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Chapter 5

The next morning I woke up early and changed quickly into my dance clothes. I bounded out of the bus and over to Aj’s without saying hello to anyone else and knocked impatiently at his door.

“Good morning!” He said opening the door, excitement coloring his face as he took in my smile.

“Hi. I couldn’t wait the full eight hours” I said breathlessly as he laughed and pulled me into a hug.

“I’m just picking out a hat, come help and then we can go” He said grinning like an idiot at my excitement to see him. I looked at his huge collection of hats and chose a black baseball cap with some green logo on it. He put it artfully on sideways and I kissed him on the cheek. “You’re adorable this morning”

“I feel ten pounds lighter. You know my big bad secret and you still want to hang out. I’m pretty happy” I said

“I can see that. Bright blue” He said as I giggled

“Not even you reading my eyes could get me down today!” I said pulling him out of the bus by the hand as he tried to obsess over his hat some more “Come on, I want to do the thing I love most in the world.”

“Dance with me?” Aj and I heard from behind us and I smiled wider

“Good morning Bri!” I exclaimed running over to him and jumping into his arms. He picked me up and whirled me around and then placed me on the ground and crouched down.

“Would the princess like a noble steed to ride to rehearsal?” He asked as I laughed

“High ho silver!” I yelled jumping on his back so he could piggy back me to the studio. Aj was right behind us and we were all laughing like idiots when we entered.

“Hey, can we eat lunch together again today?” Aj asked almost shyly once Brian had put me down and moved on to harass Nick.

“I can’t think of a better way to eat lunch than with you. So I guess this means you still like me?” I asked as Aj brushed his fingers along my jaw bone

“What’s not to like?” Aj said sweetly before kissing my nose.

“Ok, let’s see what you all remember” Fly said walking in and cueing up the music. We didn’t need to review much from yesterday; we all seemed to have it down. We quickly worked out All I have to give as it was mostly poses with a small dance break. The dance break didn’t take long so we all moved on to the dances for the chorus of She’s a dream. “Alright, so Kat and Mollee have solos for this number. Basically you are the dream girls that Nick and Brian sing about in their verses. I’ll leave you to it over lunch break and you can show me your ideas when we get back. Ok, see you in an hour!” I laughed a little as I saw Camie’s jaw drop in outrage at not being chosen to solo. She might not shoot me death glares anymore but I didn’t like how she was all over Aj. It’s not like it was a secret that we were kind of a thing or something. What were we?

“Me, you, lunch” Aj said running over to me.

“Ok, can you help me figure out something for the solo section in the song before we eat though?” I asked

“I'd love to. Not that you’ll need the help” He said sweetly as everyone else filed out of the studio and Aj sat by the music so he could cue it up for me.

“Ok. What are the words to Brian’s verse?” I asked as Aj smiled and stood up so he could sing it acapella.

“And I'm cool with that, if she says so. I don’t even have to lie to her. And when I'm out making pesos aint' nobody treat her like I do her because I'm the one that she thinks about, the only one on her mind. She's a dream. Because she knows me” Aj sang and I just danced for him. I started seductively walking away from him and then did a triple spin, landing on “lie”. Then I walked up to him on the lyrics “nobody treat her like I do her” so Aj could caress my cheek and I did a fake faint into a backbend that flipped over on “mind.” Then I did an open star spin on “she’s a dream and she knows me.” Aj smiled wide and continued with the second half of the verse

“Shorty don't know that I'm on the stage, like 3 or 4 times a week. She don't even know I've been around the world and all the different girls I meet. But there's just one face that I see, she's the only one for me. She's a dream. Because she knows me” This verse came easier and was much more playful. For the “stage” lyrics I did a few signature moves in slow motion from the dances we’d already learned. On “around the world” I took stylized runs to the other side of the stage and did a loop, landing hard and sharp on “meet.” Then I came back to him so he could hold my face on “only one for me” and by the time Aj sang the word “me” I was breathless as he held my face inches from his own. I stared into his eyes and travelled the depths of the universe in that one look. I don’t know how long we stood there until I voiced the concern that was nagging me.

