Hi guys! So literally, this chapter has been written since the night the last one was out, except the dance at the end... Which I've worked on sporatically and finished just now :D But, it is the most important dance in this entire fic, so I think that's okay. Also, I had to pack up, drive cross-country, spend time with my fiance and his family and our friends who I hadn't seen for four months, and then move back into school. So I just finally found time!
Before you read any further, STOP! I forgot to cite the choreo for the last dance last chapter... Bad Siren! In my defense, I was just way to excited to tell you all that I was engaged :D Go to youtube, and look up Worth it, Mega Jam dance. It's seriously so bomb, and there are five girls dancing!
Okay, now you can read the chapter!
Meg plopped down on the bench, crossing her legs and smirking to herself. Today was a good day; day two of Nationals over, and they were in fourth! They just needed to come back tomorrow and kick some ass to get in third… they could totally do it. And to make matters better, the Demigods were in sixth, having gotten off to a bad start with Achilles epic fail in their dance off.
A grin graced her face as she recalled Elsa kicking his ass when he came at her.
She had craved closure with Achilles, to show him that he doesn't still run her, and she was able to find that.
The bench dipped beside her, a familiar hand coming to encase hers on her lap.
Meg rolled her eyes, "Wonderboy, I thought I told you to scram."
He withdrew his hand, but brought it to her chin to turn her face toward his. Her breath hitched as she met his vibrant blue eyes filled with concern. "Meg, I…" he stuttered and looked down, his finger still sending sparks through the skin on her face, "I just want to apologize for Achilles' actions. I know now why you don't like us, and we haven't given you any reason to. But I just want to make sure that you're okay."
Meg sighed as his pleading blue eyes bore into hers. Dropping her normally sassy act, she turned her body towards him. "Hercules, I know this isn't your fault. Sorry for snapping at you last night and thank you for checking up on me. I guess… I guess I'm just not used to someone I haven't let in to actually care for how I feel. So thank you."
The grin that graced his face, as he knew that she had finally let him in, dazzled her. Then, he sobered. "Meg," his hand left her chin, causing her to miss the loss, but then fluttered to grab her own and intertwine their fingers, "I know that we got off on the wrong foot. I know our crews are sworn enemies, mainly because of my crew, but I wanted you to know that I'm not them. I don't want to hurt you; I believe you are an amazing woman who should be cherished forever." He growled, tearing his eyes from hers, "What Achilles did was unforgivable and cruel and I want him to pay for it."
Meg leaned forward, grabbing his face and turning it back toward her, smoothing out the anger wrinkles in his face.
"With your permission Meg, I want to quit the Demigods. This will cause them to be disqualified because they don't have enough people. And next semester, I'm joining you and your friends at DDW."
Meg gasped at his words, truly speechless. "But… Herc… You can't… Why would you do that?"
He leaned forward, setting his forehead against hers. "Because I don't want to be part of a team, of a school, that uses and abuses people. I want to be part of a family, to make connections and friends for life, knowing that I can always lean on them. And that's what your crew has, that's what your school has cultured." Then a sheepish smile graced his face, "Besides, I want to be around you."
Meg forgo words, choosing instead to express the gratitude and maybe, dare she say it, love bubbling up in her the only way she could.
She closed the distance between them, a huge grin on her face, and pressed her lips to his.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Kristoff grinned down at the strawberry blonde who had burrowed herself under a blanket and tucked herself into his side, with Sven laying across them. This had become the norm, them cuddling together to watch movies. Not that he minded. In fact, he rather loved the feeling of completeness he had when Anna was next to him.
She was his best friend, his partner in crime. She accepted him for who he was, gruffness and all, and even loved his big, slobbery dog. Her bubbliness brought him much joy, and he loved watching her bounce all over the place and get excited about the silliest of things.
She truly completed him.
He knew, just knew, that somehow he had fallen in love with her.
Just months ago, he had been shaking his head at his friends for allowing themselves to be over-run and controlled by their feelings for the girls. Now, he knew that even though Anna could make him do anything, he would enjoy every minute of it.
