AUTHORS NOTE: Hey all, I've been away at a dance competition so I haven't been able to update. Anyways, quicker you review, quicker I update! After this, only three chapters left ! I also don't own and D:TNG characters, or Jake Epstein and all his gorgeousness. This one is also poorly written, I apologize.
Please review!
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Craig could not concentrate the next day. It didn't matter to him that the house was a disaster and that Joey and Angie would be coming home soon. All he could do was lay and stare at the ceiling. The thought of what Marco had said about going to see Callie's solo kept reentering his mind. She probably doesn't want me there. But I still have to see Angie. He closed his eyes. I've really fucked up things now, way to go Champ. He wanted to get lost in the depths of his mind, not having to think about it. The whole world stopped - until Joey and Angie came in the door.
"CRAIG!" Joey shouted, running into Craig's room, his bald head pulsating with redness. Haha, it looks kind of funny.
"You're grounded. From everything! You come to school, you come home. You can go to Angie's recital tonight, but after that you're not setting foot outside this house for a long while."
Ok, not so funny anymore.
Callie walked into the theatre, ignoring Lana and Tessa, who were busy scowling at her as she made her way to her dressing room. Ugh, my head is killing me, Callie thought. The faces of Lana and Tessa blurred together, and she could hear their voices becoming more distant, though they were only a few feet from her. Pull yourself together, you're just nervous. She looked at her watch, nervously realizing she only had ten minutes until she went on. This had been the first time all night she could come to her dressing room, and she stared at her reflection in the multi-lighted mirror, applying some blush. There were flowers all around her lighted table, arranged in a barrage of color.
She started to pick the cards gently out, one by one.
'Callie, good luck tonight! –Marco' was in a nice vase of daises.
'To Callie – you're going to be great, break a leg! –Paige and Spinner' was in some carnations.
But when she reached the last card embedded in a dozen roses, her heart sank.
All that was on it was a picture of her sleeping in black and white, with the words 'I'm Sorry' written on the back.
She folded it in half and stuck it back in the roses, insecurely.
Callie took her blue costume off the hanger and slid it over her small body. It zipped perfectly, but was almost too big for her. There was a large chunk of material that hung off her stomach. But it fit. Better than it did before, but it sill wouldn't hurt to loose a little more. She grabbed her eyeliner out of her bag and started to cautiously apply it, until she lost the feeling in her hand. Oh c'mon, wake up, she screamed mentally. Her hand fumbled the liner, dropping it to the floor and putting a long black line down her cheek. Shit.
"So dude, when does Callie come on?" Spinner asked, looking at Craig.
"Probably soon, because my cousin has gone already." Marco interrupted.
"When is Angie's number?" Emma asked, studying the program.
"Emma, I think she's next." Paige said. She then turned her head and whispered in Spinner's ear, glaring at Craig.
"Was it your doing to convince him to come? Spin, you know how I feel about being in the same room with him after what he did to Ash and..."
"Ang is second to last." Craig said loudly, clearly hearing and interrupting Paige's comment. He looked down the row where him, Spinner, Paige, Marco and Emma were all sitting. This was his last day of freedom. He wanted to take a good mental picture of his friends before he was forced into house arrest.
Callie finished tying her hair back and opened the door to backstage. She started to loose her balance again, but shook it off. She quietly crept behind the thick blue curtain where she watched her class perform Swan Lake. Her attention immediately shot to Angie, who was right in the middle, twirling energetically in her glittery tutu. Callie laughed, feeling a sense of pride run through her body with happiness. They look adorable!
She crept a little closer to the side curtain, trying not to be seen. Her eyes wandered around the audience accidentally, and her heart started pounding when she saw Craig. Luckily he couldn't see her.
Oh my god, he's actually here.
As the music ended, Callie still stood in a trance as she looked at Craig, but awoke when Angie jumped into her arms.
"Callie, Callie did you see me?" Angie said, throwing her little arms around Callie's body.
"You were wonderful." She said, squeezing her back.
"And Craig came too! He came to see us!"
"Yean Ang, that's great...why don't you go catch up with the other girls." She said as she released Angie and ran with her friends down the hallway.
"To conclude tonight's performance, we have a special solo by Ms. Callie Taylor, our most outstanding Student Teacher, performing the same solo once done by Bridget herself many years ago." Callie could see scouts perking up in there seats.
You're okay. You'll be fine. But you can't mess up. This is your chance. Callie walked onstage, and took her opening position. As she stood with her arms rounded, the lights seemed to reflect harder and harder. Her heart started to pound, and she could feel sweat dripping down her forehead in buckets. She looked for Craig in the audience, and found him for a moment until the lights turned the whole hall a bright white.
Marco's mouth dropped in the audience. He had known she wasn't eating much lately, but never said anything. She looked smaller than ever before. Her once beautiful figure was now boney and unstructured. He bit his lip and glanced at Craig, who looked like his heart had been ripped out of his chest.
The music cued. Callie forced her body, especially her hands and legs, to wake up. She started to move around the stage, but could feel the room closing in on her. This was her time to shine, she wasn't about to loose it. But the lights all around her started to get brighter and brighter, and she was seeing white circles. They were surrounding her on all sides. She couldn't hear the music anymore. It was muffled. Everything around her was moving so quickly. She stopped moving, and stood in the middle of the stage, panting. She saw Craig and Marco in the audience momentarily, but she just kept sweating from the lights - until everything went black. Callie felt her eyes shut and she fell to the ground with a loud thump.
"Oh my gosh!" People started to cry, staring in horror.
Craig, acting off impulse, jumped out of his seat, and pushed his way past Paige and Spinner's legs, fumbling and falling. He didn't care that he actually hurt them. He ran down the aisle as fast as he could, pacing past audience members. He climbed up on the stage, and ran over to Callie, where he put his hands on her rosy cheeks.
"Cal, wake up, please wake up." He cried. "Someone call an ambulance!"
Bridget ran onto the stage, joining Craig.
"Please Callie, please wake up." He whispered, stroking her cheek.
