Dance

by Breyna160

Just two girls in love trying to get through whatever the world throws at them.

"Hey Tay." I say answering my phone. "Hey Luce." She says. "So, did you ask?" She asks. "If I can find someone to cover me, then I have off." I say. "You have to find someone to take your shift in less than one day?" She asks. "I'm looking. I 'll find one." I say. She doesn't say anything. "Why don't you come over?" I ask. "Yeah. I'll be over in a few." She says. "Bye." I say. "Bye." She says hanging up. About 5 minutes later I hear a knock at the door. "Hey Taylor." I hear my mum say letting her in. "She's in her room." She says. "Thanks, Mrs. H." She says. I hear her walk up the stairs. "Hey." She says walking in my room. I sit up. "Hey." I say. She walks over to my bed and sits next to me. My phone goes off and I pick it up. "Sorry, I can't. I have my aunts wedding to go to." It says. "Dammit." I say. "What?" she asks. "Logan can't work for me either. That's everyone." I say. "It's fine. You don't have to come. It would be nice but if you have to work, I get it." She says. "No. I told you last time I was going to the next competition." I say. "But you can't." She says. "I'm really sorry." I say. "It's fine." She says. "You're upset." I say. She looks down. "Hey." I say cupping her face and lifting her head. She looks at me with such a sad look in her eyes. "I'll make it up. I promise." I say. She looks down. "Tay." I say. "Look at me." I say. She looks back up at me. "I'm really sorry." I say. "I know you are." She says. I lean my forehead against hers. "I'll make it up. I will." I say. "I know you will. You always do." She says. She kisses me on the lips and when we pull apart she's smiling. "You're going to be great." I say. "No. I've been off lately." She says. "What? You're bloody talented." I say. "No. I'm really not." She says. "Are you kidding me?" I say. "You are the smartest, funniest, most talented, beautiful girl I have ever met." I say. Her smile gets so big. "You are the best dancer on the team. That's why you're the captain." I add. "I'm the captain because I'm a senior." She says. "There are four other seniors on the team as well. They're not captains." I say. "And. You and only you were the first grade niner to ever be on varsity dance." I add. She smiles. "Because you are great at what you do. You are the most fantastic dancer, I've ever seen." I say. "The rest of the dance team is well off, so adding you to the bunch just makes it better." I add. "But what if I mess up?" She asks. "You're not going to mess up. Tay, you guys are going to crush it. You'll win state and come back to school with that giant trophy and rub it in South's faces." I say. "But-." I cut her off. "Listen. I've seen you dance. When you dance contemporary, it's like the most beautiful thing in the world. Like you're telling a story." She cuts me off. "When have you seen me dance contemporary?" She asks. "After school today." I say. "What?" She asks. "I had to stay after to finish a test and when I was walking to my car I passed the gym and I heard music so I peeked in and I saw you dancing. I couldn't stop. It's like reading a book. Every page gets better. With every step you take it just gets better." I say. "When you dance hip-hop, I can see the energy and I can feel how great of a time you're having. And you are so good at hip-hop. Better than most professionals." I say. "I'm not that good." She says. "Trust me, you are." I say. "But when I watched you after school, it was like you were a completely different person." I say. "You were so into it. And I can tell you love it." I add. "I love hip-hop too." She says. "What other kind of dancing do you do?" I ask. "That's it." She says. "Don't lie to me." I say. "Fine. I also dance jazz, theatrical, and ballet." She says. "You're telling me that you dance contemporary, hip-hop, jazz, theatrical, and ballet?" I ask. She nods. "And no one knows that you dance them?" I ask. She shakes her head. "Just hip-hop." She says. "We're going to get married right?" I ask. She smiles. "Of course we are." She says. "Right and we're both going to Madison next year." I say. "Yeah?" She says. "Why are you going?" I ask. "Huh?" she says. "Why are you going to Madison?" I ask. "I thought we agreed that we would go to Madison together?" she says. "You should be going to a school for dance." I say. "We promised we'd go to Madison together." She says. "Taylor, you are an extraordinary dancer. I don't want you to waste your talent." I say. "It can just be a hobby." She says. "No. Okay, you're too good for it to just be a hobby." I say. "I don't want to marry you." I pause. "You don't want to marry me?" She asks. I see tears start to form in her eyes. "No, Taylor. Listen to me. You didn't let me finish." I say. "I don't want to marry you, unless you're one hundred percent happy." I say. "I'm happy here with you." She says. "What are you going to do at Madison? What are you going to become if not a dancer?" I ask. "I don't know. I'll figure something out." She says. "But you love to dance. Why not go to a college for dancing?" I ask. She looks down at her phone. "Look. I have to go." She says. "Why is it always when we start talking about college you suddenly have to go?" I ask. "Look, I wanna talk but I really have to go. I need to get some sleep. Tomorrow's important and I need the energy." She says standing up. "Yeah." I say. "Alright. I'll call you tomorrow okay?" She asks leaning down to give me a kiss. I pull away. "Just go." I say. She sits back down. "Now I'm not leaving until you calm down." She says. "Well what do you expect?" I yell. "I'm trying to do something for you, and you won't even listen." I say. "Well maybe I don't want things to change with us." She says. "Why would anything change?" I ask. "If I go to a school for dance I'll probably end up in California or New York away from you." She says. "Just because we're not in the same state doesn't mean I'm going to love you any less." I say. "Look I gave you that promise ring on our two year for a reason. I promised you I was going to marry you. I'm not going to break that promise." I say. She grabs her necklace with her ring on it. She brings it up to her face as I'm