Breaking Down the Wall

Competition

Yo's POV

The Moon and Star Competition was tomorrow. I've spent the last two days doing dress rehearsals and practicing the piano. It really was lucky that I'd spent so many years playing the piano, or I would have been in serious trouble. Each day, Forth let me into the A/V room to practice, then went to get us something to eat while I practiced. He never tried to listen in, respecting my wishes. I was nervous about playing my song for him. I planned to tell him how I felt after the competition, but I was hoping he would know when he heard the song.

"How did piano practice go?" Pha asked when he met me in front of the dorms. He'd been kind of sulky since yesterday. He'd asked if I still needed a place to practice piano and I'd told him that Forth had found a piano right at the school. I didn't know what was going on with him, but even though he was acting a little weird, I finally felt like we were becoming friends.

"It was good," I replied, starting up the stairs. Pha walked with me and we stopped at his floor to talk for a minute. "I'm feeling a little nervous, honestly. I've never had to perform in front of a lot of people before."

"You'll be fine. I've been through it myself," Pha said, putting his arm around my shoulders. "If you can't sleep, just let me know and we can talk about it."

"Okay," I said, feeling grateful for his help. "Thanks, P'Pha. I'll see you later."

He smiled at me as I walked away. I went to my room and laid down on my bed, knowing I needed to get as much sleep as possible. Unfortunately, I spent hours tossing and turning. I was exhausted, but my nerves wouldn't allow me to rest. I called Ming, but he was anxiously waiting to see if Kit would "like" his pictures on the competition page of the university website. I called Forth, but he must have been asleep because his phone went to voicemail. I decided to go down and talk to Pha. Maybe he really could help me relax so I could finally sleep.

Just as I was walking around the corner to Pha's room I saw him talking to Pring in the hallway. I stepped back, giving them time to finish talking.

"Why do you care about that boy so much?" Pring asked, her voice echoed loudly. I felt guilty about eavesdropping, but there wasn't much I could do about it since they were right out in the hallway.

"Why are you always asking about N'Yo?" Pha asked, smiling at her. They're talking about me?

"That boy has feelings for you, Pha," Pring said. "Do you have feelings for him?"

"We're just friends," Pha said, clearly embarrassed by the conversation. For the first time, the easy way that Pha confirmed that he didn't care about me didn't hurt. It was actually a relief.

"I'm glad you said that," Pring said. I peeked around the corner just in time to see her walking into Pha's room. I guess I won't be able to talk to him tonight. I walked back up the stairs to my room. This time, I was exhausted enough that I finally slept when I laid down.

Phana's POV

It had taken me at least ten minutes to get Pring out of my room last night. She'd just walked in while we were talking. I didn't know what to say to her when she asked about Yo, but I really don't want to talk about my feelings with her.

We'd been friends for awhile, but she always forced a familiarity on me that I didn't actually feel. She dropped her honorifics when speaking to me, even though we really weren't close enough for that. But I couldn't do anything about it without being rude.

The morning raced by, while everyone prepared for the competition. The Moons and Stars had been on call since early in the morning and everyone seemed to have a case of the nerves. I remembered how anxious I'd been when I'd done this last year. I wanted to find Yo and make sure he was okay.

I found him talking with Ming and Forth. His make up was done and he was wearing his uniform. I joined them, but didn't get a chance to talk to Yo alone. I was happy to see that he looked pretty calm.

I had to go on stage with Pring at the very beginning, as the current Campus Moon and Star we had to welcome everyone to the competition. After the introductions by all the competitors, they ran off stage for a quick costume change while the announcers introduced the judges. I watched from the sidelines as Yo danced along with the other Moons and Stars, his moves graceful and perfectly timed.

All the competitors ran back again for their last costume change, and started going on stage for their individual performances. Yo's part wasn't until later in the competition, so I walked backstage to see if I could talk to him. He was accepting a water from Forth when I came into the room. Exasperation was my first emotion. I knew Forth wanted Yo and had told me that he wouldn't back down, but he didn't know that Yo had loved me for a long time now. Even though Forth had found Yo a place to practice piano, he'd never stayed to hear Yo play, so I knew they weren't as close as Forth wanted to believe.

I started over to talk to Yo, determined to let Forth know he didn't have a chance, when Pring grabbed my arm and pulled me into an empty room. She locked the door and came to stand in front of me.

"What are you doing?" I asked, feeling a little nervous.

"I've waited long enough, Pha," she said, stepping closer to me. "You should ask me to be your girlfriend now."

"What do you mean?" I asked, surprised. "We're just friends."

"All this time, you've been flirting with me and now you say we're just friends?" Pring asked. "What about my feelings?"

"I'm sorry if I've done anything that you misunderstood," I said, backing toward the door. "I just don't feel that way about you."

"It's because of that boy across the hall from me, isn't it?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at me. "You said he was just your friend, but I've seen the way you look at him. You should choose me. Dating another man just isn't right. You've never showed any interest in other men before."

"This really isn't any of your business," I said. I hated feeling like maybe I'd led her on before. Should I have been less friendly? Maybe I should have told her about my feelings for Yo, but it wasn't something I was ready to explain. I stepped quickly out the door, leaving her behind.

"P'Ging, have you seen N'Yo?" I asked. I looked around backstage, but hadn't seen him.

"He went out to Ming's car, he needed to go get his costume for his performance," Ging said hurriedly. It looked like things were a little crazy backstage with everyone running around trying to get ready. "It's dark outside, but N'Forth went with him."

This time I did feel jealousy, but there was nothing I could do about it without running around like a mad man. I would just wait to speak to Yo after the competition. I made my way to the auditorium to find Kit and Beam in the crowd watching the competition. Ming's turn came and he walked up in a traditional Muay Thai costume. He did the traditional dance, then showed off some stances and basic moves. Finally, it was Yo's turn, I couldn't wait to hear him play.