Instead of Me

∆3∆

I took photos of Annie dancing. She was magnificent. You could feel the music through her. It was as if she were the instrument. Every movement she made mattered, even the slightest movement of her fingers. Her dancing was mesmerizing. She made you feel things you didn't know you could feel. Even her breaths were extraordinary. I could listen to her breathing as she danced all day. Her leaps into the air made you catch your breath, but you always knew she would land gracefully, allowing you to release the air in your lungs only to be engulfed by her next move. Annie was a beautiful dancer.

"She's very beautiful," I heard somebody say next to me as I snapped another shot of Annie. I clenched my jaw as I realized who it was.

"Mhmm," I said, not taking the camera away from my face. "She's the best dancer in the state." I took another photograph of Annie while she was perfectly executing a pirouette.

Heath stood next to me, shocked by Annie's gracefulness. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "You know, I've been thinking about asking her to the Valentine's Dance." He ran his fingers through his wavy hair.

Anger boiled inside me and my palms began to sweat. "Oh, really?" I asked, trying my hardest to sound intrigued and not jealous.

Heath nodded. "Yeah, but I don't know if she'll say yes. I mean we haven't known each other for that long." He sighed and pulled a notebook out of his back pocket, jotting down a few notes. 

Annie finished her dance and the music ended. She took a deep breath as she awaited critiques from her instructor. An older woman of Asian descent waddled over to her, pointing her finger. I know her job was to critique Annie, but she was flawless without any correction.

I rolled my eyes at Heath. Of course she would say yes to him. They'd known each other for years. He was probably trying to rub it in that Annie would choose him over me. Why wouldn't she though? Heath was much more pleasant to be around than I was. He was taller, his hair was definitely neater than mine. His eyes were brighter, he didn't constantly smell of smoke, and he was an all around good guy. He never missed school, he came to all the after school activities to interview people, and he was currently the salutatorian, behind Annie. I truly did not stand a chance against Heath LaMontagne. But did that mean I wouldn't try to win over the heart of my best friend, the one person I know everything about? Absolutely not. 

"You're okay with it though, right?" Heath questioned, interrupting my thoughts.

I scrunched my eyebrows together. "What do you mean?" I replied, snapping another photo of Annie as she walked off the stage. 

"Me asking Annie to the dance. I know you two have been best friends since diapers. I just want to make sure that you wouldn't be jealous. I didn't know if you had a thing for her or anything." Heath raised his eyebrows.

I let out a nervous chuckle. "Heath, c'mon. Me? Have a thing for Annie?" I swallowed a lump in my throat. Was it that obvious to others? "That's ridiculous. We're just friends." I licked my lower lip nervously as I fussed with my camera, trying to avoid eye contact with my arch enemy. 

Heath rolled his eyes, sighing. "Whatever you say, Finn." He continued writing things down on his little pad of paper. 

I grew extremely nervous, a layer of sweat covering my forehead. "Besides, you don't need my blessing. I'm not her father." I tried playing it cool, but that clearly was not working. 

Annie finally finished, walking off the stage with her duffel bag and backpack, wiping her forehead with a towel. "Finn, do you think you took enough photos?" she said in a fake irritated tone. "My gosh, save some film for the actual recital." She folded up her towel as she approached Heath and me. "I didn't think I would have to deal with paparazzi as a senior." She laughed at her own joke.