Sophia
The Tech Center a.k.a. University Gymnasium was converted into a Dancing Hall for the night.
String lights decorated every inch of the ceiling, casting a white and yellow radiance everywhere. And no matter where I looked,there were faculty members and college students--ranging from freshmen to seniors--a few of them holding up banners and tarpaulins for their representatives.
Mechanics were like this: There were fifteen pairs in total.Three couples had been assigned under Salsa, another three for Tango, three for Waltz,another three for Cha-Cha, and three more for Swing. Each category of ballroom dance were required to perform three pairs at a time while the panel of judges eliminate two couples from each category until one is declared the winner.
The female emcee had just announced the lineup of performance: The second to last will be Tango, which means I'll be able to watch my sister.
"Nervous?"
I craned my neck to the right and smiled at my black-haired partner. "Surprisingly, no."
We were seated on a long marble bench with the other contestants while the first three pairs were dancing to an upbeat song "Shake Senora" by Pit-bull ft. T-pain and Sean Paul which was suitable for a Salsa dance.
"We're one of the last ones to go on stage," said Lucas, tapping his right heel on the hardwood floor, his expression heavy with apprehension.
I lightly elbowed his arm. "You seem more tense than I am." I aimed for a joking tone but inside, I was really worried about him. He's been fidgeting for a while, his brown eyes problematic.
He didn't reply, which made me even more concerned.
"Lucas is really handsome, isn't he?" I heard someone murmur from the bleachers.
"You think I haven't noticed? He's always been a hunk," giggled another girl.
"That gray blazer and those slacks fit him well." More whispers and squeals.
I had no right to be jealous. But my hands were balled into taut fists, and I saw my knuckles whiten.
Before I could politely ask the girls to keep their voice down, a group of male sophomores spoke:
"Damn. And here I thought Stacy was the only hot twin," mumbled one guy.
"Sophia should wear dresses like that everyday," added one of his, I assumed, friends.
I flinched when a third guy let out a low whistle and said: "Brunettes with sexy legs are just my type. I think I'll ask her out later."
"Doesn't she have a boyfriend? The blond dude, what's his name, Liam?"
"Like I care."
All of a sudden, I felt eyes burning holes in the back of my head. An uneasy chill slithered down my back. I hugged my bare arms to steady my trembling fingers. Darn this backless dress.
"Shh." My heart skipped a beat when Lucas wrapped his arm around my shoulders, drawing me closer to him.
"What the fuck? Isn't he dating Stacy?" the pervert cursed.
"Just ignore them, Sophia," Lucas whispered to me.
I nodded.
Stacy
After the other couples were finished dancing, it was time for the Tango Category.
The choreography was very similar to the "Broken Tango scene" in Step Up 3, so I knew all the steps by heart.
Within seconds,the moody,intimate music of J. Sullivan's "Bust Your Windows" seduced my mind, heart, and body. It always happened whenever I danced.
"I bust the windows out your car.."
Bryce placed his right hand behind my shoulder, while his left hand was holding my right hand, and my left arm rested on his right arm, my hand on behind his shoulder.
We started to dance, blissfully immune to the audience watching us.
"After I saw you laying next to her.. I didn't wanna but I took my turn.."
"I applaud you, you know," said Bryce as we smoothly glided across the dance floor.
"It's too soon for praise," I replied, swiftly swinging my supple right leg in the air for one second.
"I must admit it helped a little bit.. to think of how you'd feel when you saw it.."
He dipped me down low with his hand on the back of my head, just like we practiced.
"I didn't know that I had that much strength.. but I'm glad you'll see what happens when.."
"That's not what I meant." My brown-haired partner spun me around, my back against his chest.
"You see you can't just play with people's feelings.. tell them you love them and don't mean it.."
He dipped me lower and I leaned my head back, my sky blue eyes facing the glowing ceiling.
"I underestimated you," he said as he pulled me up. "You're worse than I thought."
"You'll probably say that it was juvenile..but I think that I deserve to smile.."
"Say whatever you want to say about who I am, what I do, how you see me," I said with restrained fury. "You don't affect me. You're not my boyfriend."
"I bust the windows out your car.. you know I did it cause I left my mark.."
A cruel smirk curved his lips."Ironic, isn't it? While you do have a boyfriend, nothing is real."
"Wrote my initials with a crow bar.. and then I drove off into the dark.."
"I really hate you," I hissed as we neared the last verse of the song.
"Don't worry." He gave a crooked grin before he tightly grabbed my hand, flared me out, then quickly twirled me back into his arms and dipped me much lower, and I arched my head back.
"I bust the windows out your car.. I bust the windows out your car."
He held me close,his brown hair drooping onto his ocean-blue eyes.
