-make it alright-
-chapter twenty-

Throwing a final, thousand-watt smile at the audience, Melissa took her final curtsy. The red velvet curtains lowered on the stage, but even they couldn�t drown out the thunderous applause. Melissa could feel her heart beating rapidly inside her chest. There was nothing more exhilarating then an entire audience full pf people clapping for your performance. Well, maybe one thing was more exhilarating. A certain boy by the name of�

�You were amazing out there!� A voice praised to Melissa. She felt the voice�s owner wrap her small body into an embrace. Out of breath from her performance, Melissa took a minute to rest. She closed her eyes, inhaling sharply. The person hugging her smelt of an interesting combination of sweat, deodorant and cologne. Melissa would know that scent anywhere.

�Its all thanks to you, Jorge. You were the one leading!� Melissa pulled back, to hold her best friend and dancing partner at arm�s length.

Jorge shrugged his shoulders cockily. He wetted his thumb in his mouth and used it to smooth down his eyebrow. �You�re right about that. You do have a lot to be thankful for. You are dancing with the best thing to come along since Michael Jackson.�

Melissa couldn�t help but laugh at the egotistical way Jorge always poked fun at himself. That was one of the many qualities she loved about him. �You were the one that made me so amazing out there.�

The comical look on Jorge�s face faded. It was instead replaced with a somber, more serious look. �Ah, but that�s where you go wrong, my dear Melissa. You weren�t dancing well for me, were you? You were dancing your heart out for a certain someone in the audience.�

Melissa�s eye focus quickly shifted. Rosin on the stage wing floor suddenly seemed utterly fascinating to her. Although the performance was already over, Melissa ground the toe of her pointe shoe into the sticky concoction.

�Its hard to tell through all that stage make-up, but I do believe you are blushing, Miss Melissa.� Jorge teased.

Melissa shrugged her shoulders sheepishly. �Okay�so maybe I was dancing with a little bit more passion in order to impress a certain audience member.� �That�s my girl,� said Jorge, as he patted his friend on the shoulder. �But the question is- which audience member were you trying to impress?�

Melissa�s face scrunched up in contemplation. Truth be told, she was just as curious about the answer to the question as Jorge was. Brent and Nick had flown into Texas to see Melissa dance in the school�s Christmas pageant. Ever since they�d made their plane reservations, Melissa had been confused over which boy she was the most excited to see. On one hand, she�d been having an on-again, off-again fling with Brent for years. On the other hand, Melissa and Nick were closer than ever after her Spring Break vacation.

�Well, the way I see it, there�s only one way we�re going to find out the answer to that question,� Jorge announced. Melissa looked up towards her best friend, eagerly awaiting his advice.

�By getting your ass out there and talking to those boys!� Jorge said harshly. �How are you going to figure it out in here with your gay best friend, when the two boys you�ve been crushing on long distance are standing right outside?�

�Oh, of course you�re right Jorge!� Melissa exclaimed. She rose to the boxes of her pointe shoes. Taking Jorge�s face in her hands, she kissed him on the forehead.

�I don�t know what I�d do without you!� Melissa continued on, as she rushed toward the lobby door.

�Mel, honey?� Jorge asked. Melissa stopped dead in her tracks. Turning around, she opened her eyes wide in expectation.

�I know the answer to your question.�

�What question?� Melissa had already forgotten.

�What you�d do without me,� Jorge explained.

�Oh,� Melissa realized. �What�s that?�

�You�d probably run outside dressed like an idiot.� Jorge gestured down to what Melissa was clothed in. She was still wearing her red-sequined Christmas dance costume.

�Oh, God! I�m such an idiot!� Melissa slapped her forehead in stupidity. �Help me change quickly, Jorge. You know that boys have no patience for waiting. Always the obedient best friend, Jorge helped Melissa strip off her costume in record time. The post-recital outfit had been decided ahead of time, after many hours of fret in front of Melissa�s closet by her and Jorge. She wore a vintage, green embroidered hippie blouse with a blue jean skirt and knee-high brown boots. It was an original outfit, something the boys probably wouldn�t see on any Tampa girl. Yet the green in the top brought out Melissa�s bronze skin and warm brown eyes.

�Girl, you look hot!� Jorge commented, as Melissa let her hair down from its bun. It cascaded down her shoulders in loopy curls. �If I wasn�t gay, I�d jump your bones right now.�

Melissa grinned. �Thanks, Jorge. You�re a lifesaver.�

Jorge smacked Melissa on the ass. �Now go out there and get your boy- whichever one it is.�

Melissa trotted off towards the lobby door. As she reached for it, a voice called out, �And don�t forget to call me tomorrow and let me know which one it is!�

�Absolutely, babe.� Taking a deep breath, Melissa collected herself before pushing the door open into the auditorium lobby.

The lobby looked like every other post-performance gathering Melissa had seen in her many years of dancing. Sweaty teenagers in stage make-up sucked on Gatorade bottles while loving friends and family rushed to greet them with hugs and flowers. It was a comforting sight.

�Well, if it isn�t Madonna herself. Come on, Vogue! Let your body groove to the music�� At the sound of a familiar voice, Melissa whipped her body around. �Brenty!� She cried, throwing herself into her friend�s body. The touch of his arms around her body was warm and soothing to Melissa�s tired bones.

