Author's Note: I just want to say thank you to the two kind reviewers I've had so far3 Thank you for your encouragement and for liking my story so much, if you had accounts I would love to reply back to you and give you a proper thank you. Well the best I could do now is give you another chapter as thanks! Bare with me, it's much longer but the next chapter will be worth it *wink

Thank you again, guys! I hope you like this chapter!:)

I brought a hand to my face to shade my eyes. The sun had gotten brighter and brighter I realized. When we got off the boat it was only 6 am and it was still quite dark. I forgot how quickly the time passed.

I usually would have let my mind wander again; probably thinking about the days we spent on Pascal's ship. How long it felt. The many times Diego threw up…

But I couldn't think. All I could hear was the thundering applause that gradually grew louder as we started to reach the top of the stairs that lead to the Church Grounds. With the sun in my eyes, I started to feel overwhelmed and confused. I couldn't see the group, I didn't know where Maya was, all I heard was…noise.

"Rose! What are you doing? Straighten up a bit, some of the guys are already greeting the crowd!" I squinted towards the sound of the voice, but I smiled and calmed down a bit. I extended my arm, knowing he would grab me.

And he did. My younger brother, Adam.

I felt a tug and I stumbled forward a bit, before colliding into what felt like a rock wall. Yep, this was definitely Adam.

"Thanks Adam, I just got a little confused there. I couldn't see where I was going." I tried to yell over the noise. I rubbed my eyes and looked up. Adam just stared down at me with a grin on his face. I found that the sun was no longer in my face, but that was expected. Standing at 6"0, Adam could block anything.

He quickly grabbed my hand and yelled back, "We don't have much time yet, after Rosalinda and Marco walk off, you and I are gonna follow! Just look at the crowd and smile! Ready? GO!"

"Adam, wait! What did you sa-" I stopped as Adam walked briskly up the stairs with me stumbling like a fool behind him.

Everything that happened next felt like a blur. As soon as we reached the last step, I saw the source of the applause.

People. Lots of people.

All standing up from their chairs looking at Adam and I, clapping with smiles on their faces. Between them was an aisle, which I presumed we were supposed to walk through.

Waiting for us at the other end was large stage only a few feet tall, prepped with a large red curtain and tall stage lights. Behind it was a beautiful cathedral with large cherry blossom trees growing by the entrance. I saw the rest of my family already posing in front of the stage, waiting for my brother and I.

I soon heard Adam's loud laughter by my side, startling me. At that instant I realized this whole time I've been staring at the crowd and the beautiful setup in front of me with such a dopey starstruck expression on my face. I quickly closed my jaw and smiled instead as I walked towards the aisle with Adam still holding my hand, long strides with a leg in front of the other.

As expected, we waved at the crowd as we made our way towards the stage. I felt my heart speed up a bit, crowds have always made me nervous. But after being in front of audiences nearly all my life, it becomes second nature to just put the thoughts aside and just fake it till you make it. I continued to smile and wave at the cheering townsfolk, hoping they couldn't tell how anxious I was. I could see a variety of faces: old men and women, middle aged men and women, green hair, white hair, and I swear I saw someone with a blue mustache.

I saw a little hand extend out from the crowd of people towards my side of the aisle. Was it a little child? Adam was walking too fast and I had to keep up so all I could do was reach out and give their hand a quick grip. I couldn't help but smile when I felt the little hand grip my thumb before I had to pull away.

As we have done so many times after we reached the stage, Adam and I turned and bowed towards the audience. Ignoring the thundering applause and cheers, I reminded myself to calm down and joined the rest of our dancers who were already lined up. We have done this same routine for nearly our whole lives and it seems like the only person that still isn't used to it was me. Everyone was smiling at the crowd, their poses effortlessly poised.

All of us have to pose when are presented and waiting for cues so I did the pose Mama told me – or nagged- me to do. I had to put my hands on hips and put a leg in front of the other. Which I wouldn't have minded…if there wasn't a slit on my dress that allowed the audience to see most of my right leg. I heard a few whistles from the crowd, reddening my face.

