Come Back to Me

Chapter 1

For once in his life, Val took a break. 

He took a year off from the show. He returned to his family home in NYC. He worked in their Long Island, Midtown, and Soho studios and attended night school in his free time. He played basketball, lots of basketball. He learned formal Russian as well as rudimentary Spanish. He took numerous history and politics classes, particularly focusing on social reform movements worldwide, as well as genocidal mania that plagued many countries throughout time and continued to affect some to this day. Some of his classmates were a bit obnoxious, but he was able to built a few honest friendships. He stayed in the library past 2AM almost every week, studying, editing papers, reading, and learning. Always learning. He held the highest grade in each of his classes. 

He visited hospitals and homeless shelters. He read to children and handed out blankets on the streets when it got cold. He was a rising philanthropist and gained the respect of many higher ups in the industry. He helped build two schools in Ghana. He was asked to join UNHCR on a service trip to the Central African Republic. He went and came back an older and more motivated man. These developing nations, if one could even label them developing, were in desperate need of support and money. Especially money. 

He wanted to start a school in the capital, Bangui, a boarding school, where children could grow from age five to fifteen, in a safe and intellectual environment. But this would require money. And while he had money saved up, he wanted more to ensure that his family would live comfortably for the rest of their lives. He wanted to donate over a million, but he had to get it from somewhere else.

So he called up the executive producer of DWTS and said he wanted back in. Within a week he finished up his classes, packed his bags, said goodbye to his friends from the hospital as well as the streets, and hopped on a plane to LA.  He was saddened that his year of growth had come to an end, but was grateful that he would again be able to showcase his creativity to the whole of America. 

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While Val spent his year learning all he wasn't taught in high school, Sharna lived a completely different 365 days. She was now 32 years old, past her prime by some standards. At 32, it was time to stop hooking up with 20-somethings and start dating for the original purpose of dating: finding a husband. But Sharna was never one to obey societal norms. She was a rebel at heart and the older she got, the more she sought to prove to others that she could still do whatever she wanted and get whoever she wanted, without repercussions.

And for a while, there weren't repercussions. For a while Sharna was able to do whatever she liked, because she was funny and hot and new to the media. And the media liked her. They followed her to parties and took pictures as she danced on the floor with friends and strangers alike. They highly documented her brief but public relationship with Pierson Fonde. Were they ever dating? It wasn't really clear. Pierson thought they were; Sharna thought they weren't. He ended their relationship, whatever it was, after pictures of her surfaced lip locking with another man. The media was stunned, but Sharna got in front of the cameras, smiled, laughed, and assured her fans that she had never been dating anyone. She was no cheater, she said. And they believed her. 

After her time with Pierson, her social life changed. She was partying more and more, going out after the show and bar hopping until 4am, if she didn't find someone earlier. And she usually found someone earlier. She arrived at rehearsals hungover. She got into fights with her new partners and with other pros. And yet the media as well as her fans remained loyal for a time. After the departure of Val, she became the face of DWTS. As much as the producers were irritated with her behavior, they couldn't touch her. She continued her downward spiral, night after night, drink after drink, man after man. And the media was there. She loved it. 

She continued hooking up with 20-somethings. The more the commentators online shunned her for doing so, the more she did it. She hated being told no. And the more they disliked her partying, the more she went out. It was a vicious cycle that she perpetuated day after day. More and more of her work went into rebelling and less into dance. Two seasons passed and she didn't win the mirrorball. But she reached a million followers. Her new goal was 3 mil. She had to beat all the other pros. At this point, she'd given up on winning the show. It wasn't going to happen, and she didn't care to put more effort into it. She'd already given it her all, and she'd lost every time.

Her friend group was changing. Her star was rising. She left Peta behind. A mother couldn't hang with the new Sharna. She became close friends with C-listers. Then B-listers. Reality tv stars were her favorite. They were completely insane, and thus proved to be the best companions for a wild Tuesday or Wednesday night. Networks were calling. She was flooded with attention that she'd never felt before, and she couldn't get enough of it. It drove her to go out more. Award shows then bar stools. Again, and again, and again. Had it not been for dance, she likely would have gained significant amounts of weight from the alcohol she consumed. As luck would have it, she actually lost weight, as she often forgot to eat, sometimes for days on end. Coffee was the only thing that kept her going. And her fans that kept voting, blindly, it seemed, as she had hence ceased to be creative. Often, she barely had the concept together by the time the show went live. She was going hard at 32 and no one was left to try to hold her back or tell her no. 

Well, no one except for Val.

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So this is the beginning. It's going places kids trust me.