A/N: Hello, readers. This is the second installation of Just Dance. Beware of major flirtation. Anyways, keep the reviews coming! Reviews really get me into gear and my creative juices flowing. They are the fuel to my stories. Enjoy!

Chapter 2

"Five, six, seven and eight, and one, two, three, four, five, six and seven, eight. Very good," Mr. Perron complimented the class. He folded his arms across his chest and crossed the room towards me. He stopped in front of me. Pointing to the center of the room, he said, "Miss Swan, please demonstrate to the class how to do a proper assemble en tournant grande. It seems that some of us have forgotten the very basics of it. Just because this move is simple, it does not mean that you can make it sloppy. Please," he gestured towards me.

Assemble's came as easily to me as degeges. As told, I sacheyed at a diagonal, jumped, turned, and landed in fifth. Mr. Perron, in his thick French accent, said, "See, ladies, point those toes! Don't be lazy! Point those toes. Now run the first eight-count again." I made my way back to my spot. I stood in the center, waiting for the second count.

The strange thing is about dance, I don't care if I'm the center of attention. I'm so confident enough in my abilities that public attention doesn't occur to me. If you put me in a crowd of people, I'd be the most uncomfortable person there. Put me on a stage with a thousand people watching, and I'm fine. As long as I don't need to talk, I will not have to worry about my social anxiety.

After class, Mr. Perron called my name. "Miss Swan, please stay after class for a moment." Cautious and a little suspicious, I put my dance bag over my shoulder and walked towards Mr. Perron. He held a few sheets of paper in his hand.

"Is something wrong Mr. Perron?" I asked.

He looked up. "Oh, no, Miss Swan," he assured. "I just have a few questions and an assignment for you." I adjusted my weight to the other leg uncomfortably. He handed me one of the sheets in his hand. I slowly took it. He handed me a list of names.

"What is this?" I asked. Alice Cullen's name was at the top of the list of twenty names. I looked back at him.

"That is the list of people who are going to be in the showcase before winter break." He sounded so nonchalant about it. He looked up from the other two papers that seemed to take up much of his focus. "I'm sure you are very aware of your popularity amongst your instructors and your excellent dance technique," I just smiled and blushed. "Well, we recently received news that you will be leaving us for the New York Ballet at the end of the year."

My suspicion grew. "And how did you know about that?" I asked very carefully.

"Chief of Ballet loves to brag about his new acquirements." He waved his hand dismissively. "Anyways, Ms. Shaw, Mr. Myers, Mr. Brown, and myself, would like to see you put together this showcase." He waited for my response.

I felt completely shocked. "You…what?"

He smiled. "We would be honored if you would put together this showcase, Miss Swan." The biggest smile cracked on my face.

It took all my self restraint to refrain from hugging him. "I would be honored, Mr. Perron." I said honestly and a little breathlessly.

"Well, to give a little description, we would like it to be a modern showcase. We will give you freedom to choose the music as long as it's new. We don't want classical, we want to see what you can put together. Lyrics are permitted. The five requirements are that you have ballet, jazz, modern, hip hop, and lyrical dance routines. We know that you've specialized in ballet, and we are here to offer you guidance if you need any in the other areas. Solos for each area are encouraged to introduce the upcoming generation of dance.

I've talked with most of your instructors and teachers, and they've agreed to lighten the work load on you so you can focus on the school dance and your showcase. All the dancers on your list have been notified about the showcase, and all you have to do is give them a date to start rehearsing. Do you have any other questions?" It was so much to take in, but I absorbed every bit of it like a sponge.

Creative juices were already flowing in my head. "Yes. Could I also incorporate the orchestra, here at the school, to the showcase?" I had a brilliant idea. "The new generation of art doesn't limit to only dance, but there are also some brilliant musicians that just need a chance. I want to give them that chance. If we incorporate a little of everything, I think it would really create a sense of unity in the school. We could have the art majors create backgrounds and props, for solos, we could have modern music coming from our school's very own. If the dancers choose, they could also pick a song with lyrics, but I strongly believe that we should have the option."

