{EDITED}

Maddison Brooks

"Sorry, things got in the way." Claire said while her eyes went dreamy before she met  my gaze and the dreamy went to a smug smirk. "You must be Maddison." She noted as if she had never seen me before even if we both know that's a lie.

"Yes." I mumbled before I looked away from the blonde woman. Letting my forehead touch the floor when I leaned forward.

"Let's begin, shall we. Claire, sit down if you pull a muscle, for all I care." Cameron said; mumbling the last part under his breath, before he continued. "We will start with an easy warm up. You all have trained for it alone, I hope."

"You know what to do!" Cameron clapped his hands while I stood up from the floor. "I want Maddison and Kiron in the back while Claire and Neva I want standing in front." He said letting us take our given positions before he pushed on play.

My eyes were on the floor in front of my feet while I waited for the lyrics to start, going through the repeated short choreography in my head.

(Traitor- Olivia Rodrigo)

Brown guilty eyes and little white lies

The lyrics started as I lifted my right arm and moved it diagonally in front of my eyes before I did the same with the other and took two steps in front of me. I spun on my feet before I stood on weak knees with hands in the air before I pulled them down and to the side. 

Yeah, I played dumb but I always knew

I got out in a wide, deep position before standing up on one leg and the right back in the air before moving to my front.

That you'd talk to her, maybe did even worse

I let my right foot just touch the floor before I pushed off the floor into a spin that didn't need any concentration since I'm used to doing it more complicatedly.

I kept quiet so I could keep you

My right knee hit the floor at the same time as my elbow. Holding my left arm over my head, my left foot pointing against the floor. Then it all restarted, doing everything once again in the same way since the pulse of the song is the same all through.

•••

"Great work!" Cameron said once we were done with the warm up. "Kiron and Maddison, let's do your choreography before Neva and Claire do the same. I want to put things into place for both of you so if we have to change we will have time."

Kiron walked up next to me, who was a little out of breath for not having been exercising the past few days.

"Are you ok Maddie? Do you need to sit down for a while? Neva and Claire you start instead." Cameron said not letting me come between to answer.

"Cam I'm fine, let's go." I said annoyed. Feeling Claire's against me while I tried to get my breathing under control again. Warm up shouldn't make me this breathless, it's almost embarrassing.

"Ready?" Cameron asked, I just gave him a thumbs up; not wanting to waste my breath on forming words. Sitting down I'm on my knees while Kiron stood a few feet away from me. "Let's go." He started the music when we were ready to start.

(Unsteady- X Ambassadors)

Hold, hold on, hold onto me. Cause I'm a little unsteady

First I just moved around while I sat down on my knees letting Kiron walk against me. Without even looking I felt his movements. Without having his hands on me I pushed myself over the cold floor that rubbed against my skin where it was bare.

A little unsteady

Rolling from laying on my stomach to my back before I sat up. Grabbing Kirons outstretched hand with mine as he helped me up from the floor. Standing on the tip of my toes when he spun me around over the floor, enough to make me sissy even with many years of training spins.

Hold, hold on, hold onto me

His hands grabbed my waist with a strong grip before he lifted me up in the air. Spinning my body, relying on my friend will catch me when I move fast towards the floor. Feeling his arm under my back even if it was shaking by my weight, his knee under his arm which helped him hold me up from the floor.

Turning my body when Kirons hand started moving to get another grip so it was under my stomach. His other hand grabbed mine while I reached away from him. Spinning me around so he stood behind me

'Cause I'm a little unsteady

Feeling the warmth of his hands on my face seconds before I fell towards the side. Not flinching even if there was a chance that I might fall, dance is all about trust; no matter if it is with another person or if it's just you and your body.

Leaning back, my neck muscles strain from bearing a bit of my weight before to not fall forward. Kirons hands found my waist again as I jumped when he was right behind me, feeling him lift me up so I was higher from the floor under me.

A little unsteady

Spinning in the landing before pushing myself back without falling to the floor. Hearing Kirons low thud over the music when his back hit the floor.

Taking one step, then another; giving myself the power to jump up in the air without the help of my dance partner touching my skin. Splitting my legs in the air before I landed on one foot. Spinning slowly before I walked over Kirons body that lay on the cold floor.

Turning around, leaning back as far as I could before my friend's arm held up my back when my hands touched the floor. Almost standing on my hands with Kirons hands on my small back before he sunk me down to his body.

Sitting up in his lap, his hands wrapped around my body before we turned in different ways. The feeling of his warm back against mine while we sat on the floor for a second before the next movement started.