The curtain behind us was raised up and out came Mama with Mayor Hamilton by her side. She looked beautiful. She was wearing a gray pencil skirt with a white dress shirt, her copper hair neatly tied in a bun. Leave it to Mama to refuse to let any strand of hair escape from her bun; she always tried to present herself in the most perfect way possible. Hamilton walked in front of us and motioned for the crowd to calm down before saying, "Welcome one and all! Let's give a heartwarming welcome to Miranda Dance Company!" As the crowd applauded, Hamilton continued, "Miranda Dance Company has traveled all around the world, sharing their culture and talents! We are most honored to have a chance to have booked them, a big thank you to Mrs. Victoria Miranda from Forget- Me- Not Valley for most graciously offering to place us as a priority booking."

The audience cheered as Mama walked next to Hamilton and gracefully bowed as she coyly batted her eyelashes. I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Mama could be dramatic sometimes. But that came with the job, l suppose.

Next it was her turn to speak to the crowd, "I am very pleased to join you here today, some of you have been colleagues and friends of mine for years so trust me when I say I am so happy to be here. My babies have practiced very hard for this moment, so I hope we give you the performance of a lifetime. Now, this would not have been possible without the hard work and sacrifice from my daughter, Rose-"

My head quickly shot up. No she did not just call me out like that….

Mama turned towards me with a warm smile on her face, "There she is! My little protégé, thank you for the hours you spent calculating expenses, coming up with choreography, finding our transportation, and for helping us with our contract. You are a true rose. A thorn here or there, but we can't help love you either way." She let out a lighthearted laugh; a few from the crowd joined her as well. I tried to laugh but only managed a, "Ha….ha…heh…"

Mama knows how much I hate attention. But she forgets how much I suck at accepting compliments. If that even was a compliment…

Hamilton chuckled, "Let's give it up for Miss Rose everyone! Now without further ado, let the performances begin! Dancers, send out your first performer!"

XXXXXXXXXX

"Mind if I borrow some of that?"

I looked over my shoulder and saw Diego walking towards me.

"You sure? It's 'Malibu Tangerine Sunset', you know…"

Diego shook his head, "I don't care. I just came out from breakdancing to a Busta Rhymes song. You have. …No. Idea. How. Tired. I. Am." He looked serious so I stopped laughing, "You can't imagine the sweat I left on the stage floor."

I grimaced and tossed him my body spray bottle. I couldn't blame the poor guy, everyone was sweating and reapplying makeup after performing their choreographies. It didn't help that the sun was already out and the day got hotter. Luckily for us, we had permission to use the church as a backstage room of sorts to prep up and change into different costumes. These people really were good to us.

I heard bells ring as Marina entered through the doors of the church looking as if she just won an Olympic medal. The tiny golden bells tied around her waist twinkled with each step she took and I noticed sweat glistening from her exposed stomach, something Marina loved to show because she thought it was attractive to men.

I never understood that logic. How can you like something that stinks?

Adilene smirked, "What are you so smug about?" Marina winked at her, "I don't consider it much of an accomplishment considering how little competition I have…" she glanced at Adilene, who squinted her eyes in anger. "But I can say I made quite the impression." She snapped her fingers, "I got an encore, baby."

"I'd give you an encore too if I was a man who has never seen a woman willing to show so much cleavage before."

"Don't hate on me Adilene, you'd show some too IF you had any."

"You raggedy looking-"

I yelled, "Shut up! You guys are making me more nervous! Last thing I need is Mama telling me that I'm not watching you guys enough!"

I marched past them and slammed the door behind me. I walked towards the red curtain and stood behind it, waiting for my cue from Hamilton to proceed. Right now I could hear Rosalinda's song of choice blasting through the speakers, she must be finishing up since I could hear the last part of "Crazy in Love" playing.

These females and their Beyoncé…

"Rosie? Wait." I turned and saw Marina rush out the door and walk towards me. She looked flushed and a little apologetic, "Listen, sorry about stressing you out like that. We shouldn't have gotten so hot back there. Sometimes I forget how you don't like working under pressure." She reached out and tucked a lock of my copper hair behind my ear. "But pressure makes diamonds, you know? You can do this, just keep your eyes on Adam and dance your heart out. "

I looked down, "Okay, I'll keep my eyes on Adam…"

She smiled, "If you do that while doing your own thing, everyone else won't help but keep their eyes on you!"

