~*~*~*~*~*~
Groove Is In The Heart
by Daeryn
~*~*~*~*~*~
The coins were tossed and the stages were decided. Heat and Hiro
would dance on Hiro's stage. Frida and the rest of the dancers were
ushered off stage and through the hallways of the building. After
many corners and staircases they were lead onto a stage, converted
into a disco.
"Just as I described it!" Hiro smiled. "I feel as if I were at home!"
"Hiro, you're going to have to take me to this disco when the
competition is over." Kitty-N shouted as she walked across the lighted
floor. "This is awesome!"
"Yes yes," Hiro nodded. "I love the disco."
"Dancers! Please take your seats," DJ Kickin' announced as he walked
up the stairs of the auditorium and into the control booth. "The
audience should be arriving soon." With that, the ever present
stagehands pushed all the dancers off stage.
"You are such a meanie-head!" Shorty whined and pushed a stagehand
back. He sighed and left the child alone.
"Come on Shorty," Kelly waved her over. "They can't start the tourney
if you're on the stage, hon."
"Oh, oops!" Shorty squeaked and left the stage. The stagehand mumbled
several curses as he started checking lights for the final time.
Frida turned her attention from the stagehand to Hiro. Everyone was
wishing him good luck, as he watched the audience enter.
"Good luck Hiro-kun!" Kitty-N hugged the Italian man. "You are going
to do wonderful."
"Yeah, break a leg Hiro," Kelly smiled.
"Kick Pyro's ass," Strike smiled roughly.
"You can do it!" Shorty squeaked before she went off to dance with
Columbo.
"Bring me more hamburgers Dog!" Hamm yelled at an obviously tired
Burger-Dog.
"Go get 'em," Gas-O mumbled absent-mindedly as he tinkered with some
sort of control. Frida glanced over at Heat. He was stretching out
his arms and staring blankly at the stage.
'No one is wishing him good luck,' she noted. 'That's what you get
when you isolate yourself like he has.' Frida quickly averted her
gaze when he looked over at her. She did her best to subdue the blush
that crept up her cheeks. 'Stop it Frida!' she told herself.
"Hiro!" Frida shouted quickly. "I hope you win!" She looked back at
Heat and glared quickly, before turning back to her friend. "Good
luck."
~*~*~*~*~*~
Finally all of the audience had entered the auditorium. DJ Kickin'
didn't waste anytime getting the show started. The tournament went
off with a bang and the audience loved the disco stage and light.
Shouts of "Hiro-kun" echoed repeatedly during the dance, much to
Kitty-N's annoyance. Yet in the end, Heat was declared the winner.
"Oh Hiro-kun," Kitty-N cooed as she clung to the arm of the defeated
disco dancer. She hissed as a self-satisfied Heat strolled by. "You
must be so proud." The comment seemed to roll off Heat. He didn't
react in the slightest.
"Congratulations Heat," Frida mumbled as he walked by. He stopped,
but continued to look straight ahead.
"Dancing is my life Frida," he said quietly. "It's all I have. If I
don't have that.I don't know what I would do."
"Heat-" Frida shook her head.
"I do want more," he said, still facing away from her. He slowly
reached his hand out. Their fingers brushed for a moment and he
pulled away. "I just don't know how." Frida blinked numbly and Heat
walked on.
''Wow Heat!" Shorty jumped around the b-boy. "You dance real good!
Can you show me how you do that thing when you spin on your head?
That was my favorite. Oh! And that time that you-"
"Maybe later kid," Heat responded monotonously. Frida didn't have
much time to contemplate Heat's actions as the entire group was
escorted out of the auditorium and back into the maze of hallways.
"Alright kids!" DJ Kickin' stopped the procession for a moment. "Next
up is Shorty and Hamm. Are you guys ready?"
"Yeah buddy!" Shorty jumped up and down, waving her arms around.
"Mmm reey aaeee," Hamm mumbles with a mouth full of hamburger.
"You're gonna choke one of these days, man," Gas-O told the huge
dancer. Hamm responded by shoving more food into his mouth.
"Umm...anyway," DJ Kickin' raised a single eyebrow. "It is going to
be held on Hamm's stage. Which is a recreation of a fast-food
restaurant."
"Fast-food!" Hamm exclaimed, spewing hamburger bits everywhere.
"EEEWWWW!!!" Short wiped her face off with an oversized sleeve. "That
is sooooo gross. I'm all covered in chewed burger!"
"We can go wash it off before the competition begins Shorty," Kelly
reassured her.
"You're gonna get it now dude!" Shorty shouted as Kelly lead her to a
bathroom. "No more Ms. Nice-Shortyyyyyy!!!!" Hamm seemed unfazed by
the little girls uncharacteristic outburst.
"You mentioned fast food?" Hamm asked DJ Kickin'. "Are we ordering
out?"
