Hey guys thank you so much for all your feedback! I appreciate it so much!! And thank you to everyone who read this whole thing in a day that is so AWESOME. Thank you so so so much. I hope you guys like this chapter. I updated as fast as I could just for you awesome people. 
The video on the side is of Brad and Sage's duet! Once again I don't own it I got it from youtube. 
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Chapter sixteen.

I called my dad and told him that I was spending the night at Kalina’s since she ‘picked me up.’ Dad apologized for forgetting but he didn’t sound too sorry.

I walked out of Aaron’s bathroom in nothing but one of his button up t-shirts and my underwear.

“Are you sure your mom won’t mind me being here?” I asked pulling the sleeves past my hands.

“Ya, she won’t even be home.” He said while grabbing a box off his desk.

“Why? Where is she?”

“She and Zoe are at the hospital.” He said nonchalantly.

“What?”

“Zoe’s just getting a checkup.” He said walking straight up to me. “Now sit down so I can fix you.”

“I didn’t know I was broken.” I said sitting on the edge of his bed. He took out what looked like an alcohol wipe and started dabbing my forehead. “I didn’t even know that was there.” I said catching a glance in the mirror to see that there was a scratch across my forehead.

“You might have a bruise in the morning.” He murmured brushing my cheek with his hand.

“That’s ok…that’s what make-up was made for.”

“I’m sorry.” He said still cupping my cheek in his hand. “I should have gotten there sooner, that way it wouldn’t have happened.”

“It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have done anything.”

“I wanted to kill him.” He said through gritted teeth while not meeting my eyes.

“I’m glad you didn’t.” I said resting my arms around his neck. “I wouldn’t want to come visit you in jail every day.”

I pulled him closer and kissed him. His hands flew to my waist and pushed me farther back on the bed.

Our tongues danced together as he carefully laid on top of me. He pushed the shirt I was wearing up to my waist as I wrapped my legs around his waist. I pulled at his shirt until he stripped it off and started kissing my neck as he began unbuttoning the shirt I wore. I pulled him back so I could kiss him after he’d unbuttoned the shirt but then a phone rang startling both of us.

Aaron rolled off me and grabbed his cell phone from his desk.

“Hello?” He said answering it. “Is everything ok?...Ya I can be there in no more than an hour….K see you soon, love you.”

As he hung up he raked a hand through his hair looking defeated. “What’s wrong?” I asked buttoning up the shirt again.

“I need to go to the hospital.” He said pulling his shirt back on.

“I thought everything was all right?”

“That’s what I thought too.”

“I can go home. I’ll just make an excuse to my dad.”

“You don’t have to, you can come with.”

“Are you sure?”

“Ya…just put some pants on first.” He said with the ghost of a smile.

**********

It was nearly the middle of the night and Aaron and I were walking through the hospital to the pediatrics floor.

We walked into room 102 where Aaron’s mom was trying to talk to a crying Zoe who was hiding under a blanket.

“Aaron.” She said sighing. “She won’t talk to me.”

“Here walk outside with me for a sec mom.” He said pulling her aside. “I’ll be right back.” He mumbled to me before closing the door behind them.

Zoe continued to cry and I wasn’t quite sure what to do, but I decided to try and calm her down.

“Zoe, what’s wrong?” She just shook her head, or at least that’s what I think she did. “Will you at least let me look at you?”

“No!” She said shaking her head again. “I’m ugly.”

“Why would you say that?” I said sitting on the edge of the bed.

“All my hair is gone.” She said in nothing louder than a whisper.

“What?” I said confused while tugging at the blanket. She slowly lowered the blanket so I could see her.

Her head was shaved and her eyes were red and puffy from crying.

“I’m sick.” She said in between sniffs. “Mom and Aaron told me I was getting better but I wasn’t. I got worse and now I have no hair.”

Oh my god. She has cancer.

“Zoe, you are one of the most beautiful girls I have ever seen.”

“No I’m not.”