I returned the smile, "Thanks Nina. I appreciate that." I looked at the ground, "So…have you found any guy you're interested in?"

Marina blinked, "Ha…wait what?"

I looked at her innocently, "Well it's cuz…you always look at the crowd hoping to find a guy you would like so…yeah. Did you?"

Marina fiddled with her large necklace and looked at me slyly, "If you want to know, you should look at the crowd. Maybe you'll see why I can't make up my mind."

I opened my mouth in surprise but before I could ask anything else I heard my name being called from the stage. Rosalinda burst through the curtains and ran past me, "Your turn! Hurry up! Adam is waiting for you!" She called from behind her shoulder before disappearing into the church. I faced Marina with an alarmed look on my face.

She laughed before smacking my butt, "Show them why you're Mama's protégé."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Poker face, poker face, poker face…." I kept mentally reminding myself as I opened the curtains and walked past them.

More applause. I smiled instinctively and as gracefully as I could, walked to where Adam was standing and grabbed his hand. "You look great Rosie, just follow my lead okay? Do that…thing you do," he whispered as the crowd calmed down.

"Do what?" I whispered back, completely clueless.

Adam slowly placed hand on my back and said, "Lose yourself in the music." He then turned towards Hamilton and said, "Start, please."

I counted to three after our song started. Adam insisted we dance to "Smooth" by Carlos Santana because he wasn't sure if anyone in Castanet spoke Spanish and would understand my original choice of a Marc Anthony song. It was the only English- speaking salsa song we knew so that was all we had. As much as I preferred an authentic salsa song, I couldn't argue with his logic.

Man, it's a hot one

Like seven inches from the midday sun

Well, I hear you whisper and the words melt everyone

But you stay so cool

As we had choreographed, I broke away from Adam's hold and daintily sashayed away as I looked back with the most flirtatious look I could muster. Staying true to the nature of the song, our choreography was that of a man trying to woo a flirty woman who tries to not yield to his advances. I placed my hands on the sides of my hips and ran my hands up my body as I slowly swayed my hips to the beat of the music.

And if you said, "This life ain't good enough."

I would give my world to lift you up

I could change my life to better suit your mood

Because you're so smooth

Adam quickly strode over to me, grabbed my hand and spun me around to him. I put my hands on his chest, pushed him off lightly and we walked around each other while maintaining fierce eye contact. Portraying sexual tension was no easy task; I tried as hard as I could to show the audience the story we were telling. I heard the chorus coming up…

I quickly whispered, "Now." Adam caught my cue so he grabbed my hand, put a hand on my back and dipped me as low as he could. Cheers elevated as soon as I came up and we broke out into full salsa dancing mode.

And it's just like the ocean under the moon

Well, that's the same as the emotion that I get from you

You got the kind of loving that can be so smooth, yeah

We spun around and swayed our hips, trying to stay in sync. I tossed my head to the sides before spinning myself into Adam's arms, who then lifted me up from the ground and spun us around. As he set me down, I put an arm around his neck, slowly brought my revealed leg up to his waist and then he quickly dipped me low again. Cheers and applause became overwhelmingly erratic so I could barely hear Adam say, "Finishing pose!" He leaned in towards my face, I waited for the cue…

Gimme your heart, make it real

Or else forget about it

As soon as I heard "or else forget about it", I playfully pretended to slap Adam's face away from me. I broke free from his grasp and sensually swayed my way towards the front of the stage and posed, with my hip out and both my arms above my head.

And that was it. It's over…I did it.

I couldn't help but burst out in laughter after seeing how excited and boisterous the audience got. I heard chairs get knocked over as people stood up, clapping wildly. Adam walked over next to me and grabbed my hand to indicate it's time to bow.

After we did, he looked at me with one of the happiest smiles I have ever seen from him, "Wow, a standing ovation. Haven't gotten one of those in a while haha."

