Pas De Deux

twelve.

Learning a whole new routine was harder than I anticipated, but I certainly wasn't going to give up. I had let people down too much already and I wasn't about to do it again.

So Sam and I practiced literally every hour when we weren't either at school or sleeping. It was grueling and I had a new population of blisters on my feet, however I knew it would all be worth it.

The dance show was just around the corner. The night that all our hard work had been leading up to and I had Annie and Sam by my side again.

Tommy had tried to call me several times after our break up but I simply ignored him. I wasn't going to be dragged back down by his manipulative ways. I didn't even care that he wouldn't be at the show. It's not like he wanted to come anyway.

"Right Pops, we've pretty much nailed this" Sam smiled confidently on our very last day of rehearsals.

"Yeah... I still don't understand why we couldn't just go back to our old routine" I sighed, my whole body feeling sore.

"Because it's too late, the day you didn't show up everyone was frantic. Steph was screaming and telling us all to fit best to this routine"

"I really do wonder about her sometimes" I laughed, shaking my head. It just seemed absurd to change the steps we had been learning for months a week before the show. I guess she had just panicked.

"Wonder about who?"

Speak of the devil. I turned around and was met with a death glare. Steph's bright red hair like flames engulfing her face. She still hadn't forgiven me.

"No one Steph..." I muttered being consumed by guilt for the hundredth time that week. I had learnt my lesson. She didn't need to keep going on about it and giving me the cold shoulder.

"I swear to god you better perform this Pas De Deux perfectly or I will officially kill you" she huffed, her frown easing slightly. Deep down there was still a hint of humour there. She didn't actually hate me.

"I will. I promise" I smiled crookedly giving her a look of sincerity. I didn't know whether she had taken me seriously but she nodded and strolled away to help the other partners.

"Okay let's do this one more time" Sam declared turning around to switch on the music.

"Can we take a break, my feet are actually killing me" I said feebly, wincing as I hobbled along behind him.

"Take your shoes off then, but we need to do this a few more times at least" he shrugged.

Man, Sam really knew how to push my limits but I suppose that's just because he cared. He wanted us to do well, and frankly so did I.

***

This was it. The night our dance class had been waiting for. It was finally here and I was filled with mixture of nerves and excitement.

I had covered every inch of my feet in plasters and bandages and my dress was on. It was absolutely stunning if I do say so myself, all of the girls were. Mine was sheer, flowy material in what other colour than burgundy. I loved it.

"Right everyone! The seats are filling up quickly so start stretching and warming up because we're on in ten!" Steph called, clapping her hands together eagerly.

A rush of sudden fear coursed through my veins when I thought about how little time we had left. My palms were even going all sweaty.

"How are you feeling?" Annie asked nervously, leaning down and touching her toes. I bent down to the side and began stretching my hip muscles.

"Alright... You?"

"Scared out of my bloody mind" she admitted timidly, standing up straight again.

"Hey, don't worry... Yours and Alex's routine is amazing"

"Is it?"

"Yeah of course, you're an amazing dancer Anne"

A genuine smile spread across her face. Through our little fight, our friendship had changed somehow. We were a lot more serious and open with each other. Granted we still took the piss out of one another, but just not as much.

"Thanks Pops... You too, you and Sam have worked really hard"

"Tell me about it" I laughed, rubbing the bruises on my legs and feet. I looked as though I had been in a war zone.

"Five minutes!" Steph shouted again from the other side of the stage. I could hear the crowd getting louder and louder and I wanted to poke my head around the curtain to catch a glimpse at how many people were out there.

"Oh god, I better find Alex" Annie said frantically, "Good luck."

She then pulled me into a gentle hug, which I quickly returned. I better find Sam as well. My stomach was churning wildly.

Once Annie was gone, I whipped around and located Sam stretching in the middle of the backstage area. That boy sure did a lot of stretches.

"You ready?" I asked.

"As I'll ever be" he grinned, picking himself up from the floor.

Everyone else around us was rushing around in a frenzy but my nerves seemed to have melted away. Just knowing Sam would be with me the whole time was somehow enough.

"I'm really proud of you Poppy."

It startled me how he used my full name because I was just so used him saying Pops. But how he did next threw me off guard even more.

He leaned forward and planted a small kiss on my left cheek. My eyes widened a little and my hand subconsciously moved to where his lips had touched.

"You've achieved so much in the past week and I'm not just talking about the dancing" Sam continued, his cheeks changing to a light shade of pink.

I couldn't believe he was saying all this. I actually felt a bubble of emotion in the back of my throat.

"T-Thank you" I said in a hushed tone, stunned by his sincerity. It was so unlike him, but I didn't mind at all.

"No problem" he smiled, "Shall we do this then?"

He held out his hand for me to grab as I heard the crowd begin to quieten down. I knew we were only mere moments before we had to go on but strangely enough I wasn't nervous anymore. Feeling Sam's hand in mine was comforting.

Perhaps I had been wrong. Maybe life really was a fairytale and now that I had finally defeated the evil beast, I was ready to dance with my new found Prince Charming.