Thank you to all my reviewers who enjoyed the last chapter. I was worried about it so to know that you liked it makes me feel better. This chapter was inspired by the song "Lessons Learned" by: Carrie Underwood.

My updates are going to slow down a bit now that school has started…(not as much fun as I thought it would be) and I apologize for that but I'll do my best to keep them regular. I would rather sacrifice time then post quickly and have it be really bad.

Chapter 22- Two Down

POV: Cat

"Cat, hold still I need to get your ear piece wired."

"Sorry Mark."

I stopped fidgeting as Mark helped me clip my sound box to the back of my dress and lined the cord up my back so the cameras wouldn't see it. I stuck the little ear bud in my ear and Mark tested the sound link.

"Check one, check two, can you hear me beautiful?

I turned the volume down a bit and nodded.

"I can hear you just fine. What's our time check?"

"Five minutes, you're going to start on the main stage. Look at Camera two."

I took one last spin in front of my mirror making sure my dress looked good and I hadn't messed up my hair getting wired. Tonight's dress was dark green and my hair had been curled up and pinned up. The dancers were all waiting in their dressing rooms and it was time to get this show on the road. Tonight we would be losing two of our dancers.

As I walked onto the stage the crowd cheered and I waved to the live audience. We didn't have any family's coming tonight but the seats set aside for our choreographers were full. They all wanted to get a chance to see the dancers work before they had to try teaching them.

"Ok Cat, here comes the spot light."

I winced as the bright light overhead turned on and Mark started the count down to the shows start.

"7, 6, 5, 4-"

I checked to make sure all three judges were in place. Mary was all smiles, Chris was glancing at his watch like he had better places to be and Nigel nodded in my direction when he caught my eye. The camera in front of my flashed on and I plastered a smile on my face.

"3, 2, 1, hit it."

The stage lights flew up and the crowd roared as the shows theme song started playing. I adjusted my dress one last time and flipped my mic on. I got the cue from camera one and it was time.

"Welcome everyone to our first round of eliminations. I'm Cat Deeley and this is So You Think You Can Dance"

The crowd cheered again as the camera swung over them and the stage lights flashed. When the camera stopped back in front of me I continued.

"Last night we saw our top twenty perform for the first time as a group and with their partners. Tonight three of those groups will fall into the bottom based on your votes America. But before we get to the dancers I would like to have you all join me as we welcome our-"

I paused and smiled as the crowd helped me call out the "judges".

"First we have the dashing Mr. Nigel Lythgoe Sr."

Nigel waved to the camera and I clapped along with the audience.

"-Next to him the lovely Mary Murphy."

Mary laughed and blew a kiss to the camera as it swung down to our final judge.

"-And our guest judge returning for tonight, Mr. Chris Skobel. Why don't we start with you Chris. What were your opinions of this years top twenty?"

Everyone fell silent and Chris leaned forward to speak into his mic.

"Over all I was not impressed. Maybe it was because these we all new pairs but as a hole I was expecting more. There are a few dancers who I think stand out but everyone else is going to really have to push next week."

Gosh he's harsh. I thought they did a wonderful job. Yes, it was clear they all needed more time to build a strong bond with their partners but we saw that every season. Perfection was almost impossible to reach in only one week.

"Mary what about you, were you let down?"

"No, I was not Cat."

Mary said with a big smile earning herself the cheers of her fans in the audience. Mary was usually the crowd pleaser. She was loud and her magic, none existent train was a high light for dancers and viewers every year. I nodded along as she continued.

"We have some very talented dancers here this year and I don't envy America their job of having to choose who was the worst. I have my personal favorites but I think they all did a wonderful job last night."

I nodded and waved to Nigel. "And Nigel what did you think of last nights performances?"

"I was impressed. We saw some very strong individual dancers and a couple of strong pairs. I'm looking forward to see everyone perform again."

I nodded and turned back to the camera. Nigel was the calm one. He gave good imput, critic where it was due and commented sparcly. The crowed loved to cheere for him almost as much as they loved to boo him.

I turned to carmera five. "Unfortunately for one boy and one of our girls tonight will be the end of the road. When we come back America it will be time to learn which couples have been sent into the bottom three."

