It's Simple.

Chapter One.

"5, 6, 7, 8." Mr. Daniel counts before stepping off to the side to watch my partner, Kyle, and I do our routine. We spin and break apart and come back together in a mix of fluent movements, intertwining our fingers and shoving the other, emotion in every movement and every facial expression made. The calmness of the song in the background playing through my ears as the soft drum beat marks my every move.

When we finally finish, we're face to face, our hands intertwined and our breathing heavy. Mr. Daniel claps his hands together making us both jump as his clapping gets faster.

"Amazing!" He shrieks. "Kota! You've improved so much since I first started teaching you contemporary. I'm so proud! And Kyle, your movements have gotten so much smoother and more fluent. Amazing job, both of you."

"Thanks." Kyle and I say together then giggling.

"I have a proposal." Mr. Daniel says. I look at Kyle then back at him as he says it. "How would you two like to compete?"

"Yes!" Kyle shrieks. I bite my lip.

I had only been taking contemporary since last year. Any other type of dance whether it'd be tap, hip hop, jazz or even Pointe or Lyrical, I would've said yes, no questions asked. While Contemporary and Lyrical are similar, I feel like I need to portray more emotion in Contemporary dances.  These types of dances tell a story and I never feel that I tell it well enough.

"Kota, if you're worried about not doing well, then don't because you're amazing. Your movements are flawless." Mr. Daniel says.

"You never did anything wrong when we did it just now, I promise. If you did, you would've known because I would've said something." Kyle says.

Kyle has been my dance partner for a few months now. He's very good. Better than me actually, so he's kind of a perfectionist when it comes to duets and solos. Everyone knows him at this studio.

I look from Kyle to Mr. Daniel then sigh and nod, a small smile creeping onto my lips.

"Let's do it." I say. They cheer and hug me and I smile.

When dance is over, I head home, taking the long way. I love driving at night.

I put the window down and feel the wind on my face. It helps calm me. It helps me think. My music playing softly in the background as I drive. I've figured out a lot things during late night drives after dance.

When I get home, I walk up to the door, my phone buzzing. I pull it out of the pocket of my sweats, not even bothering to look at the caller ID.

"Hello?" I say, as I open my front door.

"Kota, are you home?" My best friend Liam asks as I toss my keys on the counter.

"Just walked through the door, what's up?" I ask, glancing at the time. 10:50.

"I really need to get out." He says. When something is really wrong, he always calls me and he always asks me to pick him up.

"What happened?" I ask, leaning on the counter in the dim light of the kitchen.

"I just... can't be at home right now. Can you please come get me?" He asks.

"Yeah. I'm leaving now." I say, picking up he keys I just threw and heading towards the door. "Be there soon." I hang up and as I'm about to walk out the door, my mom comes down.

"Hey, Kota, how was dance?" She asks. I look at the door then at her.

"It was great. Kyle and I are practicing for competition as of now." I tell her. She shrieks.