Haunted

"Let's have a talk." - UNEDITED

Disclaimer: This chapter has not been edited from the original as posted on JBFF. There will be mistakes, typos, continuity problems and other issues.

------------------------------------------

Chloe paused before she left the over air-conditioned rehearsal building and peeled off her hoodie. She shoved it into her bag and followed the rest of her classmates out into the scorching Chicago summer air.

"This is nothin, I'm tellin you," Danny insisted, pulling a cigarette out immediately. He passed one to Slade and held the pack out for Chloe. She waved it away. "Back home it's like walking through the devil's armpit."

"It's the humidity," Chloe cringed as a bead of sweat rolled down her neck. They'd been outside 5 seconds and she was already dripping. "It's hotter than this in LA but it doesn't feel like this."

"I think hot is hot, no matter where you are," Slade shrugged. He held his lighter out to light Danny's cigarette. "I'm not ready to go home though, that's for sure."

"Nope, no thanks," Danny shook his head.

Chloe wasn't sure what to say to that. She didn't really want to go home but she missed Clay a lot. They talked every day but it wasn't the same at all. He seemed to be getting better, at least he acted like it, but until Chloe could get back and see for sure she would still worry.

The Summer Dance Institute was everything Chloe dreamed. Every day was full of dance classes and the teachers were incredible. It was how she wished school could be all the time and kind of what college would be like. Going back to her weekly classes after this would suck.

Even being surrounded by other dancers all the time was great. Chloe was afraid going in she'd get stuck with a bunch of spoiled, bratty girls who thought they were flawless ballerinas but almost everyone was nice and very real. There were a few brats, because there always are, but they stayed away from everyone else so they weren't even annoying.

As always, Chloe found she was a magnet for the gays. No matter which crowd she was in, they seemed to be able to pick her out right away. During their orientation on the first day, Danny flung himself in the chair next to her and announced, not at all quietly, that he was going to steal her Betsey Johnson bag if she didn't keep an eye on it.

They'd been inseparable since. Add Danny's "best friend" Slade and the three were pretty much only apart for their non-coed classes. Chloe dreaded leaving them behind at the end of the program.

"Ugh, my mom," Danny sighed. "You two go on, I'll see you later," he said, looking at his phone.

"Tell her I said hi," Slade said. Danny nodded but stopped at a bench. "You wanna skip the dining hall tonight and get pizza? It's like the one thing I wanted to do while we were here."

"Yeah," Chloe agreed. "Can I change?"

"Uh, yeah," Slade glanced down. "I'm pretty secure but I'm not eating pizza in tights."

"Those are barely tights," Chloe laughed. Most of the guys wore leggings for classes and, despite the heat, threw on sweats over them whenever they left the building.

They walked to the residence hall where all the dance students were staying for the program. Chloe took a quick shower and threw on a sundress because it was the most comfortable thing she had. Slade was waiting in the lobby.

"I looked online and this place is the best," Slade said when he gave the cab driver the address. "I hope you're hungry," he added.

"Yeah, starving," Chloe said. "I should text my family, before they start bugging me," she remembered. As long as she texted her parents once a day they pretty much left her alone. Hannah too, but Chloe usually had a lot of things she wanted to tell Hannah so that was different.