I Wish I Had the Skill to Just Be Fine and Cool and Chill

Both girls were engrossed in the classic animated movie, but Marisol’s thoughts found themselves wandering back to the young woman at her side. Directly at her side, nestled next to Marisol, laying her head on the dancer’s shoulder. Unsure of how to handle the closeness, Marisol followed her instincts and wrapped her arm around Celeste’s back to keep the snuggler close.

Celeste’s body was warm. For some reason, Marisol was hyper-aware of that heat being shared with her. It was nice, but all that heat was being repurposed in Marisol’s cheeks for some reason.

As much as she should have been watching the scene itself, as “Go the Distance” began, Marisol peeked out of the corner of her eye at the girl beside her. Listening to Celeste sing was… well, it was everything. Marisol loved music and thought, at its best, it was the truest way to hear someone’s heart. Celeste’s voice was beautiful, but it was also sincere. Hearing the blonde sing, Marisol was convinced she knew her best friend better than she could have claimed to before.

What scared Marisol was not the sudden closeness she felt to Celeste, but the way her heart was suddenly fluttering. When Celeste and the song hit a simultaneous crescendo, Marisol’s breath hitched in her throat. Her heartbeat was quickening, and Marisol had no clue how to explain why because she was certain she had never experienced that before.

Except that was almost true. Suddenly, Marisol could recall a moment with Jenna she dismissed because it made no sense. The two girls were helping each other by running lines, and Marisol worked with Jenna to nail one of the key romantic scenes from her show. There was a line, and Marisol no longer remembered it exactly, but she remembered how she felt. Butterflies flooded her stomach and her heartbeat quickened. It was a one-time thing, so Marisol ruled it out as an anomaly—the show just hit her in an unexpected way.

Hercules was not to blame. It was a great movie, but it never hit Marisol with a serious emotional impact until it was Celeste singing. The song came to an end, but that feeling in her chest was still there. ”Heh, I know, right? Zeus, the deadbeat dad that left his demigod kid at the convenience store,” she joked nervously, still wondering what the hell was wrong with her.

They watched through the movie as Herc started training with Phil, met the sassy, independent Megara, and started his career as a hero. It was still a great night. A perfect night maybe, with the laughing and joking and singing. Oh, the singing. Singing with Celeste was just as satisfying as listening to her. At one point, Marisol let a contented sigh slip from her lips. Was she swooning? Was the feeling she was dealing with swooning? That made no sense; she did not swoon. Marisol Cervantes was not a swooner.

Those concerns would have to take a backseat as they came to Marisol’s favorite song. She took a deep breath and went all in, singing her heart out.

” If there's a prize for rotten judgement, I guess I've already won that. No man is worth the aggravation. That's ancient history, been there, done that!”

Marisol sang her way through Megara’s big song, flaunting and tossing her hair dramatically as she danced in her seat, shaking her head with the music as she argued with the muses in song. ”No chance no way I won't say it, no no! This scene won't play, I won't say I'm in love! You're way off base, I won't say it! Get off my case, I won't say it!”

The song wound down with a soft, dreamy last line, ”At least out loud, I won't say I'm in love.”

And as she drew out the last note, she wondered: could she be?