Mr. Perron had the biggest smile on his face. "You were the right choice for this assignment." He began to walk away. "Miss Swan, I give you complete free reign over this project. You are dismissed." He walked back towards his office.

"Merci Monsier Perron," I understood that he felt more comfortable speaking in French, and felt that I should thank him. Because I dreamed of training in France for ballet, I became fluent in French by the time I got out of high school.

On my way out, I just barely heard him, "Bonne chance." Good luck.

I closed the classroom door behind me, took a deep breath, and did the smallest happy dance I could muster. Earning a few stares, I walked towards my dance history class.

After rehearsals with Mike, I stayed after with my notebook, pen, and laptop and began to work on my masterpiece. First on my list of things-to-do: music. Almost obsessively, I sorted through my music library and started brainstorming ideas. Ideas sprung to my head, but some songs were more like jokes, fun, but still jokes. I kept a very mature choice of music. What must have been over an hour later, I finally finished my list. I stood up, turned on the jazz song I chose for the group and started choreographing. The song sounded so beautiful. I could imagine myself dancing at my wedding to this.

A long time ago, my mother told me that if I ever got a husband one day, then I'd have to stop dancing and take care of him. My response made her laugh: "Then I won't get a husband. I'll be married to dance." I still lived up to it.

After writing a few notes on formation and positions, I got a little more into it. For once in my life, I let myself get carried away. All I could feel around me was the music and my movements. I got through the entire song. I would've written down the routine, except my dance was more of a solo than anything that could be done with a group.

Clapping sounded the room. My head jerked in the direction of the door. Standing there, all six lean, gorgeous feet of him, was Edward Cullen. He flipped his disheveled bronze hair out of his face and walked towards me slowly.

"You would be here at seven at night dancing," his emerald eyes sparkled in amusement. I smiled flirtatiously. "That was amazing," he added sincerely. "Want to show me anything else?"

I folded my arms across my chest, which thumped with the rapid beating of my heart. "What do you want to see?" I asked. A crooked smile broke across his face.

"I would like to see some things that probably aren't appropriate for this classroom." I blushed a little.

Not wanted to go down that track, I altered the track. "How about something that's restricted to the music on my playlist and some dancing?" I avoided his gaze and turned back to sit on the floor in front of my laptop.

Edward sat down across from me. "So I hear that my sister Alice is going to be in your showcase," he said, pulling something out of his messenger bag. He pulled out a few Tupperware containers filled with food.

I kept my eyes on the screen. "I saw her name on the list, but I didn't find out about the assignment until today. I figured I should at least get the music picked out since I only have four months to plan an entire showcase." I ran a hand through my hair. They all knew about this before me.

"Don't worry," Edward said, his mouth full of something that smelled amazing, "you're amazing enough to pull it off." I looked up and smiled at him.

"Thanks," I said a little bashful. "So what are you doing here again?" I shut my laptop down, realizing it was getting pretty late. "You keep saying you are here for piano, but I'm not so convinced anymore." I snickered.

He gave me a sarcastic "ha ha" face. "My sister was supposed to join me for dinner, but she ditched to go out with her friend Rosalie. Personally, I don't really like Rosalie." Rosalie…Rosalie…why did that name sound so familiar?

"That's too bad. So you guys were going to eat out of Tupperware containers?" I eyed his container of pasta he was munching on speculatively.

He shook his head and swallowed. "No. This was supposed to be my lunch, but I never got around to it." He observed me carefully for a moment. "Would you be my pity pal and join me for dinner?" He looked so innocent. I laughed at the puppy dog expression on his face.

"How could I deny such a face?" I said in a very motherly tone. He laughed and began putting away his food. I packed up my laptop and dance shoes. Edward held my winter coat next to the door. He helped me slip it on. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." I shut down the lights and we walked out together.

The brisk, fall, New York air hit me full force when we walked outside and started walking. When Edward brushed against me, the chill went away and my body burned where he touched me. Feeling a little awkward in the silence, I started the conversation for once.

"So do you have any other siblings besides Alice?" I asked. I didn't really know Alice that well, but she was nice enough towards me. Edward kept his eyes in front of him.