I shouted back, "Only because the majority of the people here are women! Look at you, you're driving them crazy!" I pinched his cheek, only getting him to wave his hand at me in embarrassment.

Hamilton jogged over to us from the DJ stand. "Give it up for Rose and Adam! Well folks, you have seen it all! Hip hop, ballet, belly dancing, popping, salsa, I think it's time for our intermission now! If you would just wait five minutes for our performers to freshen up a bit, please stop by the booth over there-" He pointed a large table on the right side of the Church Grounds, "You can take pictures with the dancers, autographs, even ask questions. Simon will be around to take the pictures so make sure you wait for your turn. Enjoy the break!"

XXXXXXXXXX

"How was it?" Marina asked as soon as I entered the church. I saw that she had changed into a red strapless mini dress and white heels. Although her bust was kind of bursting from the dress, it was more sensible than most of the clothes she wore. That much I was thankful for.

"Haha spectacular…." I meant it, I really did. She offered me a white tissue and I used it to rub off the red lipstick from my lips.

"Notice any guys?"

"Uh not really…I took off my contacts so I wouldn't see the crowd. I do that all the time, remember?" I took a hairband and tied my hair up so I could wipe the sweat off my neck with the rest of the tissue.

"Oh yeah…"Marina slumped into a chair in disappointment. "I forget you do that. Well, anything to help your nerves I guess. I heard how crazy the crowd got." She grinned and pointed at my hair, "Talk about a fiery redhead."

I laughed as I made my way into one of the rooms at the back of the church. Hamilton said we could use the rooms to change in so I went to the one assigned for the girls and started to change there. I looked for the box that said "Rose" and once I found it, tried to search for the simplest clothes I could find. The closest thing to 'normal' was black leather pants, knee high black boots, and a black crop top.

I sighed in desperation, didn't it ever occur to Mama that we probably needed normal everyday clothes for our meet and greet? Knowing I only had five minutes, I quickly put on my new clothes and stared at myself in the mirror.

I look like a Pussycat Doll, I thought to myself miserably.

XXXXXXXXXX

We all made our way into the booth, sitting in our assigned seats. Like always, I tried to be last in line so I could sit on the edge of the booth. You know, in case of emergencies that require me to run away. But Marina insisted I sit with her, so she dragged me towards the middle of the booth, much to my dismay.

The sun was definitely on full blast now, and I felt my head heat up. I asked Diego for a bandana and he let me borrow his, on the condition I refer girls that come up to me to him. I rolled my eyes but agreed anyway, and he tossed me a navy bandana. I quickly put it over my head and tied it up.

I was too preoccupied with my anxiety to listen to the announcement from Hamilton declaring the beginning of our meet and greet. I only leaned back on my chair messing with my lighter until I heard a masculine voice that snapped me from my trance.

"Hello? Are you Rose?"

I looked up and I stifled a gasp. A handsome man maybe in his thirties was looking at me with a slight smile on his face. He had a brown cowboy hat on, dark khaki pants, and a button down tan shirt that had rolled up sleeves. A few buttons were unbuttoned from his neckline so I noticed a bit of chest hair showing; it must've been because of the heat. I must have looked TOO caught off guard because he looked amused. I couldn't help it, the guy really looked like Indiana Jones.

"Uh, yes I am. What's your name?" I looked around for a pen. It was a force of habit really; we've done so many meet and greets that it's become a routine to say things like:

"What's your name?"

"What do you want me to sign?"

"Enjoy the performance?"

"Thank you!"

"Yes, my sister is single…"

He chuckled a bit then tipped his hat, "My name is Calvin. Pleasure to meet you, ma'am."

I took a moment to look around. Already some people from the audience were lined up, some already talking or taking pictures with my cousins and siblings. I turned my head back to Calvin, who smiled again.

"Nice to meet you too, Calvin. Did you uh, enjoy the show?" I tried my best to maintain a straight face.

"Very much. I've been around the world myself, I'm a traveler you see." He gave me a sly smile.

Ha, you don't say….

He continued, "Trust me, I have not seen anything like this before. I'm glad you came. I just never expected to see such a lovely lady like yourself to be a traveler."

I laughed nervously, "Oh no I'm not, uh my sister," I pointed at Marina, who was deeply engaged in a conversation with a blue haired boy, "…she's the pretty one. I'm just the one that does…well, paperwork."

What was Marina talking about anyway? I couldn't hear their conversation fully but I think the guy has said extreme about five times now…

He just better not be talking about her breasts.

Calvin raised an eyebrow and grinned, "Well it seems to me that you do way more than paperwork from what I saw up there today. You were a delight, and dare I say, the best dancer I've seen."

I stood up and bowed, "Thank you, that's very kind of you Mister." I sat back on my seat.

Calvin laughed, "Mister? You think I'm that old?" He scratched his neck."

I almost jumped from my seat, "No! It's not that, it's just out of respect you know? You look much better than most guys my age, you could've fooled me!"

What the hell are you saying Rose? Stop blabbering.

I sighed in exasperation, "I am so sorry. I do that when I'm flustered, bad habit of mine." Calvin threw his head back and laughed loudly, "No that's quite alright, I'm flattered. More so than offended."

Flattered? Wait does he think I'm flirting?

I cleared my throat, "So…would you like a picture or anything? I mean, that's what you're here for right?"

Duh, Rose…

Calvin stopped laughing and leaned towards me as he put his hands on the table. My eyes opened wide.

"No, but I would like to see more of you. A picture can't beat the real thing."

Holy mother of God, mother of Jesus, mother of dragons….

Before I could think of anything to say, I heard a tiny squeal come from behind Calvin. Calvin looked behind him and leaned over my seat to see where that squeal came from.

A little girl with red hair was impatiently tugging Calvin's shirt. Her big, grey eyes were wide open in excitement as she breathlessly said, "Hurry up Calvin! I wanna talk to her, you're taking too long! "

Calvin abruptly straightened up and laughed in embarrassment, "Haha sorry little lady, I was just talking to Miss Rose here. I'll be leaving now."

He turned his head at me again, "I do hope to see you again, Rose." I smiled and nodded, and with a final cocky smile he left.

What just happened…?

I quickly shifted my attention to the little girl and leaned over the table to offer her my hand, "Hi sweetie, what's your name?" She squealed in delight and clasped my hand with her own tiny ones, "My name is Chloe! And this is the second time you grab my hand!"

My mouth fell open. She must've been the tiny hand that reached out to when I was walking down the aisle. I grinned, "You are? Then I'm most happy to finally meet you! Aren't you the most precious thing?"

I lightly pinched her cheek, which was already quite red. Whether it was that way naturally or not, I couldn't tell. But it was really cute.

Chloe giggled and handed a piece of paper to me. "Will you sign it? I've never met a dancer before! Well I have, Selena over there dances. But not like you! And you're so nice! Selena doesn't like if you talk to her, unless you're a boy!" She made a face.

I put a hand over my mouth and laughed, I couldn't hide the fact how much I liked this young girl already. How old was she? Nine? Maybe ten?

"Tell you what, I will get up from here and take a picture with you. Most of the time we just take pictures with us behind the booth but I would like to actually come around and give you a hug, what do you say?" I smiled at Chloe, whose eyes got bigger. Wow, I didn't think it was possible for them to get bigger.

"YOU WILL? THANK YOU! We don't have to wait for Simon to take the picture, my Gramps has a camera! GRAMPS!" She turned to yell towards the crowd.

"Take your time, sweetheart. I'll make my way over there now."

I got up from my seat and walked past the other seated dancers. I overheard Diego say to a pretty blue haired girl, "Damn girl, if you country people had cell phones I would ask for your numbah!" The girl looked startled and ran away. I swiftly smacked his head and kept walking.

"ROSE! I HAD THIS ONE, MAN!" Diego shouted as he rubbed his head. I kept walking though.

As I made my way around the booth I heard my name being called, "Rose! What do you think you're doing? You're supposed to stay behind the booth at all times!"

Mama walked towards me and planted her hands on her hips. I could barely see her violet eyes as she was squinting them at me. I shrugged, "There's a little girl who wants to take a picture with me. But I want to actually be next to her to take it, not behind the booth. It feels more genuine." I sighed, "Are you mad?"

A small smile formed on Mama's lips, "No, I'm just surprised you're getting up for a child. Then again, not surprised. You love kids. Too much though."

I winced, "Does that bother you or something?"

"No, but it gives me hope."

"What are you talking about…?"

Mama walked away as she called out from behind her, "Because if you want a kid, you need a man."

I clenched my fists and turned red in embarrassment, "MAMA WHY."

"Don't you have a little girl to attend to?"

Oh yeah, that's right... I turned on my heels and ran past the hoards of people chatting away with our table. I soon saw Chloe and noticed that an old but stern looking man was standing next to her with a camera in his hands.

Chloe spotted me and her expression lit up as she waved at me.

"Hi Miss Rose! I was wondering what took you so long! This is my Gramps!" She pointed at the stern man who looked me strangely.

Well, it's my fault for wearing all black.

He nodded at me, "Hello, call me Ramsey. I run the blacksmith shop at the Garmon Mine District." He looked at Chloe, "She was excited the entire time she was here, but she lost it when she saw you. I've never seen her this thrilled."

Whoa, he sounds much nicer than he looks. I smiled and bowed, "Call me Rose, please. And Chloe, please call me Rose too. Think of me as just a friend."

Chloe looked as if I just offered her her weight in ice cream. Ramsay spoke, "That's nice. You don't look very old either, how old are you exactly?"

"I'm almost 21, sir." I scratched my head, forgetting I had put on a bandana. I quickly put my hand down.

"Interesting. I have a nephew a bit older than you. He's not here though, probably still working." Ramsay looked up towards the sky and groaned, "…or drinking."

Chloe stomped her feet, "Gramps! The picture, please!"

"Ah sorry, sorry. Rose, could you-"

"Haha not a problem, give me a quick second…" I removed my bandana and let my hair down.

I got on one knee and put my arm around Chloe's waist. She quickly wrapped her tiny arms around my neck and pressed her cheek against mine. I smiled, "How does this look, Ramsay?"

Ramsay brought the camera to his face, "Good! Hold on the picture is processing…here it is! Thank you, Rose," he smiled. "You made Chloe very happy."

"The pleasure is all mine, truly." I smiled at Chloe and put my bandana back on, tucking my hair under it. Even though it got windy, it was still fiercely hot.

"Thanks, Rose! I'm so happy! Gramps let me see it, let me see it!"

Chloe jumped up and down trying to reach for the picture that came out of the camera, but in her excitement she caused Ramsay to stumble over backwards. The impact caused Ramsay to let go of the picture, which the wind quickly blew away.

Chloe gasped, "OH NO! Gramps the picture! We have to find it, please help!"

"I think I pulled my back a bit Chloe, give me a second…."

Without a second thought, I said, "Stay here, I'll get it!"

I ran past them and tried to fight my way through the crowd. Some people started to call out my name but I ignored them; I was hell bent on finding that picture. I broke free from the crowd and looked around. I saw nothing. The breeze must've stopped when I was running, surely that means the picture fell to the ground. I let out a sigh in relief.

Unless…it fell to the cliffs. Immediately I held my breath in alarm. I looked around feverishly, hoping to catch a glimpse of the missing picture.

If I don't find it, Chloe will be so disappointed. I said I'd find it, but what if I don't? Will she cry? Oh poor Chloe, and poor Ramsay for pulling his back…maybe I should have stayed in the booth. No don't think that! It was all for Chloe. It was all good intent….

Wait!

I saw a white fleck a good distance away from me laying on the top step of the stairs. Without any hesitation I ran to it with my eyes fixed on it. If the wind picked it up, I won't lose it this time.

As I got closer I realized it was indeed the picture. I rushed over then bent down to pick it up, only to grab a hand that reached for it at the same time.

I looked up instantly, only to see dark grey eyes staring into mine….