His Gentle Beauty

Staying Behind

Eliza:

The national ballet was an open concept. It had many windows, which I was grateful for. MacGyver held our bag that kept ballet slippers and had enough space for our clothing overtop the uniform. I was wearing all black attire—as the company instructs—underneath my track pants. We were sent to observe any strange behaviour during class, as well as question a list of victims. There was no interrogation process with the students, we were meant to talk to them casually, avoiding suspicion.

The hallway outside of the classroom consisted of people chatting and stretching, preparing for the next class. Not many heads turned at our presence, they must have gotten many newcomers.

I caught the eye of a lengthy, brunette boy. He stood, swinging his leg to open his hips for a better turnout. Before the stranger could approach me, MacGyver cornered me until my back was against the wall.

"What are you-" I began speaking.

"Marking my territory." He said, lowly and started toying with the strings of my pants.

I stared at his veined hands that rested at my waist.

"Look at me," he voiced, softly. I obeyed. "Now, laugh".

Just as I opened my mouth to protest this nonsense, it clicked. My androphobia could really get in the way of our mission, he was diminishing those outcomes by claiming me. Giving in to his order, I let a giggling tune pass my lips.

"Louder,"

Shoving down the mixture of embarrassment and frustration, I did as he said.

"Good," he smirked, releasing me from his hold. "You stay here and talk with the women. I'll be with the guys." He tilted his head to the other side of the room. Although everything inside of me wanted to stay attached to him the whole mission, I knew this was for the best.

I hesitantly stepped near the circle of girls, "Could I join?"

The group passed not-so-subtle glances to one another, then welcomed me in.

"I'm Dahlia. You're the one from Spain, right?" Cheerful, green eyes met my own.

"Yeah, Sofia." I introduced.

"Did Spain's ballet program reject you, so you came here?" A thin blond with sharp collarbones interjected. The rest of the girls laughed.

"Pretty much," I smiled, hoping to assure I was no threat. Her judgement came from a place of insecurity, I didn't see a need to correct it.

The studio doors opened and as one class filed out, my class filed in. There were two ballet barres in the centre, and a wooden barre on each wall, except for the mirrored one. I glanced to everyone in the room, removing their cover-ups. I made my way to MacGyver and set my track pants inside the bag. I was left in tights, a wrap skirt, and my leotard. As everyone made their way to the barre, MacGyver copied them.

Catching his first mistake, I gripped the tight collar of his outfit. "Wait until everyone settles, people get defensive of their barre spots."

His eyes were hard, focused. Moments later, we found two open spaces. Although they weren't directly next to each other, it was good enough.

"We're going to start with a warmup: Passive stretches." The red-head from Phoenix's photos announced. Kendra Mills.

Ms. Mills led us through each movement, sparing the explanation of each stretch as we were an advanced class. We had moved on to solo arabesques, as planned. She gave thorough technique for both men and women and when enough instruction had been given, she gathered us into our Pas De Deux partners.

I stood with MacGyver, my nerves sky rocketing at the anticipation for his touch.

"Five, six, seven, eight," Ms. Mills clapped to the rhythm as the pianist began following a scripted melody. During the combination, her eyes criticized everybody, then followed her words.

I did not escape her correction. In fact, she seemed to fixate on me.

"Lift your leg higher, especially as he leads you through the Ron de Jambe. You want to push out and up, to avoid clunking in the femur." Her hand guiding my leg as she spoke.

By the end of class, every muscle in my body felt stretched thin. A wave of relief washed over me as we were all dismissed.

"Sofia," Ms. Mills called. I had almost forgot my cover name and kept walking.

"Yes?"

MacGyver was in the corner of the room, collecting our things.

"Could you stay for a few minutes. You have a good foundation, but I'd like to give you a few pointers."

My heart stopped. This wasn't a part of the plan. I was tempted to analyze MacGyver's reaction but I knew his opinion would change my response. Maybe I could get her to talk, admit all the things she's done. Riley could hear me through the comms, and see me through the studio's cameras. I was safe, right?

I heard MacGyver coming closer, he was going to decline.

"Yes actually, I'd love that." I formed a tight-lipped smile and held a thumbs up behind my back. Hopefully that was enough for MacGyver to leave.

"Great work as well, Mateo. I'll see you next time?" Kendra Mills held the door open, cueing him to leave.

Matty was commanding him through the comms to leave. With that, he wished her well and left.