talking. Then she drops it. "Just do one thing for me." I say. "Anything." She says. "Just apply for a couple of dance schools." I say. "Fine. I can do that." She says. "Thank you." I say. "Apply for UCLA." I say. "Just UCLA?" She asks. "No. Some other ones too but definitely UCLA." I say. "Alright." She says. "Bye." She adds standing up. I grab her hand and swing her back around. She leans down and kisses me. I stand up with her. We walk downstairs and to the front door. I open the door for her and she walks out. I follow her and close the door behind us. "Bye baby." She says. "Bye." I say kissing her. "I love you. And I'm so so sorry that I can't be at state tomorrow." I say. "It's alright. I understand. Work is work." She says. I kiss her forehead and wrap my arms around her neck. She wraps her arms around my waist. "Hey. What's a matter?" She asks. "I just really love you. And I'm really sorry." I say. "Hey." She says pulling away just a little bit. "I love you too." She says leaning her forehead against mine. "Stop apologizing. It's not your fault." She says. "Sorry." I say. "You're so cute." She says. I smile. "Everything about you is just adorable. You have that adorable British accent with your adorable face and I just love you." She says kissing my forehead. I smile. "Okay. But I got to go. I'll call you tomorrow okay?" She says. "Yeah. Sounds good." I say smiling. I walk her to the curb so she can walk across the street to her car. She takes a couple of steps in the road and a car comes flying around the corner. I jump forward and pull her back to the curb. The car just misses her. My heart is beating so fast it feels like it's about to explode. I have my arms wrapped around her and she's crying hysterically. "Shh. It's okay. You're safe. I've got ya." I say to her. I stroke the back of her head trying to calm her down. "Taylor it's okay. I'm right here. You're okay." I say. My mum comes running outside. "Are you two okay?" She asks. "Yeah. A little shaken up, that's all." I say back. "Tay, say something so I know you're okay." I say. "You just saved my life." She says. "You're okay. Thank god." I say. "Come on. Let's get you home." I say. We stand up and I walk her to the passenger's side of her car. She gets in and I go around to the other side. "I'll be back in the morning." I say to my mum. "Not too late." She says back. I get in the car and drive her home. We get out and go to her room. I just hold her in my arms sitting on her bed. We end up just falling asleep like that. When I wake up she's still wrapped up in my arms. I just smile because she just makes me so happy. I hear her door open so I look up. "Oh. Lucy, I didn't know you came home with her last night." Her mum says. "Yeah, I wasn't planning too. We got in a fight so I thought I'd be best." I say. "College?" She asks. "What else." I say. "She won't listen to me." I say. "She won't listen to anyone." She says. "She really has her heart set on going to Madison with me. I might not even be going to Madison." I say. "Huh?" She asks. "I applied to a lot of other schools. Right now Madison is by far the cheapest because I would have my first year paid off in scholarships. But I really have my heart set on UCLA." I say. "UCLA? For what?" She asks. "For film. UCLA has a great film program. And that's what I want to do. I want to direct or I want to be in the film business. It's what I'm good at." I say. "Does she know that's what you want to do?" She asks pointing to Taylor. "No. I haven't the heart to tell her. Not until after state at least." I say. "Fair enough. But you might want to tell her soon." She says. "I will." I say stroking the back of Taylor's head. "Want something for breakfast?" Her mum asks. "No thank you. I have to head home soon anyways." I say. "Alright." She says walking out the door. She walks back in. "Are you coming to state tonight?" She asks. My phone goes off. I pick it up. "Hey, so if you still want to switch shifts I can switch now. I'll take tonight if you take tomorrow morning." I read. "Yes. I think I am now." I say. "Alright. Then I'll see you there." She says. "Actually, can I have a ride there?" I ask. "Sure. I'm leaving around three so I'll just pick you up." She says. "Oh and don't tell Taylor about it. She doesn't know I'm going. I want to surprise her." I say. "Sounds good. " She says walking out. I lay there for about five more minutes until she starts to wake up. "Morning beautiful." I say. "You slept like that all night?" She asks. "Yeah. But I did get to watch you sleep so it was worth it." I say smiling. She smiles back. "Look, Taylor. I wanted to-." She cuts me off. "Shit!" She says jumping out of bed. "I'm gonna be late. I'm gonna be so late!" She says. "Late for what?" I ask. "Dance practice!" She screams. I look at the clock. It's 9:30. "What time is practice at?" I ask. "Ten!" She yells running around picking up clothes. She sets a pile of clothes on her bed and pulls her pants down. She pulls her underwear down and runs to her drawer. "Would you relax, you have half of an hour." I say. She ignores me and slips on a new pair of underwear. She slips on a pair of spandex shorts and pulls her shirt off. She takes her bra off and throws it on the ground. She slips a sports bra on and runs to the bathroom. She comes back in with her hair up. "Taylor." I say grabbing her arm and swinging her into me. "What!" She yells. "Calm down." I say. She takes a deep breath. I pull her around her waist closer into me. "Relaxed now are you?" I ask. She nods. I kiss her on the lips then kiss her neck. I start to suck and bite on it. "You are going to make me so late." She says. I just mumble onto her neck. I pull away. "There's definitely going to be a mark there." She says. "That's the idea." I say. She steps back and slips a shirt on. "Let's go." She says. I jump off the bed and we go into her car. "Shit." She says looking in the mirror. "What?" I ask. "Look at this!" She yells pointing to her neck. I really left a mark. I just laugh. "It's not funny." She says. "Do you know what the team is going to think?" She says. "That your girlfriend was having a good time." I say laughing. She drives me to my house and stops right outside. "I love you." I say kissing