Adalyia DuBois' POV:
I was stretching back stage waiting for my turn to rehearse when I hear my phone ding. I walk over to it and look at who could possibly be messaging me. It's from my dad "Your ass is gonna get it when you get home! I told you to wake me up for my interview!". I quickly text him back saying I had to get to school early to rehearse, he just leaves me on read. I sigh and head back to my warm-up spot.
After a few minutes, one of the backstage managers tells me I'm good to go. I walk out on the stage and get in my opening stance. As the music starts to play I really get into it giving it my all.
Once I finish, I quickly run off avoiding everyone who tries to talk to me. I gather my things and head to the school's dance room. As I'm walking through the halls, I run into my friend Sophia. As soon as she sees my face she pulls me into a hug. "Shh it's okay you can let it out", she tells me in a hushed tone. I refuse to cry to anyone, especially at school. I just embrace her tightly and say, "It's gonna be really bad this time, I can already feel it". "You know you can always come by my house. My parents don't mind.", she says pulling away from me. "No I'm not gonna bother you guys again I'll be fine Soph.", I say forcing a smile. She grabs my hand, gives me a sad smile, and we walk to the studio together.
Elio Bianchi's POV:
After that girl was finished dancing I turn and look at the boys. "That girl was amazing", I say to them. "Yeah she's pretty badass. If she can do all that I wonder what she's like in a fight. Or maybe even in bed", he says laughing while high-fiving the other band members. I give him a look of disgust. Right as I was about to say something, Mateo spoke up. "TaDaaki, don't talk about her like that you sick son of a bitch", he says irritated.
Mateo doesn't like my band mates. He thinks they're a bad influence on me, which he technically isn't wrong about. I was raised to respect all women, so I know better than to make comments like that about them. After Mateo shut them up, we were up to rehearse. We have soundcheck and do a couple run-throughs of the song and then we all hang out and watch the others rehearse as well.
During the rest of the rehearsals, all I could think about was that girl. Watching her dance was so mesmerizing. Once she had finished, I could tell something was bothering her by the look on her face. She ran off so quickly afterwards though. I hope she was okay. I could see the raw emotion in her dancing , which made it so much more beautiful to watch.
Adalyia DuBois' POV:
I'm currently in the backstage area surrounded by all of the performers of the showcase. I stretch alongside my partner James, who I'm performing a duet with, along with my solo that I perform later, and a group dance that closes the show as well. As I stand up from my stretch, I feel someone tap on my shoulder. I turn around and see Elio Bianchi smiling at me.
He says, "I saw you rehearsing earlier and I just wanted to say that you are a beautiful dancer". "Thanks?", I say with a shrug. "Aren't you performing first", I ask politely. "Yeah, me and the band are performing a song I wrote. I hope you'll listen", he says with hope in his voice. "I kind of have to considering I'm right after you", I say blandly. "You're right", he pauses as if he's thinking of what else to say. Right as he attempts to speak , one of his band mates runs over to us calling his name and says, "Dude we're on in 5". Elio looks back him and says, "I'll be there in a minute, hey what's your name?", he asks me. "Adalyia, Adalyia Dubois", I say politely. "Nice talking to you Adalyia", he says smiling back and running off in the direction of the stage.
James looks at me as I turn back around, and takes out his AirPods. "What did Bianchi want?", he asks suspiciously. "Just wanted to tell me that my solo rehearsal was good", I tell him. "That's it?", he asks shocked. "Yeah, what else would he want from me?", I ask him curiously. "Nothing Lia", he says putting his Airpods back in and returning to his stretch. I narrow my eyes at him trying to get an actual answer. He just looks at me and laughs. I let out a small chuckle and turn my attention to the stage where Elio and his band are greeting the audience.
