Page 2 of Undeniably

Keaton.

I pull back from my parents with tears in my eyes.

“I have to tell Keaton.”

They each give me a warm smile.

“Let’s go tell him then.” Mom grabs her keys as she shoos me out the door.

On the way over, my excitement wanes as I realize that I will be leaving Keaton. I won’t have my best friend by my side. We haven’t been separated for more than a week since we were eight. Hamilton Dance Academy is in Chicago, an hour and a half away, but it seems further.

We talked about this possibility. He said he would visit Chicago, and I would come home often. Every weekend, if I could. My stomach sours at the thought of being so far away.

“What if Keaton forgets about me?” I voice my concern aloud.

“Don’t be silly. That boy is half in love with you. He could never forget you,” my mom jokes. She’s said this since we met, that we would one day end up together. Then it was disgusting to think about, but with time, my feelings changed.

I suddenly found Keaton attractive. I’ve had thoughts that one shouldn’t have about her best friend. Keaton acts the same as he always has, so obviously it’s all one-sided.

As we pull up to his house, I sit in the car another minute. I have this sense that this moment will change my entire life.

“Honey, Keaton will be happy for you. You will still get to come home, and I’m sure Reed will bring him to visit you. Don’t worry so much. He’s your best friend. Go celebrate with him.”

I give her a small nod, hoping that she’s right.

“Do you want me to wait?”

I shake my head. “Boswell will bring me home when I’m ready.”

“All right. Love you.”

“Love you.”

Boswell opens the door before I get to it.

“Ms. Wright, the boys are on the back porch. Head on back, and I’ll bring you water with lemon.”

I smile. He knows me so well.

Walking through the house, I stop when I reach the open sliding glass door. I hear the male voices floating through. My heart drops a little. I wanted to tell him alone. When Boswell said boys, I thought he meant Reed and Keaton. Maybe Finley and Sterling. The voices coming to me now are not them. They are boys in our class.

“Miranda has some tits on her though. Did you see her in class yesterday? I swore the top button of her shirt would pop like a damn balloon.”

What the hell is Keaton doing with Charles Darling? He’s the asshole of our class, constantly making rude comments to the girls and getting into fights with boys.

“Miranda? Nah, brah, what about Stacey? That ass is to die for. What I wouldn’t give to hop on that shit like a kangaroo.”

They all laugh at the comment Charles’s best friend Ryan makes.

“What about you, Keaton? You are always hanging out with that ironing board. What’s her name again? Morgan?”

My heart stills.

Ironing board?

I look down at my body. I’m thin with small boobs, but that comes with being a ballerina. You need to be thin to flow through the air, or so Mrs. Lutz, my ballet instructor, says.

I expect Keaton to stick up for me and set them straight. I don’t expect the next words out of his mouth.

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