Pas de Deux

o8

⊱ ✿ ⊰

Shen Yuxing sat with her arms crossed, glaring at Wang Chengrui, who sat with his gaze fixed downward on her phone screen which was playing the recording of the choreography they'd been trying to complete for the past hour. His dark, fluffy hair fell long enough to slightly cover his eyes from this angle, as they flicked between the video and Yuxing's notebook. Being the overachiever she was, she'd naturally made notes for both her parts as well as his. 

"Are you finished yet?" Yuxing asked after about ten minutes. She was normally a pretty patient person, but between Wang Chengrui's numerous missteps and confession that he'd never properly learned the choreography, she wasn't too happy about the time they'd wasted.

"Almost," he snaps back, eyes fixed on the recording.

Yuxing sighs in exasperation, "Well, hurry up."

Chengrui rolled his eyes to himself, not bothering to argue back since he wanted this to end as soon as possible. He's busy and focused on the video, keen eyes inspecting his cues, countless twirls and delicate arm movements, where he had to be to catch his partner, the placement of his feet, the expressions he'd have to etch into his face, all of it.  

That's when his eyebrow raises slightly. He'd finally got to the section with the kissing scene. He rolls his eyes at how long the kiss lasts. Kissing wasn't foreign to him, but he wasn't into watching others do it.

However, kiss or no kiss, Romeo's eyes said it all; he was hopelessly smitten with Juliet, and Chengrui doubted whether or not he'd be able to act well enough to portray that level of emotion, especially considering who his partner was.

"I got it all down, take your shit back," Chengrui eventually tosses Yuxing back her phone and notebook haphazardly. She manages to catch it, but not without sending him a quick glare.

"Were there any edits you wanted to make?" she questions, back in work mode.

"You already did all the work, you still expect me to make changes?" he deadpans.

"Excuse me for trying to accommodate you, it won't happen again," Yuxing says sarcastically, getting back in position. Chengrui follows suit, standing behind Yuxing with his hands on her waist. Yuxing noted that it felt stiff and robotic, but she ignored it. 

If they couldn't even finish the dance, there was no point in nitpicking.

୨ ♡ ୧

A couple of hours later, Chengrui is sprawled out on the ground, flat on his back, chest heaving. Yuxing was in a similar state, sitting on the ground a ways apart from him as she caught her breath as well. 

They had been practising non-stop and it was well into the early afternoon, now. As time passed, they slowly started memorising the moves of the dance number. Where to jump, where to spin, where to look, almost all of it was committed to memory.

Yuxing inhales shakily, gathering energy to say something, but she's cut off before the words can leave her mouth.

"If you're thinking about saying 'one more time' again, forget it. I wanted to leave seven 'one more time's ago," Chengrui slurs, pushing himself up into a sitting position.

Yuxing doesn't falter, annoyed at his lack of commitment, but still speaking calmly, "Do you think that the way we danced just now was good enough? Are you really satisfied?"

"Who cares?!" Chengrui exclaims, raising his voice, "We're performing in three months, not tonight! I don't care if you want to work yourself to death but leave me out of it at least. You're a teacher's pet and an arrogant perfectionist, but I'm not."