This was it. The day that determined everything.

Maya was ready. Her choreographed piece was ready, she'd perform it with the rest of the class and be just as good. Then her solo piece would be the part that really showed them what she was made of. This afternoon she would show them her perfectly planned piece and her future would begin. She had to be hopeful.

She just finished showing Lucas her dance. Struggling for breath, she ended triumphantly and watched him as he applauded her.

"How was it?" She asked and he grinned.

"Perfect. You'll knock them dead." He told her, passing her water and patting her shoulder. Riley, Farkle and Zay had seen it earlier, and they'd all been very positive. She'd seen there's too, and they'd all been extraordinary. It was hard to believe she was lucky enough to be dancing with them.

"Your turn." She playfully pushed him into the middle of the room and pressing play on the next track. He'd chosen something a little more upbeat than her, but it worked. His moves were powerful, determined, full of passion. He looked so committed, it was like watching a brilliant painter complete a masterpiece, or a scientist making a fascinating new history. Just simply marvelous.

When he was finished he was so overjoyed.

"I knew you wanted to stay." Maya said confidentially.

"What do you mean?"

"Nobody would dance that well if they didn't intend to carry on." He walked to her and didn't stop till he was a little too close by normal standards.

"Maybe I'll admit that this place isn't quite as bad as I thought it would be."

"Hmm. And the people?" She took a micro step closer to him, enough to make him nervous, but in the good kind of way.

"I suppose they're not all...awful." He placed his hands softly on her hips, like he would do if they were going to do a lift, but this was an entirely new level of intimate.

"Glad to hear it." Maya said quietly as his hands slowly traced up her arms and rested on her shoulders. They didn't say another word, staring at each other for what seemed like a lifetime. Neither of them felt any kind of urgency.

They jumped away from each other the moment Riley ran into the room, looking away uncomfortably. Riley eyed them both up, but decided it was none of her business.

"Maya, I thought you might want to go through the group dance a couple more times, but we don't have to if you're...busy." She phrased her words very carefully.

"I'm not busy." Maya said quickly. "But I have to put my song onto a CD to give to the judges before I can keep rehearsing."

"I'll do it for you." Lucas offered. "You can go rehearse."

"Thanks Lucas, that's really kind of you. See you in the practice room soon?" He nodded and Riley took hold of Maya's hand to drag her away.

Lucas joined the 4 of them in just over half an hour, leaving hardly any time for him to practice himself. He left Maya's CD on the side, marked with her name.

They kept repeating the sequence, keeping an eye out for everybody else, helping when they could. Maya couldn't believe how badly she wanted not just herself to get in now, but all her new wonderful friends. She didn't want to do this without them now.

Finally, auditions were here. First the whole class was divided into groups and were to perform the dance shown to them. Riley and Maya were placed in the same group, and they performed first with 3 other people from the class. When the music started, Maya thought she might be sick but she focused. She calculated every move she had to make, remembered every turn jump or point of her toes. She kept in time, and looked confident as she did it. The teacher who were judging them could see it. They could also see how perfectly effortless Riley was. She was a naturally gifted girl.

The boys were in a different group, but all together. They were all suburb. Maya couldn't fault any of their moves. She was so proud of them.

Much to Maya's dismay, Missy was flawless yet again.

The class was dismissed to outside, while they waited to be called in one by one. Maya was shaking her was so afraid. Riley comforted her, hugging her and they sat to the side on a bench.

Lucas was called in second. He gulped, and looked to Maya.

"Wish me luck." He said and Maya stopped thinking. She got up, rushed to him and pulled his head towards hers, pressing her lips onto his for just a brief moment. It wasn't so much a kiss, but a promise. A promise of future kisses. Lucas looked stunned. Warmth flowed through Maya like molten lava was pouring through her veins.

"You don't need luck. You've got this." Maya said quietly and returned to her seat, every pair of eyes in the room on her. She couldn't really care.

"Well." Riley said to her friend as Lucas went into his audition, CD in his hand. "That was unexpected."

"You're telling me." Maya grinned. She waited patiently for Lucas to be done, she could hear his music playing through the door and she could imagine his movements with each note of music. About a minute passed when the song finished before he came out the door, accompanied by a third year assistant that was calling people in.

"Maya Hart." They said and Maya jumped up.

"Good luck." Riley said and nodded to her.

"You'll do fantastic." Farkle added.

"Break a leg." Zay smiled, patting her back.

"Here." Lucas said, handing her the CD he'd made. "You got this."

Maya followed the third year into the room. She was told to put her CD in the machine and they'd press play when she was ready. She took the unmarked CD out the case and placed it in the machine. Her pulse was so fast she could hear it gushing past her ears. Her mouth was suddenly very dry but she reassured herself that she could do this.

