Imagination: The True Magic Carpet

Almost

dwts_ballerina

"The saddest word in the human language is "Almost".
She "almost" confessed her love.
He "almost" kissed her.
They "almost" made it."

Sharna sighed as she watched the other pros spin around on the dance floor in sync to Mandy's claps. She was waiting for her turn to get her lessons but right now since she had a particular part in the beginning she wasn't in the current section. She found her gaze locked on one pro in particular, his dark hair and haunting smile making her belly twinge. She knew she needed to shake this but she couldn't help but wish she had done something about her hearts desire when she had a chance, however something always held her back. And now the chance was gone. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she missed Mandy send the group to break and that same man sit down next to you.

"What's going on in that pretty little head of yours?" Val said as he settled next to her grabbing his water bottle and wiping the sweat from his face.

"Nothing." She said absentmindedly while her brain was screaming at her to tell him "I Love you!"

"That's the biggest lie I've ever heard, I thought we were friends Sharnachka? You know you can tell me anything." He pressed further seeing the look on her face shift just slightly.

"Even if it would rock your world? And mess up your entire life." She said with a look.

"Wait, what?" He asked suddenly perplexed by her words. His phone started to vibrate however and when he looked down, it was Jenna calling.

"Answer it, she is probably letting you know when she'll get here." Sharna said with a shrug.

"Can we finish this later?" He asked as his finger hovered over the answer button.

"Just answer, I'm good. Just working out dance moves. Your girl needs you." She pushed him to answer. He sighed and then answered the phone quickly before it went to voicemail.

"Hey beautiful, how's it going over there?" Val said into the phone making Sharna's heart break just a little bit more. He stayed sitting next to her as he talked to his girlfriend. When he finished he turned back towards her fully intending to continue the conversation.

"Alright, Val, Sharna, you're next. We've got Niall Horan on during results night. He's going to be performing "Slow Hands." And you two are going to be the dancers." Mandy explained. "I need you two in practice room 2 in 2. I'll be in with you. The rest of you, you'll continue on the opening and blocking with Adam."

"Let's go." Sharna said as relief flooded her body. She realized she was stopped again. She almost told him she was in love with him. She needed to be mindful of these moments. Because one time, she wasn't going to get stopped and things weren't going to be okay between the two of them after.

They didn't have much time alone after that. They spent the next 2 1/2 hours with Mandy mainly alone as they learned their routine for the song which they'd be dancing a rumba to. As Val listened to the words he could nearly groan out loud as he realized just how much it spoke to what he'd ultimately like to do to Sharna. There has always been this amazing spark between the two of them however neither of them had been single at the same time to actually take advantage of the situation. And now he was with Jenna again and he was happy. He knew she was single but she was still on the mend from her rounds with Paul as well as her last season with Bonner which had just taken everything out of her.

"Okay, Val, for the ending, I want you to lean in close to Sharna. She's going to be laying on the ground on her back with her arms up. Your body is going to balance over hers before you lay down next to her and trail your fingers up her side. Her costume will have a cut out along her ribs and you can either actually run your fingers up against her side if you're both comfortable."

"Uhh." Val said looking down at Sharna's face which was just as bewildered as his.

"It's up to you. I don't want you to upset Jenna." Sharna said.

"It's fine. She understands the aspect of the dance. Let's just play it by ear and we'll do what feels right in the moment." He suggested.

"That works." Mandy said before continuing. "Alright, once you do that I want you to caress her face and bring your lips close to hers however the song will end and the dance floor will go dark which will allow you to skip actually kissing. Got it?"

"Err...umm...yes." Val stammered.

"Okay let's keep going. I want you guys to get to run it a few times. Then I'll send you out to Adam to do the blocking." Mandy said. And that was what happened. They continued practicing and getting the routine and motions down before they went out with Adam to do camera blocking. The next 3 days leading up to the opening were intense with practices, camera blocking, dress rehearsals, fittings, and interviews. Finally it was over and it was opening night. The pro's opened to Demi's "Sorry Not Sorry" before Tom began to recap the previous nights dances. Slowly they worked their way through the other numbers and dances until it was Val and Sharna's turn.

They moved fluidly through the number both focused on their jobs as they executed each and every move perfectly. Something seemed to click as they went into the bridge and final chorus and Val suddenly became more passionate. His movements were annunciated with an extra flare that Sharna began to match as well. Suddenly as quickly as it started the song was ending and the two were on the floor. Val's hand coasted up Sharna's bare rib cage making her shiver. He ran his fingers up her cheek before hovering close to her face. The lights went dark but he didn't move right away. He started to close the distance to press his lips to hers however the studio lights came on. Sharna looked at him in pure shock. They didn't have time to talk however since they had to do bows and then both had to switch into their last costumes for the final number.

"What was that?" Val said to himself realizing he had just nearly made a huge decision. He had almost kissed her. He had wanted to kiss her. He had wanted to kiss her since he first met her and right now that sensation was stronger than ever. He thought back to when they had been sitting at rehearsals and thought back to her words. "Even if it would rock your world? And mess up your entire life." They suddenly made sense. He knew what he needed to do. He needed to tell her he felt the same way. He'd do it tonight after the show, he needed to do it.

The rest of the night went smoothly and once the show was over Val was in his trailer getting ready to go see Sharna when there was a knock at his door. He moved to answer it seeing the red hair beauty standing on his steps he welcomed her in. His phone began to ring at the same time and he went to check it figure it was his parents. However it was Jenna.

"Fuck, the finale!" He murmured out loud. Somehow in the hecticness of the night he had forgotten his girlfriend was getting the results of her finale with Kiki.

"Answer it!" Sharna said immediately.

"Hey babe." He said into the phone.

"We won! We won! We did it handsome! Kiki and I won! I can't believe it!" She yelled in his ear in sheer excitement and amazement. From that moment on a flurry of things took place. Sharna ushered Val out to see his girl and sent him on his way. She knew that what she had been planning to say was no longer important as was what he had to say to her. Peta caught her on the way to her car.

"Hey, you okay?" She asked her best friend slipping her arm over her shoulders.

"Yeah, just burnt. Jenna won. Did you hear?" She said leaning directly into Peta.

"We did. I'm so happy for her. Maks and I were going to watch the finale. Wanna come over? Shai will be getting ready to go to sleep soon. Maybe some Shai cuddles are in order."

"I think I'd like that." Sharna said fondly thinking of the little man. She stayed leaning into Peta's shoulder as they made their ways to the car as Sharna thought once again. 'We almost made it. I almost told him. He almost kissed me. We almost were on our path. Maybe our almosts are meant to tell us something. That we aren't ever supposed to be a full couple. Just an almost couple.'

**Finished! Hope you guys like it! I can't even begin to tell you how thrilled I was with all the love on last nights post! I had so many comments on my help post as well as last nights update that my email combined all the comments. That's never happened before! I love you guys so so much. Don't forget to like this up and let me know what you thought! I'm still on vacation so it's most likely Fix You or Begin Again won't be updated until Monday. However I'll continue these fun ones in the meantime. Thank you!!!