I Won't Let You Close Enough to Hurt Me

Chapter 7

     Brooke, Brandon, and Nick entered studio A timidly. They knew that they had an uncomfortable week ahead of them. However, Abby had trained them to be professionals, and that was exactly how they were going to act.

     "Alright guys, I assume that you're all stretched, so let's just dive right into the choreography," Abby said. "Brooke, there will be some acro tricks, but not as many as you're used to. I want this dance to be mainly lyrical. But all the tricks you do must be flawless. Brandon and Nick, one of you will have a lot of lifting to do. This is a dance about two people that are in love, so there is a lot of partner work. Are you guys ready for this?"

     "Yes," they all replied.

     Abby started to teach them the choreography, and she was right. The was a lot of partner work, and a lot of the lifts were very awkward. She knew that her mom would complain later about how inappropriate the lifts were. With the exception of some of the partner work, Brooke loved the routine. It was a beautiful lyrical number, which she wasn't used to. All the dances she had been doing lately were acro. As much as she loved doing tricks, she loved lyrical more. This was her favorite out of every dance she had ever been given.

     The choreography took about an hour to learn, so Abby wanted Brooke to run it one time with each boy before the rehearsal ended. "So Brooke, who do you want to dance with first?" Abby asked.

     "Nick," Brooke said, without missing a beat.

     Brooke and Nick walked out to the center of the floor, while Brandon sat off to the side. The dance went pretty well. They both had the choreography perfectly, and Nick was great at all the lifts. The only problem was that they lacked chemistry. As they were dancing, Brooke could just feel it. She knew Abby would be upset, but Brooke just didn't know how to create chemistry with someone that she had no feelings for.

     "Well, not too bad for the first day," Abby said, and Brooke could tell that she wasn't impressed. "Brandon, you're turn."

     When they first started dancing, it couldn't have been more uncomfortable. Anyone watching could tell that neither of them wanted to be there. But, after the first lift, things changed. When he held her in his arms, she melted. She remembered all the amazing dances they had done, and all the amazing memories they had together. After that, every move felt natural, and every time she looked into his eyes, she felt passion. When the dance ended, Abby started applauding.

     "Now that's what I call chemistry. You guys started off a little rocky, but you finished strong. I'm very proud of both of you," Abby beamed. "Well, that's all for today. See you guys at tomorrow's rehearsal."

     As Brooke walked out of studio A, her face was bright red. She couldn't believe that she had such a strong connection with Brandon. As she packed up her dance bag and got ready to leave, she looked over at Nick. He looked heartbroken. Brooke had tried so hard to do well with Nick, but dancing with Brandon just felt more natural.

     "Come on Brooke, time to go!" Kelly yelled into the dancers den.

     "Alright!" Brooke replied. "See you tomorrow, Nick." On her way out, Nick gave her a smile that looked very forced. It only made Brooke feel worse about the whole situation.

     When Brooke hopped in the car, she grabbed her headphones out of her back and stuck them in her ears, signaling that she didn't want to talk to anyone. But that didn't stop Kelly and Paige from asking questions about her rehearsal.

     "I thought you wanted to do the duet with Nick?" Paige asked. Brooke just rolled her eyes.

     "I do want to do the duet with Nick," Brooke said flatly.

     "Well it seems like you had much more chemistry with Brandon when you were dancing," Kelly said with a worried look on her face. Brandon was three years older than her daughter. She hadn't liked them being together much in the first place, but she definitely didn't want them getting back together after he had broken Brooke's heart.

     "I don't want to talk about this anymore," Brooke said, as she started to cry. It was all just so overwhelming. She didn't know how she felt about Brandon or Nick right now.

     Paige and Kelly stopped asking questions, and continued the drive home in silence. When they arrived back at the house, Brooke ran straight up to her room, locked the door, and turned off her phone. She wanted a few minutes of peace so she could think about everything that had happened that day. However, her peace didn't last long.

     When she turned her phone on ten minutes later, she had two new messages. One from Nick, and one from Brandon.