Disclaimer: Music is 'Bang Bang Bang' by Mark Ronson and The Business Intel. As before, I fail to gain ownership of Step Up. Yo, Jon Chu, hand it over buddy!

Chapter Fourteen;
Nowhere Without You

"Tango?" Moose groaned. It had been three days since they'd all returned to Eckhardt, with one additional member of course, and already the new girl had come up with two routines to inspire them, one she'd already termed 'the hip hop tango'.

"Oh come on, it's a beautiful dance." Camille swished out wearing a red dress over her jeans and sneakers. "Even if it impossible to dance in skate shoes." She caught Moose watching her. "What?"

"Nothing." He looked away as Camille smothered a smile.

"We have to show them we can do each and every type of dance they require of us." Chris spoke up.

Camille nodded. "Absolutely." She paused. "Except hula."

Chris smiled slowly. "Yeah, h..."

She cut across him with a stern look and finger. "No!"

"How's my style?" Holly appeared from nearby sporting a deep green short dress. Her legs were bare underneath but she also wore dark blue sneakers. "Cha cha cha!" She gave a stamp of her right foot and Camille laughed.

"At what point in someone's choreographing career do they go 'hip hop and tango so need to be together'?" Moose asked, frowning again at the list of moves Camille had written down for them to learn. They'd learnt it separately but this was their first group run-through.

"At the same point in their career when they stop taking choreography advice from their freestyling boyfriend." Camille grinned at Moose and he raised his eyebrows at her just as Holly muttered 'burn' from behind them. They ignored her and Camille continued. "So, you gonna do this?"

"Bring it on."

Chris went to the iPod dock, having finally removed his gaze from Holly, and flicked through to 'Bang Bang Bang' as the others took their positions in front of the mirror. "Ready?" They nodded. "Okay, let's see how this goes."

The song started up and Holly moved first. "Un, deux, trois." Facing to the back, she flicked her right arm out in a snap, rolled it over her head as she turned to face the mirror on 'deux' then snapped it out to the side on 'trois', her left hand on her hip the entire time. "Oh oh-oh." At this she stepped forward, snapping her right hand up to her mouth as if shocked but still sporting her usual cheeky grin.

From Holly's left Moose slid across the floor on his knees, stopping himself with his right hand as he stopped between the two girls. "Turn it up a little bit more." Turning himself in a full circle, he pointed at Chris who, on cue, turned the iPod up and the song blasted across the room.

"Bang bang bang." Camille copied Holly's moves perfectly in time with the worded cues before Chris back-flipped across the front of the room in front of them, dropping to a crouch on Holly's left as the girls snapped their right legs out and curled their hands up and over their hands, stopping them in front of their faces with fingers splayed. They turned their heads to the left and then straight back to the front as the first verse began.

"Feathers," the boys pushed themselves into a standing position and then stopped, their arms crossed in front of them. Meanwhile the girls threw their left arms out in a wide snap as they curled their right under their chins. "I'm plucking feathers." On the syllables 'pluck-ing feath' the girls plucked at their dress before stepped forward sharply on the final syllable and dropping both hands to their sides. "One by one," at this they turned, stepping around in a circle, one step per word before they came back to the front. They boys did much the same move except where the girls turned counter-clockwise, they turned clockwise. "By one." With another step forward, the girls drew a circle on the floor with the toes of their shoes in a tango move known as 'dibujo'. On "no more skylarking," they waved their right hand forward, leaning forward with it, and held the palm up to the mirror in a 'stop' gesture, their left hand under their elbow, palm down. Then, on 'skylarking' they brushed the hand back across their hairline, flicking it out to the side at the end. The boys turned to the left, gave two quick jumps back, then stopped in their pose again. "Around my head." At this the girls rolled their heads, flicking their hair over their faces, and leaning forward still. "Your information." With their left hand still beneath their right elbow, the girls flicked their hair back off their face again, facing to the left. They boys dropped their arms, tapping their heads and jumping a little back again so they were now right behind the girls. "But there's no hiding." Giving a sharp toe kick with their right foot, the girls twisted their arms back over their faces fingers splayed again, and leant into their back leg, right foot still in the air. The boys turned a circle out from behind the girls, stopping and facing them, arms crossed again. "Behind moulting feathers." Then, dropping the right foot back to the left, the girls stamped their foot and stuck that pose. The boys turned to the front, dropped their arms, and then took over.