“Everyone will just know now that you’re a warrior. They’ll know how strong you are.”

“I don’t want to be a warrior; I want to be a princess.” She said before burying her head in her pillow and beginning to cry again.

I got up and gave her one last glance before walking out the door and grabbing Aaron.

“Where are we going?” He asked after saying a quick goodbye to his mom.

“I want to grab something for your sister.” I said as I continued to drag him back to his truck.

We got back to the hospital where Zoe still wasn’t talking to her mom.

Aaron was pulled outside by his mom before even getting to sit down. I set my bag down next to her while trying to get her attention.

“What’s that?” She said as I smiled glad that she had taken the bait.

“This is a bag full of awesome things.” I said. “Awesome make-over things.” That finally got her to grin. “Can I put some of it on you?” I asked hesitantly.

She nodded before blowing her nose on a tissue and she tossing it in the garbage can next to her bed.

I pulled out some light eye shadows and started to begin to work.

I put a light shimmery brown eye shadow on her and some mascara on her top eye lashes before putting on a shiny lip gloss. I put a necklace with a Z pendant around her neck before putting a pink and blue scarf around her head which hid the fact that she had no hair.

I pulled out a hand held mirror to show her the reflection so she could see how beautiful she really was.

“I like the colors on the scarf.” She said running her hand over it.

“You’re gorgeous, Zoe.” I said smiling at her.

“Thank you, Sage.” She said throwing her arms around my neck. I paused before wrapping my arms around her in return.

Aaron opened the door just as I was pulling away from Zoe.

“Look at my beautiful sister!” He said running across the room and picking her up from the bed before spinning her around.

“You really think so, Aaron?”

“Of course! I never lie.” He laughed before setting her back on the bed.

“Did Sage have to wake you up again?” She asked while scrunching her eyebrows at me.

“No, why?” He asked laughing again.

“Well she must have been at our house and spilled something because she had to borrow your shirt again.” She said while pointing at his button up shirt that I wore.

Aaron and I looked at each other before bursting into laughter.

************

I didn’t get to see Aaron for all of Christmas break because my dad made a surprise vacation to Hawaii.

I came back home with a tan and some summer clothes I wouldn’t be able to wear for a while.

My dad and I had small conversations about things that didn’t really matter. He would ask about Nate and say great things about Nate; and whenever I even tried to bring up Aaron my dad would either tune me out or quickly change the subject.

Most of my time there was spent swimming/snorkeling or just lounging on the beach. I went shopping frequently, and even went horseback riding once. I also went on a small bout tour around Kauai; the island we stayed on. And on News Years my dad took me to a luau.

I had a good time, it would’ve been better if my father and I weren’t mad with each other.

On Wednesday after school had started again I sat next to Aaron in chemistry. We whispered to each other while the teacher droned on about something so boring I’d fall asleep if I tried paying attention.

“So do you think you’ll be able to go to the two competitions this weekend? It’s about two towns away so we have to spend the night there again.” This weekend was the two final stages. One was on Friday and the final one was on Saturday.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world…do you think you can convince your dad to go?”

I shook my head before sighing. “He’s pretty determined to miss all of them.” I muttered.

“Well that’s a shame because you are amazing.” He smiled before lightly kissing my cheek.

“Thanks.” I blushed as I let my hair fall in front of my face.

He pushed my hair back behind my ear. “You’re so beautiful.” He mumbled while continuing to smile at me. “But if your dad ever wants to see your dances I’ve been videotaping them all.”

“Wait, really?” I asked astonished.

“Ya what else would I use my video camera for anyway?” He said shrugging. “Plus I figured you wouldn’t want to forget how the dances were.”

“Thank you so much!” I said trying not to squeal as I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Too bad that last one won’t be there. That one was one of the best ones.”

“Well…actually I got that one too.” He said rather sheepishly.

“Seriously?” I asked pulling back. “But we were fighting.”

