ballerina // jøshler

vingt et un ;

"Five, six seven eight!" Joshua crossed his arms as he watched the first batch of kids danced to the choreography he had taught them an hour prior. His poker face was ingenious, striking fear, and anxiety in the students who didn't know the man personally, but Tyler saw right through it.

The brunette knew that the crease in his forehead and his scrunched eyebrows did not indicate disgust, it indicated thought. Joshua was just simply examining the movements of the group, though most were sure that he just hated everything they or someone else did.

Tyler was sitting on the side of the room next to Melanie, both of them being put into the second group. While Mel fiddled with her thumbs, the brunette looked endearingly at the dancers as well as his secret lover. And every once in a while, Josh would connect eyes with him and wink, causing the younger man to blush and turn away with a bright smile gracing his cheeks.

The first group sat down after receiving their harsh criticism, authorizing the second group to dance. During the transition, the door opened and in walked a slim man with ghostly features adorned with white hair. Joshua's straight face faltered slightly when seeing the man, but he just avoided eye contact and counted down again.

Tyler danced whole-heartedly but kept his eyes trained on the two men at the front of the room. He recognized the older gentleman as the dean of the school, Dr. Rivers. He was holding a clipboard, a fancy pen stuck in his front breast pocket. Joshua looked over at him as he stood beside him, nodding slightly when the dean whispered something to him. They seemed to be having a full conversation through whispers and nods, their expressions nothing but serious and cold.

Tyler hated that look on his lover's face, one of maturity and stone, as if he were now made of hard rock.

"Melanie, point your toes," Joshua called, pausing the quiet conversation he was having. The colorful haired girl looked startled, but then pointed her toes as much as she could. "Tyler, posture." the brunette rolled his shoulders back and led his whole body with his chest.

By the end of the routine, the room was sweating and out of breath; "Just the way it should be" Josh said every time he recognized the familiar faces of his student now drained and flushed red. Everyone reset themselves by drinking water and shaking out their bones. The brunette watched with a careful eye as Dean Rivers shook Josh's hand and walked out of the studio.

"C'mon Ty, we gotta keep practicing!" Melanie exclaimed with child-like wonderment as she grabbed his wrist and pulled him back onto the dance floor.

;

The dean had asked to see Joshua in his office after his last class. His nerves were jolting around within his chest and stomach.

"Joshua. Please, sit." The pink haired man walked into the pristine office, feeling so intimidated by the older gentleman before him who seemed much more put together and sophisticated than him (a "real man", someone who had a "real job" with a "real income").

"Yes, sir." his dominant attitude quickly diminished. When he was around his boss, his whole personality changed, and he was aware of that. He turned into someone like his father; always taking orders and never allowing themselves to think about the outcome and how it would affect them personally. He hated it.

"Joshua. You've done an excellent job with your students over the past few weeks of classes," The teacher smiled and nodded slightly in acceptance to the compliment. He wasn't so welcoming to the cajolery because he knew what was coming next. "but some students think that you maybe are being a little too harsh."