I'm Not Going To Teach Her How To Dance With You [Nick Jonas] [REWRITING]

Chapter 2 - Welcome to Hell

Lynn

"I just feel like I'm going to be alone for the rest of my life." I sob, grabbing a handful of tissues while Mia turns off the TV. "Where's my Mark Darcy?"

"Oh, sweetie." She holds me while I cry a bit more, unashamedly bathing her sweater in tears. 
I look around the room and suddenly everything reminds me of Nick. There isn't a single thing he hasn't touched. Thoughts of arson cross my mind, but I know it wouldn't be worth it. The adult thing to do, as Mia has told me, is to raise my head and try to be impervious to it. Of course, I barely consider myself an adult. 
Suddenly, Mia interrupts my train of thought.

"We should totally have a dance party, right now." She's beaming, running around the flat looking for the stereo. "Come on, get up. We're doing this."
"I really don't feel like dancing right now."

She ignores me, tuning the radio to try and find some upbeat song. I take my time getting up from the couch, making sure she knows I am not in the mood. Then, the most fortuitous thing happened.

One, I'm biting my tongue
Two, he's kissing on you
Three, oh why can't you see?
One, two, three, four
The word's on the streets
And it's on the news
I'm not going to teach him how to dance with you
He's got two left feet
And he bites my moves
I'm not going to teach him how to

Dance, dance, dance, dance!

"Oh, this is perfect!" Mia is laughing out loud, and so am I. To be completely honest, this distraction is exactly what I need. I join Mia in the center of the living room for an intense dance-off and by the time the song ends, we're both lying on the floor, exhausted.

"If you do decide to teach Nicole, you should start with this song. Great warm-up."

"A bit on the nose, don't you think?" I reply,  giggling. "She's not that dumb."

"Whatever, I would pay to see the look on their faces."

"I'm not even sure I'm able to go through with it." I sigh and look away from her. I can feel my blood rushing through my veins, tinting my cheeks. 

"Why not? Just because he was a total douchebag it doesn't mean you can't be friends. Besides, my yoga teacher says holding grudges is an absolute bad luck charm. Be the bigger woman."
There is a long pause. I carefully select my next words, trying not to be too transparent.
"I can't be around him. Too awkward."
Mia asks me what I mean by that and I find myself gesticulating wildly and mumbling something about past occasions. I realize I'm making no sense and try to think of a coherent sentence. Nothing comes out. Instead, it's Mia who voices my feelings.

"You still love him."
Another long pause. This time, I stare at the ground and try not to make eye contact, because I know she's judging me. Hell, even I'm scolding myself internally. I had more than enough time to heal my wounds. Holding on hurts more than letting go, but I can't just act like nothing happened between the two of us. I don't know how he does it. I wish I did. 
"Rosalynn..."

"You know I hate that name."

"It's your name."

"It's stupid."
We go back and forth with this discussion, until we both start laughing at our own absurdity.

"Call him." She hands me my phone and I take it. I take a deep breath and look through my contacts. I look at Mia, searching for reassurance and press call. It rings for what seems like an eternity until it goes to voicemail. Mia encourages me to leave a message. I clear my throat and force words to come out.

"Hi, it's...um it's Ros, I mean Lynn."
My best friend is staring at me like I did something wrong. She whispers something along the lines of "more confident" and I try puffing my chest.

"I wanted to let you know I got your message and I...um, I am available. To teach Nicole. Yeah, I can do that. Just um... text me or something. I'll make some time for you. Okay bye."
I hang up and fight the urge to throw my phone across the room. 
"Please tell me that made sense."

"Sort of. I think he'll get it, don't worry." Mia hugs me in what I assume is a reward for my bravery. "Now, do you want to go out for dinner or should we order in?"

We eventually decide to go out. We eat at a nice little place on the riverside and afterward we go searching for dresses. It helps me clear my mind a bit, but I know it's all temporary. Once Mia is gone, the world will turn gray once again for me. And I'll sink into a state of apathy she likes to call "Offlynn".

Mia walks me home and I thank her for her time and attention. She gives me a verbal list of do's and don'ts before leaving me. I decide it's best to take a shower and try to think of anything else. But even the damn tiles in the bathroom remind me of him. 

It's almost 10 PM when my phone rings. I don't even glance at the caller ID, I just pick it up. To my utter surprise, it's Nicole Kaufman soon-to-be Jonas. 
"Hi Lynn, how are you?" 
I don't even try to hide my disappointment. I manage to murmur a reply and wait for her initiative. 
"Nick and I were talking and we'd like to get started as soon as you can!" She sounds way too cheery. I guess I'd be too if I were about to marry someone like him. 

"You can come tomorrow afternoon if you'd like. I'm giving a class until 4 but after that I'm free."

I sound way too rough and downright rude, but I don't feel bad about it. It's not like it's undeserved. 

"Great! I'll be there! Do I have to bring anything?" Her eagerness is disgusting. It's almost like she feels no remorse. She probably still thinks we're best buddies or something. 

I mumble something about comfortable clothes and then a short goodbye. Taking a deep breath, I throw myself onto the bed and fall asleep almost immediately. Today was a crappy day. Tomorrow will be even worse.

***

The morning flew by in a whirlwind of classes. I remember having a quick lunch and then I was back to the studio for another class. It's now 3.45 PM and my Contemporary class is rehearsing. Two people enter the classroom unannounced. Always the early birds. One of them is Nick, wearing his trademark plaid shirt and jeans. Next to him is an Olivia Newton-John lookalike, and by that I mean, bright pink leggings, fluorescent leg warmers, the whole thing. Of course, that's Nicole. Always dressing to impress.

"Wasn't expecting you guys so soon. I'm finishing up but you can stay and watch. You might want to start warming up."
They both try to lean in for a hug but I avoid them with a quick excuse and head back to my students.

"Alright guys, let's do Cold Hearted."
I sense the hesitation in the room. They're probably terrified to be performing in front of the Nick Jonas. 

"Come on, people! He's like the worst dancer of the three of them."

"Hey, I heard that!" I look back at Nick and he's smiling. He knows he's not the worst. Joe is.
I can't help but smile back. It's more of a reflex at this point. He smiles, I smile. I hate myself for that.

We do the routine, and once again the lyrics are hitting very close to home. They seem unphased by it, but I know Nick is probably regretting this idea. 
I congratulate my students for another great performance and tell them to hit the showers. Nick and Nicole come up to me. She looks terrified, like I'm about to ask her to do thirty push-ups and run fifty laps. I decide to play along and be the intimidating teacher, for a change.
"I hope you enjoyed the show because I want you on that level before the wedding. I am warning you, I will not go easy on you just because you're...you."

"C'mon Lynn, take it easy." Nick chuckles. "We're doing a slow dance, not Dirty Dancing."

"I don't care what the final purpose is. I am here to shape mediocrity into something hopefully a bit better. Welcome to your own personal hell, Nicole."
I turn around with a victorious grin on my face. This is going to be fun.