"Hi there Maya. How you doing today?" One of the teachers asked.

"Fine thank you." She nodded.

"Well, take it away whenever you're ready." They replied, sitting back in their chair. Maya noticed the end judge was looking at her red tutu in quite a judgmental way, but she ignored it. She tensed herself up and then relaxed, getting into position on the floor. She nodded at the third year and the music started to play.

The wrong music.

This wasn't her piece at all, this was...'take me to church.'

Her own words echoed in her head, words spoken to Lucas when they'd been together in the studio.

"I love this song." She'd said "Damn near impossible to dance to though. I could never get the changes right."

He'd set her up.

Only a few seconds had passed but Maya knew there was no way of explaining this that didn't get her chances of being accepted into this school blown out the window.

The lyrics carried on and Maya tried to think of something to do. Anything.

'If the heavens ever did speak'

Maya slowly extended her arm upwards, keeping on one knee and stretching out the other leg dead straight. She purposely fell backwards onto the floor, her movement purposely slow to give herself more time. She pushed herself upwards like her chest was being tugged at by a string and she imagined herself at home. No pressure. No judges. Just herself trying to lose herself in a song. Her minder would be at home, barely registering that Maya should have been home hours ago. Any feelings Maya had had over the course of the day would be channeled into dancing. Every hurtful comment thrown her way at school would turn into a swift move of the arm or a stretch of the leg. Her life became her dance and her mind would become blank. Maya focused in on what she was feeling. Hurt, betrayal and anger. That became her dance.

She got on all fours, right on the tip of her toes and threw herself upwards, landing back down quickly, rolling onto her back and throwing her arm above her on the ground. She could see nothing beyond the tips of her fingers, she could feel nothing but the music. The outside world ceased to exist now, it was just her and this song.

She stayed near the floor, wanting to build up. She dipped up and down, extending her legs, twisting herself slowly and delicately. One moment she would be clutching to the floor, she next second she would be trying to touch the sky with one hand.

Using the force of one leg, she pulled herself inwards and threw herself over, doing a half back flip on the floor to get herself to her feet. She took a few pointed steady steps towards the judges as she felt the music build up to the chorus.

She suddenly changed the pace, retreating backwards several paces and chucking herself up into the air, twirling at an angle. Her spins were precise and as well thought out as they could be under the circumstances. Anger was coursing through her body, and it showed.

Two more steps into the corner and another spin before racing to the other side of the room and leaping upwards. She almost lost her balance on the landing, but she stayed upright.

She jumped again, bringing herself in the middle of the room to point her legs, doing circles on the floor and her arms span gracefully around her. She span again and then the other way so she didn't get dizzy as she felt the fabric of her shoes start to slowly but surely take the skin away from the parts of her foot that weren't protected. She hadn't prepared for such a vigorous routine.

She kept at it, every jump was something she'd never tried in a class before, and she truly connected with the song. Her hands clutched at her pulled back hair, showing the pain represented it the song like she knew she had to. She threw herself back onto the floor, but didn't stay there for too long.

Maya had struggled so much with the tempo when she'd danced to this song before, but now she was changing her speed so often it wasn't a problem. One move would be fast and determine, the next slow and attention grabbing. She repeated some of her actions, knowing if she didn't it would look unprepared and unfocused. Her fingers felt ready to fall off, her legs ached but she focused on nothing else but the dance. She wanted this too much not to give it everything now.

To ease the pain for mear seconds she made her movements take her against the back wall, sinking down while she pointed her leg out, and then she threw herself forward. She did 5 jump spins in a row. Before now she'd never even managed three.

She took advantage of every inch of space she had, tracing her corners of the room, every part of it as she danced. Her lungs felt ready to explode. She wasn't even sure she was breathing. She carried on though, feeling good that with every word she got closer to the end. She finished by doing a full length of the room twirling in the air, and then she fell to her knees, leaning backwards and slowing sinking down.

The music stopped and the world returned. She was facing 4 very confused looking teachers. Maya knew her eyes were full of tears, and the sound of her panting was the only thing filling the room.

"Thank you Maya. That was...something else." The judge at the end said and nodded to dismiss her. The student handed her back the CD and followed her out of the room, calling in another student. Riley was the first to get to Maya, rushing to her and gripping her arm.

"Maya, that wasn't your song! What happened? Did you change it?" She blurted out and Maya caught a glimpse of Lucas entering the room. Maya breathed out, and snapped the CD she was holding with her bare hands. She did it again and threw the pieces onto the floor. Lucas watched her, no expression on his face. Blank. But he could see how furious she was.

