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Chapter 23

Chapter 24

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Dreams by Starlight

By Staci Stallings

Chapter 23

"Ten minutes to curtain," Kara called down the back stage corridor.

Both of Camille's palms went damp with the sweat pouring from them.

"Hold still," Misty said as she stood in front of the chair where Camille sat.

"I'm trying," Camille said even as her knee began bouncing up and down.

Misty backed up and looked at her sternly, the mascara brush held like a weapon. "If you don't hold still, you're going to look like a clown."

"We wouldn't want that. Now would we?" Ariana asked from behind them sarcastically as she stepped into the room.

"Oh, Ariana, stick a sock in it," Camille said furiously.

Ariana never moved. "Touchy. Touchy."

"Save it for the stage," Camille said, fighting to keep her eyes from blinking as Misty attacked again, and Ariana flounced out.

"Five minutes," Kara called into the room.

"Oh, no," Camille said in absolute horror.

"What?" Misty asked, stopping her work to stare at Camille.

"I've forgotten everything!"

Misty looked at her and laughed. "Actresses."

But Camille wasn't kidding.

When she took her seat at the table just down from Jaylon on the stage, Camille picked up her prop book and willed her mind to stay with her. Three hours and this would all be over. Well, at least this night would be over. There was always tomorrow night to have to deal with. Frantically, she readjusted her glasses in an all out attempt not to go stark-raving mad.

Just before the last of her sanity slipped through her grasp, she glanced down the table at Jaylon.

"And now, we present, 'Don't Listen to the Fates,'" Mrs. Allen said from the other side of the curtain, and then just before the lights collapsed the stage into darkness, Jaylon winked at her and smiled. The magic box of her heart opened, and her soul stepped out.

Even with her eyes closed, she felt the lights come up as a calm confidence she had never before experienced flooded through her. "You are worthy of love, Lauren," her head said softly. "Don't cheat yourself out of that because it's safe. It's not safe. It's lonely and it's painful, and you deserve better."

"My, my, Elaine, what are we celebrating?" Mark asked, and Camille felt Lauren take over.

"Woohoo!" Jaylon whooped as the curtain fell on their final curtain call of the evening. "We did it! Yes!"

Joyous cheers met his and rose above the stage. Camille was still in a state of shock. It was over. Their first performance was history, and she hadn't missed a single line, a single cue.

In her hands was a bouquet of roses, too numerous to count, and to unbelievable to comprehend.

"Good job, Camille." Nick stepped over to her and wrapped her in his embrace. "Man, you were amazing."

"Thanks," she said into his shirt.

"What do you say?" Jaylon called above the din. "Party at Sal's?"

More cheers erupted around them as Mrs. Allen stepped into the midst of the celebration. "Your attention, please."

The noise level plummeted.

"Very, very nice," Mrs. Allen said, and several of the actors hugged each other again. "But, we still have tomorrow night's performance. So, I want you all to go home and get a good night's sleep tonight."

Heads around the stage nodded although not one of them intended on sleeping anytime soon.

"Congratulations," Mrs. Allen said. "Oh, and I expect you all to be here tomorrow night at five p.m. sharp."

No one moved or said a thing until their teacher had again vacated the stage. Then it was like the earth coming back to life over the early morning dew. First one person moved, then another, then another until suddenly everyone was talking and laughing and congratulating each other again.

People Camille didn't even know were coming up to say how much they adored her performance. All she could do was smile and look over to Jaylon. Without him, she would've been out months ago-of that she had absolutely no doubt.

"Hey, Beautiful," Jaylon said, sliding up beside her and taking her hand in his between them. "I've got to run home and change before we go. You want to come-or you could ride over with Nick and Lex."

Camille looked down at her attire-a bright pink, frilly lace and crinoline number the wardrobe department had thought was perfect. "Can I change first?"

When her gaze came up and met his, it was obvious he was trying not to laugh. "If I said, 'Please,' would I hurt your feelings?"

She laughed then. "No, hang on, I'll just be a minute."

Flowers in one hand and half her dress in the other, she shouldered her way back stage to where Misty was busy putting the make-up away for the night.

"Hey, could you help me with this?" Camille asked.

And Misty smiled. "Sure thing."

In jeans and a T-shirt with the dress hung up, her make-up sand papered off, and her hair firmly back in a braid, Camille felt almost normal again. When she stepped back out onto the stage, no one seemed to even notice her.

"Ahh, the short life of fame," she mumbled.

"You ready?" Jaylon who had also changed into street clothes asked in her ear.

"Yeah."

"Let's get out of here."