Elio Bianchi's POV:
"What's up Lost Lake High!", I yell into the microphone and the whole student body cheers. "As you know, our band has started blowing up this summer. And you awesome people voted us in to open this year's showcase!", they all cheer once again. Once they quiet down I start speaking into the mic again. "So today we are performing a never before seen or heard song that I wrote this summer. I hope you guys like it", they all cheer and chant for us once again. TaDaaki counts us off and we begin.
I start strumming my guitar whole looking into the crowd of students.
"Tales of the old
Of the secrets we hold
I want to be well
I'm lucky to even feel
Love, at all..."
As I pause to strum and the boys start coming in, I smile of to the side thinking a little about this summer and how our lives are going to change. I look off to the side of the stage and see Adalyia watching with her hands connected behind her back, and a small smirk that's hard to see because of the dimmed lights. I turn back the mic.
"Words run like a race
And maybe I spoke to late
You try and erase
Every memory, every shape
But I host them in place..."
As we hype up the chords, the crowd gets more and more into it dancing and screaming for us.
"And tales of the old
Of the secrets we hold
I want to be well
And maybe I'll never feel
Love, at all
It's the song that everyone sings
It's the song that everyone sings
It's the song that everyone sings..."
I sing that last repetitive line with everything in me as we bring the chords down a little and syncopate them.
"Where have I gone
And where have you gone..."
We slow it down even more, and I play the acoustics closing my eyes and visualizing the glory of this past summer.
"Take me back to summer time
Endless love and endless wine..."
My eyes open and wander off to the side of the stage subconsciously..
"I want you, I want you
Take me back to summer time
Endless love and endless wine
I want you, I want you"
We drag out the chords and our song fades out. I look back at the audience that is currently screaming "I love you" and "That was so amazing". As they simmer down I speak into the mic once again, "How was that guys?", I ask excitedly. Yet again, They all scream and chant with excitement. "I hope that helped hype you guys for this school year! Enjoy the rest of the showcase!", I say to the crowd. The guys and I wave towards the crowd as we all jog off stage.
All of the performers backstage were congratulating us and complimenting our performance. I see Mateo by the door and he rushes over to me giving me a big hug. "Dude that was fucking insane! When did you write that?", he asks amazed. Right as I was about to answer, I feel someone tap on my shoulder. I turn to see Adalyia, and I smile down at her.
"So I listened and watched you guys perform", she says while rocking back and forth on her feet. "You wrote that yourself huh?", she asks. "Yeah, what did you think?', I ask biting my lip. "I thought the lyrics were kind of cheesy", she says nonchalantly, then walks over to her dance partner.
At first, I stand there shocked and then I turn to Mateo with my jaw dropped. "Did you hear what she just said Mat", I asked him dumbfounded. I see Mateo practically in tears over hearing what Adalyia said. "Bro that was fucking hilarious! You're reaction made it 10 times better. You thought she was gonna compliment you like everyone else!", he says while laughing his ass off. I shove him back and say, "Shut the hell up and lets go to the audience", while rolling my eyes.
Adalyia DuBois' POV:
After my little chat with Elio, I get James and we both walk out onto the stage and get into our opening pose. We came up with this dance ourselves after James broke up with his now ex girlfriend. He needed to let his emotions out and so did I so we met up at the studio and choreographed this dance together.
This dance brings out a lot within the both us. As we were in our pose waiting for the music, I whisper to him "Let it all out Jay, I'm here for you always". He replies "Same to you, always". The music starts.
Once we finish, I see Jay letting out a few tears. I feel the tears welling up in my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. I walk back up to Jay, and help him stand. We hold hands as the students in the crowd clap for us and we bow then run off the stage together. Sophia is standing there waiting and embraces us both.
After our group moment, we all walk to the dressing rooms to get ready for our closing number that includes all three of us with some other dancers. Since we have so long we decide to go into the audience after we change and rehearse a little to catch some of the other performances. Isla Mendez' group is up next.
