For the Love of Dance

Chapter 18

Leo

They say that love makes you do crazy things but, they forgot to add that hate and jealousy can be just as much as a motivator. I care a lot about Denise. I would do anything for her and this can lead to some lapses in judgement. I am not proud in the way I reacted to the whole Patrick situation but, love makes you do crazy things and I am so in love with Denise. Fuck. I was in love with her. This is something that I never thought I would feel. I know it sounds cliche but, Denise is my everything. I love spending time with her and talking to her. She lights up my world in the best possible ways. I didn't want to lose her. In fact, I can't envision a future without her in it. I just don't know how to tell her all of this or when to tell her. Shit! how did this happen? I think to myself while on the elliptical during my morning workout.

This is not only thing that is on my mind. As long as Justin is in the picture, I feel this sense of uneasiness. It is clear that Justin likes Denise. It was clear that day in the club and it became clearer on game night. First of all, I don't know how Voldemort did not count in his eyes. I mean he is one of the most popular bald people that I know and that is saying a lot. Despite everyone else agreeing with the names that I blurted out, this guy continued to argue that my answers were wrong. I have barely spoken more than a few words to this guy and now I don't ever want to hear about him let alone see him again. To add to my annoyance, the words he mumbled during game night were incoherent to everyone around us but, were very clear as day to me. He wanted me out of the picture because I was a "fucking loser" according to him. Normally, it wouldn't mean much to me. People talk a lot of shit but, from him it meant war, metaphorically of course. I know he cares about Denise and I get why but, at the same time I don't appreciate what this guy is doing. He needs to get over his little crush and move on because at this point I feel as if I am in an awkward position. I know that Denise considers Justin as a friend and I don't want to come in between their friendship but, I don't trust this guy and his motivations. At the same time, I could be overanalyzing the situation, he might just really not like me and starting an argument would be pointless. However, my gut is telling me that Justin is not a good guy. Normally, I would follow my gut because it has helped me through some difficult situations before and is also a big part of the work that I do. After a couple more rigorous workout routines, the anger begins to decrease and clarity comes. I can't risk losing Denise over a stupid fight. She chose me and for me that is enough. Justin can go fuck himself.

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Denise

It was almost Christmas break and that means exams are approaching. The last couple of weeks have been crazy with the non-stop studying sessions and the occasional meet ups with Leo which usually ended up with me falling asleep due to the heavy workload that I had. Despite the endless amount of work I have to do, I am still excited about the break and getting the chance to see my family back home. I find myself smiling thinking about going back. I snap out of it when I remember that my next exam is in an hour and that I need to make the most of the time I had since I didn't really study much. The exam was for my elective and I am hoping that I am able to get an 80% so that I can finish the class with an A. I flip through my notebook that is filled with study notes and quietly test myself. I glanced down at my phone and see that it is time for my exam. I just need to get through this and then I will be free at last.

It's funny how things can drastically change in a matter of moments. Changes can be big or small and can still have a major effect on how we choose to live our lives. I can tell you that I did not see what was coming next. I came out of my last exam, relieved that I was done. I grabbed my phone to see that there were three missed calls from my dad. I assumed that he was calling me to confirm that he was picking me up tomorrow evening. I dialed the number and waited for him to pick up.