To Camille this was just another ride in Jaylon's car, no big deal until they rounded the last curve and headed up the street for his house. At the curb, her nerves suddenly took over. "I think I'll just wait out here."

"Oh, come on," he said with a grin. "They won't bite."

However, Camille wasn't too sure about that. She clung to Jaylon's hand even as they stepped up the walk and into the foyer.

"J.? Is that you?" his father called from the back.

"Yeah," Jaylon called back, and before she could protest, he turned his steps and led her right into the den. "I'm just going to go change right quick."

In the old recliner his father, who was busy reading the paper, nodded. Then he looked up over the top of his reading glasses and saw Camille. "Oh, good evening."

"Hello," she said in fear as Jaylon pushed her in front of him.

"I'll just be a minute," he whispered in her ear, and then with a discreet peck on the cheek, he left her standing on the threshold of certain disaster.

"Please, have a seat," Mr. Quinn said, indicating the plaid couch to his right.

"Oh, of course, thank you," she said as she prayed her legs would hold her long enough to get her to her destination. Carefully she sat down.

"So, the performance went all right?" Mr. Quinn asked, and she could tell it was simply a feeble attempt at conversation.

"Yes, it went well, but I was kind of surprised you weren't there to see that for yourself." The words were out of her mouth before she knew they were in her head. Instantly fear struck her heart as she looked over at the man who was at least twice her size.

He lifted his paper a little higher. "I'm not really into all that theatre stuff."

"Oh, no. I didn't mean you were," she said, berating her tongue for its insistence that she say anything. "I just meant I thought you'd be more into your son than that."

The edge of his paper dropped, and he glared at her over his glasses. "That's a pretty strong statement."

"Why?" she asked as utter recklessness took over. "Because I said it out loud or because it's the truth?"

Annoyance with his current houseguest jumped to the surface as Mr. Quinn dropped the paper altogether. "Well, if you must know, I think this whole theatre business is a silly waste of time, and I can't understand why anyone would put so much time and effort into such a useless pursuit."

Although he was staring at her with knives, Camille couldn't help but laugh.

"What's so funny?" he asked as his eyes narrowed even further.

"Nothing. It's just that I used to think the same thing, but if there's one thing I've learned in the last seven months, it's that you don't have to understand somebody to love them for who they are."

"Oh, really?"

"Besides," Camille said softening, "Jaylon doesn't need you to understand him or his dream. He just needs you to support him whether or not you understand what he's doing."

Mr. Quinn's face scrunched in annoyance. "How can I support him if he's throwing his life away?"

Camille sat for a long moment simply gazing at him as all the fear in her heart dispersed. "With all due respect, Mr. Quinn, aren't you throwing his life away right now?" She waited a moment for the rest of her courage to surface before she continued.

"You say you love him, but if you really love him, you have to love all the parts of him-even those you don't like very much, even the parts that don't make any sense to you. That's love. You can't pick and choose the parts of him you like or stick him into a box he hates and call that love. He's got the right to live his own life-to have his own dreams. If you reject his dream, then you reject him."

The older man sat in total silence when her words wound to a stop, and although she knew someone should say what she just had, she wasn't at all sure it should've been her.

A noise at the threshold startled both of them out of their thoughts.

"Hey," Jaylon said from the door softly. "You ready?"

"Yeah." She stood from the couch, and Mr. Quinn followed her up. She turned to him and smiled slightly as she reached out her hand to his. "Thank you for having me. I hope to see you again sometime."

Like a flower opening, Mr. Quinn smiled at her and shook her hand. "You can count on it."

"What was up with you and my dad?" Jaylon asked when they were alone for the first moment at the party. He had wanted to ask ever since he walked in the room, but his fear simply hadn't let him until now.

"We were just talking," Camille said with a shrug. "Getting to know each other."

Stephanie stepped up then as Jaylon nodded with no understanding whatsoever. Ariana had never said six words to his father, much less sat and talked with him. The prospect of the possible topics of conversation made the hairs on the back of his neck stand straight up on end.

"Steph wants to show me something," Camille said, breaking into his thoughts. "I'll be right back."

Again Jaylon nodded only vaguely sure of what she'd said this time, but before he had a chance to question it, they were gone.

"I finished it last night," Stephanie said as she hauled the carrying bag into the anteroom of Sal's. "I'm going to wear it for tomorrow night's cast party."

Dread raced through Camille with the mention of the party as her mind's eye scanned her own closet. The final cast party was supposed to be semi-formal, which to her meant catastrophe.

Carefully Stephanie pulled the dress out of the bag. "What do you think?"

"Oh, Steph," Camille said as her breath was stolen right from her chest. "It's gorgeous!"

