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Excuse the mistakes

PLEASE READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE! THERE IS A NOTE ABOUT A PARKER POV AND THE WINNER OF THE CAPTION CONTEST IS ANNOUNCED!

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 I had managed to be late on the one day I couldn’t be late.

Apparently, after getting home from the party last night, I’d forgotten to turn on my alarm clock. On any normal Saturday, that would be completely fine. However, today was the day of a big dance competition, and I’d woken up forty-five minutes late.

Of course, my parents and Thomas were out for the day at his baseball tournament, which meant they hadn’t been home to wake me up. So, I had to get all of my stuff together by myself. It might not sound like a big deal, but it was when you were as disorganized as I was.

After spending fifteen minutes spent looking for the top piece for my dance costume, I found it and shoved it into my duffel bag with the rest of my dance costume and makeup. Quickly, I changed into a pair of black leggings and plain gray v-neck. I tugged on my dance jacket, and then tugged my hair up into a messy bun without even brushing it.

I checked the time on my phone and swore loudly. The dance competition was two hours away, and I was supposed to be there early in case the acts were ahead of schedule. However, because I was leaving now, I would barely get there with enough time to get ready, stretch, and run through my solo.

I hurried out my bedroom and down the stairs. I grabbed my car keys and sprinted out the door, barely taking the time to lock it. I threw my duffel bag into the passenger seat of the Grouch and dove into the drivers’ side.

I shoved my key into the ignition and frowned as it made a weird sound. However, the car was started, and I didn’t have time to dwell on why the engine sounded messed up. I backed out of my driveway and sped down the street.

I turned on my crappy GPS, which I’d already programmed for the building where the competition was. As I followed the blue line, my engine started to sound stranger, like there was a growling animal under my hood.

After driving for about half an hour, my car started to jerk forward instead of driving smoothly, and I swore. I pulled over to the side of the highway just in time for my car to splutter and die.

My eyes widened, and my jaw dropped. “No,” I whispered, and I slammed my hands into the steering the wheel. “Shit! No, this can’t actually be happening right now!” I tried turning the key in the ignition, but the engine wouldn’t turn over.

Thinking quickly, I grabbed my phone and punched in Zephyr’s phone number. She was going to the dance competition as well, and I knew that she had her mom’s car. She might be able to come save me and pick me up. However, Zephyr didn’t answer her phone, and when I tried Maya, I got the same result.

My parents were too far away to come get me and take me to my competition on time, which meant there was really only one other person I could try and call. It was no doubt going to be awkward, but I needed to be on time to this dance competition.

Reluctantly, I dialed the phone number and pressed the phone to my ear. It only took two rings for him to pick up.

“Reed?”

Parker sounded completely surprised to hear from me, and I sighed.

“My car broke down and I need your help,” I stated, rubbing my forehead in frustration. “I have a dance competition, and I need you to come get me and drive me there and back.” There was silence on the other end of the phone, and I swallowed hard. “Parker, please.”

After another painful pause, I heard Parker sigh. “Where are you?” he asked, and I felt a huge wave of relief. I told him where I was according to the GPS, and Parker told me he’d be here as soon as he could. Then, the line went dead.

As I waited in my car, I started to feel anxious. Last night, I’d called Parker a jackass after catching him with another girl in the laundry room at the party. Despite all of that, I still really liked him. If anything, the jealously I’d felt cemented my feelings for him.

After a little over twenty minutes of sitting in my car, thinking about Parker and singing quietly, and poorly, to myself, I heard the familiar roar of a motorcycle. I glanced out my side view mirror and saw Parker’s motorcycle pulling over right behind me.

As he pulled off his helmet, I let out a deep breath and grabbed my duffel bag. I pulled my keys out of the ignition and climbed out of the car. “Hey,” I said, waving awkwardly, “Thanks for coming.”

“No problem,” Parker replied, and he swung his leg over the side of his motorcycle and walked over to me and the Grouch. “What’s wrong with it?”

“I’m not sure,” I said, shaking my head, “It was making a weird noise, and then it started to jerk forward a bit. When I pulled over to the side of the road, it died on me.”

Parker narrowed his eyes and walked past me to the front of the car. I watched as he lifted the hood and peered into the car parts underneath. After a couple of minutes, he let out a grunt of understanding, and then he closed the hood.

“Well, I know the problem,” Parker stated, and then he started spewing out car vocabulary that I didn’t understand. I just nodded and made vague sounds of agreement. “While you’re at your dance competition, I’ll find a mechanic and get the part I need to fix your car, okay?” Parker said.

“Awesome,” I replied, and then I nodded at his motorcycle. “Can we get going? I don’t mean to seem ungrateful or rude, but I’m going to be really late as it is. I don’t want to miss my solo.”

Parker handed me his helmet and said, “Let’s head out then. Where’s this dance competition?”

