Pirouette [h.s.]

chapter 23*

// Wish I could freeze this moment in a frame and stay like this //

// I'll put this day back on replay and keep reliving it //

"Truly Madly Deeply" -One Direction

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Despite the endless cloud cover painting the sky grey lately, I knew the moon was going to shine bright today. San Francisco had been buzzing, Christmas shoppers rushing to finish before the holiday, and I knew that fighting to the airport the day before Christmas Eve would be a death wish, but I'd do anything if it meant I could hold the moon in my open palms.

I crane my neck in every direction possible to see out of my window to the doors. My heart is pounding like a bass drum in my chest, eager to see the flash of blonde to signal my best friend.

Luna's staying with me until the new year, taking her winter break to get away from Tacoma and spend time together. She was ecstatic when I told her about Sleeping Beauty, after muttering out her own threats towards Lacey and Claudette with a few sprinkled expletives in the mix. Shining brighter than anything I'd ever seen simply through the tone of her voice. She raved about how proud she is and how she wants to be at every single show and how she's always known I'd make it. Cheerleader.

My heart bleeds up into my throat when I see her, pulling a ridiculously large suitcase behind her small frame. Tearing open the driver's side door, I jump out and run to throw myself in her arms, her happy shriek filling my ears like a symphony, "Luna!! Hi! Oh my god! I'm so happy you're here."

"Hi, dancer girl! I missed you." her words are muffled in my hair. I know she's going to pull back and comment about it sticking to her lip, but for the moment, we embrace, squeezing one another so tightly neither of us can breathe properly.

Luna pulls back first, muttering - just like I expected - about how she got hair in her mouth. Taking her suitcase, I shove it into the backseat before making my way back into the driver's seat.

The entire drive back home, Luna and I pinball back and forth between topics, bouncing from school to dance to Harry to Luna's 'mystery crush' which I know, without any doubt, is Tate, to the daycare. Neither of us stop our rambling, voices high-pitched and fast, excitement fueling our giggles and giddiness.

"Harry's friend will be there tomorrow, right?" she tries to ask casually, but I can read right through it.

Tate invited us over to his place for Christmas Eve dinner - a tradition him and Harry have been keeping up ever since they became friends, and one Tate has held onto ever since he was a kid. Our dinner is going to consist of Peking and leftover dinner rolls Tate found in his freezer from Thanksgiving, but it's the thought that counts. Besides, it'll still feel like a five-star meal with that kind of company.

I glance over at her before diverting my eyes back to the road, "Well, it's his house, so...yes."

In my peripherals, I can see the smile that etches across Luna's cheeks. She's not telling me something.

"Luna...?" I prompt.

Silence takes over the car for a few moments, giving me all the answers I need. Just as I'm about to open my mouth, she spills.

"Okay, fine, Tate and I have been talking since that day I was down in November."

My hand makes contact with her shoulder in a swat, "Fuck you, why didn't you tell me?!"

I can see the blush that spreads across her cheeks. It makes my heart beat a little too hard - Luna's never been this way about somebody.

"Shit, Lune, you're really into him."