My Summer with New York

Readjusting

Rosie's POV:

"Beckett get off your ass and do it again!" My dance coach yells. I've attempted this move five times now and each one landed me on my ass. Isabelle shoots me a look of sympathy as I reattempt the move. My mind isn't on this routine; it's back on Crystal Island with my sweet boy. But I refuse to let the memories overtake me. My dance partner, Pierre, is far too stiff. He holds onto my waist as if I'm some piece of cardboard that he has to pitch up into the air. When it comes to the part where Pierre is supposed to catch me, he misses. And I nosedive into the hardwood stage.

"Mother fucker!" I scream. I hear laughter erupt throughout the room, and Pierre refuses to look at me. My coach shakes his head at the sight of me and walks off. Whispers replace the laughter because everyone knows I'm enrolled at Juilliard, and I seem to be proving why I shouldn't be allowed anywhere near the school. I take a deep breath and run to my safe place to collect my thoughts. My dance shoes squeak loudly as I run down the halls; if anyone wanted to find me they could. But I make it to the roof with no interference. Only then do I succumb to the thoughts of Colby and the beach.

I call him as soon as I perch myself on my spot that overlooked the city."Hello?" He says after about five rings. "I'm drowning here." I tell him right away. I hear him chuckle and his intake of breath before he speaks. "You're the best swimmer and surfer there is remember?" He jokes. The stress that has been building in my shoulders begins to ease as I fall into one of our oldest conversations. "I'm used to being one of the best dancers too. Here it's like I'm swimming in shark infested waters, and they've already chewed up my surf board." I say. I don't have to be with Colby to know he's smiling because of what I said, and that fact alone makes me miss him so much right now.

"Rosie you know you're the best dancer I know. You just have to focus on the fact that you know what you're supposed to be doing and get it done. Show them why Juilliard wants you in their school." Colby tells me. A smile creeps into my face from his words, and instantly I know he's right. "Yes sir." I tell him. We talk for a few more minutes before exchanging "I love you's" and hanging up. 

I slink down the stairs in no hurry to get back to sympathetic Isabelle and stiff Pierre. I can hear my coach yelling at the girls to perfect their stances, but  the moment that I walk into the room everyone falls silent. My coach turns to look at me with a deadly glare but doesn't say anything to me. Pierre looks as if he's scared of me which he should be. "You guys have a showcase in two weeks" My dance coach says. "My best dancer is off in La-La Land, and her partner is letting her nose dive into the stage. You guys are better than this. I know we can do this routine because we've done much harder. You guys have this."

She starts the track we're supposed to be dancing to, and Pierre stiffly places his arms on my waist. I groan internally and go a few steps before I complain. "Cut the track." I say. "Pierre? Rose? What's wrong!?" My coach barks. "Pierre you're holding my waist too stiffly which leads me to overdo my moves. Lighten up. I'm a person not a piece of glass." I tell them both.  Pierre smirks at me before he does the one thing I'm not expecting; he asks me to dance with him. "Let me show you how it's done princess." He says as Undiscovered by Laura Welsh begins to fill the room.

He pulls me in closely, and his hands are firm on my waist. We sway in place to the beat for a moment before he really shows me what he's got. We move all over the stage, and I hear several girls shouting at us to keep going when we seem to slow down. I hear people say "Go Pierre!" and "Show him how it's done Rose!"  I giggle as he lifts me at the end of the song, and once he's got me back on the ground he twirls me, and we sway back in time to the beat. As the music fades out, applause erupts from each girl. My coach even looks impressed. "How's that for too stiff?" Pierre teases.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

"Hey Beckett do you want to go get coffee or something?" Pierre asks me once practice is over. I feel everyone's eyes on us, especially Isabelle's. She wants me to end things with Colby so I know she'll be advocating my "date" with Pierre. "Like a date?" I ask slowly. If he thinks it's a date then I won't go. "I'm not an idiot. You have a boyfriend. Think of it as a celebratory drink." He jokes. Tension eases from my shoulders, and I find myself agreeing to his offer. The whispers ramp up again, and Isabelle refuses to meet my eyes. "You coming Beckett?" Pierre asks me from the door. I run over to where he is, and we slip out into the night air together.

I sit down at a back table with my iced coffee in hand; Pierre follows shortly after. "How did you know I have a boyfriend?" I ask. He smiles but he doesn't answer my question. "You could at least answer." I snap. "You give off that vibe, even when you dance. It's like you're thinking don't touch me I have a boyfriend. And it's not like you go up to the roof to talk to your mother." He admits. I slouch back in my chair and process what I'm going to say next. "I give off a vibe?" I joke. "A loud, huge one. I'm always unsure of where to put my hands." Pierre tells me. I can see in his chestnut eyes that he isn't lying.

"I don't mean to put off a vibe. I love him yes, but I would never want it to interfere with my dancing." I say as I sip my coffee. "It's okay if you do. If I had a girl as pretty as you I'd want her to put off the same vibe." Pierre tells me. I blush at the compliment he gave me, and we fall into a comfortable silence. "Are you really starting Juilliard in two weeks?" He asks me. "Yes. It's been my dream since I wore my first tutu." I say laughing. Pierre cocks his eyebrow at me, and I know he's waiting for me to explain.

"I was five and it was Halloween and all I wanted to be was a ballerina, so my dad buys me this pink fluffy tutu with sparkles and glitter. I put it on Halloween night and it didn't come off for at least two months. I used to whirl around and around everywhere I went." I say. "It sounds like they support you a lot." Pierre says smiling. Oh if only this guy knew the half of it. "They don't. They're lawyers and they'd rather me go to law school." I tell him swiftly. His smile falters a bit, but he doesn't say anything. Of course he doesn't say anything; no one usually has anything to say. Colby would always have plenty to say but he's not here to bash the Beckett parents with me.

"Are you ready to leave?" Pierre asks me. Twenty minutes have passed without either of us saying anything. "Yes if you are." We drive back to the studio so I can pick up my car; neither of us speaking. As I climb out of his car, he stops me. "Rose I'm sorry if I intruded. About your parents I mean." He says. I laugh it off and tell him that it's okay because it truly is. "I'll try not to be so stiff when we dance tomorrow." He promises me. I tell him okay and climb into my car.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

The house is quiet when I walk in. I know better than to assume my parents are here because they're still working on the "case of the year." I walk by their study as if to prove a point when I see my father's lamp is still on. I walk in to turn it off when I get the biggest scare of my life. My mother's chair whips around, and their newest intern is looking at me in horror. I shriek in surprise, and he does the same.

"What the hell are you doing in my house!" I scream. I don't know who this boy is yet here I am screaming at him. "Your dad wanted me to come study the case!" He defends. "Um hello do it at his office? Or your house?" I snap. I'm beyond relieved that I didn't pee myself from being so terrified. "They said I had to study it from his first offense, and you know they wouldn't let me take it out of here." The intern says, still breathing hard. Almost out of thin air, my father appears around the corner.

"Rosalina I see that you've met Mitchell." He says. I roll my eyes as Mitchell says "That's an understatement." If looks could kill, Mitchell would be dead under my gaze. He didn't have any right to be angry because of my yelling at him when he's the one who intruded. "Have you began studying the case?" My father asks. Suddenly I realize I'm not even in the room anymore to them. It's as if I'm invisible, and more than ever I miss Crystal Island and Colby.

New York is becoming less and less like home, and I'm resenting my decision to come back here.