“Hartford Recreation Center,” I stated, pulling on his helmet.

“I know where that is,” Parker replied, and I locked the Grouch before following him over to his motorcycle. I tugged the strap of my duffel bag on over my head so that it wouldn’t fall off, and then I climbed onto the motorcycle behind Parker.

I wrapped my arms around Parker’s torso, and since he couldn’t see me, I let myself grin like an idiot. However, as Parker pulled away from the curb and left the Grouch behind, my grin turned to a grimace. I still hated Parker’s motorcycle, and I had ridden on it quite a few times for someone who saw it as a metal death trap.

*

“You are really lucky that the competition is running late, Babe.”

“I know,” I muttered, wincing as Zephyr yanked a brush through my hair. Parker had just dropped me off at the dance competition, and I’d sprinted to the dressing room for the Bella Dance Company.

The first that happened was that I got bitched out in Russian by Katja for being late. Then, Zephyr had yelled at me as she shoved me into a chair so that she could get my hair done. Thankfully, the competition had to deal with an age problem with a soloist, so all of the acts were running fifteen minutes late.

After a good ten minutes of having Zephyr curl my hair and then yank it up into a high ponytail, I was free to do my makeup. Doing makeup for a stage was different from just regular makeup because of the lighting. It had to be a lot darker.

After finishing my makeup, which I’d managed to mess up on the first attempt because I was so stressed, I changed into my dance costume. It was a red dress with a pair of red booty shorts to go underneath, due to the cut of the dress showing a lot of my leg.

I sat down and started to stretch, and as my muscles loosened up, the thoughts of Parker slipped away. I was in my dance zone, and all I was thinking about now was the set of complicated turns at the end of my routine.

I’d actually choreographed the majority of this dance myself, with only a little bit of input from Katja, and I needed it to do well. I wanted to be a choreographer when I got older, and this was a major stepping stone. I needed to prove myself to the dance community.

After running through the dance twice, and the set of turns more times than I could count, it was time for me to go backstage. As I watched all of the acts before me go, I started to feel the nerves. I was confident in my dancing ability, as well as my choreography, but that wasn’t helping at the moment.

I took my place at the curtain, and when I peeked around it and squinted through the bright lights, I saw that the auditorium was packed. I let out a deep breath and closed my eyes. You can do this, Reed, I thought.

“Next is act 34; Reed Hadley with ‘What’s Up?’!”

My eyes snapped open and I stepped on stage. I fixed myself into the starting pose, and a second later, “What’s Up?” by 4 Non Blondes started to play. Instantly, all of my nerves went away, and I just let my body feel the music.

As my solo progressed, I felt increasingly confident, and when I got to the end with the difficult turns, I didn’t even falter. Gently, I went from the turns to a side aerial, and I landed lightly on my knee. The song ended, and my lips spread into a giant grin.

As I looked out into the audience, I made out one person; Parker. He was sitting in an aisle seat and had his traditional, crooked smirk fixed on his face. I felt my heart flutter, and I quickly pushed myself up and slipped off of the stage.

As soon as I was in the wings, I found myself enveloped in a bear hug. “Reed!” Zephyr cried excitedly, “You were wonderful!”

“Thanks,” I said, the warmth in my chest spreading and enveloping my entire body. I was extremely proud of myself and what I’d done. After Zephyr released me to get ready for her solo, I walked back towards the dressing room. My head was up in the clouds, and at that moment, I didn’t care if I didn’t win.

Wait, scratch that. I really did care.

After another half an hour, which involved me picking at my fingernails and helping the younger girls get ready for their dance number that I’d assisted Katja in pulling together, it was time for awards.

Zephyr and I, along with another girl named Stacey, made our way to the stage, and we all sat in a group. I pulled at my ponytail gently as the announcer started to give away the special awards for costumes and such, and then it came time for highest overall score in my age division.

As the announcer got down to the top three, and Zephyr and I had yet to have been called, I got more nervous. Zephyr was a dynamite dancer, and as much as I loved her, I wanted to beat her.

“In second place, with only two points separating her from first, is… Zephyr Clarke!”

I clapped, and Zephyr leaned over and whispered “You won, Babe!” before winking and standing up. As she walked over to receive her trophy, I glanced into the audience and caught Parker’s eye. He held up his fingers, and when I saw that they were crossed, I laughed. Having Parker in the audience was actually putting me at ease.

“And now, your overall high score winner is… Reed Hadley!”

I quickly scrambled to my feet. I hurried over and took my place as the first prize winner, and I hugged Zephyr. The photographer took a couple of pictures, and then we made our way off of the stage to clear the space for the next category.

When we reached the dressing room and I started to pack up my things and change, Zephyr frowned at me. “Aren’t you going to stay and watch the younger girls?” she asked, and I shook my head.

