Dedicated to @witchesgetstitches for the cute cover at the top! Thank you❣️

I think this story will end in five chapters. I'm trying not to exceed to sixty but sixty-two will be the highest peak I hope.

Chapter Fifty-Five: "Correct Answer."

"OCT, THESE PICTURES of you are amazing," I said looking through my phone.

"I really wish I could've brought you with me as my plus one but my sister begged so." Octavia shrugged and I could hear Lucas laughing on my other side. We sat against the row of lockers and Octavia was sitting directly in front of mine before school started. I wasn't sure what Oct was doing but she was flying home to LA multiple times but I think she was staying home for a few weeks before going back.

"That's fine. Whoever did your makeup deserves an award. Look at that highlight." I pointed at the screen.

Octavia glanced at Lucas. "By the way Lucas, a highlight is-"

"I know what it is," He interrupted her. "Sydney once went on a rant about makeup and I've learned almost everything." He shifted downward to place his head in the crook of my neck and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as Octavia continued speaking.

"Everything wow? But for prom I am definitely doing your makeup, Sydney. Just saying."

"I already figured. And you're coming, right? To prom?"

She nodded. "Yeah, Zen's my date."

I froze. Huh? "Wait what?"

"Yeah. Originally, I was going to go to the after-prom party which I'm sure would be in someone like the Cahills house because of Joey. And because the after-prom party is always better than the actual prom because everyone gets buzzed but Zen asked me this weekend and he had already bought the ticket for me months ago and said I should come with him. So, I'm going."

"Zen asked you?"

"Yeah, I'm actually surprised."

I paused, still staring at her in shock. "Zen?"

"Why is it so hard to believe that Zen asked me?"

I opened my mouth to respond to that question but was still unsure if I heard the wrong person. "Zen?"

"Sydney!"

I laughed and it dwindled down in a second when I could feel Lucas' lips running along my neck. "It's, um, it's Zen and you but then again anything is possible. So, when's the movie coming out again? What's the countdown?"

"Three weeks. Have you not seen the trailer?"

"Seen it? You send it to me every single day." I could feel Lucas arm go around my waist and slowly pull me closer to him. Oh fuck.

"Because I look bomb as hell in the trailer, duh." I could barely focus on her words so I pushed Lucas off me, holding his face with my hand. "You stop."

Lucas grinned, his eyes glancing at my neck where I was sure he left the mark he wanted. Ever since that day, he seemed a tiny bit more confident in himself. In our relationship. And while I was glad for that I was also wondering if it made him more open about our relationship too. "Stop? You really want me to stop?"

I hesitated before poking him in the chest, trying to keep that smile off my face. "Yes. Stop."

"That hesitation was so obvious." His voice got lower, the teasing smile playing on his lips.

"I don't care. Stop."

"Fine." That smile didn't drop and neither did his hand as it made it's way up my neck and his thumb brushed against my jaw.

"Fine."

"Great."

"Great." I repeated, kissing him quickly before pulling away.

Lucas laid down in my lap when I turned to look at Octavia and she was staring at us weirdly. "What?"

"You guys look, um, what's the word?" Octavia snapped her fingers together like an answer was going to come to her head and I was surprised when it did. "Closer."

"What do you mean?" I knew exactly what she meant, I thought my hand taking the beanie off Lucas' head and he held onto my forearm as he checked through his phone.

"Like just this," She waved a hand over where Lucas was looking at his phone. "And what just happened. Almost like- I mean you two were always emotionally close. But this is like a new level of physical closeness," Suddenly she gasped dramatically and decided to hit my locker with her hand for no good reason. "You did it."

"Did what?"

"You're no longer a vestal virgin!"

"Why do you have to say it like that, dumbass?" I complained. "And lower your voice, please. The gossip in this school travels fast. And the way you say vestal virgin makes it seem like I was qualified to be sacrificed or something."

"Well now you're not!" Octavia grinned.

"Thanks so much." I deadpanned.

"Was it good?" She suddenly asked and I gave her a look. I love Octavia like a sister but I wasn't really one to share that many details unless it was to someone like Wesley.