"No, we're not ordering out Hamm..." DJ Kickin' shook his head. "Okay,
let's get going! Follow me!" The dancers continued through the back
hallways of the studio. Frida noticed Kitty-N was walking alone so
she slowed down till she was next to the cat girl.
"Hey, where did Hiro go?" she asked.
"He was really upset with losing," Kitty-N answered soberly. "I think
he's up in his room."
"He's not gonna watch the rest of the tournament?" Frida questioned.
"Well, he better come down to watch me dance!" Kitty-N creased her
eyebrows and clenched her fist in mock anger.
"I'm sure he will," Frida smiled reassuringly. "He wouldn't miss it
for the world. He'll be rooting for ya right next to me!" Kitty-N
returned the smile and quickened her pace happily.
'I wish I had someone I loved rooting for me,' Frida thought to herself.
Unvoluntarily she glanced over to Heat, who was walking right behind
DJ Kickin'. He seemed zoned off from the rest of the group, keeping
completely to himself, a blank look covering his face. 'He's probably
reliving his win over and over again in his head,' Frida spat mentally.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Shorty lived up to her threat. As the song came to a close, Hamm lay
dazed on the floor of the fake burger shop.
"She must really hate getting covered in chewed up bits of hamburger,"
Frida blinked as Shorty finished up her 'Fever Time.' "It really must
have struck a nerve."
"Uhh...yeah," was all Kitty-N could say, still in shock. Kitty-N
backed quickly away from the exit as Shorty came skipping off the
stage. All the anger that had filled her dancing only moments before
had disappeared, she was the same old Shorty again.
"You were...really good Shorty," Frida managed to choke out.
"Aww, thanks!" Shorty placed a hand behind her head. "I just really
wanted to win I guess." A stretcher carrying Hamm passed by the group.
"Holy CRAP!" Gas-O exclaimed. "You beat the livin' daylights outta
that guy! Remind me not to piss you off!" Kelly smacked the boy
upside his head.
"You feelin' okay Shorty?" the blonde asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine...why?" Shorty replied innocently.
"Well, you just...well...," Kelly stammered, not quite sure how to
explain what exactly she had seen Shorty manage on stage. "Oh
nevermind. You did great."
"Thank you!" Shorty beamed.
"Let's go people! We have one more competition before the lunch
break!" DJ Kickin' announced as he opened the stage door. "Up next is
Frida and Pinky!"
"Uh oh," Frida couldn't manage to follow the dancers into the hallway.
She sat down in a nearby chair, placed her head in between her knees,
and breathed deeply. The butterflies that had taken flight in her
stomach settled down slightly and she sat back up. Much to her
surprise she saw Heat standing in the doorway watching her. "He-"
she began.
"Move it!" Kitty-N bumped the b-boy aside and entered the backstage
area. Heat rolled his eyes and walked away. "Frida! What are you
doing?"
"I-I got kinda nervous," Frida responded.
"You don't have time to be nervous!" Kitty-N grabbed Frida's wrist
and pulled her to her feet. "You gotta dance!"
~*~*~*~*~*~
Frida had never known more terror than what swept through her when
she stepped on the stage. The stands filled with spectators seemed
to fill the sky. She could barely keep herself from running off the
stage in fright.
'Why am I doing this?' Frida asked herself as she stared blankly at
the massive crowd in front of her. 'Stop it! You have to prove to
yourself that you can do this.' Frida shook her head to clear away
any misgivings, but they all returned when the sound of the spectators
reached her ears. 'Come on, loosen up,' she told herself and began to
stretch out. 'Look, it's your stage. It's just like your studio at
home...just with thousands of people watching! AHHH!!! STOP IT!'
Frida mentally smacked herself. She looked down at the sidelines and
saw Kitty-N waving and flashing a victory sign.
"You can do it Frida!" Kitty-N shouted. Kelly and Shorty each gave
her a thumbs up. Strike and Gas-O gave her a nod of recognition,
because they were far too cool to do anything else. Heat was standing
silently, his arms crossed. Frida was caught totally off guard as
Heat smiled and raised his right hand. His index and middle fingers
were crossed.
"Good Luck," he mouthed.
The confusion that filled Frida's mind had to be ignored. The mixed
signals that she'd been recieving from Heat had to be forgotten if she
was going to win her dance battle. She had to force herself not to
look over at Heat once the song began. It was hard enough dealing with
her own insecurities without thinking about her feelings for Heat and how she was supposed to deal with them.
'Remember why you're here!' Frida told herself as lyrics filled the
air. But luckily Frida was able to repress all thoughts other than
dancing. The fact that she was so familiar with her own song and stage really helped the matter. And, as the song came to an end, Frida was exhausted but smiling.
She'd won.
~*~*~*~*~*~
to be continued...