“The Grouch broke down, and Parker has to fix it,” I said with a shrug. “I don’t know how long that’s going to take, and I don’t want to be on the highway at night.”

“Good point,” Zephyr said, and she gave me another hug. “Congrats on winning, Reed,” she breathed, and I grinned.

“Thanks,” I replied, “Congrats to you as well.” I pulled out of the hug and slung my duffel bag over my shoulder, and I said goodbye to everyone in the dressing room. Then, I walked outside and made my way to the lobby, where I saw Parker leaning against a wall.

“You were really good, Reed,” Parker said as I approached, and I beamed at him.

“Thanks,” I replied, shrugging modestly, “I didn’t think you were gonna watch.”

“Well, it was easy finding the part I needed,” Parker said simply. “I know how dancing is really important to you, so I wanted to see you in action. I’m glad I did.”

I blushed and resisted the urge to look down at my shoes. “Did you get the part for my car?” I asked, and Parker nodded. “Awesome,” I said, and I gestured towards the door. “Do you want to head back to the Grouch so that we can fix it?”

“Alright,” Parker said, and together, we walked out of the recreation center. When we reached Parker’s motorcycle, I pulled on his helmet without hesitation, and within a few minutes, we were speeding back to the Grouch.

As we drove down the highway, I started to feel a little bit nervous. Parker and I were going to be alone at the side of the road for who knows how long, and we had yet to address what I’d said to him at the beach party. I had a feeling that he was going to say something about it, and I wasn’t sure exactly how awkward it would get. He could technically leave me stranded at the side of the road with a broken down car.

Let’s all hope that he wasn’t planning to do that.

When we reached the Grouch, Parker stopped his motorcycle behind it and I got off slowly with his help. After riding on a motorcycle for a couple hours today, my legs felt like they were vibrating. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling.

As I unlocked the Grouch and threw my duffel bag inside, Parker opened the hood and leaned over it. However, before he started to install the new part wherever it was supposed to go, Parker frowned and looked over at me.

“I can’t fix this,” he said, and my jaw dropped.

“What?” I demanded, my eyes widening, “Parker, you said—”

“Reed, let me finish,” Parker interrupted, and I paused before reluctantly shutting my mouth. “I can’t fix this,” he repeated, and then he added, “Until you listen to me finally. I have something to say, and I have wanted to say it since the day we went to the beach, but you haven’t given me the chance.”

Oh, shit. Here it comes.

“Go ahead,” I said, more quietly than I’d expected. My eyes fell down to the pavement, and I swallowed hard.

“Reed, I’m in love with you.”

My eyes snapped up to stare at Parker, and I found that he was now only a few inches away from me. “You love me?” I breathed, completely taken by surprise. I couldn’t even register what he’d just said to me.

“Yes, I do,” Parker stated firmly, “I’ve loved you since our first fake date, when you beat me at air hockey.”

“I love you too,” I blurted, and I felt my cheeks redden even more as Parker’s lips spread into a bright grin. The words had been impulsive, but that didn’t make them any less true. I did love Parker Hunt, and he loved me back.

He loved me.

I smiled at Parker, and a second later, he had wrapped his arms around my torso and pulled me close. “Does this mean you’ll be my real girlfriend now?” Parker whispered, smirking his crooked smirk that I couldn’t get enough of.

“Let me think,” I drawled, and then I winked at Parker and said, “I guess that can be arranged.”

Parker chuckled, and then he pressed his lips to mine. This time, our kiss was genuine, and I could feel the electricity between us. My body felt like it was going to explode from happiness, and I could just melt into Parker’s arms.

After what seemed like too short a time, Parker pulled out of our kiss. He grinned down at me and nodded towards the front end of my car. “I should probably fix your car,” he said huskily, and I shrugged.

“Probably.”

Then, I pulled him back in for another kiss. The guy I loved felt the same way towards me. The Grouch could wait its turn for his attention.

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HE FINALLY SAID IT!!!

The song on the side is "What's Up?" by 4 Non Blondes, which is the song that she danced to.

PARKER'S POV: I have made the decision that the next chapter, which is the LAST chapter, will be in Parker's POV. I have been thinking about it for a while, and I just like the idea of not letting you guys into his head in the previous chapters. I know how I want the next chapter to go, and rewriting a chapter in Parker's POV that was previously written in Reed's just isn't something I want to do for the story's sake. 

The winner of the caption contest is.... srs1999!!! her caption was "Nothing to see here, move along." There were a ton of good captions, but this one made me laugh really hard because it's just so my humor. Please, srs1999, private message me and tell me which chapter you want dedicated to you. You can have any chapter not already dedicated, but you can't have the next chapter (sry).

Also, at the end of the final chapter, I'm going to post the description my new story. Just an fyi for all you lovely readers :)

ONLY ONE CHAPTER LEFT YOU GUYS!

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