Breaking Pointe

Chapter 17 (FINALLY)

Everything was going great. Arabella smiled as she looked down at the 96% written on the top of her biology test. Tyler was teasing her because he beat her by 1% and making her laugh. Ballet was going extremely well, too. Tina had even complimented her the day before saying, "If you keep this up I'll have another Julliard student coming out of this studio."

On top of everything, her diet was working! By sticking to fruit and vegetables and working out a lot she had managed to lose five pounds in a little over a week since the audition.

The last class of the day dragged by. She tried to pay attention, but all she could think about was what she would eat for dinner. She knew she should probably skip it, but she had not eaten since lunch the day before and she was hungry. Three carrots and two strawberries is what she finally decided. That would have to do.

When the bell rang Arabella rushed to her locker. She was anxious to get to ballet because it was her first non-individual practice. Because of all the extra hours she had put in over the last week, even on her day off, they were now ahead of schedule. Opening day would be December 6th, only five weeks away!

"It's been a while since we've had a proper date. Can I take you out to dinner tonight?" Tyler asked, already waiting for her at her locker as always. He looked so sweet and hopeful she felt bad turning him down but dinner meant eating and she couldn't do that.

"I have ballet."

"After?"

"I have plans with Maddock."

"At least let me buy you some ice cream or something before."

"If I eat before practice I'll feel sick."

He sighed and pulled her into a hug. "It's like there's nothing there, you're so thin. The wind is going to blow you away one of these days and I'll never get you back."

"I don't know about that" Arabella blushed, he was just saying that because he was her boyfriend. She quickly changed the subject. "Are you trying to say that Jeopardy with your family isn't a proper date?"

Arabella had been hanging out with Tyler's family whenever she had time. She felt right at home already, especially with his grandma.

He laughed and she marveled at how handsome he was. He held her hand while he drove her to practice and she laud her head on his shoulder. She was falling for him even more every day and it didn't scare her at all. She couldn't believe her luck, that someone as amazing as him liked her.

"Date Friday? I found a great little Italian place. You can wear a dress" he pleaded with his big brown eyes and she couldn't say no.

"Sure" she replied calmly, but her empty stomach was in knots. She didn't know what would happen Friday but she had a feeling it wouldn't be good.

"How was your first group practice?" maddock asked as he shuffled the deck. 

Arabella thought about it for a minute before answering. "It's obvious we have a lot of work to do but for the first one I guess it went pretty well."

"You're pretty nervous about it, huh" he said. Not a question, a statement.

She nodded. "Theres just a lot riding on this show going perfectly."

"Hun, you can't control other people. They could dance awfully at the performance and there is nothing you could do about it."

He had just voiced all her worries and all of the nervousness and stress Arabella had been feelng bubbled up to the surface. She started rambling. "That's exactly what I'm afraid of my whole future is riding on this and no matter what I do..."

"Stop" Maddock cut off her outburst. "Let me finish. Even if the rest of the people look like bloody hell it doesn't matter. Arabella, if you dance like I know you can you are a shoo in for any school you want."

He took her hand as she calmed down. He was right. She just had to worry about herself. She had to be perfect.

No dinner tonight.

Author's note: it took me forever but I'm officially past my writers block! I'm back in the swing of things and I plan on being finished by the end if summer!! Thanks to everyone that stuck with me and everyone that added my book to their reading lists and commented and voted it means so much.

What do you guys think is going to happen? Sorry about the short chapter but a really long one is coming up next!:)

Xoxo

Hannah