AN: Wow, I can't believe it's been over 3 months since I last updated! I know I didn't update in this fic at all over the summer, but that was because I was finishing up ETR, which I updated 4 times. That took a lot out of me, so I needed a break from writing. Some inspiration caused me to write a poem, and now, finally, I have updated in DDR elite! I really wanted to update, I've just been so busy. College life is fun but a lot of work. I'm going to try to write whenever I can, at least one paragraph each day, so that I can get these chappies out sooner. Thanks for being patient. Oh yah, and even though I want to respond to your reviews (which I thank you for so much) I won't do it because it's a rule that I can't. Stupid rule… Well, I do want to say thanks to Riku-of-Darkness for your lovely reviews! Hopefully soon they will allow us to thank our wonderful reviewers by letting us respond to them in our updates. But until then, you'll just have my author's notes (which I guess I can kind of respond to you there in a way).

Mr. Moogle: Hiya everyone! I haven't talked to you all in a while! Guess what? Aliasfan still doesn't own DDR. Oh yah, and October 12th is aliasfan's birthday! The big 1-8!

Aliasfan: I entered in a DDR tournament though. I didn't do too good, since it was Perfect Attack (where you had to get the most perfects) and a lot of people AA'd the songs so they had more perfects. It was still fun though, and I got a lot of insight as to what Kaeli is really feeling when she competes. I was so scared. There were 20 guys competing and only 5 girls (including my sister and me). Yah, so it was a great experience. Oh yes, and just for the record, I started playing In the Groove. It's fun, but DDR will always be the best because it was the first! Anyways, I won't keep you from this long awaited chappie any longer.

Chapter 18: Two Twists of Fate

After Kaeli had beaten Eddie in the first round and had been shown on television, she quickly headed to the tables to find out who her next competitor was. Kaeli had received a ticket with her name on it when she won. She handed it to the lady at the desk.

"Kaeli Abson, eh?" said the lady. She flipped through some pages. "Hmm…Abson, Abson…." Kaeli waited patiently for the lady to give her the paper with the name of her next competitor on it. "I don't see your name here. What was it again?"

Kaeli sighed. "Abson." She waited as the woman looked through the pages again.

"Nope, not here. That's strange."

"That's Abson. A-b-s-"

"Oh, with an A!" the lady said, laughing. "My mistake."

Kaeli rolled her eyes. Crazy…

The lady handed Kaeli a piece of paper, seeming to be proud that she suddenly found out how to spell Kaeli's name. "Good luck, Kaeli Ebson."

This time Kaeli chuckled to herself. It's funny to see how weird some people could be. Aw, but at least I didn't ask them to call me Kae, only to have them call me Kaeli, she thought, thinking about how Edwin wanted to be called Eddie but to no prevail.

Kaeli looked down and quickly read what was written on the paper, excited and anxious to see who her next competitor was. "Let's see…I'm up against…Jessica Tinley. Hmm, wonder how she is."

Kaeli walked through the crowds, among all of the music, noise, and excitement. She got a quick drink of water, then plopped down in one of the chairs. Hopefully this Jessica won't be too hard, Kaeli though to herself, wiping her brow.

"Kae!" a voice called out from behind her.

Kaeli turned around to see Jake amongst a crowd of people by the DDR machine. She quickly ran up to him, giving him a hug. "Jake! I thought I wouldn't be able to find you here."

"I know," Jake said. "There are so many people here."

"Did you dance yet?" Kaeli asked, hoping he had made it through to the next round of the national competition.

"Yep," Jake said with a smile. "It was easy. I'm about to do round two in a minute."

"Really? Good, I can see you kick someone's butt!"

"You mean my butt?" a guy asked.

Kaeli and Jake turned to see an 18-year-old guy with spiky black hair, torn jeans, and a red t-shirt. He kind of resembled Jake in a way.

"Yah, your butt." Jack chuckled, sizing the guy up. "Constantine…"

The 18-year-old did the same to Jake. "Jake…" he said, folding his arms.

Kaeli put her arm in front of Jake. "C'mon you guys, you can let the DDR machine decide who's better."

"Will do." Constantine said, leaning against one of the bars of the machine.

One of the officials finally came, walking up to them with a mike in his hands. "The competition between Jake and Constantine will start now."

"Good luck," Kaeli said, giving Jake a quick hug.

