Never Fall

“Everyone, costumes, let’s go, let’s go!” The dance director rushed past Kayla, a few programs in one of his hands as he waved them wildly in attempts pick up the pace of things backstage. “Show is in half an hour. We have no time to waste!” A few girls giggled as he passed by, still moving at their sluggish pace. He was growing frustrated, as he did before every show.

Kayla chuckled quietly to herself before she peeled open the side curtain, peeking out into the audience piling in through the door and quickly filling in the rows of seats. Her heart was racing slightly, stomach in a flutter as she anticipated the moment those curtains would open. Her hazel eyes scanned all over for familiar faces, anyone that she would have to impress - which was one, her mother.

Her smile fell slightly when she saw no sign of her or her younger brother. She tried to keep in mind that it was still early; they had time to get there.

"Kayla!" she heard her name being called and she turned around to see Audrey running towards her, holding up the top of her dress to keep it from falling down. "There you are. Can you help me put this on? I can't seem to figure out how..." Her back was already turned to Kayla, pointing out that she indeed had no idea how to fasten it up. Kayla obviously would, being the one who had made all of them.

As Kayla worked on looping the fabric together and tightening them, Audrey glanced over her shoulder, her hazel eyes scanning down the other girl with a small frown. "Why aren't you dressed yet?"

"Because," Kayla began to reply, circling around the younger girl to inspect and make sure that everything was in its proper place, "I have to make sure costume goes fine, fix last minute busts, and make sure people like you knows how to wear it," she added the last part as a half-hearted joke. "Besides? I already have everything done. Putting on the dress is all that I need to do." She straightened up and smoothed down the fabric over the girl's hips. "There, done."

Kayla gave Audrey another smile before she turned back to the curtain one more time, peeking out only to see that even more people had flooded into the building. There was shuffling behind her before she felt a chin resting on her shoulder. With a raised eyebrow, she turned her head to see Audrey once more, face close to hers.

“Is Caleb out there?” Audrey asked in a whisper, her eyes peeking out the curtain but she knew that she couldn’t see as well as Kayla.

Kayla looked back out, searching for the redhead. In no time, her eyes fell upon him just as he was entering a row near the front with Austin following close behind him. In an odd sense, it made her feel a little better; it brought back a sense of familiarity, just having him there. But it also brought on a bitter feeling, as she thought about the fact that he wasn’t there to watch her; he was there for Audrey.

“Yeah, he is,” she finally replied to Audrey softly, before closing the curtains again. The other girl instantly let out a squeal, taking small hops as she clapped her hands excitedly.

“I thought he wouldn’t come.” Audrey grinned, instinctively smoothing her hair out.

“Why wouldn’t he?” Kayla chuckled to amuse her. “He comes when he says he will.”

“You’ll never know. God, now I’m all nervous.” Her face displayed her nervousness, as well as her chuckles. The girl was becoming a wreck and Kayla couldn’t help but feel the need to make her feel better.

“Hey,” Kayla swatted her hands away from the dress, fixing it back into place again. She then fixed the flower in her hair, making sure no brown strands had fallen out of the bun. “You look perfect, you’ll do great, and he will love it, okay?”

Audrey’s smile grew as she pulled Kayla towards her, her arms wrapped around her shoulders. “You know, you’re the best. It’s so comforting to hear that from you.”

Kayla only smiled and patted her arm. “I know,” she whispered before pulling back. “I should go get dressed now though. I’ll see you in a bit and good luck.” With that, she left to venture through the backstage area and into the hallway, towards the dressing room.

She flashed a smile as she passed Evan in the hall, who was working with helping to get the show running. With a sudden realization, he reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop. “Oh, wait, I was looking for you.” Evan dug through the few flowers in his hand that he was passing out, before he pulled one out. “Here’s one for you. Good luck.” He handed to her with a smile, before walking away to finish the rest of his work.

Kayla slowly turned and walked away towards the dressing room, while looking down and inspecting the flower. She waited until she was inside, before she opened the card tied to it. Her lips curled up in a slight smile when she recognized the handwriting on the card.

‘Go out there and swoon us, chickie (;
Love, Austin’

She placed it carefully in her duffel bag before she went over to the clothing rack and pulled her dress off of the hanger. She quickly got changed into it before looking over herself in the mirror. With one final smile, she left the room and headed back towards backstage to start her warm up.

