You Can't Run Forever (#Watty2014)

Chapter 10

sorry for the wait everyone, i had no phone or internet services for the last however long it was so sorry bout that...

this chapter is shorter than the others, only because i felt it needed to be this way

well anyway, enjoy the chapter!

~Lea

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I heard Shay’s piano slow to its final notes as I wait backstage. She had been playing an elaborate song that took up the whole 5 minutes she had to perform. It was a little sad in places, but the song had a fast tempo making it seem less dark. There was applause and Shay walked around the corner, beaming. She gave me a little wave and hurried out the door into the auditorium seats. I was third in my homeroom and Shay is the third last in hers. Meaning there were 5 people left before me. Which means I had approximately 25 minutes if everyone takes all the time allocated to them. I wrung my hands as I looked anxiously towards the back of the line. Cale was looking straight at me, his eyes nervous. I managed a smile, which turned into more of a grimace.

“Oi, Wednesday!” Dylan hissed to me. Unfortunately, he was one person in front of me. I flinch at the Adams family reference and turn nervously to face him.

“My name is Luna…” I corrected him, not looking at his face but at my feet.

Dylan ignored my comment and forced my face up to look at him with the bow of his cello.

“Won’t it be nice to hear your music? It’s not as if we didn’t get enough of it on Saturday.” Dylan grinned. I took a sharp intake of breath, which made a choking noise in my throat. I felt my face go red as I looked, terrified, up into his face.

“Yes I was there.” Dylan answered my thoughts.

“B-but… how… you…me…singing.” I managed to stammer.

“I can’t believe you sung in public. It takes a lot of guts to do that if you have a voice that crappy! Not only did you sound terrible, but you looked like something out of a scary-tale! Did you not see what you were wearing? I can’t believe you actually had nerve to go outside your little dark room! I mean, do you live in a closet with other vampires or something?” Dylan sneered. I felt the stinging in my eyes. I tried to turn away from him, I didn’t need him to see me cry. Dylan chuckled and shoved the bow away from my chin.

“Who knew goths had emotions?” Dylan joked, tapping his fingers on his cello. I turned to face the wall on the opposite side of the room. I focused on looking at the props for drama performances and plays. There was a cardboard cut-out of a mushroom, an elevator, a park bench and even a restaurant. When my eyes didn’t dry I knew I had to leave my spot in line. I turned to the teacher in charge, without looking up from my feet and mumbled something about needing to drink before I went onstage. The teacher agreed grumpily and I rushed off. I snuck a glance up and Cale was watching me as I ran off to the girl’s bathrooms. Once I was safely in front of the sink I let my tears flow down my face. I held back the sobs, knowing it would ruin my voice. I would still perform, I had to. If you didn’t show up or perform it drew more focus to you than if you did perform. I did NOT want all the unnecessary looks and glances.

When there was a knock on the bathroom door I nearly jumped out of my skin.

“Luna? Are you there?” Cale asked, his voice a whisper.

“Cale, shouldn’t you be in line?” I asked, trying to mask the hoarseness in my voice.

“Luna… are you crying?” He asked, his voice barely a whisper.

“No…” I mumbled. So much for masking my voice.

“Please come out.” Cale pleaded, knocking on the door again. I opened it and he was there, towering slightly over me as usual. Before I could get another word out his arms entrapped me and I was crushed against his chest. After around a minute of his bear hug my tears had dried and I had told him about what Dylan had said.

“I’ll kill him.” Cale hissed, clenching his fists. I managed a little smile picturing the scene.

“I don’t doubt you could.” I sighed, my voice wispy and small.

“How DARE he insult you like that… I just want to break his nose!” Cale growled, his muscles tensing. I put one hand gently in the middle of his back as a comforting gesture. Cale looked down at me, his eyes conflicted.

“I really will punch him.” Cale stated, his voice firm yet quiet. I smiled, reaching up on my tiptoes to plant a small peck on his cheek. That was the first time I had kissed anyone apart from family before. I didn’t think of it at the time. Cale wrapped one arm around my waist, a quick hug. Cale’s anger faded in the short embrace.

“We better get back, you’re going to miss your performance.” Cale urged, dragging us both back to the auditorium. All the time we were walking he was explaining exactly how he planned to beat up Dylan. I was laughing by the end of it. The joy was short-lived however. We reached the auditorium and turned a corner.

“Delilah Sparring!” The teacher roared as she turned on us. I felt my face go instantly red and my palms began to sweat.

“You need to go on in less then 10 minutes! Make sure you have everything you need!” I nodded to nobody in particular and wandered over to the people in charge of the tech. I mumbled something about a microphone and they handed a portable mic to me. The tech gurus explained briefly how to hold it, where the on switch was, and how not to break it. I didn’t quite take it all in. All the while, the clock never seemed to stop speeding through the time leading up to my execution. The microphone felt like a giant block of lead in my hands. It slipped around in my sweaty palms as I anxiously watched as Dylan sneered at me, before going onstage. That was it. I was next. I hurried back into the line, trying to find Cale. I felt my head flick around, trying to get a glimpse of him before-

“Delilah Sparring, you’re up!” The teacher hissed at me, shoving me towards the blinding stage lights and cheers as Dylan exited the stage. There were wolf whistles and big cheers from his friends as he waved to the crowd, flashing a cocky smile. I managed to keep my hyperventilating to a minimum as the mc introduced me. I heard the light applause as I walked onto the stage.