“I didn’t want to miss it and I figured since I had already gotten all the others that I’d get the rest and give it to you as a sort of goodbye gift, but now I can just give it to you as a gift.”

“You are one of the sweetest boys I have ever met.”

“I try.” He said before shrugging again. The bell rang signaling the end of class. Aaron helped me get all my stuff together before kissing me. “Also my mom and sister will be at the competition…I hope you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind at all, I love Zoe. I hope she’s not so sad anymore.”

“No, she’s really happy. Whatever you said to her made her feel better.”

“I just told her the truth. She really is beautiful.”

“You just helped her realize it…I hope you know you’re beautiful too.” He said before pulling me closer to kiss me once we’d come to a stop in the emptying hallway.

“You might have to help me realize it.” I said after he pulled away.

“You’re beautiful.” He kissed me again. “You’re beautiful.” Kiss. “You’re beautiful.” Kiss. “You’re beautiful.” Kiss.

“Mm.” I said before pulling back again. “I love you.”

“I love to hear you say that.” He said smiling before kissing me again. “I love you too.” He said as he kissed me again.

“Ok! Ok! That’s enough PDA for today amantes.” Kalina said pulling me away from Aaron. “I’m stealing your girlfriend.” She called over her shoulder.

“I’ll see you later!” I waved to him before we turned the corner.

“So am I still going to dinner at your house after cheerleading practice today?” She asked as we walked the empty halls because all the students were at lunch.

“Ya as long as you don’t mind waiting an extra hour or so for me and Brad to practice.”

“That’s what technology is for.” She said waving her phone in front of my face.

***********

After school and both cheer practices had ended Aaron drove Kalina and I back to my house where she helped me make pasta.

My dad got home just as I was dishing up two plates. “Dad do you want some pasta?” I asked as he set his briefcase down by the table.

“Sure.” He said sitting at the table by Kalina.

I handed out the plates before taking my own seat on the other side of both of them as they introduced themselves.

“So Mr. Thompson will you be at either of the competitions this weekend?” Kalina said between bites.

“I would love to but unfortunately I have a business meeting I have to attend to.”

“So you can’t even go to one of them?”

“I’m sorry but I can’t.”

“That’s too bad because the team’s been working really hard on our routines, and Brad and Sage have been working twice as hard on their duets. It’s quiet amazing actually. I really think you’d like it.”

“I wish I could be there but there are more important things that I have to deal with.” He snapped before getting up, putting his plate in the sink and leaving the room.

“Sorry.” She said taking another bite of pasta.

“It’s ok…thanks for trying.” I laughed.

After we finished eating we watched Clueless.

“That’s so weird that she got with her brother.” Kalina said fake shuddering.

“He was her step brother! And their parents weren’t even together anymore.”

“Ya but at one point they were siblings.”

“They aren’t blood related.” I continued to protest.

“So you’re telling me if your dad married Aaron’s mom you would still be with him…like that?”

I laughed. “Ya we’re not blood related. But then I’d break our parents up that way we could legally be together.”

“Oh, ok. That makes sense.” She laughed.

**********

Brad and I just finished our duet and everyone was back onstage to see who would be moving on and who wouldn’t.

Our cheer team was called second out of the final three cheer teams moving on and our duet was called second out of the three duets moving on.

Kalina did a back flip before hugging me. “We’ve made it to the finals!” She screeched before bringing Brad and I into a group hug.

I sprinted into the audience and was headed straight towards Aaron until someone grabbed me by the waist and spun me around.

“Hey, amazing job.” Nate said setting me down and pulling me into a hug.

“Thanks.” I smiled as we rocked back and forth in our hug. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

“Why wouldn’t I be? I was here for the last one.”

“I just didn’t think you had that much fun.” I laughed before pulling my hair from its ponytail.

“I did. You’re a wonderful dancer.” He said taking my hand in his.

I glanced down at it feeling Aaron’s eyes on us. “Well, I’ll talk to you later ok?”

