Hi munchkins! Thank you for the kind messages for my cat, I really appreciate it. He's doing much better now and I'm going to go pick him up in a bit. 

Thank you for 5K votes!! Y'all that's so crazy I never thought I would ever even have more than 5K reads.

I hope you guys like this chapter heehee🥰

Ajax's POV

Our eyes were fixated on the screen, watching the two dancers gracefully moving across the stage. 

Their dance was a lot more technique oriented than skill compared to ours. They also had a unique storyline that showed emotion. 

"Shit, we're so screwed," Mila mumbled, a horrified look on her face 

I had to admit, they were good. Really good. 

"Hey, you never know. They might not be looking for those specifics," I suggested, wrapping my arm around her shoulder. 

"Sure, sure Ajax. As if they wouldn't," she rolled her eyes. 

Ok red alert, she's mad. 

"I freaking had a feeling this would happen," she groaned, pressing her hands against her eyes. 

"Mila relax, whatever happens happens," Carson's mother said. She sent me a reassuring smile which I returned. 

"I don't believe we've met, I'm Ajax," I stuck out my hand and she shook it. 

"I've heard quite a lot about you. Nice to meet you," she said, a warm tone to her voice. 

That's good right?

That means she likes me- I think. 

"Alright how about we go get some snacks and then come back by 10 to see the results," Adam suggested, trying to be optimistic. 

I glanced over at Mila who was oddly silent now. I could tell she was internally panicking. 

"Hey, stop overthinking it," I spoke, interrupting her thoughts. Her lips were turned down in a frown and I poked her cheek. 

She glared at me but couldn't help the smile that made its way onto her face. 

"There's that smile," I grinned, and she pushed my hand away. 

"I hate you sometimes," she sighed, wrapping her arms around my waist. 

Now all we had to do was wait. 

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Third Person's POV

"How much loooongerrrrr?" Mila groaned, anxiously bouncing her leg. 

"They're slower than that sloth in Zootopia," Jessica grumbled, leaning back against the wall. 

"The one at the DMV?" Ajax asked, chuckling in amusement. 

"Yeah that one," she nodded. 

They had been waiting for almost an hour just wasting away. All of them had gone to the café across the street and gotten coffee and something to eat. 

Mila felt like throwing up everything she had consumed.

The TV screen finally changed and the chatter in the room died down. Only to start up again when the stage manager said they would have to wait 10 more minutes. 

"Ughhhh, why. is. it. taking. so. long," she complained, bumping her head on Ajax's shoulder. 

In any other scenario he would've laughed and pushed her away, but he was too nervous to say anything. His body was tense and his palms were sweaty. 

Something told him losing would be more devastating to Mila than it would be to him.

After what felt like hours, the screen finally changed again. 

The analytical scores showed up on screen. 

Mila&Ajax: 

Creativity: 98
Technique:92
Storyline: 89
Presentation: 97

TOTAL: 94

Leva&Dimitri:

Creativity: 92
Technique: 96
Storyline: 97
Presentation: 91

TOTAL: 94

"What the fuck?" Mila blurted, her eyes skimming over the totals. 

"I'm confused."

"Same."

Everyone stared at the screen, dumbfounded. 

"As you can see," the announcer began, "the scores for the upper division are tied. This means that there is a draw."

"What?" Adam whispered, voicing everyone's thoughts. They all had thoroughly perplexed expressions on their faces. 

"The judges have realized that a minute and a half is not enough time for these two teams to showcase their talents. As a draw has resulted, there will be a rematch in three days time."

Murmurs erupted from the crowd and the two dancers felt a spark of hope. 

"Wait, does that mean we didn't lose?" Mila asked. 

"Looks like it. I think you guys have another chance," Adam said, a smile on his face. 

"Hollllly shit, that was way too close," she sighed, slumping back in her chair. 

"So we have three days?" Ajax asked, turning to look at the stage manager who came over to them. 

"Yes, three days to come up with a new routine to perform. This time there will still be a minute time limit."

"What why?"

"Hey, don't as me. I'm just telling you what I was told," the man said, raising his hands in surrender. 

"That's stupid," Adam blurted and everyone agreed. 

"Anyways, the tie-breaker will be on the 30th at 9 am."

That left only two whole days to plan an entire choreography. 

