Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Except Jonathan Reeves. I own him. In my dreams.

Rating: PG-13 to be safe for now.

"This way!" Cooper's voice, enthused, fell over his shoulder as he wove quickly through the crowd on the street. He led them to a small building on the corner, a dingy-looking edifice with a plate-glass window so dirty that it was impossible to see in. Walking inside, he let the door slam behind him.

With a shrug in Erik's direction in answer to his questioning look, Jody pushed open the protesting door and followed Cooper indoors, holding the door open for Erik.

The inside of the building was the exact opposite. Scrubbed clean and painted a blinding white, it shone brightly under a glow of white light coming from bulbs shaded with simple glass covers. The room was perevaded with the sharp smell of new paint. "That's just the base," Cooper confided. "We put it on this morning. It's actually gonna be painted this really light gray."

He opened another small room. This one was tiled, with a row of beat-up lockers. "Locker room," he said. "Showers are in the back. I only have one, so the guys and girls are going to have to take turns." He turned on his heel and was off again, Jody and Erik hot on his heels. He paused at another small room, this one with a snack machine, juice machine, and long lunchroom table.

"Lunchroom, obviously."

Cooper then led them towards another room, this one with double doors. "This is the main studio," he said, reaching for the door. They were startled at that exact minute when a crash ricocheted off the walls of the building, followed by a groan and a litany of curses.

"Damn!" Cooper hissed. "What the hell are they doing in there? Wait a second," he said, and jogged in the direction of the crash. "What's going on?!" they heard his voice fading away down the hallway.

"Ooookay," Erik laughed and gestured to the door. "Shall we?"

"We shall." Jody was curious as to what her new studio might look like. She pushed the door open and walked inside, stopping in amazement.

The room was the ideal dance studio- heavily lighted, a smooth, polished wood floor, mirrors lining the walls, a barre that circled the entire room. A baby grand stood in the corner, smooth, black polished wood, and a large sound system was set up in the corner, speakers up on the four corners of the ceiling.

Jody took all of this in with a brief glance. However, it was the solitary figure in the east corner of the room that caught her attention.

The man standing in the corner was short, and very skinny, dressed almost scruffily in a knee-length, soiled blue shirt, and a pair of faded black khakis, ripped at both knees. He wore a small black cross around his neck, and was bent over backwards, chest arched to the sky, fingers nearly touching the floor around his neck.

He was clearly of Asian descent, with ivory skin, high, high cheekbones, full lips, and an unusual hairstyle in his long, thick black dreadlocks that nearly touched the small of his back. When he opened his eyes, looking up to the ceiling, they were a startling shade of dark green, a color impossible to fake by contacts. He twisted round on one foot, looking straight at them. Then he pointed, and smiled.

Erik made a move as if to ask the man who he was, but all of a sudden, music started, startling in it's abruptness. The guy immediately leaped to his feet, beginning a series of spins, leaps, and steps to an unusual drumbeat full of breaks, and offbeats. It grew alternatingly fast and slow, stopping and starting at certain points, rising and falling, quickening the blood of all who heard it.

The guy continued dancing as if they hadn't even walked in, his movements becoming even more energetic. He spun and spun, then landed in a perfect split, right in front of Jody, holding out his hand with an impish smile. With the other, he pulled off his shirt, revealing a body laced with long, corded muscles, a thin sheen of sweat on them. She heard Erik suck in his breath. "Dance?"

"Umm-" Jody backed up, more than a little freaked out. She had no clue who this guy was. "I don't think so. Who are you, anyway? Cooper-"

"C'mon," his voice was slightly rusty, as if he wasn't used to talking, but low and husky. He snapped his fingers, and the beat started again. He then grabbed her hand, pulling her gently but insistently out on the dance floor.

Jody automatically took a pointe position, despite her sandals, and began shimmying to the beat. She couldn't have stopped even if she wanted to. His leading was perfect, and he lifted her higher in the air than she'd ever been lifted in her life. Her hair came loose again, falling around her shoulders, and she glanced into the mirror, shocked at her reflection.

The girl in the mirror moved smoothly, sensually, without any reservation or 'cuteness' brought on by self conscious dancing, entwined with her partner in an intimate manner, her normally pale skin looking flushed and tan against his bare chest, lips parted slightly, eyes misty. He wrapped her legs round his waist and dipped her backward so that her hair brushed the floor, and her fingers glazed the wood, all while moving in perfect time to the thickening tempo. Jody's thighs were throbbing, but all she could feel was the pulsating beat of the drum as it passed through her body, causing her to feel the music and move in ways she never thought possible.

