There For Me

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^^TRAILER^^

"Thank you for always being there for me."

Jennifer Mendoza sat in front of her notebook, tears pouring down her cheeks and onto the paper, making the words written on it bleed. The poem she'd just finished writing turned around in her mind

"The skies are darkening

I can feel my world spinning around

These dreams are fading

Make these shameful thoughts fall outta my head

And onto the ground."

She turned her notebook to the next page, and thought about her life. At seventeen years old, she felt alone in the world. Her parents, workaholics that knew nothing, understood nothing, about their only child. Her father worked for Island Def Jam Records, and her mother worked as Island Def Jam Records' attorney. Needless to say, they were never home, which had Jennifer home alone a majority of the time. She sighed and laid back on her pillow. She reached over to her iHome her parents bought her and turned on her Justin Bieber playlist. She'd just bought his new single Boyfriend and started nodding her head to the beat. Her parents didn't know this, but she wanted to be a dancer more than anything else in the world.

Only one other person knew about her dream, but she wouldn't let him help her. That person was Scott "Scooter" Braun, her father's best friend and Justin Bieber's career manager. Jennifer sighed. Scooter was one of the only people she really talked to, without him, Jennifer would've killed herself a long time ago.

Jennifer had the rope hanging from the ceiling fan and the chair poised under it. She had the rope tied and was positioning it around her neck, when the front door opened. Good, she thought Maybe they'll get to see the damage they've done.

"Hey I just came by to check up on you! How are you - Jennifer! What are you doing?!?" Scooter cried, running up to her and taking the rope from her neck and hands and picking her off the chair. Jennifer couldn't hold it in. She started crying, her body shaking from the sobs.

"I can't take this anymore Scoot! I've dealt and dealt with everything my parents and my school has thrown at me, and I'm done. Done!" she cried. Scooter sat on the couch with her until she fell asleep, not leaving her side the whole night.

Tears cascaded down Jennifer's face as the memory took hold of her.

"Hey I'm here to check on you!" she heard that familiar voice and quickly wiped her eyes. She heard stomping on the stairs and Scooter walking in her room moments later. She smiled and sat up to face him. Scooter laughed.

"You're listening to that song too?? I've been hearing it so many times this week it's ridiculous." He joked, and Jennifer laughed.

"It's really catchy. It has a great beat." She replied, and Scooter already knew what was going to happen next.

"Let me guess: you're gonna hit the dance studio as soon as I leave aren't you?" Scooter asked, and Jennifer nodded. "I should've known." He said, shaking his head. Jennifer giggled and turned the volume to her music down.

"You know... Justin's tour is coming up soon, and he needs a few extra backup dancers... I was wondering if you'd be interested in taking a spot on the bus..." he said, letting his statement trail off. Jennifer looked down at her hands folded in her lap.

"I don't know, Scoot. What if I don't fit his standards, I mean he is Justin Bieber and all." She said. Scooter shook his head and sat on the bed next to Jennifer, and pulled her in for a hug.

"Hey, you're a great dancer. You just need to believe in yourself. What do you say? Will you at least come to the auditions?" he asked. She looked at Scooter to see that he had a perfect puppy dog look on, which caused her to giggle. After a few minutes, she shyly nodded her head. Scooter hugged her tighter.

"Great. I'll text you the place and date okay? You gonna be fine with me gone?" he asked, but Jennifer knew what he was implying. She nodded.

"Actually, I'll head out there with you. I really wanna start working on that Boyfriend song." She said, causing Scooter to laugh. They both headed to the front door, Jennifer grabbing her keys and phone before walking out and locking it. Her and Scooter walked to their cars, and Scooter gave her a sideways hug.

"I'll text you the address for the auditions okay?" Jennifer nodded and got in her car. She waited until Scooter pulled out of the driveway for her to start her car and head to her most favorite place in the world: The Los Angeles Dance Studio.

Since her parents were who they were, and since she hung out and danced there so much, the owners of the building gave her an extra pair of keys, just so she could use the studio as she pleased. She got out of the car and opened her trunk, pulling out her Victoria Secret's duffle bag equipped with her spandex pants, and a plain grey workout shirt, as well as ballet shoes and a blanket, in case she needed to take a break and relax.

Jennifer opened the door and she inhaled the familiar scent of lemon floor wax. She smiled and examined the main dance room. There were mirrors replacing the walls so that dancers could see their movements and progress. There were double doors to the right of the room, leading to the second dance room, looking similar to the main one, just smaller. To the left, there were the bathrooms, the changing rooms, and the supply closet, which held the ballet bars and other dancing supplies.

Jennifer plugged her phone into the stereo system and started her dancing playlist. She went into the changing rooms with her duffle bag and changed into her dancing clothes. She threw her long blonde hair into a messy bun and walked out of the little stall. She set her bag down on a couch made for waiting mothers when they held ballet classes. Jennifer went to her phone that started playing Dynamite by Taio Cruz. She unlocked her phone and opened her twitter app.

@JennMendoza: in the dancing studio, where I belong

She set her phone down again and sat down, spread her legs, and reached to her toes to stretch. After holding her position for a few moments, she switched to her other leg. She felt the pull of her leg and sighed in content. She stretched her arms, taking her time to warm up her muscles so she didn't pull or tear anything.

When she finished stretching, she got a ballet bar from the supply closet and positioned it in front of the mirror in front of her. What Hurts The Most started playing through the speakers and she sighed again before letting the music run through her body and turning to the music. She'd never had official ballet or contemporary lessons, but she'd learned a few things from the studio owners and she usually just mixed up and created her own dance moves, which is what she did with that particular song. A few tears escaped her eyes as she spun around and moved to the music. Finally, as the song ended, she finished with a scorpion move she learned from her old cheerleader friends. Tears were pouring down her cheeks and she finally sat down, panting, until she heard slow clapping behind her.

She turned around quickly, surprised, and saw Scooter clapping with a sympathetic expression. She ran to him and gave him a hug, unable to control her tears. He pet her hair and hugged her back and let her cry it out.

"I know it's hard Jen. But you gotta stay strong all right? Don't let those kids at school bring you down, you've made it this far. Stay strong for Jeremy okay?" he said, and at the sound of his name, Jennifer started sobbing even harder.

"I miss him so much Scoot. He would help take some of the pain away." She sobbed.

"I know, but would he want you to be crying right now?" when she shook her head, Scooter wiped her tears, but more silently streamed down. "No, he wouldn't. Keep your head up for him okay? I really have to go now, but I'll text you all right?" she nodded and wiped her eyes.

As Scooter started walking out of the main door, Jennifer said, "Scooter?"

He turned to face her, and she gave him another hug "Thank you, for always being there for me." She said. He smiled and walked out, leaving Jennifer alone in the dance studio once again.

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