A/N: Just to make sure there's minimal confusion, when you see "Li-li" it's pronounced as "Lee-lee". It's Alice's nickname.
I'm also not much of a dance expert, so you will have to bear with me when we get into dance details. However, if you know more about dance than I do, please feel free to share some of your wisdom with me.
As usual, nothing is mine.
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Ch 1: Crash
"You ready Li-li?" Of course I was ready. We were ready. All our years of studying movement, working days, nights, and weekends, had led up to our next three minutes and twenty-four seconds on the floor. "Aren't I always ready, Alec?"
Alec and I had been friends since we were three, and dance partners since we were six. It wasn't easy for Alec, being a boy who liked to dance. Fortunately for him, I had a way of protecting him—using my feminine wiles on the boys at school (Bullies sure don't like to get their ass kicked). Ten years later, we were still best friends and trusted each other with our lives.
"Come on, baby. Show time." Alec smiled as he led me out on stage. In front of us was a concert hall full of family, friends, talent scouts, and judges. There was track lighting running across the ceiling, and a big spotlight on the back wall ready to give us away in case the audience had forgotten which way to look.
Waiting for the music to start was always the worst part of the dance. Anxiety, nausea, and panic all hit you as the announcer points you out to the crowd (There they are!) and you take your place.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the Evolution of Robin Thicke," the speakers said as the music started and Alec and I moved across the floor. We'd been working on this routine for months, perfecting our characters and our technique. At times, we'd argue about how we thought we should dance. I constantly wanted to change the steps; Alec always wanted to keep what we had already created. We'd compromise often, but I still think that I was the winner of our disputes. This stage is what made those months worth the sweat, arguments, and fatigue.
Over our years of dancing together, we came up with cues to make sure the other was prepared for trickier parts of our routine, such as lifts. This time, when I looked over at Alec, something about him was off. Given the amount of make-up he had on, I couldn't tell if he looked pale or not, but I knew that he knew that the lift was coming.
One-Two-Three. Five-Six-Seven. One-Two-Three. Five-Lift— Before I could reach "Seven," where I would securely be on Alec's shoulders, I heard a sound filled with pain and agony escape his lips and we both toppled over. The music might have stopped once we hit the floor, but I couldn't hear anything over my screams. All I could feel was the pain in my chest that was so far beyond unbearable that all I could see was darkness.
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I didn't know that I had moved until I was lying on my back and hearing an annoying beeping sound every few seconds. I tried to turn the noise off, but all I kept touching was something cold and cylindrical. I grimaced at the temperature of the non-beeping pole to feel something on my face. I panicked. Oh my God! What's on my face? Why can't I see? I've gone blind!
"Alice! Alice, calm down. Open your eyes. It's just an oxygen mask." Oh, oops. I opened my eyes and focused on my mother, Esme, trying to calm me down. When I was relaxed enough, I looked around to see my sister, Bella, an IV stand—the beep maker—and other articles of medical ambiance. "Hospital?" I rasped. My mother nodded.
"When you fell during the dance, you fractured a couple ribs. The doctor said that you need to be resting for at least six weeks in order for your bones to heal. It's a good thing that it's May; you'll have the whole summer to relax." I nodded, but I didn't really care about healing, or the fact that it was May. I only cared about one thing.
"Alec?" Both my mother and sister assumed pained expressions, refusing to speak. "What? What happened? Where is he?"
"Oh, Ali!" Bella wailed, tears in her eyes as she grabbed my hand for moral support.
"Alec had a heart attack, honey. He didn't make it."
I shook my head violently, causing my neck to hurt. "No. You're lying! I know you are!"
"I'm so sorry, sweetie." My mother's voice was barely audible as she tried to take my other hand to comfort me.
"NO!" I yanked both of my arms away from them. I didn't care if anyone saw or heard me as they passed my door. All that mattered now was my pact with myself.
No more dancing. Period.
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A/N: Whew! That was almost hard to write at the end. I know what you're thinking, "Death in the first chapter! What, are you crazy?" I just may be, but I did make sure not to kill a favorite, I hope (Who likes the Volturi anyway?).
Now that you've read Chapter 1, you know what to do. It's simple, really. Just click that cute little review button and tell me what you think. Believe it or not, reviews make me write faster (Who knew?). Sooo, if you want to see Alice/Jasper action sooner, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!
P.S: Truth in the Moon beta'd. Be sure to thank her for her awesome revisions and kick-ass stories.