More to Love (a Les Twins fanfic)

Chapter 1: Girl, interrupted

Krystal gazed at her flawless skin, chocolate brown eyes, and dark waves escaping from a messy bun in the studio mirror and stretched before sliding effortlessly into the splits.  She looked down at the rest of her image and frowned a bit. 

The building was completely quiet since everyone else had gone home already and she sighed out loud.  This was her favorite part of the day—the time when she could disappear into her private world away from prying eyes and even the voices in her own head.  Away from everything.

In the stillness she closed her eyes and stretched her neck, anticipating the music before it began.  Rising up on both knees she arched her back and extended her arms forward into a graceful hold.  Her face relaxed into an expression of longing, lips parted slightly like a breathless doll.  The first words of Fix You echoed off the walls and she rolled her whole body into them. 

Slowly, she crawled across the floor, curled into a ball, crouched, and released then stood and spun out across the empty space, bending and swaying to the emotional chords.  At last she leapt into the air and landed, dipping into a perfect plié as the final agonizing strains of the song faded out.

Suddenly the sound of slow clapping startled her eyes open and she swung nervously to face the direction of the interruption.

“You’re good. Really good.”

A tall, slim guy stood propped casually against the far wall. The brim of his cap shaded his eyes, but his face held a memorable mix of chiseled features and his voice had a decidedly foreign accent. 

If he was a student, Krystal didn’t recognize him. Where did he come from?  How long had he been standing there? 

Slightly panicked and more than a little embarrassed she quickly stepped over to her iPod player and switched it off.

When she turned back around her tone was harsh and defensive.

“This building is closed for the night. No students should be in here.” 

With a half-smile he lifted his hands in a sign of surrender before pulling his cap further down over the headful of long, dark twists peeping out from underneath.

“It’s okii.  I was just leaving.”

He unhurriedly unfolded himself from the wall, taking the time to roll up the sleeves of his varsity jacket before moving toward the door and stopping again.

“Oh, and by the way,” he tossed over his shoulder. “I’m not a student.”  Then he strolled out of sight.

* * * *

The next day Krystal swung her car off Las Vegas Boulevard onto a side street to catch the freeway toward the university.  She was running late and wanted to avoid the guaranteed hordes of tourists blocking up every corner on the main strip. 

Fifteen minutes later she was rushing through the double entry doors of the UNLV Fine Arts Building.  To her dismay the normally clear hallway was packed with people.  Irritated, she squeezed through the crowd muttering the occasional “excuse me” until she reached the staff office and ducked inside.

“What in the world is going on out there? I think I almost got trampled.”

The receptionist put a call on hold to scan Krystal’s student-teacher badge. “We have guest artists visiting. They’re holding workshops here this month.”

“Who? Nobody told me.”

“Oh, honey, it’s not in your department. See?” She pointed at a flyer hanging on the bulletin board in the corner and went back to her call.

Krystal walked over for a closer look and gulped when she saw the name and the two faces staring back at her. Les Twins. 

She didn’t know a lot about them, but she had heard of them. Everybody had. They were famous. And now she had the awful distinction of being the person who had probably offended one of them.  The bottom of her stomach dropped out.

“Ayyyyyyeeee, what’s up!” Krystal’s best friend Stacey burst cheerfully into the office wearing a green camouflage jacket over black leggings and combat boots and the camera she never went anywhere without dangling from a strap around her neck.

Short, curvy, and perky with a shock of curly red hair, what she lacked in height she more than made up for in personality…and loudness.

“Girl, why didn’t you tell me Les Twins were coming? I heard it on campus radio and damn near killed myself trying to get over here!”

“Um. How about because I didn’t know.”

“That’s simply unforgiveable, Kris.” She pursed her lips and gave her friend the side-eye.

“Well, since you know so much then which one is which?”

Stacey cocked her head to one side studying the picture. “Ummmm…,”

“Uh-huh, yeah, that’s what I thought, Miss Expert.”

They were still gazing at the flyer and squabbling amongst themselves when the office door clicked open and shut again.

“Actually, the one in the hat is Larry,” a voice said.

Krystal’s ears picked up the same suave accent from the night before.  It was him.  This time his twists were pulled back off his face and he was even taller up close, but it was definitely him. 

Even dressed simply in a fitted black tank, neck warmer, and jeans, there was something imposing about his presence. She froze.  Stacey sprang into action immediately grabbing Larry’s much larger hand in hers and shaking it vigorously. 

“Hi, I’m Stacey and this is my friend Krystal. She teaches here.”

He smiled down at her looking amused before moving his dark, piercing eyes to Krystal, his face suddenly unreadable.  “Yeah, we met.”

Krystal gripped her duffle bag tighter and shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other.

Stacey looked confused. “Wait…what? You guys already met? When?”

Neither of them answered and Krystal took advantage of the awkward silence that followed to make a break for the staff locker room.

“I need to get warmed up before class,” she cleared her throat. “Nice meeting you…again.”

It seemed like she could feel Larry’s penetrating stare boring into her back as she retreated.  In the locker room she tossed her bag to the floor and sank down on a bench. He must think I’m a total bitch. 

She was changing clothes when Stacey scurried in breathless with excitement.

“Guess what? Larry said I can take some still shots of them this week for my portfolio!”

Krystal pulled her sweatshirt off over her head and replaced it with a slouchy one-shoulder top.  With graduation only a few months away her own career plans were a huge question mark, while Stacey was already sending out applications in hopes of landing her dream photography job.

She mustered up a sincere smile.  “Wow. That’s great. I bet you’ll get some great pictures.”

Stacey planted one hand on her hip and lifted an eyebrow. “So what was he saying about meeting you?”

“Nothing. It’s a long story.”

“I have time.”

“I don’t. My modern dance class is starting.” Krystal locked up her things, twisted her hair into a quick top knot, and headed off not even bothering to check herself in the mirror. 

Stacey scowled watching her walk away.  Krystal wasn’t fooling her.  She was all smiles on the outside, but she was changed inside, hiding behind over-sized clothes and carrying a dark secret pain.

She sighed wondering if she would ever get her best friend back, or if the real Krystal, the vibrant girl she once knew, was gone forever.