For the Love of Dance

Chapter 12

I wake up around 11am to the rumble of my stomach. I was so hungry since I didn't eat anything last night at the club or after we got back. I got home around 2am last night after the whole Justin interrupting incident. Leo and I ended up staying with the group for the rest of the night after that. Part of me was disappointed that I didn't get to spend more time alone with Leo. At the same time, we did come with friends and I loved how Leo fit right in. The remainder of the night was weird. Ethan never returned to the club and Justin was well being Justin. I felt that something was off but, I couldn't put my finger on what exactly was wrong with him. Despite the weirdness that was last night, I couldn't get what happened with Leo out of my head. I don't what we are and I don't know what I want us to be, but I like where we are at the moment.

I scream into my pillow, mostly to wake me up and to drown out all the thoughts that were racing in my head. Most of my thoughts revolve around Leo doing things to me. I needed to take a cold shower to shake this feeling off. I push myself off the bed remembering why I initially woke up and head to the kitchen.

"I mean he was good-looking and all, but he was definitely not the best kisser or anything like I have ever encountered." Venus says while taking a sip of her tea.

"And you guys say I'm picky." Cara retorts while warming up what appears to be left-over pizza again.

"Good morning sleeping beauty." Angelica says with a smile on her face.

"Morning everyone, what's to eat?" I say, hoping that someone in this house decided to cook this morning.

"Nothing. We are all eating leftover pizza from yesterday." Cara says pulling out her cheese pizza from the microwave.

"I guess it's better than nothing and here I was expecting a 5 star meal." I say smiling but low-key hoping one of them will get the hint and make me some bacon.

"Then you can make your own 5 star meal." Angelica says get her slice of pizza from the fridge.

"What's wrong with pizza. I could have it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner." Venus says taking a bite of what I am sure will be her first of many slices to come.

"Yeah, we know." we all say in unison.

"Is this a conspiracy?" Venus says, staring absently at all of us. We all burst out laughing. I grab my slice of pizza and take a seat beside Angelica and Cara with Venus sitting across from me. I look at Angelica and remember that I wanted to talk to her about Ethan and if everything was alright with them.

"So Angelica... is everything okay with you and Ethan? Things seemed kind of tense between the two you yesterday." I pray that she doesn't get upset with me asking the question. I doubt she would, but relationships can be a touchy subject.

"Wait, something happened between you and Ethan?" Venus stares, concern written all over her face. In fact, concern was written all over everyone's face including Angelica's.

"Honestly, I don't know. Things have been really difficult lately. Its just been hard for us to see eye to eye. All he wants is to do homework together and go to fancy engineering dinners. At first those things were fun, but I just don't know anymore. At the same time, we have been together for so long and I care about him so much..." Angelica seems like she about to say more but stops herself.

"Look, relationships are not easy. You and Ethan have been together for a long time, things are bound to get a little boring in the relationship." Cara says in a reassuring tone.

"Yeah, have you talked to him about your concerns?" Venus says dropping her pizza on her plate and focusing her attention on Angelica. Seeing this made me think that it had to be a big deal. I mean it was a big deal. We have all known Ethan for a long time now and despite what Venus may think about him, we have all grown accustomed to him and his presence in our lives.

"I tried to yesterday, but he said that school was important to him and that he felt that I wanted him to change." Angelica says looking own at her hands while she speaks.

"Look, if he chooses not to listen to you then he is a jerk." Venus says, making it seem more simple that it actually is. I have never been in a serious relationship but, I knew that giving up wasn't the answer especially when you have been with someone for that long.

"Angelica, I would try to talk to him again. He might have been defensive yesterday because he was worried that you were thinking of leaving him. You just need to explain that you are committed to him, but just want to try new activities." I voice my opinion, hoping that it makes sense and is relevant to her situation.

"Yeah and school is stressful we all know that. It is possible that he is just worried that if he doesn't do all these things for school that he will fail." Cara exclaims and I relax a little knowing that what I said was not complete shit.

"Your right, school is stressful. I will try talking to him again." Angelica says. She still doesn't seem to be super happy but, at least she seems a little better then before.

"The real question is who the fuck is this Justin guy?" Venus says out of nowhere. Angelica giggles in response.

"He is my friend from class and also Ethan's friend." I say hoping my response will be a good enough answer.

"No, he really isn't that close with Ethan. Ethan and him have just recently become good friends." Angelica says, eyes a little clearer then earlier.

"He is a nice guy, there is nothing to worry about when it comes to him. He is also super awkward and that's probably why he has a harder time making friends." I say, hoping once again that this comment will end this conversation.

"Oh? Do nice guys follow you around everywhere you go?" Cara adds. Where was this coming from?

"What are you guys talking about?" I declare.

"From the fact that he cocked blocked you twice with Leo . Once, when you two ditched me, which by the way, I am still not to happy about. The second time was when he located you in whatever corner you two ran off to." Cara says.

"Wait a second, the second time he found us, he told me you were looking for us because you needed something." I say, my voice increasingly getting louder as this conversation continues.

"I never said that! I actually don't want you guys near us, you are too touchy." Cara says, smile on her face. I knew she was joking, but if she didn't ask him to come get us, then that would mean he came to get us on his own.

"He seems like a creep." Angelica says. I'm surprised with the words that were coming out of her mouth, I mean Justin was Ethan's friend. Venus' laughs fills the air and so does some of her pizza crumbs. "Angelica, don't kill me. But yeah, he definitely gives me creeper vibes too." sending a judging look my way. Why did everyone hate Justin?

"He is not a creep. He is just an awkward guy. In his defence, he doesn't truly know that me and Leo are together." I say, my voicing getting lower as I realize that I may not have anyone to back me up.

"How would you not know that something was going on between you to? You guys can't stop staring at each other and every time I see you, you guys are touching or thinking about touching each other." Cara exclaims. Yeah, I was completely alone on this.

"Well, we are not official yet. Also, Justin is a friend, a socially awkward friend that just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, but it's not a big deal." I say, suddenly losing my appetite.

"Look, no one is saying that Justin is the devil incarcerated. What we are saying is that maybe you should keep an eye out on Justin because guys like him can catch feelings quickly." Angelica says rising from the table and setting her dishes down by the sink.

"You say that he is not the devil incarcerated but at this point, I am not so sure. But it's your decision, Denise." Venus says following Angelica down the hall towards her room. It was now just me and Cara staring at each other, but that didn't last long.

"I can't believe he said that I asked for you guys. What the heck! I officially want to fight him." Cara gets up and heads down to her room sending me a sympathetic look. Now, it was just me and my half eaten pizza. My thoughts were revolved around whether or not Justin is a creep. However, those thoughts quickly went away and new thoughts about Leo came back into my mind. I didn't know what I wanted from him but I knew that I wanted something. I run my hands through my hair. This was happening, I was officially falling for someone in more than one way.