The camera pulled away and I got the cue to cut. Now we had a two and half minutes break. I walked to center stage and the first three pairs walked out to stand with me. Everyone was dressed in clothes for their solos and looking like they wanted to get sick.

"Alice, Mike. I want you two here."

I pointed to the stage in front of me.

"Rose, Demetri, your next to them."

"It's Rosalie." Rose corrected me on her name and asked that on the show I call her Rosalie instead of Rose. I agreed and moved on to the next pair.

"Tanya, James. I want you two to stand here next to them. Everyone ready, we have thirty seconds."

I took my place next to the pairs and smiled as the camera flicked on and I got my cue.

"Welcome back America. I'm here with our first three pairs and we will learn now if any of them have fallen into the bottom. Alice, Mike why don't we start with you. You did a contemporary piece by Mia Michaels. Alice, Mary gave you a ticket to her Hot Tamale train and Chris thought that your performance as a pair fell flat. Did America agree with Mary, or Chris?"

I peeked down at the card and smiled to my self.

"America agreed with-"

Pause for dramatic affect.

"Mary, you are safe for this week."

The crowd cheered and Alice and Mike jumped up and down before rushing off the side of the stage. I turned back to the remaining pairs.

"Rosalie and Demetri you danced a Salsa yesterday and all of the judges agreed that as individuals you were strong but as a pair you struggled-"

I paused and turned to the next group.

"Tanya, James. Yesterday you danced to a Jazz number. One of these two pairs is in the bottom and one is safe."

I peeked down at the card in my hands and let the tension in the room build.

"The pair who is safe from tonight's elimination is, Tanya and James. Which means Rosalie and Demetri you have fallen into the bottom and you will both need to dance solo's for the judges."

The crowd cheered as Tanya and James ran off the stage. I turned back to the camera.

"When we return we will find which two pairs are joining them in the bottom three. I'm Cat Deeley and this is So You Think You Can Dance."

POV: Bella

I caught Rose's eye as she and Demetri walked past us on their way back stage. I couldn't believe they had fallen into the bottom. Their dance hadn't been perfect but they were both such good dancers. If someone like Rose could fall into the bottom on the first round I didn't have a chance. Edward took my hand as we walked out wit the next group of dancers.

There were four pairs of dancers on stage this time. Edward and myself, Emmett and Leah were on our left. Next to them Cat lined Jessica and Ben up and then next to them Angela and Laurent. The camera gave Cat a cue and she started talking to Angela and Laurent. She showed a clip of their dance and told them they were safe.

As she moved down the line my heart rate took off. Ben and Jessica fell into the bottom and even thought I liked them both I felt relived. There was only one spot left in the bottom and it most likely belonged to one of the pairs not on stage right now. Edward squeezed my hand as Cat talked to Emmett and Leah. Apparently the judges hadn't loved them but they were the crowd favorites from last night and had received record breaking number of votes for the first round.

I applauded along with the others as they cleared elimination and Cat moved to stand in front of Edward and I.

"Bella and Edward, you impressed the judges with your Bollywood dance and your choreographer said you stayed true to the style. Was America as impressed with you dancing or have you fallen into the bottom?"

She glanced down at the card and I wanted to yell at her to just spit it out already.

"Yes they were. You are safe from tonight's eliminations."

We got through! I spun on my toes and locked my arms around Edward's neck. He grabbed me up in a hug and spun me in a circle as the crowd cheered. When he set me on my toes I took his hand and we ran off the side of the stage to stand with the other safe groups. Alice pulled me into a hug and Emmett clapped his brother on the back as we exchanged congratulations with the other safe dancers.

Now with my own judgment out of the way and the knowledge that I was safe for another round of dancing I let myself worry about the others. Rose and Ben were both up for possible eliminations. I didn't want to lose either of them.

During the commercial break Cat called the last three pairs out to stand with her: Jane and Erik, Jake and Heidi and, Jasper and Victoria. I considered all three pairs my friends and I couldn't decide which one I wanted to fall into the bottom.

I didn't cheer with the others as the camera started rolling again and Cat started showing clips of the three pairs from last night. I thought all three pairs did well. Cat stepped forward and started talking to Jasper and Victoria.