"Tell me it was a mistake." She gave him a chance. A single chance. He looked down, unable to look her in the eyes.

"No. It wasn't. Can we talk about this outside?" He asked but Maya shook her head. She was no longer upset. No tears would come from her right now. White hot anger flooded her body.

"You bastard!" She cried out. "How could you?!"

"What? What's going on?" Farkle asked from behind Maya. "Why didn't you dance to your song Maya?"

"What happened was that sweet, thoughtful..." Maya spat out each word like they were poison in her mouth. "Offered to put the song on a CD for me. And it was the wrong. Fucking. Song." Everybody stared at Lucas who wasn't looking at anybody. Instead he turned and walked out of the room. Maya was quick to follow. She wanted the fucking explanation.

"Why?" She yelled at him. They were now in the school corridor, so the sound of her angry voice echoed. He span round and took a few steps back.

"I...You know my secret Maya. I told you everything. Nobody at the school could know my past." he said eventually.

"You're going to get me kicked out!" She cried. "Because I know you have an anger issue?"

"I don't have a choice." Lucas said out, his voice unusually thick. His fists were tensed up.

"Nobody could be that heartless." Maya told him. It sounded a little like a plea. She didn't want him to responsible. She wanted an explanation.

"Maya..." he began to say something but changed his mind. "You don't know me. I can be that heartless."

"And everything you told me...everything we did together? I...I kissed you." She stammered out.

"I know. That was a mistake." He told her, looking her dead in the eye. She shuddered. How could she be so god damn foolish?

"I hate you." She hurled at him. "I hate you."

"Maya." He repeated, but again didn't continue the sentence.

"You've no idea what you've done." She told him. "You've ruined my life to keep up a good reputation. I hope that judge sends you to jail. And I hope you fucking rot in there."

The worst thing? She didn't even mean that.

She left him standing in the hallway, going back to her friends. She should probably appreciate what little time she had left with them.

The second Riley hugged her Maya broke down. All of the tears she'd been saving up suddenly came flowing. She didn't care, she just needed her friend to be there for her right now. Riley left her with Farkle and Zay while Riley did her own audition, and then decided it was time to take Maya to her room so they could talk. Maya and Riley wished them both luck in their auditions, and Riley even kissed Farkle's cheek for a little extra luck.

The second they were back in Riley's room, Riley held her friend close.

"This isn't the end Maya. You can go to other schools, you can keep dancing." Riley told her but Maya shook her head.

"You don't understand. I can't go home." Maya tried to dry her tears away.

"Why? Will your parents be upset or something?"

"No." Maya decided it was time to tell somebody the truth. "I don't...I don't know my parents."

"What?" Riley didn't understand.

"I live with a minder. In a kid's home." Maya explained. "The people there don't care about you. They're cruel and awful, every kid is desperate to get out. The place is awful, and it just...it breaks you. It takes any happiness you have and it destroys it. You've got no hope there. Everybody gets involved with drugs, or they go to jail. Or they just disappear. I want a life, and this school was my only chance. If I got into this school, they'd fund me. I'd be getting an actual education, I'd have a future." Maya let out a desperate sob.

"Oh Maya..." Riley said, stroking her hair that had fallen out of its bun and was now in knots and tangles around her face.

"I can't go back there." She curled back into Riley's arms and sat there for a while.

"I'm so sorry Maya. I can't even begin to know what that's like." She said truthfully.

They eventually feel asleep side by side on Riley's bed, both exhausted from the long and stressful day.

Their peaceful slumber was interrupted a few hours later by Farkle and Zay hammering at their door.

"Girls! Girls! They posted the results!" They were crying out and the pair of girls got up quickly and rushed to open the door. Zay took Maya's hand and pulled her with him, as Farkle did the same with Riley. They ran to the notice board that nearly the entire class was surrounded around. Maya braced herself and she willed herself to get closer and have a look at the list of people who'd been accepted. She could see a girl crying and being comforted a few steps away. She felt awful for the poor thing.

She quickly went over the list. Among the names were Missy, Lucas, Farkle, Zay, Riley...and Maya.

She made it.

She was in the school.

She started in a few days.

This was it.

Riley screamed and hugged all her friends in close, jumping up and down with them. Maya jumped with her, still trying to get over it. Her eyes found Missy staring at her. For somebody who'd just gotten into the school, she didn't look pleased.

And then he appeared. Lucas had turned the corner and was staring straight at Maya. She looked away focusing on her friends. Nothing was going to ruin this moment. She was achieving her dream.

Hey! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, but please remember, things aren't always as simple as they appear.