The Nerd Can Dance

School

I avoided Lucas all Tuesday. But Wednesday, the feeling of it being unavoidable, was strong. Like a sneeze, you don't want to happen.

I looked in the mirror. My black crop top showed off my toned stomach. My jeans sat just under my belly button then I paired it with a pair of black converse. I took a deep breath then grabbed the denim jacket that laid on my bed. I put it on and grabbed my backpack on the way out. I saw Chase and my parents talking. I hid behind the wall.

"This is ridiculous. She's risking her whole future and for what? Something as silly as dancing." I heard my mother say.

"Have you two ever seen her dance?" I heard Chase's voice. "I know you want our futures to be set because you two struggled but...she's right, she hasn't been truly happy since the day you pulled her out of dance. What's the point of having a stable life if you're miserable?"

"Dancing on the side is different. She can't have a stable career as a dancer." I rolled my eyes at my father.

"Are you kidding me? There are dance shows, dancers for famous singers, movies with dancers in them. Hell if she wanted she could open her own dance studio. It's a stable enough career and at least she'll finally be happy. Why is this so hard for you to understand?"

Why was Chase defending me? Since the start of high school, he's been nothing but an ass hole. What's changed? Did Lyla get to him? Or what I said to him after auditions get to him?

I waited a moment before I just put in my headphones. It's better for them to think that I didn't hear them. I just walked out and never looked in the kitchen. I grabbed my keys and left the house. I took a deep breath once I got to my car.

I kept the music on the radio until I got to school. I texted Lyla to meet me in my locker. I got into the school only to be hounded by students as I have been for the past few days. But every day it gets a little less which is good for my sanity. "Sky!" I jumped dropping my phone in the process. I looked up at Lucas who had the camera on and pointed at me and he laughed.

"Lucas.." I said annoyance clearly coating my voice. I picked up my phone to see it wasn't cracked. Being my phone I let out a sigh of relief. "If that broke you would have paid for it," I said.

"Sorry," he said still laughing a little.

"Why are you recording me?" I asked. He turned the camera to himself still looking at me.

"You're pretty," he said with a goofy smile. I couldn't help the slight blush but I shoved him a little and continued to get my books. "Because I'm vlogging. Ms.Sandy asked me to ask you if you'd like to run a little workshop with the dance team today." He turned the camera back to me.

"Sounds good but don't we need a routine to give them?"

"I was hoping you could teach me one of yours during lunch then we teach them. How's that sound?"

"Why me?" I asked. He raised an eyebrow at me.

"We both know why," he said. That's right he's seen me in the studio when I'm alone in the studio working on dances of my own.

"Fine. You're lucky I keep extra clothes in my backpack."I told him. He turned the camera back to him.

"Perfect." he turned the camera off then leaned on the locker next to mine as I closed the door. I looked at him then for a moment behind him down the hall seeing Lyla freaking out silently. I looked back at Lucas. "So I'll see you at lunch in the studio?" I nodded and he walked away. I turned looking back at him for a moment to see him do the exact same. I looked back in front of me and saw Lyla coming to me. Nothing but pure joy on her face.

"Before you say anything," I put up my pointer finger stopping her from saying anything."Why was my brother defending me to my parents." The joy left her face and showed an apologetic face. "I can't believe you!" I said hitting her arm.

"I'm sorry! He may be a dick and a robot to your parents but not to you. I told him the truth. You haven't been happy since that day at that he needs to pull his head out of his ass and be his own person not what others want him to be. The guy we grew up with is in there somewhere. I'm sorry if I'd like to see you have a relationship with your brother."

There she goes protecting me again. But can I blame her? I haven't been on good terms with my brother for a while. I guess it started after my parents pulled me out of dance. I was mad at them. Mad at myself. Mad at the world. Along the way, I found myself mad at him too. He got mad and so on. But my parents trying to control our lives doesn't help. Pressured to do the things they want since I can remember. If I don't want to do any of the things they wanted from me, maybe he doesn't either.

I started walking away from Lyla only to feel her follow me. "Where are you going?" She asked.

"To talk to my brother."

I walked to his first-period class. The bell was about to ring but I saw him there on his desk. When he saw me I waved him over. He told his friends something then stood. He walked over to me and moved out of the doorway.

"Sky what's going on?" he sounded curious. He didn't sound annoyed like the last few times I've talked to him.

"Lyla told me what she told you and I heard you this morning with mom and dad." 

"I'm sorry you had to hear that, they're..."

"Like I haven't heard it before. They've approved of anything I do and they aren't afraid to say anything."

"Look Lyla pointed out a lot to me. I guess I've just been ignorant to it because...I don't know. Somehow we just stopped being the way we used to."

"I think I know."He looked at me eyebrows pinched together."I was mad at everything after mom and dad pulled me out of dance. I was mad at you for some reason and then it kind of never stopped being that way between us. In my defense, I don't talk much even to Lyla about how I feel."

"I'm sorry. I wish I would have known how to be there for you."

"I don't blame you. I blame our controlling parents. Speaking of. This morning I was thinking. If I didn't want to do what they wanted...maybe you didn't either. I've never seen you do something different besides what they wanted."

"I'm still trying to figure that one out." he started to walk back into the class as the bell rang but turned back to me."Oh, I bought tickets for the first live show." He just walked off and I went to my first period. 

The idea of fixing my relationship with my brother felt amazing. Before high school...We couldn't have been closer. We were so close people thought we were twins even though we're just over a year apart. Lunch came around and I met Lucas in the studio. He was doing some simple dancing to the music playing from the stereo. Then I saw the camera in the back on the tripod.

"Still filming?" I said as I dropped my bag on the floor.

"Always filming."He turned to me. "Ready to teach me an awesome dance?" he asked.

"I'm always ready," I told him. I took off my denim jacket and kicked off my shoes. I stepped up to the center on the floor Lucas to my right."Okay, 1, 2, 3, 4"