Alice was standing just in front of me and I put my hand on her shoulder to try and comfort her. She glanced back up at me and smiled.

"He'll be ok."

"You sure?"

She nodded and I felt a small weight lift from my shoulders. Alice was never wrong when it came to one of her 'feelings'. Knowing that Jasper would be safe didn't make me feel better for long. I'd come to think very highly of Jane and Erik but in truth they both fell below Jake on my list. I knew Jake didn't have a job to go home to or money for dance school, he needed this show.

Cat glanced at her card and announced that indeed Jasper and Victoria were safe. Alice bounced forward and gave them both a big hug as they joined the rest of us on the floor. I lined up and gave them both hugs to. Jasper surprised me by hugging my tight and moving his lips to my ear.

"Thank you Bella."

I pulled back a little bit and glanced up at him. Rose must have talked to him after she talked with me. He smiled down at me and nodded ever so slightly. I smiled back and winked at him

He moved past me and I glanced back up at the stage. Cat had shown clips from both groups and was glancing down at her stupid little card with all the answers.

"The group who is safe from eliminations this week is, Jake and Heidi."

I clapped along with the others and gave Jake a big hug when he joined the rest of us. Cat announced that Ben would be starting the solos after the break and I shot a look over at Jasper. He wasn't watching me and I hoped he wasn't worrying to much. I was no Alice but I had a feeling Rose would be ok. She was a strong dancer.

Cat turned back to the cameras. "There you have it America. After the break: Rosalie, Demetri, Jane, Erik, Jessica and Ben will all be dancing solo's for the judges to try and win a spot in next weeks show. We'll see you after the break."

POV: Rosalie

How could this have happened? I changed as quickly as I could into the dress I had set aside for my solo. I could hear Demetri changing in the next room. The dress was simple. The halter strap tied behind my head and the thin fabric stopped just below my knees.

I swapped into a strapless bra, the same dark red color as the dress and pulled on a tight pair of black ballet shorts for underneath. When I came back out to the dressing room another one of the assistants was standing with the woman who had been assigned to work with Demetri and I.

"Rosalie this is Jason he's going to help you get ready." Kristy intorduced me nodding to the other assistant.

I nodded and let him help me up into one of the tall stools standing in front of our mirrors. Jason was several inches taller then Kristy was and his hair was a bout a million shads darker then her blech blond curls. The ends of his short black hair were bleached white, giving him a frosted look. I recognized him from somewhere but I couldn't remember where I had heard of him.

"Hello Rosalie, what were you thinking hair wise?" He asked as he started running a brush through my hair.

I shrugged my shoulders and passed him a red ribbon the same color as my dress.

"Use this somehow, but other then that I don't care."

He smiled. "You are giving me permission to do what I please?" He asked with a very gay boy smile.

I nodded. "Gust keep it simple please. My solo song is slower then any of the other stuff I've done so far."

He nodded. "Your lovely hair is in very capable hands miss."

I watched on the stage screen as the other groups for the bottom were announced and was surprised at just how relived I was that Emmett hadn't fallen into the bottom. I heard someone trip outside the doorway to our dressing room and smiled when Bella stumbled her way into the small room.

"My Bella! What are you doing back here?" Jason asked as he whipped curls into my hair.

Bella smiled at him and I remembered where I had heard of Jason before. He was Bella and Edward's show assistant. "Jason, it's good to see you again." She glanced over her shoulder, cheking the hallway and then winked at us with a sly smile that didn't quite look right on her inocent face. "I'm not really here if anyone asked I just wanted to come and wish Rose luck."

She came up to my side and took my hand giving my a more friendly smile. "Are you ready?"

I nodded trying to look confident. "Yep."

She smiled. "I think you made a good song choice too. The judges will like to see another side of your dancing."

I nodded along.

"Turn your head to the left please."

I turned as Jason finished running soft curls into my hair and watched as he tied the ribbon around my head. Once he gave me his seal of approval I got up and gave Bella a hug.

"Thanks for coming back here Bella."

She nodded. "No problem, but I'm not really here remember. They wanted the dancers to stay up front if we weren't the bottom but I snuck back in anyway."

