In ten minutes, I'll be up there, on the stage, to perform my solo.
If I get first, I get one thousand dollars for my studio.
If I get one thousand dollars for my studio, I get free dance lessons for a month.
And with that, my family can save enough money to improve my brother's health.
"Eden?" Kennedy, one of the girls on my team, turned to me as I fixed my hair into a loose bun. My teacher planned for my hair to fall out in the middle of the routine, and I'll have to use hairography or whatever it was called. I shuddered at the thought of whipping my hair back and forth like Willow Smith or something.
"Yes?" I replied, snapping out of my thoughts.
"You need to get backstage, and quickly." she warned, twisting her dark hair up into a flirty bun.
"Oh, thank you." I smiled warmly at her.
I pulled on my tan jazz shoes, fixed my simple but stunning costume, and asked my team and their moms for their opinion on how I looked. After getting their approval and the final approval from my teacher, I was escorted by Casey's mom, Mrs. Collins, to the hallway that led to the back of the stage. Usually my mom took me, but she couldn't make it, since she was taking care of my brother.
When I reached the destination, Mrs. Collins bid adieu and wished me luck before joining the rest of the group in the audience. My stomach was fluttering, so I did a couple of front aerials and High School Musical-style jumps down the locker-lined hallway to calm my nerves a bit. Luckily, this competition was held at a preppy private school, which meant that the stage won't be too slippery. I was mentally running the choreography in my head whilst pacing around in an absentminded fashion.
Then I bumped into something hard. Instead of toppling over like I expected to, a pair warm, strong arms slid around my bare waist and pulled me back onto my feet. I turned around, coming face-to-face with an amazingly handsome guy with dark brown hair and amazingly bright blue eyes.
"You okay?" the stranger spoke. He wore only a pair of shorts that came to his mid-thigh. A pair of jazz shoes enveloped his feet, and all of his muscles were highlighted with bronzer. He carried a can of hairspray and a brush in one hand.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I said breathlessly, my face growing hot.
"You competing?" He asked. His bright electric-blue eyes pierced into my warm caramel-colored ones and my stomach fluttered. This is new...
"Obviously." I replied, trying to sound as casual as possible, "Are you?" It was a good thing that my heavy makeup hid my blush.
"Well, I'm not shirtless for nothing."
I smiled and let out a small laugh, "Good point."
"So...what division are you competing in?" He asked. I stood there awkwardly as I watched his eyes rake over my body.
"The one for old people." I joked.
"Sixteen to eighteen?" he asked, tearing his eyes away from me. He started sculpting his hair into an asymmetrical fohawk and heavily misting it with hairspray.
I nodded, stopping my gaze from falling onto his abs. He was muscular, but not freakishly bulky. He definitely had either the same or more muscle mass then Zach and Nathan, but he was much more slender and, well, perfect. At least in my opinion.
"You're my competition then."
"You're going down." I challenged flirtatiously.
"Not really." He smirked. Oh God, that was one sexy damn smirk.
A loud voice echoed out of the public announcement speakers that were attached to ceiling.
"Next up is entry number fifty-three, 'Diminish', danced by Eden Rose from Allie Claire's!"
"That's me." I muttered, walking up the steps to that led to the stage. I took a deep breath before entering the doorway that separated the stage and the stranger.
"Point your feet and turn out, Ms. Rose." he said smoothly, checking me out again. I was about to stop him, but didn't, since I'd be a hypocrite if I did.
I saw him wink at me before I artfully walked to center stage, transitioning into my beginning pose. I silently reminded myself to not think about him but my brother while I performed.
The music started and I began to dance. The choreography flowed out of me easily, and I tried my best to act it out whilst pulling the audience in. I kicked, I turned, and I kept my feet pointed, a flexed when I was told to and did everything else that my teacher taught me to do. All thoughts, cares, and worries left my body as I executed my dance.
When I finished, my hair fanned out around me. The only sound I heard was silence. It was quickly broken when someone stood up and clapped. The cheering spreaded and a wave of excitement washed over me, and I tried my best to hide it. I walked off the stage in a mournful style to add a finishing touch to my performance.
When I got down the steps, I felt a pair of muscular arms envelop me in a bear hug.
"That was beautiful!" the male dancer exclaimed in a mawkish tone. He faked crying and wiped an invisible tear off his face. I couldn't help but notice that his eyes were brighter than ever. I smiled and thanked him gratefully, trying to hide my embarrassment and enjoyment of his touch.
"Eden!" I heard Isabelle's voice ring out from the hallway. I jerked my head around and saw her with a sly grin erupting onto her face. The stranger and I quickly stepped away from each other, blushing furiously when we saw her eyebrows wag suggestively at us.
