⁺◦ 𝔥𝔬𝔱 | 𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 .

↳ 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝟖 .

you've been in the dance world long enough to know that there are just some people that you could never work with.

xu minghao just so happens to be one of those people.

so, when your dance instructor assigned him to be chan's stand-in, you were floored. you told her that this was practically sabotage. putting you and minghao in a team is the biggest mistake she will ever make because she knows that it'll never work. minghao's reputation isn't squeaky clean. actually, most people that worked with him in the past say that he's a hothead that's too difficult to work with. you explained that to your dance teacher until your voice was driven to a harsh hoarseness, but she didn't care.

on top of trying to sabotage you, she assigned you homework. well, it was homework that you and minghao will have to complete together. as soon as she mentioned homework, you knew exactly what she was planning.

you and minghao will have to ask each other ten questions— to force you and him to trust each other enough to dance onstage together—to get to know each other better. the worst part isn't even the questions, it's the fact that you're supposed to take minghao to your favorite place and explain what it means to you.

"maybe chan's injury isn't that bad. maybe he'll be cleared to dance before the competition." these are the deluded thoughts that you feed yourself, as minghao stands behind you.

"so, what's the point of ms. kim's homework assignment again?" minghao asks you, but you don't even want to reply to him.

the only thing that you want is to have your dance partner back. you want his health to be restored, so that you don't have to work with minghao.

"we don't actually have to do it, so it doesn't matter anyway." you say to him, not wanting to raise your voice over the piano that's guiding warmups.

you move across the floor with ease, showing off your impeccable technique in the process. minghao, on the other hand, seems to be not as precise as the other dancers. you know that ballet isn't his forte, which is exactly why you need chan to come back.

"wow, i thought you followed the rules. i guess i misread you." minghao says, as he catches up to you.

you scoff at his pettiness. "i'm only going to say this once, minghao. you are here because chan is hurt, but he'll be back in no time. so, there's no need to do some stupid assignment that ms. kim dreamed up for us."

"you think i want to be here, princess?" minghao looks bothered, as if one of your insults finally got to him.

you huff at the horrific nickname that he's given to you, then you reply to him with ice in your voice. "i don't care if you do or don't."

"yeah, well, i don't." minghao fires back at you, not daring to back down from a challenge.

you ready yourself for the next turn combo, but also manage to say yet another vicious thing to minghao. "then, leave. no one is forcing you to be here."

the piano tells you it's time to go and so you start turning. you make a mistake on one of the turns and ms. kim is quick to catch it. "watch your turn there, (y/n). make sure you stay focused."

he made me lose focus. it's his fault that i'm messing up on these simple warmup exercises.

minghao stops just a few steps shy of you, then he looks down at you.

"is that what you want? for me to leave?" minghao asks you, sounding just a little too unkind for your liking.

"yeah, it is." you reply back to him, not seeming to have any interest in going through the motions of warmups any longer.

you and minghao stand at the very front of the warmup lines, glaring at one another with a passion so fiery that it seems dangerous.

after staring at him for thirty seconds straight, amidst all of the chaos, you watch him throw his head back to laugh.

"what's so funny?" you hear yourself say, noticing that the piano has stopped.

"minghao! (y/n)! what are the two of you doing?" ms. kim is fuming, brimming with anger because of how unfocused everyone in the class is.

this is what she wanted. she's the reason that you and minghao are making a spectacle out of yourselves. she's the reason why he's here to begin with.

"you need me. you need me to win this competition." after saying this, minghao's lips pull into a mischievous smile that you want to knock right off of his face.

he is so smug.

"i don't need you. i'll never need you." you shoot back at him, but you still feel this rage igniting in you that you just can't seem to subdue. "i'm going to go to the hospital to go visit chan and the doctor is finally going to tell us what's going on. the doctor is going to say that he'll be fine in no time. the doctor will clear him to dance, then you can leave since you're so desperate to go."

after your argument with minghao comes to a rather dramatic end, you push through the group of your peers. you snatch your dance bag from the floor.

"(y/n), you can't leave. class is not over, you are not allowed to leave yet!" ms. kim's voice echoes through the studio, but it's nowhere near as loud as the door that you slam shut on your way out.