We giggled and I watched as Kristy finished brushing out Demetri's long hair and tied it back into a ponytail. I gave my partner a hug and we wished each other luck. Bella walked with me to the on deck wing and we watched from the side lines as Erik dancing his solo.

"Are you nervous?" Bella asked.

I nodded. "A little, we didn't have a lot of time to work on our solos."

She nodded. "You'll do fine, Alice has a feeling you're going to kick ass tonight."

I chuckled. "She's kind of creepy with her 'feelings'" I said wiggling my fingers as I said the word 'feelings' like somthing out of an old school horror movie. Bella nodded along.

"But she's always right so that's got to count for something."

"Good so the creepy physic girl says I'm going to do fine." I did feel a little better.

Erik finished his solo and rushed past us as he hurried to get off stage after his judging. He gave us both a big smile but didn't stop to say hi as he went back to his dressing room. Cat told the audience that I would be going after the break and my stomach jumped into my throat.

Bella must have seen my unease because she squeezed my arm in a sign of comfort. "You're going to do great Rose. Emmett and Jasper wanted me to send you their good wishes too. Will all be rooting for you."

I smiled. "Are they getting along alright?"

She shrugged. "They appear to be getting along."

That made me feel better then I thought it would. I really wanted Jasper to approve of Emmett. One of the stage hands asked Bella to go back out with the other dancers and she gave me one more hug before disappearing back out front.

Mars gave me the cue to move on stage and I walked out to center stage and sat down in the middle. I only had to wait a few moments before the camera moved onto Cat and she gave me an introduction.

"Our first female solo for the night is Rosalie. She's dancing a contemporary routine for our judges tonight."

The spot lights on Cat went out and my music started. The lights were soft blues and yellows. I slowly raised my arms about my head and started moving to the guitar. I loved this song. I had a weakness for country music. Living in the south had left its mark on me. I loved 'good' Barbecue, country music, and I was convinced the only people who knew how to season their meat lived south of the Texas boarder.

There's some things that I regret,
Some words I wish had gone unsaid,
Some starts,
That had some bitter endings,
Been some bad times I've been through,
Damage I cannot undo,
Some things,
I wish I could do all all over again,
But it don't really matter,
Life gets that much harder,
It makes you that much stronger,
Oh, some pages turned,
Some bridges burned,
But there were,
Lessons learned.

I rose to my feet and spun in time with the music. I'd shown everyone that I was capable of fast dances. I was good at sexy and I didn't have a problem with vulgar moves. My hope with this solo was that the judges would see a softer side to my dancing. I would show them that I could handle anything that they could throw at me. Dancing was what I had left and this is what I was ment to do with my life.

I'd always loved contemporary dancing. I'd never had real dance lessons but for as long as I could remember I had danced to the radio in my room when no one was home. The only mistake in my life that could compete with Royce was when I had stopped dancing. Jasper had encouraged me to go back to dancing as a way of healing. It had worked so well I dragged him to the studio with me. Dancing must be genetic because he picked it up as quickly as I had. I owed everything I had left to Jasper. I never would have been able to do it without him.

And every tear that had to fall from my eyes,
Everyday I wondered how I'd get through the night,
Every change, life has thrown me,
I'm thankful, for every break in my heart,
I'm grateful, for every scar,
Some pages turned,
Some bridges burned,
But there were lessons learned.

As the music got faster I added a layer to technical difficulty to my moves, a few half tempo back flips and an aerial split. I caught Emmett watching me as I danced and he gave me a thumbs up from the audience. I felt the stupid smile that spread across my face and didn't try to wipe it away as I winked at him.

If I was really over Royce why was I having so much trouble talking to Emmett about it? A part of me wanted Emmett to know. He would never understand why I pushed him away until I told him. A more dominate part was keeping me silent. If I told him he might push me away. Emmett was such an overall good person. I didn't believe he was capable of hurting anyone. I on the other hand could hurt people, I had hurt people before. I wouldn't hurt Emmett, even if it ment hurting myself again. I'd learn to live with it.

There's mistakes that I have made,
Some chances I just threw away,
Some roads,
I never should've taken,
Been some signs I didn't see,
Hearts that I hurt needlessly,
Some wounds
That I wish I could have one more chance to mend,
But it don't make no difference,
The past can't be rewritten,
You get the life you're given,
Oh, some pages turned,
Some bridges burned,
But there were,
Lessons learned.

