Shake Things Up| Aphmau Dance AU

17.

     "Wow, that's shitty," Kawaii Chan's sister, Rebel, comments.

Kawaii Chan stayed the night at her old home with her family. She wanted to get away from everyone because she felt she couldn't trust anybody. She sits in the living room across from her younger sister, her head resting on her knees.

"I would be so upset if that happened to me!" Penny, Rebel's girlfriend, adds.

Penny leans onto her girlfriend's shoulder and sighs comfortably. Kawaii Chan wipes away a tear and clears her throat.

"Kawaii Chan- I still have to go back.. the competition is soon and it would be unfair to Zane if I just left...," Kawaii Chan says, feeling upset.

"I would just run away if I were you. Find another dance company, find new friends, you know," Rebel suggests, earning a punch on her shoulder.

"Rebel! She can't just run from her problems!" Penny exclaims, rolling her eyes.

Rebel throws her hands up in defense and laughs,

"It was just a suggestion!"

Kawaii Chan laughs slightly and looks at her phone, her eyes widening as she checks the time. She bounces out of her seat in panic. Rebel and Penny freak out, not understanding why Kawaii Chan is freaking out.

"I have to go! I'm going to be late for practice!"

"Kawaii Chan, wait," Penny walks to Kawaii Chan and puts her hands on her shoulders, "when you get there, show your friends that you won't deal with their lies anymore! Got it?"

Kawaii Chan smiles a bit and nods. Penny grins and pulls Kawaii Chan into a hug. Kawaii Chan pulls away from the hug and rushes to the door.

"I'll see you later guys! I won't be gone long!" Kawaii Chan practically sprints out of the door and into her car, rushing to the dance studio.

———

"Baby brother... can you forgive me?" Garroth asks, tugging the arm of his younger brother.

Garroth has felt extremely guilty since the night before and he's been very apologetic. Zane has tried everything to get his brother to go away. He's shrugged him off, told him to go away, ignored him multiple times, nothing worked. Zane is now standing in the middle of his practice room with his brother begging for forgiveness.

"Fine! I forgive you! Will you leave me alone now?" Zane snaps, pushing his brother off of his arm.

"Yes," Garroth replies, turning around and walking away.

Zane sighs and picks up his phone. He realizes Kawaii Chan is late... is she skipping practice today? Perhaps he should just begin without her. He drops his dance bag and does his regular stretches. He pulls his mask down and takes a breather. He decides he may be alone for a while, so he just plays his own music for now. "To Build a Home" plays through the speaker and he stands up.
He closes his eyes and lets his body decide what it wants to do. He smiles at the thought of being free for a moment. No rules, no body telling him what to do, nobody pointing out every mistake he makes, and he just feels independent again. He dances slowly and delicately. He doesn't want to ruin this moment.
Without Zane noticing, the door opens and Kawaii Chan stands in the doorway. She's quick to enter and doesn't bother glancing at Zane before she begins her stretches. It's not until she notices his weird silence that she looks up and sees him dancing. She observes the soft smile on his face that his now visible because his mask is down. The way he moves to the song calms her down and steals her attention.
The song soon has to end and Zane stops where he is, his breathing heavy. He opens his eyes and looks into the mirror to himself, but notices he's not alone. He turns around and looks at an awestruck Kawaii Chan, her golden eyes wide and her cheeks pink. They stand there for a minute in silence before he tears his eyes away.

"You're late."

"Kawaii Chan knows," Kawaii Chan says, turning her attention to the floor.

"Probably isn't a good idea considering the competition is so soon," Zane retorts, placing his mask over his face.

     "Yeah.. Zane Kun is right..."

     Zane looks back over to the pitiful Kawaii Chan and exhales.

     "Kawaii Chan, look, let's not make things weird between us, okay? Yesterday was just a big misunderstanding. Let's move past that."

     Kawaii Chan has a look of relief as she looks up at Zane and nods. The two of them play their chosen song and go through their regular practice. Sure, it was a little awkward, but it was the best they could do.

———

     "How was the date?" Laurance asks, holding onto Garroth's shoulder as he stretches his leg.

      "It was uh, awful. Yeah, horrible. I'm starting to think I don't really like Katelyn," Garroth lies.

     Laurance drops his leg and steps away from Garroth slightly. He tilts his head and stares at Garroth confusedly.

     "Oh well, okay then. Sorry it didn't work out!" Laurance decides to change the subject. He takes a sip of his water and puts his hands in his pockets.

     "It's alright."

     "Man, I didn't have breakfast this morning. You think after practice that we could stop by the diner?"

     Garroth beams and nods. Laurance returns the smile and punches his pal's arm.

———

      "Guys! We have to win!" Dante boasts, showing off a toothy grin.

     "Hell yeah we have to win!" Travis adds, smirking.

     He leans against the mirror and looks over to Katelyn who has a remorseful look on her face. He walks over to her and puts a hand on her shoulder.

     "Hey.. you okay?"

    "Travis, I messed up. I messed up big time," Katelyn spits out.

     "You? You never mess up! You're perfect! I'm sure whatever happened wasn't that bad!"

     "Really? I lied to Kawaii Chan saying that Zane liked her. Not only that, but we set up a fake triple date because Laurance thinks Garroth likes me! Kawaii Chan found out the truth and I just feel horrible."

     Travis's eyes widen a bit before laughing softly, his white hair partially bouncing up as he does so.

     "Wow.. that's insane!" Travis comments.

     "Why are you laughing?" Katelyn asks, looking offended.

     "I just think it's kind of funny. I'm sorry. I'm sure the situation could be solved if you just apologize," Travis suggests.

     "Yeah.."

     "Let's practice you two! There's no way I'm letting Gene and his pals beat us!"

———

     "Kawaii Chan," Aphmau calls, knocking on the door of her practice room.

     Kawaii Chan turns and looks at the door before walking towards it and opening it.

     "A..Aphmau Senpai?"

     "Hey KC, I just want to apologize.. We lied to you and we shouldn't have done that. We messed with your emotions and we hurt you.. Kawaii Chan, could you forgive me?"

     "Well...," Kawaii Chan begins, tapping her chin.

      "Well?"

     "Of course.. Kawaii Chan is hurt, but she can't stay mad forever," Kawaii Chan says.

     Aphmau smiles and hugs her friend and Kawaii Chan hugs her back.

———

Next chapter is the dance competition! That's not the end of the book though! The dance competition may be in parts, but I'm not completely sure yet! I finally have the slightest bit of motivation to write, so that's why it may seem like parts of the story are coming out so fast!

(My friend mentioned the fact that I made Kawaii Chan go home in the last book too... so.. my bad..)