SplatDance: Spyke's New Groove

:Chapter 12:

Spyke stood behind the curtains that were currently bunched up at the ends of the lit up stage, his form barely hid behind its bright red masking that led offstage, alongside a few other contestants who stood behind him awaiting their chance to hop out on the lit up stage and show the world what they can do. He stared down at the hem of his outer shirt, his thumb gently stroked the clip of a tag he received only an hour before heading up to where he was now. “One hundred and seven.” He muttered to himself before releasing the tag and leaned back against the wall that the curtain gently brushed up against, letting out a shaky sigh as he rested his eyes.

Annie, who stood next to him, looked up at the urchin. Also letting out a sigh as she reached out and grabbed his wrist, gently stroking it in hopes of gaining his attention. “So…” She muttered, giving his arm a bit of a tug. “After this guy is done… you’re next. R-Right?”

Spyke sighed once more, as the voice of the somewhat tone deaf contestant on the stage flushed out any sort of cursing that slipped out of his mouth before mustering up a proper answer. “Unfortunately.”

“Spyke...” Annie tugged at his arm once more. “ I’ll be watching you while you’re out there! Did you already forget what I told you earlier today?”

Spyke hummed. “No, no, it’s not that I forgot what you told me, love. I’m just gittin’ a bit nervous again. Y’know?” He shrugged his shoulders.

“Ah… yeah, yeah. I guess that… that’s pretty normal for something like this.” Annie yanked his wrist, gesturing him to come down to her height. “You… You want to talk about it a bit before you head out on stage?”

Spyke took a knee, staring into her eyes in the low light. “Love… Have you ever been afraid of disappointin’ someone you’d consider... close to ya?”

“N-no…?” She cocked her head to the side. “W-What do you even mean by ‘close to you’ anyways?”

“O-Oh! Uh… y’know someone like a family member… a really good friend… or maybe…” Spyke gulped, his cheeks turning a soft shade of red. “A significant other of some sorts…?”

Annie hummed. “Yeah… I don’t think I’ve ever been in that position before. I-I’m sorry…”

“Nah, Nah it’s fine, love. It’s just…” His eye trailed down to the floor before sighing, resting it once more. “Would ya do me, one last favor and not be too disappointed of what happens once I step onto that stage… regardless of what I do?”

“Didn’t you say that you would do your best not to disappoint me though?”

“I-I did.” Spyke sighed. “But what if I disappoint you by not winning tonight?”

Annie looked down, deep in thought about an answer to his question. The grip she had on Spyke’s wrist loosened as she moved her hand over his wrapped up hand, trying her best to grab hold of it as best as she could. Her small, somewhat chubby fingers pushed his hand up, stretching themselves out as they squeezed their way between his longer, more slender digits. Looking back up at him with a warm smile and a blush that matched his. “You won’t.”

Spyke hummed, opening his eye once more to meet Annie’s warm gaze; making his blush grow somewhat darker. “I won’t?”

“Pfft, of course!” Annie chuckled. “Do you not remember when you dragged me further into this entire thing? I told you that I was inept as a coach! I didn’t plan to train a winner, in fact, I didn’t plan to have the trainee gain anything by his deadline! Instead…. I wound up training someone to be more… confident, and prideful in this gift he has; all while improving this said gift the more he embraced it. And this man is now here, ready to show the rest of the world this beautiful gift he had all of his life… W-with this inept coach who stood there, by him the entire time… Greatful for how far the two of them have come with this gift… And in such a short time too.”