Disclaimer: 'Step Up' ain't mine! Song is 'Mine' by Taylor Swift. (lyrics in italics)

Chapter One;
Living The Dream

Something small and furry catapulted itself off the back of the lounge and landed squarely in the middle of Moose's textbook, glancing up at him with wide eyes. For a few seconds he considered vaulting it towards the stairs but then remembered it probably wouldn't end up finishing well for him so he simply picked the cat up and deposited it on the floor. It ran away quickly towards the small kitchen area nearby as Moose turned back to his book, trying to remember where he'd been up to in his study. It was three weeks until his final exams, only mere moments away from the end of his college days, and Moose couldn't find one place where he could just study in silence. The Pirates Vault wasn't an option, what with everyone bouncing off the walls, and his own dorm room was useless since his dorm mate was a rat-like freak who was currently building some sort of time machine for his end of year exams, and the Library was clogged with study groups and had no space left. Eventually he'd convinced Camille's new housemate to let him study in her place while they were in class, but he hadn't taken into account Tibbles the cat.

"Meow."

Moose turned and looked at the cat, now perched on the kitchen counter and staring at him with wide, judgemental eyes. "Tibbles, seriously, go away." It mewed again. "Stupid cat." Pushing his book off his lap, Moose stood and started towards the cat. It took a few steps back at the look of frustration on Moose's face, but it wasn't directed at Tibbles specifically but more at his own inadequacies. He was worried about what was coming up, what future he was going to face, and the fact he just couldn't bring himself to study wasn't helping. In his first year he'd been so gung-ho, only leaving study behind so he could train, but now… well, that was gone.

Pulling at the first three cupboards, Moose soon remembered exactly where Camille was – shopping. He turned towards the cat. "We've got a slight problem Tibbles." It tipped it's head slightly to the left, either completely understanding and wanting to know why or just confused as to why food wasn't in front of him right now. Moose continued anyway. "No food." If cats could frown Moose was sure it would look something like what he was now looking at. "I'm not kidding you, really, it's bare and th…"

He was cut off by a giggle from the doorway. "Talking to yourself is the first sign of madness." Camille was stood there holding five very large shopping bags. He rushed up and took a few of them. "Thanks." As she followed him back to the kitchen she glanced at the cat. "Tibbles been giving you a headache?"

"He's the devil incarnate. He's jumped on me, chewed on my shoelaces, mewed until I couldn't carry on and…" he stopped when he heard Camille's laughter. "Enjoying this?"

"Oh I'm sorry but you were warned when you asked to study here." She picked up the cat in one hand and carried him over to a bag Moose had just placed on the bench behind him. "Tibbles is very high-maintenance," she paused. "A lot like his owner actually." She grinned at her mention of her flatmate Constance, another ex-NYU student like Cam who she'd met through work. Now they were both working their way up the ladder at a local PR company, it was fast track to the top for these two. As for Moose, well, it was just like the day he found out Cam was going to the Halloween Dance with Kristin instead. Another 'what about Moose?' situation.

"I looked for work again today." He backed out of the kitchen and returned to the couch, not even bothering to pick up his book, simply shoving it aside so he could sit down. "There's still nothing."

"Something will come up." Cam had finished opening a can of cat food and was now plonking it into a bowl for Tibbles. "You know, you still haven't done your exams, it's not 'panic stations' yet."

He shrugged. "Maybe but, I just hate scrounging off my parents, letting them keep paying my way when others around me are already out there, surviving in reality." He watched Camille begin to empty the shopping bags. "It just makes me feel like, well, I'll just never, you know…"

Camille looked up before she shut the fridge and gave him a frown. "What are you saying? That you're a failure?" She raised an eyebrow. "Moose, you're anything but."

"Then explain why I'm overwhelmed, stressed and living out of my girlfriend's pocket?"

"Because she lets you get away with murder." She grinned. "Actually, when hasn't she?" Turning away with the grin still perched on her cheeks, she shoved a packet of biscuits into the cupboard above her.

"I'm serious Cam." She turned back to him, the cupboard door still in her hands, and saw he was looking worse than downbeat. "What if nothing comes up? What happens then?"

"Then we work it out."

"We?"

Camille frowned and shut the cupboard quickly. "Yes, you and me, we work it out. We always have, dealt with it, together. It's how we work best." She leant against the counter. "What's this really about?" Her smile gave a small mocking tone. "Because something tells me it isn't jobs."

He looked away, never one for overemotional situations. "Nothing."

"I'm not going anywhere Moose," she turned back towards the IPod speakers sitting on the counter and starting scrolling through the list. "You'd have to make me first." She noticed him look up from the corner of her eye and smiled softly, finding the song she wanted. She hit play. "Oohh ohh ohh."

Grabbed a spatula from the washing up, she held it up like a microphone. "You were in college working part time waiting tables." Stepping around Tibbles expertly, the cat looking up slowly before returning to his food, Camille returned to the living room. "Left your small town and never looked back." She hopped up so she sat on the kitchen bench behind her, tossing the spatula so it landed with a crash into the washing up and made Tibbles run. "I was a flight risk with a fear of falling." Kicking one leg up over the other she rested her chin on her fingertips and posed like that statue she'd seen once in a field trip to the museum. "Wondering why we bother with love if it never lasts."

She didn't even notice Moose had joined her until he grabbed her and lifted her off the counter, depositing her back on the floor with little effort. As she looked at him she saw that sparkle again, the old 'dancing' sparkle, and she knew it had worked. "I say 'can you believe it?' as we're lying on the couch alone." Moose found his feet, dancing backwards and kicking things out of the way as he did, clearing a space. Camille watched her flatmate's bits and bobs go flying and knew she'd be in for it later, but right now didn't care. "And I can see it, yes yes, I can see it now."