Isla Mendez' POV :
The students of Lost Lake High love "Astronaut". It was one of the most popular songs going around the school last year. So obviously, they picked this song for the girls and I to perform. My parents don't particularly agree with us performing this song. They think it encourages teen rebellion, and they don't want their "perfect straight A student" daughter to be singing about such things, but it is what it is at the end of the day. I'm passionate about singing, and will write and sing about anything with my girls.
Adalyia Dubois' POV:
We've finally made it to the end of the showcase which means we are up yet again. "This is the best group dance that we've ever done", one of the other dancers says to the group. The group dance always consists of dancers from each grade. It's an entire audition process that the dancers go through to get featured at the beginning of the year. The group dance is always last at showcases and kind of shows off how talented the dancers here are all around.
We get in our opening pose, and the announcer asks, "Alright students! Are you ready for the last performance of this year's showcase?!". The crowd just cheers and chants until he starts the music.
The audience loved it! They were clapping and chanting with the music, and cheering us on anytime we did something amazing. Dancing with my friends in front of this awesome crowd of students really made me smile. It took my mind off of how bad my afternoon will be when I get home.
After the showcase is over all the students move to different parts of the school by grade. Seniors keep the auditorium, juniors get the football field, sophomores get the gym, and the freshman get the courtyard. We all move to our locations and start chatting amongst ourselves, when I hear one of the teachers trying to get our attention. "Attention students, there are some refreshments on both sides of the gym! Feel free to help yourselves to anything you want!", she says into the megaphone.
As soon as she says that, students start moving to the tables. I just sit on the bleachers with Sophia and James. We start chatting about some little things when we see two figures, who seem to be pushing each other, approaching us. I soon see that it's Elio and his friend from earlier.
"Hey guys", Elio's friend greets us waving. "That group dance you guys closed with was epic! How do you even come up with that?", he asks with a hint of genuine interest in his voice. Sophia rolls her eyes and says, "The real question is why are you still saying things like "dude" and "epic" 24/7 like you're in a poorly written teen drama?". James and I start chuckling at her comment, while she just smirks at him. "Whoa there Soph, no need to get hostile", he says smirking back. I'm not sure what that little moment was, but it was kind of weird.
I then look at Elio and see him playing with his hands while looking down at his feet. "Elio, are you alright?", I ask him quietly. He looks up at me in surprise and says, "Yeah I'm fine. Mateo's right all the dances you performed in the showcase were amazing. You guys are crazy talented", he says with a smile on his face. I give him a curious glance and then I gasp remembering what I said to him before James and I's duet. I giggle a little to myself then look at him with a smile. "Don't tell me you are actually hurt by what I said about your song", I say giggling. Mateo's eyes light up and he starts laughing with me. "He definitely is! He cried about it for the rest of the showcase!". Elio glares at him and pushes him back a little. "I'm not at all hurt by what you said Adalyia", he says non-convincingly.
Just as I was about to respond with a snide remark, Roxanne Anthony walks over to us with a confident smile on her face. She completely ignores us as she lays her hand on Elio's arm and says, "Hey Elio, did you see me perform", in a flirty tone. "Um, yeah I did you were pretty good", he says awkwardly. "Just pretty good? Not amazing?", she asks him. "No. You see these three", he says pointing at us, "were amazing. You were average. They put time, emotion, and energy into their craft, and because of that we got to see three amazing dances that will be on everyone's minds for a while. If I'm not mistaken, you said it yourself that you didn't even learn the song you sang today until last night. So with that being said, you're performance was pretty, for a lack of a better term, average", he says with nonchalant but slightly irritated tone. He leaves her with that and turns back to James, Sophia, Mateo, and I.
Roxanne wasn't having it, but she didn't say anything more and just stormed off. James then jokes, "If being around you calls for that type of entertainment, I will gladly become your friend". "Same here", Sophia chimes in. All four of them look at me expectantly. "I know nothing about either of you so it's a no from me", I say and then get a message on my phone. It's from my dad. My eyes widen and I feel that familiar sense of of fear and anxiety. I quickly gather my things and run off not saying another word.