"I hate you, too."
Sophia
This.. this doesn't feel right.
Like everyone in the University Gymnasium, I was completely mesmerized by Stacy and Bryce who were dancing the Tango to the enticing song "Bust Your Windows."
My sister looked like a goddess, with her long golden hair following her every movement, and her sleeveless blood-colored dress swaying and fanning out as her partner spun her around.
And Bryce--typical Bryce--was handsome as always with his brown hair smoothed back, and his tall, lean physique clad in a formal black suit with a red tie to match my twin's dress.
Curious whispers and admiring murmurs erupted in the dancing hall.
"They look really good together, don't they?"
"It's kind of weird that you're right. Isn't Stacy dating Lucas?"
"Uh-huh. But seriously. She and Bryce suit each other better."
"Totally. .Lucas doesn't strike me as Stacy's type."
"Maybe she's experimenting? I don't get it at all."
"Sophia, is something wrong?"
I jumped in my seat on the bench.I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I didn't see him return from the restroom.
"N-no," I stuttered, forcing myself to meet his brown eyes as he sat down next to me.
The black-haired teen stared at me for a minute, then he kept his gaze in front of him. "Okay."
We continued to spectate in the sidelines, watching the three pairs of college freshmen dance the Broken Tango with fiery energy and precision. But the couple that stood out the most was Bryce and Stacy. It was as if they were arguing, but they didn't miss a single beat of the song and dance.
"Sophia.. can I ask you something?"
I turned to look at the guy who has been making both my mind and heart go haywire for the past six months. I drank in his image: his boyish black hair, his set of warm brown eyes, and his smile which never failed to tug up the corners of my own lips.
It hurt.
It hurt so much to know he would never reciprocate my feelings. Seeing him everyday should have been enough. I couldn't be petty or selfish about this situation. He likes my sister and she likes him, too. End of story. Why must I keep chiding myself with this imminent pain? This was probably my punishment for rejecting someone as great as Liam. But it felt too severe.
At least that's what I believed until today.
Something felt wrong.
As I stole a glimpse of my blonde sister, her long hair swishing from side to side, her the red skirt of her dress bouncing like a cloud as she danced with her brown-haired, blue-eyed partner in a black suit, there was a strange gleam in her sky blue irises. It was almost as if.. as if she were...
I shook my head to clear away the ridiculous notion. It was ridiculous, but not impossible.
"Yup?" I shifted my focus on Lucas, whom I caught studying my analytical expression.
The 18-year old male timidly smiled. "What would you do if someone you love wronged you?"
I squinted my brown eyes at him. "That's such a random question, Lucas. Why do you ask?"
"No reason." He inwardly exhaled. "So what would you do in a case like that?"
Tapping my right cheek in serious consideration,I measured my words and answered: "It would depend on who it is and what they did. That sounds rational, doesn't it? The thing is, Lucas, I often familiarize myself with Cupid--He loves deeply. And perhaps I'm being a masochist, but I'm willing to put aside my own priorities for the people I care for, because I view love as sacrifice."
Based on the quiet nodding of his head, Lucas seemed to fully digest my explanation.
He gave out a loud sigh,releasing chilly air. "But don't you think everyone deserves to be happy? If you keep sacrificing for others, what will be left for you?"
"Sometimes it's almost impossible to always be the martyr," I replied, maintaining my composure, locking my fingers together on my lap. This conversation was beginning to make my stomach queasy, but I couldn't give him any cause to suspect my behavior. "But as much as I can, I want to be selfless. Because not everybody can have a happy ending, Lucas. I told you about my parents before. They loved each other, but they didn't last."
"You're wrong."
I blinked thrice, somewhat taken aback by his sudden anger. No. Lucas didn't do Anger. He was mildly upset, but why?
When Lucas caught me staring at him, he went on. "Their love story didn't last long, but they fought for each other, didn't they? They could have made it. They would have done everything in order for their family to be whole."
"But--" I tried to protest.
"And you said it yourself, Sophia," he interrupted me, holding my gaze."It's almost impossible to always be the martyr. Were you speaking from experience? Had there once been a time in your life when you wanted to be selfish, to follow your heart instead of your mind?"
I didn't appreciate where this was going.
"No," I lied while fixing him with a defiant glare.
To my shock, Lucas abruptly leaned towards me, so close I could see my reflection in his brown eyes.
"Are you certain?" I could smell his fresh breath on my rosy pink lips, making me shiver a little.
My chocolate eyes grew wide when he continued to stare at me, unblinking and unrelenting.
I parted my lips. "I.."
"Couple no. 15, you're up," announced the female emcee.
Trapped in a bubble of daze, I rose from the bench,my right hand tucked into Lucas' left hand.
What.. what just happened?