Rafa's POV:
The day of the talent show—
I woke up early.
Which never happens.
"That's how you know it's serious," I muttered to myself.
My stomach felt weird.
Not sick.
Not nervous.
Just—
Full.
Of energy.
Excitement.
Fear.
Everything at once.
"Rafa, you're going to be fine," I told myself, staring in the mirror.
"…probably."
By the time I got to school—
It was chaos.
People everywhere.
Backstage busy.
Music playing from different rooms.
"I'm going to throw up," Angela said the second she saw me.
"You're not going to throw up."
"I might."
"You won't."
"I actually might."
I grabbed her shoulders.
"Angela."
"What??"
"We practiced this like a hundred times."
"I know but this is DIFFERENT."
"Yeah," I said. "…it is."
She looked at me.
"…you're not panicking."
"I panicked already. I'm done now."
"Must be nice."
I laughed.
"Hey."
We both turned.
Felix.
Leaning against the wall like he wasn't in a building full of chaos.
"Don't start," I said immediately.
"I didn't say anything."
"You're about to."
He smirked.
"Break a leg."
"…wow."
"So supportive," Angela said.
"I am," he replied.
I crossed my arms.
"…you're enjoying this."
"A little."
"Of course you are."
He stepped a bit closer.
"You'll win."
My heart skipped.
"…you don't know that."
"I do."
"Why?"
He looked at me.
"Because it's you."
I—
Yeah.
No thoughts.
"Okay I'm going on stage now before I pass out," Angela said quickly.
"Same," I muttered.
Backstage—
The noise faded.
The lights felt brighter.
My name--
Our name.
Called.
"Ready?" Angela whispered.
I looked at her.
Then nodded.
"Ready."
The stage lights hit us instantly.
The crowd—
Loud.
Way louder than I expected.
I couldn't see faces.
Just movement.
Energy.
And then—
The music started.
Everything else disappeared.
No overthinking.
No pressure.
Just—
The beat.
Angela moved with me.
Perfectly in sync.
Every step hit.
Every turn clean.
And when the chorus dropped—
I let go.
Full power.
Full control.
Full confidence.
The routine wasn't just good.
It was—
Ours.
The final move hit.
Silence.
For half a second.
Then—
The crowd exploded.
Cheering.
Clapping.
Yelling.
I was breathing hard.
Heart racing.
Angela grabbed my arm.
"WE DID THAT."
"WE DID."
Backstage again—
"I THINK I BLACKED OUT," Angela said.
"You didn't."
"I don't remember anything."
"You did amazing."
"Did I??"
"Yes."
"Okay good."
I laughed.
But inside—
I knew.
We didn't just do okay.
We killed it.
Later—
Results.
My heart started racing again.
"And in first place—"
Pause.
"Rafa and Angela."
Silence.
Then—
"WHAT???" Angela screamed.
I just stood there.
"…no way."
CJ was already yelling. "I CALLED IT."
Sam shook his head, smiling.
Keagan nodded. "Deserved."
Angela was shaking me. "WE WON."
"I KNOW."
"I'M ACTUALLY SHAKING."
"I CAN SEE THAT."
We walked up to the stage again.
Applause.
Louder this time.
And for a moment—
I just stood there.
Taking it in.
Because this?
Wasn't just TikTok.
This was real.
After everything—
We went back down.
And of course—
Felix was there.
Leaning against the wall.
Waiting.
"Don't say it," I said immediately.
"I didn't say anything."
"You're about to."
He smirked.
"You won."
"I know."
"Barely."
I stared at him.
"…barely??"
"I mean," he shrugged, "you could've been better."
"ARE YOU SERIOUS??"
He laughed.
"I'm joking."
"You're so annoying."
"You like it."
"…don't start."
He stepped closer.
"Not bad though."
"Not bad??"
"Okay," he said. "It was good."
"Better."
"Very good."
"Keep going."
He leaned slightly closer.
"Impressive."
My heart—
Yeah.
Again.
"…thank you."
He nodded.
And for once—
No teasing.
Just—
That look.
That night—
I posted.
Of course I did.
"Okay," I said, already laughing, "apparently I won a talent show today which is crazy because I almost didn't even sign up—"
Cut—
Clips from backstage.
Angela screaming.
CJ yelling.
Cut—
A blurry clip of us dancing.
Cut—
Me spinning again for no reason.
"I literally don't know what's happening anymore," I said at the end.
Post.
It blew up instantly.
Faster than anything before.
"SHE WON???"
"RAFA CAN DANCE TOO???"
"IS THERE ANYTHING SHE CAN'T DO"
"THIS GIRL IS UNREAL"
"HER POWER LEVEL KEEPS INCREASING"
I laughed.
"Power level??"
Angela texted immediately:
WE'RE LEGENDS.
I replied:
WE'RE CHAOTIC.
Another video.
Because why not.
"POV: you randomly win a talent show and now people think you're talented," I said, zooming into my face dramatically.
"Randomly?" Felix's voice in the background.
"STOP APPEARING IN MY VIDEOS."
"No."
I ended it.
Post.
More chaos.
More views.
More comments.
And somehow—
Even after everything—
I still felt like…
Me.
Just louder.
Just stronger.
Just—
Unstoppable.
I didn't sleep.
Not because I couldn't.
But because every time I closed my eyes—
I saw the stage again.
The lights.
The crowd.
The moment they called our names.
First place.
"…okay wow," I whispered into my pillow. "That actually happened."
My phone buzzed.
Of course it did.
I reached for it.
Big mistake.
Notifications.
Hundreds.