“What are we?” I whispered

“Human” Aj answered without missing a beat and without letting go of our position or stare, only letting a grin play across the corners of his mouth

“I mean together. What are we?” I clarified as Aj’s grin turned into a smirk

“Puzzle pieces that fit perfectly”

“Ok so that’s how I’ll introduce you to my friends. This is my puzzle piece, Aj” I joked bringing my hand up to one of his on my cheek and bringing it down so I could hold it but still not breaking our stare

“Oh I see” Aj said looking quickly away but keeping hold of my hand “I hadn’t thought about that”

“Well, think about it now”

“Dating, we’re dating” He decided after a few minutes.

“I can live with that. This is Aj. We’re dating” I said pretending to introduce him to an imaginary friend to my left.

“I like the sound of that” Aj said as we walked over to the music and cued it up “Shall we try this again?”

“I’m ready” I said as he pushed play. We worked the dance break a few more times and Brian came in, hearing his voice being repeated on the recording, and subbed in for Aj so he could be prepared for what I’d choreographed. Of course when it was Brian some of the intensity died down but I was able to keep Aj in mind and still deliver a pretty good performance. When lunch break was over Fly came in and asked to see what Mollee and I had come up with.

“Youngest first” Mollee said with a grin as I grabbed Brian’s hand and we walked to the middle of the floor. We performed the heck out of my choreography and Fly was pretty happy with it.

“It looks great Kat, really, but good dancers always dumb things down, especially when they know they are capable of much more. I’m not going to change your basic idea, I’m just going to add a bit of difficulty so you can show off” Fly said with that wicked grin only a teacher who is about to push a star pupil gets. “Ok so this loop needs to develop into a switch leap and then a front straddle leap. You have plenty of time and it’ll make the contrast into the kinder words a little later more dramatic. You can do it”

“I’m glad he’s so sure” I whispered to Brian as he grinned and stepped back to see if I could pull the thing off. I made it through the switch leap but had trouble shifting my weight to get the preparation into the straddle so I fell and skidded along the floor instead of straddling in the air.

“Kat” Aj yelled loudly with a lot of emotion as Mollee gave him a look and then started laughing hysterically. She had seen me fall a million times and knew it was all part of the dancer life but Aj was a little over-attuned to me right now and clearly got worked up at seeing me fall for the first time. Mollee’s laughter was multiplied by everyone else’s and pretty soon we were all laughing at Aj’s over reaction.

“Thanks for the concern but I’m ok” I said with a grin while taking Brian’s hand.

“I’m sorry” Aj said a little sharply as the laughter died down “You’re just really good and it’s weird to see you not nail something”

“Oh, I’ll get it” I said with determination as we ran it again and I executed it perfectly. After that it was Mollee’s turn and Aj was still a little raw at being laughed at so I sat in his lap while we watched Mollee. Of course her verse was pretty playful in contrast to my emotional one but that was what you got with the two of us. Fly made some adjustments to hers and we were off and running with the choreography for the medley of The Call, The One, and Bigger. The dance for The Call was pretty simple and mostly involved us echoing the guys. The choreography to The One split the dancers from the guys as we got to do harder versions of the moves the guys were doing. The real fun began, however, when we started working on Bigger. It didn’t help that we had been working all day at a very high intensity and we were all a little tired and punchy. Add in the improvisational bridge where each guy was allowed to serenade his own dancer with his words with no instruction and we were in complete chaos. Brian was on his knees crawling towards me, trying to hug my feet so I couldn’t move, Nick had Mollee in a headlock as he interpreted his words as a professional wrestler and Howie was even getting in on the fun as he got really close to Sophie’s face and then licked her from chin to forehead. That had us all rolling on the ground, even Aj who has having the least amount of fun as Camie tried to turn lyrics representing a guy asking a girl for forgiveness into a sex scene.

