A/N: Enjoy!! Hope you had an awesome holiday! :)

The next day, after school, Caitlyn walked through the mass of girls and guys at the dance studio, approaching Nate confidently. She didn't care that almost everyone there was watching her, sizing her up. All that mattered was the CD case in her hand.

Nate was bent over a drawer, apparently looking for something, so Caitlyn put the CD case right in front of him and said cheerfully, "I'll do it."

Nate looked up so quickly that his curly brown hair flew back from his face before settling once more into the proper style. He looked pleased, and nodded. "Great," he said. He stepped around the desk and motioned to one of the male dancers who was stretching in the corner. "Dave, could you take over?" he asked, tossing the CD case Caitlyn had brought to the dancer. "Track four for your group."

Dave nodded and moved toward the player, calling some of the dancers to the floor. Nate, however, tugged Caitlyn towards the corner, waving Jennifer over as well. Jennifer gave Caitlyn a happy smile before focusing her attention on what Nate was saying. "If I show you the steps, do you think you can teach them to Caitlyn?" Nate asked.

Jennifer nodded. "Sure," she said.

Nate spent a few minutes showing Jennifer the steps, and Caitlyn watched as best she could. There were so many new steps that she hadn't learned, that she felt slightly overwhelmed. By the time Nate left them to take over the rest of the class, Caitlyn felt scared and nervous. "I don't know if I can do this," she whispered to Jennifer over the music.

Jennifer shook her head. "Don't worry about it," she assured Caitlyn. "You just need a little confidence in yourself. Caitlyn, these dances are hard, and you're doing an amazing job learning them." She bumped Caitlyn's shoulder with her own. "Loosen up, and you'll be fine. Now, do you know who you're playing?"

Caitlyn frowned. Was she playing someone? How did that work in the dancing world? "Um, no," she managed.

Jennifer didn't seem surprised. "The character you're playing is a fairy princess." She smiled and winked at Caitlyn. "Think you can pull that off?"

Caitlyn thought about being a princess of the wee folk that inspired so many of the Irish tales and could actually see the fine, silvery wings that would flutter delicately as she danced. She could see the small shoes that would accentuate her feet and give her the chance to fly across the stage. She smiled. "Yeah, I think I can," she said.

Jennifer grinned. "Excellent."

"It's too hard!" Caitlyn didn't care if she was whining. It truly was too hard.

Jennifer didn't tell her that she was being a baby, or not trying hard enough. She only nodded and said, "It is at the moment, but it'll get easier. Try once more."

Caitlyn sighed huffily and put her hands on Jennifer's shoulders once more in order to steady herself as she fitted the toes of one foot to the back of the heel of the other and began moving from side to side, bending one foot under the other. Rocking, as it was called, was something she was not fond of. She groaned as her feet protested against the unnatural movement. Rocking was supposed to be a fluid, spaghetti-like movement, and her rocking looked about as stiff as a board.

Nate clapped his hands somewhere in the room, and Caitlyn stopped rocking long enough to turn and listen to him. "Thank you all," he said calmly. "Good work, see you tomorrow."

Jennifer turned back to Caitlyn and patted her back gently. "It's coming along," she promised. "Keep practicing, and I'm sure you'll get it in no time." She checked the watch around her wrist and grimaced. "Sorry, but I have to get to my work. See you tomorrow?"

Caitlyn nodded. "Thanks," she said, and Jennifer smiled as she waved and hurried out the door.

Caitlyn watched her friend leave and then attempted the same rocking motion by herself, nearly falling over. She let out an embarrassed cough and straightened up, looking around to see if anyone was watching. From far across the room, Caitlyn saw Tess Tyler smirk at her, and a strange feeling of willfulness shot through Caitlyn's veins. She thrust out her chin and packed up her bag, vowing that the next time she saw Tess Tyler, she would have the greatest rock in the whole studio.

"Why are we here again and not at home, sound asleep, and furthermore, warm?"

Caitlyn turned from where she was trying to coax her cold fingers into opening the door and glared at her brother. "Since when do you whine so much?" she teased him.

"I'm not whining," he protested, glaring at her. "I'm just cold."

Caitlyn rolled her eyes and jammed the key a little harder into the slot. With a grating sound, it gave way and the lock clicked. She pushed the door open and groped for a moment to find the light switch. "Get in here," she hissed to Max, laughing at his pained expression.

He eagerly stepped inside and Caitlyn led him over to the dance floor. "You never answered my question," he told her. "Why are we here?"

Caitlyn slipped on the pair of ghillies that Jennifer had loaned her and stood. "I need to practice, and you're going to help me." She walked over to iPod station and chose the track that Nate used most often for warm ups. "We'll need to stretch, though," she warned Max. "I don't want you tearing anything. What would your team say about that?"

Max made a face. "Whatever, little sister," he said, refusing to acknowledge her jabs. He flexed his arms and teased, "Show me what you got."

Caitlyn grinned and together, they went through the warm up routine with her laughing at each of Max's half-hearted attempts at being graceful. Finally, Caitlyn finished the routine and changed the song. "Want to see what I've learned?" she asked.

Max grinned at her. "That's what I'm here for."

"I'll take that as a yes," Caitlyn responded dryly, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. She quickly cued the music and took her spot in the middle of the dance floor. The sound of bells reached her ears as the opening notes played. Soon, her feet carried her through the steps that she had learned earlier. Out of both breath and steps, she paused a quarter of the way through the song, turning back to smile at Max in triumph.

It was only then that she noticed the person standing against the wall next to Max, eyes fixed on her.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed it! PLEASE review! New Year's Resolution: Review my stories! ;) JK!