THIS.... was dance.

All too suddenly, the music stopped, and Jody somehow found herself on her feet, breathing hard, her chest heaving. The guy was standing in front of her, still supporting her by the hand. He smiled, then flicked a dreadlock out of his eyes, the green boring into hers.

"Come," he said, low. "We do it again."

He pulled her into his arms and began to move. She did as well, powerless to stop. They were interrupted when the door slammed open, and he released her quickly. Cooper was standing at the doorway, grinning.

"Looks like you've found your leading man."

All the exercise Jody had been getting suddenly caught up to her with a rush, and her legs nearly collapsed. She sat in the floor, staring at the guy. "Oh, my GOD," she said, rubbing her right calf. "Who are you?"

"This," Cooper said, as if announcing royalty, "is Stephan."

He gave them both a slight smile, eyes on the floor.

"I found him dancing in the subway, and he's part of the company now," Cooper said simply. "Stephan, this is Jody and Erik."

He shook both their hands, then made a hasty exit.

"Not too talkative, hunh?" Erik said.

Cooper smiled slightly. "He dances his ass off," he said. "and that's all I require."

Erik laughed and launched himself to the piano, sitting down on the bench and stretching out his injured leg. "So, is he gay or straight?" he asked. "Inquiring minds want to know."

Cooper and Jody both laughed at Erik's matter-of-fact tone. "I don't know, you'll have to ask him," Cooper replied. He looked at Jody. "Up for a little practice?"

Jody shook her head, still slightly out of breath. "Are you kidding me? Stephan wore me out. Plus, I've still got to find an apartment."

"Jonathan tossed you out?"

"Not quite." Jody explained the morning's events to Cooper, who laughed long and loud. "So I'm looking for an apartment," she finished.

Cooper wiped a tear form his eye. "Wish I could have seen you going all wild," he said. "Jonathan already thinks I'm a detrimental influence on his dancers. He'd probably go nuts if he saw Erik here."

Jody smirked. "Well, we won't stay and absorb any of your evil influences any longer. I still have to find a place to stay."

"And I have to get back for my music theory class," Erik hoisted himself up.

Cooper stood up and headed for the lights, to turn them off. Erik walked out of the room ahead of the two in order to hail a cab- he had to get back to the ABA headquarters. "Why don't you bunk with me?"

Jody stared at Cooper in shock. "What?"

"I said, why don't you come bunk with me? Just for a few days, till you get settled."

"I- you-" to say that Jody was bamboozled by his offer would be a complete understatement. How could he even suggest such a- after all their history-

"Relax, it's not what you think," Cooper said, raising his palms. "It's genuinely a offer BETWEEN FRIENDS, okay? I know about you and Charlie. Talk it over with him first or whatever. I just figured, if you needed a place to crash-" he shrugged and moved towards the door.

"Um, Cooper-" Jody truly didn't know what to say.

"You'd chip in for rent and food as long as you're there, of course," Cooper said. "And I have a roommate, so you won't have to worry about me jumping your bones in the middle of the night or something."

Jody blushed, then scowled. Cooper could always read her like a book. "You have a roommate?" she hadn't remembered seeing anyone else the night she'd- well, she didn't want to think about THAT.

"Yeah," Cooper said, offhand. "Stephan's moving in with me."

Jody stared at him in disbelief. "You're taking in some guy off the street?"

Cooper gave her a look. "He doesn't have fleas or anything, okay? And I happen to know plenty about him."

"Like what?"

"None of your business. It's not like you live with him or anything."

Jody chewed her lip as she considered the offer. It was risky- after all, this guy could be some serial killer, for all she knew, but Cooper sounded so confident. Plus, she did want to be out of the ABA dorms by the next day. And if she only stayed with Cooper for a week or two.....

"Fine," she heard herself saying aloud. "I'll do it."

Cooper stopped, his hand on the doorknob. "What?"

"I said, I'll do it."

Cooper waited for minute, then rolled his eyes. "Don't go overboard with the gratitude," he said, sarcastically.

"Oh, shut up. I'm thinking." Jody picked up her purse and walked towards the door, Cooper following and locking her out. "Here's my apartment key," he said, handing it to her. "I'll be out late."

Jody nodded her thanks, took the key and headed down the street, still thinking. She would have to call a cab to help her move her things downtown- thank God, she only had her dance gear, clothes and a few trinkets from home to be moved. ABA's super-small dorms had given her THAT advantage, at least. She would also have to say goodbye to everyone and tell Charlie she was going and...

"Oh, my God," she groaned. Charlie. What was he going to think about all this??