Dance This way: An Avi Kaplan fan fiction

Bridges Rebuilt

The next day was a little less than perfect. I had been receiving text and calls from Avi and I had still ignored them all. I didn't know what I would say to him. I trudged through my classes with only the thought of them being over on my mind. Jack had tried to approach me a few times, but today's cold shoulder was colder than ever before. I'm certain our classmates could see it a mile away. I was sitting in my Drama class and had managed to keep myself unnoticed that day.
As class was being dismissed, Peter had pulled me aside.

"Erica, you seemed a little off today" he pointed out. "I mean more than usual" he finished. I rolled my eyes at his snarky remark.

"I'm fine sir" I lied. With all that was going on, I thought i would just spill my guts if he asked the right questions. "I was just a little distracted  because I was trying to figure out a character" I said. Peter sat at his desk and scratched his scruffy beard.

"Heath Ledger" he said. I looked at him a little puzzled. "When Heath Ledger  played the Joker, he completely embodied him" he began as he  walked to the chalk board. I took a seat in the front row. "It's a technique called 'Method acting'" he told me. "Ledger understood that he needed to walk in somebody else's shoes to understand how he felt" he told me. In that moment, I could kind of grasp a few things. "The best thing you could do is see it from another point of view" Peter finished as he sat back at his desk. Ask yourself how you would feel if you were going through it" We sat in silence for a few moments. "Do you understand" he asked as if he knew everything I was going through. This is one of the many reasons why Peter was my favorite teacher.

"Yes sir, thank you" I said with a smile and stood to leave. I made it half way through the the door when Peter stopped me one last time.

"Erica, you know you can use my advice for other things" he said. I nodded.

"Didn't Heath Ledger go mad doing that whole 'Method acting' thing which is what lead to his untimely passing" I asked skeptically.

"Just take my teacher to student advice and go" he shooed me. I laughed and took my leave. I was grateful for Peter's words. It certainly put a few things into perspective for me. As I walked down the halls, I knew what I needed to do.

Later, i knocked at the door in front of me and waited anxiously for it to open. My hands had become a little sweaty while I waited. I could hear footsteps coming closer to the door and I thought my heart would burst through my chest and leave me to deal with things on my own. The door began to open.

"No turning back now" I thought.  "Hey Jack" I said nervously.

"Erica" he said. "Come in" he offered.

"No, I really shouldn't" I politely declined. "I won't be long" I said. I breathed deeply. "I've been doing a lot of thinking lately" I began. "We have our history together" I started. "We we were a couple and nothing can change that" I continue.

"Erica" he started.

"No, let me finish" I pleaded. "It doesn't matter how long ago it was. It happened" I continued. "Ignoring it doesn't make it go away and that's exactly what I did for two years" tears had been trying to break through as I made my confession. "It wasn't all bad" I confessed. "You were the first man that made me feel like I had surpassed that dorky high school nerd I was. You made me feel like I had become this woman who was confident and sexy" I continued as I wiped a stray tear from my face. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry for trying to erase our past" I finally managed to get out. Jack's eyes became soft.

"No, I'm sorry" he said. I looked back up at him. "You were a great girlfriend to me. Supportive, funny and sweet. You didn't deserve to be treated that way" he apologized. "After that night you came over, I couldn't handle that you knew yourself enough to stop yourself from doing something" he confessed. I was taken aback by his words. I looked down. "I think a part of me always knew that you were too good for me." I looked up to meet his gaze still in shock by what he was saying. Jack was actually being genuine about what he was saying.

"I mean, You're up here" he said raising his hand above him. "I'm down here" he used his other hand and moved it below his torso. "So, when a guy down here gets the girl up there, there's gonna be a piece of him that's just waiting for things to end. I guess I just ended up speeding up the process" he said running his fingers through his hair. Another tear escaped my eye.

"Jack" was all I could get out.

"It's okay" he said before I could say anything else. "For what it's worth, my feelings for you..." He paused. "They were genuine. You were the best thing that ever happened to me" he finished and smiled at me. I wiped away yet another tear.

"Thanks for that Jack" I said smiling.

"Wait" he said as he went back inside his dorm for a few seconds. When he came back, he had two DVD boxes for me. "You left these here the night of... You know" he said a little shyly.

"You kept them all this time" I asked. He shrugged with a smile.
"Yeah I did. I guess it was my way of keeping a part of you with me" he confessed. "I think it's time for me to return them" I hugged him and it felt warm. I felt like a bridge between two had finally been mended.

On the way home, there was still that burning question in my mind. I could only wonder what was next for me and Avi. We hadn't talked since the incident so I couldn't say that the two of us had officially broken up.  I couldn't stop replaying our conversation in my head and my heart began to sink all over again. I wanted us to work. I really did, but how could I do this if we didn't have trust. I finally made it back to my place and I found a note that Lena had left me on the fridge. It said that she had gone out with a few friends and that I shouldn't wait up. When I went to my room to change, I passed through my door way and found Avi sitting on my bed. I paused and the room was silent.