Burn // NH

4. Not a Date

After leaving the school earlier, I decided to head home and change into more casual wear as I slipped on a pair of navy slacks and a light blue, striped buttoned downed, dress shirt. I rolled the cuffs half way up my forearms and pushed them to my elbows before styling my hair back into a tight quiff. A navy colored tie was tied around my neck and suddenly time seemed to fly with in the blink of an eye. Next thing I knew, I was standing at the box office with my ticket and water in hand as a lady pushed me through the line.

And that's how I found myself an hour and fifteen minutes from home standing in the middle of a crowd, lost like a little puppy. My eyes wandered around, standing people covering my vision as they all looked for their seats. I was not sure what to do or where to go, so instead, I found myself wandering to the left isle. I glanced to my ticket, reading C 4.12. I looked around, only seeing the letter A.

I sighed. I've never been in a real theater before. Most of the galas or classical concerts that I've attended were in ball rooms. And this is nothing like a ball room.

I felt a pointed tap on the shoulder, causing me to turn just as the voice started talking. "Do you need help, Sir?"

  I glanced at the woman, swallowing heavily as my eyes scanned over her. Shit she was attractive. Dressed in a long, red dress that accented her chest greatly without showing too much cleavage, her brown eyes fell into concern as she moved her dark brown hair to the side. I had to force myself to remember my location before I happened to say anything.

"Yes. Where is section C?"

She pointed to the right. "Over two." Her eyes glanced down at my ticket. "You'll be in row four, seat twelve."

"Thank you." I smiled and stuck my hand out. "Niall Horan."

"Annalise." She smiled back. "I'm actually near you, if you would like me to show you." I glanced to the stage, seeing that the people around us were starting to settle down.

"That would be great."

She led me to the area, which just happened to be the middle section of the ground floor. Ellison was not kidding when she decided to send this ticket. This seat seemed to be front and center of the stage, far enough back to see everything, while also being close enough to feel the movement of the dance.

I watched with wide eyes, my mind being boggled by the rhythm and emotion of each dancer. I could feel the energy radiating off the stage by each performer as everyone played some part in the plot line. It was like a story was being expressed through the dancing and surprisingly, I could understand exactly what was happening and what each character was feeling.

Glancing to the right, I spotted Annalise watching with so much interest and it almost seemed as if she was counting the rhythm in her head as she scanned each performer.

My eyes returned to the stage just in time to see Ellison step out from behind a painted tree, another girl mirroring her image as if she was her shadow. Ellison appeared to be lost, but was quickly yanked into the arms of a man, her shadow doing the same. The male spun her quickly a few times before picking her up by her waist and thigh. Ellison folded back over his shoulder while they spun in a circle, her feet following her head as she fell on the ground into the splits.

I was so intrigued by the way she moved, her body so flimsy, yet expressive.

Next, the male danced away from her, the male of the shadow doing the same. Both girls spun on the ground and stood, twirling and jumping into the air a few times as their legs bent like elastic before they were suddenly face to face with the men. They took two steps forward, the males stepping back once before taking a step forward and pulling the girls in by their faces.