The light sea foam blue satin hung gracefully on the hanger. The top was held up with straps but was covered by a matching stole that when worn would bare the shoulders but look part of the bodice. The center of the stole was held together with a faux diamond pin that was eye-catching to say the least.

"You made this?" Camille asked incredulously as she fingered the soft satin.

"It took me two months-what with practices and all."

"When you said you sewed, I didn't think...wow."

Stephanie's smile spread across her whole face. "I wanted to show it to you."

"Why?" Camille asked, coming back from prom dress la-la land.

Slowly Stephanie shrugged. "I guess what you think means a lot to me." The younger girl's gaze tumbled to her shoes. "I never would've had the guts to get up there tonight if it wasn't for you."

Camille's eyes widened. "Why not?"

"You weren't a natural," Stephanie said with a single glance up, "but you didn't let that stop you. I figured if you could do it, so could I."

"Well," Camille said, reaching out and giving her friend a hug, "I'm glad you did. It was nice having a friend up there tonight."

Again Stephanie's smile spread across her face just as the party sounds brought them back into Sal's.

"Well, I'd better get this back out to the car before it gets messed up."

With one more nod Camille left her friend and wandered back into the party where Jaylon was standing, talking to Nick and Lexie. Quietly Camille stepped up and twisted her finger through Jaylon's belt loop.

"Hey." He wrapped his arm around her. "I was wondering where you went."

Before she could reply, a yawn wrenched her whole body. "Oh, sorry." She put her hand to her mouth. "It's been a long day." She shook the yawn off as Jaylon gazed at her laughingly.

"Well, I'd better get our lead home. I'd hate to have to rely on Ari to get us through tomorrow night."

Nick laughed and then opened his arms for Camille one last time. "You did good, girl."

"Thanks," she said, and then she let him go to face Lexie whose eyes were shining in a way Camille had never seen them before.

"I hardly recognized you up there," Lexie said.

Camille's eyebrows went up. "Is that a good thing?"

"Yeah," Lexie said. "It's a very good thing."

At her door, Camille couldn't stop the yawns. "Oh, sorry."

Jaylon's eyes danced when he looked at her. "Tomorrow night we're going to party all night." He wrapped her in his arms and held her for a lingering moment. "But right now you better go get some sleep or you might fall asleep during that fight scene with Dominique."

Camille smiled. "We wouldn't want that, now would we?"

Gently he pulled her back, and when his gaze touched hers, the moment froze between them. Waiting just one more second, he slowly leaned into her, and his lips brushed hers. Had it not been for his arms around her, Camille was quite sure she would've simply fallen through the earth. His lips, warm and soft on hers, unlocked the tiny magic box deep in her heart, and in the next instant its magic spread through her.

Still in a dream even when his lips were gone, Camille floated on the peace his presence gave her.

"You'll be at the center tomorrow?" he asked, the words barely finding the air between them.

She nodded, not even aware she was moving.

"I can't wait," he said as he pulled her to him once more.

Chapter 24

For most of the morning, Jaylon and Camille ran around acting like the little kids they were supposed to be taking care of. She knew it was silly, but she just couldn't help herself. Never in her life had she felt such happiness.

Spring was definitely in the air by the time they made it out to the country. With his hand in hers, they strolled from the car to the tree.

"You look happy," he said, gazing at her with a smile on his own face.

Her nostrils pulled in the glorious scent of new life all around her. "I am."

They walked several more steps. "So, have you heard from Princeton yet?"

She did a small twirl away from him. "Who cares? Isn't life wonderful?"

Barely keeping the laugh to himself, he looked at her in questioning concern. "It is?"

"Yes, and right now I don't want to think about Princeton or the play or homework or anything. I just want to be right here with you."

"Well, then you're in luck," he said, pulling her to his side even as they continued walking.

She gazed up at him. "Yes, I am."

The hug, which felt like the most natural action in the world, tightened in mid-step. Serenely she pulled in another breath. "You know this must be what heaven feels like."

After two more steps he pulled away from her. "No, do you want to know what heaven feels like?"

Her eyebrows shot up. "What do you have in mind?"

"Come here. I'll show you." Grabbing her hand, he led her around the tree to the swing on the other side.

"Oh, I don't know," she said, looking at it with instant concern.

"Come on. If it held me, it's certainly going to hold you." When she looked at him, his eyes were smiling back at her. "One time."

Although it went against all of her better judgment, Camille allowed herself to be guided to the swing. His hand never left hers until she was safely seated, or as safely seated as one can be before she is sent flying over the edge of a 30-foot drop-off.

"You ready?" he asked, and inexplicably she nodded.

