Chapter 20 (SEVENTEEN): Summary, Themes, and Analysis

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

Performance day arrives with Sage's preshow nerves running high. Her latest online dance video has drawn attention from major accounts—the NHL, Toronto Thunder, and, most significantly, the official NBT page after fans tagged them in the comments. This validation terrifies her because dancing for NBT is her stated dream, and knowing they're aware of her existence makes the goal feel suddenly real.

The chapter includes a flashback to the previous night. Sage and Summer were having a self-care night, watching a Turkish drama Summer insisted she'd love. Sage was glued to the screen by the second episode—something she'd never done with someone else before, and it felt relaxing. When Sage mentioned her upcoming performance, Summer offered to delay her flight back to Dalton to attend. Sage declined, but the gesture swelled her heart.

During the evening, Summer showed Sage embarrassing videos of their college friends, then gasped. Elias had posted the photo of him and Sage wearing star-infused under-eye masks—the one Sage took the first night he came over. Their heads are close together, he's staring at her while she smiles, and he captioned it with a phrase about it being the best part of his day. Sage has a physical reaction: hot, sweaty hands, and she has to continuously remind herself the relationship is fake. Summer's teasing doesn't help the heat in her cheeks.

That morning, Elias was still asleep, so Sage slipped out to the studio for a quick practice session. At the auditorium, she hesitates over texting him the address, then deletes the message—he's exhausted from his away game, and she assumes he only said he'd attend to be nice. She feels he's already doing more than enough by posting her.

Sage struggles with her dress feeling tight, hoping it's nerves and not a size change. She pushes the automatic thought away, recalling that a few bad ballet directors during her teenage years made such thoughts constant. She reminds herself she doesn't give herself food restrictions or focus on a certain size—she wears her clothes; her clothes don't wear her.

A knock on her dressing room door—which doubles as the janitor's storage closet—reveals Elias. He's in dark jeans, a black T-shirt under a midnight blue jacket, holding a bouquet of pink and white peonies. Sage is stunned. She questions the no-flowers rule; he says he didn't like it. He asks about her pregame ritual, and she explains she makes notations of the choreography and runs through each position in her head. When the stage manager announces five minutes, Elias enters her bubble. Sage expects a kiss, but instead he kisses her forehead, whispers good luck, and walks out.

Sage performs her guest role as Titania, the fairy queen, in a green costume with silver embroidery, a jewel-encrusted crown, and a moonstone necklace. The stage lights make her fabric shimmer. She spots her uncle in the front row, smiling, and Elias, whose gaze sticks to her. After her act, she watches the rest of the show from the side stage.

Her former teacher, Amy Laurent—whom Sage calls Madame Laurent—taps her shoulder. Amy says she's seen Sage's clips online and her students love her. Sage's eyes water as she hugs her; Amy was a constant in her life from age eleven to eighteen. Amy asks about her goals; Sage says she's waiting to secure an audition for Swan Lake. Amy tells her the moment they see her dance, she'll be in. Then Amy asks if the hockey player in the front row is her boyfriend, and Sage nods, hoping Amy doesn't see what just mentioning him does to her face.

In the school lobby, Sage spots her uncle. He praises her performance and mentions Amy was ecstatic to have her perform the guest role. Sage suggests Amy is single, reviving her teenage dream of the two getting together. Uncle Marcus broke up with his fiancée years ago and never talks about it; Sage has always suspected it was because of them—that no woman would accept a partner neglecting her for the children of his drug-addicted half brother.

Marcus offers to drop her home, and Sage realizes he has no clue about her apartment fire or that she's living with his rookie. She tries to deflect, but Marcus is impassive: it's hard to miss a six-foot-four hockey player in the crowd. He says he knows she's an adult and can make her own decisions, but he wants to be part of some of them. Sage insists Elias is a good guy; Marcus replies that he's already given him a chance.

As if on cue, Elias appears, sliding his arm around Sage's waist. The two men exchange terse greetings—Eli and Marcus—before Marcus tells Sage to text him when she's home and leaves.

Sage asks Elias what he thought of everything and tells him to rate her. He rates the outfit a ten, the makeup a ten, and the performance an eleven. He pulls a paper from his pocket—her dance sequence notes from the dressing room—and explains he googled all the moves and she hit every single point. He says he did it because she second-guesses herself and thinks she's doing terribly onstage when she's not; he wanted to be the one to remind her.

He mistakes her shiver from the compliment for being cold and slips his jacket over her shoulders. Sage reaches into the pockets and finds her spare glue and crystals—the pack she left at home. Elias explains he brought them because she once told him they came off before she even got onstage and how upset she was. A foreign feeling grips her heart, and she engulfs him in a tight hug. He easily lifts her off her toes, and she melts into his arms.

Back on her feet, she jokes that a hug like that might make her forget this is fake. Elias cuts her off by sealing his lips to hers. The kiss is gentle and tentative, then deepens. He fists the back of her hair, and Sage's mind works to make sense of the possessive touch. She notes that Elias Westbrook likes to be in control. When he pulls back, she's disoriented.

A flash of white brings her back to earth—a teenager stands in the crowd, shamelessly pointing a phone at them. Sage sees the smudge of lip gloss on Elias's mouth, confirming the kiss was real. Amy Laurent arrives and asks if Elias is the boyfriend; he confirms proudly. Amy remarks she's never seen Sage this free when she dances and hopes it's partly thanks to him. Elias says it's all her—she's a whole new person on that stage.