Jake smiled, turning to her. "I won't need it." He got up on the dance pad with Constantine.

Rogin started up the machine and set the song choice to random. The songs spun around until finally it stopped on Burning Heat. "These two will be dancing to Burning Heat!"

Some people in the crowd cheered. Man, that's a hard song, Kaeli thought to herself. I hope Jake can do it.

"…and Jessica Tinley. I repeat, the next dance starts in 2 minutes for Kaeli Abson and Jessica Tinley." A voice over the intercom said.

"Aw man, I have to go!" Kaeli exclaimed. "But I want to stay and see you dance!"

Jake turned around. "It's alright, I'll just meet up with you by the water fountain after we both win, okay?"

Kaeli smiled. "Okay. I'll see you then!" Kaeli rushed through the crowd to get to the other DDR machine, where two dancers just got off. Kaeli started to feel a little jittery again. All of the eyes staring at her and the cameras pointing to her gave her a lot of pressure. She sighed, closing her eyes. Just relax. Everything will be okay. Jake and I will win the second round.

"Alright, both contestants are here," said a judge. "Let's get started!"

Kaeli opened her eyes and turned to her right to see Jessica Tinley. She was a short and skinny girl, probably in her early teens. Her red hair was high up in a ponytail, and like Kaeli, she looked nervous as well.

The judge had already hit random by the time Kaeli stopped eyeing her competitor. Finally he announced, "The machine has chosen the song I Do I Do I Do!"

Kaeli smiled slightly. That song isn't too hard. I can do it! But now I'm worried about Jake doing Burning Heat…No, I must concentrate on myself right now…I can't let anything distract me.

The judge hit the button for the song to start…and the second round was on!

-----

"C'mon Kaeli! Woo!" Singa exclaimed from her seat on the couch. The Absons and Shawn were of course still watching the competition. They had hoped that they'd get to see Kaeli dance again, so they were glad they were showing her again in the next round.

I wonder if Jake is still in the competition…Shawn wondered, sighing. I just wish Kaeli would realize that I'm the one for her…

"She's starting!" Mrs. Abson said excitedly as the cameras zoomed in on the Kaeli and Jessica dancing.

"What song is this again?" Mr. Abson asked, absorbed by the t.v.

"It's I Do I Do I Do." Singa said. She chuckled, then whispered to Shawn, "Have you ever heard this song before?"

Shawn thought for a moment. "Hmm, it doesn't sound too familiar. Why?"

Singa smiled. "I think you might want to listen to the words a little more closely…"

All the days where we just played
Back in school just me and you
But I can't forget you now
What am I supposed to do?

Shawn blushed slightly. He stared at Kaeli. Seeing her dance was a fun thing to do. She got so into the music, moving her body slightly to the beat, her head bobbing and her hips swaying. She glided over the combos, and it didn't seem like Kaeli was missing a beat.


We can be more than friends
Do you know I'm here for you?
'Cause you're so easy to love
When you smile the sky turns blue

Shawn blushed even more. The DDR machine knows me too well. He smiled, hoping that Kaeli was able to concentrate on the arrows as well as the song lyrics at the same time. I hope you're thinking of me as I'm thinking of you…

I do I do I do do I do love you, and
Do you do you do do you love me too?
I do I do I do do I do love you, and
Do you do you do do you love me too?
I do I do I do do I do love you, and
Do you do you do do you love me too?

Shawn and the Absons watched as Kaeli continued throughout the song, seeming to be doing very well. Just then, Kaeli's competitor, Jessica, had her knees buckle out from under her and she grabbed her ankle. They saw Kaeli's look of shock, but she continued to dance because she didn't want to fail. Jessica's bar went down and her side was blinking red.

They continued watching the television screen as one of the judges took Jessica off the machine, and Kaeli finished up the song alone. Afterwards, Kaeli quickly walked over to where Jessica was to see if she was okay.

"Oh my goodness, what just happened?" Mr. Abson asked.

"I don't know…" Shawn said, wondering what was going on.

One of the judges stood in front of the camera. "Folks, Jessica Tinley has sprained her ankle. She'll be alright though, but she will not be able to move on in the competition. And given that she failed the song, Kaeli automatically is qualified for the third round."

The audience clapped, happy that Kaeli got through and that Jessica was going to be fine.

"Wow, I can't believe that happened!" Singa said. "I would be so embarrassed if I was that girl."