The crowed started counting down my time and as they said one I struck a pose and blew a kiss at my two boys. They both smiled at me and I straighten up as cat introduced Demetri for his solo. I spun on my toes and high fives my partner as he rushed out past me to get on stage.

I slipped back stage just as his music started and moved to the larger waiting wing. Erik and Ben were both waiting there watching Demetri on a large monitor hanging from the ceiling.

"Good job Rosalie." Ben said as I joined them to watch the rest of the solos.

"Thanks."

They both flashed me small smiles and we turned back to the screen. Demetri's solo was fast and showed off his background in gymnastics. After he took his bow it was time for Jane to hit the stage. I wouldn't have believed she had it in her if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. Her song was one I hadn't heard played in years "Lady is a Vamp" by the spice girls.

Jane's solo was a mix of Jazz and her own contemporary flair. She was wearing a gold dress that fit her like a glove and a pin striped vest. Her solo was as funny as it was entertaining and from the giggling I could hear in the audience I think they liked it.

I clapped with the others as Jane joined us in the back room and Jessica started her dance. Jessica's dance was nearly as humorous as Jane's but I don't think she ment it to be. Jessica had managed to squeeze herself in a pair of pants two sizes to small and a shirt with a neck line I considered low.

I didn't recognize her song but by the end of her number Jane and I were both desperately trying not to laugh at her. I was all for sexy dancing. If you had the ass for it you could make sexy dancing very technical.

Jessica didn't have the ass for it. A crew man waved us forward to go join Jessica and Cat on stage so we would be in place when the commercial break was over. Cat lined us up, boys on her left girls on her right.

I kept my eyes locked on Cat as she started talking. She welcomed America back and announced that it was time to see which two dancers the judge were sending home. Cat turned her attention over to Nigel and he asked the boys to step forward.

I clapped with the others as He asked Ben to join the others and he made it through eliminations. The judges pointed out both good and bad qualities that they saw in Erik and Demetri's dancing.

"In the end one of you must go home." Nigel said solemnly. "Demetri I'm sorry but we are going to ask you to leave us."

Demetri's head fell but he nodded as the crowd clapped for both him and Erik. Erik jumped of stage and joined the others and Demetri turned to give me a hug. If I made it through to next week I would have to start over with a new partner.

I waved good bye as he moved away to stand with Cat and the judges asked us to step forward. Jessica smiled over at me and patted my hand.

"Good luck to both of you." She whispered.

Jane smiled back up at her, the same level of false care in her voice. "Yeah you to."

Jessica rolled her eyes and their petty conversation was put to an end as Mary started talking.

"Girls, all three of you are wonderful dancers. First we would like Jane to step forward." Jane skipped forward a step and the judges praised her solo and asked her to step down and join the others.

Mary turned her attention back to Jessica and I. I was refusing to look down to where the other dancers were standing even thought I could feel several individuals staring at me. I couldn't go home already, how embarrassing. Jessica moved closer to my side and grabbed my hand as we waited for her to finish talking.

"We debated for along time about which of you would be going home and in the end it was a unanimous vote." Mary paused and I felt Jessica pat the back of my hand. "Jessica this is the end of your journey."

"What?" She dropped my hand and took a step away from me. "Me?"

I smiled at her and waved quickly. I spun around and hurried over to the edge of the stage. I didn't both with the stairs and instead chose to jump off the edge. Jasper made to grab me for a hug but another pair of arm bet him to it.

Emmett grabbed me up and lifted me off my feet. I wrapped my arms around his neck and laughed along with the others as Cat said some last farewells to Jessica and Demetri. Emmett set me back on my feet and kissed the top of my head.

I smiled up at him and kissed his check. Another strong hand took mine and Jasper spun me around to give me his own hug. I jumped at him and almost knocked us both to the ground. I still wasn't sure what I was going to do with Emmett but at least now I had another week to try and figure it out.

~Darkrose

Read and review. Let me know what you think. I find that, out of all of the twilight characters, Rosalie is the hardest for me to write. I hope you feel I did her justice.