“Ok, Ok. I am waving the white flag. We’ll pick this up tomorrow, get out of here before we all go crazy” Fly said wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. I tried to turn to Aj to figure out some plans but I was attacked by Mollee. She jumped from out of nowhere and tackled me to the ground.

“Jesus Christ!” I yelled as Mollee sat on my stomach with her legs on either side of my body

“I’m officially taking you hostage tonight. I need sister time and I’m not letting you forget all about me for some boy.” I started giggling as I motioned to Aj standing right behind Mollee and listening to her every word “No offense”

“No offense taken. I guess I’ll survive a night without you” Aj said with a good natured smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Can I say goodbye to him warden?” I asked Mollee as she eyed me

“You have 5 minutes. If you aren’t back to the bus by then, I’m calling the marines” Mollee said slowly getting off of me. She looked at Aj who was holding back laughter and pointed her pointer and middle fingers at her eyes and then to his “I’ll be watching you, McLean”

“Ma’am yes ma’am” He saluted as she skipped away. He helped me up and grabbed my bag for me as we headed slowly for the door.

“It is normal for two people who are dating to take a night where they don’t see each other” I said stiffly

“Oh yes. People who date rarely see each other every single night. Especially when they spend all day at work together as well” He answered in the same tone as I let out a laugh

“Oh boy this really shouldn’t be this hard” I said turning to face him as we reached the bus

“I know. But they say absence makes the heart grow fonder” He answered brushing some hair from my face and tucking it behind my ear

“I don’t know if I can handle much more fondness” I said staring intently into his eyes

“Aww I caused a little silver to streak across that blue. Cut that out!” Aj said as I grinned

“I’m about to revoke your eye privileges”

“How about you tell me what a deep velvety blue means” Aj said as my grin turned mischievous

“Always leave them wanting more” I whispered planting a light kiss on his lips and turning on my heels into the bus.

“Damn” I heard him groan before he walked away. I got into the bus and saw Mollee sitting there, looking at me expectantly

“What?” I asked after a moment of her giving me that weird look

“You aren’t going to yell at me about how I ruined everything because I won’t let you see your lover tonight?” She asked with a wicked grin

“No. I miss you too much. I’m going to shower and then we can talk. Meet in the reflection room?”

“That sounds good!” She said excitedly, clearly happy I wasn’t going to hold a grudge against her for her kidnapping me. I really wasn’t mad at her. In truth, I felt Aj and I could use some time alone to slow this whole thing down. I just wasn’t willing to be the one who suggested it. I took my time in the shower, convincing myself that I could and should be able to handle one night away from Aj with little success. I finally dragged myself out and feeling a little miserable, made my way upstairs. Instead of just Mollee I found all the girls sitting on the floor of the game room surrounded by boxes of Chinese takeout.

“I got the steamed veggies and tofu for you. And yes you can have my broccoli” Mollee said as I took in all the food. I started to open my mouth to ask what the party was for but Mollee read my mind “It’s a girl’s night. We need to bond”

“Cute. Whose idea was that?” I asked sitting next to my sister and grabbing my food

“Mine. I want to hear all the dirt from everyone about everything” Sophie said as she attacked her noodles. I looked up at Camie and saw she was emanating some pretty hostile vibes. I don’t know if it was left over from the anger of not being chosen to solo today or more of a building on the fact that neither Aj or Nick wanted anything to do with her but she was certainly upset about something.

“You start” I said quickly, hoping to make this as comfortable as possible. “What’s Howie like?”

“Oh man, he’s adorable, always checking that he’s not slowing me down. He’s not the strongest dancer but he knows how to support me in partnering so I’m ok. He also sings under his breath and it makes me swoon a little” Sophie said with a smile as I grinned. At least I wasn’t the only one who was being affected by the guys

“Well Brian is a pretty good dancer. He doesn’t sing so much as beat box to everything” I said eliciting a laugh from everyone, even a small one from Camie “And I’m pretty sure he has no intention of catching me for the trust fall in the opening”

“He is pretty crazy” Sophie allowed with a smile

“Definitely, but he’s a sweetheart. I love joking with him. It made the whole lover’s sequence today much less awkward than it should be with a married man” I joked as the girls laughed again.

