Chapter One

Moose

My heart stops
When you look at me
Just one touch
Now baby I believe
This is real
So take a chance and
Don't ever look back,
Don't ever look back
-

This was it, the moment he had been waiting for. Blushing, he took Camille's hand and they left the Vault to go on their first official date. Moose was absolutely nervous as they hailed a cab and he gave the name of a small cafe Luke had suggested to him.

"Moose? You're sweating, are you really that nervous?" Camille teased and Moose grinned sheepishly at her. His heart was about to beat out of his chest but he wasn't going to admit that to her.

"I'm fine, I'm perfectly fine." He could have slapped himself. Why was he acting like an idiot? Camille was his best friend, he should be comfortable around her. But when he glanced over at her navy blue strapless dress and the way her hair cascaded over her shoulders, his mouth went dry.

The silence between them quickly turned awkward when they arrived to the cafe. Moose was a perfetc gentlemen though as he helped Camille out the cab, opened the door for her, and even pulled her chair out for her. She thanked him sweetly and once he sat down, he felt some of his nervousness disappear.

"You should wear dresses like that more often. You look beautiful in them," Camille looked thoughtful at his statement and Moose realized he might have offended her, "Not that you don't look great in jeans in a T-shirt! You do! It's just..." He trailed off.

"Moose, chill out, okay? Thank you for calling me beautiful. You look cute in your shirt and tie." She laughed and Moose blushed furiously. Since when was he so awkward.

"I'm just...I feel like this has to be special. We've been best friends for so long, and now we're even more. I don't want to mess it up." He admitted timidly and Camille leaned forward and pecked him on the nose.

"You're doing fine, and things are still the same. We can still talk like we used to." Moose visibly relaxed at this. He was no good at being a boyfriend, but he could be a great best friend.

"Did I tell you what I got in the mail today?" Camille watched as he reached in his pocket and pulled out a jet black envelope. He opened it and pulled out a black sheet of paper with silver writing on it. Included was a necklace with a charm shaped like a mask on it.

"What is that?" Camille grabbed the necklace from him and examined it. It was pure silver and gleamed in the light.

"It's an invitation to some place called the Grand Ball. I asked Jacob about it and he said he didn't know anything, so I called Luke. Get this: only New York's elite are invited." Moose explained and Camille giggled.

"Elite? They consider you elite?" Moose stuck his tongue out at her.

"I guess I reconsider bringing you as my guest, since the invitation says I can bring one other person." He grinned and Camille rolled her eyes. Who else would he even consider taking?

"So when is it? And how do we get there if you only get in by invitation?" Moose looked back at his invite and its explicit instructions.

"It's tomorrow night and we're supposed to just hang outside the Vault. They'll pick us up. Sounds sketchy to me." Camille nodded in agreement as he put the envelope and charm away. Despite the strangeness of it, he was eager to check out the Grand Ball. Camille always told him that he had a dangerous habit of curiosity but he couldn't help it. Life was all about discovery, right?

They spent the rest of their date eating and talking animatedly about their classes. Moose even asked her to dance when a Michael Buble song began to play. At the end of the night, the couple found themselves walking through Times Square hand-in-hand. Though they didn't say it aloud, neither wanted the night to end yet.

"I guess I'll have to go shopping tomorrow. I've never been to a Ball before." Camille grinned as they turned onto the street where The Vault was.

They stood outside for awhile and eventually Moose leaned in to kiss her. It was a chaste kiss and he could feel her smile as she pulled away. They said their farewells as Camille hailed a cab and Moose watched her go. His thoughts floated to his favorite brunette as he rode the elevator to the rec room. Distractedly, he greeted everyone and even ignored the Santiago twins who began to tease him mercilessly about his date with Camille.

Moose was on cloud nine as he fell asleep that night.

The next morning seemed to move in a frenzy. Moose tried hard to focus in his classes, but the excitement of the Grand Ball wouldn't die down.

"It's like Christmas or something...you know it's going to happen but you can't help but get really amped up for it." He expressed to Camille as they left yet another store in their quest to find her the perfect dress.

Finally, it was time, and Moose practically jumped up and down as he waited for Camille to arrive. When she did, his mouth dropped open. Her dress was navy blue and silver, and it fit like a tutu. On her feet were sparkling navy blue Chucks. Her hair fell around her shoulders again. She looked even more beautiful than she had the night before.

"Moose, how long before you're used to this?" She teased as she closed his mouth and kissed him on the cheek.

"Never..." Moose said in a hoarse voice. He was about to say more when a black Rolls Royce pulled up. The door opened in front of them, and the driver gestured for them to get in. This was it. Their carriage to the Grand Ball had arrived.

Moose shot a reassuring look to Camille, who looked wary, as he climbed into the car. She followed after him and gripped his hand tightly as they pulled away from the safety of The Vault, of their friends. Moose fiddled with the charm hanging around his neck the entire ride.

The two watched as the Manhattan skyline disappeared and they entered Brooklyn. They drove until they reached an old warehouse. When the car stopped, the driver got out. Moose watched in fear as he came and opened the door for them. He never let go of Camille's hand as they followed the driver to the entrance of the warehouse. Moose turned and looked out at the horizon, it was the last time he might ever see it, and the sun was setting. Slowly, they walked into the warehouse and were greeted by a sight like no other.

"Come on! Come all! Welcome to the Grand Ball, where the strong run for cover and the weak stand tall!"

Camille gasped in wonder while Moose looked around frantically, trying to take it all in at once. The outside may have looked like a rusty old warehouse, but the inside was like a castle. There were balconies and skylights. The dance floor was littered with rose petals and dancers who were waltzing. There was a large ornate cage in the middle of the room, it was empty. And at the forefront of it all, was a single throne.

"That's where the king sits," Someone said from behind them.

