Kasey's POV

September 3rd, 2017

I was laying on our blanket spread across the grass, nearly asleep.I'd always enjoyed how the breeze turned crisp and cool at the end of summer, it meant that fall was on it's way. My favorite season. The temperature wasn't too hot or too cool, just the way I liked it. Everything was peaceful- until a football hit me and I was jolted from my half awake state. Annoyed, I sat up and groaned.

"Damnit, I'm so sorry Kasey," Mike apologized, and ran over to get the football. "Did I hurt anything?"

"Well, my pride," I joked, and he gave me a hug "to heal the wound", and ran off to keep throwing the football. I took a sip of my coffee, and looked around. Meredith was watching Wren, who was picking grass. Mike, Ian, and Dan were throwing a football around. Ben and DeMarius were currently messing around, dancing to "Closer" by the Chainsmokers which was currently playing on the speaker we brought. I laughed at them, shaking my head.

"Man this is some white trash song but I'm jamming," DeMarius said as they sat back down on our blanket, and Ben and I both laughed. It was a beautiful day in Central Park, and it would probably be my last day to enjoy it for awhile. I took in the moment, enjoying the last memory with my favorite people before one of the biggest periods of change came. I had spent most of my summer with Ben and all my friends in New York, having fun hanging out with them everyday and exploring the city. I was still dancing everyday, preparing to finally dance professionally. Ben had spent a month in Europe with Emma, and a good part of his summer filming Paterno, the HBO movie he'd been cast in. Ben, Dan, Mike, Josh, and I taught some dance workshops out in Santa Cruz, twice this summer. Josh had been cast in the Cats revival, and would be starting rehearsals next week. Ballet season officially started in September, and I'd be leaving in a couple of days to officially start at the company. Ben had been cast in Mean Girls as one of the mathletes, he would leave next week along with DeMarius and Ian to go to DC for their world premiere. Next year, they'd hit broadway. Ben was really excited and was already bonding with his cast. Big changes for both of us, and it meant even more distance. It was exciting and nerve-racking to begin these new projects, and also sad to have to be away from each other. But, we had both promised to put our careers first. Opportunities come first, we have a whole lifetime to be together. We supported each other's endeavors always. We both had big dreams, and unfortunately we can't physically be together to achieve these all the time. Physical distance always seems to cause distance in our relationship, but we've always been able to get through it. It was scary this time, as neither of us knew how long we'd have to be long distance. Ben kissed my cheek and put his arm around me. I smiled and brought myself closer to him, leaning on his shoulder.

"I'm gonna miss moments like these," I murmured. Ben gently stroked my chin, and gently kissed me.

"Hey, we're not dying," Ben chuckled. "I promise we'll have more moments like this. Right now, you have to go be a badass ballerina. The youngest badass ballerina there, we can't forget." I smiled and shook my head.

"I'm gonna miss all of this, everyone. It's been such a good summer."

"They're not dying either," Ben joked again. "We'll all be here when you get back, it's time for you to go do your thing. No one's gonna let you miss this giant opportunity." He was right, this was a giant opportunity. It was going to change my life, but I was scared. But I need to get out of my comfort zone. This has been my dream forever. After meeting so many amazing friends, I was scared to leave them and have to meet all new people. But hey, I thought the same thing before that first day of Newsies rehearsal, and look where I am now. Ben and I's conversation was cut short as once again, the football hit me.

"Not again," I complained, and rubbed the spot where it hit me.

"Aw man, I'm so sorry," Mike panted as he retrieved the ball.

"Stop trying to kill the ballerina before she even starts," Ben scolded.

"Did I hurt you?"

"Yeah lowkey," I squinted at him. His face fell, and I could tell he immediately felt bad, and called the others over.

"Alright, I'm gonna need reinforcements for this one. It's group hug time," he announced, and the whole group practically tackled me at the same time, making me laugh.

"Okay okay, I can't breathe," I giggled, and they finally stopped squeezing me. I fell back onto the blanket, and rest my head in Ben's lap, enjoying this peaceful day. After we all left and nighttime fell, I made sure all my stuff was packed up. Casey came over joining Ben, Dan, Josh, and I for our "sleepover". We made popcorn and watched Ben's old youtube videos to laugh at him. He used to make Nerf War videos with his friend, and they had even gained a good amount of subscribers from it. The next morning, we woke up early and made banana pancakes for everyone, while listening to the Beatles. Josh cooked some bacon, of course. After eating, it was time for me to leave. Everyone helped gather my belongings, and we waited in the lobby of the apartment building for my taxi to arrive.

"Well, this is it," I turned and softly smiled at all of them. Casey was the first to give me a giant hug.

"I can't wait to come visit and see you shine," she smiled and squeezed my hands. Next in the hugging chain was Dan.

"I'm proud of you kiddo. Don't forget about old Danny D."

"I could never," I laughed. I hugged Josh next, and he forced us to do the complicated handshake we'd made up this summer. I heard a honk outside, and looked to see the taxi. I grabbed my stuff, and Ben offered to walk me out and help. I got everything loaded into the trunk, and then turned to look at Ben, smiling sadly. He leaned in to kiss me, and I couldn't help but think that this was our last kiss for awhile. I deepened the kiss, and then pulled back. He grabbed my hands and looked me in the eyes.

"I love you Kasey. And I'm so proud of you. Remember that, okay?"