"On the plane." Holding their arms up at a right angle to the floor, they punched their clenched fists across in front of their faces twice, turning to the left on the second punch. "On my brain" was done with two short taps on the right side of their heads before "about to do the sho'" lead them to turn back to the front, pushing down twice on the empty air beside themselves with a bounce on one leg. After the second push they snapped their elbows back up to their sides, facing out, and left their right leg, knee bent, suspended in mid-air. "40K contract, take it out the door." Brushing their hands over themselves twice, they hammed up turning out empty pockets, still balanced on their left leg, before pointing to the right with both hands and dropping to a crouch in the same move. "Dice symbolise my life," lead them to drop their arms behind them, crossing their right leg over their left knee and facing to the left. Then on "roll 'em on the floor" they pushed their right leg right over and ended up on their fronts, facing away from the mirror. The move ended on "from your grubby hands, as you hear the grand stand" when they rolled themselves over onto their backs, kicked their feet up in the air and jumped back to their feet just as the line finished.

This entire time the girls hadn't moved, but finally they did, swishing their hips so Camille's skirt flapped out a little and Holly's taffeta-encrusted tutu-inspired green piece gave a ruffle of protest. "You live a shitty life." The girls stepped out to the left, their foot crossing over their partner's, as they held their hand up over his mouth like they were censoring him. He, meanwhile, gave a click with his left hand and then brushed it over his mouth, facing to the left as the hand went right, clicking at the end once again. "We live a bon, bon vie." The girls waved their hands to their faces like they were cooling themselves and the guys stayed still, holding the click pose. "Hotter than the book while we watch the TV." Dropping the right hand, both girls threw their arms wide and slid across the face of their partners, stepping to a stop and facing to the right on 'TV'. The guys meanwhile continued Camille's classic 'hamming it up' moves by wiping their brows on 'hotter' and stepping together on the left of themselves, making a square with both hands and bringing them together on 'TV'. "Think you got us fooled?" Tapping their heads slowly, the girls turned back to the front as the guys leant forward, their arms crossed in front of them. On "ooh" the girls raised their left hands to their mouths, looking shocked, as the guys leant back, hopping back a little as well. "Never again!" Shaking a single finger, the girls started to walk slowly backwards, crossing behind the guys who were still again. "First time, shame on me." Continuing the pass around them slowly, the guys thumbed themselves in the chest, watching the girls pass behind them with exaggerated head movements. "Second time, your time will end." Now back on the guy's left side, the girls were pulled in by their partners to the exclusively tango section of the whole routine. Camille prepared to have her feet stepped on, but was pleasantly surprised when Moose executed the opening part perfectly.

"No way, bang your dead, here's your silhouette." In a few basic tango steps, the pairs turned in a full circle, coming back to where they'd begun on 'silhouette'. "Je te plumerai la, tete", sung twice, called for two quick dips, one with the girls' foot held between her partners in a trap better known as 'mordida' in the tango world. The second had the foot released and swung up beside the partner's leg so she balanced on one leg only as she was dipped. Both pairs executed this part without anyone being hurt. "Oh no, oh no, oh no" was where the tango moves were released as she rolled away from the grasp as he stepped to the right. Moose stepped to his left bumping Camille a little but she just laughed and gave him a shove to the right before the next line started. "Bang your dead." The girls pulled their hands from his and he stepped to the right again. "Alouette." With a stamp of her right foot, Camille raised her hands to her forehead and cheek. Holly seemed to forget the move and only raised her hands when she noticed Camille. The boys crossed their arms and gave a small hop backwards. The girls held that pose through "here's your silhouette" as they boys fell back into a crouch and dropped one arm behind them. "Je te plumerai la tete" came again and the boys leaned back into the arm and kicked their feet up into the air, dropping back into a crouch at the end as the girls gave a full turn, sliding their right foot along the ground behind them in a circle. On the second line they stopped, rolled their right arm past their ear, left hand to their elbow again, and stopped, fingers down and palm facing in. The boys rose back to their feet slowly, facing towards the girls.

"Oh no no no…"

"We're losing it. Maybe we should stop." Moose suggested, keeping hold of his pose.

"Quitter." Holly muttered, glancing towards him. "Let's at least do the next bit. I want to try this dip." She looked to Chris. "If you drop me, I'll kill you."

