You don’t belong here, and you never will.
She hated herself for believing it, but fear didn’t care about pride. Fear cared aboutsurvival,and she’d trained her survival instincts on abandonment patterns since she was young. Don’t want too much. Don’t hope too hard. Don’t give people the power to break you when you’re not watching.
So she stayed still. She stayed silent. And beside her, Nate did too.
He didn’t call her out or touch her. He sat there in quiet suffering, letting her pretend her heart wasn’t beating itself bloody beneath her ribs. Letting her run even while he stayed. As though he understood the shape of her panic more than she did. Like he knew love wasn’t always brave. Sometimes it was just patient.
When they finally landed in LA, the world didn’t care that something sacred had fractured.
The airport was loud and fluorescent. Cars honked. The sky was the same smug blue it always was, like nothing painfulever happened here. Production emails flooded their phones before they’d even reached baggage claim.
“So glad you’re back!”
“Can’t wait to see you in rehearsal!”
“Fans are obsessed with #hate2hot!”
Like love was still a product and pain was justcontent.Somewhere a producer was probably pitching their heartbreak as a mid-season arc.
Nate carried their carry-on bags while Holly hobbled along on her crutches. They walked side by side with matching bruises and a silence that felt heavier than anything either of them had ever lifted. At the baggage claim, their hands brushed before they yanked them back. They got into the Uber, and their eyes met but then slipped away.
Every almost-moment was a reminder of the terrifying possibility of real love they’d had in Copenhagen, and how quickly Holly had ripped it out of her chest because she’d been too afraid to keep it.
Sometimes Holly caught Nate watching her when he thought she couldn’t see. Not angry. Not accusing. Devastated in a quiet way that made her stomach twist. Like he was already mourning her, even while she stood right next to him.
The part that made her want to scream into a pillow, punch a wall, and sob until her lungs gave out was the absolute certainty sitting in her chest like a stone.
He loves me. Truly. Recklessly. Completely. And I love him too.
But love didn’t stop people from leaving. Love didn’t protect you from loss. Love didn’t guarantee the floor wouldn’t disappear beneath your feet. So Holly let the silence grow between them until it filled the room.
Because silence, at least, couldn’t abandon her.
@GateGossipon TikTok
Spotted at LAX: That hockey guy fromTake the Floorand his dance partner walking next to each other like divorced parents at Disney. No eye contact. No touching. Just vibes and emotional devastation.
#hate2hot #didtheybreakup #someoneholdme
@ChaChaChaos on X:
If Holly and Nate break up mid-season I will sue the concept of love.
Reddit: r/TaketheFloor
Thread: Anyone else see the LAX photos???
u/SequinsAndSabotage:
They didn’t touch ONCE. Not even a hand on the back. Not even a polite elbow. This is WORSE than fighting.
u/rumba_trauma (reply):
The emotional support eye contact has LEFT THE BUILDING
u/ballroomburner (reply):
This is the “we said nothing on the plane” walk. I know it. I’ve lived it.
