Loves Labours (Read 11,610 times)

[André DiMera]

Chapter 23

SALEM HIGH
Click here to listen to the song that's playing. Claire and Chase both chuckled nervously.
CLAIRE: I'd love to.
CHASE: So would I.
Chase held out his hand.
CHASE: May I have this dance?
Claire grinned, gave Chase her hand, and let him lead her out to the dance floor.
J.J. and Paige were among the adults chaperoning the dance.
PAIGE: There they are.
Paige turned so J.J. could see what she was referring to.
J.J.: Thanks. Looks like they're just dancing, for the moment.
PAIGE: You think there's more to it than that?
J.J.: I don't know. I just don't like that Jade girl. Something about her just gives me a bad feeling.
PAIGE: Yeah. From what I've seen, I'm not too impressed, either.
Paige turned her head.
PAIGE: Look. Your cousin and Chase are dancing.
J.J. turned to look at Chase and Claire.
J.J.: Oh, yeah. Good for them.
PAIGE: They're adorable together.
J.J.: Not as adorable as you.
J.J. and Paige kissed.
THEO: I'm having a nice time tonight.
CIARA: Yeah?
THEO: Yeah.
CIARA: Good. So am I. You're a really great dancer, Theo.
THEO: Thanks. I'm glad you agreed to come with me.
CIARA: Of course I did. You've been my best friend since before we could walk. I love you, Theo.
THEO: I love you too, Ciara.
CLAIRE: So, Chase?
CHASE: Yeah?
CLAIRE: You know that dance contest Mr. Woods mentioned?
CHASE: Yeah?
CLAIRE: I was kinda wondering...if maybe you'd like to enter it with me? I mean, just for fun. That's what tonight's all about, having fun.
CHASE: I'd love to.
CLAIRE: Cool!
Claire and Chase walked over to Mr. Woods and put a paper with their names into a hat he was holding.
WOODS: Good luck, guys.
They went out onto the dance floor with all the other couples that were there. The music stopped. Mr. Woods walked up to the microphone on the stage.
WOODS: Okay, everybody. We are about to begin the dance contest.
The crowd cheered.
WOODS: In just one moment. But first, I have a few reminders to give you. Now remember: no crude or disrespectful dance moves. If you stop dancing for more than a minute, you are out. You will know you are out when you feel a tap on the shoulder. And, the most important rule, have a good time. Now that that's out of the way, are you ready to party?
Everyone on the dance floor cheered.
WOODS: All right! Then let the dance contest begin!

[heroicmuse]

The dance contest should be fun! Looking forward to it. I think certain people *cough* Jade *cough* are going to try to cheat. LOL

I'm glad JJ has his eye on that situation. Great to see him and Paige.

Great chapter André DiMera!

[krw627]

Why do I get the feeling Jade is the black knight?

[mae00]

I'm so glad that JJ has clued in to Jade and her being up to something.

The dance contest sounds like it could be a fun.

[Kpatch]

This is so much fun Andre! Love the song choices too!

[fluffysmom]

The dance contest sounds fun. I like JJ and Paige as chaperones.

[André DiMera]

Chapter 24

SALEM HIGH
All of the couples got onto the floor as the smooth beats of Prince's 1999 started playing (click here to listen).
CLAIRE: I love this song!
CHASE: Really? I didn't know you were into Prince.
CLAIRE: Well, he was cool. I was always more of a Bowie fan, but it's sad that they're both gone now.
CHASE: Yeah. I'm kind of a Bowie guy myself.
CLAIRE: Awesome!
The two continued dancing. The chaperones went around the room giving various people taps on the shoulder.
CLAIRE: I'm having a really great time tonight!
CHASE: So am I! You're really good at this!
CLAIRE: No, you're the one that's great.
CHASE: You are, too.
CLAIRE: Thanks.
The competiton was going well. They were down to only three couples: Joey and Jade, Chase and Claire, and Ciara and Theo. All three were having a good time, but Jade and Joey seemed to be getting more and more aggressive with each other. Well, mostly Jade. Joey was trying to dance like a normal couple, but Jade was dancing more and more provocatively as the song went on. She began to grind up against Joey. J.J. walked over and tapped Joey on the shoulder. Paige did the same to Jade.
JADE: Seriously?!
JOEY: Jade, it's okay. We still have two more years to get it.
JADE: What exactly did we do wrong? We didn't stop dancing.
J.J.: No, but it was getting a bit intense out there.
JADE: Oh, grow up!
PAIGE: Jade, you do not want to make a scene here. You really don't. Trust me on this.
Joey put a hand on Jade's shoulder.
JOEY: Let's just go get some punch and cool off, okay?
JADE: Whatever.
Jade stormed over to the punch bowl. Joey followed at a short distance. With them off the floor, there were only two couples left. Chase and Claire and Ciara and Theo. Both were doing exceptionally well.
JOEY: They're good!
JADE: We were doing better than them.
JOEY: Well, obviously the chaperones disagree.
JADE: Shut up.
Meanwhile, the two couples were having a wonderful time. For a moment, Chase and Claire fell into a daydream. In their daydream, the song changed to something more romantic. They looked into each other's eyes, getting lost there.
CLAIRE: Chase...
CHASE: Claire...I...
CLAIRE: I think I...
CHASE & CLAIRE (in unison): Like you.
Slowly, they stopped dancing. They leaned in and kissed. Claire and Chase were snapped out of their daydream when they felt a tap on the shoulder. Neither of them could take their eyes off of each other as they walked over to get some punch. As the song finished, they noticed that only one couple was left on the floor. Dean Faulkner walked up to the stage.
FAULKNER: All right, ladies and gentlemen. We have our winner. The winners of the 2016 Last Blast Dance competition are: Ciara Brady and Theo Carver!
Everyone cheered as Ciara and Theo went up to get their trophy. Everyone except Jade.

