Dreaming for you

Her blonde hair fell beautifully around her face, framing her delicate features. The girl staring back at Samantha in the reflection was neither nervous nor excited, like she thought she should be, but rather sad and dull. Noticing the time, Samantha swept back the loose strands of hair, lifted her long turquoise dress and made for the door. She doubled back only to take Mr D, her beloved teddy, by the arms and hug him tightly; a small tear caressing her cheek. Looking at the friendly teddy, she couldn't help but think of the boy it represented, the boy who had long ago left footprints in her heart.

Making her way downstairs, Samantha noticed her mother, father and loving grandmother waiting patiently. Yet, the person she wished most to be there... wasn't. However, Samantha was happy to see her family there to support her, even if they had no idea of the pain she was still going through. Shaking the bad thoughts out of her mind, Samantha hugged her grandmother as she took a deep breath, "time to go".

When the car finally rolled up the marble driveway of the large hall where Samantha spent most of her Saturdays, she began to feel slightly nervous. Medals night was always very hectic, not only for the participants, but for the parents as well, as they watched their childrens' moment in the spotlight, proving to the judges that they were able to succeed to the next level. Samantha had been a ballroom dancer for over five years. However she felt that she no longer enjoyed it; she hadn't felt the same passion she had for it since, -
"Sam!"
Samantha turned to be trampled by her best friend from dancing, Lizzy. She smiled slightly as she greeted her friend "Hey Lizzy, how have you been?"
"I've been doing really well! Oh," she said, stealing herself a glimpse at Samantha’s watch, " I have to go get ready, I'm on in fifteen... wish me luck!"
Samantha tried to give a friendly, supportive smile, but failed miserably.
Lizzy sighed, "Sammy, it's been a year."
"I know," said Samantha softly," a year ago today."
Lizzy looked upon her friend with sympathy, and with that she turned to make her way to the dressing room.

Samantha waved to her family across the hall, who were eagerly awaiting her performance. She sighed and took a long look around the hall. The old piano that lay in the corner was the only remaining whisper of the old, friendlier hall. She still remembered the old wooden floors, and how they had always smelt so freshly of pine. Finding herself dwelling on past memories, she quickly made her way over to the medallists seating area. Sure enough, alone in the corner sat Jake, polishing his shoes. As though sensing her eyes staring upon him, Jake looked up and their eyes met for a moment. Samantha could see the pain in his eyes, almost as if they were telling the story of her broken heart. Yet, they didn’t need words; they just looked at each other, knowing that the exact pain the other person was going through reflected their own. Samantha looked away; the two people that they had both been had gone. She could no longer talk to him without her heart shattering into a thousand pieces. Jake was Samantha's old dance partner, but due to the events of last year, they had ceased dancing together. She had never quite forgiven his recklessness, involving both of them and a friend in a fatal accident, whilst attempting to drive when he was drunk. She remembered it like it was yesterday…

Samantha jumped as she felt a hand on her back, bringing her back to the present. Turning around slowly, she found herself staring into those familiar warm, brown eyes, belonging to a blonde-haired, sixteen year old boy. She smiled with happiness and jumped into his arms.
"So hows my favourite girl doing?" he asked playfully.
Samantha smiled to herself; Dylan always did have a certain charisma to himself.
"Missing you like crazy!" Samantha squealed, hugging him tightly, "I haven’t seen you in ages!"
"Well you've been doing fine without me I can see," he smiled," this hall has changed so much since I saw it last."
His gaze was drawn away from their surroundings and fell upon her, "But you haven’t. You're just as beautiful as the day I left."
Samantha felt the blood rush to her face and laughed, "thanks, you haven’t changed either. But we've all missed you. Have you ever thought of coming back to dancing again?"
"I would, but it’s kinda’ to far for me to come each Saturday now." he smiled.
Before Samantha could return the smile, loud music began as a lady in her twenties took to the dance floor. Dylan took Samantha's hand and led her outside. For a moment, she and Dylan stood at the doorway, laughing together at the lady and her partner's- well let's just say rather raunchy routine. After the routine ceased to be amusing and started to become quite nauseating, the two decided to take a walk.

