ballerina // jøshler

sept ;

"I don't know what I'm gonna do Jenna." Tyler had made it through most of the day without thinking about the morning of terror. Now, as the boy sat alone on the curb for lunch, that's all his mind could travel back to. The only person the boy knew he could confide in was of course, Jenna.

"Tyler..." she didn't sound impatient, but there was a sense of awkwardness in the usually wise girl's tone, as if she didn't know what to say.

Tyler couldn't help the feeling of dread that started to boil in the pit of his stomach. The fact that Jenna was even uncertain caused the boy even more anxiety.

"Tyler, I'm sure everything will fall into place eventually. You just gotta keep your head up, alright?" But Tyler was too far gone. No amount of Hallmark-quality encouragement could add a bounce in the boy's step and replace the bad thoughts with pure, blissful ones.

"Tyler. Please. You gotta promise me that you'll march right back into that building and dance your heart out again. Please. If you want, call me right after the class so that you won't have to deal with this Josh character. You got this, alright?"

It didn't work like it usually would, but it was enough for Tyler to wipe his cheeks with the palms of his hands and stand up without much reluctance.

"Answer as soon as I call." It wasn't a question or an ambiguous plea.

"Yeah."

"Alright."

"Tyler," the boy put the phone back to his ear, "show 'em who's boss okay?"

Tyler couldn't help but laugh aloud. "Alright."

When the conversation ended, the skinny boy heaved a sigh before grabbing his bag (still containing the guilt ridden tutu) and walked back inside. The hustle and bustle of the college was just starting up again, which was completely okay with Tyler. As long as he wasn't the first or last person to make it to the studio, he would be free of any kind of painful encounter with the notorious bully named Joshua.

;

Tyler's luck was starting to blossom. When the boy had first arrived to class, there was a large group of students already awaiting class to begin. The boy also didn't have to enter alone; a small gathering of dancers had filed in nicely almost directly behind him.

The loud boy Tyler had met earlier in the week had walked another boy to the studio. Brendon acted completely different when he was around the short brunette, almost calmer and maybe a bit smitten in a child-like manner. The boy Brendon had shown up with looked at the kid like he was his idol-starstruck. To Tyler, it was adorable. He was planning on saying hi, but he honestly didn't want to interpret the mystical conversation the boys were engrossed in. Instead, Tyler looked to Melanie, who was oblivious to her surroundings, sucked into her phone. So instead, the skinny boy stood there, blending into the crowded room. Everything was going fine, great even. So far, avoiding Joshua seemed to be the easiest thing in the world for Tyler.

"Alright, we're gonna do what we did this morning, for those of you who left." Joshua's eyes scanned the room, somehow skipping over the ordinary skinny boy who was anything but in hindsight.

"Improv. Have fun with it. Do literally whatever. I don't care. Just dance." the instructor strode over to the stereo in the corner of the room, stacks and stacks of CDs tucked underneath and around the tall bookshelf. He pulled out a clear CD case, the CD inside blank. Tyler studied the disc in deep concern as Joshua fed it into the stereo. The pulsating sound of a piano surprised the room into sheer silence.