Chapter 5
Ariel's Point of View
The next morning, my eyes fluttered open, and I looked around the room lit by the bright, rising sun. I rolled over and then sat up so that my legs dangled over the cold, wood floor. Slowly, I cracked nearly every bone in my body as I stood up.
I listened to the clicking sounds that I had become accustomed to hearing every single morning. First, my toes cracked, then the bones in my feet and my ankles. Then, my hips cracked with a loud "Click!" as I slowly lifted each leg. My knuckles. Click! Click! My wrists. Click! My shoulders. Click! And then finally, my neck. Click! Click! I sighed with relief as I collapsed onto my bed again.
"Okay, that was disgusting. But, at the same time, it was kind of cool." A voice from the other side of the room startled me. I jumped out of bed with a loud gasp. I still wasn't used to having a roommate.
"Julie, you gave me a heart attack!" I exclaimed.
"Sorry, Bone Bitch. But if we want to get to class on time we should probably get moving." she advised. I shook my head.
I took a quick shower before changing into my pink tights and purple leotard, the designated color for girls in their first year of the school. Then, I combed my hair and put it in a neat, tight bun on top of my head and grabbed my bag.
"Wait! Aren't you going to wait for me so we can walk to class together?" Julie asked.
"I'm only waiting for thirty more seconds, so I suggest you get yourself together." I said quite coldly. Well, I wasn't going to stand there forever. She ran out the door with an energy bar in her mouth, while she did her hair in the messiest bun I had ever seen someone wear to ballet class.
"So, do you do that weird click thing every morning?" she asked me as we walked towards the school. I rolled my eyes and nodded.
"I guess that's what happens when you take at least three hours of ballet six or seven days every week from the age of three." I laughed. She looked quite shocked.
"I'm not kidding, I dance every day for hours. Exams are only seventy five days away and I want a scholarship." I said, she only stared at the building this time.
"Anyway, this year is going to be great. I can just tell already." I said, smiling.
***
Harry's Point of View
I slowly opened my eyes, waiting for them to adjust to the bright rays of light entering the room through the blinds. I remembered where I was and smiled, feeling the need to pinch myself. This was a dream come true. I had a feeling the fact that I had gotten into my dream school would never fully sink in.
"Why are you so happy, squirt?" Niall said in his thick Irish accent from the other side of the room. I cringed at his choice in nicknames for me.
"Just thinking," I answered quietly as I placed my glasses on my face.
"Is it about a girl?" Niall questioned. "You do like girls, right?" he called back with a snort. I rolled my eyes.
"Yes, I do like girls. Just no girl in particular yet." I answered.
"I can give you some advice, since it's your first day," Niall offered. "I mean if you want me to, that is," he added once he saw my shocked expression. I nodded, attempting to suppress the grin playing on my features. He had actually been quite nice to offer his help, especially to a guy like me.
"Well, first of all, have at least a little confidence in yourself. I was in the building, and I decided to watch your audition the other day, to see how good you actually are. To be honest, your technique isn't that bad. Just show some confidence. Even if you have no idea what you're doing, just make it look like you do, and you'll be fine." I was taken aback after hearing this. He watched my audition, gave me advice, and even complimented my dancing. A compliment from someone like Niall is gold.
"Another thing you definitely need to work on is strength. Come over here." I jumped out of bed to join Niall near the door.
"By the looks of your arms, you've got a little bit of muscle on you, but only a little bit will get you nowhere when you take pas de deux. You need to get stronger so that you can do the tough lifts that they're gonna throw at you this year." I looked down at my arms and frowned. I felt embarrassed, like I hadn't been working hard enough.
"And if you ever want a girlfriend, I'd suggest getting some contacts or jeans or something. And most importantly, don't look as if you're about to shit your pants when a girl talks to you. Good luck, Harry." he said, handing me my clothes and pushing me out the door. He then slammed the door behind me, leaving me in shock because of what had just happened.