"Yes, I have an older brother, Emmett. He's a personal trainer. We don't see him often, but if Rosalie asked him to come, he'd stop everything and come." He snickered. "He's a lovesick fool."

"So he's dating Rosalie?" I asked curiously.

He shook his head seriously. "No. He's her fiancé." My mouth dropped. He looked at me and smiled. "He has been convinced that's she's the one since high school. They've been engaged for over a year now. They both agreed to wait until Rosalie graduates."

Her name again. "What's her last name?"

"Hale. Rosalie Hale." I stopped in my tracks. Edward noticed I wasn't following him anymore. "Do you know her?" He asked. Did I know her?

"She hates my guts!" I exclaimed. "She's hated me since our entrance auditions." She scared the bujeezes out of me. I would never say that to him, because he might relay the message.

He walked back and took one of my arms. "Well, you can explain the rest when we get to the restaurant. I don't think you want to stand out here in the autumn weather for too long." I gave in and let him guide me to the restaurant.

He took me to this little coffee shop on the corner of campus. I order hot cinnamon spice tea with a sub sandwich. We sat down together and just enjoyed each other's company. Being with Edward felt so easy. He didn't stare or anything, just a couple of glances now and then. When we finished, he brought the Rosalie issue to the surface again.

"So what's this deal with Rosalie? Don't feel bad, she doesn't like me either." He smiled at some inside joke.

I took a deep breath. "Long story, short, I got a lot of mouths dropping at my audition and she got critiqued. She hates me for it. I'm not going to pretend like I know exactly what she thought transacted at that audition, but I can tell you that she hates me for it. Seriously, she walked up to me after her audition and said, 'if you think you can be prima ballerina without any effort, you are sorely mistaken. That spot is mine.' I've dealt with worse girls who have stolen my pointe shoes, destroyed them, done terrible things to my costumes, but I never really let it affect me. I could go out there with my practice outfit on and still put on a show. All I wanted to do was dance, but…damn, Rosalie scared the living shit out of me." I shivered at the memory.

Edward looked a little angry and frustrated. "She can be a real bitch sometimes," he said, taking a deep breath to calm himself, "but she really loves my brother. And since he's happy, I can tolerate her." I smiled at that.

"It must be nice to have someone like that." I felt like being bold tonight. "Do you have anyone?" I asked. He smiled a bit.

"No," he said. For a second I felt stunned. How could someone so perfect not have anyone? "Alice has Jasper. I don't know what's up with those two, but I swear, those two were meant to be." He obviously didn't like talking about himself. He took a sip of his coffee. "What about you?"

I shook my head. "Nah. I have dance. As long as I have dance, then I don't need anybody." Edward speculated me for a moment. He seemed to be wondering if I was telling the truth…or wondering if, even I didn't know it, I really needed someone. "When I was little, I told my mom that I was already married to dance." That made Edward laugh.

"That doesn't surprise me." He said. "But I think you're actually really lonely."

I ignore the pang of recognition in the pit of my stomach and forced a smile. "Really, what makes you think that?" I folded my arms across my chest and waited for his answer.

He mirrored my actions. His eyes narrowed. "You don't talk to anybody besides your instructors and you are at the dance studio until absurd hours dancing by yourself for fun. I never see you go out with other people, and Alice claims that you don't even talk to anybody in class. All I can wonder is why." He seemed to be expecting an answer.

I gave him a good one. In a low voice, I said, "People come and go, Edward. One day, you are surrounded by people who say they're your friends and family, but they will turn on you. They always do." I shook my head. "In a world that is constantly changing, you need something to root you to the earth. For me, it's dancing. For you, it's probably playing the piano. It's always there for you. Music and dance will always be there for us. A friend is someone who will walk in when the rest of the world walks out. My world walked out a long time ago. Dance welcomed me with open arms." I looked into his eyes with no hesitation. "That's how I determine my friends."

He watched me carefully for a few moments. "You're parents?"

Shaking my head, I said, "Like I said, my world walked out on me a long time ago. That includes my parents." He seemed a little astonished. I explained further. "My mother got remarried, and my dad is married to his job. He's a little more supportive than my mother, but not by much. I haven't seen them in a really long time." Because my personal life was a total buzz kill, I switched perspectives. "So what about your parents? You still in touch with them?"

