Beyond the Beats

Chapter 106. Twinning

Tears flowed like waterfalls when judges praised me. When I took the champions trophy in my hands, number one boldly written on it, I felt myself fortunate to have such supporting friends who always encouraged me to strive harder.

That's what I repeated in my short speech when the host planted a mic in my hands amidst the celebration. I quickly thanked everyone, and the stage was cleared soon as the next batch of finals was lined up.

My opponent, Tera, had vanished; I wanted to meet her as our battle was really amazing. I asked about her to her fans, but they were clueless. Unilke her, they congratulated me for the win and left the stadium.

I prepared myself as I sensed my friends running towards me. They threw me in the air after taking the trophy from me, and the cheers of "Boomer, Boomer!" started echoing.

"Why are you not using my real name?!" I yelled at them when they threw me up for the nth time.

"Shut up, and let us enjoy!" Rehman replied and told others to launch me directly in the space.

"It is enough now," Vibhan said.

My friends caught me and held me until I was no longer dizzy. Everyone congratulated me one by one, Akshay crushing my bones in happiness, and Axel filmed everything. Hriaan hugged me.

"Shorty, my best friend is dehydrated because of you," he said and pointed at Tejas, who still had his face covered with his cap.

I went to him and ducked my head low to peak a glance at him. His face was red, cheeks stained with tears. When his eyes met mine, I saw him being the cutest he had ever been.

I didn't tell him to remove his cap and wiped his tear-stained cheeks with my thumbs.

"Can I get a hug from my dance idol?" I asked him.

He pulled me closer, and I hugged him tightly. Feeling his warmth, I couldn't control it any longer and started crying myself.

"Congratulations, Hamster. I am really proud of you," he said, his voice getting sore.

"Please don't speak," I told him as his words sounded strained. "Why did you cry so much?"

He squeezed me. "These are happy tears, and they have a mind of their own. Don't blame me, and don't cry yourself."

"Don't blame me either. It is all because of you."

We looked at each other and chuckled. He wiped my tears and kissed me all over the face.

"How do you feel?" he asked me.

"I will feel very blessed if you congratulate me like this again," I said.

"I am talking about winning the championship," he said, amused, making me stick out my tongue in embarrassment.

He kissed my forehead, and I told him that the feeling of winning an international competition would actually take some time to sink in. He understood the feeling.

"You are exhausted, so let's rest. We have semi-finals in the evening," he suggested.

"I am actually not tired, but let's take a rest. I don't want to sabotage our team's performance," I said.

Our crew left the stadium, and before our semi-finals, we took an hour's break before we discussed our strategies. Three hours later, we were back in the dance arena, facing our rival crew from Malaysia.

"The Conquerors vs The Majestic, begins now!" the host announced and ran off the stage.

The Majestic had lots of female dancers, and it was a treat to watch them lead.