"If you do the move properly that won't happen." They were staring each other down now and missed the first line of the next part of the song; only catching up when they noticed Camille and Moose had already started. "We're never gonna believe in the stories that you're weavin'." Placing his arms over Camille's, Moose pushed at her arms gently so they dropped. At this she curled her right over her shoulder and over his as well and he put his hands to her waist. Holly and Chris skipped this part, going straight into the turn. On the repeat of the line the guys lifted the girls a little off the ground then turned in a circle, depositing them back where they'd started. Finally, on the last repeat, he slid away to the right, his hands falling to his sides, as she curled her hands one over the other and then rolled them over her head. The next part called for slow but deliberate movements as on "we're believin' in the proof" was a slow roll before she slapped her hand in the guy's outstretched palm on 'proof' and "we're believin' in the truth" was a slide of his hand over hers before tugging her into a turn towards him on 'truth'. Then the dip came and Moose whispered one last thing before he tried it.

"If I kill you, I'm sorry."

Camille gave a laugh at Moose's very serious face. "You can do it."

Then, on "we're believin' in each other," he started the dip, her feet crossed beneath her as she slid back, his hand on her back and shoulder. Then the hard part came. On "not you" his hands slid to her shoulders only and she fell deeper, uncurling one leg so her feet were apart as her only brace. On the second "you" she fell lower into the dip as her right foot went out straight so her heel was on the floor and his grip fell to her elbows. So far it was all going well and Camille thought for sure they'd pulled it off.

She'd assumed too early.

On the final "you" Moose's grip dropped to Camille's hands, holding her only inches from the floor, as her left foot lay on its heel now too. She was entirely in Moose's hold and he'd done it.

Chris had not.

On the third "you" there came a thump as Holly fell and then a cry. Raising his eyebrows, Moose stepped back and easily pulled Camille to her feet, catching her to him as she stumbled a little, then they looked down to where Holly now lay on the floor, clutching at her right ankle and staring daggers up at Chris. Moose made to move towards them, letting Camille go, but she stopped him as Chris crouched down to Holly's level, assessing her. She dragged Moose back a bit.

"Say nothing; they're having a moment!" She whispered, watching them intently.

Moose glanced sideways. "Oh really? So when does 'having a moment' involve violence?" Chris moved away a little and Cam saw Holly was now striking him rather ferociously on the arm. Her expression fell.

Chris stood up, stepping back from her moves, and held out a hand to pull her up, but Holly was stubborn and she ignored it. When she tried to stand and her leg gave away under her he finally disregarded her death stares and hitting to grab her beneath her armpits and pull her to her feet, slinging one arm around his shoulder and supporting her weight. He glanced back at Camille and Moose. "I'm going to take Holly to the nurse. If you guys wish to continue to practice then go ahead." As they left the room the bickering started up again.

'I can't believe you dropped me,' 'well, apparently you're heavier than you think' and 'wow, it's like you want to get punched in the face' were heard until the pair were out of sight. At that Moose looked at Camille. "I hope you haven't already ordered the bridesmaids dress." He joked. She hit him on the arm. "Violence is never the answer miss Gage." He walked over to his bottle of water and took a big mouthful, puffing his cheeks out and pulling at his ears in a monkey-like expression that made Camille laugh. He swallowed quickly and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Hey, what I said earlier, tango and hip hop together is totally hot."

Camille looked slowly giving him a tight-lipped grin. "I know."

He tipped his head a little, trying to look adorable. "Kind of like you right now."

She just laughed. "Smooth Alexander, real smooth." She drained the last of her water bottle then motioned to the window. "Sunshine and refreshments while the medical specialists deal with Holly?"

Moose nodded. "Lead the way el capitano!"

...

"At least now the developers will have a little less to knock down," a voice came through the open front gates and Moose looked up with a frown at the two figures. He'd been sitting out there just catching his breath, getting some fresh air and watching the world go by, when he'd heard the voice. He looked up into a face he could only guess belonged to…

"Paul Moore?"

Paul smiled and his sister stepped out from behind him, giving Moose another of her cat-like charming smiles. He was sure the hairs on the back of his neck just stood on end. "Indeed. And you're the infamous Moose Alexander from New York." Moose smothered a smile as Paul muttered 'indeed'. What a prat.

"What do you want?" He motioned to the building. "Apart from remarking on demolition that is never going to happen?"

"Oh it's going to happen, once we buy this place, now Barry's got you sitting on th…" Erika stopped her arrogant spiel at the sight of the girl coming towards them. Moose glanced back and his grin formed at the sight of Camille as she came up holding two large glasses of iced tea. Her eyes fell on the Moores and her smile didn't falter one bit.

