Twice The Trouble

Chapter 86: Closer

Sophia

Dance Practice: Day One of Three.

Fortunately, I didn't miss a full day of class this Monday, due to the fact that there was only one week left into the semester, the remaining school days of this December would only be half-days.

Cole, Liam, Matt, Emily, and Spencer had already gone home, much to my insistence. They wanted to watch over me just in case I collapse again but they looked hassled from the stress of panicking and clucking after me so I ignored their string of protests and thanked them for all the help they'd given me.

"Sophia, maybe you should get more sleep. You might---"

"I've gotten enough rest at the hospital, Lucas.I'm perfectly okay to do this," I interrupted him.

We have returned to Orion University,therefore,we were also dressed in our school uniforms.

The black-haired, brown-eyed teenager wore a skeptical frown on his handsome face. "Alright."

Orion consisted of several facilities: The gymnasium, dance studio, drama theater, quadrangles...

But I craved privacy so I asked Lucas if we could rehearse somewhere less crowded.

Where?

The Rooftop of the Humanities Building, which unluckily, had no roof to shelter our heads, but the sky was a clear and innocent blue. The weather offered a cold breeze, and there were no white clouds in sight, so it seemed fine.

A soft smile made its way onto my pink lips as I set up the small black boombox against a tall potted plant. Lucas and I contemplated on using one of our music players, but we ended up borrowing a boombox from the music department so we could practically use the remote whenever we needed to fix our mistakes or redo the choreography.

I squatted down in front of the boombox and fiddled with the buttons until I got the hang of it.

"Okay." I sprang up from the ground and poised my thumb over the PLAY button. "Let's discuss how we're going to create the steps."

When I turned around, my heart jumped a little when my brown eyes met Lucas' brown eyes.

He didn't seem to notice my reaction,thank goodness.He was quite fixated on his black phone.

"There's no need, Sophia." He shot me a sheepish grin. "I.. I kind of covered the steps.. by now."

I stared at him. "What do you mean?"

Lucas showed me his phone, which was on You-tube. "I've been memorizing the steps while I was at the hospital with you and everyone. Don't worry, I polished the choreography."

"That's crazy!" I exclaimed before I could stop myself.

My black-haired companion gave me a goofy smile. "I told you I have a good memory."

"Does it come with your humility?" I laughed, cupping my mouth.

"As a matter of fact, yes." I inwardly gasped when he cautiously took a step towards me and gently put his hands on my waist, his long fingers skimming the small of my back.

I felt my whole face heat up into a fierce blush.

"Sophia, we don't have to win, but you have to at least try, okay?"

I raised my chin to meet his encouraging smile. "I.. I can't dance well, Lucas."

"Is that a fact?" He sounded so different, so motivational, I locked eyes with him.

When I didn't answer, Lucas slowly let go of my waist. "Sophia, I'm your dance partner and please trust me when I say I'll be patient. I'm not going to help you up when I know very well you can stand on your own. You're a strong person, Sophia. You can do anything you set your mind to."