The dancers had stopped. A girl with a mass of curly blond hair tied up on her head and a tall, muscular guy in, oh god, tights.
The guy walked over to a stereo and the music cut off. The roar of the air conditioner was the only sound as the dancers stared at Jericho curiously.
"Hey, uh, I'm Jericho. I just -- I saw the sign out on your door..." He stopped talking as the dancers approached him with a catlike grace and silence. They were terrifying.
Then they got closer and he saw they were sweaty and the girl's hair was a wreck and the guy had big ole brown eyebrows and calm blue eyes. He smiled and his whole face lit up with a mischievous amusement.
The girl spoke first. "Vienna," she said, pointing a thumb at herself. "This is Andrew Jackson the fifty-sixth."
The guy chuckled and held out his hand to Jericho. "It's just AJ." Turning to Vienna, he said, "Go wash up. You smell awful." He grinned at her with a childish innocence. Vienna didn't much appreciate the joke.
Her demeanor suddenly changed into the strong dancer she had been moments ago. "Oh, excuse me, Your Excellency," she said with a mock curtsy. "Should I make lunch while I'm at it? You know, I should grand jeté right into your face, asshole, but I don't wanna get blood on my new pointe shoes."
AJ only crossed his arms and laughed down at her. "But wait a minute --"
Vienna cut him off, speaking as she walked toward the back of the studio. "Besides my own blood, Alfonso Juarez!"
Jericho stared after her, not knowing what to say. AJ shrugged and threw Jericho another wide grin. "Just ignore her. She talks a lot of bullshit but she's an amazing dancer." Jericho forced out a nervous chuckle. "So, uh, the dance competition? You got any experience?"
Jericho allowed himself to smile -- this guy's attitude was contagious. "I played a dancing tree in elementary school."
AJ ran a hand through his sweaty mop of brown hair, laughing as he tried to decide whether Jericho was joking or not. "Vienna, get back out here!" AJ yelled toward the door at the back. A string of creative phrases -- among which were the entertaining "motherfuckstick" and the always popular "dick-faced twat" -- could be heard as Vienna moved around back there, presumably collecting her tights and shoes again. "Just shut up and get your skinny ass out here, V!"
Turning back to Jericho, AJ looked him up and down and said, "Well, let's see what you got, dancing tree."
YOU ARE READING
Dancing Through Bullets
ActionAll pasts are hard to hide from though it's harder to do so when they're chasing after you. Jericho is running from his past. AJ is a dancer who will get sucked into that past when they unexpectedly meet. When Jericho first steps foot in the studi...