"I will ," I smiled, and he let go of my hands and wrapped them around me, giving a tight hug. I squeezed him tight, never wanting to let go. I could hear the taxi driver sigh, obviously annoyed inside the car. I finally let go of the hug, and made my way over to the cab.

"I guess this is goodbye for real," I murmured.

"Not goodbye. Just a see you later," he smiled, and I quickly kissed him one more time before getting into the taxi. From inside, I waved to him one more time, and continued to as I drove away. He grew smaller and smaller, and then the driver took a turn, and he was out of sight. My heart sank, sad to let him go once again. As I made my way to the airport, I pushed the sadness to the back of my mind and thought about what was to come. Boston, here I come.

-

I popped my eyes open immediately as I heard my phone alarm go off. It was 6:30 am and normally I'd be tired, but right now I was too nervous to be tired. Today would be my first day at Boston Ballet, which I was terrified for. Nonetheless, I got up and started to get ready. My new apartment wasn't even unpacked fully, so I dug around in my suitcase to find my dance clothes, which I quickly slipped on. I unzipped my backpack to find my sweatshirt, and I pulled out Ben's instead. There was a note taped to it, which read "So you can have a piece of me with you always :)". I smiled, my heart melting. I missed him so much already. I put on the navy blue zip up sweatshirt which was a little big on me, but I didn't care. I needed him with me today. After putting my hair in a tight bun, I made coffee and breakfast, and stared at the sunrise. The view from my tiny apartment was pretty nice. 

I was curious to see if my picture and biography had been added to the website so I went to check, and there I was, my headshot staring back at me. This can't be real. I scrolled some more, looking at the vaguely familiar faces. Most of them were so much older, and so much more experienced. My face looked out of place among all of them. Why am I here? Why me? What did they see in me? Am I really that good? Most people had to work their way up to being a soloist, and I was still in disbelief that I got to be one right from the start. Oh god- what if everyone hates me? What if someone really wanted to move up? I pushed these intruding thoughts away, and continued to look at the website. It looked like I wasn't the only new addition to the company, which made me feel a little better. There was 1 new principal dancer, and 3 new corps de ballet dancers, as well as some promotions. Okay Kasey, stop stalking them. You're going to meet them soon, I scolded myself. I finished up my breakfast, and packed my dance bag before heading to the studio. I walked fast, my nervous energy carrying me. When I reached the studio, I paused before heading in. Well, a new journey starts. You can do this. I pushed the door open, and was immediately met with the directors.

"Ah, Kasey, so glad you're here! Welcome to your first day at Boston Ballet!" Marco smiled at me. Marco was the artistic director, and the man standing next to him, Jesse, was the assistant artistic director. I was familiar with most of the staff because of the few classes I'd taken over the summer.

"We won't really start our classes until later today, but you can go warm up in that room over there. Feel free to introduce yourself and such," he encouraged, and I thanked him and headed into the room where a few dancers were already warming up. At first, I stood in the doorway, intimidated. Then, one of the girls on the floor spoke up.

"Hey! Come on over here," she smiled and waved. I was thankful for her kindness and quickly sat down next to her.

"Kasey Hartley, right?" I froze. How does she know me??

"Yeah, how did you know?" I questioned in disbelief.

"Oh, I think everyone here knows you," she laughed. "Your name has been talked about here for a long time, and when you finally auditioned and got in it was a big deal." the girl stated calmly, as if this was common knowledge. What??? My... name? People know me? Oh god. It made sense, but I felt overwhelmed. My teachers at the school had always thought I'd end up here and they knew the directors, but I didn't realize they'd told them about me. I didn't realize they'd been expecting me, or that I was well known.

"Wow, I didn't realize that people knew me here," I laughed nervously.

"People like you pretty much come around once in a lifetime. You're young, and practically more talented than all of us here. In fact, you're the youngest dancer to ever be here. That's why you're so well known," she continued. I was still in shock. I refused to believe that I belonged here. Dance had been my whole life, because I enjoyed it. I never really realized how good I'd been become, and it still felt weird to be talked about like this.

"You're kidding, right? I was shocked I even got in, and was even more shocked to be a soloist."

"Oh girl, I wouldn't be surprised if you moved up to principal by next year," she exclaimed.

"By the way, I'm Addie. Addie Tate. This is my third year here, I just got promoted to soloist this year," Addie smiled. I talked to her some more as we stretched, and I found out she was 23. Besides 2 others who were both 22, everyone else seemed to be in their mid to late 20s, even 30s. I felt so out of place at first, but Addie introduced me to some of the other dancers warming up. I met Lawrence and Isaac, who were also soloists. They were both easy to talk to, everyone was. I had been scared for no reason. The rest of the week was the exact same- getting up early, and dancing for 9 hours straight. Our first show of the season was Swan Lake, and I was thrilled to find out I'd be doing the Dying Swan solo. While dance classes always had a professional and strict environment, I slowly got to know everyone behind the scenes. Addie and I were becoming fast friends, and she'd invited me to hang out with everyone on Saturday. I began to adjust to life in Boston, a place I was glad to be so familiar with. I was close to my mom and younger brother, and I was able to visit them every week. Bryce was busy with college, but I still got to see him, too. Even though it was just the first week, I felt comfortable saying that I'm so glad to be here.

-

yay kasey :-) also new cover bc why not!! thanks for reading :)