"I'm not telling you that."

"Fine." She shoved her phone in my hands and yanked Lucas' arm down so his phone was by his side. She leaned over his face, grasping it in her hands. "You did good, right? Because the last thing I need is for one of my girls to have a terrible experience as their first time."

Lucas stuttered, obviously uncomfortable. "Um, I-I guess-"

Because he could even finish that sentence I pulled Octavia back. "One of your girls? You're not a pimp."

Octavia waved a hand and smiled at me. "I'm simply looking out for you. A thank you would suffice."

"Thank you." I said with the straightest face I could muster.

"You're welcome." She smiled brightly.

The sound of two people running quickly caught our attention. Eduardo and Zen appeared just turning down the hallway and I could see Zen shove Eduardo as they both sprinted in our direction. Eduardo shoved Zen back, beating him by a meter as he slowed to a stop.

"In your face bitch." Eduardo emphasized his words with hand gestures at Zen's face to which he pushed away, clearly agitated.

Zen collapsed on the ground in front of me and Lucas, panting slightly. He looked at us with a pained expression on his face. "I hate running."

"Then why did you do it?"

"Because that idiot forced me."

"I didn't force you to do anything" Eduardo said, sitting next to him. "I merely said that you can't run faster than me and then we raced."

"Yes. You initiated it. Therefore, you forced me."

"Therefore? What are you writing? An essay? You lost-"

"Okay, both of you shut up." Octavia demanded. "Sometimes you two make me happy I don't go to this school anymore."

"Then why are you here?" Eduardo asked with narrowed eyes, leaning back on his hands.

"Because came to see my wonderful friend Sydney and her boyfriend, Lucas."

"So Sydney, ready for Worlds?" Eduardo asked me, a huge smile on his face.

"I'm ready to be stressed about dance and completing all the homework before we come back just in time for prom and finals."

"We're going to Argentina. Think about that instead."

"Bring me back a Spanish boy." Octavia said.

"I think you mean a Latino boy."

"Yes. Preferably tall, has an accent and a big-"

"Stop that sentence please." Zen held a hand towards her face and Octavia swatted it away.

"I was going to say has a big love for movies. Whatever you were think was not what I was thinking of."

Zen and I glanced at each other before looking back at Octavia. "Sure."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Where is your mom right now then?" Mary Anne asked me over the phone.

I laid down on my couch, twiddling the remote in my hands. A muted movie was playing on the TV but I wasn't paying attention to it. My eyes were on the clock above it. "On a date."

"With the Nick guy?"

"Yeah." I answered.

"Is it getting serious?"

"I feel like it is but she won't tell me."

"Haven't you met him?"

"Yeah, I have and he's really nice but seems pretty lenient."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because he has a son named Justin who goes to Bark-Ridge, that school that's uptown, and Justin is mostly at the Cahill house because he's best friends with Christian, right? And based off him, Nick seems to give his kids more freedom that my mom would probably criticize so it makes me think that they're just completely opposite from one another."

"But opposites attract."

"Yes, but if Nick and my mom were to raise a kid together I do not know how that would turn out when that child wants to leave the house more often."

"Ahh."

"Yeah, but he's really nice. I feel like one of these days she's going to tell me that she wants us to go over to their house for dinner or something soon."

"Is that weird?"

"No. But when she does do that, I'll know that it's getting more serious. Besides he has daughter too, remember Macy?"

"Yeah. The one dating one of Lucas' brothers."

"Yes, her. She's pretty cool too."

"So you're completely fine with your mom dating?"

"Yeah and Nick is a good guy so where's harm in her going out with him, you know?"

"True."

I sat up on the couch. "What's going on with you and Eddie since Worlds is a few days away?"

"I think he's managed to cope with stress more."

"Yeah. I remember before Nationals he was so tense and irritated-"

"By me especially. But now he isn't. And I honestly thought he would be with his solo and duets."

"Yeah, he's pretty amazing if you get to see them," and he was. He deserved that solo more than anyone on the entire team and I knew Mrs. Yousiff made the right choice. "What's going to happen to you and Eduardo after high school?"

