticipation as she read the return address: Juliard.
Her breath hitched. She froze, not sure she even wanted to open it. Whatever this letter said would change her life, there was no doubt about it. But would it be for better or worse?
She closed her eyes and said a silent, fervent prayer, her whole body tense. She was giving herself a nervous headache, and she hadn't even opened it.
Sean put a hand on her shoulder. She squeezed his hand and took a deep breath then stood, facing away from him and her mother.
She slowly slid a shaking finger under the lip, opening the envelope. It ripped and she had to fight to get it open.
She felt like she was going to faint.
She finally pulled out the folded letter in front and held it to her chest, eyes closed.
She said another silent prayer, begging to be admitted, and then quickly unfolded it, eyes eagerly scanning the page.
She kept her face perfectly neutral as she turned around and lowered the envelope, her eyes filling with tears. Her heart was pounding even harder.
She looked between Sean and her mother.
Sean was sitting forward excitedly, her mother chewing her fingernails.
"Well?" her mom demanded, nearly insane from anxiety.
"I..." she trailed off, unable to go on. The first tear rolled down her face.
"Garnet!" her Sean exclaimed, while her mom simultaneoulsy shouted "What?!"
"I'm in," she murmured. "I'm in."
She smiled, the news finally sinking in.
"I'm in!"
She threw herself into her mother's arms, tears streaming down her face.
She pulled away from her and jumped up and down, letting out a shriek. "I'm in!"
Her mother was crying.
Sean pulled her in for a warm embrace, his grin almost matching her own. "Congratulations!"
He kissed her.
She smiled up at him and kissed him again excitedly before pulling out of his embrace and sprinting to the hallway for her cell phone.
Garnet was really crying now, almost sobbing.
All of her dreams were coming true.
Her hard work, her sacrifice...it wasn't in vain. It had gotten her where she'd only been able to dream of her whole life.
She pulled the phone out of her purse, dialing Jessica's number with shaking hands.
"Hello?" Jess answered.
"Jess...I'm in!" Garnet exclaimed.
Jessica screamed and Garnet heard her drop the phone. She laughed a little and soon heard Jessica's voice saying she would be over in five minutes.
Garnet ran back to the living room, twirling around before collapsing back into the chair.
Her face hurt from smiling, but she knew she wouldn't stop for a while...maybe for a few days.
*
Jessica, Garnet, and Sean sat on the floor around the fireplace, propped up against a surplus of fluffy pillows, a bowl of butter-free popcorn pushed to the side and a snuck-in bowl of movie theater butter popcorn in between them.
"This is so weird," Jessica declared.
"What is?"
"You're definitely moving across the country this summer. To go to Juliard. And get famous."
Garnet grinned. "It's weird...but it feels right, at the same time."
Sean put a hand on her knee and squeezed it. She smiled at him.
"I'm so happy for you," Jessica declared. "I just hope I get a letter soon."
Garnet's smile disappeared as the thought that Jessica might not be accepted entered her mind.
What would she do without Jess to keep her going? How would she cope without her best friend? She wasn't sure if Sean would move with her, even if he was her bodyguard. She couldn't ask him to pick up everything and move across the country.
Suddenly, panic set in, though Garnet tried to keep it from showing. The possibility of going off alone seemed very real and very frightening all at once.
But right now she had to be Jessica's friend.
She pushed the panic aside and squeezed Jess's hand. "You'll get one soon."
They talked for an hour, then Jessica reluctantly left to finish her economics homework. Garnet was glad she'd finished it in class; she would make a zero otherwise, because there was no way she was doing homework tonight.
Sean leaned in and kissed her. "I'm so proud of you."
She grinned, leaning into him. "Thanks."
He pulled her closer to his side and leaned his cheek on top of her head. "Are you scared?"
"Terrified."
He let her collect her thoughts for a minute.
"Jessica hasn't been accepted yet. If she doesn't, I'll be moving across the country and going to a school where I'll be pushed to my limit all the time. It's going to be really competitive. And say I do become famous. I'll still be alone to face all of that. It's scary."
Sean pulled away and looked at her like she was crazy. "Alone?"
"Well, yeah. My parents are here, Jessica will be here, and I can't ask you to drop everything and follow me across the country. You have a life, too."
He shook his head. "You don't even have to ask."
Relief so strong it brought tears to her eyes filled Garnet, and she threw her arms around Sean. "Then I'm not scared at all," she declared.
He really kissed her then. She brought her arms up to encircle his neck and her fingers twisted in the hair that was getting longer in the back.
She was so occupied with Sean that she almost didn't hear her phone vibrating on the floor next to them. She reluctantly pulled a way and composed herself before answering it without even checking the number.
"Hello?"
"Hey, I just wanted to say congratulations again," Jessica said. "I'm sorry if I was kind of a buzzkill when I brought up my letter. I'm really happy for you, and so unbelievably proud."
Garnet smiled. "Thanks, Jess. I love you."
"I love you, too."
They hung up and Sean wrapped his arms around Garnet's waist, pulling her close again as soon as she set the phone back down. She grinned at his enthusiasm and brought her lips to his again.
Her phone vibrating broke them apart again.
Sean groaned. Garnet apologized, annoyed with the stupid phone, too.
It was probably Jessica again. She usually forgot to say something and called back immediately after they hung up.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Garnet."
Garnet's blood ran cold and she stiffened at the deep voice.
"How did you get this number?" she demanded, voice shaky.
She'd changed her number a week ago.
Sean stiffened.
Mayne laughed. "What's the fun in telling you everything?"
"You think this is fun?"
"Garnet-" Sean started to say, but she was focused solely on the voice at the other end of the line.
"It's fun for me."
She was shaking now. "What do you want?"
He sighed. "Relax, beautiful. I just wanted to tell you congratulations. New York will be fun for both of us."
The line disconnected and the phone fell from Garnet's hands.
Sean picked it up and swore once he realized the line had diconnected.
"What did he say?" he demanded, fists clenched.
Garnet shakily relayed the conversation to him. Sean shouted for Garnet's parents. They came rushing in, faces pale.
He relayed what had happened. Garnet's dad drew all of the curtains shut and called the police while her mom made tea. Sean angrily paced the floor in front of her.
She wished he would come sit with her.
She was still shaking, absolutely terrified at the fact that Mayne knew everything.
She wondered if he'd been watching her again, or if he'd bugged the house...the possibilities were endless, and Garnet was freaking out just thinking about them.
For the first time, she truly felt unsafe in her home.
She started crying, unable to help herself. She let out a pathetic sniffle and Sean froze in place. He looked at her face and rushed to her side, hugging her.
"Don't cry," he told her.
"I'm sorry. I'm scared."
"You have every right to be. But we're going to get to the bottom of this, Garnet, I swear."
She nodded, trying to stop the flow of tears down her cheeks. Trying to believe him.
She finally calmed down and her shoulders sagged, her body no longer tensed up. Sean pulled away slightly and tucked her hair behind her ears. He kissed her forehead and stood up, offering her a hand and pulling her to her feet when she took it. He held on and led her to the kitchen, where her parents sat with two policemen.
After relaying everything yet again to the policemen, they went outside to look around.
Garnet's mom offered her a cupcake she'd made earlier- something that hadn't happened since she was ten- but Garnet refused it. She was touched at the gesture, but she was too worked up to eat anything.
Finally, the policemen came back inside. They hadn't found anything but a red rose with a card attached. It said nothing but 'congratulations'.
Garnet threw it in the trash can and removed the half-empty trash bag. She tied it closed and moved it to the back door- she would bring it out in the morning. She never wanted to look at the rose again.