Disclaimer: I don't own the Phantom of the Opera or any of its songs, script, etc.

A/N: Now on to Marisa's 2 chapters – she's me and she's playing Meg. Hope you like it! Remember to R&R!

Showstopper

Chapter 7 – Putting the Moves On

"I think he likes you," I giggled to Elise as we continued down the hallway.

"What?"

I gave her a sideways glance. "Oh come on, he barely stopped staring at you for that entire conversation, even when he asked what my name was!"

Elise finally looked at me when we made it the auditorium.

"Marisa, he makes me feel – I dunno – incredible. Like I can do anything."

I looked past her and raised an eyebrow.

"Well, for your sake, I hope you can keep that feeling for about an hour. You're gonna need it."

Elise rolled her eyes and sighed. "How bad is it today?"

I glanced at Andrew again. He had been chatting on his cell phone, but snapped it shut when he caught my eye.

I sucked in a breath and backed into the wings again. "Sorry girl, he just noticed us."

Elise seemed almost to deflate, but her face hardened.

"I could so deck him. Right now," she hissed, just as Mr. Marshall called for us to pair up.

"Whatever you do, I've got your back," I muttered as we all filtered onto the stage.

"Could we trade partners?" she groaned.

"You know I'd be all for it, but sadly no."

We clammed up as Marshall started talking again.

"Now, chorus girls are gonna have extra rehearsals on Fridays with the dance team, because they will also be doing several numbers with us. Everybody got that? Okay, Jen and Alex are gonna teach you guys the waltz today. It's pretty simple, so have fun."

He hobbled offstage and a bleach-blonde girl with a ponytail, tank top and dance pants clapped her hands.

"Okay guys, let's go! We only have a few hours, so first Alex and I will demonstrate…"

And so began the lessons. I gave Matt a friendly smile. "This is so easy."

He nodded. "You and Elise could probably do this in your sleep, huh?"

"Definitely."
I glanced at her over Matt's shoulder. She didn't seem to be having too bad a time, but I knew her well enough not to judge simply by facial expressions.

Elise caught my eye as she and Andrew revolved on the spot and mouthed, "I wanna kill him."

Seconds later her smile was pasted back in place as Jen praised their appropriate posture.

"Take five, guys, you're doing great," Alex called awhile later.

"And change partners when you come back," Marshall added. "You know who your other partners are."

We all sighed and wandered out to the seats. "The Corner" consisted of me, Elise, Kendall, and Joelle, a friend of mine playing Madame Giry.

Elise… if looks could annihilate. Wow.

"What'd he do?" I demanded.

She snorted. "He was trying to come onto me! Right there! He pulled me in close and was like 'Hey, you know you want me. Come on'. I seriously think he has a death wish."

Joelle made a face. "I'm surprised he wasn't going after Jen. I mean, blondes are his thing."

"What's he got for me, then?" Elise asked grumpily.

I studied Andrew for a minute.

"No idea, but I'll see what I can do," I promised as Mr. Marshall gestured us all back to the stage.

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"Now we're gonna take the waltz a little further," said Alex as we switched partners.

"This time around, we're adding some moves. You can dip, spin, and anything else that comes across your mind. Go with the flow of the music, guys. Have fun with it, mix things up a little."

He started the music and began wandering among us with Jen, correcting postures and demonstrating steps.

Andrew spun me out and back in – hard. I tried to move out again but he kept me pinned there, with my back to his chest.

I turned and dipped backwards smoothly over his arm, smirking. The sudden weight shift startled him, and he drew me up to face him properly, scowling like it was all my fault.

"What is your problem?"

I raised an eyebrow. "This isn't a tango, I'm sorry to say. Shall we try to keep it clean for now? I mean, I would tango with you, but we'd have to wait. I don't think Marshall would like it much."

All he could do was stare blankly at me. I sneaked a glance at Elise. She looked like she was floating in seventh heaven, but she grinned when I caught her eye. This was starting to work…

As we were gathering our things later (Andrew hadn't said a word to me for the rest of our practice time), I glanced up and saw Elise saying good-bye to Matt. He was a nice kid, I thought, and definitely had a better personality than Andrew. I snatched my messenger bag and wandered out the door to give them a bit of privacy. I knew she'd tell me all about it later anyway.

A few minutes later, Elise came outside with a look like she was pissed off at the world and holding back tears. I took a tentative step to her side.

"'Lise, what happened?"

Her breath came out in a hiss. "We were so close… I hate him!"

"What are you talking about?"

She sighed heavily. "I was saying 'bye to Matt, and – I think he would have kissed me good-bye – but then he showed up." She glared back at the doors to the auditorium. "He waved Matt off because he said he needed to talk to me about something… and he grabbed my wrist and totally went off on me, like 'You're a lead, start acting like one! He's just a supporting character, you need to concentrate on being a star! He can't even sing, I could sing better than him in my sleep.'"

"Are you kidding me, 'Lise?"

"No! I would have slapped him if I could have felt my hand! He twisted my wrist around and then left. It's not his show, why's he think it is?"

I sighed. "That's just the way he is. I was hoping this would make him more modest somehow… I don't know what to do."

Elise shook her head. "I don't know, either. But something had better happen fast."

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A/N: Sorry for the delay guys, I've been sooo blocked and really busy at the same time – it sux. :) but that's OK, I'm back now! Hope you enjoy it – give feedback!

Phantomfreak07