"You guys look suspicious." She taunted, tapping her chin.
"We weren't doing anything." I honestly said. I looked over at him for his approval.
"What are you talking about? I'm pretty sure that we were making out five seconds ago!" He protested, "I thought we had something, Eden!"
"You're impossible." I muttered, rolling my eyes at him and shaking my head.
"Your kisses are impossibly experienced."
"Dude, shut up! Nothing happened!" I slapped his shoulder.
"I'm going to figure out eventually." Isabelle said, stroking her nonexistent beard. I saw her gaze shift to his abs. Her face instantly lit up.
"Abs! You have abs!" She exclaimed, clutching her hands to her head.
The stranger gave her a weird look and quickly, though unsuccessfully, covered his stomach.
"Don't look! I'm half-naked!" He whined in an immature tone of voice.
She burst out laughing, and the fit of laughter obviously weakened her knees. Isabelle abruptly gripped my shoulders for support, almost making me fall, too. I steadied her and turned to the stranger.
"She's obsessed with male muscles. Don't mind her." I said, fighting a smile.
"Maybe it's because I'm hot or something." He said, smirking that one sexy smirk of his.
"Or a cocky narcissist." I muttered under my breath. He obviously heard it, but couldn't respond because the public announcement speaker made another announcement.
"Next up is 'Pyromaniac' danced by Elliot Skye from SunCatchers Dance Studio!" It bellowed.
While he walked up the stairs, I allowed my best friend to drag me away to the prep room. I kept trying to throw quick glances over my shoulder, hoping to catch another glimpse of those electric-blue eyes.
"Who's the guy?" she asked, smiling sheepishly at me.
"Someone I ran into before I got onstage."
"You shouldn't be hugging strangers." she said with a wink.
"Actually, it happens that he hugged me first." I corrected.
"I never thought that high school guys dance." Isabelle said, pondering to herself, "They usually quit and join football or basketball or something."
"Well, apparently, they do." I said. I had to agree with her. At our studio, the male population was larger within the younger classes. However, when it comes to the middle-schoolers, they seem to be extinct. I suspect bullying.
Isabelle stopped in front of one of the classroom doors and pushed it open, dragging me in.
I immediately felt five bodies pressed against mine in a group embrace. I smiled as I recognized Casey, Kennedy, Andrea, Hannah and Madison, or the rest of the girls in my group. They were all wearing their costumes for the group number. We've been dancing on the same team since we were nine and were basically sisters.
"Hurry up and change!" Hannah exclaimed, placing my costume into my hands. I put it aside.
"Do I have to put bronzer on?" I asked, securing my hair in a flirty bun.
"Duh! It's beach-themed!" Andrea answered. She stuck a few pins in my hair, securing it.
"Dammit, I hate that stuff." I said, walking towards the changing curtains.
"Just hurry!" the girls said impatiently.
I quickly stripped off the crop top and shorts that I was wearing and put on a simple white bandeau and bikini bottoms. I usually wore that outfit whenever I put makeup on my body. Afterwards, I reached out and took a container of bronzer from a table nearby. Groaning, I started dusting my legs with it. All of us hated the smell and effort of getting fake tans, so we switched to applying bronzer on our skin, and even darker bronzer to accentuate our muscles. I finished the legs and started dusting the makeup on my arms, covering every inch of it, then realized that I needed someone to put it on the hard-to-reach areas.
"Isabelle!" I called, peeking out of the curtains, "Put bronzer on my back!"
"Sure." she replied, getting up from her splits and rushing towards me.
After my whole body was covered, I changed into my costume. It was simple, but flirty and not too inappropriate. After redoing my makeup and stretching, I walked with the girls and my teacher to the back of the stage, bracing myself for the performance. Ms. Claire pulled the girls into a circle for a quick pep talk.
"All right, girlies. This is it. You guys are all amazing people with amazing dance skills with amazing personalities. For this number, you have three goals." She said, looking at all of us expectantly. The loud, bellowing voice from the speakers invited us onstage to perform our dance. Ms. Claire cleared her throat before continuing, "One: act flirty and fun. Two: devour the audience. Three: win."
And with that, my team and I strutted onstage.
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I can't believe that I forgot about this story. Wow, I feel stupid. So here's the next update!
I feel like dedicating this chapter to the reader who reminded me...it meant a lot. It felt great, and it motivated me to write like my life depended on it. Thank you so much!
So, guys...comment? Please? I know I sound a bit desperate, but I really want to finish this and it's hard to do it when I'm not getting any feedback/constructive criticism. I feel like my chapters are a bit too short, but...just tell me how I'm doing and what I can fix and give me your opinion. (: