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Chapter 7
Somewhere along the way, someone falls in love. Then again, that's hardly surprising, considering how many members of this delicate equation are already emotionally entangled.
Chaderina doesn't die after they become an official couple. Rather, it grows, and soon they're everywhere. The iconic couple. Caterina shrugs the attention off but doesn't remove Chad's arm around her slim shoulders. Chad winks at the eager questions but, surprisingly, doesn't behave quite like the rakish heartthrob he's infamous as.
The year's first dance rolls around, and of course they're nominated for King and Queen. Caterina imagines herself with a crown and almost smiles, while Chad lazily points out that he has a collection of the plastic, sparkling things back at home. She's shocked into blushing when he goes on one knee.
They win, of course. She's graceful and ethereal in her silver, slivery dress that's slightly too big up top and a couple inches too long, and he's heartbreaking in his perfect tux. More than one video ends up online of them dancing, and then of their crowning.
Caterina feels almost like she's flying, and when Chad insists on lifting her after she is officially crowned Queen, she almost is. Her heart is somewhere in the stratosphere, until he sends it crashing down to earth by placing an arm firmly around her waist.
His question comes as a surprise to both of them.
"I thought you didn't date."
"Babe, I told you not to believe everything your friends say."
She does, though, because no matter how deep Cat is inside her, a star's glow penetrates and lightning always finds its mark. So she keeps her distance. And the golden boy who's never run out of fake glitter and a faker smile realizes that for the first time, he's the one who wants more.
Wanting something and acknowledging that wanting are two separate things, however, and Chad has spent the last couple years of his life pushing away the very emotions now threatening to creep up upon him. He tells himself that it's the thrill of the chase, the adrenaline that accompanies a challenge that makes him want her, and for a couple days, that's enough.
However, if there's one virtue that Chad has always possessed, it's honesty. And intelligence.
He is no fool, and when he catches himself admiring the curve of his girlfriend's cheek as opposed to curves further south, the realization of his feelings edge ever closer.
It happens two weeks in, during an audition. She'd asked him to be her partner—who wouldn't want the best—and after hours of practice after school, the audition date finally arrived.
Chad wasn't blind—he knew Caterina must have had a job after school, but even so, the shadows under her eyes as they took the stage sent something suspiciously like concern worming into his heart.
She's just a bit less sure that day, her movements a bit less controlled, and when she goes into her last spin, he feels her stumble before he sees it. His body is moving before his mind registers what he's doing.
Cat can only feel disappointment—in herself, in the situation—as she falls. She's always wanted to play Odette, always wanted to be the princess, and now it seems she'll never have the chance. The Boss hadn't asked her to work late, but she'd needed the money and hadn't expected the extra two hours to take such a toll on her body.
That spin was built around a specific group of muscles, and right now, they felt as soft as water and not nearly as strong. She hadn't been all that surprised when her leg gave out. What did surprise her was Chad's sudden grip around her waist as he turns the mistake into a sweep, then an elegantly executed lift.
She's in the air as the music crescendos, and above the judge's claps and the sudden catch of her breath, she hears her heart pounding.
"You didn't have to do that."
"No, I didn't."
He lays in bed that night without moving, mind in the clouds and brain whirring furiously. At a time less iconic than midnight, he makes his decision, and smiles.
Flowers aren't her thing, and chocolates aren't his, so he settles for little gestures, like a protective hand at the center of her back that doesn't slide down, a warning look when he catches the eyes of his former peers wandering, a supporting arm when she's so exhausted that she looks like the wind will knock her over. He kisses her hair, holds her hand, and Caterina feels herself melting despite herself.
She's not quite ready to give in yet, though.
It's one of fate's sadistic coincidences. If her friends had left things alone, Chad would have eventually given up, only for Caterina to realize how much she'd come to depend on him. They would have had a stormy, passionate courtship culminating in a renewal of their relationship, and several years and several more heartbreaks later, they would have gotten married. It would have taken several more years after that, but eventually her friends would have accepted Chad and their relationships would have been rebuilt. A flying walrus would have been involved.
Then again, one could argue that what really happened was even better.