Trouble (Chloe Lukasiak Fan Fiction)

Chapter One

Chapter One

I tried my best to sheild my eyes from the flashing lights around me, but they were too bright. They were shouting my name, begging for me to look in their direction but I just stood at the front of the crowd like a deer in headlights, watching the scene unfold before me. It was all so new to me.

"Chloe." He murmed into my ear. "We need to go." A firm hand was placed on the small of my back and I felt myself being guided through the crowd. I clambered into the waiting car and the door shut behind me, muffling the noise. But I could still hear it clearly in my head.

☆ ☆ ☆

I sat back on a comfy, red chair at Starbucks half-listening and sipping my Starbucks tea as my best friend, Maddie Ziegler, sat across from me, chattering about the dance competition we were about to attend. I swirled the ice around in the clear cup, only catching bits of Maddie's lecture, until she mentioned something about Hayden Reed.

Hayden was a 16-year-old dancer, just like me, except he was world famous. Sure, we got recognized from the show Dance Moms that we were on when we were younger but Hayden's fame was something else. He was followed around by paparazzi every second of the day, just as worshipped as any celebrity. Hayden had danced with and even choreographed for every star from Usher to Justin Timberlake, even Beyonce.

What made him so special? It was probably the hypnotizing brown eyes. Or maybe the sharp jawline. And those kissable lips . . . I wish I could kiss him.

"Chloe!" Maddie exclaimed, snapping me out of my daydream. "Sorry! So, you were talking about Hayden?" I asked, blushing. "He's going to be at the competition!" Maddie said, beaming and getting all giggly. "Are you serious?" I asked, feeling dizzy. "Yes!" Maddie said, nodding rapidly. We both giggled.

"Chlo! Mads! We've got to go!" Paige Hyland, another one of my best friends, called to us from the doorway of Starbucks. Maddie and I shuffled out of the coffee shop to Nick Dobbs' car. Nick was one of our guyfriends who also danced at Abby Lee Dance Company with us and had offered to drive the three of us to the competition this weekend.

I slid into the backseat of the car with Maddie and propped my feet up on the back of Paige's chair. She turned around in the passenger seat and narrowed her turqoise eyes at me. I gave her a sly smile in return and she rolled her eyes, playfully, and turned back around.

"Paige, did you hear Hayden is going to be at the comp.?" Maddie asked, braiding her brown hair. "Oh my god, Hayden Reed?" Paige asked, spinning right back around. "Who else?" Maddie said, chuckling. "Isn't he going on tour with Justin Bieber soon?" Paige asked. "Yup. And he's doing some of the choreography. God, I would kill to dance for Justin." Maddie said, sighing dreamily. She clearly still hadn't fully recovered from her Bieber Fever.

"Can we please talk about something other then your weird celebrity crushes?" Nick asked, fiddling with the dials of the radio. "Your just jealous, Nick!" Paige exclaimed, pretending to punch him. He rolled his eyes and laughed as some new Nicki Minaj song blared through the car's speakers.

A few blissful hours of sleep later, we were at the competition in New York, struggling to get through the front doors. It was clear that word of Hayden's appearance at the competition had spread quickly.

Competition managers were struggling to keep out the paparazzi as dancers stood around the lobby, clutching their iPhones and hoping to get even a glimpse of the 16-year-old.

"Yikes." Paige muttered as the four of us stood apart from the crowd with our belongings. "How are we supposed to get to our dressing room?"

Instead of panicking like the rest of us, Maddie decided to have fun with the situation. She boldly tapped a photographer on the shoulder and said, "I think you should take pictures of me because I'm Hayden's girlfriend." The photographer gave her a look, snapped a couple pictures, and turned back to the crowd, probably not convinced of the story. Nick, Paige, and I doubled over laughing as she skipped back to us, happily.

Suddenly, a man with a headset shimmied out of the crowd and walked over to us.

"Are you guys dancing today?" He asked, his voice hoarse. "Yeah." Nick replied. "Okay, follow me." He replied. It took a lot of struggle but we finally made our way through the lobby and to our dressing room safely.

