Make up was something I never usually went for, like, I always did such basic make up and never even considered putting on a full face.

This however, was probably the first time I was getting a full face done.

The changing rooms at the back of the hall were swarming with dancers and stage hands. It felt like Piccadilly Circus with how much people were running around like lunatics and getting in each others way.

I'd managed to find a quiet spot out of the way while Miss Lacey and her team did my make up and did any last minute alterations to my dress.

My phone was my only form of entertainment as I had my face practically beaten up by brushes and beauty blenders.

I saw that Leo had messaged me from the boys changing rooms and it put a smile on my face. Apart from school and one more practice session, we hadn't seen each other since he stayed at mine.

It had been hard to act like he wasn't there when we walked past each other in the hallways, but it was the only way to make sure Harvey would be chill.

He was the only person that came to watch me dance today. I'm pretty sure Leo's Mum was in the crowd somewhere but I tried not to focus on her since I knew she didn't like me and Leo together.

Leo and I had a plan though. As soon as this was over with, win or lose, we were going to come out officially as a couple.

I was scared to death, and I knew Leo was as well, but it was the only way we were going to be able to get past all of this drama.

If Harvey still feels the same way about us then I needed to let him go. I wasn't prepared to sacrifice my happiness for someone else.

I'd always put Harvey first with practically everything I did. Now it's my turn.

I bit my lip slightly and sent a text to Leo.

"I'm getting nervous."

Thinking about what was about to happen in the next hour was overwhelming and I would be lying if I said I wasn't absolutely shitting myself.

Almost instantly, a reply came through.

"So am I, but don't worry, I'll make you feel better soon."

I hoped he could, because it felt like my heart was going to fall out of my arse.

"Right! Get up and get changed!" Miss Lacey suddenly snapped from beside me, snatching my phone from my grip and practically throwing my dress at me.

I leaped up, quickly pulling my tank top over my head and throwing my dress on. It was a simple baby blue dress that flowed at I walked. The thin straps on my shoulders dug in slightly but I knew they had to re-adjust them.

Slipping off my leggings from underneath the dress, I quickly shoved my clothes into my gym bag and stood still for the tailors to do the last few alterations to the dress.

As the two ladies shuffled around my, tugging and pulling at the fabric, I finally caught a glimpse of myself in the overly-lit mirror.

Jesus... I didn't think I could look more... Weird?

The small amount of freckles that resided on my cheeks had completely vanished under layers upon layers of foundation and concealer.

My eyes were painted a mix of dark and light blue with a small wing of eyeliner sweeping across my eyelid.

I then realised that I had some fake eyelashes on... Which I detested. No wonder my eyes felt so heavy.

My lips were a simple nude colour with a hint of pink in the middle. I'm not gonna lie, I wasn't liking this full face of make up thing.

They said they were going to leave my hair down and I noticed all they did was slightly curl the ends so they were slightly wavy instead of dead straight like my hair normally was.

Fuck it, if this is what I needed to go through for a chance in this competition then I wasn't going to complain.

"Right, three more couples and then you're on. Drink some water and relax, visualize the movements in your head and don't let anything distract you." Miss Lacey was standing next to me, trying to coach me as much as she could before he hit the floor.

I nodded my head, clicking my neck from side to side and taking slow and steady breaths.

It probably didn't click in my brain until a couple of minutes ago how surreal this was.

All the months of training and years of build up had lead me to this moment. And I was going to be doing it with someone I cared so deeply about.

The minutes leading up to our performance felt like hours and it didn't really hit the pit of my stomach until we were next and I saw Leo standing at the opposite side of the wings.

For once his hair wasn't scraped back into a ponytail, but it was left free to frame around his face and dust along the tops of his shoulders.

I never said it to him but I loved it when his hair was down. There was just something about it that made my heart beat a little faster each time I saw it.

It's like he felt me staring at him as after a few moments our eyes met and a smile illuminated his face.

He mouthed something to me but I had no idea what he was trying to say. I shrugged my shoulders to him, showing that I had no idea what he was saying.

Leo laughed and shook his head, running a hand through his hair that made knees go all funny.

I was so lost in his movements that I only just registered the booming voice on the microphone.

"And now we have number 44, from the Bluebells Dance School, Leonidas Taylor and Eliana McCoy!"

I had to hold a laugh over the announcer using Leo's full name as I could see him roll his eyes.

Well, this was it. No going back now...

Miss Lacey gave me one last reassuring look before I stepped out of the wing and met Leo in the middle of the floor.

The amount of eyes on us were overwhelming.

I noticed my brother straight away since he was sitting in the front row, directly in front of us.

Well, he did want to keep an eye on us...

We both smiled to the judges and I gave a small wave to Harvey who did actually show a small smile in return.

