Chapter Twenty-One

Payback baby!

We ended the last note to our last run through. It was only minutes before we were wanted out in the gymnasium. We would be performing my rendition of All You Need Is Love by The Beatles. We stopped our sound then everyone cheered. I couldn’t actually believe that we made it to this day.

Malachi was running over a few things with his band but he put his thumb up for me. I nodded and looked over at Mrs. Williams. She was clapping her heart out. “That was fabulous,” she cheered over and over again.

Hayden wrapped her arm around my torso and pulled me close to her. “I’m very glad we had you. I wouldn’t have been able to pull this off.”

I stroked her shoulder, “You did more than you know.”

A thin kid stepped into the room. STARs I need you in your positions. There was a talent show going on. We were the entertainment during the judging period. The All Stars would be going first. Then they would have to sit through our performance.

Mr. Jenkins had told Mrs. Williams he was surprised we hadn’t dropped the performance yet. They were now about to have their minds blown. Hayden and I walked quietly to the front of the gym. The All Stars were dancing to their 60’s beat. They swung their hips and blasted their notes. Inside I couldn’t contain my excitement. I was ready to run out there and tear it up.

Finally the All Stars ended. Patrick had their leading lady in his arms. Trent stood in the back with his arms proudly stuck up in the air. I pursed my lips and tried to focus on the task at hand.

The MC of the event came out with his mic. “The STARs have been performing since this school was built. Today they’ve come to show that they are no longer the same. In fact they’ve renamed themselves they are now called The Nova’s.”

I messed with the mic on the side of my face. The little tip at the end pointed directly into my mouth. Hayden grabbed my hand and squeezed. A bright smile covered her tan face. “Let’s give it up for The Nova’s” The All Stars sat on the floor where we would be facing. Mr. Jenkins was in the center with a smirk on his face.

We walked out and took our spots. We made it known that we were in the same positions of the All Stars. Each of them looked up, pleased, with their plan. They thought they had won. We would be completely embarrassed and forced to leave the school.

As the loud music started with Malachi on the electric guitar the smirks began to disappear. We were doing a separate song. We all started singing. “Love, Love, Love.” Mr. Jenkins’ face turned a bright red. The music picked up and we started dancing. As I started my solo Hayden leapt to my side.

We danced the choreographed number and sang our hearts out. The crowd started to get into it. A wave of claps started and people stood. They sang along as danced out on the floor. A few of the men flipped their girls over, me included. Hayden went over my shoulder and landed on the floor behind me. As she was set down I ran to the center of the circle. I leapt into one of the boys’ hands and flipped backwards. The crowd erupted in cheers as I continued to sing.

We threw out everything that we could. Flips were coming from either side of the stage. Intense and complicated dancing tore beneath our feet. My hands combined with Hayden’s and we danced together. We finally sang our last note and planted our last pose. Hayden sat up on my shoulder with her hands in the air.

The music stopped and the whole crowd cheered loudly. It was a standing ovation. The only people who remained sitting were the All Stars. Each of their faces was long with dropped jaws.

Hayden slid from my shoulder and started waving at the crowd. I grabbed her elbow and started to lead her out of the auditorium. She grabbed onto my elbow and hugged it tightly. As we walked out into the hall the whole group erupted into cheers. We had done it, the faces on the all stars were priceless. I wanted to go back and relive that moment over and over again.

As every cheered I realized that I didn’t want to be with any of them. I wanted to be sharing this moment with someone else. I wanted Parker to be here. My head shook as I mentally tried to shake the thought of him out of my mind. I hated myself for thinking about him. We had finally proved ourselves and all I could think about was the lying cheating snake.

Malachi walked up with the guitar still strapped around his shoulder. His fest met with my bicep and he gave me a smile. Hayden flung her arms around his neck smashing the guitar between them. The smile on Malachi’s face was almost blinding. It was good to see him happy-he deserved it.

Quietly I walked away from the group and walked down the hall. My hand ran across the dark brick. The rough texture stabbed at the top of my fingertips. This was crazy. Why was I so depressed all of a sudden? Anger rose up inside of me. Parker made me this way. I needed to be celebrating my defeat, but all I could do was feel sorry for myself. This wasn’t fair at all.

The burning in my throat didn’t stop. It indicated something I wasn’t looking forward to. The warm tear slipped down the top of my check. I heard the crowd inside the auditorium cheer for something. No one would be leaving that room anytime soon. I slipped into a small door frame and lowered myself to the ground.

My forearms wrapped around my knees and I folded myself into a ball. I felt better that way. The tears dropped from my nose onto my dark jeans. I hated being like this. I was stronger than this. I sighed as I realized there was no fighting this feeling. I had been betrayed by the one person I knew loved me. There was no way I could forgive him for that-ever.

Author's Note

Hey guys sorry this hasn't been up in so long. I've been crazy busy with school and all that. :S. Love you!