Wow guys I swear this was such a hard chapter to write. I know I'm a terrible author, but enjoy while you cannot. How did this get 2.7k! So much gratitude...3k maybe before next chapter?...
***
"Shuffle drop pick-up shuffle toe ball change," Abby chants as Maddie and I tap in sync.
The music ends and Maddie and I snap our end poses and shuffle out of Studio B. Eben looks at me and begins to make his way over, blush covering his cheeks.
"What's up?" I ask casually, redoing my immaculate bun.
His blush deepens at this. "Well, other than the sun, the sky and the clouds, Jill apparently too."
"She was flirting with you?" My eyes widen and my mouth drops open in a smile. Eben nods putting a hand to his neck.
"Yeah, but other than the fact that I wanted to get away from her, the real reason I wanted to come here was about the group dance. Is everything alright?"
I rub my temples, not really wanting to make a fuss about it. "Well, Abby said no yesterday but also that I could ask again today." Eben shakes his head, looking upset.
"I'm going to go in there and give her a piece of my mind," he tells me quietly, marching off to her office.
The cameramen block my path to follow him so I just stand there with a hand on my head, listening.
"Miss Abby, I'm afraid I am withdrawing my permission to allow the group dance Our Winter Story to compete." There is a confused shuffle of papers from within.
"Is this because Aurelia isn't the lead? Ugh," Abby groans. I can hear more muttering, but I can't decipher it until I hear the louder voice of Abby booming,"Fine, Kalani will compete as the lead, but Aurelia will appear on the show as the lead." Eben comes out looking happy.
"Sorry sis," he whispers. "It's the best I could do."
"Seriously it's fine, Eben."
To be honest, I am not completely obsessed with getting the lead role today because I'm so tired. Mackenzie, Jojo and I napped in the dancer den only to be awoken an hour later by a big splash of water. Maddie and Kendall are laughing their heads off and Jojo groans.
"I'm hungry," yells Kenzie. "Someone get me chips." This causes us to laugh even harder.
*
It's group dance rehearsal, and let's just say something is definitely wrong. When I walked into Studio A I was the last person following Kendall and she shut the door on me, but I don't know if it was on purpose. Then when I was doing a ponche she leaped right next to me and clipped my foot causing me to wobble and get shouted at by Abby.
"Hold her Kendall, this lift needs to be strong," Abby instructs as Kendall and Marcus hold me up. I feel Kendall's arms wobbling a bit and I panic. I'm upside down in this left with my feet at my head so I am in no position to catch myself if I fall.
Coincidentally, I do fall. Kendall's arms tire and drop down and the floor comes crashing up to me, but I am stopped short by two pairs of arms. Josue and Marcus hold me tight. I quickly get out of their arms and breathe heavily on the floor, my knees pulled up to my chest.
"Okay," says Abby, as Gianna stops the music. "Kendall and Aurelia what is wrong with you two today. Every time I look at you two there is something going wrong. Now, I want you two to go outside and sort out your differences." What does Abby mean?
I internally groan because it means I now have to sit face to face with Kendall while she barbers on about some fake nothing.
Kendall nods her head sweetly and tip toes to the hallway and down it. I follow her as she leads us to the tumble track room.
"Kendall," I start, not sure how to put it. "I don't know what's been happening lately but something is going on which I'm not aware of and I just want to know whether it involves me." My words are careful, but I'm not sure they are enough to convince her that I'm innocent.
Kendall faces away from me, her arms crossed as she stares at herself in the mirror. She whips around furiously. "You don't know what's happening? Really Aurelia?" I flinch as she comes nearer. I try to stutter a word or two, but they catch and stick in my throat.
"Did you not see what occurred just there in the studio?" She yells. I can see the cameras starting to zoom in more closely and the moms outside look at us and then look away, too distracted by the teenage boy - namely Eben - to bother.
I shake my head. "Ken you're over reacting. Nothing happened in there."
"You don't get to call me Ken." Her voice is now frighteningly low. "Only my best friends get to call me that."
There's a long pause then she raises her eyes, bites her lip and continues. "On Saturday before we left for the gymnastics centre Marcus took me aside. He said that he wanted to break up with me. Do you know why?"
"You two broke up? Wha-why?" Those two were the power couple. They were impenetrable, but it makes sense now. How Kendall had been really upset at rehearsal yesterday, how Marcus wasn't happy about their duet.
"It was because of you. Marcus told me that he'd rather be with you than me. So that's why I'm mad at you, because you stole him from me." Kendall's face is devoid of all emotion and it scares me. I widen my eyes and part my lips to say something as her voice hushes.
"Kendall I didn't know, I'm so sorry. I don't even like him that way." I go to put an arm around her as tears gleam in her eyes, but she snatches away violently.