Ok, maybe it was going to be alright after this... I hoped at least.

The small amount of chatter in the hall slowly started to silence and Leo and I shared one final look.

"I said you look beautiful." Leo whispered in my ear as we took our starting position.

And with that one comment, the heat hit my cheeks, although I'm sure with all the make up on my face you couldn't see it anyway, and I couldn't help the beaming smile from spreading across my face.

Out of all the shit that had happened in the past few months, the one thing I'm extremely grateful for, is that Leo was by my side right now.

***

Cloud nine.

That's literally how I was feeling as soon as we finished the dance. No mistakes, no blunders.

We performed the absolute shit out of that routine and we did it flawlessly.

The applause from the audience was like a high, rushing through my body and even making me dizzy from how overwhelming it all was.

I barely even registered Leo hugging me tightly and lifting me up into the air, spinning me around.

I couldn't even help myself, as soon as he put me back down on my feet, I grabbed his shirt and pulled him towards me so I could slam my lips onto his.

I noted a couple of wolf whistles from the crowd but I didn't care.

When we finally broke the kiss, Leo beamed a smile, his chest rising a falling drastically from how out of breath he was.

"What was that for?" He laughed a little, taking my hand as we headed back to the wings.

"Because I wanted to." I replied, bringing his hand to my mouth and pressing a kiss to the back of it.

Before he could even reply, we were dragged to the side by Miss Lacey who launched us in for a bear hug. She may be a smaller, older woman but by god was she strong.

When she finally let us go, she had to wipe away a tear from her eye "That was absolutely beautiful. I'm so proud of you both, why you weren't my first choice is beyond me. You have exceeded my expectations massively."

I was stunned at her words, it left me completely speechless.

"Thank you so much for this opportunity Miss Lacey, we owe you so much." Leo managed to answer, his grip on my hand tightening on mine.

Leo and Miss Lacey carried on talking for a little bit longer before she got called away by one of the panelists.

I think there were a couple more dancers to go before the judges scored and announced the results.

The heat of the stage lights had finally hit me more and I ventured towards the refreshments table which held over a hundred bottles of water for the dancers.

Leo went to grab his phone from his bag so I was alone at the table, gulping down half the bottle of water and taking a breath. Just as I went to finish it off, a voice made me stop.

"Eliana."

Spinning around, I saw Harvey approaching from the stage door. I don't even know if he was allowed back here. God, this probably wasn't going to go well.

"Look, Harvey, I'm sorry about what I did, I didn't mean to get so carried awa-"

I didn't even get to finish my sentence as my brother pulled me into the biggest hug I think he's ever given me. My toes left the floor as he lifted me up, his grip tight on my body.

After a few moments, Harvey set me down on my feet and held me out at arms length "I'm so proud of you Eliana."

I couldn't help it. Tears welled up in my eyes. Harvey was being honest with me and the fact that he said that he was proud of me struck a chord.

I hadn't even heard my parents say that to me.

I was still worried about the whole Leo thing though, so I just wanted to be honest with Harv too.

"Thank you. Harvey you have no idea how much that means to me. And I just want you to know that I didn't kiss Leo at the end to annoy anyone. I like Leo a lot and he likes me too, I just don't want you to hate me for it."

"Eli, I understand. After seeing you two dance together... I didn't know before, but now I think I get it. Obviously I'm still not happy with the fact that he's my friend and he's into you but... I think I can deal with it. I just want you to be happy."

This time it was me who pulled Harvey into a hug, probably squeezing him a bit too hard than I needed too but him finally approving of me and Leo was fantastic news. I wanted all of us to get along and this was definitely heading in the right direction.

I opened my eyes to find Leo making his way over to us, he smiled a little before nodding his head.

I nodded back, showing that we were good and that he didn't have to worry about Harvey anymore.

As I pulled away from Harvey, Leo pulled his phone to his ear and started talking down it.

Harvey turned around and saw Leo and I was grateful that he smiled to his friend instead of blanking him.

I began to get nervous however at how Leo's expression had changed from happiness to a frown. Narrowing my eyebrows, I hurried over to him.

"Is everything ok?" I questioned, growing more concerned with how impassive Leo's face was becoming.

He still didn't say anything, his eyes just glued to a random spot on the floor.

All of a sudden, Leo threw his phone onto the ground, small bits of plastic and glass flew into the air and I jumped at the impact.

"What the hell was that?!" I panicked, worried about what had changed Leo's mood so suddenly.

"My fucking Dad is here."

My whole body went cold. How the fuck did Devin know Leo was participating in this?

"Was that him on the phone?" I asked, grabbing my hand so I could hold it in mine.

"No it was my Mum." And the next thing that Leo said nearly made me throw up "He's with my her. They're thinking about getting back together."