Chapter 15

       Now that I was actually on the dance team, I was able to enjoy going to the studio after school a lot more than when I wasn't on the team. Before, I just had to sit around doing nothing but now, I was actually able to be part of the dances.

       I had to admit, the practices were a lot more intense than I thought they were when I was just watching it. When it was just me and Echo choreographing our duet, it wasn't that intense but when we were working on the dances for the semi-finals and finals if we made it that far, it was intense.

       I was already dead within fifteen minutes of practicing. And to make things worse, we still weren't getting a break.

       This was way too cruel for me. I wasn't used to rehearsing for this long, and full-out too. It seriously did not look that hard, but I was so wrong.

       Dad, thankfully, noticed I was having a hard time keeping up because I was already so exhausted, so after we were done the current run-through, he told everyone to go for a five minute break.

       I immediately went to where I kept my water bottle and took a long sip out of it as Dad walked over. "It's exhausting, isn't it?" he asked.

       I pulled my water bottle away from my lips and nodded. "I don't know how they do it," I said, still out of breath.

       Dad chuckled. "A lot of practice. Just remember, these people have been coming here almost every day for years to practice. This is one of your first times practicing like this. You'll get the hang of it."

       "I hope," I said. "It's exhausting."

       "Yeah, I know," Dad said. "How's the duet coming along?"

       "Good," I said. "We have rough choreo right now, so we may end up modifying a few things as we practice."

       "Can I see it after practice?" Dad asked.

       "Are you finding an excuse to make us dance together even more?"

       "Rhys, come on," Dad said. "Not everything I do is to push you and Echo together. I'll let you ask her out on your own time."

       "Right, which was why you paired us up for the duet," I said. 

       "No, I paired you up because you two did so well in the duet qualifier," Dad said. "And you'd probably do a lot better now that you'll be the one practicing all the time. And part of it is because you like her."

       I sighed. "You couldn't have just left it alone?"

       "Uh, no," Dad said. "I can't just not let romance happen. That isn't who I am."

       "I can see that," I said. 

       We shortly got back to practicing and by the time the rehearsal was over, I felt like dropping out of the studio. Not really, but I was way too tried to function right now, and I was going to have to show Dad the duet with Echo.

       He let us take a short break to catch our breath and to drink some water while everyone else was allowed to leave. Dad told Zayden that he would drive me home afterwards so Zayden didn't have to wait for us.

       After a few minutes for a break, Echo hooked her phone up to the speaker and asked Dad if he could start it once we were ready. 

       We stood in the middle of the studio facing each other just a few feet apart from each other. I looked at Dad and gave him a nod to start the music, so he did, then we began our dance. Again, it was just rough choreo and we were most likely going to change things the more we worked on it, but I really liked what we had so far.

       It wasn't difficult at all for Echo and I to choreograph this. We were always on the same page and listened to each other's ideas. And it wasn't just one of us giving most of the ideas. It was both of us contributing, which was what made the dance so strong.

       When we finished the dance, Dad smiled. "That was amazing," he said. "With that dance, there is no way we won't lost that round."

       "Thanks," Echo said with a smile, though sounding out of breath.

       "Echo?" a voice suddenly said with a bit of sharpness behind it. I looked over to see a middle-aged woman standing there, looking very professional with her black pantsuit and matching blazer, and her hair tied in a high ponytail.

       And I couldn't help to notice the quick expression change of Echo. Her smile suddenly turned into a frown.

       "I've been waiting in the parking lot for a good ten minutes," the woman said.

       "Sorry, Mom," Echo said. "I'm coming now."

       Echo didn't even say 'Bye' or 'See you later' to me like she always did whenever she was leaving the studio, or even school. She just hurried to her locked and grabbed her bag before following her mom out of the studio.

       Dad didn't notice Echo's change in behavior, but then again, I probably only paid close attention because I liked her a lot.

       "Now you see why I chose you and Echo for the duet?" Dad asked. "With it, there is no way you won't make it passed that round, and we really need to pull out all the best dances we have if we want to make it to Nationals this time."

       I sighed. "Yeah, I guess."

       "Do you want to talk?" Dad asked.

       I nodded, so we went over to one of the benches and sat down. "I just....hate how everyone's keep trying to pressure me to ask out Echo," I said. "I really like her, but everyone who knows me should know that it takes me a while to be fully comfortable around people."

       "I think the reason why everyone is pressuring you is because they want you to be comfortable around someone other than you're family," Dad said. "And it's because they care for you, especially Kingsley and Zayden. They want to see you happy and able to socialize with people other than your family."

       "That doesn't make it easy," I said. 

       "I know," Dad said. "At least you're trying to talk to her and not ignoring her just because you like her."

       "Didn't you do that with Mom?" I asked.

       Dad chuckled. "Yeah, I did. It wasn't my fault. I thought she liked someone else because she was confusing me. Anyway, you really don't have to ask Echo out if you're not ready. Just continue getting to know her until you feel like you can be comfortable around her."

       "Yeah, but that won't stop Zayden and Kingsley from pestering me," I said.

       "I'll talk to Zayden about it, and I'll get your uncle Nolan to talk to Kingsley," Dad said. "Just do what's best for you, okay?"

       I nodded. "Okay. Thanks for the talk."

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Aww father and son moment. <3

Omg guys, so Myles and Briar auditioned for America's Got Talent in case you didn't know because idk if I've said it in an AN yet. Anyway, while their audition wasn't shown on TV (yet, im still hopeful), THEY WERE SHOWN FOR LIKE TWO SECONDS. They were showing different couples auditioning and Myles gave Briar a kiss and said something like, "We got this." 

I DIED. I'm really hoping AGT will show their audition, and that they make it through.

Ohhhhh and for those in the GC and know that I made a gif because Shawn Mendes is cute, here it is since I couldn't post it in the chat:

Omg, 17 days and I'll get to see him in concertttttttt. I'm dying just thinking about it.