Mila glanced over at the Russian team. 

They didn't look worried at all. 

Something told her they already had a backup routine planned. 

"Fuck me," Mila sighed, running a hand over her face .

Ajax was about to make a comment, but held himself back. He didn't want to risk being murdered when Mila was stressed. 

"We have two days. Two days! How the hell are we supposed to do an entire routine in two days??"

"We'll figure it out," Adam reassured, trying to get her to relax. 

The group made their way out of the theater and headed back to the hotel. 

Adam insisted the two dancers rest for a day and not worry themselves sick. 

Ajax and Mila were in Mila's room and he suggested they watch a movie. Mila liked watching movies and he hoped it would help get her mind off things. 

But he was worried as well. 

How were they supposed to come up with an entire routine from scratch in two days? And perfect it?

Halfway through watching Coco, Ajax could tell Mila was zoned out. She leaned against his shoulder, her gaze on the white linen sheets that covered their legs. Her hair tickled the skin on his neck as she shifted closer to him. He sighed, grabbing the remote and shutting off the TV. 

"You wanna brainstorm?"

Mila's head snapped up and she nodded eagerly. That would give her some peace, knowing she was at least working on the issue. 

"Song, we need to choose a song."

"How about we choose a theme first. For the storyline."

"Uh okay. Any ideas?" Mila asked. 

"We've done romance too many times," Ajax said, leaning back against the headboard. 

"You're right," Mila nodded. She bit her lip, deep in thought. 

Only problem was, it distracted Ajax. His gaze lingered on her lips. Her eyes snapped up to his and he quickly looked away, his heart racing. .

"I have an idea," she said quietly. 

"Mhm, go ahead," he nodded. 

"There's one routine that's good enough for the finals. It might give us a win."

"Alright, let's do it then," Ajax said, relief flooding through him. He moved to get up, stopping when he noticed Mila's uneasy expression. 

"What's wrong?" he asked. 

"It's the routine I was going to do with Carson before..." she trailed off. 

"Oh. Sorry, I didn't know," he said quietly and she shook her head in dismissal. 

"We should do it," she said. 

"We should," Ajax nodded. 

"Let's do it," Mila agreed firmly, a small smile on her lips. 

They managed to clear the arm chairs in the room and make space for practice. 

Ajax listened attentively as Mila explained the dance, showing him the moves. He was surprised she remembered it a year later. Unlike him, she didn't have goldfish memory. It took them nearly an hour to learn most of the choreo. That gave them two days to perfect it. 

"I'm so tired," Mila groaned, falling face forward onto the bed. 

"I'm tireder," Ajax replied, his voice muffled by the sheets. 

Mila smirked mischievously, quickly sitting on his back. Ajax let out an 'oof' and Mila glared at the back of his head. 

"Are you calling me fat?"

"No, you just squashed me," he complained. 

"Shut up or I'll jump on you," she warned. 

His muscles tensed as she ran her hands through his hair. 

"Damn, why are you so stiff?" she asked, feeling his shoulder muscles. 

"Hm, I don't know maybe because I have a whole human being sitting on me," Ajax replied sarcastically. 

Her hands for once weren't ice cold as they massaged his shoulders. Butterflies erupted in her stomach when he let out a groan.

"That feels really good."

"I know it does," Mila smirked.

A gasp left her lips as she found herself on her back, staring up at his green eyes. 

"Are you getting smart with me?" he demanded playfully, trying to keep a straight face. 

"No sir," she replied innocently, batting her lashes. 

His eyes darkened and his grip on her hips tightened. Mila felt her stomach tighten and she found herself holding her breath. Her eyes widened when she felt him leaning closer. 

She was pretty sure her heart completely stopped when his lips brushed against hers. Her breath hitched at the jolt of electricity that ran through her body. 

"What am I doing?" she thought to herself, pushing a hand gently against his chest. 

"Ajax I-"

"Sorry," he quickly moved away from her, standing up from the bed. 

"No, I'm sorry. I'm just not ready after..."

"It's okay. I understand," he nodded sympathetically. He could tell by the troubled look in her eyes that she meant it. 

"I'll wait for you Mila. I hope you know that," Ajax said quietly. 

Mila looked up at him, warmth filling her chest. 

That's all she needed to hear.