"Five, six, seven, eight"

The deep bass of the music pulsated through his body with each precise movement.

Step, kick, head, arm. Wait, two, three, four.

Blaine Anderson smiled in anticipation, focusing on the corner of the room as he approached his favorite moment of the combination.

Turn, turn, jump, step, step, hold, down, out.

He dropped his body to the ground in a dramatic fall, only to immediately rebound back up and into a triple pirouette.

Run, run, run, step, leap, step, pose.

The half of the class not dancing gave a polite round of applause as Blaine made his way to the side of the room. He exchanged a glance with Mike Chang, who gave him a thumbs-up. Blaine smiled then refocused himself so he could watch and mark the combination again. Sure, he was completely winded, but he still had to work out the timing on that tricky arm movement near the beginning.

Step, kick, head, arm…

Kurt Hummel shielded his eyes as he stepped out of the car and looked up at the large Victorian building.

"Wow. I know it looked big in the brochures and everything, but this is…"

"I know, Dad. I know."

"So you must be Kurt!" A cheery voice emerged out of nowhere, startling Kurt and his father.

"Yes, that's me." Kurt held out his hand to the girl who'd just greeted them.

The blonde girl shook his hand with a smile. "Quinn Fabray. I hope you packed light, Kurt."

Kurt raised an eyebrow. Quinn giggled.

"Well, you two parked in the front lot, but the ballet dorms are all the way across campus. We've got a long walk ahead of us."

"-on my paraaaaaaade!"

Rachel Berry dropped her arms, nearly gasping for air after her final note.

"Mediocre."

"Only 'mediocre'?" Rachel nearly screamed. "Jesse, this is the sixth time you've made me sing the ending, which was fabulous in the first place and has undoubtedly improved, and all you can say is 'mediocre'?"

"Well, yes." Jesse St. James stood from his seat in the auditorium, staring up at the girl on the stage. "The first time you sang it was just above the standards of a wailing cat on crack. You should be honored to have made such an accomplishment."

Rachel scowled.

"However, I still expect to see you at auditions next Wednesday. Harwood Hall, Room 103. Don't be late." Jesse kept a stern face as he turned and strode out the door, leaving behind a very determined vocalist.

It had been a long day of work, but the painting was finally complete.

Sugar Motta proudly displayed her latest work on her easel in the corner of the room. Of course, the display wasn't for anyone but her, as the annual art show wasn't for many more months. To add to that, if she were to present anything in her current state, she'd practically blend in with her painting. So many colors of paint were splattered and smeared on her arms and legs that she was practically a work of art herself.

"An excellent job as usual, Lauren. Very good." Sugar heard the teacher say as she made her rounds around the art studio. "Wesley! Amazing work with the point of view of that bridge. I can really see it from the perspective of a squirrel by the river's shore."

Sugar heard the teacher approaching with every click and clack of her heels.

Soon enough, the teacher was looking down at her, frowning. "Now, Sugar…what did we say about the control of our painting techniques?"

"Paint the paper, not ourselves." Sugar mumbled, feeling heat rush to her cheeks.

"Thank you honey. And please, next time, paint something worthwhile. I don't know what all this 'abstract' mumbo-jumbo is, but once you're over this phase I'd like to see a masterpiece, okay, sweetie?"

Sugar winced at how the teacher had said "abstract" as if she had said something like "fecal matter" or "frog intestines".

"Sugar, I would like an answer, please."

Sugar looked down at her feet.

"Yes, Mom."

Dalton Academy of the Arts: An elite school for all things dance, music, theater and art. Founded over a century ago, the school had undergone a financial crisis during the Great Depression, causing the school's ownership to fall into the hands of one Wallace Abernathy, a great supporter of the arts who happened to be extremely wealthy. He agreed to fund the school, under the condition that it be dedicated to the study of the arts.

At first the all-boys school offered very few courses, only teaching classical music and painting. But as the years progressed and society changed, so did the school. First, the blazers (in school colors: navy blue with red piping) were abolished in the 1960's. In the 1980's, the school became co-ed and added dance into its standard curriculum, which by then had been expanded to include the theater arts, orchestra, band and visual arts. In the 90's, the Nat Fein section of Dalton dedicated to photography broke off from the visual arts program, and the Arthur Miller Theater School broke off from the general theater arts curriculum, further dividing the exclusive school into specific sections. By that time even the dance curriculum was divided, splitting into a section of ballet and modern and a section of jazz, tap and hip-hop.

So much had changed over the many years, but there was one thing that always remained constant: the rivalries.

It had started out between just the band and the orchestra, and gradually escalated until every section of Dalton had a specific rival. The theater kids (Millers, as they liked to call themselves) despised the musical theater junkies. The painters and sculptors couldn't stand the photographers (who also had a nickname: the Natties). However, the worst rivalry of all was that between the dancers. Not a week went by when the two groups of dancers didn't compete for dominance of the studios.

But like all other traditions at the school, this wasn't bound to last.

The year was 2012, and everything at Dalton was about to change.

AN: Hi, guys.

So, I'm sorry if this is...kind of weird.

I'm just letting you know that in terms of ships, this is going to be mostly KLAINE, with a side of St. Berry, Tike, Brittana and other couples I haven't decided on quite yet.

However, as assumed from this intro, it will be told from the POV's of all four main characters, who are Blaine, Kurt, Rachel and Sugar.

Yes, I love me some Sugar. :P

Just bear with me and hopefully this will come out okay...ish.

xoxo,

Baysyl

-SMALL NOTE HERE-

So, it has recently occurred to me that some people reading this might actually go to boarding school...or art school...or something of the sort.

I just want to let you know that I have no personal experience with boarding or art school whatsoever. The knowledge I'm using for this fic is limited to what I know from my experiences as a dancer and theater enthusiast, from my one year of visual arts camp and from another year of orchestral camp. That's it. So if there's anything in here that seems a little far-fetched, I apologize...because I really don't know what this stuff is like in real life.

And thanks for reading! :D