her. "I love you too." She says. "You're going to be great today. I would say good luck but you don't need it." I say. "Thanks baby." She says. I kiss the side of her head and jump out of the car. "Don't forget about facials." I say. "I won't." She says back. I close the door and watch her drive off. Taylor's POV: I drive to school and run out of my car. I walk into the gym with five minutes left to spare. "What did you do last night?" Harper asks. "Huh?" I ask not remembering the huge mark on my neck. She points to it. "Shit!" I yell covering it up. "It looks as if one of us was having a good night last night with her girlfriend!" Harper yells. Everyone gathers around. "What? Let me see." Hannah says. I roll my eyes but I drop my hand. "Oh my god. That wasn't from last night. That's fresh. Like twenty minutes ago fresh." Hannah says. I give her a look. "If I know one thing its fresh sex marks." She says. "We didn't have sex!" I yell. "She just got a little frisky this morning after we woke up. No big deal." I say. "Have you guys had sex yet?" Harper asks. "Oh my god. Yes. We've been together for almost three years. Of course we've had sex." I say. "What's it like?" Kimberly asks. "What?" I ask. "Sex. With another girl." She says. "I don't ask you what it's like to have sex with a guy." I say. "Yeah, but it's just a question." She says. "You really wanna know?" I ask. "Having sex with another girl is great. And when you get to share it with someone you love, it means the world to you. It's such a great feeling and every time feels like the first time. Every moment is special and every touch makes you shiver. It's my absolute favorite feeling in the world. Is that any different from when you're with a guy?" I ask. Kimberly just backs off. "Lucy is the only person I have ever shared that feeling with, and I know that she's going to be the only one I ever share it with." I add. "I love how you two aren't afraid to be out there with people. That's why we respect you guys, because you don't care what other people think." Harper says. "Too bad she can't come tonight." I say. "She can't?" Harper asks. "She has to work." I say. "Work?" She asks. "Yeah. But it's fine. She tried to find someone to work for her." I say. "Alright girls! Let's practice this a couple more times before state tonight." Our coach says walking in. Lucy's POV: I get home and eat breakfast. After that I take a shower. It's a two o'clock so I go through my closet. I have to look my absolute best. If I'm going to surprise her, I'm going to have to look perfect. After I find the perfect outfit it's about two fifteen. Then I do my hair and make-up and when I'm done its two fifty. I wait until Taylor's mum picks me up. Her car pulls up and I go outside and hop in. "Hey. Thank you so much for the ride." I say. "No problem." She says. It's about an hour drive so when we get there it's around four. The actually competition starts at four thirty. When I get there I see Will, Ben, Thomas, Eli, Robbie and Michael. "Oh, thought you weren't coming." Eli says. "I wasn't. But I got Megan to switch hours with me." I say. "So I came." I add. "Oh." He says. "But Taylor doesn't know I'm here." I say. "She doesn't?" Ben asks. "No. I'm surprising her." I say. "Aww. How sweet." Will says. "Shut up. At least I know how to be romantic. I know what a girl wants." I say. "Yeah. I bet you do." He says. "Wait. Why did you not tell her you were coming?" Ben asks. "Because I know that Taylor loves surprises. And I love to see her face when I surprise her." I say. "It makes me feel like I've accomplished something." I add. At four thirty the teams start. Of course North is the last team to perform. They all get on stage standing in their positions. The music starts and they all start dancing. My eyes stay focused on Taylor. When they finish they walk off stage. "We're going to take a brief intermission so the judges can vote." The announcer says. All the guys go behind stage to find their girlfriends and tell them how good they are. I see Taylor standing there looking sad. I slowly walk up behind her and creep my arms around her waist. She turns around and her face is priceless. "What are you doing here?" She asks circling her arms around my neck. We pull apart a little just so we can see each other's faces. "Megan texted me this morning, saying she could cover. So I thought it would be nice to surprise you." I say. "Well I'm defiantly surprised!" She says. "You did amazing out there by the way." I say. "Did I?" She asks. "I feel like I was off." She adds. "No. You were perfect." I say. She smiles and leans forward kissing me. "I love you." She says. "I love you too." I say back smiling. "Ladies and gentlemen please take your seats." The announcer says. 'Guess that's my cue to go." I say. "You guys will win." I add. I quick peck her on the lips then head back to my seat. "Alright. In third place. Wilson High School." He says. There's cheering then the team comes up grabs there trophy and gets off. "Can I have the two finalists on the stage? North High School and Washington High School." He says. Both teams go on stage. "This was tough for the judges but the winners are." He pauses for suspense. "North High School!" He yells. Everyone starts cheering and they grab they're trophy. After lots of celebrating on stage they get off and go back stage. After about five minutes they come out with their bags and they're all wearing sweatpants and t-shirts. "I told you that you guys would win." I say as she makes her way to me. "You don't understand how much it means to me that you came to watch." She says hugging me. "I think I do." I say kissing her forehead. She smiles. "So the team is going out to celebrate tomorrow considering we're all sort of tired so I was thinking maybe we could just have a nice quiet night in at yours?" She says. "Yeah. I quite like the sound of that." I say. Her mum ends up taking us back to my house. "Yeah. I'll be home in the morning mom." She says as we leave the car. "Love you too." We walk inside and no one is home. "Mum?" I ask. "Steff?" I ask. No answer. I walk into the kitchen and there is a note on the fridge. "Went out to eat be back soon. Love Mum and Steff." It says. "Looks like we