Rule Four || Dream

·2·

Erie nervously waited outside the door of the dance room when Shizuka walked up. The older brunette trained her eyes on Erie's profile, observing how perfectly sculpted her face was and the curls in her hair. She felt herself begin biting her bottom lip, but she quickly released it when Erie turned to face her.

The teenager gasped when she saw Shizuka with Ami right behind her. She began bowing, greeting them immediately. Shizuka thought she looked cute, how her wide eyes jumped from their faces, her hands fumbling with the hem of her shirt. Her arms weren't covered, and Shizuka looked at them and saw how muscled they were. Did the girl lift weights?

Shizuka let her pass through, her eyes lingering on the teen's backside. Stop! She yelled at herself.

"She's pretty. She better be good," Ami murmured in her friend's ear.

I hope she is too, Shizuka thought to herself as she took a seat beside the taller blonde.

"Name and age?" Ami asked the girl.

"Abe Erie and I'm eighteen."

Whoa. Two years older than I guessed! Still doesn't make her legal.

Ami nodded. "And you're a dancer?"

"Hai."

"Not a singer?"

"Iie, Nakashima-san," Erie respectfully replied. She couldn't stop looking back and forth between the two friends. And, secretly of course, Shizuka liked the attention.

"Why not?" Ami asked.

"My passion lies in dancing. I've danced ever since I was young, since I could walk. I just feel alive when I dance and people are watching me..."

Shizuka zoned out and started paying attention to how Erie looked as she talked. Her eyes shined when she passionately talked about dancing. Shizuka watched as Erie smiled and periodically closed her eyes as she spoke about something so important.

"...So, yeah," Erie awkwardly ended, putting some hair behind her ear.

"Why here?" Ami questioned.

Shizuka knows she's just being a good CEO, but she just wish her best friend would shut up so she could stare at Erie dancing. If she can dance.

Ami asked a few more questions and Erie answered them all. Then the teenager positioned herself in her starting position for some AKB48 song. Aya played the song from her iPod, that was hooked up to a speaker. Shizuka knew the song and she watched as Erie began dancing. Right away she knew there was something off.

She wasn't doing the right moves.

It was like she created the dance by the way she moved. And it went really well with the song. Her and Ami liked it, by the way Ami was nodding her head to the song, eyes on the girl.

Shizuka then focused on her muscles and how they flexed at certain times. She felt like she was about to faint when Erie finished. The teen stood there proudly, with a light coat of sweat on her exposed skin. She had to push strands of hair from her face, but she continued smiling.

"You didn't do the original dance," Ami pointed out.

"Er, no ma'am," Erie said, even though it wasn't a question.

"Did you choreograph it yourself?" Shizuka asked, interested.

Erie nodded. "Hai, with some help with my dance teacher. I knew that if I just covered the original dance it wouldn't really...affect you. Wow you, you know?"

The two nodded. Then Ami asked for Erie to step out into the hall, which she did.

"What do you think about her?" Aya asked, her eyes bright with success.

"She's an amazing dancer," Shizuka pointed out.

"I'm surprised," Ami said. "I thought we were going to have a singer. Then I though she was just going to do a dance cover. But I'm blown away. She went above and beyond my expectations. I like her, she seems like a leader."

"But you're only going to make her a back-up dancer right?" Shizuka questioned.

"For the moment, yes. I see potential in her that she'll be a great dancer. And maybe we'll stick her in a girl group when we find singers and more dancers."

"So, does that mean she's in?" Aya asked.

Ami nodded. "Hai. Shizuka, I want you to give her a tour and the usual instructions. She'll be managed under you until you pass her off, if you want to. But I think you should keep her, she has real talent."

Shizuka nodded and walked to the door. Erie was pacing in front of the door, and she jumped when she saw she manager.

"You made it!"

Erie's jaw dropped. "Seriously? I did? Oh my gosh, thank you so much!"

She went up and hugged the woman, and Shizuka hugged her back hesitantly. The girl smelled good even after she danced. Shizuka wanted to hug her forever, just so she could touch her and feel her muscled arms around her body.

Then Erie pulled away and continued jumping around in excitement.

"Calm down, calm down," Shizuka said.

Erie pulled herself together and nodded.

"I'm going to give you a tour of our building, now your new home. If you'll follow me, we'll start at this floor..."

Shizuka gave the teenager a tour, stopping a few times for a break from walking. They stopped at the food court on the third floor, and Shizuka asked what kind of drink Erie liked. Then she tried to buy it for her, but Erie declined. When the teen went to sit down, Shizuka bought it anyways and took a small sip of it.

"I don't really like it," Shizuka said, toying with the straw. Then she handed it to Erie, who hesitantly took it.

"But I didn't want--"

"I bought it already, I shouldn't let it go to waste."

Erie nodded then began drinking her drink. Shizuka tried not to watch her, but it was hard because she just wanted to stare at her.

"How long have you been dancing?" Shizuka asked, trying to make conversation.

"Most of my life. Around twelve years now."

"You're like an expert now, huh?"

Erie blushed. "I wouldn't say that. I'm nowhere near like you. You're like a dancing goddess, Nishida-san."

"I'm your manager, not your boss. Just call me 'Shizuka'."

"You're not quiet," Erie said.

Shizuka chuckled and shrugged. "I'm quite the opposite sometimes. Depends on my mood."

"But I hope I can learn from you," Erie said, coming back to their previous topic. "I wished to dance like you."

Shizuka shrugged. "Maybe I can give you private lessons whenever you're free."

"Before I debut?"

"Maybe."

"I'd like for that to happen." Erie placed a hand on the eldest's thigh. Shizuka looked at the innocent face Erie wore. Did she know how she made the manager feel?

"Again, maybe. I'm managing another group as well," Shizuka added.

Erie nodded, but she didn't remove her hand from the other's thigh.

Shizuka knew that if she gave Erie private lessons, she wouldn't stop thinking about the girl and might end up doing something stupid. Which was why she planned on passing her off to another manager as soon as possible.

"How about we go to the fourth floor?" Shizuka suggested, standing up.

Erie stood as well and nodded. And they walked to the elevator, Shizuka still feeling she imprint of Erie's hand on her thigh.