Title: The Dancer In You

Summary: [Step Up 2] Director Collins auditions a girl with familiar moves. When he looks into her previous dance instruction, he finds out why. Futurefic, AndieBlake. Mentions of TylerNora.

Disclaimer: Don't own it. Have the soundtrack and the DVD, though. Original characters such as Carlo and various students are mine, as is the story.

Author's Note: From the first time I saw Step Up 2, I thought Andie had a lot more chemistry with Blake than she did with blondie. I've read a few BlakeAndie fics (well, the beginnings of some, anyway, as most of them seem to be abandoned), but they always involve her still being his student and have to deal with the moral and legal issues stemming from the situation. I wanted to do something a little different.

This story is slightly AU from the movie in that Andie and Chase were never romantically involved (no tree flirting or in-the-rain kiss), but they are good friends. Almost six years have passed since the night the MSA Crew took The Streets outside. I'm assuming Blake was 24 in the movie (it doesn't seem too far off base to think the "legend" would have graduated from MSA when he was 14) and that Chase and Andie were 17. So they are now 30 and 23 respectively.

Reading Key: Italics indicate emphasis. One "x TDIY x" left justified is a change of point of view (starting next chapter since this one is all Blake's POV). Centered line breaks of multiple "x TDIY x"s equal a scene change.

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It was the beginning of Blake Collins' seventh year as Dance Director at the Maryland School of the Arts, and he and the other dance instructors were holding auditions for the new academic season. Chase sat, sprawled, in a folding chair at the end of the table, in charge of the music system as had become tradition. His younger brother, now an instructor in the Modern Dance division of the school, still acted bored when the more classically trained hopefuls performed. But he'd never once tried to get out of the duty. Evidently the odd unconventional applicant was enough to retain Chase's interest in the process.

They had been through eight dancers… the musicians and actors had their own separate auditions the previous day and Blake wasn't a part of those… before Chase became more alert. Oddly, at least to Blake's mind, the student-hopeful was dressed in a conservative ballet leotard and tights. After handing her application to him, she gave her iPod to Chase along with a friendly smile. Chase smiled back and winked. Blake's eyebrows rose. He didn't think his brother was into younger girls, and certainly not this young, but it was obvious the two knew each other.

Blake paid particular attention to the girl, trying to see if maybe she was the daughter of a family friend or someone else they knew through work. But her identity remained a mystery. Even when the classical music for her audition piece transitioned seamlessly to a more hip hop beat. The girl's dancing also blended one form into another, ballet skills becoming more forceful and precise until she was street dancing. There was something familiar about some of her moves, but Blake couldn't put his finger on precisely what it was.

Since his first eventful year as Dance Director, Blake had immersed himself in whatever he could discover about street dance. At first it had been to further develop the class he'd added to MSA's schedule of offered courses. It had become something of a hobby after that. The movements of street dance were, in a way, more restrictive than ballet and other dance styles. But the energy and emotion evident from most of its performers was amazing. He was too conditioned in classical ballet to ever attempt street dance himself, but he had become a fan of observing it. Blake even sat in on some of Chase's classes when his own schedule allowed it.

But even having seen a lot of this type of dancing and recognizing that like other forms of dance there were only so many combinations of moves that could be performed, it seemed like there was something he was missing as he watched the girl's routine wind down. Something kept prodding him with the thought that he should know why her dancing was familiar. As the girl left the stage to collect her iPod, Blake thanked her as was customary.

She smiled, a gesture that brightened considerably when Chase told her, "Great job, Kate."

As the next applicant came in, Blake put Kate's application aside to check it over more thoroughly when they were done. Two hours later, despite giving full attention to the rest of the applicants, Blake was still pondering Kate's familiarity. He granted the other teachers a fifteen-minute break before they would compare notes on the auditions. All but Chase left the auditorium. Pulling the application he had set aside back to him, Blake read through it quickly, stopping when he read the name of her current dance studio.

"The Dancer In You?" Blake read aloud. "What kind of name is that?"

Chase glared at him. "What? Would you like it better if she called it the Andrea West Studio or something?"

It took a few moments for the words to sink in.

"Andie? Andie has a dance studio?"

"Of course she does," Chase frowned. "You know Mom and Dad got pissed and threatened to cut me off when I wanted to work for her instead of teaching here."

Actually, he had no idea.

"It's news to me," he shot back, his voice slightly raised.