~*~*~*~*~*~
Groove Is In The Heart
by Daeryn
~*~*~*~*~*~
The coins were tossed and the stages were decided. Heat and Hiro
would dance on Hiro's stage. Frida and the rest of the dancers were
ushered off stage and through the hallways of the building. After
many corners and staircases they were lead onto a stage, converted
into a disco.
"Just as I described it!" Hiro smiled. "I feel as if I were at home!"
"Hiro, you're going to have to take me to this disco when the
competition is over." Kitty-N shouted as she walked across the lighted
floor. "This is awesome!"
"Yes yes," Hiro nodded. "I love the disco."
"Dancers! Please take your seats," DJ Kickin' announced as he walked
up the stairs of the auditorium and into the control booth. "The
audience should be arriving soon." With that, the ever present
stagehands pushed all the dancers off stage.
"You are such a meanie-head!" Shorty whined and pushed a stagehand
back. He sighed and left the child alone.
"Come on Shorty," Kelly waved her over. "They can't start the tourney
if you're on the stage, hon."
"Oh, oops!" Shorty squeaked and left the stage. The stagehand mumbled
several curses as he started checking lights for the final time.
Frida turned her attention from the stagehand to Hiro. Everyone was
wishing him good luck, as he watched the audience enter.
"Good luck Hiro-kun!" Kitty-N hugged the Italian man. "You are going
to do wonderful."
"Yeah, break a leg Hiro," Kelly smiled.
"Kick Pyro's ass," Strike smiled roughly.
"You can do it!" Shorty squeaked before she went off to dance with
Columbo.
"Bring me more hamburgers Dog!" Hamm yelled at an obviously tired
Burger-Dog.
"Go get 'em," Gas-O mumbled absent-mindedly as he tinkered with some
sort of control. Frida glanced over at Heat. He was stretching out
his arms and staring blankly at the stage.
'No one is wishing him good luck,' she noted. 'That's what you get
when you isolate yourself like he has.' Frida quickly averted her
gaze when he looked over at her. She did her best to subdue the blush
that crept up her cheeks. 'Stop it Frida!' she told herself.
"Hiro!" Frida shouted quickly. "I hope you win!" She looked back at
Heat and glared quickly, before turning back to her friend. "Good
luck."
~*~*~*~*~*~
Finally all of the audience had entered the auditorium. DJ Kickin'
didn't waste anytime getting the show started. The tournament went
off with a bang and the audience loved the disco stage and light.
Shouts of "Hiro-kun" echoed repeatedly during the dance, much to
Kitty-N's annoyance. Yet in the end, Heat was declared the winner.
"Oh Hiro-kun," Kitty-N cooed as she clung to the arm of the defeated
disco dancer. She hissed as a self-satisfied Heat strolled by. "You
must be so proud." The comment seemed to roll off Heat. He didn't
react in the slightest.
"Congratulations Heat," Frida mumbled as he walked by. He stopped,
but continued to look straight ahead.
"Dancing is my life Frida," he said quietly. "It's all I have. If I
don't have that.I don't know what I would do."
"Heat-" Frida shook her head.
"I do want more," he said, still facing away from her. He slowly
reached his hand out. Their fingers brushed for a moment and he
pulled away. "I just don't know how." Frida blinked numbly and Heat
walked on.
''Wow Heat!" Shorty jumped around the b-boy. "You dance real good!
Can you show me how you do that thing when you spin on your head?
That was my favorite. Oh! And that time that you-"
"Maybe later kid," Heat responded monotonously. Frida didn't have
much time to contemplate Heat's actions as the entire group was
escorted out of the auditorium and back into the maze of hallways.
"Alright kids!" DJ Kickin' stopped the procession for a moment. "Next
up is Shorty and Hamm. Are you guys ready?"
"Yeah buddy!" Shorty jumped up and down, waving her arms around.
"Mmm reey aaeee," Hamm mumbles with a mouth full of hamburger.
"You're gonna choke one of these days, man," Gas-O told the huge
dancer. Hamm responded by shoving more food into his mouth.
"Umm...anyway," DJ Kickin' raised a single eyebrow. "It is going to
be held on Hamm's stage. Which is a recreation of a fast-food
restaurant."
"Fast-food!" Hamm exclaimed, spewing hamburger bits everywhere.
"EEEWWWW!!!" Short wiped her face off with an oversized sleeve. "That
is sooooo gross. I'm all covered in chewed burger!"
"We can go wash it off before the competition begins Shorty," Kelly
reassured her.
"You're gonna get it now dude!" Shorty shouted as Kelly lead her to a
bathroom. "No more Ms. Nice-Shortyyyyyy!!!!" Hamm seemed unfazed by
the little girls uncharacteristic outburst.
"You mentioned fast food?" Hamm asked DJ Kickin'. "Are we ordering
out?"