have some time to ourselves." I say turning back to Taylor. "We do?" She asks with a smirk. I walk back to her and forcefully kiss her. We stumble back to the couch and she kisses me back as equally forceful. My hand slips around her waist from her back to her stomach. I start to suck on her neck. She pulls away and smiles. "Not this time." she says. She leans forward and starts to attack my neck. She overpowers me and somehow climbs on me and straddles me. She pins me down on the couch and just sucks on my neck occasionally biting it. Then I hear the door but I don't do anything. She's got me under her spell. And she doesn't stop. "Hey guys-. Really. On my couch!" My mum says. Taylor pulls away. "Hey." I say. "I need to use the bathroom." Taylor says walking to the bathroom. I go upstairs and change into sweatpants. I go back down and sit on the couch. Taylor comes out of the bathroom and sits next to me. She just starts laughing. "What?" I ask. She points at my neck. I take my phone out and use the front camera. "Shit." I say covering up my neck. "We brought home some Tiramisu." My sister says. She hands it to me with a fork. I open the little container and take a bite. "Oh. That looks really good." Taylor says. "It is." I say taking another bite laughing. I scoop some more on the fork. "Here" I say. She opens her mouth and I shove the fork in her mouth. "I was right. It is good." She says. We finish eating it while watching TV. By the time we're done it's eight thirty. "Hey. Do you wanna take a walk to the park?" I ask. "That sounds really nice." She says. We get up and leave and start to walk to the park. I grab her hand and intertwine our fingers together. "You know I love you." I say. She looks at me and smiles. "Yeah. Of course I do." She says. "I love you too." She adds as we get up to the park. I sit down on a swing and she sits next to me on the next swing. "Look. Tay. There's something I've been meaning to talk to you about." I say. "Alright. Is everything okay?" She asks. "Yeah. It's just. I don't think I'm going to go to Madison." I say. "What?" She asks. "I don't think I'm gonna go." I say again. "When did you decide this?" She asks. "About a month ago." I say. "And you're just telling me now?" She asks. "I know. I wanted to wait until after state so you were one hundred percent focused." I say. "That's why you want me to apply for dance schools." She says. "No. I want you to apply for dance schools because you're a great dancer." I say. She gets up and starts to walk away. I don't follow her but I just watch her climb on the monkey bars and sit on the top of them. I get up and do the same sitting next to her. "Baby." I say. "Where do you want to go?" She asks. "California. UCLA to be exact." I say. "For what?" She asks. "For film." I say. "I wanna make films." I say. "You want to make movies?" She asks. "Why does everyone always seem surprised when I tell them that?" I say hopping down. "No. Lucy. I didn't." She says. I hear her jump down and follow me. I sit down on a platform. She sits next to me. "Lucy. Since when have you been into film? I know you like to record us but I didn't think you did anything with them." She says. "I make little films. Of us. I just haven't showed you because I was embarrassed." I say. "Why would you be embarrassed?" She asks. "I don't know. I thought you would think I was weird or something. Too clingy." I say. "Baby. I would never think that." She says. "I would love to see them." She says. "You would?" I ask. "Of course I would." She says. "Okay." I say standing up grabbing her hand. We head back to my house and about a block away this guy walks up to us. "Hey. What are you two lovely ladies doing out?" He asks touching Taylor's arm. "I'd appreciate if you didn't touch my girlfriend." I say stepping in front of Taylor. "Girlfriend?" He asks. "Let's see some proof." He adds. "Let's go." I say turning around and walking away. The guy grabs Taylor and throws her to the ground. "Hey! I said hands off my girlfriend!" I yell. I jump on top of him and he spins around a few times trying to get me off. He shakes me off then turns around and faces me. I see him pull something from his pocket. Before I can even move I feel the blade go right into me. He takes a step back. I grab the handle of the knife. I just fall to the ground. The pain is so bad. I see Taylor still lying on the ground and I see the guy standing above her. "No. Get off!" She yells. I do the only thing I can think of. I take the knife out and stand back up. I take a step and I plunge the knife into his neck. I pull it out and he falls over. Then I stab him again in the heart. The pain is so much. I grab my stomach and I feel myself starting to fall. This time I fall into arms. "I've got ya." Taylor says lowering me to the ground. Taylor's POV: "Lucy. Let me see." I say. "No." she struggles to say. "Luce." I say. She takes her hand off her stomach and I lift her shirt up. Oh that's bad. I take my shirt off. "Tay. What are you doing?" She asks. I use my shirt to try to stop the bleeding. "It's gonna be okay Luce, you're gonna be fine." I say. "I I I'm s-s-orry." She says. "What are you sorry for?" I ask. "I can't keep my my promise." She says. "What promise?" I ask. "The ring." She says. "No. Lucy don't even think that way. You're going to be fine." I say. "I I love you. So much." She struggles to say. I feel the tears start to run down my face. "I love you too." I say through my tears. Her eyes start to close. "Lucy. Don't. Please." I say. Then they close all the way. I just hold her in my arms crying. "Lucy, please don't leave me. I can't do this without you. You're everything to me. I need you. Please. I haven't even told my dad about you yet. Please." I say. "Is everything okay?" I hear someone ask. I look up and I see an ambulance pulled over on the road. Two guys are standing next to it. "No. Help me please. She was stabbed. She's dying." I say. They rush to the back of the ambulance. "Tay." I hear. I look down. "Lucy. You're gonna be okay. They're gonna help us." I say. "I love you." She says. "I love you too." I say. Then she goes limp. "No. Luce." That's it. She's gone. The guys come rushing to us and they use this machine on her. "Clear." One