•••

"Great work!" Cameron said once the music stopped. My butt was against the floor while Kiron was breathing heavily behind me, showing that the choreography takes on our strengths. "You two take a break, Neva and Claire do what they did." He ordered, wanting to be effective with the hours we got today even if there is a big chance that Cameron will be pulling over the hours to work out a small mistake.

Kiron took my hand and helped me up when I felt like laying down and letting the cold floor cool down my body. Walking together to one of the benches along the wall before sitting down next to each other. "You seem tired." Kiron commented while I took a sip of water from my bottle.

"Rough days and bad nights of sleep." I grumbled while placing the bottle next to me and kept my eyes on Claire and Neva doing the same choreography as Kiron and I did earlier.

Claire had the position Kiron was in, she didn't look comfortable with it. But sometimes when you wanna reach something, you need to give up something; in Claire's point it was that she is tall and needed to take lifts instead of being lifted.

"Come on girls! Push!" Cameron yelled over the music to get more energy into their movement.

Seeing both of them start pushing themselves harder when they danced. Amused by the fact that Neva was only a reserve for the duet since she dances with such passion and technique that it warms my body into my bones.

Watching them on the dance floor in front of me, seeing all the wrong steps Claire did as if she didn't know the choreography; something that affected Neva a bit by not trusting her in the way she needs.

"Yeah, that was something..." Cameron was disappointed when Neva sat on the floor in front of Claire who stood behind her with her hands on her hips.. I saw Neva look down a bit before he continued speaking, showing that she had done as good as she could. "Neva you did amazing, just flex a tiny bit more in a few places." He said looking at her with a small smile in appreciation over her movements.

"Claire, learn the choreography." Was the only thing left he said about Claire's performance before turning his back to her. Biting down in my lip to hold back my laughter from slipping out.

"Kiron, can you work on your solo so I can look at the trio while all three girls are here?" My body pumped with excitement over doing the trio for the first time with all three of us and not just me and sometimes Cameron stepping in on some places. Kiron gave him a nod before walking to a corner while putting his headphones on.

"No pressure this time. Only try to find your way through and we will work on the details later." Cameron said when he faced us again.

I stood in the middle of the dance floor while Neva and Claire stood in the corners behind me.

(Everything Must Change- Nina Simone)

Everything must change

Looking straight forward before standing out my legs in a wide held deep position. My right arm moved out in front of me and the other one behind me before I spun and landed on the floor with my knee blended in front of me before turning so my foot was against the floor. Walking with my body low, my knees hitting the floor and my groin stretching with every deep step.

Nothing remains the same

Seeing Claire by my side when I walked backwards, dragging my legs behind me. Backing until I was further away from the front.

Everything must change

I stood up on one foot and lifted my right to the side, not all the way up to my head but just to it was a ninety degree spread while I turned around. Taking force with my arm when I turned to my side, moving towards the cold floor. Taking the floor with my hands, seeing Neva moving by my side. Rolling over the floor so i sat down on my knees.

Everyone must change

Jumping up and spreading my legs before deepening my position. Spinning slowly, walking over the floor as I tried to be quiet before I lifted my foot into Claire's hand before she lifted it above her head. Leaning forward when she realized my foot from her grasp.

No one and nothing remains the same

Claire moved under my stomach when both of my hands found the floor. Pushing off the floor, pointing my foot up in the air while I jumped over the woman below me; ignoring the urge to 'accidentally' land on her since it also could hurt me.

•••

"Let's do the group one time, I know we aren't all people but I just wanna see how you do it." Cameron said once we all had an air and water break that was much needed for all of us. "Claire and Neva, can you take on the white skirt? I wanna see how it moves during the dance, Maddie does the same but with the red short skirt. I haven't found the perfect dress for your part yet." He said while pointing at the door where he had all performance clothes hanging on hangers or thrown in boxes.

Kiron didn't need to try one since the suit he was going to wear was perfectly measured against his body and made by a stretchy fabric so he would be able to move without being distracted by something holding him back in a lift or something that can make either him or someone else hurt.

The bright light dimmed above me. "You already know we are going for a more dim light so it's good that we practice with it also so we get comfortable with it." Cameron nodded when he sat down on the bench closest to the speakers; in the corner. We all nodded while we took our given positions on the floor.

Starting, doing my best to do all the movements and positions even if I couldn't fill them since the guy I was supposed to dance with isn't here today. Cameron clicked a flashlight on and off, annoying our eyes by the blinking light but also getting us used to what is going to happen on stage which means we have to trust ourselves in the dance to not step wrong in a way that can hurt someone. A constant beep from the speakers that Cameron edited the sound to do, making a remix of the original song.

