Page 10 of Dared

“Yeah. I guess it does.”

5

Idipped my head to Leo’s ear, speaking low so my parents and brother didn’t overhear. “I dare you to get up on that stage tomorrow and—okay, this is gonna sound really cliché—dance like no one’s watching. There’s a reward in it for you. A good one.” I knew this was a huge deal for him—his biggest challenge so far when it came to performing in front of people—so I’d do anything I could do to help him along the way.

His head shot around to mine. “How did you know I was worrying?”

“Because I know you.” I grinned at him. “You’re gonna smash it. I know you are.”

“Boys! Dinner’s ready.” My dad cleared his throat loudly, and I grabbed Leo’s wrist, tugging him towards the kitchen table. Ever since the whole name incident, it felt as if he’d dropped the final barriers between us, bringing us even closer, and it hadn’ttaken me long to invite him over to mine—initially as a dare. My parents had fallen in love with him instantly, and even my brother seemed to like him, keeping his natural dickishness to a minimum after a well-timed threat to his life from me. The weird thing? For someone who had shyly confessed that he only had four friends—five when you included me—Leo had taken to my family like he’d been in our lives for years, not just a matter of weeks. Maybe it was different because my parents basically treated him like another son. Who knew? The point was Leo was happy to be around them, and therefore, I was happy.

“This looks great.” Leo gave my mum a shy smile as she passed him with a dish of green beans. Placing the dish in the centre of the table, she squeezed his shoulder, ruffling his hair like she did with me.

“Thank you, but I’m afraid I can’t take the credit for this one. John cooked today.”

My dad lifted his hand in acknowledgement, continuing to dish out grilled chicken breasts to everyone. “It’s your dance showcase tomorrow, Leo, and we wanted to make sure we were feeding you something appropriate before the big day. Protein is what you need.”

“Yeah, me too. Gotta build up my muscles.” Ed flexed his non-existent biceps, and I snorted.

“What muscles? Mum, do you have a magnifying glass so I can see what he’s talking about?”

“Be nice to your brother,” she said with an eye roll. Glancing over at Leo, I saw him smiling to himself, and that warmed me all over. He hadn’t gone into a lot of detail about his home life, but I knew his mum had died when he was only a baby, and he wasn’t all that close to his dad. He was an only child, too. Or had been until my family had basically adopted him.

“Leo, back me up. My biceps are bigger than they were last week, aren’t they?”

“Um.” Leo sucked his bottom lip between his teeth, biting back his smile as he pretended to study Ed’s arms. “Yeah, I’d say so.”

“Thank you!” Ed shouted, fist pumping the air. “Fuck you, Sharkfin!”

“No swearing at the table,” my dad bellowed. “That includes rude gestures,” he added when I subtly gave Ed the middle finger. “Sorry, Leo. You’re surrounded by heathens.”

Leo glanced from me to my brother and then to my dad. “A-at least I get to go home at the end of the day. You have to live with them.”

A wide smile spread across my face. The fact he was comfortable enough to join in my family’s teasing…

“Ha!” My mum took her seat. “Exactly! At least someone recognises the sacrifices we make.” She held up her hand to my dad for a high five.

My parents were so weird.

I pointedly cleared my throat, and my dad smirked at me. Thankfully, he seemed to remember what we were actually here for. “Okay, enough of that. Dig in, everyone. Leo needs his strength for tomorrow.”

Tonight was the night Leo had been working towards for a long time, putting as much effort into it as he did with his computing projects. This showcase was the culmination of his dance module, and he was going to be judged on both his group dance and his individual one. As I made my way towards the LSU theatre along with my family, I sent him a quick text.

ME:

You’ll smash this. Remember our dare. YOU CAN DO IT

I had a read receipt but no reply, which I expected. He’d been so stressed, but I had faith in him. He could do this.

The theatre was packed with families and friends of the dancers who were performing tonight. Some of my teammates were here at the theatre, but I’d chosen to sit with my family a few rows from the front. I shifted in my seat, my own nerves getting the better of me as we drew closer to Leo’s first performance.

“Bro’s up next,” Ed hissed, jabbing his finger at the programme, as if I hadn’t been studying it intently. I nodded in acknowledgement, returning my attention to the stage.

When the lights dimmed, I found myself holding my breath, my heart rate picking up, but I didn’t need to worry. Illuminated by sweeping lights, JJ, Alyssa, and Leo nailed their routine as if they’d been performing it for years, even more polished than the first time I’d seen them.

On my feet clapping and cheering, so proud of Leo—of all three of them—it took me a second to register Ed clasping my arm. “Bro.Bro. Leo’s fucking good, isn’t he?”

“Yeah.” It was all I could manage to say, sinking back into my chair as the stage darkened again. He’d been amazing, and now all he needed to do was to get through his solo performance.

---