guy says. Then they shock her. They do it again and then again. "I've got a pulse." He says. They load her into the ambulance and we go to the hospital. As soon as we get there they take her away from me. I'm forced to sit in the waiting room. I call her mom. "Taylor?" She answers. "Lucy. She's been h0urt. We're at the hospital. And it's bad. Really bad. I need you to bring me a shirt." I say. "Okay. I'm on my way." She says. "And the laptop. I need that." I say remembering her videos. I wait about three minutes and she comes in. "What happened?" she asks handing me the laptop and a shirt. I set the laptop on the chair next to me and slip the shirt on. "She was stabbed." I say. "Stabbed?" she asks. "This guy. He attacked me and she jumped in to save me. He stabbed her." I say. "She died in my arms." I say tears just streaming down my face. "She's dead!?" she screams. "I don't know. She died in my arms but they brought her back." I say. "She's been in there 10 minutes at the most." I say trying to calm down. "Okay. Taylor calm down." she says. I try to calm down but I can't. She could be dead for all I know. I grab the laptop and I'm about to open it but I stop. I just sit there and hug it. I sit there for about five minutes and all the tears have stopped. I take out my phone and immediately the tears come back. I see my screensaver which is a picture of us. I'm just kissing her on the cheek and she's smiling like crazy. She can't die. I need her. I call my mom. "Hey sweetie! What time do you think you're going to be home tomorrow?" she asks. "I have a huge surprise for you." she adds. "I don't think I'm gonna be home for a few days. At least I hope." I say. "Everything okay? What happened?" she asks. "Lucy got hurt. She she was stabbed." I say. "Is she okay? Do I need to come to the hospital?" she asks. "I'm not sure yet. I'm really hoping she will be. Only if you want to. I don't need you here but if you want to come you can." I say. "Just call me if you need me and let me know how Lucy is." she says. "I will." I say. "I love you." she says. "Love you too." I say. We hang up and I just go to my pictures. I scroll through them all and more than half of them are just me and Luce. Or just Lucy when she steals my phone and takes tons of pictures. I realize I'm smiling like crazy just looking at these pictures. I love her so much. "Why hasn't a doctor come out yet?" I ask. "I'm sure one will come out soon, love." her mom says. "But I need to see her now. I just need to know she's okay." I'm starting to get mad and I'm getting my accent back. When I get mad or upset or stressed I just get my Australian accent back. "Taylor?" her mom says. "I just need to know she's okay. And healthy and she's not gonna die." I say my voice getting weaker not losing my accent. "Love, she's gonna be alright. If she came back then you know she's gonna be okay. She's strong." She says. "Yeah. You did give birth to a fighter." I say my accent leaving. "That I did." she says. We sit there for about another hour until a doctor comes out. Immediately I stand up. "How is she? Can I see her? Is she okay? Is she alive? I need to see her can I see her?" I ask. He looks at her mom. "Follow me." he says. I grab the laptop. He leads me back to a room and he opens the door. "Go on in." he says. I shut my eyes and take a step forward. I hear him close the door behind me. I slowly open them and she's laying on a bed asleep. There are machines all around and she looks so small. I grab a chair and move it so it's right next to her bed. I set the laptop on the table next to me. I scoot the chair as close as it can be to the bed and sit on it. I'm scared to touch her because she looks so fragile. I take hold of her hand and she subconsciously tightens the grip. I feel tears start to roll down my face. "I'm so sorry Luce. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you." I say. "I should have taken better care of you. I shouldn't have let him hurt you. I'm so sorry." I say. "But everything's going to be okay now. I promise. I'm not gonna leave your side. Not until you're all better. I promise you." I say picking up her hand and kissing it. I see her phone sitting on a table next to a black box. I pick up the box and open it. It's the necklace I was planning on giving her. How does she have it? I close it and set it back on the table. I grab the laptop and open it. I go on YouTube but I don't know where to go. So I just type in Taylor and Lucy. And a YouTube name pops up. I click on it and it goes right to a page. I click on uploaded videos and scroll down to the bottom. I click on the first video and it starts to play. I watch every single video except the last one on there. By the end I'm in tears. I knew about a couple of the videos, like the ones we did on YouTube. Our first video and some question and answer videos. But a lot of them are just us behind the camera. She has made a lot of videos. Like one every month for the past year and a half. I click on the last one. Lucy's face pops up. "Hey guys. So this video is a little serious. Today, actually about an hour ago, Tay and I got in a fight. It was really huge and she left in a hurry. I feel absolutely terrible about it and I just need to get this off my chest. Tay, you're probably never gonna see this but if you do I want you to know that I love you. So much. I love you more than anything in the world. When we met I fell in love with you and I'm so glad I did. I know we keep fighting about college and I'm sorry. But I want you to know that you should go to a dance college. I think instead of Madison, we should go to UCLA. Considering I love making films. But forget that. I love you and one day I will marry you. If we were ever to break up I would honestly never love anyone again. Our three years is coming up soon. And I can't wait for it. I already have something planned and you have no idea what it is. But I know you're gonna be excited and happy. We're gonna make the most of that weekend. So this one is for you. I love you baby, so much. And the only reason I'm fighting with you is because you're definitely worth fighting for. So Taylor Laurie I love you so much. I can't wait for the day we get married." she pauses and