Dream Come Dance

Another cute little story I wrote! But I actually wrote this MONTHS ago and never posted it... Oops! Sorry!

SO HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE DREAMED OF DANCING WITH YOUR CRUSH? Hands up, come on, don't be shy. And if your hand isn't up, LIARRR!!!!
Enjoy this little story. Feel free to imagine yourself in the situation with your crush! *wink*

DREAM COME DANCE

“You two are partners now.”

That was when it started. My heart thumped so hard in my chest it was like it was trying to get out. But it didn’t break through my ribs; it didn’t escape. 

“I’ll be teaching you the dance steps now. Everybody watch carefully.”

I pretended it was nothing big, but only I felt the butterflies in my stomach fluttering around and creating havoc inside. Oh my god, the euphoria I felt was overwhelming! And, later my friends pointed out, I was blushing. Damn! Why do I always blush when I’m trying to stay calm and act cool? Damn it!

It was awkward as HELL dancing with him! I found I couldn’t even look at his face, look at his eyes. One look and it would surely be a dead giveaway. No, I can’t let that happen. I stared at his shoulder or just to the side of his face the whole time.

Practice after practice, it was like this. Mixture of silence and awkwardness. All the other couples for the dance performance were laughing and talking and playing around, some even fighting and being funny! But us? No, no chance.  As soon as practice was over, we would return to the unsaid no-contact rule. We would try to act as if the dance thing never happened.

It’s not that I didn’t try being a little friendly. But anything I said either ricocheted off deaf ears or was answered in short yes or no replies. He was unresponsive. And during breaks, he would promptly drop my hands and go talk to someone else, usually teasing someone else with their partner.

I figured this was how it was going to be, forever. Even if the universe brought us together, we cannot be with each other. No matter how much I want it to be. How could it be? He is so perfect… Oh well, this is unrequited love in all its grandeur and all its agony.

On the day of the performance, many people complemented how beautiful I was. To be honest, I was taken by surprise! I do not describe myself as pretty, most of the time. Every other girl in the dance was pretty; they were cute, lean, lithe, and had the kind of face and figure guys seem to flock to all the time. Me? No, I was not pretty. Far from it. However I will never go as far as to say I was ugly. 

But that day? Every girl in the dance and all my other friends looked at me and said “Wow, you’re so pretty! You’re the prettiest one here!!!” and I brushed it off, saying “Aww, thanks! But I’m not that pretty, you know. You should see …..” and I would point to another girl and say she was prettier. But inside, although I loved the attention and the complements, I only hoped one person would notice me. I only wanted him to see me and think “Wow, she’s pretty.” I only wanted to catch his attention.

Final practice, in makeup and costume. I desperately wanted him to notice me. So during the dance, I sneaked a peak at his face. Then my eyes darted back to his shoulder. 

“I can’t even look at you..,” I said quietly to just myself. 

“What was that?”

My eyes widened. Shit, he heard that! My heart raced. I had to think of an answer!

“Nothing, nothing…” 

Silence. We danced apart, and back together again. Only the music filled my ears, my concentration on the steps.

“Why won’t you look at me?”

I blinked. Did he just ask that? No way! Perhaps I heard wrong.

“What?” 

“Look at me.”

I shook my head slightly.

“Please,” he said.

My eyes darted across his face and then returned to his shoulder. I thought I had already given away too much. He cannot know I love him. He cannot. It would ruin everything. And I don’t want to lose him…

My eyes found his, and my heart melted. Oh, he has the most beautiful eyes- deep, dark pupils encased in eyelashes that accentuated the beauty of the shape of his eyes, which were always kind of half closed, as though it were a sunny day; I could shut out the whole world and simply get lost in them. My heart was trying to escape from my body again, and I would have been blushing too, most probably.

The music stopped. The dance was done. I expected him to break off physical contact and stray off again, as usual. But he held me there. I looked at him tentatively, wondering what was going on.

“Why don’t you ever look at me,” he asked.

I didn’t want to hide the truth any longer from him. I was capricious. 

“Because… Because I just can’t do it.”

“Why?”

“It hurts. Every time I look at you, it hurts,” I say while my eyes fix on his shoulder again. 

One of his hands releases mine and touches my chin, lightly tilting my head up, effectively forcing me to look into his eyes.

“Why? Why does it hurt?”

“It hurts because…. I know you’ll never like me.”

A moment of silence. 

“You’re wrong.”

My eyes widened. I was shocked! My mind went into a frenzy. And then it was time to go on stage.

During the dance on stage, I looked at him, and I smiled. It felt amazing! And we danced perfectly, not a step out of beat.

After the performance, I stayed by him. The conversation wasn’t finished.

I got him alone. And what he said next seemed to me like it came from a dream!

“You’re the prettiest girl I know. You’re sweet, and smart, and fun to be around. You’re a great friend and you’re funny too. I just always thought… How could you possibly like me?”

And I was like, “Really?”

And he leaned down and pressed his lips softly against mine. My arms wound around his neck and hugged him while he held me tightly in his arms.

When the kiss ended, I told him, “I love you. I always have, and always will.”

And he said, “I love you too. You’re all mine.”

It was a dream come true.

It was a dream that came true because of a dance.

It was a dream come dance!