"I'm just glad that Kaeli's still in the competition." Shawn said.

The cameramen rushed to Jessica's side, so Kaeli wasn't shown on t.v. again, which got Shawn upset. I hope I see her dance in the third round. The screen quickly moved to another dance off after they finished talking to Jessica.

"Wow, just two more rounds, and Kaeli will be off to the worldwide competition! I'm so proud of her!" Mrs. Abson said.

Everyone else could do nothing but smile and agree.

-----

Kaeli wiped the sweat from her brow. Wow, I can't believe that girl twisted her ankle while playing DDR. I could never imagine that happening to me…Kaeli said to herself, walking through the crowd to the booth to see who her next competitor was. I hope Jake won too…Kaeli quickly got a drink of water, the cold liquid soothing her heated body. She waited in line until she got to the table.

Kaeli handed the small paper with her name on it to the same lady as last time. "It says Kaeli…Abson…A-b-s-o-n…" She thought she'd save her the trouble of looking through the list of last names that started with an 'E'.

"Oh I know dearie, I can read it just fine, thanks." The lady said, flipping through some papers. Kaeli rolled her eyes. The woman handed Kaeli a sheet of paper. "Here you go. Your next dance starts in 10 minutes, so you have a little more time to rest up."

"Uh, thanks." Kaeli said, shaking her head. Oh that's right, I have to meet Jake by the water fountain! Water fountains…I made that wish with Shawn. What did I wish?

I wish...I wish for my future to be filled with happiness, preferably with the one I love, and that my life is filled with no regrets.

Kaeli ran her fingers through her hair. Do I regret anything? Maybe I do…

We can be more than friends
Do you know I'm here for you?
'Cause you're so easy to love
When you smile the sky turns blue

The lyrics from I Do I Do I Do still rang inside her head. Kaeli sighed, unable to know what to do. I just wish I had all the answers. I wish my life wasn't so complicated…

Kaeli opened up the paper. Alright, who do I dance against next? Her eyes scanned the sheet until they rested on the name of her competitor. Her eyes widened and she could feel hot tears forming, threatening to drop. No… "No!"

The blank ink mocked her, forming the words she so desperately didn't want to see on that paper. That one name…Jake…

If it wasn't complicated…it wouldn't be called life…

Kaeli's eyes were glued on the paper, but she kept walking, finally bumping into the edge of the water fountain. Kaeli found her way back to reality, and she glanced up and noticed that Jake was standing across from her, his own paper in hand. He was just staring at her with a look she could not decipher.

Kaeli wiped her eyes, then ran to Jake. He embraced her in his arms as she cried. "Jake, what are we going to do?"

Jake looked thoughtful. "I…I don't know, Kae…"

Kaeli sniffled, her eyes finding their way to his. "What will this mean for…us?"

A small smile formed on Jake's face. "This changes nothing. Don't you see?"

Kaeli looked up, furrowing her brows. "See what?"

"Everything will be alright. I got you covered." Jake said, lightly brushing Kaeli's arm.

"Wha-what? I don't understand."

"You don't have to. Everything will be revealed after we compete." Jake said.

Kaeli was on the verge of tears again. "But we…we were going to make it to the worldwide competition…together…"

"Well, now we know that that cannot be. We'll just have to go with what life throws at us." Jake said calmly. "Do you understand?"

"But…" Kaeli cried.

"No…don't worry, sweetie." Jake said, holding Kaeli's chin up. "I love you, and no silly competition is going to change that. You mean the world to me. DDR doesn't."

Kaeli smiled, her heart beating wildly. She let Jake hold her in his arms, and they kissed. "Jake, I lo-…"

"Um, Shawn?"

"What?"

"Do you love me?"

Shawn was surprised at her question but was more than happy to answer. "Kaeli, I know we're friends, and it may seem a little weird to you, but I've been in love with you for a long time now. People may call me foolish, my parents may say I'm too young, but this feeling inside me is so strong that I know it has to be love."

"Yes?" Jake asked.

"Um…I…don't know what to say…"

Jake held onto Kaeli tighter, putting his mouth to her ear and whispering softly. "Oh Kaeli…tell me you love me too…"

Kaeli truly didn't know what to say. Her stomach felt like there were butterflies but it also felt like she was going to be sick.

"Kaeli, I know I'm in love with you." Shawn answered.

"I love you…Jake…"