smiles. "It's going to be the best day of my life. I'll finally be able to marry my best friend." she says. "Bye guys. Love you." she says. Then it stops. I turn and grab her phone and go on her Tumblr. "Hey guys. Taylor has a Tumblr now! Loveisfate." I type. Immediately I get a ton of followers. People start asking me questions and ask for advice. I click upload video on YouTube. Then I click record. "Hey guys. So as you all heard I just recently decided to share my Tumblr with you all. Sorry it took so long just wanted it to be perfect. Unfortunately there has been a bit of bad news. Something happened to Lucy. Something that has her in the hospital. She's doing okay right now and hopefully all she'll do is get better. I just wanted to make a video to let you guys know what's up and that I'll keep you updated. And to follow me on Tumblr. Hopefully." I pause because I feel myself starting to get teary-eyed. "Sorry. Hopefully Lucy will be okay within the next couple of days." I say. "Bye guys. Thanks for all your love and support." I push end recording. Then I start to upload it right away. It uploads in about 10 minutes. I go on Tumblr and I have tons of new followers and asks. Most of them say I hope Lucy gets better. I love you guys. You made me realize I was gay. Thank you. Basically what they all say. I turn the computer off and just look at Lucy. I try to pull my hand away to put my hair up but she clamps on harder. "Don't leave." she mumbles. "I'm not gonna leave baby. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere." I say. I see her slowly open her eyes and she looks around and starts to freak out. "Baby. Baby calm down." I say running my hand down her arm. "It's okay. You're okay." I say. She turns her head and faces me. "Tay. You're okay?" she asks. "I'm okay. I'm fine Luce." I say. "Where are we?" she asks. "Were at the hospital." I say. "I'm sorry." I say. "No. What are you sorry for?" she asks. "I couldn't protect you." I say. "As long as you're okay. It's not your fault. You. I need to protect you. And I did that. So I'm fine." she says smiling. I smile back. "I love you." I say. "I love you too." she says back. I lean forward and kiss her forehead. "How long have I been here?" She asks. "I'm not really sure." I say. "Is my mum here?" she asks. "Yeah. She's outside talking to the doctor. You want me to get her?" I ask. "No. Not yet." she says. We both just sit there silently. "I must have freaked you out huh?" she asks. "Yeah. Just a lot." I say. "Did I?" she pauses. "Die?" she asks. I nod. "For a few seconds." I say trying not cry. "No. Don't. I'm sorry baby. The last thing I want to do is make you cry." she says. "No. It's okay." I say wiping away my tears. "You're okay now. That's all that matters." I say. "Can you hand me my phone?" she asks. I pick it up and hand it to her. I let go of her hand and put my hair up. "What the hell did you do to my Tumblr?" she asks. "I might have told everyone about my Tumblr. And I might have watched all of our videos. And I might have made a video telling everyone you were in the hospital but doing okay." I say. "You did?" she asks. "Yeah. Should I not have?" I ask. "No. I'm glad you did." she says. "I thought I should be a part of this after a year and a half." I say. She doesn't say anything. "Luce." I say. "Yeah?" she says looking at me. I grab her hand. "I'm so glad you're okay." I say. She smiles. "I love you so much. And if anything were to happen to you I would never forgive myself." I say tears starting to roll down my face. "I almost lost you today Luce." I add. "Baby. Come here." she says scooting over. I sit next to her and she wraps her arms around me. She winces a little bit. I move and sit back on the chair. "I don't want to hurt you." I say. "No. I'm fine come here." she says. I sit back up there and she snuggles into me. She kisses my cheek then shuts her eyes. "I'm not ever going to leave you again. I promise." she says. Then she falls asleep. Her mom walks in. "How's she doing?" she asks. "Okay." I say. "Good." she says. "How are you doing?" she asks. I shake my head. "She's okay. I am too." I say. "The doctor said we can't stay here tonight." I sit up. "What." I say. "We can come as soon as visiting hours start in the morning. But we can't stay." she says. I get off the bed. "Where's the doctor? I wanna speak to him. Now." I say. "Because I'm not leaving." I say. "I tried to tell him that I knew you weren't going to leave this hospital until Lucy was out of here. He wouldn't have it. But I'm sure if he heard it from you, then he might sway his decision." she says. "Thank you." I say. She walks outside and a couple minutes later the doctor comes in. He checks some machines and her chart then looks at me. "I heard you're refusing to leave?" he asks. "That's right." I say grabbing Lucy's hand. "I'm not going until she's going. I'm staying right by her side. I promised her I wasn't gonna leave her. I'm not leaving her in here by herself." I say. "I thought you were going to be hard to convince." he says. "Look. You can say whatever you want but it's not going to change my mind. I'm not leaving." I say. I turn back to Lucy. "I'm not gonna leave your side baby." I say stroking the back of her hand. Then I kiss it. "Can I ask why you're so passionate about staying here?" he asks. I look back at him. "Exactly three years and three months ago I started to talk to this girl online. We were friends and I got to know everything there is to know about her. We skyped, we called, we messaged. Any communication we had, we used it. After four months of nonstop talking and having her become my best friend she asked me if I wanted to go out with her. Even though she was in England and I was in Wisconsin I said yes. After our long time waiting I decided to surprise her for our 1 year anniversary. Her sister picked me up from the airport and took me to her house. When I walked through that door and she saw me. Her face lit up and she jumped onto me and we stood there and hugged for what seemed like forever. I was in England for a week. It was the best week of my life. When I had to go it was the hardest moment of my life. But we got through it. We got through another year without seeing each