"Five, six, seven, eight!" yelled Mythe Beth over the roar of the music. Cara finished her combination in complete control, sending the rest of the class into applause. It had been a month since her first practice at the studio. She loved it already. To her, it already felt like home. Cara bowed and walked off the floor, her eyes passing the clock to see that she only had ten minutes left. Mythe walked over to her and gave her some pointers for the next rehersal. That was one thing she liked about this place. They weren't afraid to tell her what she was doing wrong, or not so good. At her old studios, everyone was afraid she would get mad and leave.

For the next ten minutes Cara watched other classmates do their routine, applauding for each one. Finally Mythe called the end of class.

"Great job!" said Cara's friend, Jennifer, while they were walking out the door.

"Thanks! You too!" said Cara.

"See ya!" Jennifer got into her car and drove away. Cara smiled and headed toward... Isaac's car? She wondered what was he doing here. She didn't even know he knew where this place was. She walked up to the window by where he was sitting.

"What are you guys doing here?" she asked. She smiled to the back where Taylor, her boyfriend of one month was sitting.

"Hello to you, too!" said Zac from the seat next to Taylor.

Isaac smiled up at her. "Your mother had some urgent plans, or something. She asked me to pick you up because she couldn't."

"Oh, okay!" she said and walked around the car to the passenger seat. She set her dance bag down and sat down next to Isaac in the front. "So, where are you guys going?" she asked. "Or did you all just pile into the car to see me?" she smiled and turned her head backwards to a grining Taylor.

"Actually I am taking Zac to a friends house, and then going to the library. I have a big ass report due tomorrow. And of course, I put it off until today!"

"Of course! Doesn't everyone?" asked Cara.

"That's what I thought!" said Isaac smiling at her. He flipped on the radio to 103.9, the radio station they listened to in the car, since it played everything and everyone was happy. They also liked it because it didn't play Hanson songs 24/7. They got a little sick of themselves after a while. The song that was playing was "Seasons of Love." They all knew is because it was from Rent, Cara's favorite Broadway play. And CD. Whenever thet went to her house, it was playing. So they knew it by heart. Everyone absentmindedly sang the tune, the song ending as soon as Isaac pulled into Cara's driveway. Cara and Taylor both got out, Cara grabbing her dance bag and thanking Isaac for the ride.

"I'll be home around six. So if the rest of the family gets home before I do, tell them for me, okay?" asked Isaac it Taylor. "Sure," he said. Isaac smiled at Cara and drove off. Cara winked at Zac in the back seat. He gave a little wave and they drove out of view. Cara always winked at Zac when she wanted to say, "Call me later" and she couldn't. Zac and Cara were as colse as could be. Even though her and Taylor were going out, she spent about twice as much time with or talking to Zac. Just because Taylor was gone more than Zac was. Her and Taylor were close, too. She could talk to Taylor about things that she couldn't talk about to anyone else. But she could say anything to Zac. They never really got into deep conversations like her and Taylor did, but she did tell Zac things like when she thought a guy was cute, or something.

Cara looked at Taylor and smiled. She grabbed his hand and walked up to the front porch and unlocked the door. She kind of felt weird. In all of the time she had been with him, she had never been alone with him. Well, there was once, but that was before they were officially...

"I can only stay for a while. I have to go with Jacob to the mall pretty soon." said Taylor closing the door and pulling Cara close to him.

Cara smiled and kissed him gently on his lips. "That's okay," she said, and walked with her bag to the kitchen. She set it on the counter and walked to the refrigorator. "Do you want something to drink?" she asked, taking out a bottle of Mt. Dew.

"Sure," he said, smiling.

"What?" she asked. "What are you smiling at?"

Taylor couldn't help but giggle. "That's how you keep up with Zac! Drinking Mt. Dew all the time!"

Cara laughed. "Yea, I guess." she poured two glasses and handed one to Taylor. He sipped it and watched her dig through her dance bag. "Here it is," she said to herself. She stuck the little bottle in her pocket. "I have to go change. I'll be back in a sec." she said to Taylor. She walked passed him, drink in hand. He grabbed her arm and pulled her close to him.

"What was that?" he asked.

"What was what?" she asked, confused.

"That bottle you pulled out of your bag. What was it?" he asked, worried.