"We're only going to be in different cities but only like an hour away from one another. We'll be okay."

I took in a deep breath, wishing I could say the same but I fell silent. There was the sound of someone else calling me from my phone and I looked down at the caller ID. "Hey, I'll see you tomorrow, okay? Someone's calling."

We hung up the phone and I accepted the other call. "Hello."

"Hey." Timothy said.

"Why are you calling?" I asked, getting straight to the point. I haven't spoken to him since the night HAA won Nationals.

"I can't check up on you?" I stayed silent, waiting for him to say something. "I wanted to say congrats on getting into Julliard. Wesley told me."

"Thanks."

"Why didn't you tell me?" He sounded hurt.

"I'm not exactly on the best terms with you after the way you treated Lucas."

"That was months ago, Sydney."

"It doesn't matter."

"So you're not going to talk to me even though I didn't do anything to you."

"I'm just upset with you because you decided to taunt Lucas just because he comes from a wealthy family. You can't just stereotype him when you don't even know him."

"You're still dating him?"

"Yes. I am still dating him and even my mom knows. If you don't the idea of me dating him then suck it up because I don't care."

"Fine. Good luck at Worlds." Just as fast as that phone call came in, it ended.

I called another number, rolling onto my stomach and burying my face in a throw pillow. "Hey."

"Tell me a joke." I insisted.

"That's not usually what we do. The correct answer is hi, Canada girl." Lucas teased and a smile came to my face at his voice.

"Tell me a joke." I repeated.

"Okay, why did Lucas cross the road?"

"Because he was stupid enough not to wait for the light to tell him it was okay to walk but he went anyway." I answered.

"No," He said. "because Sydney was on the other side."

I smiled. "That was cute but not a joke."

"That was honesty. What's up?"

"Timothy called."

There was shuffling in the background. "The guy from Toronto?"

"Yeah and now I'm annoyed."

"Do you want me to bring you something to cheer you up? Food? A book even though you don't like reading? I'll even offer myself."

I laughed, changing position so I was lying on my back, holding the phone to my ear. "That sounds great but I'm certain my mom would be able to sense if you step foot inside this house."

"What if you came downstairs to get it if I brought you ice cream?" He suggested.

"Why would you buy me ice cream when the offer of you was on the table?"

"I like the way you think Ms. Acosta."

"Thank you, Mr. Cahill." I laughed, thinking about how easy it was for him to simply make me smile.

There was shuffling on the line and another voice popped up. "Acosta."

I stilled, wondering if this was actually who thought it was. I have never talked to this Cahill on the phone. "Joey?"

"I believe the proper answer is Cahill." He corrected.

I rolled my eyes. "You and Lucas can be so alike it bothers me."

"Just answer this question, would you? What color is your prom dress?"

"Why?"

"Because your idiot boyfriend needs a tie to match it and my mum has a color she thinks you're going to wear but I need confirmation."

I don't answer his question. Liz knew my color and I was certain she already knew what kind of dress I had already had. "Hey, are you going to prom with Hailey?"

There was a pause. "She told you?"

"She went on the happiest rant of her life in dance today."

"Yeah, I asked her during lunch."

"Apparently you got her a bouquet? Cahill." I teased and I was certain he was rolling his eyes.

"Shut up, Acosta. Here take the phone and control your girlfriend." He said that last sentence to Lucas and I could hear my boyfriend on the phone again.

"Just so you know, we're not taking the same limo as him, okay?"

"Got it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"We're about to get on a plane. Why the hell is your backpack so fucking huge?" Ravi asked me.

"Because I have homework I need to complete before we get back."

"So do I but you don't see me carrying all this shit."

"Ravi," I fixed the hat on my head, the sun streaming from the large window we were standing against hitting against the skin on my legs that were not covered by my shorts. "Just know that I am so happy that I am not sitting beside you."

But Ravi wasn't listening to me. His eyes were darting around the airport before he nudged me as if I wasn't already giving him my attention. "Do you know if there's any food around here? I'm starving and I don't want to live off airplane food for the next couple of hours."

