Old, But Not That Old [Motough]

19. sisters [derek]

We arrive at Sunday blocking rehearsal, and as soon as we step onto the balcony, where everyone else is, Witney runs up to us. Most of the couples are here, and my sister happens to be here as well. They all turn towards us as Witney comes at us, squealing.

She hugs Beth, speaking excitedly at the same time. "Dude, you guys are dating?? Ahh, I'm so happy for you!" Witney pulls away from Beth and wraps her arms around me. I hug her back, trying to hide my smile.

"You saw the video already?" Beth asks her.

Witney smirks. "Of course I did. It was freaking adorable."

Beth giggles. "Thank you."

"Wait, you two are together?" Janel asks, looking at us from her seated position across the balcony.

I bite my lip. "Yeah.." The rest of the couples fidget and make small noises of satisfaction and surprise, trying to deal with the bombshell that was just dropped.

A smile spreads across her face. "Since when??"

Beth giggles and I run my hand through my hair. "Uh... a few weeks ago..." I say, chuckling slightly.

"I knew it," Val mutters, smiling as he looks at me. "Congrats, man." He steps towards me and shakes my hand. I laugh.

"You knew it?" I look at him skeptically.

Val shrugs. "I know chemistry when I see it." He winks and glances at Beth. I see her blush and look down.

Mostly everyone is excited, or at least content, with this news, but I glance at Julianne, and see she is not smiling. My smile fades as we make eye-contact. I shrug at her, trying to figure out what's wrong.

She sighs, and then gestures me over to her. I glance at Beth, who is smiling as Janel and Witney interrogate her with questions. Looking back at my sister, I bite my lip, nervous as to what she's gonna say.

We go into her dressing room where she closes the door behind us, and begins pacing.

A moment of silence passes between us as I wait to see why she brought me here, and finally Julianne looks up at me and speaks.

"What are you..." Her eyebrows are scrunched and I can tell I'm about to get yelled at. "What are you thinking??"

"Are you talking about-?"

She cuts me off. "Am I talking about your relationship with your 18-year-old partner? Yes, Derek, I am talking about that."

"She's nineteen..." I mutter, quietly.

Julianne glares at me. "Derek."

I roll my eyes, answering Julianne with a bit of venom in my voice, trying to defend my decisions. "What's the big deal??"

"What's the big deal..?" Julianne gives an aggravated sigh before clasping her hands together and speaking to me in a calm but serious tone: one that you'd use on a toddler who you're about to punish. "First of all, she's your partner. You're a professional, Derek, you know better than that."

"Okay, honestly, Jul, it's happened before... don't act like dating your partner is forbidden or something."

She looks down, pacing slightly, clearly disappointed with me. After a long sigh and a moment of silence, I relax a bit and speak in a calmer tone.

"Can you just talk to me? Don't reprimand me, just... calmly tell me what you're thinking..."

Julianne looks at me, nodding slowly. "Okay... well," she gulps. "She's barely an adult, Derek, and you're... well into your adulthood."