"Oh, hi," she glanced sideways at Moose before putting down the glasses and offering a hand. "I'm Camille."

They ignored the hand and she eventually dropped it, looking at Moose again. "Cam, these are Paul and Erika Moore, from Atherton."

The grin returned to Camille's face. "Erika Moore – the one who told us about Elite!" Erika put on a strained smile, her eyes still glaring daggers at Camille as she straightened her red dress and took a seat next to Moose. "We owe you some thanks. We'll see you there."

"You can't seriously be entering?" Paul muttered, crossing his arms. "This is for serious competitors, not…"

"Try-hards and no talents?" Moose finished, remembering what Erika had said the first time they met. She seemed to understand the reference and her eyes flashed at him, but Camille broke through again, lowering her tea as she watched them over the top of her glass.

"Oh, we're serious. I'm sure you've seen Moose dance. I posted a few videos on Youtube." Moose frowned a little. He'd always suspected she was behind those but could never prove it. Erika also frowned, but for a completely different reason. "He's serious, that's for sure." She squeezed Moose's arm with a smile.

Erika made to speak but all of a sudden the front doors of the school burst open and Chris stalked out, being followed by Holly who was hobbling on her right foot. "You!" He pointed an accusatory finger at Paul and Erika. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Meeting the new girl," Paul gave Camille a smile but, to her merit, she didn't flinch at all, giving one right back. Paul was the first to look away. "Hope you don't mind."

"I wouldn't mind if I weren't so certain the police got it very wrong."

Holly frowned. "What?"

"Oh, didn't know miss Given?" Paul muttered and Holly glanced up, unaware he knew her name at all. "Chris set the police on me, accused me of starting this fire, but the good news is, they found nothing."

"Because you're good at covering your tracks!"

"Chris, calm down." Moose stood up and joined Chris, laying a hand on his arm as he surged forward with every burst of anger. "This won't help anything."

Paul smiled coldly. "Very smart." He nodded at Erika and they turned away, but when Holly spoke again they turned back.

"Whoever did this is clearly just scared of a little competition," Holly muttered.

Paul gave a sly smile as he looked back. "Not that you were ever any competition to Atherton, but still, I guess this makes it certain."

Holly's bottom lip dropped with realisation. "You did do this?"

Paul didn't move, but Chris did, lunging forward and grabbing at Paul's collar. "You're gonna wish yo…"

Holly gripped his arm as Camille tried to help her pull him back. "Chris, don't, he's not worth it." Chris let go and stepped back, causing Holly to fall onto her sore ankle, and she groaned in pain.

"Maybe you should focus on her?" Paul muttered, motioning to Holly as he straightened his collar with his other hand. Erika just crossed her arms over her chest, coldly grinning Holly down. "Rather than half-hearted threats that is."

Moose stepped up then. "Get out of here before we call the police."

Paul just smiled. "Of course." He nodded to Erika and they turned away. As Chris led Holly back inside, she hobbling and he simmering, Moose continued to stare them down, Erika shooting back glances as she walked away. He didn't even notice Camille come up beside him until she touched his arm.

"They seem like jerks."

Moose didn't look at her, watching Erika's face change from smug to angry at the sight of Camille, and that he enjoyed seeing. "They're worse than jerks," he glanced at her with a soft smile. "But mom told me never to say that word."

She gave a warm smile then looked back at Erika. She'd paused just outside the gate now and was staring Camille down. "You really think they tried to burn Eckhardt down?" Moose shrugged. "I don't think that Erika girl likes me." She looked back at him as Erika turned and sauntered off. "Have you two had some run-ins before?"

Moose looked to the ground for a second, unsure how to phrase it, but then, before he had a chance, the lie slipped out quickly. "No. I don't know her." He motioned back to the school. "Come on, let's grab some lunch."

Camille smiled. "Alright, but you're buying tough guy." She slipped away from him as Holly called out to her and she danced off in Camille's usual light-footed way. He watched her go for a moment before he glanced back at the gates. Erika was gone, but still, he could feel himself being judged. Casting his eyes skyward, he spoke to the Heavens; trying and failing to convince himself his lie was justified. "There's nothing to tell her, so it's fine, it's better to just avoid everything altogether." But even as he spoke it he knew he had to tell Camille everything. He at least owed her that.