You and I vs. the end of the world

That (last) time we danced

"What's one of the best memories you have?" Carter asked.

"I dunno, I have a lot of great memories?" I replied, twirling my hair around my finger.

"What about that time you won our last nationals competition?" Carter mentioned.

I couldn't help but smile when he brought that up. Dance is my passion, and winning nationals was the most defining moment in my career. I've won or at least placed in the top 10 at our nationals competitions almost every year we've went, there was a few times that didn't happen, like when I broke my ankle on stage mid-performance and kept performing. I got a special judge's award for that despite how sloppy everything looked after. The best nationals I think I've ever had was of course, our last one.

Here's the thing, you can't go to dance competitions your whole life (I mean, you could, but you'll look like one of those 20-something-year olds at those kid beauty pageants on Toddlers and Tiaras). So of course, Carter and I had to retire at some point. A couple months prior, we headed to Anaheim, California for our last dance competition ever. It was nerve-wracking and depressing. Our dance teacher, Mrs. Aurora, as well as her assistants, had choreographed some amazing routines for us. I had a gorgeous contemporary solo to the Gorillaz song "Busted and Blue". The costume's bra top and skirt were a beautiful shade of cerulean and there was a black lace, sequined fabric strip that attached from the middle of the bra to the right side of the skirt. Carter also had a modern solo called "Lights out", but I honest-to-god cannot remember what that costume looked like. Both Carter, myself, and the other two who had solos performed to the best of their ability, but I ended up coming out on top in the end. Carter was 3rd and got beat by his sister, Caroline's, lyrical solo called "With the Wind". The results weren't necessarily shocking to anyone. When we competed against one another, it was myself, Caroline and Carter who won the top 3 spots respectively. The part that made the win so incredible was the fact that this is how we'd leave the competitive dance world, with a bang.

"That wasn't even the best part of the day." Carter added as he smiled at me, pulling me closer.

"You're right." I blushed a little bit since I knew what he was referring to.

Not only did I take home the win that day, Carter also planned a little surprise for me after the competition. He'd been planning to propose to me for the longest time, so when the time actually came, he took it upon himself to make it as over-the-top as possible.

So, there's this thing called the Red Thread. It's a Chinese legend that states that two lovers connected by the "red thread" are destined to be lovers despite any circumstance. The thread will "never break", also according to the legend. I guess you could say that about Carter and I, since he asked me out when we were 9 or 10, and we actually lasted somehow, because what other couple gets engaged when they're only 18? As for the actual proposal, he had a giant red string that went around the competition venue that eventually lead to him. He had little love notes attached to certain parts of the string. Once I found all of the notes, I approached the love of my life, getting down on one knee and exposing a shimmering opal engagement ring. I'm honestly not sure what shined more, the ring, or my eyes from tearing up.

"That was such a great day." I sighed dreamily.

"You're right," Carter kissed my forehead, "and then later that night, things got a little..."

"...Interesting." We laughed as we spoke in unison.

"I love you" Carter smiled as he pulled me in for a kiss.

"I love you too." I replied and kissed him.