Brent�s arms wrapped tightly around Melissa�s middle. He lifted her up off the ground, her legs involuntarily bending at the knee. Once he�d brought her ear to his mouth-level, he whispered: �You stole the whole show. I don�t even like dance, and I couldn�t take my eyes off of you.�

�You didn�t fall asleep?� Melissa asked. She didn�t ask out of sarcasm. She was truly shocked that Brent hadn�t nodded off throughout the performance.

Brent shook his head. �It was different then your other performances I�ve been to, Mel. Something�s changed about you. You light up the entire room when you�re onstage. You look so grown-up out there.�

Melissa leaned forward and pecked Brent lightly on the lips. Pulling away, she saw that she�d left a smear of bright read lipstick across his mouth. Brent had to set Melissa down on the ground in order to wipe his lips with the back of his hand.

�Sorry about that,� Melissa apologized.

Brent shook his head. �From you, I don�t mind at all.�

�It means a lot that you liked my performance. And that you stayed awake for it. I was really nervous tonight.�

Brent glanced around to see if the cost was clear. Deeming it safe, he leaned down to Melissa�s eye level. He raised an index finger in front of his lips. �Shh, don�t tell anyone. But I actually liked your dance recital.�

He straightened himself, and his clothes, out. �But don�t let it get out. I have a reputation to maintain here.�

Melissa nodded her head solemnly. �Of course.�

A moment of silence.

�So�� Melissa began. �Where�s my Nickers hiding?�

In that moment, Brent�s entire facial structure changed. �Um, is there someplace we could talk, Melissa? Privately?�

A confused look crossed Melissa�s face. But she nodded. �Sure, follow me.� The two were completely silent as Melissa led the way away from the crowd. A thousand thoughts ran through Melissa�s head as she walked down the hall. None of them were quite coherent. Eventually, she opened a door and led Brent into the ticket box office, long closed for the night. They both settled themselves into metal folding chairs.

�Where�s Nick?� Melissa asked again.

Brent reached into his pocket. His hand returned holding a folded-up piece of lined notebook paper. The kind you used in school.

�He asked me to give this to you,� Brent said reluctantly.

Cautiously, Melissa took the paper from Brent�s hand. Although she was eager to discover its contents, she unfolded it slowly. So as not to harm it in anyway. After smoothing the creases out of the paper, Melissa began to read:

Dear Lissie-Liss,

So I�m guessing you�ve figured out I�m not in Texas, right? Good. I knew you were the smart one out of all of us! Anyway, I�m sorry that I missed your performance. Something came up suddenly, and I just couldn�t leave Ruskin. Don�t worry that cute little butt of yours- its nothing bad. My family and the guys are all right and everything. In fact, it�s just the opposite. Something happened to me. I think it�s the best something to happen to me since joining the group. Liss, I met a girl. An AMAZING girl. Her name�s Mandy. I just know you�ll love her. Anyway, things have just started to heat up between the two of us. And I�m leaving after Christmas for Europe, so I really wanted to spend this week with her. Don�t be upset with me- you�ll understand when you meet a guy. Plus, this Christmas recital is an annual thing, right? I�ll just come next year.

Nick

After finishing the letter, Melissa leaned back against her metal chair in disbelief. After three months of freaking out over which boy she was going to choose, Nick or Brent, this was how the situation ended. In all her speculation with Jorge, the two had never come up with this possibility. Nick met a girl. �I think it�s the best something to happen to me since joining the group,� Melissa reread. What about me, Nick? What about our Spring Break? That was the best week of my life. It was special to me. I thought it was special to you, too.

Melissa could feel tears welling up in her eyes. She closed her eyes and shook her head. She wasn�t going to cry. Not over Nick. Not in front of Brent. And what does he mean- �you�ll understand when you meet a guy�? What makes him think I HAVEN�T met a guy? Ugh! He�s such a jerk.

Melissa turned to face Brent. �So what�s she like?�

�Who?� Brent asked.

�The girlfriend.�

�Oh, Mandy?� Brent�s tongue appeared between his lips, something that only happened when he was trying very carefully to choose the right words. �She�s�interesting. They call her Ghetto Barbie at school. Dresses like a b-girl, with baggy jeans and all. But she�s tall and skinny and has long blonde hair.�

Melissa�s hands instinctively wrapped around her waist. She�d stopped growing when she was in the 6th grade, at 5�3�. As she grew older, her curves became more defined. Though she wasn�t fat, she was nowhere near a Barbie. �So Ghetto Barbie found her Ghetto Ken.�

�Pretty much,� Brent agreed with a laugh. His eye focus changed, as he fiddled with the hem of his shirt. �She�s not that nice to me. Actually, Mandy�s pretty much a bitch to me. I guess because with the group and all, Nick doesn�t have a lot of time to spend with her. I�m just another distraction

�But Nick likes her. A lot. So I figure I�ll give her a chance. Nick�s my best friend. If he likes her, she can�t be all that bad, right?�

Melissa nodded. �Sounds like a good plan.�

Still holding Nick�s letter, Melissa crumpled it up in her hand. She tossed it into the corner of the room. �Let�s stop talking about them.

�Let�s talk about us.� As she said this, Melissa intertwined each of her finger through Brent�s.

Brent gulped. �What do you mean?�

Melissa looked up at Brent through her eyelashes. Moving her body closer to his, she cocked her head slightly to the side. �Do you like me, Brent?�

�You know I do, Mel.�

�Then kiss me.�

�Gladly.�

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