Backstage

Chapter 6

"Gather around!" Riley says.
"The meeting will start now!" Haley follows.
The day after we're told that we made the perfect score to join in the dance club, here I am standing with the people that are just as members of the club as I am. Just like Victoria told us to do, we're at the backstage after school so that she can give us some valuable information on what we're going to do next.
Luke sits next to me and says hi in his typical manner just before Victoria stands in front and asks us politely to be quiet.
"Okay," Victoria says. "Now that all of us are members of the same club, it's about time to take all of this seriously. The purpose of this meeting is to make clear of who will dance with who in an upcoming event."
"What event?" I ask.
"The West Middle School is holding an event for their students in a couple of weeks and they had no one who would dance in their middle school," Riley says.
"And why do they hold a dance performance if they have no dancers of their own?" Adam asks.
"Exactly!" The twins say at the same time.
"Look, guys," Victoria says. "The point is they asked us to perform, and this can help our club a lot. Imagine the amount of people that will notice us if the performance goes well!"
"Not to mention, those people could either be aspiring members or people willing to hire us," Aiden supports Victoria's statements.
"Exactly," Victoria says. "And I have a lot of faith in every single one of us. Now, moving on. Aiden?"
"Right," Aiden walks next to Victoria. "Our part in the event lasts enough for four numbers which Victoria and I already managed to make every performance last different times. Now we just need to decide the songs and who's dancing in each number."
Aiden looks so secure when he's talking like that, it makes him look attractive. By now, I'm probably staring at him like an idiot. But I don't really mind, I just... I like him.
"Riley, Haley," Aiden says, "you two are going to have a number to yourselves and that's not an option."
"Yes, sir!" They reply at the same time.
"And I think that the first and longest number should be performed by all of us," Victoria says.
"Yeah," Luke says.
"Definitely," I say.
"M'kay," Aiden says. "Henry, do something for a change and write this stuff down, will ya?"
"Way ahead of you as always," Henry smirks.
I think it's pretty clear that those two get along pretty well.
"Okay," Victoria says. "First number is for everybody, and the second one is for the twins. Erin, you and I will take the third number along with the twins. You okay with that?"
"Sure!" I say. "I'd love that!"
Victoria smiles. "Great. And the fourth number will be for the boys, is that alright?"
"Sure," Luke says.
"Of course," Adam follows.
"Shouldn't we have a girl with us in our number?" Henry asks.
"That would actually be great," Aiden agrees.
"Okay, who?" Victoria says.
"You, perhaps," Henry says.
"Sure," she says. "Is everyone okay with that?"
"Yeah," we nod our heads and reply at different times.
"Then that's settled," Victoria says.
"And now, for the songs," Aiden says.
"But wait," Victoria adds. "Erin."
I pay attention to her and so do the rest of the people in the room.
"Regardless of the songs we dance, I want you to be the first one on stage," she says.
"How?" I ask.
"I want you to sing that mountain song before the first number starts," she replies. "Or at least a part of it, you know, to kind of prep the audience."
"Really?" I gasp with a huge smile coming on my face going from ear to ear.
"Yes," she smiles back at me. "Are you up for it?"
"Of course!" I say. "I- I'd love that!"
Victoria's smile widens and then she straightens her back. "Thanks, Erin." Victoria turns around so that she can see Aiden.
"Now we can check out the songs," she says.
"Yeah," Aiden says. "Does anyone have any suggestions?"
"Well," Riley says, "it's gotta have lyrics that kinda match us, doesn't it?"
"And we should also pick songs that appeal to the audience," Haley follows.
"So we gotta pick pop songs," Henry says.
"Well yeah," Aiden says. "It's what's trending, and none of us has a problem with that genre, do we?"
"No," we say at different times.
"Not to mention," Luke adds, "those are the songs with the best beat."
"Ditto," Henry says.
"Well we agree on that," Victoria says. "Who has suggestions? We'd really like to settle the songs so that we can rehearse this evening at my house."
"Yeah, by the way, guys," Aiden says, "be sure to tell your parents. We'll meet at Victoria's house at six p.m."
Good thing it's a Friday, and my parents are going to understand. Henry writes down Victoria's address and phone number on three small sheets of paper and hands one to Luke, another one to Adam, and the last one to me.
"We need everyone to assist, no matter what," Victoria says.
"Okay, putting that aside," Aiden says. "Now would be a really good time to give suggestions on what songs you want for your numbers."
The twins exchange a quick look of excitement and then their eyes become fixed on Aiden with a huge smile on both of their faces.
"We want Major Lazer's 'Lean On' for our number!" Riley says.
"You sure?" He asks.
The twins nod. Aiden returns their nod along with a smile and Henry writes it down on his notebook.
"Who's next?" Victoria asks.
"Guys," Luke says. "I was kind of thinking 'Uptown Funk' for our number with Victoria."
"Bruno Mars's and Mark Ronson's Uptown Funk?" Henry says happily. "Dude, that would be great! Are there any objections?"
"None!" Aiden says after waiting for about five seconds. "Write it down, Henry!"
He does and then he looks back at us. "Two numbers left, people. Better make some suggestions."
"Guys?" I speak. Everyone's eyes turn to look at me. "How about Ellie Goulding's 'Lights' for the girls' number?"
Victoria nods and smiles, her expression telling me that she likes the option. The twins do the same and then they say they agree. Henry writes down the song on his notebook and we have only one song left to decide.
"I've been thinking," Aiden says, "do you know Avicii?"
We nod at him.
"Well," he continues, "how about 'Wake me Up'? It's upbeat and personally, I like the lyrics. It would go perfect for the first number."
"I hadn't thought of that," Victoria says. "It's a really good option, and I agree with it. What does everyone else think?"
"We agree," Haley speaks for her and her sister.
"So do I," I say.
"Boys?" Victoria asks.
"Yeah," Luke and Adam say.
"Done," Henry says and writes it down. "Alright. It's all arranged."
"Perfect!" Victoria says. "Thank you all for your cooperation. I'll see you this evening at my house and please try not to be late."
With that, the meeting ends and we're all allowed to go back home. I message my mom telling her I'll have to go rehearse at Victoria's house. I send her the address and she easily looks the place up so that she can drive me there without a problem.