I ran to the bathroom and showered quickly. Then, I put on the plain white shirt, black tights, and black pants that they force us to wear to class every day. I put my glasses back on, did my hair, and ran to catch up with the other first year boys.
Luckily, there were about twelve of us walking to class, so none of the "popular" boys really noticed I was there. Once we reached the building where the studios were, the group split up. I then realized that not all of them were in the same grade as me. That left me with three of the boys. I realized how stupid I was to follow them around and I gasped. One of the boys seemed to hear, but chose to ignore me instead of confronting me. I sighed in relief quietly to myself.
When we reached the end of the long hallway, one of the boys turned around and looked right at me. My heart jumped into my throat as he examined me for what seemed like an eternity.
"Hey," he greeted. I gave him a weak smile and a nod. "What's your name?" he finally asked me. I gulped.
"I'm Harry Styles." I answered, trying to remember what Niall told me about having confidence.
"Well, Harry Styles, I'm Connor. That's Sean, and that's Jake. Why don't you hang out with us today?"
If I wasn't leaning on the wall, I probably would have fainted. First, Niall gives me advice and complements me, and now this? This must have been my lucky day.
"Sure!" I said almost too excitedly as we walked into the studio.
Act cool Harry. Act cool, for once in your life. I scolded myself as I looked around the studio, trying to find at least one familiar face. I was unsuccessful.
We started stretching at the barre, and I pretended to know what they were talking about. One would say a name, and they all would give an opinion on that person. Slowly, I caught on. They were talking about girls who I assumed were in our grade, and then "rating" her on a scale of one to ten.
"Emily Matthew." Connor said, ruffling his light brown hair.
"An absolute ten. Bloomin' hot, and I reckon she's loads of fun, know what I mean?" Jake chuckled. No, I didn't "know what he means" at all. Sean did, though, and he high-fived him with a smirk.
Connor shrugged and I followed his lead. I could tell he was the leader of this little "group" so I made sure to try to act like him in order to fit in. After a few rounds of the game, however, I grew tired of how disgusting they were being and stopped listening.
''Okay, this is a good one. Julie Woods." Jake said, earning a chuckle from both Connor and Jake. That name made me instantly turn around.
"I'd say she's a seven or eight. A little crazy, but she's pretty hot!" Sean answered. Surprisingly, that assessment earned a chuckle from me. I started to think about our conversation that had taken place the night before.
"What do you think of her, Harry? We saw she made you dance with her at auditions." Connor said to me, and I felt my face turn red. What did I actually think of her? I didn't really look at her in that way.
I was careful with how I answered their question, not wanting to offend or objectify a woman. My mum taught me better than that. I finally decided to try to act cool like them and just say that she was pretty.
All of their eyes got wide and the three of them exchanged looks. I was about to ask what I had said to make them react like that when the teachers walked in and the room grew silent.
"Good morning, and welcome to first year." Ms. Scott, the ballet teacher for the girls, said as everyone turned to face her.
"While most ordinary people your age are studying at more traditional schools and getting ready for university, you are here. Doing something quite extraordinary, might I add. You will be working harder than you've ever imagined, six days a week, for three years." said Mr. Kelly, the ballet teacher for boys.
"Throughout this year, you will be assessed in different styles of dance. You will study jazz, contemporary and hip hop in addition to solos, repertoire and pas de deux, as well as classical ballet." Ms. Scott explained in her stern voice, which made the other students look like they either wanted to jump for joy or jump off a bridge. I was excited, however. I couldn't wait for such intense ballet training to begin.
Our first ever class at the academy consisted of about half an hour of barre work, before another half hour of practicing skills while travelling across the room. The next hour was spent practicing choreography to a song from Swan Lake. Not that simple, yet not excruciatingly difficult. It was a perfect first class. This day could not get any better.
*****
Ariel's Point of View
Our first class at the academy went perfectly. I found it quite simple, although others struggled with certain steps from time to time. Even though the first month is usually a review of what we have learned in previous years, that didn't mean it was my time to slack off. The teachers were always watching.