Thousands.
"WHAT—"
I opened TikTok.
And froze.
The performance.
Someone had posted it.
From the audience.
Clear angle.
Full routine.
"…no way."
I clicked it.
Watched.
And for a second—
I forgot to breathe.
Because it didn't look like me.
It looked…
Better.
Stronger.
Confident.
Like I wasn't thinking at all.
Just moving.
I scrolled.
Likes.
Exploding.
Comments flooding in faster than I could read.
"WHO IS THIS???"
"RAFA CAN DANCE LIKE THAT???"
"THIS GIRL IS INSANE""THE POWER???"
"I WAS NOT EXPECTING THIS"
I sat up.
"…Angela needs to see this."
I called her immediately.
She picked up in two seconds.
"WE'RE VIRAL."
"I KNOW," I said. "LOOK AT THIS."
"I ALREADY DID."
"NO LIKE REALLY LOOK—"
"I'M LOOKING."
Silence.
"…Rafa."
"I know."
"…we look good."
I laughed.
"We look REALLY good."
"I told you we were winning."
"You did."
"And you didn't believe me."
"I believe you now."
"Good."
We both paused.
"…this is crazy," she said softly.
"…yeah."
Because it wasn't just a school thing anymore.
It wasn't just ISA.
It was everywhere.
By the time I got to school—
It was worse.
Or better.
I still couldn't decide.
"RAFA—"
"YOU WON—"
"THAT VIDEO—"
People were everywhere.
More than usual.
Way more.
I blinked.
"…okay this is new."
CJ ran up to me like he had just witnessed history.
"YOU'RE NOT NORMAL VIRAL ANYMORE."
"I KNOW."
"YOU'RE TALENT VIRAL."
"…that sounds scary."
"IT IS."
Angela appeared next to me.
"People are asking if we're going to post the full dance."
"…should we?"
"YES."
"OKAY."
CJ clutched his chest. "The confidence?? Growth."
"Shut up."
We filmed it again.
Not on stage.
But still.
Same routine.
Same energy.
This time—
Even sharper.
Even stronger.
"Ready?" Angela asked.
"Always."
We hit record.
Music started.
And just like that—
We went all in.
No holding back.
No fear.
Just—
Power.
When it ended—
We were both out of breath.
"That was better," Angela said.
"I know."
I posted it.
And then—
We waited.
For like…
Two seconds.
Before everything exploded.
"OH MY GOD—" Angela grabbed my arm.
"I SEE IT."
Views climbing faster than anything before.
Faster than the matching outfits.
Faster than the chaos videos.
This was different.
This was—
Next level.
Comments flooded in.
"SHE'S NOT JUST FUNNY SHE'S TALENTED???"
"THIS GIRL CAN DO EVERYTHING"
"RAFA IS ACTUALLY UNREAL"
"THE POWER IN HER MOVES???"
"MAIN CHARACTER ENERGY FINAL FORM"
I laughed.
"FINAL FORM??"
CJ nodded. "Accurate."
Sam leaned in. "You've leveled up."
"I hate all of you."
"You love us."
"…a little."
"Hey."
I turned.
Felix.
Of course.
He looked at my phone.
Then at me.
"10 million views."
"…already??"
"Yeah."
I blinked.
"…that's not normal."
"No," he said. "It's not."
Silence.
Then—
"You didn't tell me you were that good."
"…I didn't tell anyone."
"Why?"
I shrugged.
"I don't know. I didn't think it mattered."
He looked at me.
"It does."
My heart—
Yeah.
Again.
"…you're being serious again."
"Yeah."
"That's weird."
"Get used to it."
"I don't want to."
He smirked.
"You will."
We started walking.
Hallway still loud.
People still staring.
Phones still out.
But this time?
It felt different.
Because now—
They weren't just looking at me for being viral.
They were looking at me for being—
Good.
Actually good.
"…this is weird," I admitted.
"What is?" Felix asked.
"People seeing me like this."
He glanced at me.
"They already did."
"Not like this."
"…true."
Silence.
Then—
"You liked it though," he said.
I paused.
"…yeah."
Because I did.
More than I expected.
Later—
Another video.
Because obviously.
"Okay," I said, already laughing, "so apparently I can dance?? Which is news to some of you—"
Cut—
Angela screaming again.
Cut—
CJ pretending to faint.
Cut—
Felix in the background—
Watching.
Again.
"I still don't know what I'm doing," I said.
"You do," Felix said.
I zoomed in on him.
"No I don't."
"You do."
"Stop."
"Make me."
I ended the video.
"WHY DO YOU ALWAYS SAY THAT??" I said.
"Because it works."
"It doesn't."
"It does."
I rolled my eyes.
But I was smiling.
Again.
Of course I was.
That night—
I checked my followers.
12.3M.
I stared at the number.
"…what is happening."
But for once—
I wasn't overwhelmed.
I wasn't scared.
I wasn't doubting myself.
Because now—
I knew.
This wasn't luck.
This wasn't random.
This wasn't temporary.
This was me.
Fully.
Finally.
And maybe—
That was the real reason everything worked.
Because I stopped trying to be perfect.
And started being real.
And somehow—
That was enough.
"Rafa."
I looked up.
Felix.
Standing there.
"…you're everywhere," I said.
"Yeah."
"Why?"
He shrugged.
"Because I want to be."
My heart—
Yeah.
Still not normal.
"…you're annoying."
"I know."
"…stay though."
He smirked.
"Wasn't planning on leaving."
And for once—
With everything happening—
That felt like the only thing I didn't have to question.