Fandom: Step Up

Characters: Nora Clark, Tyler Gage

Rating: G

Word-count: 800

Disclaimer: I own nothing. This story is based on the characters and situations created and owned by Touchstone Pictures, Summit Entertainment and various producers/choreographers. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

A New Partner

By Hannah

Sighing, Nora ran her hands down her thighs, trying to think out a strategy of what to do next. The audition had been a complete bust, the sophomores were lousy, the few that actually could lift her had dropped her just as fast or failed to be her counter-weight in another move.

It sucked because now she was back at square one -- no partner and no time to work out a decent solo for the showcase. Everything was just going from bad to worse.

"I'll do it."

She raised her head from the back of the chair to stare at the new 'janitor'. "Do what?" she asked, shaking her head, not following where he was going with this.

"I don't know, whatever y'all were trying to do out here," he explained, wiping his hands on a rag, snorting slightly.

Nora didn't know if she was supposed to feel embarrassed because he'd seen the terrible audition or laugh at him for actually suggesting what she thought he was suggesting. "You wanna lift me?" she asked, needing to confirm her thoughts. "Are you kidding?"

"Does it look like I'm kidding?"

To his credit he looked slightly defeated at her disbelief, but she wasn't going to be fooled by him. She pushed herself off the back of the chair and took a deep breath. "OK, I get it," she said, "look, you're not gonna use me to get out of cleaning the windows. Even if you were capable of dancing," she finished, leaning back again, crossing her arms.

"OK, one, I'm not trying to get out of anything," he, Tyler she'd heard someone say his name was, started, looking slightly amused, "and I know you saw me the other day."

Nora could see it in her mind, him fooling around with his friends outside the school, pulling off some pretty cool moves. It didn't mean he could dance, though. She took another deep breath, she did need a new partner, but she wasn't so desperate that she needed this guy's help. "Thank you," she said slowly, rising from her chair, "but, um, I can find someone else."

She saw a flicker of a smirk on his face before it was masked into indifference and he shrugged, "OK." He bent down to pick up the rag he'd thrown on one of the chairs beside her, turning to leave. "I was just tryin' to help."

He walked away, confident as ever, and Nora found herself wondering if he could actually do it. He seemed strong enough, that was for sure, but she still wasn't secure in knowing if he could dance her kind of dance yet.

Making up her mind, she called out to him, "OK, wait!"

He paused and turned towards her again. She breathed deep again, trying to calm her nerves. She couldn't believe what she was about to do, but hey, no harm in trying, right? She got ready to run towards him. "Catch me", was all the forewarning he got before she was sprinting towards him, steeling herself for the possibility of crashing into him or him dropping her.

Jumping to help with the lift, she held onto his shoulders and before she knew it, she was held up high above the ground only by large, warm hands on her waist. She couldn't help but let out a gasp of surprise, she hadn't actually counted on that he'd be able to hold her. But he could, he was, and she realised she felt really safe.

Letting out a soft "Umph" when he tossed her up and caught her -- one arm around her back, the other under her knees -- again, Nora felt her heart speed up. Adrenaline and something else she didn't want to think about was pulsing through her veins as she looked into Tyler's face, realising it was only inches from her own.

"Now what?"

Nora blinked, finding her mind oddly blank. What was supposed to happen next? "Um... Um..." She tried to think about anything other than Tyler's gorgeous blue eyes. "Put me down," she finally requested, trying desperately to fight the urge to tell him to carry her home or some other utterly ridiculous demand.

Putting as much space as she could between them once down on the solid floor again, Nora tried hard not to look at Tyler as she took off towards her bag and clothes.

"So?"

"So what?" Nora asked, fumbling with the buckle of her bag.

"What's it gonna be?"

Nora paused and straightened up, turning to face the taller teen. "If you seriously want to do this," she started, mentally applauding herself for the cool, collected, professional tone of her voice, "then I suppose I can try to talk to Director Gordon about possibly making you my temporary rehearsal partner."

Author's Note: Reviews make me happy!