Her feet left the ground as she was pulled backward, and then with only the smallest of warnings his hold released, and in the next breath she was sailing over the valley below. Some form of a scream escaped her lungs, but in truth it had too much wonderment mixed with it to be a scream.

At the top of the other side of the pendulum her forward progress stopped, and she dropped back to the earth skimming back over the ground as it reached for her toes. His hands, strong and solid, met her on the other side and sent her once again flying over the edge.

The earth below rescinded its grip on her as body and soul she flew above it. In a completely detached way it was beautiful, like looking down from the perspective of angels. High above the valley, her progress paused and then pulled her back to the earth again. Floating, it was the best word she could use to describe the feeling.

Weightless floating, and as his hands sent her even further up into the air, she surrendered to that feeling-just let it take her. In a burst her soul released every concern she'd ever had, and for one precious moment there was nothing in the world but her and the air and life.

When arm-in-arm they walked up the stage steps at five, her feet still hadn't really touched ground again.

"I'll see you on stage," he said, brushing her cheek lightly with his lips.

"I can't wait," she whispered.

And then he left her to go to the guys' side of the dressing areas. One more breath to confirm this was the greatest day of her life, and Camille turned her own steps to the girls' side.

"How did this happen?" Mrs. Allen was practically yelling when Camille reached the dressing room.

"I don't know," Kara said frantically. "It was fine when I left it here last night. It was hanging right there."

Camille stepped into the small room, and all conversation ceased. She looked from Kara to Mrs. Allen and then her gaze dropped to Mrs. Allen's hands. Shards of pink, grimy and tattered, flowed down to the ground.

"My dress," Camille said in horror.

"I'm telling you I don't know how this could've happened," Kara said in all out panic. "Last night it was hanging right there, and when I got here today, it was laying on my desk...like this."

"Well, let's not panic." Mrs. Allen threw the dress to the floor in search of another idea. "Maybe we can put her in one of these other dresses."

"They're all taken," Kara said. "I only brought enough. I never thought we'd need more."

Mrs. Allen stared at the dresses angrily. "Well, then we'll just have to go get another one."

"In an hour?" Kara asked as Camille watched her fate being tugged between them.

"What happened?" Stephanie asked with concern as she stepped passed Ariana, Tessa and Misty who stood in the doorway.

"My dress got trashed." Camille turned and caught sight of the satisfaction on Ariana's face. Quickly Camille turned back to Mrs. Allen. "I've got my dress for the party in the car. Will that work?"

"Oh, yes, please, go get it," Mrs. Allen said. "You go get it, and I'll be right back."

Camille raced to retrieve the keys from a very confused Jaylon. They didn't have time for explanations. They didn't have time for anything. In minutes she had the dress back in the dressing room. Feeling a surge of expectation fill the room, she pulled it out of the bag and held it up.

It had never been her dream dress. The fuchsia-purple was too gaudy, and the sleeves were off-set too far from the shoulders. It was obviously a knock-off that someone should've had the sense to bury long ago, but it was the best she had been able to come up with.

"It's...nice," Kara said as she examined the dress slowly. "But it's kind of…purple."

Mrs. Allen pushed her way back in the room and stopped with a look of horror on her face. "It's...nice."

"Umm," Stephanie said from the depths of everyone's denial that this dress could ever work. "I've got another idea."

"Let's hear it," Mrs. Allen said instantly.

"Anything," Kara said.

"I'll be right back." And before Camille could say anything, Stephanie was gone. Tension dropped over the room again as Camille quietly hung her dress on the rack.

"We'd better get started," Misty said to Camille with a sigh. "We're losing daylight."

Just then Stephanie ran back into the room, and Camille's world stopped when she saw the black bag. "Oh, Steph, no."

"Be quiet, I'm trying to make my grand entrance," Stephanie said. She hung the bag on the rack before slowly pulling the zipper down to reveal the soft sea foam satin. As she extracted the dress from its shell, gasps sounded throughout the room.

"Oh, it's gorgeous," Misty said in awe.

Camille smiled at Stephanie who stood there basking in the glow of her greatest creation. "She made it."

"No way!" Kara said as she reached out to gently touch the fabric.

"I was going to wear it for the cast party," Stephanie said, and then she looked at Camille, "but I'd be honored if you wore it for the play."

Tears welled up in Camille's eyes.

"Okay," Mrs. Allen said commandingly. "Everybody out. We've got a fitting to do."

Groans and moans erupted from every girl standing in the doorway.

"Don't grumble," Mrs. Allen said. "Get! Everyone should be in make-up already anyway."

The room emptied out, save for Camille and Stephanie.