“Ya, sure.” He said as I slowly walked over to Aaron.

“Hey.” I smiled before kissing him. “How was it?”

“You…are so sexy.” He said wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing me again.

“Aaron!” I heard someone’s high pitched voice say in a scornful tone. “Speak to your girlfriend with more respect!” I turned to see it was his mom.

“I am respecting her, mom. I’m respecting her sexiness.” He said grinning.

She made ‘tsk tsk’ sounds at him.

“Sage! Sage!” Zoe said before jumping into my arms. “You were so pretty up there.” She said beaming at me.

“Aw, thank you.”

“I wanna be able to dance like you someday.”

I shifted her to my other side while trying not to pull the pink scarf off her head. “I bet you could dance even better than me someday.”

“No.” She said shaking her head and laughing.

“So, Sage?” Their mom said grabbing my attention. “I would love if you would join us for dinner.”

“Ya Sage! Please come with us! We’re going to a pancake house.” Zoe yelled bouncing up and down in my arms.

I laughed while trying not to drop her. Aaron took Zoe from me and I smoothed out my cheerleading skirt. “I’d love to come. Just let me change and tell my roommate where I’m going.”

“Ok, we’ll meet you out front.” Aaron said before giving me a quick kiss.

I quickly walked to the bathroom and changed into black tights with knee high black boots with a heel the necklace Aaron gave me and a long dark purple tank top that had pockets on the side that sloped into points.

I texted Kalina letting her know I’d be in the hotel room right after dinner.

“Hey, Sage.” Brad said grabbing my arm and stopping me. “Wanna go out with some of the team to get a celebratory dinner?”

“I would, but I already have dinner plans.” I said smiling.

“Ok…maybe another time?” He asked as his smile began to disappear.

“We can get food tomorrow or something?” I asked hoping it’d make him feel better.

“Sure. How about breakfast?”

“Ya sure, just knock on my hotel door.” I said before giving him the number of the room.

I walked out front and met Aaron and his family before we all got in his moms car and drove to the resteraunt called Red Lobster.

“Sit by me Sage!” Zoe said grabbing my hand and trying to drag me into the booth she was sitting in.

“Zoe.” Aaron’s mom said pulling me away from her.  “Let Sage sit by Aaron.”

“Why?” She demanded crossing her arms as I sat down by Aaron on the other side.

“Because she’s my girlfriend.” Aaron said putting his arm around me and sticking his tongue out at Zoe.

“She’s my friend too!” She said sticking her tongue out at him in return.

After we ordered Aaron put his hand on my knee as his mom told me a story about how he broke his arm as a child messing around on the roof and that’s why he wasn’t allowed up there anymore.

I gave him a knowing smile as his mom continued.

His hand slid higher on my leg which made me give him a quick glare. I turned back to his mom and sister but his hand continued to climb higher.

I grabbed his hand once it got to mid-thigh and I could tell he was trying not to laugh.

“So when were you interested in cheerleading?” His mom asked as the waiter brought our food. I had ordered popcorn shrimp.

“Pretty much my whole life, but this is the first time I’ve done a huge competition like this.” I said smiling and shoving Aarons arm back on his side of the booth.

“Well you’re very good. You have a gift.” She said smiling at me.

“Thanks.” I just wish my dad thought so too.

“And I can see why Aaron won’t shut up about you.”

“Mom.” He groaned and laughed at her.

“You’re so talented and beautiful. I bet you’re smart too.”

“Thank you so much.” I said blushing while pushing some of my hair behind my ear.

After we all finished eating we all went back to the hotel where Aaron and I had to part ways.

“I would invite you to stay with me, but with my mom and Zoe there, it’s probably not a great idea.” He said holding both of my hands in his as we stood outside my door.

“Probably not.” I said before kissing him.

“Love you.” He said smiling.

“I love you too.” I closed the door and leaned against it sighing and smiling at the same time.

The only way life could get better would be if my dad was here.