I walked away from Ravi and moved towards Eduardo who looked like he was bouncing on his toes. "Worlds again. Second year in a row."

"You look really excited," One girl on our team, Madison told him. "But at the same time, you look extremely nervous."

Eduardo gave us his best smile. "I'm about to shit my pants. I kid you not."

"Relax buddy. You're going to do amazing." I assured him.

He took a deep breath before shaking his head. "Nope, nope, I need to call Mary Anne." He had already taken out his phone and started dialing her number.

That reminded me to call someone important. I had already called my mom and I knew it sucked for her that she couldn't be here with me because she was almost at every single competition I've been in since I was younger. He picked up on the second ring. "Today's the day. Where you at?"

"Airport."

"You guys better win." Wesley muttered.

"Wow. What supportive words." I said sarcastically.

"I'm still kind of mad that you didn't get the solo when this should have been your shot Sydney. It's not fair."

"Life isn't fair. It doesn't matter anymore. I'm just happy to be on the team."

"I should have a talk with that Russian coach of yours maybe after a few suggestive words she'll-"

"Wesley, just tell me good luck and I better send you every single picture I take."

"Good luck and you better send me every single picture you take."

"Thank you. I'll call you when I get to the hotel."

I hung up after we exchanged goodbyes to sit down next to Isaac. He had his headphones on his ears and was bobbing his head along to whatever he was listening to. When he noticed, me sit next to him, he put the headphones around his neck. "Ready?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Ecstatic. This is going to be memorable."

"You can already tell?"

"It's out last year of high school. Last year at Hamilton Academy of the Arts and we're representing our school for the last time at the World Championships. Yes. I can already tell."

"You've been here for four years."

"Actually, most of my life- I started training at the studio when I was five. It's going to feel weird to move on."

"But you're going on tour with that dance group. You are going to get great exposure."

"And you're going to Julliard," Isaac exhaled, glancing at me. "It's fascinating when dreams become reality."

"It really is."

Isaac nodded, his phone buzzing in his hands. "It's my dad."

I gave him a smile as he answered the phone and pulled my own out, dialing a number. "Hey." He answered.

"Hi."

"Still at the airport?" Lucas asked and it sounded like someone was playing video games in the background.

"Yeah." I answered.

"Nervous?"

"A little." I admitted.

"Do you have my black sweater? The one that says my last name on the back."

"And has a white pattern that looks like someone threw paint on it at the front? Yes. I'm wearing it. And I have your hat as well." I told him, twisting the ring on my finger.

"So, you just walk into my room and take what you please."

"I still have your windbreaker from like November. Don't be mad." I joked.

"Do you want a contract stating that you have partial custody of my clothing?"

"I don't think a contract is necessary. I think we have a pretty good agreement."

Lucas chuckled and the sound of someone that sounded a lot like Devin calling his name in the background grabbed my attention. "Is that Devin?"

"Yeah. I got to go. Call me when you land okay?"

"Okay."

"And don't stress. I know how you are when you do and when you stress you start complaining about stress pimples and you just get even more stressed."

"Those are deadly."

"And don't be as nervous. Just breathe. Call Wesley right before you go on at any time so you guys do that ritual you usually do just in case. And hold onto my sweater with your life."

"Seriously?"

"I love that sweater. Think of it as your good luck charm." He told me and I could hear his name being called multiple times by Devin in the background.

"Fine. I'll guard your sweater with my life. Now go, Devin sound like he's getting impatient."

"Okay, okay, I'll leave now. I love you."

I sighed, a smile coming to my face. "I don't think I'll ever get used to hearing you say that."

"But I tell you that every day."

"Yeah, I know," I grinned. "I love you too."

When we hung up on the phone I didn't even process how Ravi was standing in front of me with a huge grin on his face. "Next stop, Argentina. Where Ravi will get a Latina girl."

"Will?"

"I have hope, okay? Hope and confidence. That's all I need." He smiled even wider, pulling me up from the chair.

Hope and confidence. For Worlds? That's what we need.