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Dance with Me

Chapter 3 - We meet again

"Come on, Mikan." Tsubasa-senpai said as he tried to pull the bed sheet I've been hiding in since I got back here. "It's not the end of the world."

"Yeah, it is," I mumbled against my bed sheet, sure he wouldn't even be able to understand what I was saying.

"No, it's not." He said pulling my sheet even more. Apparently, the bed sheet didn't do enough to muffle my voice

"Yeah, it is." I said, pulling it back and wrapping it even tighter around me.

"No, it's not!" Another pull.

"Yeah, it is!"

I heard him sigh and release the hold he had on my sheet. Thank god he was finally giving up.

"You asked for this," I almost didn't hear him say. And then I felt myself tumble downwards. Literally.

"Hey!" I complained when I felt myself land on the carpet of my room. The sheets now left tangled around my legs.

"Mikan, you can't really expect to always be able to be accepted in auditions," Tsubasa-senpai kneeled in front of me when he had returned my mattress back to the bed frame. "I've been rejected so many times that I've lost count."

"It's not the same, I mean," I sighed. "You still had some formal schooling for your resume. I can't even write down a single dancing school on mine."

"A school can only get you so far," He said patting my head. "If you didn't have passion and persistence you won't be able to move forward. And I've seen those two things in you. You don't need a fancy school to get accepted."

"But still~!"

"Why don't I train you? And then you come back full force to their auditions next year. Show them that they missed out on quite possibly the greatest dance in the world."

"The world seems too much," I finally smiled up at him.

"But that's what you're aiming for, right?"

I nodded my head. That was what I was aiming for.

"Come on, you're gonna be late for work," He said looking at his wrist watch. "Hotaru's not gonna like that."

"Oh no!" I scrambled up from the floor and rushed to my still unpacked luggages. I took out my khaki knee length combat shorts, a black tank top and a hodie that reached just below my chest. I turn around and find Tsubasa-senpai still standing in my room. "Get out!" I said practically kicking him out as I went to prepare.

A quick shower, a change of clothes and some lip gloss and I was finally good to go.

"That was quick," Misaki-chan said as she saw me in the living room. "It usually takes me twice as long to put on my make up than shower."

"Ummm," I restrain from biting my lip and loosing the only bit of make up I had on. "I don't wear make up. It just runs when I sweat during dancing so I don't really bother to apply it."

"Misaki, you look fine even without make up," Tsubasa-senpai said as he came out of their room. "I like you just the way you are."

"Oh shut up," She said hitting the back of his head with the palm of her hand. But you could tell from blush on her cheeks that she appreciated what he had said.

"Owww …" Tsubasa-senpai complained as he rubbed the back of his head. "A simple thank you would've been fine."

"Who said I was going to thank you?"

"Whatever," he said sulking away. He grabbed his keys and headed outside.

I couldn't help but smile at them. When Misaki-chan saw my smile, her cheeks turned even redder.

"Come on, Mikan," She said as she headed outside. "We can't have you loosing your job now, can we?"

"Nope," I said passing by her as she proceeded to lock the door. "It's hard to find a job were you actually enjoy yourself."

She smiled at me, "I understand exactly what you mean."

"Mikan!" I turn around to find Koko calling me from the bar. I immediately headed there glad that my tray was currently clear of drinks.

"What's up?" I ask him the moment I got to the bar.

"Wait a sec," He told me as he turned around to call someone. "Iinchou!"

Iinchou? The last time I heard that was high school.

"How many times have I told you to stop calling me that? My name's Yuu," A guy with dirty blond hair and big brown eyes covered by a pair of glasses stepped towards us. "Yuu Tobita"

He sure did look like one of those class representative types.

He pushed his glasses up and glanced at a clipboard he was holding. I bit my lip from his action. He was cute in that smart guy with glasses kind of way.

"Your Mikan, right?" He looked at me. I nodded my head.

His cheeks were slightly red and he was panting slightly. There was a slight sheen of sweat on his forehead. He must've been running around here from the looks of it.

"This guy is the club manager," Koko says as he starts making a cocktail for another customer. "He handles everything in the club."

Iinchou looks at me carefully, "What's your age?"

I tilt my head, confused. "I'm 21. I put it in my documents."

His cheeks get a tinge redder as he ducks his head. "You don't look 21." He mumbles.

"I get that a lot." I smile at him. "How about you? How old are you?"

"Same," He smiles at me. "Most of the people working here are the same age. Well, except for Tsubasa and Misaki."

