Short Stories | Sean x Kaycee

Still In Love

Angst.

Sequel for Never for Nothing.

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All she could hear were deafening cheers and whistles, accompanied by her thundering heart and that feeling of euphoria coursing through her veins as she waved, smiling widely, before putting a hand on her chest and doing a graceful curtsy. She went on with this for a minute before taking her partner's hand and they all did a bow, the tumultuous admiration muffled as the curtain rolled down.

The whole cast let out a cheer and gave each other hugs and congratulations on another job well done.

Indeed, it was another job well done, out of the hundreds that she did, and yet, she was never satisfied.

The backstage was buzzing with too much noise as she made her way through the jam-packed passageways, smiling and congratulating her fellow dancers she met along the way. She knew she could do better than that – better than just giving her colleagues small smiles and shy nods – but she couldn't help herself. She couldn't force herself to be joyful like she used to be when she started because as the years passed, she knew she had completely lost the source of her joy. And it was all her fault.

Then again, there was nothing she could do about it.

She entered her dressing room, sighing, when she practically jumped as confetti blew into the air when another round of cheers met her. She now smiled.

"Congratulations, Juliet! Oh, I mean, Kaycee!" her best friend, Bailey, yelled, and their fellow dancers laughed as they continued congratulating her and giving her stem of red roses.

"Aww, guys, of course, all these are nothing without you," she said genuinely, her eyes starting to tear up and her friends started to tease her for being a cry-baby even after being five years in the industry. And it all ended with a group hug.

"See you outside, Kay! I'll check up on Tahani!" Bailey shouted over the group who are exiting the room.

Kaycee nodded distractedly, craving for a short moment of peace. But she knew she won't have it, at least not immediately, as her partner remained in the room with a whole bouquet of flowers in his arms with a faint smile on his lips.

"You were great out there, Kayc. As always," he started, handing her the bouquet.

She sighed but received the flowers anyway. "That wasn't in the sequence. You know that, Josh," she said, referring to what happened at their last scene.

Josh Beauchamp could only chuckle. "You're bothered about that? Seriously? The scene called for it, and it wasn't out of place."

She couldn't really disagree with him; they just danced as Romeo and Juliet, and his little improvisation onstage had sparked positive reactions from the audience.

But still, the kiss was uncalled for.

"Come on, Kayc. I'm sorry, okay?" Josh said, coaxing her to look at him, but the woman refused. He sighed. "Fine. Maybe I did it because I really wanted to kiss you. And I was hoping that you'll finally give me that chance," his voice came out as a whisper as he lifted her face by the chin and as he gazed into her eyes softly.

Believe it or not, she wanted to. She wanted to give him and any other guys who tried a chance, but she would always end up expecting and comparing and it wasn't fair to them. And maybe because there's a chain that kept on holding her back from moving forward – a chain that she herself set up and had the key for safe-keeping.

She drew a deep breath as she shook her head and stepped back from him. "I'm sorry, Josh. I'm just – I'm not ready."

The guy could only give her a defeated smile, as if he knew she was going to say that. "I don't think you'll ever be ready," he said almost quietly, but she heard it, and she was taken aback. He gave her another faint smile. "Just know that I'm here. I'll be waiting," he said, taking her face in his palm, caressing her cheek with his thumb.