During the group photo setup, Sage whispers about the no-PDA rule. Elias explains the kiss felt necessary—she was a second away from blurting that the relationship is fake with people all around, filming with their phones. He's seen articles about this being a PR stunt and didn't want to add fuel to that fire. Sage deflates, realizing he was trying to shut her up, but latches onto the last part: he's still reading those articles. He shrugs. Even with her lips tingling, she's irritated that headlines still get to him.

Elias takes a seat on the bench beside Amy, then loops an arm around Sage's midsection and pulls her onto his lap. He whispers for her to relax. When the flash goes off, Sage realizes Elias didn't look at the camera at all—his eyes are on her.

Key Events

Sage's dance video earns likes from the NHL, Toronto Thunder, and the official NBT page, making her dream feel terrifyingly real
Elias posts the under-eye mask photo captioned as the best part of his day, triggering a strong physical reaction in Sage
Elias arrives at Sage's dressing room with peonies, breaking the no-flowers rule
Elias kisses Sage's forehead before her performance instead of her lips
Sage performs her guest role as Titania while Elias and Uncle Marcus watch
Amy Laurent praises Sage and asks about Elias, calling him her boyfriend
Uncle Marcus confronts Sage about living with Elias, having learned it from a live television interview
Elias rates Sage's performance an eleven and returns her spare crystals, having googled her dance moves
Elias and Sage share their first real kiss, photographed by a teenager
Elias admits he still reads articles about the PR stunt
In the group photo, Elias pulls Sage onto his lap and looks at her instead of the camera

Character Development

Sage actively fights her body-image demons in this chapter. She notices her dress feels tight and initially worries she's gone up a size, but she pushes the automatic thought away, recalling that bad ballet directors during her teenage years made such thoughts constant. She reminds herself she doesn't restrict food or fixate on a certain size. Her performance anxiety is tied to the NBT validation—the dream feels attainable now, and that's terrifying. She also grows in her awareness of her feelings for Elias, physically reacting to his post and his presence, and she repeatedly has to remind herself the relationship is fake.

Elias demonstrates attentive, action-based care throughout the chapter. He shows up despite exhaustion, brings flowers despite the rule, googles her dance moves to verify her performance, and remembers her past mishap with the crystals. His admission that he still reads PR-stunt articles reveals vulnerability beneath his confident exterior—he's affected by public perception. The kiss, framed as necessary to prevent Sage from revealing the arrangement, shows his control-driven approach, but his gaze at her in the group photo suggests genuine feeling beneath the calculated exterior.

Uncle Marcus reveals his protectiveness and hurt at being excluded from Sage's decisions. His comment about having already given Elias a chance hints at prior knowledge of the hockey player, and his quiet demand to be part of her life adds family stakes to the romance.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Performance anxiety and validation: Sage's nerves spike when NBT likes her video; the dream feels attainable and therefore frightening. Her pregame ritual of mentally running through choreography shows how she manages that anxiety.
Fake relationship vs. real feelings: Sage must repeatedly remind herself the relationship is fake even as her body responds to Elias—sweaty hands, racing heart, the urge to claim him. The kiss blurs the line further.
Attentive support: Elias's actions—googling moves, bringing crystals, remembering her past mishap—show care through remembered details rather than grand gestures.
Body image struggles: Sage's internal battle with negative self-talk rooted in teenage ballet directors shows the lasting impact of early criticism.
Control dynamics: Elias's kiss is framed as a calculated move to prevent Sage from revealing the arrangement, and Sage explicitly notes that he likes to be in control.
Breaking relationship rules: The no-flowers rule and no-PDA rule both get broken in this chapter, signaling the erosion of the fake-relationship boundaries.
Family secrets: Marcus learns about Sage's living situation through television rather than from Sage, highlighting the cost of keeping the arrangement hidden.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter delivers the first real kiss between Sage and Elias, moving their arrangement from performance to genuine feeling. It also brings Uncle Marcus into the conflict, adding family stakes and a protective presence who has his own history with Elias. Elias's admission about reading PR-stunt articles deepens his character, showing the pressure of public perception on someone who appears confident and in control. The chapter advances Sage's dream arc with the NBT validation, and the final image—Elias looking at Sage instead of the camera—signals that his feelings may be more real than either of them is ready to admit.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Elias kiss Sage, and what does his explanation reveal about his character?

Elias kisses Sage to prevent her from blurting out that the relationship is fake in front of the crowd, with phones filming. His explanation reveals he's still concerned about PR-stunt articles and wants to maintain control over the narrative. However, his admission that he still reads those articles shows vulnerability beneath his confident exterior—he's not as indifferent to public perception as he appears.

2. How does Sage's body-image struggle manifest in this chapter, and how does she cope with it?

Sage notices her dress feels tight and initially worries she's gone up a size. She pushes the thought away, recalling that bad ballet directors during her teenage years made such thoughts constant. She copes by reminding herself she doesn't restrict food or focus on a certain size, and that she wears her clothes rather than letting them define her. This shows active resistance to ingrained negative self-talk.

3. What does Elias's gesture of bringing Sage's spare crystals reveal about their relationship?

Elias remembered Sage telling him about the time her crystals fell off before she got onstage and how upset she was. Bringing the spare pack shows he listens to and retains details about her, demonstrating attentive, action-based care that goes beyond the fake-relationship arrangement. Combined with googling her dance moves, it suggests his investment in her is deeper than the PR stunt would require.