“Guys! Get your asses over here!” Harrison called out to the four men standing in the corner.
“What’s up, Harris?” the one with the dark brown eyes and ink-covered skin asked as he made his way over to where we were standing.
“Guys, I want you to meet Nikki’s replacement. I have been trying to work with this girl for as long as I can remember, but we could never seem to sync up our schedules. Lucky for you guys, she has been taking a break for awhile, and when I was FINALLY able to track her down, she was ready to get back to work. She’s one of the best dancers I have ever seen, which will really help Mr. Two-Left-Feet-Littrell over there,” he joked. “Boys, meet Blaine Christianson.”
As I waved to the guys, I studied their behaviors. Three out of the four wore welcoming smiles on their faces while my future dance partner looked a little hesitant. The one with the tattoos, Alexander McLean, seemed to be genuinely interested in knowing me. The tall blonde, Nick Carter, seemed bored, but offered me a sincere smile of welcoming when I glanced his way. The shortest member of the group, the curly-haired latino, Howie Dorough, seemed like the most welcoming, his eyes an open book and his face full or acceptance and sincerity. The last one, the one with the crystal blue eyes and curly reddish-blonde hair, Brian Littrell, was the most resistant of all. His eyes were guarded, leaving me to wonder what he was thinking as he stared back at me.
“Hey guys,” I smiled, trying my hardest to just relax and lose my ever present paranoia. “I’m glad I finally get to work with you. I’ve heard so much about you guys, especially from Fatima Robinson when I worked with her on Save the Last Dance,” I told them sincerely. I had been pretty blessed in my life. Since I was little, I had been dancing as an escape. My dad had put me into dance lessons to give me some sort of stability, and I just held onto it as a way to keep my sanity.
“You know Fa?” AJ asked me, a look of pure shock written on his face.
“Yeah. She’s been a huge supporter of me and my career. She has helped me more than I could ever say and she is the reason I am here today,” I responded. There was something very familiar about AJ. I couldn’t figure out why, but I felt like I knew him, like he was a part of my past.
“Alright, let’s get started,” Harris announced, clapping his hands to get our attention. I dropped my bag in the corner and took my position by Brian to get started. I had been going over the dance steps that Harris taught me, trying to catch up to everyone else before we started rehearsing. I still had to perfect some of the moves, but at least I knew the basics and didn’t have to worry about holding up practice too much.
“1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8… STOP!” Harrison yelled out for the millionth time that day. The past week had been difficult, to say the least. Once again, as had become routine over the last week, he made his way to where Brian and I were standing, waiting for yet another lecture. “Blaine, can I talk to you in private for a second, please?” I shot a look at Brian, as he gave me a smug smile.
“I’m sorry, Harris. I don’t know what’s the matter with me,” I covered, even though I knew that it was Brian’s fault. Ever since the first day, Brian had been doing everything he could to make me look like a klutz, tripping me when no one else was looking, pushing me harder than was required for the move, and even going as far as to drop me at points when he was supposed to hold me suspended above the floor and then blaming it on me.
“Blaine, what has gotten into you? You aren’t acting like yourself at all. I’ve never seen you perform so poorly in my entire life,” he pleaded, begging me for an answer I couldn’t give.
“I know, Harris. I don’t know what has gotten into me,” I told him, afraid to look at the disappointment in his eyes. I kept staring at the floor, silently cursing Brian in my head for putting me in this situation. “I’ll put in some extra hours this weekend. I don’t want to slow everyone else down.” I knew that even putting in those extra hours would mean nothing if Brian wouldn’t cooperate with me. I had already learned and mastered most of the moves in the dances we had been working on all week, but it meant nothing if Brian refused to do them correctly.
“On Sunday, I want to do an evaluation on your progress,” he told me, making me dread what was about to come out of his mouth next. “If you still haven’t gotten it by then, I’m going to have to replace you. I’m sorry, Blaine, but I have to do what’s best for the tour.”
I could only nod as I felt my eyes well up with tears. I had never been a big crier, but I felt like I would have been better staying in hiding rather than have to put up with Brian and his shit. We only had one more rehearsal that week, and I was raging an inner-war, wondering whether or not I should do well on my evaluation for Harris. If I did well, then it would mean having to deal with Brian’s bullshit for the whole tour. If I didn’t do well, though, it would tarnish my reputation, but I could, hopefully, find a job elsewhere and just forget about it all.
“Alright, let’s run through this sequence one more time before calling it a day,” Harris announced as we made our way back to the group. I avoided looking at Brian’s face until it was absolutely necessary. I didn’t want to see his smug smile and shit-eating grin. I just wanted to get through this rehearsal. When I did look into his eyes, though, what I saw was regret and shame. I didn’t have time to dwell on it, however, because Harris began counting, leading us through the dance. To my surprise, Brian didn’t throw me around like a rag doll. He didn’t drop me in the closing count. And, even more miraculous was the fact that he didn’t try to trip me once during the whole thing.
“That was fantastic! What a great way to end tonight’s rehearsal. Alright everyone, I’ll see you all tomorrow,” Harris called, putting an end to practice and quickly making his retreat out the door. I sat down in one of the chairs lining the far wall, and let out a sigh of relief, trying to catch a moment to myself. My moment was short-lived, though, as I watched Alex make his way over to me. I knew what he was going to say even before he said it. Every night after rehearsal, he would ask me to go clubbing with him and the Boys, and every night, I turned him down. I knew that they didn’t go out every night, but he was just waiting for the night when I said yes so that we could all go.
“Hey Blaine,” Alex greeted, taking a seat beside me.
“Hey Alex,” I smiled, waiting for the inevitable question.
“Don’t let what Harris said get to you too much. I do have to say that I cannot believe you’re still covering for him after all he has done to you, though,” he comforted me.
“After all who has done to me?” I questioned, playing dumb. Honestly, I was shocked beyond belief that he even noticed, and I didn’t know quite how to react to his statement.
“You know who I’m talking about,” he gave me a knowing look.
“It would just make things worse,” I told him, looking down at my hands. “Harris told me that he is going to evaluate my progress on Sunday.” I took a deep breath, admitting what was going on in my head. “I’m thinking about just blowing it. It’s obvious that Brian has something against me. If we can’t work together… it would just be better for everyone.”
“That’s not true. As much as it pains me to admit this, you are the best dancer here. We need you,” he told me. “Plus, if you leave, then I can’t keep asking you to come out clubbing with us.”
I smiled over at him, shaking my head at how he had managed to sneak the invitation in where I least expected it. “Alex, as much as I would love to go with you guys, I can’t go tonight. Thanks for the offer, though,” I turned him down again.
“One of these days, Blaine. I’ll get you to go one of these days,” he told me confidently.
“We’ll see,” I responded, as he got up to leave. “I’ll see you later, Alex.”
“Later, Blaine,” he responded back, waving to me as he walked away.