“Well, Nick is a pretty amazing dancer but he spends so much time trying to impress me that he rarely picks up on the moves until we’ve run them a few times” Mollee piped in as Camie’s grin vanished

“Well he really likes you and doesn’t know how to approach you” Sophie said wisely as Mollee glanced at Camie and smiled at the clear impact Sophie’s words had.

“I like him too. I like him best when he forgets he’s trying to impress me, but we’ll get there eventually. I mean, he’s so freaking hot, how could I say no?” Mollee said rubbing it in for Camie’s benefit. I shot her a warning glance but she brushed it off as only Mollee can. She doesn’t forgive and forget easily.

“It must be hard, being so perfect” Camie muttered as she speared some chicken on her fork. Mollee began to round on her but I cut her off

“Camie, how is it dancing with Aj?” I asked quickly and was met with the full force of Camie’s anger. Perhaps I wasn’t the best person to diffuse this situation…

“Probably not as good as sleeping with him but we can’t all get our way through what’s between our legs” Camie spat as I instinctively grabbed Mollee’s hands before she could retaliate

“Aj and I haven’t slept together” I said in what I hoped sounded like an off-hand tone. If I didn’t rise to her bait maybe we could salvage this night

“That's surprising. That seems to be the way girls like you get what they want in life” Camie said harshly and I couldn’t stop Mollee from jumping to her feet

“Is there something you’d like to say?” Mollee spat as Camie got to her feet to meet Mollee’s stare

“Just that you and your sister are huge sluts and everyone knows it” Camie said with a smirk. I stood up quickly to get Mollee and try to calm her down while Sophie met my action on Camie’s side

“Come on, there’s no need for that” Sophie said quietly to Camie

“But it’s true. Nick doesn’t know anything exists except those boobs and blonde hair and Aj can’t make one move without looking to see if Kat has noticed it. There is only one reason a guy would act that way and that’s because easy girls will give them what they want to keep their attention. But it doesn’t work forever you know. Soon they will realize that behind those pretty faces is a whole lot of nothing and they’ll be begging for me to-” But what they were begging we never found out. What happened next happened in slow motion. Mollee lost all self control and tried to launch herself on Camie. I stepped in between them and Mollee’s pulled back fist that was aiming for Camie’s face fell full force onto my left cheek bone. Never underestimate the strength of a dancer, or of a protective older sister. I went down fast and tears sprang into my eyes before I had any chance to control them. Miraculously I didn’t flash back but I was hurting. Oh God did that hurt!

“KAT, Oh my God you freaking idiot, what the hell were you doing?” Mollee said frantically as time sped up quickly, overwhelming my senses

“Well clearly if you had taken her bait and hit her than you would have been kicked off of the tour” I said trying to fight back my tears “This is your dream. I’m not letting your temper destroy your dream”

“It’s not my temper. It’s that bitch. Get the hell away from me before I do come after you. I don’t care about the tour, I’ll make you wish you were never born” Mollee said harshly as Camie scoffed and walked down the stairs. Sophie was just standing there with her hands over her mouth and a look of pure terror on her face.

“Sophie I’m ok. Can you get me some ice?” I asked as she nodded quickly and scurried out of the room.

“Let me see. Come on. Let me see” Mollee said calming down slowly as the seconds dragged on. She pulled my hands away from my face and pushed lightly on the swelling in my cheek bone. I flinched. “Does that hurt?”

“No, it feels fucking fantastic” I said pulling away from her hand

“Stop, don’t be mad at me, I couldn’t let her talk to us like that”

“You could have. You really could have” I said sitting up and taking the ice pack from Sophie as she appeared at the top of the stairs “Where’s Camie?”

“In her bunk listening to music” Sophie answered as I nodded.

