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❝ 𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 ❞
Chapter Eleven; Episode Seven
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The Night of Nights II!
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THE SECOND ACT HAD JUST begun. Carlos and Kourtney killed it with I Want It All and they made the perfect Sharpay and Ryan together, giving them a standing ovation from the audience. Theo had opened her letters to Howard and Salt Lake City college and she got accepted into both of them. She just didn't know which school to go to because they were both good schools but only one could determine what she was going to do for the rest of her life.
Currently, Theo was pacing the hallway in her costume and mumbling to herself about which school she wanted to go and listening to The Boys Are Back coming from the gym. She let out a shaky sigh and shook her hands treating her anxious system at the moment. It was times like this when Theo need Gina to calm her down but she was going through her own thing with the movie and Ricky, so she didn't want to bother her right now.
The sound of footsteps from the other end of the hallway started getting closer. "Running your lines?" Theo turned around and let out a gasp when she saw Monique Coleman walking up to her.
"Oh, Miss Monique!"
"Just Mo."
Theo stutters trying to figure out what to say. "I...what are you..."
"I stayed after the movie to go skiing with my boyfriend. When I heard it was your opening night, I obviously could not miss it." Monique explained to her.
"Are we doing good up there?" Theo inquired.
"Oh you're doing so good. You're making me proud." Monique answered with a smile. "So is the boy playing Chad. You guys together?"
Theo smiled softly.
"It's...complicated."
"Chemistry like that means something." Monique chuckled. "But are you doing good?"
Theo let out a sigh. "Not really, if I'm being completely honest. Just, um, praying that I make the correct decision about the rest of my life right now, so..."
"Oh. The rest of your life?" Monique wondered. "So it's one of those nights?"
"One of those nights." Theo nodded slowly. "Um, Miss Mo..um you got casted to play Taylor, did you know you were on the right path right away? Or did it come after? Like, when you got famous."
"You're assuming that getting famous was the right path."
"Wasn't it?"
"Oh, honey." Monique smiled softly at her. "Those movies were one of the best things to ever happen to me. But somewhere in this universe, there's a whole other Monique that exists outside of Taylor." She explained to her then grabbed her hands. "Sweetie, I know you because I was you. You're the girl that weights all the options. Right? You make lists? Then you make lists for your lists? Pluses, minuses, all of it?"
"I do." Theo giggled as did Monique. "Love me some lists."
"Wherever Theodora Porter ends up is going to be the exact right place. I promise. Literally, metaphorically, metaphysically. I promise." Monique informed her. Theo pulled Monique into a hug letting out a heavy sigh.
Theo pulled away and wrapped an arm around her. "So, Monique, girl."
"Mmm-hmm?" Monique hummed.
"Can I see a picture of your boyfriend?" Theo questioned.
"Okay. Girl, I thought you'd never ask." Monique responded as they were walking down the hallway. "Don't you need to get back on stage?"
"Oh, dang." Theo commented and they started rushing. "Is he cute though?"
"Oh, girl, you know he's cute." Monique laughed.
***
Theo was heading back to the dressing room to get her cell phone when she ran into Ashlyn and Maddox kissing each other. She let out a squeal but then put her hand over mouth before slipping away into a corner to cheer about it, knowing the two of them would end up together in the end. She couldn't be anymore happy for the two of them.
After her little celebration, Theo finally went back to the dressing room to get her phone. She grinned from ear to ear as she entered the dressing room.
"Oh, I just need my phone. Ignore me." Theo said, picking up her cellphone.
Jet stood up from the vanity. "I was not praying."
"I didn't ask." Theo commented.
"I was praying, actually." Jet admitted.
She was little curious. "About?"
"My sister's going to make a movie in New Zealand. Quinn thinks Maddox is a future AD. I don't know what that means. I don't know if I'm to stay at East High if my sister isn't here. She's my best friend, which I don't tell many people. Including her."
"Hmm. Does it feel like home? East High?"
"How would I know?" Jet questioned.
"Jet, where was the last place you felt the happiest?" Theo inquired, approaching him.
"On stage, doing The Boys Are Back with idiot Ricky Bowen." Jet answered, crossing his arms.
"Well, sure sounds like home to me." Theo let out a little chuckle. "Hold up. Maddox is going to New Zealand? Didn't she just get with Ashlyn?"
"Wait, where was the last place you were the happiest?" Jet questioned.
"Howard University." Theo laughed then gasped at what she said. "I just said that out loud."
"You did."
"I did! I did!"
"Yeah! Yeah, you did!" Jet responded with a smile. "I said that, yeah."
The excitement stopped when they saw Ashlyn walk into the room holding balloons in her hand. Jet pushed Theo back gently and held his arm across her. They looked at each other for a moment before moving away from each other.
"Hi. Hello." Ashlyn greeted. "Could you please lightly slap me right now? I wanna make sure I'm awake and not actually dreaming."
"Well, see what had happened was..."Theo started.
"You're not dreaming." Jet responded.
"Thank you. That's all I wanted to know." Ashlyn replied then walked out of the room. "This is the best day of my life!"
Theo smiled as Ashlyn looked over the moon happy. "Those two are gonna make it. I know it."
"Same for us, right?" Jet turned to her.
"Jet-"
"I love you."
"What?"
"I love you, Theodora." Jet admitted. "I'll say it again. I love you. I've loved you since the day we met at camp. I've loved you when we took that canoe ride. The time we went driving down the interstate and we listened to 90s R&B. And everyday after that. I've been falling in love with you every since we met at the lake front. I want to finish what we started that day and-"
"Are you quoting the song?" Theo let out a chuckle.
