10 Ten

The group performance went by a little less nerve-wrackingly since there were a lot more dancers on stage and the attention was less likely to be on Elijah. It was definitely not nearly as intense as their duo and Elijah found himself enjoying on stage to the energetic choreography, so it hadn't been any less rewarding. There were five schools in total competing, each having one group performance and two duo routines. Elijah found that the students from the other schools were exceptionally good but Lucas kept insisting that they were the best.

"Besides, we're the only ones who went for this concept. I'm pretty sure we stuck out a lot more compared to the others." Lucas stated happily. The fifteenth and last duo were currently on stage so it was just a matter of time before the judges decided on the winning team. Lucas wouldn't stop blabbering to Elijah about how good their performance was and the latter lost count of how many times he rolled his eyes. Nonetheless, he couldn't wipe the smile off his face.

There was one thing bothering him though.

He looked at the crowd for the umpteenth time and there was still no sign of his parents. He tried to butter himself up to the thought that maybe they were just hidden somewhere in the crowd but his heart and gut told him that they simply didn't care enough to come. Whenever his mind to drifted to them, he tried to block the thought out because he didn't want it to ruin his good mood.

The final couple finally got off the stage and the host announced that they were going to take fifteen while the judges decided the winner. Elijah didn't particularly care about winning as much as Lucas did but he definitely fancied the idea. Who wouldn't? Winning against all these other great dancers from all these other schools would definitely be an honor.

The fifteen minutes passed by excruciatingly slow and Lucas kept peeking out through the curtain, deciding to try his hand at lip-reading to try and tell what the judges were talking about.

"Ooh, I see them writing something in a piece of paper!" Lucas exclaimed, "If only I could get a closer look... Shit, they just gave Brandon the envelope."

"Will you cut it out?" Elijah said in annoyance, having had enough of hearing Lucas announce every single thing he saw. The fact that his headphones were shoved deep in his ears wasn't really helping at all since the backstage was already so noisy.

"Brandon's going up on stage. Holy shit, it's time!" Lucas cried, completely ignoring Elijah's remark. He wasn't lying though, the host was indeed making his way up the stage to announce that the break was over.

"Did you all have a great time tonight?!" The host asked enthusiastically, making the audience cheer loudly. "The judges have decided, and the results are currently in my hand." He waved the envelope in the air, "We've seen a lot of great performances tonight, but in the end, there can only be one winner. Who will have the honor of being the Best Dancing Duo among the top five high schools in town? We are about to find out right now. I call upon all the competitors to the stage."

Elijah walked up the stage next to Lucas along with the nine other pairs of dancers. Once they were all stood in a straight line on the stage, the host spoke up again.

"I shall now announce the first runner up. The runner up for the Best Dancing Duo is..." He paused as he opened the envelope, taking his sweet, sweet time with it if Elijah had to mention, and stared at the card in his hand. He waited a dramatic moment before exclaiming, "Selena Brown and Pat Owens of Ridgeview High!"

The audience erupted in cheers as said duo stepped forward, hands interlinked, with wide smiles on their faces. They were presented with a trophy in the shape of a dancing figure and bowed to the audience a few times before leaving the stage.

"And now, for the moment of truth. The pair that stole the show, and blew everyone's minds tonight are..." The host uttered dramatically, one word at a time. Lucas gripped Elijah's wrist tightly and the latter wanted to slap his hand off but he could understand that Lucas was nervous so he let it slide.

It was taking the host a painfully long time to read the card and announce the names of the winners, and he knew it was all done on purpose to build up the tension, but from the way Lucas was gripping his wrist, it looked he was going to pass out any moment. The other dancers, especially the females, looked extremely nervous too and not to mention ready to jump at Heechul's throat if he wasn't about to speak anytime soon. Elijah himself wouldn't mind if the guy could just get it done and over with.

"Of Westwood High...." He slowly said, and Lucas's hold tightened when he heard the name of their school being announced. The other dancers' faces changed visibly as it was all narrowed down to only two possibilities now. Somehow it always ended up with a showdown between Max and Lucas.

Meanwhile, Elijah's eyes searched and searched the crowd. He spotted Noah sitting with Sam, Miles, Chris and Alex. Noah waved at him enthusiastically and gave him two thumbs up when their eyes met. Elijah smiled at him and then returned to searching the crowd.

They're not here.

He was sure he hadn't missed a single corner of the room. They definitely weren't there. His parents were not there.

