Well how am I gonna explain this one?

To recap, its Beck's birthday today. To celebrate, we're taking him to my workplace. Which just-so-happens to be a strip club.

Okay, well not exactly a strip club. I just prance around a stage and show off my body. Oh, and dancing too.

Jade's looking at me expectantly.

"Um…" I manage to force out. "I'll be right back."

With that, I dash upstairs and reach for my cell, which is charging on the dresser.

"Listen, Tiran, you gotta let me off tonight, a few friends and I are going to the club and they don't know." I whisper as softly as possible.

"Tori, I can't do that. You're doing the dark dance tonight."

Shit.

The dark dance is this amazingly choreographed, sexy, cool story. It tells of a girl(me) falling in love with this masked, dark man. We're basically dancing around each other the entire time, slowly, surely, temptingly. It's really good acting practice to tell the truth. Anyway, it ends with me on ribbons and him leaving me behind.

It's a really, truly beautiful story that just happens to have a minor shedding-of-clothes session and a lot of boner-inducing dancing.

"Please Tiran." I whisper.

"No Tori. I'm sorry, but you're performing tonight."

"What about Liz?"

"Flu."

"Lily?"

"Preggo."

"Jaz."

"Got busted for drugs."

Ugh.

"Is there any way we don't do the dark tonight?"

"Nope. We have a giant birthday party and the woman in charge requested it. Said she read an excellent review or something."

"That would be Jade. My girlfriend."

I can feel his smile.

"Wait, remember that one time we had Alex try it out with a mask?"

"Yeah, of course, legendary performance, yadda yadda yadda, your point?"

"Can I do it with the mask?"

If they don't see my face, they won't recognize me.

"Sure, whatever you want. Don't be late."

I roll my eyes. "Am I ever?"

"Touché. See you tonight."

"Bye Uncle T."

He hangs up and I sigh before walking out to find Jade in the kitchen.

"Whatcha doing?"

"Soda, do you have any?"

"No."

She comes back into the living room and casually leans into me. It's nice, or as she puts it, it's like fucking flying.

/

Half an hour until showtime. I just watched my friends ogle at the girls and guys I call my family, and am barely suppressing a shudder as Robbie slips a twenty into the tip jar. Ugh. It's like they don't even realize how hard these men and women work to get these perfect.

I feel a growl behind me and I spin around, grinning.

The others are super transfixed on the dancing and Cat's just looking at the pretty lights.

"Alex!" I giggle.

He smiles at me and tugs on my hand. He's playing the dark man tonight.

I tap Jade's shoulder and tell her that my aunt is a waitress and I'm going to go catch up.

She nods and turns back to the dancing.

Alex weaves me in and out of the crowd until we reach the dressing room, where I slip on my stripe they call shorts and my midnight blue tank top. Eyeliner, check. Eye shadow, check. Rose petals in my hair, check. Glitter, check. Bare feet, check.

Tiran comes over and hands me the coolest mask known to mankind. It's almost Phantom of the Opera-ish, but it has swirls coming off the side not perched on my nose that wrap around my head. I twist them into my hair.. Alex comes over to me, kisses my hand, and giggles like the incredibly handsome gay man he is.

He's wearing the jet black fedora he thinks adds 'effect' to the act, whatever that means. He's also wearing a white tank top and black skinny jeans. There's a rose in his hands.

I smile and punch his stomach. He laughs.

I put the final touches of makeup-plus adjusting the mask-on and stand up, crossing backstage to get to the opposite side as Alex would be entering on.

I smile to calm my nerves, and then remember that I'm not supposed to smile during this dance. Just…sexy.

I feel the crowd grow quiet as the dancers exit the stage. The lights go off and there's panic for a brief second until a blue spotlight hits dead center on Alex.

The music starts.

The blue spotlight fades and Alex's strangely ominous, sinister voice comes into play. It's a single, short, 4-count laugh. If he pulls it off right, it's merciless.

Of course, it's pulled off right.

The lights come on in full, but bluish and moon-lighted. I take a deep breath and leap on stage, purposefully falling. Alex catches me.

Slowly, slowly I raise my leg up above my head and spin before putting it down.

Alex spins me so I'm in front of him, at which point I lean into his chest, only for the lights to go off and him to reappear over on a mattress.

I part my lips slightly, just like my choreographer told me to, and pull off my top. Bra and pathetic excuse for shorts. That counts as clothing, right?

Alex saunters over to me, grasping my waist. I basically wrap myself around him and he smiles before dropping me next to Beck. Next to him is Jade.

I wink with my uncovered eye at both of them before standing up and running back to Alex.

The next few moves involve things neither of us are proud of, so I'll skip over that.

She song's coming to a close and I'm on the ribbons, upside down, and am slowly bending my legs so I'll be in an upside down split. Alex exits the stage and I complete the split before falling a short distance onto the mattress.

The lights go off and I sprint off stage, to the dressing room, and change back into my regular clothes. I take off the glitter and makeup, plus the mask, and set them at my vanity before causally walking out of the room and into the audience.

I meet my friends where I left and giggle.

"Damn that was good." Andre whispers.

I love this part, the part where I see what effect I had on people. Sometimes guys are bored by it, other times the entire club is floored.

Jade snakes her arms around my waist and I raise an eyebrow.

"That girl was so goddamn flexible." I hear her say, and I can't help the smirk that appears on my face.

I feel a tap on my shoulder and Jade releases me. I scan the crowd and see Tiran, Kelly, Alex, and Winter all smiling at me. Tiran's is the widest.

"I've gotta go to the bathroom." I whisper in Jade's ear. "I'll be right back."

Tiran leads us all up to the office. "That's your girlfriend?"

I chuckle and blush slightly. "Yeah."

He smiles warmly at me before his face turns serious. "Tori, um, Kelly here is sick."

My face pales. "No, I can't fill in for her."

"If you want to keep your job here, you will." He growls.

This is the way Tiran works. Flattery first. Threats next.

I groan and pull my head into my hands.

Winter puts his hand on my shoulder comfortingly. He's our bouncer, and Alex's boyfriend.

"You have to dance." Tiran insists.

I roll my eyes and frown. Okay, a plan was coming to me…bingo.

"Fine. Come out on stage and ask for a volunteer. I'll volunteer and you pick me. It'll be a little less embarrassing then."

"No. Tell your girlfriend."

"Do you realize how embarrassing this job is?" I splutter.

He nods, stroking his tiny goatee.

I pout and slink down in my chair.

"Jade's gonna kill me." I mumble.

Tiran releases us and I go downstairs.

Wait…I got an idea.

I walk to the dressing room and find the mask before tugging it on. Alex sees what I'm doing and pulls on his fedora. God bless him.

I smile softly and pull him in the direction of Jade, who is currently separated from the group and getting some soda from the bar. I grin and tap on her shoulder.

She starts before smiling a little bit. "You're one of the dancers." She states. I smile and nod. Alex does too.

"Yes, we are." Alex says and raises an eyebrow.

I try my best to put on a lower, huskier voice. She cannot know that it's me until she absolutely has to. "Do you want to see the dressing room?"

She nods eagerly and I raise an eyebrow before taking her hand and dragging her to the chamber.

I smile and sit at my vanity, the words 'Tori' etched into it.

She frowns softly. "That's my girlfriend's name."

I smile and clear my throat.

"Really? My girlfriend's name is Jade."