He was Julian's best friend. She was his kid sister. Nothing about her would make him feel the way she felt about him, nothing could make him love her.

At least, that's what she thought he thought about her as she spun in front of the mirrored wall in the studio, pulsing to an imaginary beat. She took two flying leaps, spinning over herself, looping gracefully through the air, then landed and launched into an improvised routine.

Natalie froze as she whirled past his motionless figure. His signature black hat was pulled down low over his face, throwing his features into shadow. He was leaning against the wall, slouched, watching her with evident amusement. His gaze was derisive and a small smile played around the corners of his lips. He seemed to be daydreaming, listening to his iPod with an unreadable expression, but she could tell from the telltale sharpness of his eyes that he'd been watching her every move.

"Hey."

She gave him a shy little wave in the mirror, and then shut the door hurriedly, collapsing behind it. She could hear chuckling from behind the closed door, and gritted her teeth.

"Kid! You coming? We need to practice for the world jam!" Julien's voice floated down the hall, followed by approaching footsteps.

"You go ahead first. I've got my part covered." He sounded bored.

"Natalie?"

"No, uh, I'll just, you know…stick with my routine, thanks."

"Whatever, man."

Natalie paused in front of the mirror, cocking her head to one side slowly, listening for any sounds that might indicate movement.

It sounded like Julien had left. There was silence in the hallway now. Natalie tiptoed over to the door, and wrenched it open in one swift movement. The hallway was deserted. Sighing in relief, she turned the corner that led to her bedroom, and tripped over something.

"Oh, shoot!" She stumbled and cussed quietly, looking around wildly for whatever she'd crashed into, but to no avail, because her head was still spinning from the fall.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Two strong hands lifted her off the ground, propping her up against a nearby wall. As her head cleared, Natalie found herself staring directly into Kid Darkness' eyes. They were burning with an unknown emotion, and the intensity left her breathless.

"I'm…uh, totally fine. Yeah. Thanks for, um…" She gestured at his hands around her waist.

Kid Darkness grinned.

"Anytime."

He turned and took a few hesitant steps away, his eyes still locked on hers. Then he gave the most fleeting of smiles and left.

"Hey, ten bucks on the skinny kid!"

"No way, man…!"

"Who, me?"

Natalie peered through the gathering crowds, searching for a familiar face, anyone from the House of Samurai.

A spinning blur of dark clothes caught her attention. Kid Darkness was in the centre of the circle, smirking at a younger boy who stood staring insolently at him.

"Let's see what 'cha got!" screamed someone from the crowd.

He started to move, jerking his arms awkwardly up at first, then moving into more fluid moves, twisting and cricketing, then jumping onto the table to continue his routine. Natalie saw the anger flash in Kid Darkness' eyes as the gathering wavered in their support for him.

"Not bad, skinny!"

A dark blur plowed into the table with the force and speed of a hurricane, and the smaller boy was knocked off. The blur slowed, to reveal Kid Darkness. He gave a cocky smile, shifting quickly through a few moves, before flipping off the table easily. The crowd roared their approval.

The skinny boy was back on his feet, but Natalie could hardly see anymore. The crowd surged around the park, screaming and dancing along with him. Through the mass of people, she saw Kid Darkness slip away, his expression hostile and his eyes fierce.

She followed him for a short distance, matching his lithe stride easily.

"You did well back there."

Natalie squeezed herself in beside him, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"You don't understand, Natalie. Dancing is my life. One lost battle – that's a lot to me."

His eyes flashed, and his mouth was set into a grim line.

"No, you listen." She moved in front of him, placing herself directly in his path so he couldn't move.

"I know all about how important this is to you. You can't change the crowd's opinion of how a kid won, by flashing fancy power moves and cheap stunts like jumping into a bunch of balloons or popping bubbles, but you can believe in yourself. You can do what you think is right. What you want."

Kid Darkness stayed silent, pondering the matter.

"Follow your heart." Natalie added, taking his hand in hers.

He took her face in his hands, pulling her closer gently towards himself.

"No, wait. What are you doing?" Natalie suddenly felt light-headed and slightly dizzy. This was the moment she'd been waiting for, and now it felt so right.

Kid Darkness laughed quietly, kissing her squarely on the lips.

"Following my heart."