Chapter 2: Don't Start

Surely she had misheard that right? Of course she had. There was no way in Oz that he actually-

He motioned her with his head to hurry.

Ok so she had heard that right. The room was silent as Elphaba made her way to the front; she could feel everyone's eyes on her, which made her really uncomfortable and she was sure she was trembling slightly. She stood in front of him when she reached the front and he turned back to the rest of the dancers. "Alright, let's begin."

He placed her in a starting position, the rest of the girls copying her placement then he demonstrated what the guys would be doing, giving them counts as he did the movements.

"Once you're here," he was standing behind her, she was still in her starting pose, the only choreography so far for the girls being a smooth movement of the arms, "gentlemen, pull your lady's elbow. Ladies once you feel that pull, spin twice," he demonstrated both parts.

Elphaba copied her part and he gave her a nod; everyone practiced the part as well. "After the spins, you'll hear it in the music, you'll sharply come together," Fiyero motioned to Elphaba to spin. He gave the counts and on "three" he pulled her close by the waist and she was surprised at her reaction: to grab his shoulder and place her hand on top of his, looking into his eyes. It had been so natural, she hadn't expected it.

She looked away from him and glanced at the mirror, watching as the other couples copied what they had just demonstrated. She could see some incredulous looks on people's faces. Yeah, she thought, he's touching me and he's not disgusted. Her eyes widened as her own words registered in her head.

He was touching her and he…didn't seem repulsed at all by that. At least, she hoped he wasn't.

Fiyero continued his choreography, which consisted of partner work and foot work. She recognized this specific type of dance tango which she didn't dance much, but she learned its specific techniques in class before.

They stopped once along the way to go from the top with music. The more she learned and danced, the more she could feel her adrenaline rising. Yeah, that's what it was; it had nothing to do with him holding her hand or holding her close. Oh come on Elphaba, she told herself, feeling like a 15 year old again, are you really going to be attracted to a guy you don't even know?

But that was just it, wasn't it?

Just like she didn't know him, he didn't know her, and he'd been nothing but a perfect gentleman so far as they'd been dancing together. Sure he called her "green girl", but there hadn't been malice in his voice when he had said it. He hadn't asked her to wear gloves, an ultimatum many gave her when there was no other choice but to be her partner; she'd danced by herself in those instances. She supposed she liked that, that he hadn't insulted her, treated her just like if she would have been any other partner, and was polite. That made her like him. She mentally shook her head. Don't start, don't lose your head. Focus.

"Right here," Fiyero froze them in their spot, "ladies you'll use the momentum to jump, and we're going to do a lift."

Elphaba raised her eyebrows.

"You'll bring your left leg up, keep it straightened. Keep your right leg bent at a 90° angle, almost as if you were doing a calypso," he looked at her and nodded. Elphaba jumped and hit the position he described in the air.

He caught her and spun. "Just like that. It should look just like that," he set her back on the ground but didn't let go of her, "guys, I shouldn't see you bend down to lift your girl," he demonstrated what he didn't want to see and she felt her face heat up for the upteenth time; he stood back up and held her in a partner position, "right now, your knees are already bent slightly, use that small push and core strength to lift her up from the ground. Go ahead and try it, make sure to switch around so all the girls can practice it," he turned back to her, "you want to try it a couple more times?" he whispered. She nodded, not trusting her voice.

It was official, she was being so utterly ridiculous. Was she really feeling like this; this nervous, this shy; over a guy? A guy that…that was the first who hadn't dropped her?

They continued with the choreography, adding intricate leg work and practising with the music a couple times. He would move one fairly quickly, testing their memory, Elphaba kept up though.

She was having fun; she had a great partner who didn't modify the choreography to avoid touching her, who actually made eye contact, would smile at her as they danced, and even laughed with her a couple of times if she had made a few slip ups. She trusted him, she realized. And it showed; in her smile, in her dancing. He seemed to be having fun too. She really hoped he was.

They did the whole dance once more from beginning to end with music once they had learned all the movements. Elphaba felt proud of herself, she knew the whole thing. When they finished, Fiyero gave her a small smile, which she returned, and he walked to the back of the room.

"Alright, time to show us what you've got," he and Madame Morrible sat in chairs in the back of the room and she handed him a pen and a clipboard.

Oh, so they wouldn't be able to use the mirrors. Interesting, Elphaba thought.

"Alright people listen up," Madame Morrible clapped her hands, "we will do six couple's at a time. Feel free to travel as much or as little as you'd like during the dance, just be wary of the other couples. Gentlemen, some of you may have to go twice so that all the ladies can dance with a partner. First group, please,"

The first group went up and spread out. Some couples were switched due to their height, then they settled into their starting positions and the music was played. Everyone else sat down and watched the first group. Elphaba watched the dancers, making sure she truly had the moves down and moved ever so slightly to the music just to go over them again. Everyone clapped once the first group was down and she saw Fiyero and Madame Morrible take notes. That made her nervous but strangely, in a good way.

Elphaba got up for her turn when the final group was called which was just her and another couple. As expected, no other guy had gotten up. She bit her lip in annoyance.

"One of you, come up and dance with her," Fiyero addressed the guys.

Someone had obviously pulled the short straw or lost a game of "Rock, Paper, Scissors" because Elphaba saw that the guys tried to keep their laughs in as they pushed one of their friends off the ground and he did not look pleased.

Trust me, I don't want you touching me either, she fought back her scowl as he came close to her.

During the routine, she was uncomfortable but did her best to hide it. It was so different from dancing with Fiyero. It was obvious her partner wanted nothing more than to run away, but she didn't let that affect her audition.

She felt extremely confident which was something fairly new for her. She knew the moves, she knew her technique was down, and she used her face appropriately. Elphaba let herself get lost in the music and stayed in the moment from beginning to end.

They finally finished and she couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes when her partner let her go as quickly as possible and wiped his hands on his shirt. I probably wash my hands and take more showers than you do, asshole.

As she went to sit down and take a drink of water, she felt some pride at seeing Fiyero clap for her. She smiled without even realizing it.

Even though I'm a dancer and dance a lot, I have not taken a former dance class in five years; I don't remember much about terminology, I looked some stuff up but I still tried to describe the choreography in a way that made sense. Here's a link to the dance I pictured them auditioning with: watch?v=5_N6_sV8cG4&t=38s

Tell me what you thought, R&R. :)