"Congratulation, Lucas Kim AND Elijah Quinn!"

Elijah exhaled in shock, eyes widening slowly. He felt his heart fluttering in his chest as confetti was thrown in the air and everyone in the room erupted in cheers. He could feel his knees give out. He probably would have fallen if it weren't for two arms that were suddenly wrapped around his frame.

"Fuck, we won!" Lucas exclaimed happily, hugging Elijah tight and jumping up and down in his place. He kept muttering "we won" over and over again as if he couldn't even believe it, and neither could Elijah really. It all felt like a dream. He was in Lucas's embrace, confetti falling on them and everyone cheering for them.

We won.

"Thank you, Elijah." Lucas whispered, "Thank you thank you thank you..."

Elijah pulled away from the embrace when he had finally let everything sink in as Lucas grinned at him happily. His eyes were scrunched up in joy, pearly whites showing through plump lips and Elijah found himself in awe for a second before returned the contagiously sweet smile.

"We did it."

It was all a blur while the other dancers congratulated them, including Max and his partner, and they were presented with a large, golden trophy and posed for a picture with it. Then it continued when they walked down from the stage and were attacked by all their friends. Noah hugged Elijah and muttered, "You were amazing out there," in his ear, making the blonde's heart bloom. A thousand "congratulations" were thrown at them from every direction and it was starting to make Elijah dizzy. Sadly the two people that he really wanted to come and congratulate him were nowhere to be found.

Before they knew it, several agents from different universities and entertainment companies were approaching them, offering them promising offers and business cards. One even offered Elijah a full scholarship, and he silently accepted their card just so he wouldn't come off as rude.

After all, it was just a moment, and it was bound to end sometime.

By the time Elijah got home after Lucas's friends treated the duo out for pizza (lots of it), it was already past midnight. He walked into his house, expecting for everyone to be asleep, but was stopped by his mother once he passed the living room.

"Where were you all night?" She interrogated, tilting her head to the side.

"Maybe you would have known if you actually came." He said bitterly, but still keeping his voice flat and calm.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh perhaps you haven't seen my message? Never mind, then. Dad probably didn't see it too." He said sarcastically.

"Oh, that." She nodded in understanding, placing one leg over the other, "We couldn't come. We were busy."

Of course.

Elijah scoffed, "When are you guys not busy? This is the first time I ask you to do something for me. But I guess I'm just not worth it, huh?"

The woman stood up from the couch angrily, "Don't you notice you've been a little disrespectful these days? And you're always out. I hardly see you studying anymore! Where's the old Elijah?"

"The old Elijah?" He whispered, staring down at the floor, fists clenched tightly, "You mean the Elijah that was cooped up in his room all day studying, the Elijah that did nothing for himself, that was alone at school every day, that always just followed your orders without two words about it? The Elijah that had no life, no freedom, no dreams and ambitions, the Elijah that was just this emotionless robot, that was absolutely miserable every waking moment of his life? You miss that Elijah, right?"

His mother's eyes widened in shock at the sudden outburst. He wasn't shouting and his voice was restrained but it was dripping with venom. Elijah had never spoken to his mother like that before. There were very fine limits to what he could and could not say in front of his parents, and he didn't just overstep them, he leaped over them. But he simply didn't care anymore.

"Maybe I just started living these days, does that bother you?" Elijah jaw was clenched at it took everything in him to not belt right out at his mother in rage, "I'm going upstairs." He muttered in a low voice, almost a whisper, and left the living room. As he walked up the stairs, he willed himself not to have such an amazing day ruined by people who didn't give two shits about him.

But what could he do if these people were his own parents? His own flesh and blood?

How could he not be sad?

As he closed the door of his bedroom behind him, he sunk to the floor and sighed. It was times like these when he really wished he still had his brother with him.

A lone tear slid down his face. It was the only tear that fell, but it felt so heavy, and so dense with the pain of so many years.

I miss you, Ricky...

Elijah woke up the next morning feeling like shit. His stomach clearly wasn't very happy he had eaten so much pizza at such a late hour. His muscles were sore all over and he had a major headache, mostly because of the fight he had with his mother. After that, it took him so long to actually fall asleep because there was just this feeling of something gnawing away at him relentlessly. He didn't know what it was exactly but it kept him up all night. Thoughts of his brother and his parents plagued his mind and it was almost as painful as the time Ricky had passed away.

