𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙡 - 𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙨 𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙛𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙧 - discontinued

lightsaber

|3.3|

"i'm so scared." lilly confesses as i glide the makeup brush across her cheekbones.

"you're going to be amazing, lils. you looked great in practice, what are you worried about?"

"i have one number. if i mess it up, i'm going home. simple as that. i've spent so much time on this team, lolo."

 she looks up at me. "you understand. right? even though you're, like, abby's favorite."

"i'm not abby's favorite." i protest. "she definitely likes brady better."

"who likes brady better?" brady pokes his head in. 

"the heartbreaker." we share a smirk. "no, actually, i think she likes you best. or sav."

"oh my god, can you guys shut up for like three seconds? i'm supposed to be onstage in two minutes." lilly says, an edge in her voice. she glares up at the makeup brush poised in my hand, and i apologize quickly and keep doing her makeup.

"i'm sorry." she sighs. 

"it's okay, i get it. you're under a lot of pressure, lilsy."

"thank you." she gives me an awkward head pat, since she can't move to hug me while i'm doing her mascara for fear it'll smear. we laugh. 

"no problem." i get sarah and savannah from the other room and walk with them backstage.

"entry number 45, ducklings to swans, sarah, savannah and lilliana from the ALDC!" the announcer says. i give the girls a quick hug.

"we love you, lolo!" sav squeezes me tightly before walking onto the stage.

"love you too. you got this!" i flash them thumbs up before slipping away to finish getting ready for the group.

i walk in on brady aggressively waving the lightsaber around the empty dressing room, fighting imaginary people. i stand there for a few minutes, covering my mouth to keep a giggle from escaping. i finally can't take it anymore and break down laughing. "dark warrior, huh?"

he jumps in surprise, face turning pink from embarrassment, but he starts cracking up as soon as he sees me.

"how long have you been in here?" he says, gasping for air.

"long enough." i grab the lightsaber abby used at pyramid from a corner and stand in front of him. "en garde!"

"aaaargh!" he yells, smacking my plastic lightsaber with his. i hit it back and we form an X, me twirling it around to try to get his to fall and him attempting to walk away, though unable to do any serious damage due to the roars of laughter that overtake our senses. i turn around and whack him in the ribs, and he stumbles, giggling.

 "hey, lightsabers only. i can't be injured before my big performance!" he pretends to be hurt before ducking and hitting me in the shins.

"oh no, poor baby." i mock him and smack his lightsaber onto the ground. he drops to the ground to pick it back up, stands up, reaches down and hits my face with it, hard enough to make me laugh even harder but not hard enough to hurt.

"abby will break your heart, but i will BREAK YOUR FACE!" i pretend to be angry, drop the lightsaber and tackle him back onto the floor. we collapse in a fit of laughter and giggle so hard that tears form in our eyes.

 i make the mistake of looking at him and the laughter dies down, the feeling in the air becoming...weird. different. and not in a bad way, actually, but...still. his blue-green eyes seem to pierce me in a way that makes everything around us seem unreal and scary before i get up, forcing chuckles until the laughter becomes real again and things go back to way they were a few minutes ago. brady, who's still rolling around on the floor, grabs my ankle. 

"nooo, don't leave me, luke! I AM YOUR FATHER!"

this sends me into conniptions. and for a minute, laughing with one of my best friends in the world is the best feeling ever.

until i take a step and realize his hand is still closed around my ankle.

and trip.

and fall.

and hear a crack.