"Call us when you get it on," Mrs. Allen said and quietly closed the door behind her.

"Let's get you in this thing," Stephanie said, but before she could so much as unzip the dress, Camille wrapped her arms around her friend.

"You're an angel. You know that?"

"Hey, right back at you, Babe," Steph said with a wink.

"How about I pick you up at seven?" Hawk asked as he stood stage right, swinging Lauren's hand.

"No," she said instantly. "Maybe we should just meet there. Dominique might freak if you show up at the house, and I don't want to cause any trouble."

Hawk nodded. "Okay. I'll see you there then."

"That's the music," Misty called into the backroom. "Come on, Camille."

From the depths of the dressing room, her hair wrapped in a French knot on her head, Camille stepped out, and the stole rested on her milk white shoulders as though she had stood in a fitting for hours.

"How is it?" she asked Misty nervously.

"You look beautiful." Misty reached up and pulled Camille's glasses off and then nodded. "Perfect."

The dance music swelled around her as Camille closed her eyes to calm her racing heart. This was it. Two scenes and it would all be over. Slowly she turned, and guided only by the lights on the stage, she stepped through the curtain.

Measuring her steps to her appointed spot, she glided across the stage, hearing the audience's gasps even as she did.

"Lauren?" Hawk asked, suddenly appearing before her in a haze of blurriness.

"Hi," she said, forgetting for the moment that she was supposed to be projecting.

"You look...you look beautiful." And it was the first time he'd stumbled over a line. "Would you like to dance?"

"I'd love to." She arched her wrists up to his neck as his hands went to her waist. They swayed three times, and then they were no longer acting. She laid her head onto his shoulder as they became one in the moment.

Lost in the safety of his arms, it was possible to believe that this was real. That he loved her, and she loved him, and that nothing could ever come between them again.

"Dominique, what's wrong?" Tessa asked from stage right, and instinctively Camille flinched.

"Ethan Drake is a jerk!"

"What happened?" Tessa asked as though she hadn't heard the next line a hundred thousand times.

"Mindy Tarlington. Uck!" Ariana glared at Tessa. "He was kissing Mindy Tarlington!"

"Oh, boy," Tessa said just as Nick ran onto the stage.

"Dominique, hey. What'd you run off for?"

She whirled on him. "I can't believe you can stand there and honestly ask me that question."

"What you saw...that wasn't me. I mean, yeah, that was me, but it wasn't what it looked like."

"Well, it looked like you were performing a tonsillectomy without the anesthetic!"

"But I didn't do anything. She slipped, and I was just helping her up."

"How? With mouth-to-mouth."

Camille moved with Jaylon even as her blood froze in anticipation of the coming conflagration.

"That's it," Ariana screamed from across the stage. "I've had enough."

"Enough?" Nick asked incredulously.

"Yes, enough. Enough of this! Enough of you! You're an egotistical, selfish, conceited, arrogant..."

"Hey," Nick said calmly breaking into her litany. "Right back at you, Babe."

"That's it. Get out of my sight."

He stood for one more moment. Then he smiled at her, and Camille couldn't help but hear the satisfaction in his voice. "Gladly."

On his heel he turned, and Jill met him on his second step. He draped an arm around her, and together they made their exit.

"Don't let the door hit you on the way out," Ariana called angrily.

One beat and Tessa moved to Ariana. "Don't worry about him, Dominique. You deserve better."

But Ariana was already staring passed Tessa at Camille. "If you'll excuse me, I've got someone to speak with."

"Dominique," Tessa said, but Ariana was already locked on her target.

"So, Hawk," Ariana said, stepping up to the swaying couple. "I can't believe you actually went through with this whole date thing."

Jaylon continued to dance. "Leave us alone, Dominique."

Ariana's voice dropped an octave. "Lauren, Lauren, Lauren. Little baby sister. I never thought you could be so gullible."

Camille legs continued to move even as her soul cringed.

"Let me guess," Ariana said sweetly. "I bet he told you this was forever. I bet he told you it was fate."

Their dancing slowed.

"Oh, yeah. He used the same lines on me. You know?"

Under her hands Camille felt Jaylon flinch.

"Dominique," he said in warning.

"What? Are you afraid of what will happen if she knows the truth? If she knows that all you wanted was to make me mad."

"Dominique."

"I told you," Ariana said to Camille with a knowing nod. "I told you it was all a big game to him. He was never interested in you-he just used you to get back at me."

They're dancing was now at a standstill.

Jaylon stepped between Ariana and Camille. "I said, 'Leave us alone.'"

"If you don't believe me, look at him," Ariana said to Camille as she looked at Jaylon with contempt. "Hawk never could lie with his eyes. You could always read him like an open book. Go on. Look at him, and ask him if I'm lying."