Cara smiled. "Don't worry!" she said taking the asprin bottle out of her pocket. "It's just medicine. I have to put it back in the bathroom." "Oh. God," said Taylor, looking into the bottle filled with pills. "You scared me!" he said. Before Cara had a chance to pull away from him, he pressed his lips to hers. He started to pull away, but Cara deepend the kiss and they stood there making out for a few minutes. Taylor started to rub his hands up her back. He pulled the strap of her leotard off her sholder and kissed it lightly. Cara obviously didn't want to, but she pulled away.

"I have to get dressed!" she said and walked into her bedroom.

Taylor just watched her walk away, thinking about how much he loved her. How much he wished that they had more time together to just... be toghether. He felt safe when Cara was around. Whenever he wasn't with her, there was like this void that had to be filled. He also was afraid that something would happen to her. Zac and Jacob had told him that they had a feeling she wasn't eating. But whenever he asked her or her mother, they would both say yes, she has eaten.

Cara changed into her favorite outfit. Well, it wasn't all hers, but it was her favorite. She wore a black tank top that was ribbed and showed a little of her stomach. Then she wore bright orange pants that were actually Zacs. They were a little big on her, but not much. He had seen how much she had loved them, and let her borrow them until she found some for herself. She pulled her hair out of it's bun and brushed it out, leaving it down. She took the bottle of asprin and walked into the bathroom.

Taylor saw Cara walk into the bathroom. He smiled to himself. She was wearing Zac's orange pants. He really didn't see why they both loved those things so much. He remembered when Zac let her borrow those. He was surprised, Zac didn't let anyone borrow his stuff. Cara was the one exception.

Cara looked at herself in the mirror. She looked pale. She decided to put on a little make up. She put on just enough to give her a little color. She hurt really bad. Ever since she had stopped eating, she couldn't get rid of her headaches. She really hated lying to everyone. But it wasn't hurting her. And she was pretty good at covering herself. She knew that Taylor on occasion asked her mother if she had eaten. So whenever her mom came home, she would tell her how great her meal was. That way when Taylor asked her mother if she had eaten, she would say yes. And the same thing with Taylor. She started rubbing her temples. Grabbing the bottle of asprin, she poured three into her hand. She poped them into her mouth and drank a sip of soda. The headache didn't go away. Far from it. So Cara grabbed six more from the bottle and swallowed them. She gulped down her drink until there was only one more sip left. She sat on the closed toilet and put her hands in her head.

Taylor was wondering what was taking Cara so long. It wasn't like her to primp for hours. He looked at the clock. It was twenty till five. He had to go in fifteen minutes. So he walked to the bathroom and knocked on the door. "Cara? Are you okay?"

Cara lifted her head, startled. "Yea!" she said. "I'll be out in a sec." She heard Taylor walk out into the living room. Her head was still hurting. She looked into the bottle. "Damn," she said to herself. "Only eight left." She chugged them like water and drank the last of her soda. Looking into the mirror one last time, she grabbed her glass and walked out the door.

"What were you doing in there?" asked Taylor when she came out into the living room.

"I was just... sitting. My head is killing me."

"Well, did you take some Tylenol? It helps." he said.

"Yea, I took some. I'm okay." she said, putting her glass in the dishwasher. "Come on. Lets go to my room." She grabbed Taylor's hand and led him up to her room. She closed the door and turned on her CD player to her Tori Amos CD. Crucify started playing quietly and Taylor and Cara sat on the bed facing eachother.

They talked for about ten minutes. Taylor looked at his watch and noticed that he had to be home in five minutes.

"Don't go," said Cara. She pressed her lips to his. He kissed her while pulling them both up. He didn't want to go either. Cara stroked his hair and rubbed his back. Taylor put his hands underneath her shirt and ran them up her back, fingering her bra clasp. He kissed her neck and her sholders before Cara pulled away.

"You have to go. I don't want to keep you," said Cara kissing Taylor one last time and them pushing him down the stairs.

"Wait, I have to go to the bathroom!" said Taylor.

"Fine! Go to the bathroom and then leave. I have to take Socks for a walk." She smiled, put the dog on a leash and walked out the door, leaving Taylor in the bathroom. He went, and right before he was walking out, noticed an empty bottle of asprin on the counter.