“Maybe we should all go to sleep. I’m going to go check out the damage if you can clean up?” I asked Mollee and Sophie who started working right away on the food. I walked slowly down the stairs and stopped at Camie’s bunk.

“I’m not scared of you. Or your sister” She said as I slid her curtain to the side to meet her eyes

“I’ve done nothing to you. I wish you’d get over me and Aj and just leave my sister alone. She has a quick temper and you will get her kicked off the tour if you push it. But if you get my sister kicked off then this control I have right now will evaporate. And if you think people hate you now, wait until I get through with them. Because my sister uses her fists but I use my brain. And I will ruin you” I said sliding her curtain shut and stepping into the bathroom. I cringed when I caught my reflection. My eye was swollen and already starting to blossom into a cornucopia of color. I was going to have a black eye for sure. That would be fun to explain. Cursing my sister and her temper I changed into pajamas and hopped into bed. I tapped out my light and rolled over, facing the wall. All of what just happened hit me and the tears started coming full force. Most of them were of frustration that one girl could be so hurtful and some were from the throbbing in my eye but I had to admit that a small portion of them were because there was exactly one person I wanted to see right now and he was a mere parking lot away but I couldn’t reach him. As I tried to push that thought from my head, my curtain opened and I felt the mattress bend a little as another body joined mine.

“I’m sorry Booger” Mollee whispered as she rolled me carefully so I was laying on my back and took the ice pack I was holding to my eye to replace it with a colder one.

“You suck” I pouted but took her free hand in mine all the same as she lay on her back next to me and rested her head next to mine.

“I just don’t like people talking about you like that especially with what you’ve been through” Mollee said quietly

“I know Molls but you have to learn to control your temper. You could have hit Camie and she would have reported it. It was in our contract – you would have been kicked off the tour. I can’t do this without you. I need you here. And this is your dream. Is that bitch worth your dream?” I asked squeezing her hand

“I know” She sighed “I know. I’m sorry. I’ll do better”

“Damn right you will”

“Are you going to have a shiner?” She asked as I pouted into the darkness.

“I probably will. Damn it you’re exceptionally strong” I said as she laughed a little

“I’ll let you sleep. But I really am sorry. Forgive me?” She asked meeting my eyes

“Of course, you’re my sister. You’re incredibly annoying and you have no self control but I love you to pieces.”

“I love you too. Get some sleep. I’ll explain everything to everyone tomorrow so don’t even stress”

“Thanks. Night” I said rolling over as she left. I tried to sleep, I really did, but my thoughts kept drifting across the parking lot and my eye was throbbing. At around one I heard the door open to the bus and someone approached my bunk. As the curtain slowly pulled back a small breeze blew and I breathed in a scent I had been dreaming of. I glanced slowly up to take in those brown eyes shining brightly even in the dark.

“You’re up” He whispered as I smiled

“You’re here” I acknowledged and he returned my smile. Then he shifted and some of the light from the window shined on my face and his smile disappeared.

“What happened?” He asked quickly, taking my face carefully in his hands

“Oh it was just girl stuff. My sister” I started as he looked me over

“Let me get you some more ice” He offered and went quickly to the kitchen. When he returned I motioned for him to climb into my bunk and he did, holding the ice to my eye and shutting the curtain behind him as he took the spot my sister had left open a few hours ago. “Explain”

“Camie is a bitch” I started as he laughed a little and I shushed him. I told him the whole story and he had a hard time holding back his swear as I repeated Camie’s hateful words.

“Oh that girl is asking for it” Aj said when I’d finished as he took my hand.

“Mollee egged her on. I know she took it pretty hard that you and Nick weren’t falling all over her-” I started but Aj cut me off

“You are defending her? Who are you?” He asked with a grin as I smiled

“A hopeless optimist” I said simply as he sighed

“So this might be against your sister’s rules but the way I see it, she owes you one. Think I can spend the night here?” He asked as I grinned into the darkness

“The only permission you need is mine”

“And”

“I’d love nothing more than for you to stay”