"No, we're not ordering out Hamm..." DJ Kickin' shook his head. "Okay,
let's get going! Follow me!" The dancers continued through the back
hallways of the studio. Frida noticed Kitty-N was walking alone so
she slowed down till she was next to the cat girl.
"Hey, where did Hiro go?" she asked.
"He was really upset with losing," Kitty-N answered soberly. "I think
he's up in his room."
"He's not gonna watch the rest of the tournament?" Frida questioned.
"Well, he better come down to watch me dance!" Kitty-N creased her
eyebrows and clenched her fist in mock anger.
"I'm sure he will," Frida smiled reassuringly. "He wouldn't miss it
for the world. He'll be rooting for ya right next to me!" Kitty-N
returned the smile and quickened her pace happily.
'I wish I had someone I loved rooting for me,' Frida thought to herself.
Unvoluntarily she glanced over to Heat, who was walking right behind
DJ Kickin'. He seemed zoned off from the rest of the group, keeping
completely to himself, a blank look covering his face. 'He's probably
reliving his win over and over again in his head,' Frida spat mentally.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Shorty lived up to her threat. As the song came to a close, Hamm lay
dazed on the floor of the fake burger shop.
"She must really hate getting covered in chewed up bits of hamburger,"
Frida blinked as Shorty finished up her 'Fever Time.' "It really must
have struck a nerve."
"Uhh...yeah," was all Kitty-N could say, still in shock. Kitty-N
backed quickly away from the exit as Shorty came skipping off the
stage. All the anger that had filled her dancing only moments before
had disappeared, she was the same old Shorty again.
"You were...really good Shorty," Frida managed to choke out.
"Aww, thanks!" Shorty placed a hand behind her head. "I just really
wanted to win I guess." A stretcher carrying Hamm passed by the group.
"Holy CRAP!" Gas-O exclaimed. "You beat the livin' daylights outta
that guy! Remind me not to piss you off!" Kelly smacked the boy
upside his head.
"You feelin' okay Shorty?" the blonde asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine...why?" Shorty replied innocently.
"Well, you just...well...," Kelly stammered, not quite sure how to
explain what exactly she had seen Shorty manage on stage. "Oh
nevermind. You did great."
"Thank you!" Shorty beamed.
"Let's go people! We have one more competition before the lunch
break!" DJ Kickin' announced as he opened the stage door. "Up next is
Frida and Pinky!"
"Uh oh," Frida couldn't manage to follow the dancers into the hallway.
She sat down in a nearby chair, placed her head in between her knees,
and breathed deeply. The butterflies that had taken flight in her
stomach settled down slightly and she sat back up. Much to her
surprise she saw Heat standing in the doorway watching her. "He-"
she began.
"Move it!" Kitty-N bumped the b-boy aside and entered the backstage
area. Heat rolled his eyes and walked away. "Frida! What are you
doing?"
"I-I got kinda nervous," Frida responded.
"You don't have time to be nervous!" Kitty-N grabbed Frida's wrist
and pulled her to her feet. "You gotta dance!"
~*~*~*~*~*~
Frida had never known more terror than what swept through her when
she stepped on the stage. The stands filled with spectators seemed
to fill the sky. She could barely keep herself from running off the
stage in fright.
'Why am I doing this?' Frida asked herself as she stared blankly at
the massive crowd in front of her. 'Stop it! You have to prove to
yourself that you can do this.' Frida shook her head to clear away
any misgivings, but they all returned when the sound of the spectators
reached her ears. 'Come on, loosen up,' she told herself and began to
stretch out. 'Look, it's your stage. It's just like your studio at
home...just with thousands of people watching! AHHH!!! STOP IT!'
Frida mentally smacked herself. She looked down at the sidelines and
saw Kitty-N waving and flashing a victory sign.
"You can do it Frida!" Kitty-N shouted. Kelly and Shorty each gave
her a thumbs up. Strike and Gas-O gave her a nod of recognition,
because they were far too cool to do anything else. Heat was standing
silently, his arms crossed. Frida was caught totally off guard as
Heat smiled and raised his right hand. His index and middle fingers
were crossed.
"Good Luck," he mouthed.
The confusion that filled Frida's mind had to be ignored. The mixed
signals that she'd been recieving from Heat had to be forgotten if she
was going to win her dance battle. She had to force herself not to
look over at Heat once the song began. It was hard enough dealing with
her own insecurities without thinking about her feelings for Heat and how she was supposed to deal with them.
'Remember why you're here!' Frida told herself as lyrics filled the
air. But luckily Frida was able to repress all thoughts other than
dancing. The fact that she was so familiar with her own song and stage really helped the matter. And, as the song came to an end, Frida was exhausted but smiling.
She'd won.
~*~*~*~*~*~
to be continued...
~*~*~*~*~*~
