unsteady

flying

if two people cannot stay away from each other

maybe it's because they weren't meant to.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kaycee

one week later

___

"What if I screw up?" she asked Alexander nervously, pacing back and forth in the private area where the choreographers hung between classes. He'd brought her back there to keep Sean and the rest of the world from seeing her. No film, no outside paps, no viewers, just the class participants. Phones went in a locked box at the door, and he had all his teachers positioned somewhere, assuring the privacy of the safe space that he aimed to create for both Sean and Kaycee.

He smiled. "That's what you're worried about? Kaycee, honey, you were born to dance. You were born to fly." He gave her a hug. "And we're all here to help you find those wings again." He gestured to the circle of people he'd gathered, who were all standing, smiling. All of her old teachers. Her videographers. Her choreographers. The people that built her up, just to watch her walk away and pretend the chapter of her life that they were in didn't exist.

"Do you hate me for it?" she'd asked Janelle, earlier that morning when the older woman had called her and asked to meet before class. As she was the mom in the dance industry she'd never had, leaving Janelle without a trace had been the hardest part, but Kaycee knew that if she'd taken even one step back in the direction she was running from, she would've shattered into pieces and taken everything around her down with her.

"I did," the woman had admitted, looking straight ahead as they sat behind the studio, like they had when Kaycee was younger. "But I knew that you needed your space. No one could blame you, they all knew what you were going through, and I'm sure if it had been any of us we would've all reacted the same way. And I knew," she'd said, standing up and wiping her hands on her jeggings, "That if you were meant to come back, you would. I could never have changed your mind about anything, Kayc, and I trusted you made the right choice."

"You wouldn't have stopped me if I'd told you?" she had asked her instructor shakily. Janelle sighed and opened her arms to hug the quivering young girl.

"How could I stop you from going after what you want outside of the studio when in the studio, that's all I ever wanted for you?" Janelle had asked sadly. "Even if it hurt like the worst pain I ever felt, I would've understood."

"I'm sorry," Kaycee had sniffled, the emotional wave of knowing that the dance world had finally forgiven her for abruptly slamming the door on it years ago.

"I know," Janelle had said. "And I am too."

"For what?" Kaycee had asked, buried in her loving arms.

"For ever failing you."

"You never failed me," Kaycee had cried, sitting straight up. "Janelle, you built me."

The woman's eyes had been sad. "You left without a word, Kaycee. I made you think you had no voice, when I say I dedicate my life to helping kids find their voice."
_______

Sean

__

Warmup was weird, to him. All of his instructors were there. He knew it was a master class, but damn. All of them? And no film? And no phones. That was weird.

"Come on," Alex had teased him when Sean had pushed back about surrendering his cellular. "With that case, it's not like anyone would want to steal that anyway."