Camille gazed up at Jaylon's profile, and for half a second she thought he might not look down, but then his gaze turned to hers, and they were so close that the lack of glasses made no difference at all. He was there, in her line of sight, as clear as glass. "Is that true?"

His gaze pleaded with her. Inches apart, there was nowhere to run from the implications in his eyes.

"It is true," she said as her eyebrows narrowed. "You lied to me?" Her feet backed her away as his face blurred more from the tears than from anything. "I trusted you, and you lied to me!"

He reached out for her. "No, Lauren. Please..."

But she broke away from his grasp. "Don't touch me!" She looked from him to Ariana as blinding pain slashed through her. "Don't ever touch me again!"

And with that she ran off the stage.

"No, wait," he called after her, but the stage sounds receded into the background the second Camille stepped into the wings.

"Good job." Misty handed her glasses back. "Here let's mess up your hair a little."

One pin, two, and then wisps of hair cascaded down around her face. Misty tugged on the satin and ran a piece of wet cotton over her bottom lashes to make her mascara run.

"Lauren, wait!" Jaylon called, racing off the stage into the wings as the curtains closed and stagehands rushed on to remove the dance props and set the lonely bench in the center of the stage.

Camille glanced at him over Misty's shoulder, but he, too, was busy coming undone.

"That's it," Kara called from the edge, and Misty stepped away from Camille. "Lights."

When the curtains slid open, the stage was immediately dotted with pinpoints of light that covered the back of the stage like stars. One beat, two, and then Kara swung her finger out to cue Camille.

Gathering all the pain she'd seen in his eyes when she ran away, she rushed in a disheveled mess onto the stage, looked back once, and collapsed into tears onto the bench.

"Lauren, please! Wait!" Jaylon called from off-stage, but she kept her face in her hands, sobbing as though her heart had just been broken in two.

Into the soft blue light, he stepped and immediately caught sight of her crumpled on the bench. Like a magnet to its mate he walked across the stage, making hardly any sound as he did so, and every breath in the auditorium ceased. Softly he sat down next to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "I'm so sorry."

"How could you?" Camille asked through her tears as she wrenched herself out of his grasp and whirled around to face him. "I trusted you."

"I know." His eyes pleaded with her. "And I let you down. But you have to know, even though it started out as a lie, I really do care about you now."

"That's convenient." She stood and took a step away from him.

His gaze followed her across the stage. "It's not convenient. It's the way I feel."

"And what about the way I feel? Huh? I guess that's just a tiny little detail."

She turned her back on him as she folded her arms across her chest.

Slowly he stood and walked over to her. "You have to know I never meant to hurt you. I made a mistake. I admit that. But, please, don't throw us away because I was an idiot. Please, Lauren."

She considered his plea. "I just don't know how I can ever trust you again. You aren't who I thought you were."

He nodded as acceptance poured over his features. One centimeter at a time, he moved, turning away from her and walking all the way to the other side of the stage. Then just before he exited entirely, all motion stopped.

Across the stage, Camille felt him as he decided his next move. She felt the heat of his gaze burn through her back when he glanced back at her. She never lifted her head although she felt him turn and step back toward her. Closer and closer until he was barely an arm's length away.

"Hi," he said from behind her softly. "I'm Hawk. Hawk Fletcher."

With tear-stained eyes she looked over her shoulder at him.

"I don't believe we've met," he said, and when she didn't scream at him, he extended his hand in offering to hers.

She looked at his hand, and then she looked at him. Slowly her hand came up to meet his. It was like touching a live wire as the familiar electricity shot up her arm. "I'm Lauren. Lauren Waterford."

A smile overtook his face the moment her hand touched his.

Her eyes lowered teasingly although her words were deadly serious. "I guess you're going to say this must be fate."

He waited one beat, and then he smiled at her and shook his head. "Don't listen to the fates."

And with that, the curtains slid closed.

One second and then two, and then the applause erupted from the other side of the curtains. Jaylon looked at Camille, and in his eyes was pure excitement and joy. "You did it."

"No," she said softly. "We did it."

"Jaylon! Camille!" Kara called as the cast lined up on the stage.

Still holding hands and taking every opportunity to look at each other, they stepped to the center of the stage as the curtains slid open. Jaylon bowed as Camille curtsied, and as the applause continued, Jaylon swept his hand in front of him in deference to her. She bent again even as Jaylon let her hand go to applaud.

The curtains slid closed, and someone rushed onto the stage with a bouquet. For one second Camille wondered if they were the same ones from the night before, but she didn't have time to contemplate that question before the curtains slid open again.