It bothered him that he hadn't known, and it was easy to take it out on his brother. They'd gotten closer in the last few years, but the competitiveness their parents had purposely fostered between them growing up still came to the fore at the slightest provocation. Chase resented that he was the "Legend," the golden boy of the family, and Blake was secretly jealous that his younger brother had lived most of his life how he wanted instead of following their parents' wishes.

Chase's frown had deepened, and his brows were furrowed in confusion. "Oh." His face cleared. "You were out of town when we had the big fight about it. They kept bringing you up, so I forgot you hadn't actually been there for it."

Blake nodded understanding. "Well, it does explain why that girl Kate's dancing seemed a little familiar. I take it from your friendliness toward her that despite going along with our parents' wishes that you still help Andie occasionally?"

To his surprise, Chase shook his head. "No. Andie didn't want to step on any toes, so she refuses to hire me part-time. I hang out there on the weekends, though. I know Kate and a couple of the other older kids from when Andie asked me to speak to the ones interested in applying for MSA admission."

"Does anyone else from the Crew work with her?" Blake asked.

"Only Missy and Hair. But Tyler Gage and Nora Clark teach there too. You know them from alumni stuff, right?"

"We've met a few times," Blake confirmed.

"So, what did you think of Kate?"

Blake glanced toward the exit to make sure none of the other instructors were returning yet. "We have to reach a consensus, of course, but personally I think she'd make an excellent addition to the school."

Chase smiled.

Blake hesitated. "Do you think she'd mind if I dropped by?"

"Who?" Chase asked. "Oh, you mean Andie? I don't see why she'd have a problem with it."

It wasn't a ringing endorsement, and Blake thought he understood why from the defensiveness in Chase's tone. Andie was the best friend that Chase had ever had. She'd also been his friend longer than anyone else, sticking with him through ups and downs. Their parents were convinced Andie was secretly Chase's girlfriend, but Blake knew better. Andie was like the sister Chase used to wish they had when they were younger, and she made a much better sibling to his brother than Blake had ever been able to be. Chase was clearly afraid that Blake would say something condescending about The Dancer In You, thereby hurting Andie's feelings.

The only way to prove his brother wrong was through time and his actions.

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Despite the full schedule that went with the beginning of a new academic year, Blake was able to find time to drop by Andie's dance studio the next evening. The studio was located in the area of downtown more populated with Mom and Pop small businesses as opposed to conglomerates and skyscrapers. Blake parked in the attached parking lot, glancing in his rearview mirror quickly. Deciding the suit jacket and tie he was wearing were a bit much when this was a personal visit and not a professional one, he took them both off and set them in back seat. Unbuttoning the two top buttons on his collared shirt, he got out of his car and walked around the building to the front door. He was oddly anxious about what he would find.

The shallow front section of the building was brightly lit and welcoming. The walls were dream colored aside from the area covered by an impressive mural. The two biggest sections of the mural were a scene from the Nutcracker ballet and what he recognized as the MSA Crew's performance at The Streets, though the painting style was impressionistic enough that no one person was identifiable. The rest of it was pictures of all different styles of dance being performed.

There were a couple fichus trees in the corners of the room, fake from the look of the fibrous fake-moss in their pots, and a counter that came up to a few inches above his waist-level sat on the left hand side of the room, a closed door on the right. On the counter was a bell, a small card propped beside it that read simply, "For Assistance." Blake reached over and tapped the bell. Slightly nervous, he clasped behind his back as he waited. And waited. Several minutes passed and he was about to try ringing the bell again when the interior door swinging open made it unnecessary.

"Sorry for the wait," a familiar figure rushed behind the counter, pulling a selection of brochures from a drawer and spreading them rather artfully before him. "One of our staff is off on maternity leave and her replacement doesn't start until tomorrow. Not that you needed to know all that. So, what kind of class were you…" she trailed off when she finally stood still enough to look at him. "Director Collins!" Andie swept the pamphlets back into a stack, returning them to their drawer. "What can I do for you?"

"You could give me a tour, Andie," he smiled charmingly, intrigued when a light blush colored her cheeks. "And I believe I've told you before to call me Blake."

"Sorry," she said again, shrugging. "Old habits, I guess."

Blake nodded acceptance, prompting, "How about that tour?"

"Sure. We're not MSA, but you're welcome to see what we've got."

Like Chase's had been yesterday, her tone was on the defensive side, but Blake didn't really have anything to say about the place yet. So he kept his mouth shut, waiting for her to come out from behind the counter so he could follow her.

To be continued…