Balance

Chapter 1

Y/N - Hey guys ! So I was casually flicking through Tumblr until I stumbled upon this beautiful story ! All credit goes to the original author and you should go check them out!!!! 

An arched foot extended over the edge of the bed, toes pressed solidly against the hardwood floor.  A resounding crack of each toe seemed deafening in the silence of the room.  The left foot followed the right, repeating the motion until every toe on that foot as well had let out a loud, satisfying pop.  Right ankle rolled, snap.  Left ankle rolled, snap.  Both feet pressing back to the floor flatly before arching high onto the tips of the toes, craaaaack!

The young man stretching out his feet let out a satisfied sigh and sat up straighter in bed.  He cricked his neck to one side, than the other; the accompanied cracks sounded extraordinarily loud in his head.  The limber man pulled one arm overhead to pop his shoulder before repeating the motion with the second.  A twist of the spine in both directions with his arms still above his head let out a series of crackling noises.  He righted himself, facing the full body mirror directly across from his bed.

He took in the sight of his leanly muscled body in the mirror.  Slowly, the young man rose to his feet.  With impeccable posture, the twenty year old took a few paces towards the mirror, admiring the way his skin rippled with muscular tension just below the surface.  Dressed in only his boxers, the man could see the curve of each limb, subtly defined and wiry.

One hand extended toward the mirror, held with tension but fingers softly falling into the perfect dancing posture.  The other hand pressed out to the side flawlessly forming a spin preparation pose.  His right foot moved smoothly behind him into position.  Bending his knees to prep, the young man pushed off and turned once, twice, three times.  His foot lifted into position near his knee with perfectly pointed toes and his arms formed a loose circle at his chest.  Three rotations and he opened the position, arms extending overhead and working leg briefly passing a 90 degree angle with the other before tucking behind him in an attitude pose to complete two more rounds of a spin.

He settled from the spin with right leg extended behind him at a sharp, clean angle, coming off the ball of his foot with ease.

Louis Tomlinson met his stationary gaze in the mirror once more, smiling at his ending pose.  He swiped a hand across his forehead casually, the tension in his muscles drawing a droplet of sweat to fall below his brow.  Satisfied with his pre-warm-up turn, Louis walked away from the mirror to the barre he had set up in his bedroom.  Resting a hand on it lightly, Louis began his morning warm-up.  Louis performed several reps of pliés, relevés, tendus and rond de jambes.  He was in the process of executing a developeé, toe sliding along his bare leg and leg extending at an angle to his side that proved his flexibility ten times over when a loud crash was heard in the living room of the flat.

Louis' supporting leg shifted slightly and he was forced to close the move prematurely.  "Damn it, Zayn!" Louis called out, storming out of his room and down the hall to where his roommate was passed out on the couch.  A lamp had fallen to the ground, likely knocked in the wake of the dark haired young man's trek into the flat.

"Go away," the half-asleep lad groaned.

"You, sir," continued Louis, "interrupted my developeé and for that you deserve to suffer."

"It's fuckingfive am," Zayn whined and grabbed the nearest pillow, holding it over his face.

"I'm well aware of that."

"Go back to sleep, then."

"Perfection knows no sleep," Louis pulled the pillow off Zayn's face to the younger man's displeasure.  "Besides, you have a class in a few hours so it won't kill you to be awake."