The dance moves, almost perfectly in synch, came naturally. "Do you remember we were sitting there by the water?" The moves were pretty basic, a few bits of popping and hip hop mixed into turns and one ballet-like leg lift from Cam, but extravagance wasn't the aim of the game – they were just dancing for them. "You put your arm around me for the first time." Grabbing her hand, Moose twirled Camille so she landed a little off-centre and had to jump to regain her composure. "You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter." Her vision a little blurry from the unexpected spin, she didn't even notice Moose had left her side at first. "You are the best thing that's ever been mine."

A small purple candle landing at her feet helped her work out where he was – now standing on the small dining table and enjoying kicking things off it. Another candle went flying. "Flash forward and we're taking on the world together." She grabbed at a small ornament as it went flying past and saved it from destruction. He'd successfully cleared the thing now and was achieving a move Camille had seen before, something like the 'worm' except done on his back. "And there's a drawer of my things at your place." He executed a full flip and remained on top of the table, but the poor thing gave a groan under the pressure. "You learn my secrets and you figure out why I'm bothered." Camille could only watch him dance, too caught up in his enjoyment to master her own. "You say I'll never make my parents' mistakes."

Having now realised the wood beams of the rafters were right above him, Moose grabbed them and pulled himself up as Camille watched, unsure whether to let him go until he killed himself or destroyed the place or get him to stop. She just didn't have the heart to stop him though. "We got bills to pay, we got nothing figured out." At that moment Tibbles took the opportunity to appear, lurking out from behind a nearby ottoman and looking up at Moose more confused than a cat should ever look. Camille saw what was coming before Moose started to do it. "Well it was hard to take…" Moose dismounted the table, a flip with his knees tucked up so he could grab his ankles, and his course took him straight towards Tibbles. Camille kicked the small purple candle at the cat just before it got crushed and it skedaddled, leaving the floor space in front of Camille clear. "Oh my god Moose, you nearly killed Tibbles!"

He wasn't listening though as he stood, took Camille's hand, and ushered her towards the table. Shrugging off all inhibitions and now aware Tibbles wouldn't make another appearance anytime soon, she got up. "Do you remember all the city lights on the water?" Her moves, in her mind, were nowhere near as good as Moose's. She was a good dancer but he was a cut above…

"You saw me start to believe for the first time." Caught up in dancing she didn't even notice Moose had gone quiet. Without the sound of destruction, it seemed almost eerie. She paused. "Moose?"

Then he appeared, appearing from behind a pile of boxes holding Camille's tap shoes. "Ha ha, I knew you hadn't thrown these out!"

Camille jumped off the table and made to grab them but he wouldn't relent, starting back towards the linoleum-covered kitchen floor and tapping out his own beat against the music booming out of the speakers behind him. Watching him Camille just smiled. Moose had a lot of things over her – hip-hop, breaking and he was the master of floor work, but when it came to tap she was the queen. Grabbing the shoes she pulled them on and shoved him aside softly, tapping out a very experienced routine. As she finished Moose fell back into what he did best, breaking and popping out moves that some would say require every bone to be double jointed. Shaking her head Camille expertly executed two more taps, a spring crouch into a handstand and then curled her left leg under her and rolled back into a standing position to find herself alone again. Starting to the couch she kicked off the tap shoes.

"You said 'I remember how we felt sitting by the water'," she took a seat on the comfy brown leather sofa, shoving Moose's textbook aside with her foot, her thoughts drifting away to her own past. "And every time I look at you it's like the first time." With a thump Camille glanced up to find Moose standing on the couch behind her, one foot pressed into the headrest behind her. She caught his eye and saw his smile. She held his gaze for a moment. "I fell in love with a careless man's careful daughter." Then he grinned and Camille frowned. "Moose? What are you g…" before she knew what had happened the couch was upside down, the headrest to the floor, and Camille was seeing the world upside down. With a sigh she kicked her legs up and rolled over herself and back into the floor just in time for Moose to grab her under her arms and pull her back to her feet. "I'll kill you for that." He just grinned and turned the IPod up louder.

With a shake of her head she pulled the ottoman closer and stood on it. "Ooohhh, you made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter." Moose continued to dance around her. "You are the best thing that's ever been mine…" With a leap she jumped off, managing her own kick behind her before she landed back on her feet just in time for Moose to pass and grab her again. They stopped in front of the couch and Moose gave her a few moves to copy. She mastered them so he stepped it up a notch.

"Do you believe it?" Camille continued to sing. "Do you believe it now?" One last move before the song ended and it was an old favourite – the back and forth tap routine from four years earlier when Moose had come to win her back after a fight, the dance with the ice cream van and two little girls who seemed determined to put everyone and everything down. "I can see it. I can see it now…" they fell onto the couch together, the poor leather thing still upside down and Moose's heavy engineering book skidded across the floor, tired but pleased.

The enjoyment was short-lived when the front door slammed and the pair looked up over the back of the lounge as Camille's flatmate Constance walked in. She frowned when she saw them and then cast her eyes skyward with a sigh. "Why?" She dumped her bag on the couch as she passed them towards her bedroom. "Why did I get a house with dancers?"

As her bedroom door slammed shut the pair laughed, slowing so Moose could comment. "You can really sing too."

Camille flicked her hair in the most pompous way she could pull off. "I know; I'm awesome." Standing straight and glancing around the mess they'd left behind she motioned to it. "Clean this up?"

Moose nodded. "Yeah, probably a good idea."