Sitting on the cold floor from time to time and only looking at my friends and Claire's dances to know when I need to do my part of the big production of twenty plus dancers on one stage when everyone is there. Continuing doing my part before sitting on the floor again, Kiron touched my head one time when I needed to get up after zoning out from the world and forgetting to get up without a reminder.

Eventually the song came to an end, the three other people were pressed against the wall while I was left in the middle of the floor. I was tired after the hours I've spent today in the studio, having a feeling that Cameron already pushed over with the time. "Great work!" He said once the music was quiet and the light was on again. "Still needs a little work but that's better if we take when everyone's here."

Clapping my hands against the floor before pushing myself up on my exhausted legs, almost letting me know about tomorrow's exercise pain. "Let's take a picture." Cameron said before I could take a sip of water from my bottle, my throat was dry from both the exercise and heat even if the sky was thick with clouds outside.

We all stood in the middle of the studio while Cameron took the picture for advertising the studio on instagram, facebook and the website. We all smiled as true as we could while having a camera pointing against us. "Good." Our instructor looked down on his phone before putting it down in one of his pockets.

A few seconds later my phone screen lit up from where it was laying on one of the benches. Walking up to my phone while Cameron had his back against us. Ignoring the notification on messenger and went directly to instagram to look at the picture Cameron posted. 'Our students are working hard on their numbers.' It stood on the top of the picture, each of us tagged in a way to get ourselves out in the world and get noticed by colleges and works that can matter a lot in the future.

Clicking on Neva's instagram name, giving her another follower so she got up to 7K followers on her page before reposting Cameron's story on my page. "Let's do a little round up while you do some stretches." Cameron clapped his hands and gathered everyone's attention.

We all sat down in a circle on the floor, starting doing different stretches depending on how everyone had used their muscles. Looking down at my red knees from when I rubbed them against the floor during some parts. "How do you feel now when everything is coming together?" Cameron asked while looking at each of us.

"It feels good but some people need to learn to not get mad over the place they have been given because it's better to have a place then nothing at all." Neva spoke first  while giving Claire a quick look who was fixing with her fake nails instead of listening.

"Why is that?"

"Just think it would make it better."

"Do everyone agree on that point?" He said, turning his gaze against the rest of us.

"Yes. Some people need to accept that, just as Neva said. It's better with a spot even if it's just a small one, it's better then no spot at all." I answered, giving Claire; who still was obsessed with her fake nails, a look before meeting Cameron's gaze. No one mentioned anyone by name unless it was in private.

"Anything else?"

We all just shock our heads to the side before standing up. Excited to take a long shower, to get away from the stink of sweat. Rethinking every move we have done during practice, things that I could've done in a better way.

Stepping into my crocs, taking my phone and putting them down in the waistband of my pants while listening to Cameron who spoke with Claire. Taking one last sip of water before I turned on the lid. Walking out from the dance studio, hearing Kiron and Neva speaking behind me and not wanting to intrude. Looking at the messenger  notification from before to keep myself occupied while waiting for Kiron to be ready to drive me home.

Dickhead: U forgot ur stuff

Me: What stuff?

Dickhead: The things u brought.

Me: Give them to me when I get home

Dickhead: Got it ;)

Letting out a frustrated breath through my nose by forgetting the bag of pills with him, hoping he hadn't opened it to see what's inside. "Hey Maddie, can I get your number?" Neva said, making me turn around in surprise.

"Yeah sure, give me your phone" I said taking her phone and writing in my phone number, not without needing to open my phone to look at my own phone number from never having the memory to learn it in my head.

Giving both Kiron and me a hug and saying goodbye to each other before she walked to a bike that stood leaning against the wall of the building. "Neva!" Kiron called after her, making her turn around while she fumbled with the lock on her bike. "We could give you a ride home if you want?" He asked while stretching the back of his neck.

"Oh no, it's fine. I live just down the street." She gave him a warm smile before sitting down on her bike. Waving to us when she cycled down the street in the direction of where she lives.

Playfully punching my fist into Kirons bicep when she was out of sight. "Hey! What was that for?" He whined while rubbing his arm where I had punched him. Letting out an amused chuckle while letting my head fall back. Looking my friend up and down when I gathered myself from my laughter.

"Kiron, you just met her for god's sake."

Author's Note
I'm very much gay for Neva, I think most of us are or will be.

Also wanna say that most dances or choreography's is from YouTube and I have gathered most of them in a playlist on my YouTube Channel (that I never use), if anyone is interested in watching them to see how they danced if I haven't  made a clear picture on what they do since it's very hard to write dancing scenes and get people to understand them.

Don't forget to VOTE and please share your thoughts in the comments!