other. By the time our two year came she had surprised me with something. Two weeks before our two years she had moved to Wisconsin. I didn't know she was moving. She surprised me at school with our flower, which is the lily, and a note left in my locker. I knew right away she was there. I looked around and I saw her walking towards me. She told me she moved and she was here to stay. Our relationship was perfect. For two weeks." I pause. "One night I was over at her house and we were home alone. We were in her room and things were hot and heavy. We were so into it that we didn't hear the door open. Then her bedroom door opened. Her dad had finally come to stay in Wisconsin. He was finalizing some things back in England. When I went to visit the first time he was gone on a business trip so he didn't know about me. He pulled me out by my hair. I was naked. Luckily I grabbed a robe and put it on before he pushed me outside. He pulled me out leaving my phone and my keys and my clothes inside. I just sat in my car for a little. Then she came walking out with my clothes and phone and keys. She apologized and said I should go and she'll call me when everything calmed down. She kissed me and I could just feel the tears run down her face. I told her everything was gonna be okay and that I loved her and that we would get through this. I made that a promise. She went back inside and I went home. The next day she wasn't at school. So I left school and went to her house. I knocked on the door and her mom answered. She told me I should go and I told her I wasn't leaving until I saw her. She let me in and I got to see her for about 5 minutes. She kept apologizing and saying she wasn't sure she could do this. I told her I wasn't giving up on her. Breaking up wasn't an option. We didn't get through two years of long distance just to end when we were finally together. She wasn't too sure about it. But by the time I left we were on the same page; nothing was going to break us up. We could be together at school but after school she always had to be home right away or she wouldn't be allowed to use her phone. And if she couldn't use her phone then we couldn't talk. We would have times where we would meet up in the same bathroom at a certain time and just stand there and hug in the stall. We needed each other and we couldn't have each other. It was hard. We went out for lunch dates as much as possible because we couldn't have actual dates. Then one day she just snapped. She couldn't take all the sneaking and the lying and the not having a normal relationship. So she told her dad that no matter what he said or did she would always love me. She told him he was going to have to get use to the fact that she was in love with another girl." I take a breath. "And our relationship slowly started to get better. With time and once he got to know me, he understood our relationship. He was accepting and it was perfect. Now here we are a month away from three years. One more month until I've been with her for three years. Her family knows and so does mine. Except my dad. I've wanted to tell him so many times but he's been deployed. I was gonna have them meet when he came home but he kept having to stay there. I haven't seen him in a little over a year." I say. "Do you really need to know why I'm so passionate now?" I ask. "No. You're allowed to stay. I'm not going to split you two up." he says. "Thank you." I say. He leaves and I end up falling asleep. "Tay?" I hear. "Taylor." I open my eyes and pick my head up. "Hey. Sorry to wake you up baby. But your mums here." Lucy says. "She is?" I ask looking around. "She has a surprise for you." she says smiling. "What kind of surprise?" I ask. She lets go of my hand considering we fell asleep holding hands. "How are you feeling this morning?" I ask. "A lot better. Yeah." he says. "Good." I say smiling at her. "I love you." she says. "I love you more." I say. She smiles. The door opens and my mom walks in. "Hey sweetie." she says. Then she steps out of the way and my dad walks in. "Hey Taylor." he says. At first I don't believe it. But then I jump off the chair and into his arms. "When did you get back?" I ask. "I was trying to get back before state but my flight got delayed. So I got in late last night." he says. "That's why I wanted you to go to Lucy's last night." my mom says. I turn and look at Lucy. "Wait? Did you know about this?" I ask. "Not until this morning." she says. I turn back to my dad. "Dad. I'd like you to meet someone who means everything to me. Dad this is Lucy. Lucy. My dad." I say. "Nice to meet you." he says. "Not as nice as it is to meet you." she says back. "Dad. Lucy and I have been dating for almost three years now. Our three years is next month." I say. "So she's your girlfriend?" he asks. I stand next to Lucy and grab her hand. "Yeah. And we love each other." I say. "A lot." Lucy adds. He smiles. "Well it's nice to finally see you in love." he says. "And I'm glad it's with someone who loves you back just as much." he says. "More." Lucy adds squeezing my hand. I look down at her and smile. "So what happened?" he asks. "Huh?" I ask. "How did you get in the hospital?" he asks Lucy. She looks at me. "Lucy is my life savior. Let's just keep it at that." I say. He gives me a confused look. "That's all you need to know." I say. I look a Lucy. "She saved my life. And she almost died herself. She did for a few minutes." I smile at her. "But she's okay now." I say looking back at my dad. "She risked her own life to save me. That's all that's important." I add. "Well thank you for saving my daughter's life." he says. "You're welcome." Lucy says back. I sit back down next to her. "I love you." She says. "I love you too baby." I say. She smiles and I lean forward and kiss her. I pull away just a few centimeters just far enough to see her face. "I love you so much." I say. She smiles and I kiss her nose. I totally forget that there are more people in the room until I hear "See. They really are in love. They have been for almost three years now." my mom says. "I've been in love with you since we first started talking." I whisper. "Really? Cause I have been too." she says smiling. "You're perfect." I say. "No. You're perfect." she