Zane and Kawaii Chan make their way to the stage and Zane lies on the ground to begin. Kawaii Chan sits on her knees next to him. The music starts softly and Zane sits up carefully as it starts. He takes a deep breath and stands up, Kawaii Chan following him. He holds his chest like it's hurting and falls back slightly, but Kawaii Chan catches him and pushes his forward again.
     The song is bittersweet and the dancing is so calm and reassuring. It's a story of a harmed individual who's helped by another individual, it's so simple, yet so deep. It's so personal and the two of them express the emotions perfectly. Zane's hand is on Kawaii Chan's waist and her hand is on his chest and they glimpse at each other for a second, but seconds turn into minutes, then they can't look away.
     Then it's the part for Zane to lift Kawaii Chan. She runs, her feet silent as they hit the floor, and he catches her. He suddenly lifts her and soon places her back to the floor. He takes her fragile hand and watches as she twirls easily into his arms. Then he lets her spin out of his arms again as he slowly returns his position to the floor again. He sits, hugging his legs. Kawaii Chan slides on the floor on her knees and wraps him in a hug, leaving them in their finishing pose.
     The audience is loud, but it seems like everything has went quiet for the two. Zane looks and locks eyes with Kawaii Chan once again. Her eyebrows lift and she smiles kindly. The two stand up and walk off of the stage. Backstage is crowded, but they don't focus on that, they just focus on each other.
     Kawaii Chan takes Zane's hand suddenly and exits backstage to head to a shorter, darker hallway. She smiles nervously, her cheeks warm. Zane's blush appears over his freckles.

     "Kawaii Chan... I-"

     Kawaii Chan holds his face between her hands and flickers her eyes to his lips before flicking them back to his blue eyes. Zane hesitantly places his hands on her waist and she leans in and places her lips onto his. Zane's eyes close and he steps forward slightly so that Kawaii Chan's back in now against the wall. She pulls him in closer and runs her fingers through his hair, so soft, she thinks to herself.
     She loosens her arms so that they rest on his chest and she opens her eyes to meet his. His eyes are now widened and he breathes heavy.

     "Kawaii Chan-"

     "It's Nana.. Zane. Call me Nana.."

     "W..What?"

     She leans her forehead against his and smiles.

     "My name is actually Nana.."

     "Oh.. well.. Nana.. we just.... we kissed. I don't really.. well.. I don't know when we got this close and.. well.."

     "I don't know either..," Nana moves back slightly and looks up into Zane's eyes again with her brows lowered, "Are you upset?"

     Zane shakes his head and Nana smiles. She leans her head on his shoulder and sighs in relief.

     "Zane.. I really like you. A lot..."

     "Oh.. well... I think I'm starting to feel the same about you.."

     Zane wraps his arms around her and sighs contently.

———

     Katelyn sits in the middle of the stage with Dante and Travis at her sides. The music starts and she stands up. She brushes her fingers under Dante's chin before pushing him away. She repeats the same move with Travis and then her feet are moving fast. The energy shifts to be more upbeat.
      She's suddenly like one of the dance figures you see in music boxes. She's dancing a mix of ballet and hip hop, mixing both to become one masterpiece. Travis and Dante try to mimic her moves, but in their own hip hop style. Every delicate spin is reflected into a more bouncy spin.
      The song ends and the three of them exit the stage. They have their moment of celebrating with each other about how they did and they go and meet Aphmau and Aaron.

     "You guys did great!" Aphmau says, hugging her friends.

      "Thanks. We worked really hard on that, I mean we all worked hard, but with these dumbasses, it was pretty difficult," Katelyn replies.

     Dante and Travis roll their eyes. Katelyn puts her arms around their shoulders and clears her throat,

"How about we all go grab some ice cream while we wait for awards? There's an ice cream shop in this building!" Katelyn suggests.

"I'm in!" Aphmau replies, raising her hand.

The others raise their hands too and they all make their way to the cute little ice cream shop. It's decorated to look retro and is covered in bright neon colors. They all get their different ice cream flavors and find their seats.

———

Laurance finds Garroth's vehicle and sees Garroth sitting in it all alone. He lowers his eyebrows and opens the door to sit in the passenger seat. He hears sniffling from his friend and watches as Garroth looks up, rubs his eyes, and looks at him.

"L..Laurance?"

"Hey buddy," Laurance says softly.

Garroth shifts from his uncomfortable crouched position into a natural position. Laurance uses the lever at the side of the chair to sit back a little more comfortably.

"I'm sorry for the uh.. kiss.. heh..," Garroth apologizes and stares at the steering wheel.

"Why'd you do it?" Laurance asks quickly.

Garroth blushes and looks into Laurance's eyes sadly.

"Because.. because I...," Garroth sighs and tries to stop the tears that try to escape his eyes.

"Because you... have feelings.. for me?" Laurance guesses.

Garroth nods slowly and looks out of the window.

"Laurance I don't.. like girls.. I.. I'm gay.. I just didn't know before," Garroth comes out.

He sighs, his chest heavy, making it hard to breathe.

"It's okay Garroth. There's nothing wrong with that. I mean, I'm Bi. I've been bi since the end of high school. I just never told anybody. I don't really know how I feel about you.. maybe we could.. try a date?" Laurance suggests.

A smile makes it's way into Garroth's face and he hugs Laurance. The two of them decide to go back inside and meet with the others. They notice their friends eating ice cream and decide to join them. As they eat ice cream with each other, Zane and Kawaii Chan join them too. They all talk about who they think will win and everything.
Soon enough it was the awards. There was the variety of many different awards, but the others really only cared about the placement.

———

"To end the awards, we must announce the top winners for each of the different sections! We have the groups, duos, and solos!" Guy announces over the loud speaker.

The audience quiets down and Guy picks up an envelope.

"For groups we have.., Blaze, Dottie, Daniel, and Ryland!" Guy announces. The audience cheers loudly and the group of werewolves runs onto the stage.

"Weren't they amazing?" Guy asks the audience with a smile.

The audience gets louder and Guy gives the group their award and lets them exit from the stage.

"Now for duos we have.. Laurance and Garroth!"

The two guys gasp and run onto the stage.

"Thank you for participating! You were great!"

They take their award and Laurance wraps his arm around Garroth's shoulder and the audience grows louder.

"And for solos we have... Jenny!"

A girl with platinum blonde hair races to the stage with a huge smile and she gladly accepts her award.

"For our overall winner.. this was a hard choice.., but we have.., Lucinda and Melissa! Wow, their dance studio has some amazing dancers!" Guy announces cheerfully.

Melissa and Lucinda accept their award and all the winners bow together.

———

After the competition, the dancers met at a pizza place and hung out together. Zane and Kawaii Chan sat next to each other and sneakily held each other's hands under the table. Garroth got a straw stuck up his nose somehow, Aphmau laughed so hard that her drink came dripping from her nose, Travis got another kiss on the cheek from Katelyn, and it was just an exciting night overall. Despite the fact that not everyone could be a winner.

———

Honestly the whole aesthetic of this chapter was the album Lover! Weird, but I was listening to it while writing this chapter! I hope you guys are ready for the next chapters!
Some things may seem rushed, but trust me, it'll work!