I won’t turn back
I won’t give up
I’ll make it fucking right
Get lost in music
Lost in you
And dance with you ’til midnight
My hands tingle with excitement as a crazy idea starts to form in my head. Totally crazy. Completely absurd. But very, very right.
“Rayne?” Zoe’s voice breaks me out of my trance.
“Huh?” I say, and an amused smile spreads over her face.
“Are you coming?”
I look around, blinking. The others are already packing their things, and I didn’t even notice that Melanie had ended the lesson.
“Yeah, sure. Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.”
“You don’t say.” Jase grins, putting an arm around Zoe’s shoulders. He nods toward the door. “By the way, I think someone’s waiting for you.”
“Who—” I stop as I turn to look and see Easton. He’s standingin the corridor, looking at me. My heart skips a beat. It’s totally unfair that it does that whenever he’s close. I feel a wave of heat go through me, and I hope I’m not blushing again. Or at least that he doesn’t notice if I am.
He doesn’t believe in fate. That’s what he said, and I’ve never believed in it either. But I think I’ll have to rethink that, because it definitely can’t be a coincidence that he’s standing in front of this studio just after I had the crazy idea that’s stuck in my head now. I want to go tell him about it, but my legs refuse to move.
We saw each other this morning, but we didn’t have time to talk. I was glad to see him, but at the same time it felt awful, because I immediately had to think about our almost-kiss and the fact that I was the one who shied away from him.
Last night we were able to ignore it, but it was dark and quiet, and we were writing a song.Thesong. It was easy to block out everything else. But now it’s not so simple. We’re back in our everyday reality, where everything’s the same as it’s always been. But not really. After all, we almost kissed. It would be better if I could stop thinking about it. Yes, that would be smart.
I pack my things and follow Zoe, Jase, and Skye out of the studio. Easton is still standing there, hands buried in his jeans pockets. His dark hair is flopping over his forehead.
“Hey,” he says when I reach him.
“Hey.” I’m much too aware that my friends are here too, watching us curiously. I wish they’d go away; their glances are making me nervous.
“Rayne, we’re going over to the dorm, okay?” Zoe reads my mind again, and I nod to her gratefully. “See you later.” She givesme a meaningful look, a silent challenge not to skip afternoon classes again.
“Yeah, see you,” I say. I’m extremely relieved Mae isn’t here, because unlike the others, she wouldn’t let me get away so easily.
“What’s up? Weren’t you finished a while ago?” I ask Easton as soon as they’re gone.
He shrugs. “Yeah. I was just playing the piano, and I was about to leave, but then I saw your class... so I’m still here.”
“Were you watching us?” I ask, trying to keep my tone light, even though everything about this situation feels strange. Unnatural. Not like us.
“Just a little.” He gives me a crooked smile. “You were good.”
“Do you think so?” I hate how insecure I sound, but I hate how insecure I feel even more. I’m so sick of it; I want it to stop. Why can’t I just feel good about myself? Why can’t I accept praise without feeling like a total failure at the same time?
“I wouldn’t say it if it weren’t true,” he says gently, and the sound of his voice alone makes something inside me tense with longing.
“Thanks,” I murmur, and continue quickly before he says something else I can’t handle. “Melanie gave us an assignment. We have to pick a song and come up with choreography for it.”
His eyebrows go up. “Sounds complicated.”