[heroicmuse]

I'm glad JJ and Paige put a stop to Jade's idea of dancing, though I have a feeling that's going to make her even more crazy. I can't believe she told JJ to grow up! LOL. Does she know he's Joey's cousin? Paige is right, Jade doesn't want to mess with JJ.

But now what will she do to try to get back at everyone for this perceived unfairness? This will be very interesting.

Great chapter André DiMera!

[mae00]

So glad that JJ put a temporary stop to Jade. I hope he can ward her off the rest of the night and something mysteriously happens to Jade's addition to the slide show.

[Kpatch]

Aw, Claire and Chase are falling in love.

1999 is one of my favorite Prince songs. I hadn't heard As the World Falls Down in ages. It's beautiful. Great mix André DiMera!

[fluffysmom]

Jade is a jerk every time we see her. I'm glad Theo and Ciara won the dance class contest.

[André DiMera]

Chapter 25

SALEM HIGH
The whole crowd watched as Ciara and Theo walked up to the stage.
JADE (thinking): They won't be laughing soon.
She smirked. Joey noticed.
JOEY (whispering): Hey, they deserve it. They were better than anyone else.
Jade nodded.
JADE (thinking): And soon enough, someone else will be getting exactly what they deserve.
Theo and Ciara received their trophy from Dean Faulkner. They stepped up to the microphone.
THEO: Thank you so much, everybody.
CIARA: This trophy is for all of us. The entire class of Salem High. This is for everybody who was out there with us on that dance floor. You guys are amazing!
THEO: Thank you all for making this a truly great Last Blast Dance.
Everyone clapped. Mr. Woods went up to the microphone.
WOODS: Let's give one more big hand for Ciara Brady and Theo Carver, everybody.
More claps and cheers from the audience.
CLAIRE: Go Ciara and Theo!
CHASE: Woo!
Click here to listen to music. As Theo and Ciara walked down from the stage, people turned their attention to the wall, where a bunch of pictures had been playing alongside the music. Pictures of various students and faculty doing various things throughout the school year. However, the projector was showing a very different picture now. In fact, it was showing a video. The video was of Claire, and it left very little to the imagination. The video had obviously been taken from a hidden camera in the girls shower room after gym one day, as it showed Claire showering off.
CIARA (whispering): Oh god...
A comment flashed up on the screen: “I hate you”. More comments followed: “You're stupid”, “Stop that horrible screeching!”, “You call that singing? A dying cat sounds better”, “Quit polluting the internet with your catterwalling”, “Kill yourself”, and these were the nice ones. There were several too graphic to type out. Everyone stood in shock, no one moreso than Claire. Her face trembled as she watched her body showering and read the various texts overlayed on the screen. For a moment, she was frozen where she stood. But after that moment passed, she bolted out the door as fast as she could.
JOEY (thinking): What have I done?
J.J. (whispering): Someone needs to put a stop to this.
Paige nodded. Everyone continued to watch in horror. Everyone except Jade, who had the biggest grin on her face. Very quietly, she walked out of the gymnasium. Joey turned and saw her heading out. He followed her. Once in the hallway, Jade began laughing. Joey came up behind her.
JOEY: Hey!
Joey grabbed Jade by the hand. She looked up at his face. She had never seen Joey's face make such an expression like the one it had now. She tried to stop laughing.
JADE: What?
JOEY: What the hell was that?!
Chase walked outside. He looked around. He didn't have to look very far to find what he was looking for. Claire was standing by a stop sign. She was crying.
CHASE: Claire?
Chase walked over to her.
CHASE: Claire, it's me. It's Chase.
Claire turned around and put her head on Chase's shoulder as she cried even harder. Chase wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.

[heroicmuse]

I'm glad that Joey has finally seen the light about Jade and that JJ is aware of who did this.

I'm also glad that Chase is there for Claire.

Great chapter André DiMera! Will there be previews?

[mae00]

While I agree about Claire's singing, that was a really cruel thing. I'm glad Chase is there for her.

I hope that Joey really rips into Jade over this....couldn't JJ get Jade charged with voyeurism or something along that line?

I'm hoping that someone got the video stopped.

[Kpatch]

Wow, this was worse than I thought. Jade is pure evil. Unpure evil.