Our choreographer, Gianna Martello, was already waiting in the dressing room with an anxious look on her face. "Oh, thank god!" She exclaimed when she saw us. "Maddie, Chloe, your duet is up in half an hour!"

Maddie and I exchanged horrified glances and hurried to get dressed. Fake eyelashes, hairspray, and bobby pins flew around the dressing room as Gianna pulled my hair into a french twist for me. Once my hair was secure, I had to change into my costume.

The familiar black, satiny fabric of the dress slipped over my body easily. Our duet this week was called 'Flashing Lights.' It was basically about fame and fortune, which was ironic considering who was dancing here this week.

"Okay, you two need to go to stage right now!" Gianna said, ushering us out of the room. We walked silently to the backstage area, both feeling anxious and nervous.

This week our team was much smaller then normal. Usually Kendall Vertes, Brooke Hyland, and Nia Frazier were dancing with us too but they had all gone away to intensive dance camps for the summer so it was just us four for the majority of the summer.

"You nervous?" Maddie asked me, I knew she hated be rushed and she was probably freaking out about not having time to go over the number before performing it. "I hate to admit it but yes." I said, smiling weakly. We entered the dark wings and the atmosphere changed immedietly.

A couple of girls were twirling around the stage to a delicate, soft song and tensions backstage seemed high. All around us, dancers were going over their dances in their heads and trying to keep calm before dancing.

I felt Maddie tug on my arm suddenly, making me jump. I turned to her and she seemed completely speechless. "What is it?" I whispered. Her blue eyes were open wide, her pink lips parted slightly as she lifted one finger to point somewhere up ahead in the wings.

I followed her gaze and sure enough, there was Hayden Reed. In the flesh. Being watched closely by his bodyguards. He was staring at the ground in deep concentration and I felt my heart skip a beat.

He was wearing black harem pants, a white t-shirt with some cool logo across the front, and a pair of purple hip-hop shoes. His light brown hair was swept to one side, his deep brown eyes moving to the stage.

I watched intently as his eyes flickered around the wings as if he was searching for someone. They stopped on Maddie and then moved to me, our eyes locking. I blinked a couple times to make sure I wasn't dreaming and then he did the unimaginable. He walked over to us. Hayden Reed.

"Hey." He said, grinning at us. "H-hey." Maddie stuttered. "Are you guys dancing soon?" He asked. "Yeah, we're up in, like, two numbers. How about you?" I asked, surprised at my own confidence. I was talking to him like I had known him forever. "I'm going on next." He said.

"I'm Hayden, by the way." He added. "Oh, we kno- I mean, I'm Maddie." Maddie said, blushing. "I'm Chloe." I said, offering a warm smile. "Good luck, then, cuties. I'll stay and watch if I have time." Hayden said as he was called to the stage.

I watched him take place on stage. Hip hop music blared through the theatre and he did one of his signature dance moves that made the crowd roar. I couldn't help but envy him, I had never been good at hip hop. He had a little smirk on his face as he swaggered around the stage as if he wanted to show he knew how amazing he was.

The dance ended and Hayden ran off stage, into the wings. I high-fived him, my skin tingling as our hands met.

Maddie and I took position on the stage and I felt all of my fear melt away. I was home. The thumping music began and I leapt across the stage, throwing my long legs in all different directions. I turned in sync with Maddie and we both landed all of our jumps perfectly. I caught her eye in the middle of a simple jumping section and she gave me a big smile. We strutted off stage like supermodels as the music ended.

I didn't know exactly what to expect when we got off. All I knew was that I was praying deep inside that Hayden had bothered to say behind to watch us. It had been one of the best performances I've done.

Surprisingly, he was still standing in the same spot as before, beaming at us. "That was amazing!" He complimented and Maddie and I responded by blushing.

"I don't usually do this with people I don't know very well but can I give you my number?" Hayden asked us. I swear, in that moment my mind stopped functioning.