"Don't touch me. I don't like him either, but he's a boy and you still stole him from me." Oh. Now I see her other side.
"This isn't about him at all is it? Just your pride. You see Marcus as a prize to have, a token of pride to wield against me because you know I am better than you." It feels harsh admitting it out loud, but I do. "Well, you can have him. He means nothing to me." I hate that half our conversations consist of mainly only boys. It's ridiculous, we have better things in life than that!
I walk away back to the studio with Kendall following quite far behind me. I stop short when I see my brother shrouded in the moms.
"So, do you work out? I like guys who work out," says Jill, grinning at him. She moves to stroke Eben's arm, but he shifts it uncomfortably away from her.
"Well, yeah I do." He's blushing and has an awkward grimace which I think is supposed to look like a smile on his face.
The banter continues on for a while and Kendall and I share a grin, our rivalry briefly forgotten in the moment of amusement at my brother's expense. It's all broken when Gianna opens the door and calls for us to come back in instead of waiting outside. Kendall's grin disappears and she sends me a glare before marching through the door into her starting place.
Ah well.
*
Wednesday dawns like a hurricane. We all rush through our dances, completing them all off and starting to add the finishing touches.
My solo is pretty good and I feel like Maddie and I are evenly matched. Gia and I are rehearsing and she instructs me on my timing and how my arms need to be a little less stiff when there's a knock on the door. I'm curious since no one ever comes into Studio B during practice, but I continue to dance, my eyes straying towards the door. Gia, too, takes her calculating gaze of me to glance at it through the mirror. It swings open to reveal someone I never thought I would see. I instantly stop dancing, stumbling mid-leap and dropping my arms to my sides in utter shock. They reach up to cover my mouth and I rub my temples, slowly taking tempting steps backwards towards the other exit.
It's my dad.
"Hey!" He says awkwardly and I feel tears fill my eyes. I rush forwards, feet almost tripping over each other in anticipation to hug him. He scoops me up like a little child - as he did when I was two and had only just started dancing. I've missed him all these years; my mom hated him for reasons she never bothered to explain to me and never let me visit him, not even on my scarcely free weekends.
When my mother wanted to separate from him, she sent me as the youngest to England to live with her sister for the next two years as she fought for custody with him over me and my three brothers. She, obviously, won and when I returned to America he was gone and not heard from ever again. Until now.
"I've missed you so much," I whisper in his ear as Gianna awkwardly turns off the music, but smiling nevertheless.
"I know," he says. "My little girl has grown up. But don't worry about missing me too soon because you'll be mine in a short amount of time. I promise I will support your dancing and singing career and you could star in a few movies with your brothers and—"
"Wait what about mother?" I ask, and he flinches at the name. I love my dad, but I'm not sure whether I could just adjust to suddenly living him. Of course Eben would have to live with us for about another few months until his birthday, but what about Finis and Hiram? Finis is injured in Australia along with my mom. My mind whirrs with confusion. "Maybe we should talk to Eben about this."
He nods his head, as if he was used to being rejected. "I already have and he said as long as you were happy then he didn't mind." I smile, but it feels more like a grimace. In this moment I feel really selfish. Eben was closer to my mom than me and I to my father.
"I don't know if it would be too soon," I say nervously, fiddling with his jacket.
He laughs it off. "Besides, I heard my little girl has a girlfriend."
I giggle and blush bright red, feeling suddenly small in my dad's arms. I lean over and whisper something in his ear that no one will expect.
*
"Sleepover!" Yells Brynn and Kenzie as they sprint into my room. Jojo, Aiden, Josue and I follow slowly behind as the pair pounce on the pillows like wild cats. They immediately bagsy beds and I laugh. Jessalyn and Kira are also staying over at my house to supervise us. My dad refused to come anywhere near my home.
"Hey, we should all go ice skating on your rink, Lia. That would be well cool!" Jojo says and we all chime in agreement. We quickly all get changed into attire suitable. I laced up by skates even though I should probably wait until I walk to the rink. I slide the guards onto the blades and balance on then and hobble over to everyone else in the sleepover room.
To find them all in swimming costumes.
"Wait what guys I thought we were going ice skating?" It's the small things like theses instances that really do my head in.
Kalani looks at me indignantly and turns her head to the side as if it's obvious. "Oh yeah we decided we'd rather go swimming instead. Sorry." Aiden and Josue come in just as she says that and looks even more confused than me.
I shrug my shoulders and grimace. "Ah well. Come on boys, we're going to shoot a YouTube video whilst we're at it." I turn around to let Jojo, Kalani and Brynn to wallop in their own guilt they caused.
*
"Aiden, Josue have you actually ever skated before on ice?" I ask as the camera begins to record and they tie up the laces to the skates my brother's used to wear.
