Old, But Not That Old [Motough]

9. intense [bethany]

Halloween Week has everyone even more crazy and enthusiastic than normal. I'm super excited. Sadie and Mark are portraying a really cool "innocent girl being brought to the dark side by zombies" theme and I can't wait to see it in its entirety, with all the show-night excitement and glamour. Janel and Val are making a tribute to Pretty Little Liars, which I must say, makes me feel extra fan-girly. I still find it hard to believe I've become so close with THE Mona from PLL. That show is my obsession.

I am finishing getting ready in my dressing room when I hear a knock on the door. My hairdresser pins up the last piece of my hair, which is huge this week, by the way, and tells me I can get the door.

I open it and find Derek, with a giant grin on his face. "Can I come in?"

"Of course," I say, outstretching my arm to gesture for him to step inside.

"I'm gonna take a quick bathroom break," my stylist says, scooting out of the room. I watch her leave and then glance at Derek. Noticing he has something behind his back, I look at him with scrunched eyebrows.

"I have something for you," Derek says, smiling, before revealing an evil minion stuffed animal. Oh my gosh.

"What is this..??" I ask, taking the minion he hands me, with a slightly confused look on my face. Derek shrugs.

"Something to say good luck tonight. I saw it at the store and thought of you and your minion obsession." He laughs slightly, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Derek, I-" I am speechless. This is so incredibly generous and cute and out of the blue. "Thank you." Reaching my arms out, I hug him tightly. He wraps his arms around my torso, pulling me closer to him.

"Anything to see that adorable smile on your face."

I pull away from the hug, grinning. Holding the minion close to my chest, I close my eyes and rub the fuzzy purple hair against my cheek. "I love it."

Derek laughs. "Good." He leans in and kisses my cheek. "I'll see you in a bit." He looks at me for a few seconds as he walks towards the door, and then leaves me with one last smile and my newest favorite stuffed animal. Looking at it again, I can't help but smile. Derek is literally a sweetheart.

We prep for the show, do our dress-rehearsal run, and as we sit and wait for the show to start, I feel more anxious than ever. I bounce my knees up and down, taking deep breaths. Derek walks over to me and sits down next to me on the balcony couch.

"Y'alright?" He asks, with a slight laugh.

I turn to him and smile. "Yeah... I'm just nervous."

"Don't be," he says, rubbing my back gently.

"I just feel like there's so much pressure since we got a perfect score last week. Like we're excpected to do almost as well, aren't we?" My eyes are wide as I look at my partner and teacher. He gives me a sympathetic smile.

"Dont stress, babe. However we do, I'll be incredibly proud of you."

I sigh. "Still stressin."

He reaches down and grabs my hand, squeezing it. "Just do your best. That's all I can ask for."

I nod. "Okay."

Why am I this nervous this week? Maybe its the fact that we got less rehearsal hours, combined with the pressure from last week. Or maybe it's the fact that Derek is going to be dancing almost completely shirtless and I realize my focus may be slightly compromised.

The show starts, and a few dancers perform. Soon enough we hear Tom announcing that "Up next we have Derek and Bethany dancing an intense Paso Doble". The camera shoots to us, before the audience watching will be sent to commercial.