The Opposite

Chapter 50

PC; weheartit // unknown

I didn't want to appear rude or vulgar, because once Connor and I had stepped away from the Anderson's hired vehicle and into the backstage department of the competition venue, I furiously wiped the lipstick stain on my cheek with the back of my hand in the hopes of obliterating its existence. I didn't want an abundant number of questions being fired my way.

After all, the only logical answer to who had kissed my cheek was Connor, and Connor would definitely not suit a vivid shade of pink lipstick.

"I know right!" He exclaimed as if he had, despite how creepy it sounded, mastered the art of mind reading. I hadn't uttered a word since, and there was barely anyone around that Connor could possibly have been communicating with. "Mum so doesn't have the right to kiss you! That's my duty!"

He halted dead in his tracks, his neck craning towards me, his lips puckered out like how the cartoons on television are drawn to look. Rolling my eyes and using the palm of my hand as a barrier, he ended up grazing his soft lips against my sweat-dampened palm instead.

I'm assuming that he wasn't expecting me to reject one of his irresistible kisses, because he raised his eyebrows and peeled an eyelid open. The hazel pigments in his eye reflected my figure as I experienced difficulties in containing my fit of giggles. He just looked too innocent. "Aw, come on, Ebby! You still in disbelief that you hit the jackpot?"

He waved a hand dramatically over his profile for further emphasis, but before I could think twice about what I had absent-mindedly decided to proceed with, my eyes landed on his chest. No, he wasn't topless like the night when I was forced to sleep with a Connor I was barely familiar with. But the pure white tee he draped over his head was tight enough to showcase his muscular arms. And the fact that he was wearing black tights didn't help either.

"I guess I may have." I admitted, my hands pressed against my cheeks in an attempt of masking its ruddiness. His laugh followed shortly, as he effortlessly planted a kiss on the peak of my head. "Hey! Control yourself!" I reminded him that I didn't need his affection, but I couldn't control the tingling feeling on my head.

"I've got to go to the girl's dressing room. See you soon?" I informed, as he pouted his lips, his eyes protruding with endearment. He reluctantly nodded his head, and as soon as I started walking away from the teenager, he began shouting, "I'll be the opposite of Joan of Arc, and I will get access into that changing room!"

"Ha, you wish!" I chuckled, but I couldn't help but notice those same two words leaving his lips. Maybe he had known all along? "I'm gonna use my ninja skills to sneak in there. I'm not leaving you for a second! Remember my favour?"

"I'll be fine, Daddy." I joked, as he continued to yell his mental brainstorm of a variety of unrealistic options on how he would enter the female dressing room unnoticed. "I'll steal Harry Potter's invisibility cloak, and simply walk in! I'll change the dressing room into Platform Nine and Three Quarters and I'll walk through the walls! I'll-"

His endless list came to a drifting closure, but it wasn't due to Ivory's selfish and dominant demeanour. A middle-aged female with her hair pulled back into a sleek ponytail was waving her arms ludicrously, bellowing my name to grasp a hold of my attention. Seeing her in such a manner brought back raw memories of the other night when Ned, Addison and I were swaying our arms at the bus driver.

God, we must've looked desperately hilarious.

"Ebony! Over here!" Casey was repeating, as I flashed her a genuine smile and spontaneously paced myself towards her current position in front of a large mirror. She was grinning with a vibe so positive I almost forgot that she was disappointed in my lack of punctuality. Connor had recalled her feeling defeated that I hadn't turned up on one of the most important rehearsal sessions, and the regret of my selfish decision was slowly eating me alive.