The Punk and the Ballerina

Aftershow Celebrations

Ari's point of view. November 2005.

We couldn't have had a better opening night. A full house with a standing ovation. Sebastian stood out, giving his best performance. For only having two months of acting experience, he truly was a natural. I was in awe of him...in love with him.

I was falling for Sebastian Gray. I don't know how or why, but he made me weak and happy. No, he didn't make me weak, I felt stronger with him. I was able to have a secret life behind my parents' backs and felt like I had some independence for the first time in my fifteen years. It was fun doing forbidden things, with my forbidden enemy-turned-lover.

My family took hundreds of pictures of me and the cast. While the camera flashed, I felt Sebastian's hand rest on my back. Oh his touch, it made me melt. I hated keeping him a secret from my family, but it was probably better this way; they wouldn't accept him and I didn't want them dictating another thing in my life.

Sebastian's family gave him lots of praise, I watched his mother kiss his cheek. Aw. His little sister was so cute, she gave him a rose. I saw his father pat his shoulder. He looked like his dad but shorter. His mom came over to talk to me.

"You were so wonderful in the play. You wrote it yourself?"

My mom answered for me, per usual. "Yes, our Ari wrote the play and starred in it. She's truly gifted."

His mom gave a tight smile. Sebastian had the same nose as her. "She really is, you must be so proud. How would you like to come out to dinner with us and Sebastian's friends to celebrate?"

I wanted to say yes, but Mom continued to control the conversation. "That's nice of you, but we have reservations for us already."

I nodded sadly as I watched Sebastian leave with his friends. They were laughing and horsing around. I'd rather have dinner with Sebastian and his friends, get to know his family. But I had to play my part, please my parents.

Mali, Olivia, and Parker gave me hugs and more positive reviews. The compliments were becoming repetitive at this point. I just wanted to get out of this busy auditorium.

"Sebastian wasn't so bad after all, he might actually have talent," Olivia said smugly.

"He had to serve some kind of purpose," Mali added.

Parker picked up on my uncomfortableness. He was the only one in my circle that knew about us. "Are we forgetting how incredible our Ariana is? She's truly a triple threat queen!"

Andy joined us at this point. "There's my favorite partner! Ari is now a dancer/actress/writer. Keep adding to those slashes."

Okay, Parker and Andy could compliment me all day, they knew what I wanted and needed to hear. They hugged me before I left with my family. Mom and Dad continued flooding me with praise in the car, and of course, their critiques of everyone else in the play.

"That guy who played your boyfriend? I've never seen him before," Mom said as she tried to mentally place Sebastian.

"He's cute," Bianca winked at me. My cheeked burned, I hoped she didn't see through me. I swear Bianca could read my mind.

"His name is Sebastian. I've known him since elementary school. He's nice, he plays in his own rock band. He's very talented."

Dad suddenly remembered him. "I think I picked you up from his house a few weeks ago? He lives in the poor neighborhood?"

"Yeah, we ran lines together. He's very nice."

"The poor neighborhood? You mean like Section 8?" Mom turned her nose up.

"He actually has a nice house, it's really cozy."

I could feel Mom rolling her eyes. "My baby girl is too good to be hanging around that dump."

This is why I learned the beauty of keeping things secret. What Mom and Dad didn't know, the better. Dad pulled up to the restaurant. Chic. It was a fancy French place Mom favored, we'd go at least three times a year. Mom knew everyone there, a lot of her modeling luncheons (Mom loves the word luncheons, it made her sound important) took place here. It was a great place, but it was always the same: small appetizers, we often ordered the same meals, and the servers would speak with fake French accents.

I ordered my usual. French onion soup. As mundane as this place was, I would never get sick of their soup. Because of a successful performance, Mom said I could order a chocolate soufflé. She rarely let us order dessert, especially me, but because it was a special night, I deserved a treat.

As Mom and Dad talked on and on about their usual modeling and professor conversations, Bianca and Lily were discussing something about Degrassi but my mind kept drifting. I couldn't help but think about Sebastian and how much fun him and his friends were having. They were probably at some cheap food place that was funner than this stuffy ritz.

Maybe I would take Sebastian out one of these nights. Just thinking about him made this dinner more tolerable.

I overheard my parents discussing an upcoming event at Berkeley. They needed a band. This might be my chance to help Sebastian...maybe help my parents warm up to him.

***

Sebastian's point of view.

I wanted to bring Ari to dinner with my friends and my mom, but I understood that we couldn't be public, not yet anyway. The more secretive we were, the more I wanted to show her off. I was proud of her and our relationship. I was hoping we could be out sooner than later.

We decided to eat at Arby's. Fuck I loved Arby's, this was a special occasion indeed. As we all piled into a circle booth, I felt so at ease with my parents, sister, and my friends. But she was still missing. Would Ari even eat here? Would she fit in?

My focus went to the side as I nearly inhaled my BBQ Bacon Burger. I didn't eat before the show, I was too nervous.

"Don't eat too fast, you might get a heart attack," Zelda made a face at me.

"That greasy burger might be too much for his tiny heart," Mace flipped me off.

My mom had to make things awkward. "So that Ari...she's pretty."

I nearly choked on my burger. Of course Cody had to put his two cents in. "You didn't tell your mom yet? They've been dating since Halloween."

Mom's green eyes lit up. "I knew something was different. I could tell my boy was happier. Let's invite her over one night for dinner, her family too."

"Ari would come over, but her family...they don't know about us yet. They're very, what's the word—"

"Stuck-up snobs," Natasha finished for me.

My dad sighed as he crunched his onion ring. "I work with people like that all the time. Some are so stuck in their ways, you just have to do your business with them and nothing more. Others you can win over. I was a teen dad that came from nothing and now my body shop gets great work and I've even had a few celebrity clients. With how kind and down to earth your are Sebastian, I bet you could win over Ari's parents."

That's what I needed to do. I needed to win over Ari's parents.