Once more she curtsied, and then she looked at Jaylon, and simultaneously they stepped to the sides to applaud their supporting cast members who stepped forward as a group and took their bows. After a few more minutes the curtains slid closed again, and the applause from the outside died down even as the joy on stage rose.

"Camille," three girls said, rushing over to her. "You were great! That dress is so gorgeous! You look like a goddess. I thought I was going to cry when he walked back over to you. I bet you could've just died."

She never had to say a thing, she simply stood smiling and laughing at the excitement pouring out around her. In the next moment she caught sight of Lexie and stepped through the crowd to put her arms around her best friend.

"You are beautiful." Lexie hugged her friend. Then she pulled back to look at Camille. "And I don't just mean the dress."

One more quick hug, and Camille felt the small tug on the side of her dress. She looked down, and there, gazing up at her, stood Daria. Immediately Camille sat on her heels by her sister.

"You look like Cinderella," Daria said in fascination.

Camille straightened the little collar. "I feel like Cinderella." Like hugging her own little soul, she pulled Daria into her arms. "Thanks for coming, Dar."

When she stepped back, there were tears in the little girls' eyes. Camille wiped her own away and then stood and found herself face-to-face with her mother.

"You've grown up on me," her mother said, and there were tears behind the voice. She ran her hand over Camille's hair and cupped her daughter's face in her hands. "I'm proud of you."

"Thanks," Camille said, blinking back the tears. As she stepped into her mother's embrace, it was the first time she remembered ever feeling her acceptance. She pulled back and wiped more tears away. "Thanks for coming."

"I wouldn't have missed it."

At that moment Camille glanced passed her mother, and instantly shock gripped her. "Umm, will you excuse me?"

In a daze Camille crossed the stage, completely oblivious to the adulation raining down on her. Jaylon held his hand out for her, and she strode to his side.

"Somebody wants to talk to you," Jaylon said, standing solidly in front of a tall man as he pulled Camille to his side.

"Mr. Quinn," she said, and the shock was evident in her voice.

The silver-haired man with the strong face looked down at her. "I want to thank you, Camille. If it weren't for you, I would've missed this, and I would never have known how talented my son truly is. Thank you."

Camille smiled at him. "You're welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"Oh, I did, but I have to say I think you should consider following Jaylon to NYU. You two could take the theatre world by storm."

Camille laughed and shook her head. "I think I'll stick with calculus."

"Lucky calculus," Mr. Quinn said. He laughed and then looked back across the stage. "Well, I'd better let some of these other people talk to the stars. Congratulations. You were both wonderful."

"Thanks," they said simultaneously, and Jaylon's hand tightened on hers.

His father disappeared as the crowd collapsed onto them.

"You guys were great! That was so cool!"

"Huh-hmm!" Mrs. Allen said from the midst of the chaos. "May I just say I appreciate every minute you all put into this year's production. All that hard work paid off. Good job to everyone!"

A small cheer went up as Camille glanced across the stage and caught sight of Stephanie, the girl who had saved their entire evening.

"Come on," Camille said, pulling Jaylon through the noisy crowd. "Steph!"

With a whirl, Stephanie turned and Camille enveloped her into her arms. "Thank you so much! Man, I thought we were sunk."

"Thank me?" Stephanie asked excitedly. "Thank you! There was a production assistant from the Ashcroft here, and Mrs. Allen brought her up to meet me. I'm going to take my sketches and maybe get to design costumes for their Summer Production!"

"Oh, Steph!" Camille grabbed her friend and hugged her even tighter. "Congratulations!"

When Camille pulled back, she smiled at her friend. Then she looked down at the dress. "I'll just go get out of this so you can wear it for the party."

"No, it's yours," Stephanie said, shaking her head.

"Mine?"

"For tonight anyway. Maybe I'll get my chance to wear it someday-the prom or something. But for tonight, it's yours."

Camille's eyes fell closed as happiness flooded through her, and she hugged her friend once more. "Thank you."

At the cast party they made their entrance hand-in-hand, and Jaylon didn't even pause long enough for anyone to tell them congratulations. He'd had enough of that. All he wanted was to be with her, to be in her arms, and then to make this night last forever.

"Have I told you thank you?" she asked into his shirt as they began dancing, and he pulled back enough to look in her eyes.

"For what?"

"For not letting me quit. For not letting me give up on myself."

"I knew you could do it."

"Yeah, but I didn't."

He regarded her for a moment. "You know what I think?"

"What?"

"I think, that you can do anything you set your mind to."

"Oh, yeah?" she asked as a glint flashed in her eyes. "Even this."

