AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You eight are the best of the best. You are the dancers we’ve chosen to represent Stardom Academy in this show,” Madame Tuillard explains.
“But he isn’t even a student,” I blurt out, pointing at Dax.
Slowly his gaze meets mine. There’s zero emotion in them. None. “I was late enrolling. Shit to do,” he says, by way of explanation. Everyone seems to accept the bullshit, bar Clancy and me, though neither of us are stupid enough to question it further.
“Well, I’msureglad you’re here,” Sophie, the one girl in this group I’ve not spoken to yet, says.
My head whips around to glare at her but she’s too busy ogling Dax to notice me murdering her with my gaze. She can fuck right off. A sense of ownership rips through me and I want to launch myself at her. He may not be mine anymore but that doesn’t mean to say I want him, or any of the Breakers, to be anyone else’s either.
“Okay, well. We’ll leave you in the capable hands of Xeno. Tuillard and I have work to be getting on with,” D-Neath says, wrapping his arm around Madame Tuillard’s back and escorting her from the room. We all know what kind ofworkhe’s referring to.
The minute they’ve gone. Xeno strides to the centre of the room. “Up,” he demands.
We all climb to our feet, though I make sure that I’m the last one to stand. I’m not going to make this easy for him, the fucker. “I’m pairing you off first,” he continues, pointing to York then Clancy. “You two are our tap experts. Get acquainted.”
Clancy flicks her gaze at me, biting her lip. I give her a little nod of my head, telling her I’m okay with this, even when I’m not. She walks over to his side, and he grins down at her, giving her a smile that used to only be reserved for me. My stomach flips. He doesn’t acknowledge me, or the fact he was in my room half-naked the other night.
Xeno moves around us. I watch as he taps Tiffany’s shoulder, then River’s. Neither look happy to be paired up, but if this is going the way I think then it’s obvious they’ve been put together because they’re the ballet experts. Tiffany gives Xeno a death glare, and River blows out a breath. Poor guy.
“You’re my ballet duo,” Xeno confirms, leaving four of us.
Zayn looks as though he’s about to explode whereas Dax isn’t giving anything away. I already know how this is going to go. It’s obvious to me. Dax was the one who kissed me first, he was the one who stepped across the invisible barrier between me and the rest of the Breakers, the line that kept us securely in the friend zone. Even though I loved all of them, even though I kissed Zayn and York too, Dax has never really adhered to Xeno’s rules completely and because of that, he’ll pair me with Zayn.
“Sophie, you’re paired up with Zayn. Dax with Pen.”
“What?!” I splutter, unable to keep my surprise contained.
Zayn snatches his head around, glaring at Xeno who strides past all of us, gritting his jaw. Dax doesn’t even flinch, he doesn’t acknowledge my surprise or even glance my way. Clancy has her mouth wide open in shock. I just shake my head at her, begging her with my eyes not to make it obvious that there’s an issue even though I’ve just done exactly that with my little outburst.
“Zayn and Sophie are well matched in hip-hop. They have the same aggression and skill,” Xeno says, by way of explanation.
Sophie grins, her silky black hair falling over her shoulder as she moves towards Zayn. On the way past she winks at me and I almost reach out and slap the smile off her face. She smiles at Zayn who gives her a cursory glance then looks away, locking his jaw tight and folding his arms across his chest.
“Despite his size,” Xeno continues, “Dax is a talented contemporary dancer. He missed orientation week because he was otherwise engaged. I can assure you, you’re well suited.” Xeno flat out ignores the tension and begins flipping through his music list on his mobile. Hooking it up to the sound system, he turns to face us all, unbothered by the bomb he’s just detonated, but I’m not. My legs seem to move of their own accord as I stumble backwards.
I can’t dance with Dax.
I can’t be here in this place withanyof them.
I can’t do this.
I’m a fool to ever think I could make something of myself.
I’m a stupid, naïve, fool.
“Find a spot in the studio and get acquainted with your partner. By the end of the session I expect you to have the basis of an idea down for the duets. Only one duet will be selected to showcase on the big night. So I suggest you make it good. You’ve got plenty of time to practice.”
“Fuck this,” I mutter.
Twisting on my feet, I head towards the studio door and yank it open, striding from the room. I can hear Tiffany’s cackle following me out.Bitch. Really, what the fuck is her problem?
“Pen!” Clancy calls from behind me, but I ignore both her and Xeno who tells her to get back into the dance studio.
“Let her run,” Xeno says, making a kind of scoffing noise as he shuts the door.
Pushing into the ladies changing room, I head immediately for one of the stools and empty my stomach of what’s left of my non-existent breakfast, yacking up bile and the bitter taste of coffee. Even though I really want to cry, I refuse to let the tears fall.
Why are they doing this to me? David will fly back here and will follow through on the threat he made all those years ago if he thinks I’m getting close to them again. It doesn’t matter that I don’t want them here. It doesn’t matter that they clearly don’t care for me anymore. David will see what he wants to see, and we’ll all be screwed. I don’t even think Jeb could stop David if he really wanted to hurt me or anyone else I love, for that matter.