At lunch time, I went outside and ate my lunch which consisted of salad and water while e-mailing my mother about my first day. I was in the middle of telling her about my teachers when someone pulled up a chair next to me.
"Hey, babe." a boy with a strong Irish accent spoke. I didn't even bother to look up at him.
"Hello, Niall. What're you doing over here?" I said, busy with telling my mother everything that had happened today.
"I saw you sitting here alone, and thought I should join you. I'll keep you company." he returned.
"Thanks, but I really don't need you to-"
"Oh stop, babe. Now, tell me all about your first day!" he interrupted, closing my laptop. I scoffed.
"It was fine until you started bothering me." I snapped. He laughed loudly, surely drawing everyone's attention to us.
"You'll come around eventually." he teased. I rolled my eyes.
"Sure I will." I said quite sarcastically.
"Anyways, babe, I have to go to class. I'll see you later." he winked. I didn't know how to respond, so I furrowed my eyebrows at him as he sauntered away.
By the time I finished composing and sending my e-mail, it was almost one o' clock. I went back to the studio and got ready for contemporary, my next class. I saw Julie run up to me with an indescribable look on her face.
"So how was your little lunch date with my boyfriend?" she demanded, leaving me speechless.
Harry's Point of View
The next morning, I woke up to the sound of two people shouting. I rolled over, and put on my glasses. Instantly, my vision was much clearer and I could tell that Julie and Niall were standing in the middle of the room.
"I don't mean to interrupt, but why is she here and why are you arguing?" I asked Niall who was scowling.
"Because she likes annoying me," he mumbled. She scoffed, hitting the side of his arm. I stared at the two blondes as Julie's anger visibly grew. For the first time, I actually didn't want to be in Niall's shoes.
I stood by as Niall's facial expression became more and more annoyed while she yelled at him. From what I gathered from their argument, they were dating, or at least were at some point. She had caught him cheating multiple times, and she then told him to go to hell as she stormed out of the room.
"She is crazy, we're definitely over this time!" Niall repeated over and over again, tugging at his blonde hair.
However, within ten minutes she was back inside the room, sitting on his lap as he watched a football match on our television. Slightly disgusted and extremely confused, I decided that it was time to get ready for class.
When I got back to the room after visiting the bathroom to shower, two boys around Niall's age were lying on the beds. They seemed familiar, and I recognized them as Niall's best friends, Liam and Louis. Looking around, I noticed that Julie was gone and I started getting nervous.
"Is this Harry? The kid you were telling us about?" the boy with short brown hair and brown eyes who I believed was Liam stood up to ask Niall. Niall nodded, and Liam (or maybe Louis) smiled warmly at me. He definitely looked friendly, but I was still intimidated by him.
"So, tell me Harry, are you going to play the girl part or the boy part in pas de deux?" the second boy, with messy light brown hair and blue eyes questioned, making them all erupt in laughter. I assumed that he was Louis.
Ouch. That hurt a little.
"Wear your tutu!" he exclaimed.
"Mate, tell them it's not funny." I begged Niall.
"Mate?" Niall questioned with a chuckle. "You and me, we'll never be friends."
Okay, that hurt more than just a little.
Before I could even think about what I wanted to do next the door opened, revealing Julie.
"I came back because I left my bag here, and I hear you teasing Harry? You guys really should stop being jerks!" she screamed and pulled me into the hallway with her. The boys all stared at her in shock.
"By the way, even if Harry did play the girl part, he'd still be twice the man that you are!" she argued, pointing at Louis before slamming the door behind us. And for the second day in a row, I stood in the hallway in complete shock, wondering what had just happened.
Author's Note
After nearly two years, I've made the decision to post a few chapters that I had written before I stopped updating. I kinda just wanna see if there's any type of response to this so please, please, please let me know if you enjoyed it and want me to continue this story!
Thank you so so much for reading!
All the love. H. (aka Hayley)