𝑁𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝐸𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒

Chapter 19 |Nervous Wreck|

I'm going to shit myself right now. As Rose and I walk into the ballet studio, I feel like I'm going to faint. I try to keep my panic attack at bay but I soon have to excuse myself from the classroom.

When I shut the classroom door, I lean against the wall next to it. I slowly sink down until I'm in a crouch position. My breathing becomes ragged as tears fill my eyes.

My hand taps against my thigh as I try to draw in deep breaths. It felt like I was suffocating. I have to get myself together as fast as I can so that I can walk back into that room.

I didn't hear someone call my name down the hall. I didn't hear footsteps approaching me. I lean my head against the wall as I close my eyes. I try everything I can that I learned to get rid of this panic attack but nothing works.

I flinch when I feel someone's hand on my cheek. I open my eyes to see a worried Noah crouched down in front of me.

"What's wrong?" He asked me. Before I can answer, he sits down fully and pulls me toward him.

"I got you, baby, I got you." He reassures me as he holds me against him. His hand smoothes down my hair as he places small kisses on my head.

"P-panic attack," I stutter as my breathing starts to calm down. He mutters something so lowly I almost miss it.

"I'm here," His voice raspy and raw as he speaks. It was as if he was hurting watching me like this. I look up at him and see him staring down at me with an understanding look.

When I finally calm down I look at his watch and see that the teacher should be getting here soon. I still have to get my ballet shoes on and I should be warming up.

"What happened?" He asked me.

"Today the teacher is announcing who will be getting the solo at the Riverview Gala and I've been stressing all month about it. I've been practicing until I practically fell apart. That's why I've been so tired and I'm so scared. What if I don't get the part?" I rant to him.

He takes my hand into his, giving me a reassuring squeeze before speaking. "River, you are a great dancer. If you don't get the part that's because people are too blind to see how amazing you are."

I nod my head and sigh as I wrap my arms around Noah and hug him. "I have to warm up before Mrs. Stone comes. Thank you for helping me." I tell him as I place a kiss on his cheek.

"Anytime beautiful," He says. He waits until I'm in the room to leave, I take a deep breath before walking to Rose.

"You okay?" She asks me. I nod and tell her that I'll be okay.

~~~~~

"Okay ladies, gather around. I will be announcing who will be getting the solo for the Riverview Gala this year. It was a hard decision. Each one of you are amazing dancers. This year Riverview solo goes to Ms.Michelson!" Mrs. Stone's voice doesn't register at first.

I looked toward Rose to see if she heard the same thing I did. Rose smiles so big I think her jaw might break. I hear dancers around me clap.

"Really?" I say in disbelief. I turn my head towards Mrs. Stone and she smiles at me before nodding. I smile so big as I run into Rose's arms and chant 'oh my god' over and over again.

When we are finally dismissed, I tell Rose I'll meet with her later before walking in the other direction. Noah's class should be dismissed at this time.

I went outside to wait for him. I see him walking out of the school while talking with one of his teammates. I wait until he's done talking to run up to him and throw my arms around his neck.

He tenses before relaxing as he hears my voice. "I did it! I did it!" I say happily to him. He wraps his arms around me and spins me around as I laugh.

As I pull away to stare out his face I see him with a smile as big as mine. "I knew you could do it beautiful," He exclaims as he stares into my eyes.

I don't think about the people around us that can be watching. At this moment, all that mattered was me and Noah. I wrap my arms around him again but this time I place my lips on his.

He smiles as his hand goes from my waist to the back of my head. He kisses me deeper as he pulls me closer to him. His mouth was gentle and soft against mine. My heart pounded in my chest as I pull away from him.

As much as I wanted to continue this I remember that we were in public for everyone to see. I catch my breath as Noah grins at me. "What?" I ask him as he continues to stare at me.

"You kissed me. In public." He says with an Oscar-winning smile.

"It was a moment of happiness!" I say trying to defend myself. We kissed in public. Everyone will be talking about it now. I just kissed the captain of the hockey team and the hottest guy in the school out of happiness.

𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑢𝑐𝑘 𝑖𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑚𝑒?

I stare into the brown eyes in front of me. I realized something. This small crush I have on Noah Hayes is much, much more than a small crush.