And without warning, she pulled his lips down to hers. Sweeter than fresh honey her lips melted to his, and he held her-barely dancing except in his soul.

"Hey, hey, hey! Break it up, you two," Nick called as he and Lexie danced by.

Self-consciously their lips broke free, and they looked over at their friends with a laugh.

"You sure know how to ruin a good thing," Jaylon said playfully as Camille buried her head into his shoulder. "You know that?"

Nick pointed at Jaylon in warning. "Just keeping you honest."

"Well, that's good," Jaylon said as his heart erupted with joy, "because this is as honest as it gets."

And with that he stopped dancing, which immediately brought her gaze to his. He closed his eyes, and when their lips met again, his soul had never been more honest.

Epilogue

"You up for a drive?" Jaylon asked over the phone lines three weeks later.

The night sky was already dotted with stars, but Camille didn't need even a second to think about it. "When can you be here?"

She walked next to him, huddling into him although the night was springtime warm.

"Did you hear about Ari?" Jaylon asked tentatively.

"No, what about her?" Camille asked in concern.

"Julliard turned her down." His words paused for two steps. "She's going to stay here and go to the community college next year."

Camille's heart fell for the death of a dream. "Couldn't she go to her second choice?"

"That was her second choice," he said just before they reached the tree.

"Oh," was all Camille could manage as she watched him sit down and then pull her down with him. Trusting him with her life, she leaned back into him and let the cares of the world evaporate around her.

"I've got some news," he said after a long pause.

"Oh, yeah? What's that?"

He shuffled underneath her and then held out a cream-colored envelope.

"NYU?" she asked, sitting up and taking the letter from him.

Off-handedly he shrugged. "I didn't want to open it until we were together."

Camille's heart laughed out loud as she looked from the letter to him. "I've got some news too."

"What's that?"

She reached into her pocket, pulled her own envelope out and held it up next to his for inspection.

"Princeton."

"Yeah. I didn't want to open it until we were together." She waved the envelopes in front of him. "Which one do you want?"

He took a deep breath and then grabbed hers. "This one."

Excitement raced through her as she looked at him. "On three. Ready? One, two, three."

There was a flurry of torn paper, and then for a single moment they both sat, utterly motionless.

"Dear Mr. Quinn," Camille read as her excitement grew the further down she skimmed. "We are pleased to offer you admission into the New York University Theatre Arts Program for the Fall Semester..."

But he, too, was reading. "Dear Miss Wright: Based on your excellent academic record, Princeton would like to welcome you..."

For one split second they both stopped reading and looked at each other. In the next second the excitement broke between them, and they jumped into each other's arms.

"You made it!" they both yelled simultaneously. "You made it!"

"Oh my gosh, I don't believe it," she said, taking the letter he had been reading from his hand and skimming it quickly.

"You don't believe it? I don't believe it!" He took his own letter from her, and his gaze ran down it. "This is real. Oh my gosh! It's really happening. Ahh!"

She had never been so excited in her life, but when Camille looked at him, the excitement drained away from her. "But you know what this means. Don't you?"

He stopped and looked at her. "Yeah, it means our dreams are coming true."

"Well, yeah, but it also means..."

"What?" he asked, breaking her sentence in two. "That we aren't going to spend every future second together? That our paths aren't leading in the same direction? But we already knew that didn't we?"

Her gaze pleaded with him to say that he wouldn't go, or that she shouldn't go or that their dreams weren't worth losing each other for; however, his gaze held nothing but calm acceptance. "But, J...."

Gently he wrapped his arms around her and tugged her back to him. "Nobody has forever, Camille. If you have one moment, you're luckier than most. We had one moment, and it was great. And who knows, maybe we'll have more. But you have to know I'll never regret the moment we had even if it doesn't last forever."

His grip tightened on her. "That's all we have anyway. This moment. You live this one, and you let the next one take care of itself. That's how it works." Tenderly he laid her into his arms. "And right now, this moment, the one thing I am sure of is that I love you, and for right now, for this moment, that's enough."

"It is?"

As he gazed down into her eyes, he nodded. "Yeah, it is." The stars glimmered above them as he pulled her to him. "I love you, Camille Wright. That's what I know. And that's all I need to know."

With his arms around her, Camille knew completely that wherever life took her from that point forward, she would remember this moment, being right here, under this tree, gazing up into his eyes right to the stars beyond. She would remember it because it was now woven into the fabric of her heart. "I love you, too, Jaylon Quinn."

One kiss and then she laid back into his chest. Gazing at the stars stretched out above them, they simply held each other and trusted that the future would take care of itself.

Copyright Staci Stallings February 2001