"Oh," I knew for a fact that Tsubasa-senpai was already 27. And supposedly Misaki-chan was just about a few months younger than him. What I was surprised about was that everyone was just around the same age. Wasn't there supposed to be some sort of requirements or something? Like experience maybe?

"You're a new waitress and …" He squints his eyes as he looks closely on the sheet of paper. "It says 'Hotaru's little gold mine'."

I felt my cheeks redden. "I don't know anything about that."

"You should've seen her yesterday, Iinchou." Koko butted in. "The dance floor was packed after watching her do her thing on the floor. It was the most amazing thing ever!" And then he went on about my dancing in detail as I drifted away from them.

I sit on one of the empty stools and press my cheek against the cool counter. I sighed.

"You're thinking too much again, my little kouhai." Tsubasa said as he patted my head. "See someone you know again? Like yesterday?" He smiled mischievously at me.

I couldn't help the blush on my cheeks. "N-no," I stuttered out.

"Uh-huh," He replies not believing me.

I was happy that he didn't bother to pry. And now I could peacefully think about Mr. Mysterious, I mean Natsume, alone as my body moved about serving drinks in autopilot.

I just didn't want to see him again because of what I did when I looked at the results list.

I scanned the list of names for the girls starting from the bottom.

And I didn't see my name.

I wrenched my hand from Natsume's hold and ran out of the room.

I didn't get accepted.

I was still a bit sad about what had happened and I was thinking twice about auditioning again. I didn't need to feel disappointed twice.

Aside from my sadness about the results, I was too embarrassed to see Natsume again after what I did. Running out after not seeing your name on the list was the most cowardly thing to do and I was ashamed of that. I knew I was stronger than that coward.

I sighed and finally focused back to reality as I longingly looked towards the dance floor. The crowd in the club had practically doubled but only half of them were on the dance floor. I was itching to go: to release the tension on my body the only way I knew how. By dancing.

"Hey!" Hotaru flicked my head real hard this time as she took away my tray.

"Huh?" I said my hands immediately reaching up to cover my aching forehead.

"Stop day dreaming and get to work." She frowned at me.

"I am working," I replied reaching for my tray.

She raised a brow, "This isn't your only job, remember?"

I looked towards the semi-crowded dance floor. "But I'm needed more on the tables."

"Believe me; the dance floor needs you more." She said coldly but I knew somewhere in my heart that she knew just what dancing meant to me.

"Thanks," I smiled gratefully at her. She just looked blankly back at me.

I unzipped my hoodie but didn't remove it as I headed to the dance floor. This was my haven.

I didn't bother with the DJ anymore and just danced along to the techno song that was currently playing. I easily melded to the crowd and just let myself go.

Sometime during the song, a pair of hands went to touch my hips that had my heart beating overtime.

Can't be.

But it was.

I looked up for my eyes to meet Natsume's crimson eyes. And truth be told I was too into the song and too enchanted by his eyes to actually freeze up. Because in the dance floor I was in my zone. I was a cool, collected, passionate dancer. I was fearless.

But I did somehow have the mind to not grind against him. I mean, I was still in my working hours and I don't think my boss would be too happy seeing one of her workers grinding up to a customer. Totally unprofessional.

But I did dance with him. And what a dancer he was.

When the song was already up, I could feel myself panting more than usual. This guy was dangerous. But I knew from that certain glint in his eyes that he was. I just didn't know how much.

And he was also one of the students who auditioned. And I didn't know if he was in or not.

I immediately fled the dance floor when a new song started pounding the stereo. I didn't even bother to check the men's list to see if he passed. And from my stunt with him earlier in the academy, it was quite obvious that I didn't.

Way to go, Mikan, for always acting on impulse. I sighed and headed towards the bar to resume my waitressing.

A hundred cocktails later and I wanted to slump against the bar counter and die. I mean, the crowd did considerably increase. But there was a large group of gloomy people way at the back of the club that kept ordering a batch of cocktails everytime I passed by their table. It was getting quite annoying really.

"Mikan," Koko said tapping my shoulder and good thing actually because Hotaru was going on her rounds in the club. If she caught me I'd probably get another flick in the forehead.

Behind her was Ruka and … none other than Natsume.

Great. I grimaced. It seems he's friends with Ruka.

When he turned towards the bar and our eyes met his lips curved into a smirk.

"And so we meet again, Polkadots."

Polkadots? Wait … that was my underwear when I went to the academy.

Even greater. Mr. Mysterious was a pervert.

AN: I'm not sure if I'll be able to write the next chapter faster. But i'll try to.

REVIEW PEOPLE IF YOU WANT THE NEXT CHAPTERS TO COME FASTER ... BWAHAHAHAHA! XD