HOLAAAAA! Sorry for the very late update, my cat is sick right now :/

He's been throwing up white foam and hasn't eaten all day and I'm really worried. I booked an appointment with the vet tomorrow so hopefully he'll be okay.

Anyways, happy reading :)

Mila's POV

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to JFK International Airport. Local time is 10:55 PM and the temperature is 43 degrees. For your safety and comfort, please remain seated with your seat belt fastened until the Captain turns off the Fasten Seat Belt sign.

Thank you for flying Lufthansa Airlines and welcome to New York City."

New York City.

"Hell yes," I grinned, stretching as I stood up. My muscles were cramped as hell from sitting during the 12 hour flight.

I was sitting next to this interesting girl with electric blue hair who smelled strongly of weed. Thankfully it was the aisle seat. My carry on bag was stashed under the seat in front of me, saving time from removing it from the overhead bin.

Disembarking the plane took a solid 30 minutes. My mistake for sitting in the middle. Adam and Ajax were already outside waiting for me, both of them got seats in the front.

"Hey, long time no see," Ajax grinned, his dimple making an appearance.

"Haha, very funny," I rolled my eyes, a grin on my lips. His green eyes darted around, shining with excitement. He would never admit it, but he was eager to get out and explore the city.

While we were in the waiting area back in Berlin, Ajax told me NYC was on his bucket list ever since he was a kid.

His father was always going on business trips there, but never took Ajax along with him.

"Are you ready for the hustle and bustle?" Adam asked as we finished getting through customs.

"No..." he trailed off uncertainly.

Oh boy. He's so not ready for this.

Now everyone from North America could guess what New York was sort of like. But Ajax had never been out of Europe. He bounced back and forth between Switzerland, Austria, and Germany.

America on the other hand... dirty.

New York City... dirty as fuck.

No offense, just being honest.

"Okay we need to get a taxi," Adam said, "Mila you can help with that."

"Are you sure she's capable of hailing a cab?" Ajax asked, playfully nudging my shoulder.

"Oh sure, throw me under the bus. And are you doubting my abilities?" I retorted, rolling my eyes.

We rolled our suitcases towards the taxi stand.

The hotel we booked was right near the World Trade Center. The Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown.

Five star.

Damn, I can pretend I'm rich.

Bow down peasants.

It took 3 minutes to get a cab.

The driver was in a bad mood.

I mean, you chose to have this job. Don't take it out on me.

"Woah," Ajax breathed. I turned to look at him as he stared out the window, his mouth open in awe. There was a clear view of the Statue of Liberty across the water as we crossed the bridge.

"It's nice right?" I asked, bumping his shoulder.

"It's actually green," he remarked and a laughed lightly.

"Why is everything so big?" he muttered, his eyes glued to the view.

That's what she said. HA. Maybe I should become a standup comedian.

"Wait till you see Times Square," I added, and he whipped around to look at me in excitement.

He's soooo gonna have a field day.

--------------------------------------------

"You should've worn the pink outfit," Lena pouted. I huffed, sending her a glare even though she couldn't see very well on FaceTime. That shit was blurry as hell sometimes.

"Well, I hate pink."

"I hate you."

"Ugh, the pink one was weiiiird. This one's nicer," I said, glancing in the mirror at the green top and black leggings.

The pink dress Lena picked out was frilly with feathers and I didn't think it matched the song or the choreography.

"Fine, don't listen to me."

"Stop telling me what to do," I snarked and she stuck her tongue out at me.

Fuck being good I'm a bad bitch. I'm sick of mfs tryna tell me how to live

"Sure, whatever. Also that picture of Ajax with false lashes on is hilarious," she laughed.

"I warned him!" I laughed, remembering how I managed to stick false lashes on Ajax while he was sleeping on our last night in Munich.

I told Adam my idea to prank him and he was so down, he even called me to remind me. We both tried to be as quiet as possible when stuck them on at 2 in the morning.

He wasn't very happy when he got up.

"Bro, I feel like my eyelids are glued shut. Mila! Did you glue my eyelids shut?!" he had exclaimed in panic.

"No you dipshit, they're just heavy at first," I rolled my eyes.

"Get them offfff!" he groaned.

"Just rip them off."

"What? Then my real lashes are gonna get ripped off."

"Mmmm that's not how it works."

"I swear Mila, if I have bald eyelids I'm going to lose my shit," he warned.

Oooh scary.

"Alright well, I think you need to go," Lena pointed out and cursed under my breath.

"Oh shit, you're right. Okay I'll call you in a bit," I said, waving to her.

"Alright, good luck!"

I quickly ended the call and grabbed my pass before banging on the other door.