He nodded. "We have dinner with them once a week up in the Hamptons. To my mother and father, family is very important."

"You are very fortunate." I told him. He nodded in response. I got up and put on my jacket. "Thank you for dinner. It was refreshing, to say the least." I smiled to myself. I couldn't remember the last time I went out with someone. Actually, I could. But I'm not going to even think about it.

"You are more than welcome." He said, getting up as well. "I'll walk you back. Where's your apartment?" He asked. I flushed with embarrassment.

"Um, I don't live in an apartment. I live in the dorms. Since I can't afford to pay for rent, I stay in the dorm." Slipping my bag over my shoulder, I watched his reaction. He didn't seem phased by it. He opened the door for me and walked with me, side-by-side.

"I'm sorry about your parents," Edward said after a few minutes of silence. "I don't think I can imagine life without my parent's support. It must've been tough growing up." He stuck his hands in his pockets.

I shook my head. "No. Dance shaped me into a good person. From dance, I learned to discipline myself and my body. I learned to respect others, and that in order to achieve your goals, you need to work hard and put in one-hundred and ten percent into it. I'm pretty sure if it weren't for dance, I'd be the biggest bitch in the world by now, and I'd sure as hell wouldn't be where I am today…which is exactly where I want to be," I added quietly.

"Are you really happy?" He asked me.

The personal question caught me by surprise. I thought about the question for a few minutes. Edward didn't interrupt. Finally, I answered him. "When I was six, my mother got me a pair of ballet slippers. I swear," I breathed, "it was like she was giving me life. Even though she looked as if she was just thankful that I would be occupied and wouldn't bug her anymore, I was the happiest little girl ever. That was the happiest moment of my entire life. Every time I put on those shoes, it's like living through that moment all over again. I've never found anything else that has made me so happy."

We reached my dorm. We just looked at each other for a few silent moments.

"You are a very passionate person, Bella Swan." He said.

"You are a very perceptive person, Edward Cullen." I responded. "Thank you for tonight, Edward. It was refreshing to talk to someone who would really listen." I felt a little hole in me being filled. His soft smile made me feel something unexplainable.

He dug a pen out of his messenger bag and took my hand. He wrote down his number on the top of my hand and gave it back to me. "Just in case you need someone to listen. Good night." He walked away. I watched him for a few moments before heading to my room.

When I got back to my room, I checked my email. There was one from my mother.

Bella,

Are you coming home for winter break? If not, Phil and I have plans. Make up your mind.

Mom

She got to the point. I decided to give my mother some free reign.

Mom,

I don't want to be an inconvenience. If you want to go somewhere with Phil, knock yourself out. Just so you know, I'm putting together a dance showcase that will be performed before winter break. It would mean a lot to me if you could come. I'll send you tickets just in case. Two front row seats are reserved for you.

Bella

I looked at the screen and pressed "send." I loved my mother, but she doesn't love me. Maybe if she saw the real me for once, she'd change her mind.

Figuring I had nothing better to do, I worked a week ahead on my dance history homework and studies. That's the only required credit I haven't gotten yet. Now all I had to do for the next week is dance.

Laying back on my bed, I stared at the top of my hand for what must've been ten minutes before I picked up my cell.

I dialed his number. It rang four times before he answered. "Hello?" His melodious voice answered.

"Hey, I forgot to give you my number," I said. "You got a pen?"

"Yeah," I heard the smile in his voice. "Okay, what is it?"

"214-415-1325." I gave him a few moments. "Got it?"

"Yes. I'll definitely be making use of this number." He said, almost like a warning.

"I hope you will." I told him. He laughed.

"Good night, Bella."

"Good night." I shut my phone.

Edward was a force inside of me that made me feel a little more alive. Every time I thought of him, I thought of how he always smiles at me, how he listens to every word I have to say. The hole I felt fill up earlier made me realize something. I was damaged. I have been beaten and worn down. Edward seemed to be the stitches that sew me up.

A very good and happy feeling inside me told me that this was only the beginning.