says. "So in love." My mom says again. I quick kiss her on the lips and then sit back in my chair. I grab my phone and go on Tumblr. I have almost 1000 asks from just overnight. "Hey. Could you two give us a minute?" I ask. "Yeah. Sure." My mom says. Both of them leave and I just sit there. "What's going on?" she asks. "Okay. I know now's probably not the best time but I want to talk to you about College. We never got a chance to finish talking about it because." I stop. "I'm gonna listen this time." I say. "You are?" she asks. I nod. "I'm all ears." I say. "Okay. Now baby." she says grabbing my hand. "You are the best dancer I've ever seen." she starts off. "And I want you to do what you want to do. I know you have a hard time admitting it but you want to be a dancer." she says. I nod. "I do." I say. "Then that's what I want you to do. I want you to be a dancer. I want you not to think about us when it comes to school okay? Because no matter what I'll always be here. But school. It won't be. I want you to go to the best college for dance. That's where you belong. Even if it's all the way across the world. That's where I want you to go." she says. I just sit and think about that. I go through every word and I just process it. "I understand where you're coming from. But honestly when it comes to school the first thing I'm gonna think of is you. We know long distance sucks. And it's hard." she cuts me off. "But we know we can get through it. It is hard and it does suck but we know it's possible." she says. "I know it's possible but I don't want it to have to happen again." I say. "What's the best school?" she asks. "Either Barnard or Berkeley." I say. "Barnard as in New York?" she asks. I nod. "And Berkeley as in California?" she asks. Again, I nod. "What about Juilliard?" she asks. "I'm not good enough to go to Juilliard." I say. "How would you know? You didn't apply." she says. "Yeah. But still." I say. "Okay, listen baby. When I get out of here, I'm going to help you make your audition tapes. Okay?" she says. I nod. "Okay." I say. "And we are going to send them to the best dance schools in the world. All of them. And then when you get accepted to every single one, you will decided where it is you want to go." she says. I smile. "Okay?" she asks. "Okay." I say. We sit there in silence for a few minutes. Then I break it. "What about you? You want to go to UCLA?" I ask. "I do. It has a fantastic film program, one of the best in the US." She says. "What about in the world?" I ask. "Are they're better ones in the world?" I ask. "Possibly." she says. "What's better? Cause I know you know." I say. "Plymouth." she says. "As in England?" I ask. She nods. "As in England. But I'm not going there." I say. "Why wouldn't you? You're good enough to go." I say. "I know. It's just. I know I keep telling you to pick whatever school you want because you're gonna be a great dancer and the best dancer in the world one day, but I still don't want to be far away. Especially that far away. I don't want that far of a long distance again. Across the country I could do, but back where we started? I couldn't handle that again." she says. "I know I'm being a total hypocrite right now, but film is different. With film, if you get a degree and you're good then you're in the business. Dance is so much harder. You choose what school you want to go to and I'll choose after. You're more important." she adds. "No. You are more important." I say. "Look. I'm just saying that I'm gonna choose a school closest to you." she says. "Because I want you to get the best dance education you can." she says. I smile. "That doesn't mean you'll get the best film education." I say. "Baby. Trust me. I'll get a good one." she says. I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "You really just want to look out for me don't you?" I ask. "That's all I want." she says. I lean forward and kiss her. It's one of the most passionate kisses we've had in a while. "I love you." I say pulling away. "I love you too." she says. I sit back in my chair and we just sit there in silence. We sit there for minutes in just comfortable silence. She grabs my hand and just plays with it. I just sit and stare at her. There's a knock at the door. "Come in." I say. My dad walks in. "I was wondering if you wanted to come out to lunch with me and your mom." he says. I look at Luce then back at him. "No thanks. I'm just gonna stay here with Luce." I say. Lucy nudges me. I turn back at her. "Go. I'll be okay for a few hours." she says. "No. I'm not gonna leave you Luce." I say. She gives me a look. "No matter what looks you give me." I say. "I tried." she says looking at my dad. My mom comes in. "Is she coming?" she asks. "Nope." he says. "Told you she wouldn't come. She's not gonna leave her side." she says. "Baby just go. I'll be fine." Lucy says. "Luce." I say. "Fine." she says. "Alright. Well we'll be back." my mom says. "Alright." I say. They leave and I look back at Lucy. "Don't look at me like that." I say. "I'm not." she says. "Is it a crime to just want to be with your girlfriend? After she was stabbed?" I ask. "No." she says. "Thank you." I say. "I would have been fine by myself." she says. "I know you would have been. But I wouldn't have been. I would have been worried about you every second." I say. She smiles. About an hour later there's another knock at the door. Lucy is sleeping and I'm just sitting there. "Come in." I say. Harper walks in. "Hey." she says. "Hey." I say. "How's she doing?" She asks. "A lot better today." I say. "Good." she says. "So me and the team were wondering if you wanted to come out to lunch with us to celebrate." Harper says. "You know I would love to, but my place is here with Luce. I can't leave her side." I say. "I understand. That's what I figured you were going to say but I just wanted to double check." she says. She hugs me and then just stands there looking at Lucy. "I still can't believe that happened." she says. "I know. She killed him." I say. "Yeah. To save you." She says. "I hope this doesn't affect her." I say. "Yeah. Well I think she'll be okay. She's strong. And if anything it's just going to make her worry about you more." She says. "That's what I'm worried about." I say.