Because the one person he cared about most, and the only person that also cared about him in return, had been taken away from him. Because life was simply cruel like that. He remembered staying up so many nights wishing it was him instead of Ricky. He remembered blaming himself for everything that happened, he remembered his parents blaming him, making him feel like he was nothing but dirt. A piece of shit that didn't deserve to live.

If only they had actually shown him and his brother some love from the very start... Maybe things would have been different.

Elijah covered his eyes with the back of his hand as he lay flat on his bed, facing the ceiling. It had been such an amazing night, but in the end it all had to get ruined. God sure loves me. He groaned when he heard the notification tone of his cell phone. Rolling over, he groggily picked the device up and opened it to see that it was well after one in the afternoon and that he had a message from Lucas.

Lucas:

‘[Picture - Trophy]

Just woke up to this beauty on ma desk <3’

Lucas never seemed to fail to make Elijah roll his eyes, no matter what his mood was. Nonetheless, he smiled when he saw the picture of the trophy. It reminded him of the exhilaration he felt that night on stage and how he re-discovered his love for dance.

Elijah:

‘You're welcome. We wouldn't have won if it wasn't for me.’

Lucas:

‘Yeah right -_-

But I'll let you say that cuz I'm in a good mood today. And because I'm awesome.

P.S. Got some major diarrhea today. Just a heads up, prepare your anus.’

Elijah:

‘Gee, thanks.’

When Elijah got into the bathroom to wash up, he discovered that Lucas was not lying at all.

The moment Elijah walked down the stairs, he saw his parents sitting in the living room as if waiting for him. And neither looked happy.

"Sit down." His father spoke, sounding as authoritative as ever. Elijah silently took a seat on one of the couches and stared down at the ground as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. He couldn't dare to meet his parents’ eyes.

"Where were you yesterday?"

Elijah didn't answer.

"Answer me!"

Elijah flinched before whispering, “Moonshine Theater."

"And what were you doing there?"

Elijah didn't answer again. He knew his father would have his head if he told him he had been dancing.

"I know there was a dance showcase there last night, Elijah. So tell me what the hell you've been doing there!"

Elijah flinched again and shut his eyes. This was familiar. Too familiar. But he hadn't heard his parents speak to him like that for so long and it reminded him of why he was always so obedient in the first place.

"You haven't really been at a study group after school every day, have you?" His father added, voice calm but Elijah knew he was fuming.

"No. I haven't." Elijah stood up, feeling determined, "I've been dancing. For the past month and a half. And I kept it from you guys because I wanted you to be there yesterday to see for yourselves."

His father looked utterly disgusted, "See what? See you flailing your arms and legs around? Is that what you want to do with their life?"

Elijah felt so offended that that was all his parents could see in dancing. Knowing that something that meant the entire world to him was so mundane and insignificant to them... it pained him.

"Yes." He whispered, but he meant it with all his heart. "Yes." He repeated, much louder and clearer this time and with finality, "And I thought that maybe... maybe if you came last night and saw me, maybe you'd understand how much dancing, or flailing my limbs around as you call it, means to me!"

"What nonsense." His father scoffed, "Get these stupid thoughts out of your head. You are going to become a doctor, and that's final! Nothing you can say or do is gonna change that! I thought this topic was done and over with three years ago!"

"It's not over." Elijah said, gritting his teeth, "It's not because it's my dream! I don't want to be a doctor, or a businessman, or whatever it is you guys think is a real job. I don't care if I'll starve. I don't care one bit because dancing is my life... it's what I am. And I realized that yesterday."

"Elijah!" His mother gasped, standing up, looking absolutely furious, "What has gotten into you?!"

"I am perfectly fine, mother! No, I'm more than fine actually. Because now I know what I want from life... I finally realized it. I'm not gonna hold myself back from my passion for two people who don't care about my feelings. For two people that made me hate myself for a whole year. I... I will not shut up and nod my head anymore. No... I'm done with that."

Elijah shook his head and walked away towards the front door.

"Elijah I swear to God if you take one step out of this house I'll-"

"You'll what, dad?" Elijah cut his furious father off, his words dripping with venom, "You'll hit me? Kill me? Disown me? Go ahead really, because I'm sick of living in this empty, lifeless house anyway. I'm sick of this life and I'm sick of this family, if you could even call it one."

And with that, Elijah stormed out through the front door.