First Time | Protector 3.1 | Wattys2017

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Nolan

       Jerome was officially able to dance again after twisting his ankle during Internationals and being hospitalized after the whole car incident, and he was really excited to get back to the studio. He missed dancing a lot, and I missed watching him dance.

       In fact, Jerome insisted that I came to the studio with him because he needed some 'emotional support'. Ryder didn't even bother arguing with Jerome to say otherwise, and neither did I. Sometimes, it was best to just agree with everything Jerome says.

       We got to the studio and Jerome basically grabbed my hand and pulled me all the way inside. "You know I can walk myself, right?" I asked.

       "Yes, but I like holding your hand and showing you off."

       "Uh....I've been here before. My brother owns the studio and all the dancers know that I'm your boyfriend."

       "Okay, but....I still like holding your hand."

       I rolled my eyes as we got to the main studio. "I'm back, bitches," Jerome announced as soon as he walked in. He then released my hand once all the dancers ran over to greet him, asking if he was okay and to say they were glad he was back.

       While they were talking to Jerome, I went to go sit down on the bench since I didn't want to be in the way for when the rehearsal started, which was soon since Ryder and Mae walked into the main studio.

       Ryder then told Jerome to start working on his solo since the qualifier was coming soon. I followed Jerome to a different room so I could watch him and give him my opinion. Which wouldn't really be that helpful since I wasn't a dancer at all. Only two of my siblings were. And my sister-in-law.

       "So, I chose a song last night," Jerome said as I sat down on the bench. "It sort of just....came to me."

       He pulled out his phone and played the song, causing me to snort. "So you choose a song about amnesia?" I asked. 

       "Yeah, like I said, it just came to me," Jerome said. "I have no idea why. I was just listening to it for no reason whatsoever and I thought I might as well make a dance out of it. But a remixed version."

       "Right," I said. "No reason whatsoever. It's certainly not because you had amnesia."

       "Exactly," Jerome said before handing me his phone. "Now don't mind me, just trying random dance moves. I'll tell you when to play the music and where."

       "Okay," I said.

       I never really watched Jerome in the process of making a dance. When I did sit in on a rehearsal, it was usually him just going through a dance, not creating one.

       I really liked watching him trying to create his solo. He was really in the moment and for the most part, the moves just came to him. It didn't really take him long to come up with half of the solo.

       After Jerome ran through what he had for the third time, he laid down on the floor. "I'm exhausted," he said breathlessly. "Can you get....me some....water?....I can't breathe."

       I grabbed his water bottle and walked over to him, sitting down beside him and handing it to him. He sat up and drank some water before trying to catch his breath.

       "That was amazing," I said. "I love it so far."

       "Of course you do, I'm the one who made it," Jerome snorted.

       I snorted. "You're really full of yourself."

       "Well, when I'm this amazing, it's hard not to be," he said. "Too bad my parents don't think I am...."

       I frowned. "Have they even said a word since they last visited  you? Called or anything?"

       "Nope," Jerome said. "I blocked their numbers anyway because they would always spam me with texts, telling me that I can always change. I just don't get what's so hard about accepting who I am?"

        "I wish I could empathize how you feel," I said, resting my head on his shoulder. 

       "Yeah, well you basically won the family lottery," Jerome said. "None of them cares at all that you're gay."

       "If it makes you feel better, my dad's dad does," I said. "But then again, he's a judgmental prick and thinks everything we do is wrong."

       "At least it's not your parents that aren't judging you," Jerome said. "You said it yourself, your mom basically cried because she felt like it was her fault that you weren't safe to come out."

       "I'm really sorry," I said.

       "Don't be," Jerome said. "It's their loss for not wanting to accept their only son. They just won't be able to see any of their grandchildren when you and I get married and adopt a kid. And before you tell me not to, yes, I'm going to keep bringing up the fact that we will be getting married in the future."

       I smiled softly. "I won't tell you not to. Even though I'm only fifteen."

       "Who cares?" Jerome said. "You'll be sixteen in a bit more than two months. Sixteen is a good age to start talking about marriage. You'll be old enough to drive a car, and that's more dangerous than getting married."

       "We'll talk about it when I'm eighteen," I said.

       "Aww, come on," Jerome said. "We can take a road trip to Quebec because you can get married at sixteen there with parental approval. And I already know your parents approve of me. Oh, and since I'm eighteen, I can drink legally there to celebrate."

       "You have some....really weird ideas," I said.

       "But you love me," Jerome said with a smile.

       "I do."

       "Hey, those are the exact same words you'll be saying at our wedding," Jerome said.

       I gave him a flat look. "Really?"

       "Yes, really," Jerome said. "You should know. You went to your own brother's wedding where you were the best man. Which was really insulting. I should have been the best man because I am literally the best."

       "Well, I'm not going to doubt that," I said. "No matter how annoying you are. I still love you."

       "I love you too. Babe."

       "You'll never stop with that, will you?"

       "Nope. Now I'm going to get back to dancing."

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Lol, I always get distracted when I'm writing. cx 

Ugh, I still love Jerlan a lot. cx