They both gulp and share a look with each other. "Umm, no." They say at the exact same time and I giggle at their foolishness.
"Well that's perfect then!" I think they think I'm mad. I'm surprised I'm not yet; Dance Moms is beginning to kill my mentality. "Not like that! I can title this video: teaching my best friends to ice-skate."
Josue manages to get the basics pretty easily, although he has to much posture and keeps falling backwards whenever he stands up. Aiden, however, is another story. He can barely walk on them without slipping. Josue has got the basics of arabesque on ice and I feel quite proud of him for getting it so quickly despite them both being dancers.
*
I've finished editing my YouTube and it's ready to go, but there is one thing I really want to tell Josue. It's been bugging me for the last week and I don't want it to eat away at me anymore.
(A/N Kenzwhitnnie please don't kill me!!!! Or anyone else please)
"Hey, umm can I please talk to you Josue for a moment?" I ask, closing the door behind in the living room. The other girls are still in the pool and we're going to join them soon for a midnight swim.
"Sure," he says, grinning as we walk into my room.
"Okay," I such my teeth and grimace. "I'm going to be very blunt about this but ever since last week and we kissed, I've wanted to know if you actually like me. So, Josue, do you like me?"
Josue bites his lips and leaves me in condemning silence for a moment. I start to think the worst when he says, "Is this for reals, Lia? Oh my gosh, of course I like you but I didn't want to approach you because I thought you liked Aiden. Oh my gosh!" His eyes are wide and looking at his feet in amazement.
My lips go from pursed to a small smile. That widens until I'm in a full out giggle.
"What's so funny?" Whines Josue, looking back at my face distantly.
I shake my head, chuckling to myself silently. "It's nothing, Josue. It's just I never thought I'd hear you say oh my gosh in my entire life. And of course I don't like Aiden he's my best friend."
Josue looks really relieved and entwines our hands. "Well, what are you waiting for, let's go tell them!" I grin happily.
I quickly run into the living room and change the title to: Teaching My Boyfriend and Best Friend How to Ice-Skate and post it, turning off all notifications and not mentioning which boy it is. I post a photo from my YouTube video with the title and turn off all comments. This is going to be interesting.
"Hey guys!" I shout, getting the attention of Jojo, Kalani, Brynn and Aiden who are all splashing about in the water.
"Is it official?" Josue asks, smiling at me and holding my hand.
I raise our hands into the air, discretely aware of Kira filming behind us. "It's official!" I shout again and we both jump into the pool together, leaving the rest of them to think about what we just said.
*
I'm sitting next to Brynn and Jojo. Jessalyn and Kira are in the front and Kalani and the two boys are in the very back. I go live on Instagram and immediately my comments blow up. I see one saying 'scratch your eyebrow if you like Josue' and as Brynn sweetly natters away about something that happened yesterday I tub my eyes, not daring to look at the screen. Still watching Brynn chirp I reach up and rub my temples and eyebrows. That should be hint enough for the public.
Just as I'm about to walk into the ALDC La building and prepare for the onslaught of questions I will inevitably endure, Aiden pulls me aside.
"Hi Lia. I totally respect that you're in a relationship right now, but I was wondering if you would like to star in my music video." I'm slightly shocked by this, but that must have been what he was trying to tell me the other day.
"As a back up dancer," I say, trying to be nice and confirmative. "Sure, I would live to. I'm sure Abby wouldn't mind at all because it'll be pretty cool." I smile and quickly check my phone, still being spammed by the girls' group chat to see if there are any updates. I see my dad as he walks in and I wave, but his face is grim and he barely spares me a glance as he enters the building with Eben. They are exchanging a rather curt conversation between the two of them and I momentarily wonder what it is about. I hope it's not about our mom.
"No," says Aiden, cutting of my thinking. My head whips back round and I raise a delicate eyebrow confused and purse my lips. I'm well aware of the cameras that have been following us around. Dance Moms won't bother with this kind of drama, but Living with the Ellerys will.
He opens his mouth again to reply and I wait patiently. "No, I mean as the love interest."
But I have a boyfriend now. Is it worth sabotaging that relationship for a higher society status. Only I know the answer, and for the nth time these past few days, I grimace.
***
So yes I am still alive...but probably not for long when Kenzwhitnnie reads this. I'm pretty sure this entire book wouldn't be half as good without her. Anyways, I killed myself a little writing this chapter and I am so tired.
Also, I am going on holiday very soon for quite some time so updates will be even scarcer than they already are, but if you ant little snippets of what is to come, make sure you check out my profile because I will be posting a few sentences now and then so you guys can have a sneak peek!
Comment what you think Aurelia's answer will be! Remember ten votes for an early(Ish) chapter!
anon-sirekl20