As they walked along the path beside the deserted sports fields, Samantha glanced up into the sky and noticed the dark storm clouds that were rolling in above. For a long while they walked in silence. "So are you and Jake still dancing together?" Dylan asked, breaking the silence.
"No," she sighed, "We called it quits last year, after the accident."
"Oh, so is he okay now?"
"Yeh his legs fine, but he still hasn't quite forgiven himself."
Dylan stopped to turn around and look at Samantha," And you haven’t forgiven him either, have you?"
Samantha didn't answer, but stole herself a sigh as she took in a deep breath of cool, fresh air. How could he do that? He could always just stare into her eyes and know exactly what she was thinking.

The music now escaping the hall was soft and slow, setting a more relaxing mood. Samantha took a seat beside Dylan on the swing, staring at him for a while.
"You know," she spoke finally," you never told me the reason why you quit."
"It was just time, you'll understand soon," he said, laughing at the puzzled look on her face; how cute she looked when she was confused. "But you know what I miss the most about dancing?"
"What?"
"Dancing with you!” Without so much as a warning, Dylan pulled Samantha to her feet and they playfully began to dance. Samantha wanted to stay in this moment forever. For once in a long time she was smiling. Could this mean her, Samantha, was finally happy again. Samantha took a step back, admiring the only guy that could bring a smile to her face. Dylan moved in closer to her. His hands felt warm as he brushed her hair back, admiring her beauty. For a moment they just stood there, the world disappearing behind them, until suddenly it began to heavily poor down with rain.

Without a word, Dylan turned and slowly began to walk away.
"Wait," yelled Samantha," where are you going?"
"I'm sorry," he said softly," I wish I could stay here forever with you. It was good seeing you again, but now I have to go."
He embraced her tightly and wiped away the tear on her cheek.
"But, you didn't even watch me do my medal."
"I will be watching... I always will." he said with a warm smile.
"But you can't leave, I love you!"
"I love you too, and I will always be here with you, but you have to go now, they’re calling you."
From the distance, Samantha heard the dull voice of the announcer, calling her name to perform her medal.
"Now go break a leg," he said, wishing her luck," and tell Jake I forgive him, it wasn't he fault.. And you need to forgive him too."
"But-"
Dylan began to walk away,” I’ll be seeing you,” he said with one last smile, and then he turned and vanished into the distance.
Samantha could hear the announcer call her name once more. She began to run, the icy cold rain now whipping against her face, her dress dragging along the sloppy mud. She felt so dazed and confused, finding it difficult to see where she was going through the tears filling her eyes. She could here talking and laughter in the hall, but her sight was slowly fading away. Samantha could feel herself slowly sinking into the wet mud, still desperately trying to spot the hall, but everything around her was drifting away.. She wasn't going to make it-.

Samantha opened her eyes slowly, yawning as she got to her feet. She crossed her room to take Mr D by the arms; smiling as she remembered the time Dylan had won it for her at the dancing Christmas party. The sadness she normally felt whilst reflecting on her memories was now replaced with a soft numbness that she couldn't explain; and yet somehow she knew that everything was going to be okay. Samantha smiled to herself as she realised that tonight, during her medals, the blonde-haired boy that had once left footprints in her heart, would be watching over her.



Authors note: hi everyone. Thanks for taking a look at my story and I hope you enjoyed it. Sorry if it's not all you had expected. I'd just like to say thanks to everyone who took the time to read and review, and this story is still in process and is currently being rewritten to include more detail and a few flashbacks, which will hopefully help explain the background of the story in more detail. Also, all of your much appreciated suggestions are being considered and most of your questions will hopefully be addressed in the new version of this story. Keep the comments coming!