"Erin!" Victoria greets me at the front garden of her beautiful house as soon as I step out of the car. "Thank you so much for coming!"
My mom steps out of the car too and she excitedly hurries over to Victoria. "Hi! I'm Erin's mom," she says.
"Pleased to meet you," Victoria replies. "My name is Victoria, I'm the head of the dance club."
"That's great," my mom says. "Have a great time, girls."
"Thanks mom," I say. "I love you."
"I love you too, sweetie," my mom replies. She thanks Victoria one more time and then I watch her drive away through the street.
"Come on in, Erin, make yourself at home," Victoria says. She's wearing bright pink colored pants and a fitted light blue t-shirt. I chose to wear the same clothes I wore to the tryout a few days ago.
"Thanks, Victoria," I reply. She takes me through her house (her parents aren't visible anywhere) and we go down the stairs that lead to her basement.
"Now we're just waiting for Adam and the twins," Victoria says. "Aiden and I already edited the songs we chose, and every one of us is going to help put the choreographies."
"Sounds good to me," I say when we reach the bottom of the stairs.
"Erin's here!" I hear Henry call out.
"Hey, guys," I wave at them.
From the corner of my eye, I can see that both Aiden and Luke are smiling kindly at me.
"While we wait," Victoria begins, "you can do whatever you want. Although I suggest you think of some moves for the routines."
"Sure," I say.
"Wanna go upstairs in the meantime?" She says.
"Yeah," I say for everyone. "Let's go."
We go upstairs and Victoria leads us to her backyard, which is just as pretty as her front garden. Then, she and Aiden decide to go for some drinks, and Henry follows them. I am left with Luke in the backyard, with the tender light of the sunset glowing on the sky that becomes darker every minute.
I look at Luke. His eyes are fixed on the grass, and he has a hint of nervousness spread across his face.
"Erin?" He finally says. The dim light doesn't allow me to see so well, but I can notice a faint shade of scarlet on his face.
"Yeah?" I say reassuringly.
"I..." He says, and then he finally allows his eyes to meet mine. "I really like you."
I stand still and I don't know what to do. The only thing I am sure of is that I wouldn't want to hurt him for anything in the world. He's a great person, I just never thought of him that way. Sure, he's sweet and he's good looking, but this is unexpected. Why would he confess now anyway?
"In the time I've known you," he continues, "I have grown to care a lot about you. And you're just so sweet and talented, and I couldn't help but to fall in love with you."
"Luke, I..." I trail off; suddenly my mind goes completely blank. But then, Luke does something that I could have seen coming, but didn't. His hand goes to the back of my neck and he pulls my face closer to his, and he plants his lips over mine so that we engage in a soft kiss. I don't kiss back immediately, but his lips are so inviting.
"Want anything to drink?"
A voice interrupts our kiss before I can make any decision of whether to kiss Luke back or not. It's Aiden, standing a few meters away from us with a drink in each hand. Luke and I pull apart immediately when we hear him.
"Hey, it's alright," Aiden says. "You guys don't have to be embarrassed, at least not in front of me."
He may say that, but I'm really intuitive. As much as Aiden is smiling, and as kind as his expression and tone may be, I can see a small glimpse of disappointment in his eyes.
I clear my throat to avoid making the situation any more uncomfortable. "Yeah, I'll take one."
"Thanks, man," Luke says when he also takes a drink.
"The twins just arrived," Aiden replies with another one of his kind expressions. "You guys come whenever you're ready, okay?"
"Thanks, Aiden," I say.
Aiden nods and then he turns around to leave. When he's nowhere in sight, I look at Luke, who is still blushing and looking down at me with uncertainty.
"Luke," I say. "I'm gonna be clear. I don't feel that way for you. You're the first true friend I've had in years, and I don't want to ruin that friendship."
Luke smiles a bit sadly. "It's okay, I get it. I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry too," I reply.
His smile loses the sadness little by little. "Hey," he says. "It would make me feel a lot better if you told me we're okay..."
"Of course we are," I say. "I wouldn't want to lose a friend like you."
He smiles back at me. "Thanks."
We go back inside, and every single one of us acts normally. Aiden wouldn't have told them what he saw; he's not that kind of person. And Luke didn't just say empty words, he really does look like he's feeling good.
All I know is that this scene made me realize one thing. It's not Luke that I feel something for.
It's now clear to me that I like Aiden more than anyone.