"Calm down woman! I'm coming," I heard Adam call, his footsteps padding to the door.

"Ever heard of knocking?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at me.

"Ever heard of shutting up and dealing with it?" I shot back, raising a brow.

"Let's go children," Ajax sighed, ushering the two of us out the door.

"How are we feeling?" Adam asked after we checked in.

"Nervous, but I have a good feeling about this one," I replied, energy buzzing through me.

This was the most important performance that we'd ever done. Even more than the nationals final routine.

This would be the make it or break it for them.

According to the math they'd done the night before, they needed to score above a 95 in order to advance to the final.

"We'll be fine," Ajax nodded, gently running a hand over my ponytail.

Then he tugged it.

So I stomped on his foot.

-------------------------------------------------------

Third Person's POV

"I should've known you would do that," Ajax sighed, shaking his foot.

"Boohoo," Mila pouted sarcastically.

Adam smacked his forehead. How did he end up with these two children.

They were like the last two braincells trying to cooperate, but failing miserably.

"Why is this always so nerve wracking," Mila sighed, cracking her knuckles.

"I know, I wish it weren't so stressful," Ajax replied.

"Good luck you two," a girl smiled as they hurried off stage.

"Thanks," the two dancers replied, waving to the duo dressed in bright red. A small flag attached to their shoulders indicating their representation of China.

"Here we go," Mila breathed, linking her pinkie with Ajax's. This routine's choreo was different from what they usually did. It involved a lot of floorwork which they didn't typically do.

Both Mila and Ajax had spent hours one weekend combing through footage of previous dance winners. It would help if they did their homework and knew what the judges were looking for.

What they learned was that all the winning duets broadened their horizons and attempted different dance styles. Mila had a feeling they wouldn't be very comfortable in something like jazz or ballet so she decided to do a mix of things.

So instead she decided to just go with the flow and make the dance around the storyline.

Hopefully it would be diverse enough to give them a boost.

Ajax wasn't surprised when Mila immediately insisted on changing the choreography to develop the storyline. He knew she took the judges constructive criticism to heart.

He didn't mind the last minute change. He would do anything to have her contempt.

^Dance above - Josh Killacky and Jade Chynoweth - GREED

As they stood, Mila could feel her face heating up.

The rope felt rough under her finger tips. She shared one last look with Ajax before laying on the cool stage.

I need to shower right after this.

Goosebumps appeared on her skin at his touch and she prayed he wouldn't notice.

Oh shit, here comes the body role. Don't screw up Mila, you can do this.

Mila gave herself a mini pep talk before the move, making sure she didn't mess up.

Ajax held his breath, he knew she had a hard time with this. A smile tugged at his lips as she executed it perfectly.

Oh fuck.

It took Mila all the control in her body to keep from laughing out loud. She had accidently kicked Ajax harder than necessary in the chest. One could tell he was slightly winded and she felt a little bad.

Just as quick as it began, their performance was over.

"Jesus Mila, you could've kicked a little lighter," Ajax whispered under his breath as they faced away from the crowd.

"Sorry, it wasn't my top priority," she whispered back as they bowed, standing side by side.

"I take back what I said about the lack of storyline," the judge spoke immediately.

"Everything about this was incredible. The music, the mood, the choreography- everything was amazing. But the story, wow. Did you choreograph this yourself?"

"Yes," Mila nodded, her cheeks turning pink.

"Well done, I'm impressed," he nodded and the two dancers thanked him. Mila glanced over at me, her eyes shining.

"I agree, that was very impressive," another judge smiled, this time she wore a green lace hat with orange lipstick. She reminded Mila of Effie Trinket from Hunger Games.

"The rope, that was a very smart addition to the piece. Both of your facial expressions also expressed the emotion and internal battle which I thought was really important. Good job you two!"

"Thank you!"

The duo hurried off stage and as soon as they were out of the sight, Mila pulled Ajax into a hug.

"I can't believe we fucking pulled that off!" she exclaimed, bouncing on her toes.

"I didn't expect it to go that well," Ajax grinned, watching the brunette's excitement.

He could smell the rose scented perfume that left him with a dull sense of longing. He just wished he could kiss her. A hug was nice, but a kiss would've been better.

"Mila, I ha-"

"That. Was. AMAZING!" Adam cheered, giving Mila a double highfive.

"I know right! I never imagined they would be that impressed," she chattered, following Adam as he led them out of the backstage area.

As she rambled on, Adam's gaze flickered back to Ajax. He tried to catch the brunettes gaze, but his green eyes were focused on Mila.

When his eyes finally met his, Adam raised a brow at him.

He shook his head and waved him off.

He caused the problem, and he would have to be the one to fix it. Only time was running out.