Another Girl (Dance Moms fanfic)

Authors Note: This story isn't stolen, just transferred from a different account. 

Chapter One

“You gotta breathe, Chloe.”

The frail girl sat on the floor with her knees pulled to her chest, hugging her legs lightly. Her blonde pony tail had fallen some, hanging low on her head. Beads of sweat freckled her forehead. Her ears and eyes stung. Her ears because of the monotone humming the filming lights were giving off, and her eyes because of how bright they were. Studio A used to be a comforting place for the young dancer, but now cameras and the lights and the bare walls didn’t make her feel at home. Not like it used to, at least. The black floor was just as scuffed and scratched as always. The walls were just as harshly white as they always had been. The red barre and the stacked up mats. The mirrors were also covered in finger prints and dust, nothing new to the Abby Lee Dance Company. Everything was just how it was years before, but at the same time, nothing was how it was before. Something seemed off. Something Chloe couldn’t put her finger on.

It was the Friday before a competition. Most of the girls didn’t go to school that day. Maddie and Mackenzie were homeschooled that year, and Christi and Jill kept Chloe and Kendall home. They’d gone out to lunch all together. Nia, however, spent the entire day at school. The Hyland girls were checked out early on Brooke’s request. She had to go to school and get her daily fix of real friends and real life. Of all the girls, Brooke hated filming the most. She never got to see her friends or her boyfriend. She had to stay up late finishing homework and wake up early. Usually, on days given the option of sleeping in, she took the chance while she had it. Though, she was about to spend the first weekend with the team again, and she wasn’t looking forward to it. Or at least that’s what Paige had been saying during their dinner break that week. Brooke had been having Nolan bring her food, and they’d sit in the lobby together, eating. The rest of the girls sat in the den, sometimes with a parent and sometimes just on their own.

“I’m letting you go for the night. I think you’re ready to compete.” Jennine nodded. “Knock ‘em dead, kiddo.”

Chloe stood up and began to walk out, thanking Jennine as she pushed the door open. The door flew through the air, welcoming Chloe into the much cooler dancer’s den. Chloe took in a deep breath as she grabbed her water bottle from another stack of mats. She looked around the room, in search of a friend to talk to. Jennine called for Mackenzie, so she was out of the question. Brooke was talking on the phone, probably to her boyfriend, Nolan. Chloe sat down and picked up her phone, scrolling through Instagram for a little while. Liking her friends pictures. Then she moved onto twitter, nothing was really too exciting, to be honest. People walked through the room. Little Brooke came in for a private. Auriel dropped food off for Nick, who was also traveling with the team that weekend. Abby came through, but nobody really stopped to talk to Chloe.

The Friday before competitions were always a little bit hectic, though that day most everyone was calm. Usually Abby was running around, screaming at everyone. Usually the moms would be stoning costumes and finishing props and things. Gianna and Jennine and James would be stressing out, and each of the girls would be an emotional wreck. All of them would cry, mostly about being tired. Brooke would cry about needing sleep and wanting to go home. Maddie would cry about not being perfect enough for competition. Chloe, Paige, and Kendall would cry from things Abby would say. Mackenzie would cry from something Melissa said that’s not even relevant to the day at all. Nia wouldn’t cry. She was the team’s rock. Chloe liked that. She found a lot of comfort in Nia though the two girls didn’t spend much time together.

Letting out a sigh, Chloe sat back up. Her sticky back had stuck to the plush, white, leather topped benches in the dancers’ den. As she sat up, the bench made a sound. Embarrassed, Chloe pressed her lips into a small smile, looking around quickly to see if anyone had heard it. Brooke had. The smirk on her face and the eyebrow raise she was giving Chloe said “I just heard that.” Though it wasn’t something to be embarrassed of, Chloe was just naturally a self-conscious person. Anything that wasn’t right or normal embarrassed her. Everything that wasn’t right or normal embarrassed her. Chloe looked around, putting her phone down just in time to see Paige and Maddie walk from the lobby area back into the dancers’ den.