Born a Dancer

The Pirates

(Edited)

Moose lead me to a building not far from NYU. It was a semi-long walk, but it wasn't awkward or anything. He did most of the talking, which I actually didn't mind. Normally I'd find it annoying when someone keeps opening their mouth all the time, but he was just so full of energy and I liked it. He told me that the guy who recruited him was named Luke. He said he was a chill dude so I'd most likely be welcomed in. We walked in and we went up an elevator thing. It stopped with a sudden halt which almost made me fall but Moose steadied me. I gave him a small smile and the doors opened up. My mouth dropped at the sight in front of me. It was a large room with a bunch of different dancers doing their own thing. There was a red and grey dance floor and a room full of cushions.

"This place is amazing" I say. Moose nods in agreement.

"I know right"

"Hey Moose! Who's the girl?" A guy with short brown hair hazel eyes says, he was with a girl. She also had brown hair and her eyes were a lighter shade of brown.

"Oh Luke, this is Lune, she goes to NYU with me and she's an incredible dancer. I thought maybe you'd let her join the crew? And also who's this?" Moose asks referring to the girl next to him. Luke eyes me suspiciously. I swallow temped to hide behind Moose like a child.

"This is Natalie, new recruit" Natalie gives a small wave.

"Hey"

"Have we met before?" Luke asks me.

"No" I say. He seems to not believe me. He then raises his hand in front of my face and his eyes widen.

"Your the girl with the mask!" He says. I shrug lightly, no reason to deny it now.

"It's not a big deal" I say. He shakes his head with a laugh.

"Are you kidding?" Natalie says. "You're insane. I've never seen anyone dance like you before" she says. I blush not familiar with this many compliments.

"Thanks"

"You're not big on words huh?"

"No" I reply with a smirk. The three chuckle.

"You're in. We'll catch you up with everyone later, for now, I need to show you something" Luke says leading us somewhere. That was quick.

"Open up the cages boys! Show the newbies why we call this a vault"

"Okay" Two voices with Latin accents say. We walk down a hall and see a set of twins waiting for us.

"Moose boy" One of them says. I chuckle. They then turn to Natalie and I and they eye us.

"Ohh beautiful señorita's" One says grabbing each of our hands and kissing them.

"Nice to meet you" the other says.

"Charmed" I say smirking. The boy smiles.

"Can I give two?" He says referring to kissing our hands again and the other starts arguing. The chaos was quite amusing. And judging by Luke's face, this is a regular thing with them. After they calm down they turn serious.

"Ladies and gentlemen our most prized possessions"

The lights turn on and my eyes light up. They had a huge wall filled with all different kinds of shoes. I look over at Moose who is in just as much awe. I'm immediately drawn to these forest green and black Nikes. Green has always been one of my favourite colours, besides red. The green matches my hazel eyes.

"If dance is our weapon, then this is our armour"

"These are the most beautiful shoes in the world man, the way the smell, the way they feel"

"Ay man you're sounding like a girl man" one of the twins says to his brother. I should really learn their names before this gets confusing. Right beside me, Moose is checking out these black and silver Nikes with a green check mark.

"Luke's lucky shoes? Smart kids"

"Alright Guys don't get to attached, you gotta earn your kicks in this house" Luke says. Moose and I put the shoes back on the rack and Luke leads us to another room. This one was dimly lit with a neon green.

"Door number 2, the graphite room"

"Woah, what?" Natalie laughs. The different prices of art on the walls were sick. They really built a home out of this place.

"Who's that guy?" Moose asks looking at a dude who is sitting at a table working on stuff.

"That? That's Jason. Our graphite guru, I'm talking electronic billboards hacks, LED lights, anything to mark where we are" Luke says. Jason gets up from his seat and him and Luke do their bro hug.

"Perfect timing, listen I've been working on portable light tagging and I can't figure out how to get it to stick" Jason says. Moose and I make our way around the table and look at the gadgets spread out.

"You got any electrical tape?" I ask.

"Yeah, here you go" Jason mumbles and hands it to me who hands it to Moose.

"Alright check this out, tape it right there, wrap it around, creates a snug fit" He says.

"You know lights?" Jason asks.

"Yeah we dabble" Moose nudges me. I smile. "Check it out" he throws the small light to one of the metal poles and it sticks. Jason stands up thrilled.

"Yo! Yes! Yes! I love these kids" He says. Moose laughs.

"The LED to the battery, to the magnets..."

"They're beautiful" Natalie says holding a red one.

"Like neon fire flies"

"Should call them Neo-flies" I suggest. Jason looks at me.

"Neo-flies. I like it"

———

Moose, Natalie and I were offered to stay for pizza tonight. I was introduced to everyone, they were all chill. The twins I found out are very talkative and chaotic. I also found out their names, Marcos and Martin. They were quite the charmers. I was hesitant to stay, but everyone was really welcoming and starting to grow on me so I accepted. Some of the crew were looking at the Neo-flies that Moose and I helped with and they thought they were cool.

"Listen up, the world jam is right around the corner. Let's get there, we gotta get through the two qualifying rounds" a guy named Carlos says.

"Which means we got a lot of work cut out for us. Moose, Natalie, Lune, you guys in?" Luke asks. The three of us look at each other and I fiddle with my fingers. The Santiago twins starts playing mysterious music on the piano and everyone laughs.

"Umm, I don't know I mean, I have to go to school I can't just..." Moose starts and I nod in agreement.

"Well figure something out" Luke says. Jason starts slowly banging his fists on the table for dramatic affect. Everyone joins and starts chanting "pirates" Moose looks at me. I bite my lip unsure.

"I can do one battle guys" He says. Everyone cheers.

"Alright alright, Natalie? Lune?"

"Hello to Pirates!" Natalie raises her glass. Everyone looks at me.

"You guys are cool, I'm in" I say. The cheering begins again and Moose bumps my shoulder with a smile. One that can make you melt. I smile back trying to contain the unfamiliar feeling settling in my gut.