Not that long after, the dance director came back around again - this time, even more frantic than before. “Places people, places! Five minutes!’

In a rush, the dancers and crew members scrambled around. The dancers stood in their assigned spots on stage while the crew member placed props in their spots. Before they knew it, the lights dimmed and they could hear the audience grow quiet.

The curtains slowly lifted up but the stage stayed dark, dancers still frozen in their spots and waiting. Kayla took the chance to peek up from underneath her bangs and scanned the audience one last time. She tried to keep her energy up, positive and unfaltering.

She saw everyone and their guests in the audience, but none of hers. Not her mother, not her brother.

.

Kayla pulled on her cardigan, feeling the cold air that seeped through the open doors of the lobby finally affecting her. The show was over and many people were in the lobby to meet with the dancers and crew. Many of the dancers just lingered together though, some joining other groups and their families.

“Oh, I think I see my mom,” one of the younger dancers, Lacey, spoke before she gave a round of hugs. “We’re gonna leave early for some dinner. Good job, guys!” she said brightly before she hoisted her bag on her shoulder and left in a rush towards her mother.

“I think it’s time that I leave too.” Kayla chuckled. “It’s getting boring now.” Especially now that Lacey, one of her more favored dance mate, had left, she has no other reason to hang around. “Good show. I’ll see you Monday.” She bid them a goodnight before she backed up out of the group.

But she felt her back softly bump against something else, and then a hand on her waist as, what she assumed was another person, carefully moved away from her. She turned around, about to apologize, when she came face to face with someone’s chest and looked up.

“Oh, Kay.” The corner of his lips turned upwards in a smile, his brown eyes looking down at her. There was a hint of happiness, a little eagerness to stay for a bit. “It’s good to see you.”

Kayla chuckled softly, shoving her hands into the pockets of her cardigan. “It’’s good to see you too, Caleb.” She hadn’t really expected to see him that night, nonetheless talk to him. And she wasn’t quite sure on what to say; she felt awkward, and was sure this was just one of those short conversations for accidentally bumping into each other.

“You’re looking great,” Caleb complimented with a wider smile, genuine and friendly. “And you did a great a job back there.”

“Thanks.” She couldn’t lie that she had missed this - just standing there and talking to him. “How have you been?”

“Good--” he began to answer but a yell of his name interrupted him. Both of them turned their heads to see Audrey, waving and beckoning him to come over to her. He was on his way over to her before they had bumped into each other, Kayla knew it.

Kayla smiled and looked back at him. “I’ve got to get going. I’ll see you around.”

His smile faltered slightly as he turned his attention back to Kayla. “Oh. You can’t stay to chat a little longer? Come to hang out?” he offered but she shook her head.

Hang out with him and Audrey, with her little family and friends? That was just an out-of-place position that she’d rather not be in. “No. I should probably get home and help my mom.” Partially an excuse, but she wasn’t sure what was going on at home - if her mother was even home with Ethan.

“Okay.” Caleb nodded, his hands in his pockets. “I’ll see you around then.” He pulled her towards him in a quick hug before he walked off.

Kayla held back the urge to shake her head before she walked backstage, back towards the dressing room. She didn’t really bother to get changed, only slipping on a pair of jeans over her leotard and a pair of flats. She slung her bag over her shoulder and slowly walked out of the building, saying goodbye to any working members she saw on the way.

She got in her car and started it up, stalling for a few minutes while she let the heater warm up the car. She looked around her in the dark, seeing the people begin to pile out of the building and into the parking lot, cars slowly leaving one by one. After a few more minutes of observing, she put the car in reverse and slowly backed out of the parking spot, inching her way through the people walking.

As Kayla sat in her car, stuck in the slowly moving traffic towards the exit of the parking lot, her eyes began to wander again. And then that feeling from earlier came back again. That feeling that tugged on her heart just after it made it race, that feeling that made her force a small smile through.

Her eyes landed on the couple walking, slowly approaching the direction of her car. The way their smiles lit up their faces, the way their entwined hands swung between them, the slight skip in her step as she walked. Kayla thought back to her short conversation with him.

Once more, she was overfilled with a feeling of yearning, a feeling that runs through her body much like an overplayed record.