Moose and Camille turned to see a girl about their age. Moose instantly put his arm around Camille, feeling slightly threatened. The guy was outrageously good-looking. He had tan skin, jet black hair, and cobalt eyes that looked like steel. Camille just rolled her eyes at Moose, she wasn't going anywhere.

"The king?" Moose asked, his curiosity outweighing his jealousy.

"Yea, the king of the Grand Ball. He built all this from the ground up. It's kind of funny that he included a throne, though. No one knows who he is." The guy explained, "Are you guys first-timers? I'm Gabriel."

He held out his hand to Moose who shook it warily. A king who didn't sit on his throne? It was strange but he didn't ponder on it for too long.

"I'm Moose, and this is my girlfriend Camille." Moose told him. Gabriel nodded and leaned over to whisper something in Camille's ear. Moose was about to say something but stopped when Camille nodded, kissed him on the cheek, and scurried off.

"Sorry about that, I didn't mean to offend you. It's just, I was told specifically to make sure you were felt welcome. You're our guest of honor tonight, you know?" Gabriel told him and Moose looked surprised.

"Guest of honor?"

"Yea, you're the newcomer who helped put the Samurai to shame at the World Jam. Everyone's heard of you. Follow me." Gabriel began walking away and Moose fell in step behind him.

"Things really start to heat up after the sun goes down. That's when the battles start. You see that cage over there? Crews from all over the country come here to duke it out. They dance in that cage, and it's an all or nothing kind of battle." Moose raised an eyebrow at this.

"All or nothing?" They approached the bar, where the bartender immediately put two drinks on the counter.

"Pretty much, your reputation is on the line in a place like this. You win, you're here to stay. You lose, you pack and go home, never to see the Grand Ball again. It gets pretty intense since very few people know about this place, and trust me, you want to be in on all the action that goes down here."

Suddenly, the lights went down and Moose watched as several blacklights lit up and dancers in white stepped out onto the dance floor. They fell in a complicated routine and he watched as several TV screens lit up and he could see the dancers at several different angles. Beside him, Gabriel's breath hitched slightly. One of the dancers, a girl in a white dress and heels, was walking towards them.

"So this is him?" She asked and Gabriel nodded, not saying anything. Moose yelped in surprise as she grabbed him and led him out onto the dance floor. The room became silent as the spotlight was only on him. Then the beginnings of Usher's DJ Got Us Falling In Love poured through the speakers and Moose allowed the beat to take control over his body.

"Our guest of honor tonight, ladies and gentlemen! Moose!" There were cheers as Moose moved smoothly across the dance floor. His body popped and locked in all the right places, and he even did some floor work to further impress the crowd. When the song ended, he bowed and walked off the dance floor. Gabriel stood clapping for him.

"Nicely done, and I think you've gained a few admirers." He smirked. Moose turned to see the girl from earlier and a few of her friends gazing at him. They giggled and waved before going back onto the dance floor.

"Yea, but I have a girlfriend so it's all good." Moose smiled and he began looking around for Camille. He found her sitting with a few other girls, talking and laughing. At least she was enjoying herself. He longed to dance with her, though, and began to make his way over to her.

"Excuse me, would you mind dancing with me?" He asked her in his nerdiest voice and she laughed. He took her hand and they walked back out to the dance floor. As they danced, Moose noticed Gabriel was still watching him.

"I see you made a new friend," Camille smiled as he spun her around. Moose nodded as he watched someone walk up to Gabriel. The two conversed in what seemed to be low voices before Gabriel threw his hands up in the air angrily and stalked off, the other guy following after him.

As the night passed on, Moose and Camille found themselves cuddled up on one of the couches in the Ball's lounge area. He was teasing her and she was trying to push him away. Their teasing stopped abruptly though when a group of guys wearing all black walked past them. They watched as the crew made their way to the cage and entered it. When the cage door closed, everyone around them began to cheer. Moose stood up and walked forward to get a better view, Camille sticking close to him.

Another crew, dressed like circus clowns, stepped into the cage and the crowd cheered as the door was closed and locked. Music began to play, and the crowd cheered and jeered, as both crews started to battle.

The two watched in amazement at the skill and pure ferocity the crews had. It was a fierce battle and both crews gave it their all, and when the music stopped, both froze in their place.

"Who has been deemed worthy to set foot in the Grand Ball for one more night?" Someone called out and Moose watched as Gabriel stepped onto the dance floor. He approached the cage and stopped just short of opening on of the two doors. The entire place had gone dead silent as he deliberated. Finally, he opened the door and let the crew in all black out. The crowd cheered as the crew celebrated their victory.

"Wow, that was crazy intense, right?" Camille breathed as they watched the other crew get escorted out.

"Yea, you can't help but feel bad for the other crew. They'll never be able to come back. That's gotta suck." Moose lamented.

Seeing the tiredness in her eyes, he let Camille return to the couch they were sitting on, while he walked out to where Gabriel was.

"Impressed?" He asked and Moose nodded.

"That was crazy, I've never seen dancers go hard like that in my life." Gabriel laughed.

"They really wanted it, everyone wants it. This is a place where you can be who you want to be, haven't you noticed?" Moose nodded, he had noticed. This was place of freedom, the kind of place he wish he had in his life when he was still with his parents.

"I just wish everyone could experience something like this." Gabriel looked thoughtful at this statement, but shook his head.

"No, not everyone can experience this. There are some who just wouldn't understand."

So, that's the end of chapter one. I hate this no page break thing so I tried to make it flow as much as possible. I know it's kind of boring but it gets better. This was just an introduction into everything. I hope you enjoyed it though, and I hope you review. And thank you to those who did!

~As the Rush Comes~

Disclaimer: I do not own Step Up or Teenage Dream by Katy Perry.