Becoming Anne Again

Chapter Sixty-Six (Part Two)

A/N So here it is. I didn't really end up doing much editing, so I'm putting this out anyway. I love you all, and thanks for sticking with me!

The dance studio felt stifling when Anne walked in. Her bun, which was usually meticulously pulled together, was uneven, strands falling out because of the shaking fingers that had made it. She clutched her bag a little tighter, dropping to the floor and keeping her eyes and mind fixed on the task at hand. Slip one finger through her shoelaces, loosen, pull the lip of the shoe out, take foot out, repeat—the problem was, the process didn't take very long, and she started flexing her bare feet with nothing else to do.

She was excited to go back to dance—really and truly. Something about returning to any sense of normalcy was in and of itself intoxicating, but the questions? Not so much.

Then again, it was largely unsettling that she hadn't been bombarded with questions yet—namely in the form of Chloe. She frowned, standing up and looking around the studio. In fact, she hadn't seen Chloe or any of the other girls at all. She wasn't early, but she didn't really think about it until she was done stretching. There were tots running around in frilly ballet practice dresses, and moms trying to wrestle their kids down long enough to fix their bun, but other than that it was largely empty.

Frowning, she got up, peeking around the room and into one of the smaller students. Her chest tightened, and cautiously, she rested her hand on the door handle of the main studio, where she and the other girl's danced. Strange. The curtains were drawn. They were never drawn.

And then she opened the door.

Her jaw dropped, and all of a sudden dozens of girls were squealing "Surprise!" and all ran over to her and surrounded her, limbs entangling as they formed a massive group hug. And then Anne was giggling too, simply for the sake of giggling, because the studio was covered in streamers and a massive banner reading Welcome back, Anne! had been hung in the middle. The entire room was a cacophony of color, and she swore there was even more sparkles than before.

"I don't know what to say," she said, her eyes wet as she laughed.

"You don't have to say anything!" Chloe said, the only girl who hadn't extracted herself from Anne. "We're just so glad you're back!"

"We really are!" Miss Kaitlyn said, and then she was over and hugging Anne too. "We were so worried about you!"

For some reason, Anne didn't feel the need to go through the usual routine of I'm fine when she wasn't, and apparently they didn't need to hear it. Instead, one of the moms walked in with a giant cake, and the girls were joining hands and singing a goofy rendition of "For she's a jolly good fellow," and then Anne couldn't help by laugh again.

"Come on," Chloe said, grabbing onto Anne's hand, "let's get some cake! It's chocolate!" she grinned, tugging her over to the table set up on the far end of the table. "My mom made it."

"She's a baker right?" Anne said, a smile finding its way onto her lips all on my own.

"Yeah!" Chloe grinned, her mom already cutting a slice of cake, while offering a smirk to Anne.

"I hope Chloe hasn't been talking your ear off," She said, winking as she slid the plate enough. This was met with an indignant groan.

"Mom!" Chloe moaned, and Anne couldn't help but smirk.

"Seriously though," Chloe's mom said, reaching out to grab Anne's hand, "we are so proud of you, and we are so glad you're back."

Anne smiled in return, and then Chloe was tugging her away to go talk her ear off some more.

It was a wonderful party. Ms. Kaitlyn ended up turning on some music, and the girls began joining hands, some genuinely dancing and others imitating cringe-worthy dance trends. Just like the school dance, it wasn't the elegant soiree that Anne had read about, but maybe this was better. She was laughing, and then she was goofily square dancing with Chloe, the two of them laughing all the way through "Ocean Eyes."

It only lasted about an hour, and then the decorations had to be moved out for the next class. Anne helped move the tables out, and Chloe's mom boxed up the cake so Anne could take it home.

It was just as Anne had finished stacking the last few chairs that Ms. Kaitlyn laid on Anne's shoulder. "Anne? Can I talk to you?"

"Oh, yeah. Thank you so much for the party," Anne said, her face lit up.

"Oh sweetie, you're so welcome," Ms. Kaitlyn said, smiling as she gently laid a hand on the side of Anne's face. "This is actually about something else. We just wanted to let you know that we've decided you can take as many classes here, free of charge. You've done so much, we want to do something for you."

For a moment, Anne couldn't properly process what she was saying, and her mouth hung open. And then it all came over her in a rush, and she started crying out of pure, unadulterated happiness. "Do you mean that?"

"Of course!" Ms. Kaitlyn said, laughing as she took Anne into her arms. "We're here for you okay?"

"Thank you," Anne choked out as she wiped away her tears. "Thank you."

"Listen, I know this is going to be hard," Ms. Kaitlyn replied, stepping back so she could take both Anne's hands in hers, "but we want this studio to be home. Whenever you need to be here, you come, okay?"

"Okay," Anne grinned.

Once upon a time she never thought she'd have a home, and now she had two.

A/N I don't really have much to say on this one, just thanks for sticking with me as always! I love you! (P.S. Anyone else take dance? I did for a very short time, and it was honestly amazing therapeutically. If you're struggling, I 100% recommend finding a physical activity you love.)