"Yes I am." Jet nodded. "Look, I know asking for a break was stupid but I was scared like I was when you admitted your feelings for me, or when I thought you weren't going to talk to me after we kissed during the Real Campers rehearsal. The fact is you scare the hell out of me, I can't breathe when I'm around you, hell I can't breathe without you. I get sweaty when you do the littlest things, and you make me nervous in the best way. And I knew from the moment I saw you that I wanted you to be permanent in my life and for the rest of my life."
"Jet-"
"I'm not done. And I love everything about you. I love the way you sing at the top of your lungs when you're listening to Beyoncé. I love the way you scratch your hands when you're nervous and want to play your guitar. I love the way your voice goes up an octave when you lie to people who don't need to know your business. I love your smile, your laugh, your eyes, your mind, your body, and your soul. I love your perfect imperfections. I even love it when you snore, dreaming about one of your many celebrity crushes. I'm in love with all of you, Theodora Grace Porter."
"Will you please shut up, so I can kiss you?" Theo chuckled before placing her hands on either side of his face.
"Yeah I'm done now." Jet answered, putting his hands on her waist.
"Okay." Theo replied before connecting their lips together.
It was like all the moments they had together was leading up to this moment in their relationship. Their first I love you kiss was filled with some love and passion, which was a beautiful thing, a very beautiful thing. Those bottled up feelings and emotions they had for each other were finally brought out into the open. Fireworks were popping like the first time, the world was spinning like the first time, and hearts were beating fast like the first time. Everything that happened the first time was happening right in that very moment and neither one of them regretted it.
"I love you. I love you so much." Theo replied with a smile.
"Really?" Jet inquired.
"Yes, you dork. I love you, and forever after that." Theo responded.
The two of them hugged each other tightly knowing they both loved each other as much as the other did.
"Oh, I got you something." Jet said, pulling away from her.
"You too?" Theo questioned, raising her eyebrows.
"Do you get me something?"
"It was a opening night gift."
Jet pulled a medium sized red box from his back pocket as Theo grabbed a black box from her backpack. They exchanged the boxes and opened them to see different items. Theo's box had a necklace with three charms on it. A sun, a crescent moon, and a letter J in the middle of the two charms. Jet's box had a ring with engraving on the inside and the outside. The inside said Always & Forever and the outside said T&J for Theo and Jet, obviously.
"I love it." Theo smiled at him.
"I love mine, too." Jet reports with the matching smile. He slipped the ring on his middle finger. "I'm never taking it off."
"Ditto." Theo said, putting the charm necklace around her neck. "Aren't we on stage in like three minutes?"
"Yeah." Jet remembered then started running out of the room but ran back in and left a kiss on Theo's lips. "I love you."
"I love you." Theo shouted as he left the room.
***
It was finally time for Jet and Theo's scene that Miss Jenn added along with their original song. The sets for the stage were set out along with a costume rack for their upcoming scene. The spotlights came on as the two of them walked out on stage and the audience clapped for them.
"We just need to put these back and then we can go." Theo said, setting a dress on the costume rack.
"You ever wonder what it would be like to be the stars of a musical?" Jet questioned. "You know like Troy and Gabriella?"
"Sometimes, but that's their thing." Theo said, putting more costumes on the rack.
"It could be nice." Jet commented, pretending like he was walking the edge of the stage. "What if we tried?"
Theo let out a laugh. "We could never."
"Yeah we probably sound terrible." Jet agreed.
"Yeah." Theo nodded in agreement.
The audience laughed. Jet walked over to Theo and wrapped his arms around her then spun her around, causing her to laugh.
"What are you doing?"
Jet sat her down on the ground. "I heard Kelsi writing this song and it sounded it good. Maybe we could try it out...just for fun."
"You're being serious, aren't you?" Theo inquired.
"It's just for fun. Plus no one is here to watch us." Jet shrugged.
"Okay." Theo said and then he handed her the sheet music. The piano then began playing True Love.
"Mmm. If I could it all over, maybe I'd do it different. Maybe I wouldn't be here, in this position." Jet sang, looking at Theo.
"I found you and I lost you, looking back is torture. And it hurts to know I let you go, you live right around the corner." Theo continued, looking up at Jet.
"And I could've had it all, could've had it all." They harmonized. "True love, I knew I had it. True love, was so hard to find. True love, if I could get back, I'd never let it go this time."
"True love." Jet sang.
"Is an inspiration." Theo added.
"True love." Jet added some ad-libs
"It was mine oh mine."
"True love."
"Yeah."
"I'd never let it go." Jet sang, setting down their sheet music.
"I'd never let it go." Theo added as they interlocked hands.
"I'd never let it go this time." Their harmonies were so beautiful and like butter. An electric guitar started playing and then some drums came in.
"Feeling it all around me, wondering how I blew it, and I wanna know the secret of how they do it." Theo sang as they began to slow dance on the stage. "There's no such thing as perfection, I'm still learning that lesson to forgive is key to forgetting me and I'm staring at my reflection."
"And I could've had it all, could've had it all." They sang together again as the music kicked in some more. "True love, I knew I had it. True love, was so hard to find. True love, if I could get back, I'd never let go this time. True love is an inspiration, true love it was mine oh mine. True love if I could it back, I'd never let it go this time."
"If I knew then what I do now, I'd be with you tonight. If I knew then what I do now we'd be alright." Jet sang adding some runs. "And I could've had it all. True love, true love, true love."
"I'd let it go this time." They belted out then Jet spun her around before they continued slow dancing. "True love is an inspiration, true love it was mine oh mine. True love If I could get it back I'd never let it go this time." The music started to slow down and Jet wrapped his arms around Theo as they stood center stage. "True love." The room encrypted with cheers from the crowd for the two of them. They stepped apart and interlocked hands then took a bow before walking off stage.
~•~
Just beautiful 😔
I don't want it to end, y'all. There's one chapter left. I'm not ready to say goodbye yet...