Because everything was fun with her.
He allowed himself to cuddle into her and press a kiss to the top of her hair. She looked up, catching his eyes and grinning at him.
No, they weren't dating yet. After all, they had all the time in the world to figure out how to say what they felt.
But there was defiantly something there.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Elsa smiled at the infectious energy that pulsed through the room.
The last night. The last competition.
They were in fourth, only a few points behind. Any other sane crew would fear the last event, but she could feel the hopeful energy resounding.
They were gonna do it.
But first they had to find out what the darn last competition was!
The clock struck 5:00 PM, and an announcer came out on the stage.
"Are you all ready!?"
Shouts rang through the auditorium, Elsa smiling as her teammates joined in the throng of noise.
"Okay, okay. Here it is: At 7:00PM, one person from each crew will grace the stage with their presence. One person only. For some of you, this is what will make or break your team, so choose well. The competition is as follows: This one person will choose a fusion of two dance styles and perform them for the judges. They will be looking for obvious aspects of both styles and rate you on how creatively you fulfill both. One song, two styles, one person. But here's the catch." A line came up on the screen behind him, many dance styles littering it with numbers in between. "You have to choose two from this graph. You are only eligible to receive the amount of points that differs between the two styles. For example, if someone did a contemporary and ballet fusion, they would only be eligible for sixty points because they are similar and close to each other. There are a few different ways to get a full one-hundred points, but there are also ways to get above a hundred if you plan it correctly. Good luck!"
The man sauntered off the stage as the graph stayed up to haunt the crews. Elsa could hear the buzz growing around her, her own team mates discussing what they would need to get and how it could be possible.
Elsa looked from one side of the graph to the other. It spanned around three-hundred points.
Improbable, but not impossible.
She turned to Jack, who was studying it with the same intent, listening to Simba complain that 'Samba' was only eighty points away from 'Hip-hop.'
"Jack," her voice rang out, drawing the attention of all her team mates. "I can do ballet and Hip-hop."
Collective gasps sounded.
Giselle stammered, "But those are on the opposite sides of the graph! That's three-hundred points!"
Elsa threw back her shoulders, "I've actually been trying to fuse the two since I learned hip-hop, and something struck me during finals week."
Puss looked at her, "You're telling me that you've already done it."
Elsa nodded, "Yes, I believe I have."
Meg grinned, "Well then girl, I vote that this one is yours. What a better way to get to Rome than to take it by storm?"
Jack closed his still gaping mouth, shaping it into a grin. "Now that you say that, I can totally see you pulling that off well. Anyone oppose? It's guaranteed for us to win."
Vanessa scoffed, "Are you sure? That means, if she fails, we are set way back."
Jack turned to her, his eyes dancing, "But why not take a gamble when we have nothing to lose? Plus, she is classically trained in ballet and has become one of our best hip-hop dancers in four short months."
Smirks started to stretch across the faces of the crew.
Meg strode forward, catching Elsa's hand and lifting it in hers to the sky. "All in favor say 'Aye.'"
"AYE!"
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Elsa stared down at feet, clothed in pointe shoes, the ribbons criss-crossing up her calves. The jitters in her stomach threatened to spill out as she walked onto the dark stage.
This was it.
She took a deep breathe in. letting the soothing air fill her. She could do this.
This wasn't about winning the competition or going to the World competition anymore. This was about her, about her story. It was just her, the music, and the stage.
This was her time, her time to let her feelings finally shine through.
Her time to let her feelings go.
She took one last deep breathe, set her feet in first position, and bowed her head.
The sound of a music box winding filled the stage, each crank filling her, allowing her to straighten to the full ballerina posture, up on her toes, her arms circled out in front of her.
On the beginning of the music, she began to turn, her toes moving in tiny steps to turn her. Slowly, she brought her hands above her head.
I pirouette in the dark I see the stars through a mirror
Bringing her arms out beside her, she alternated them, her right creating an arc up and her left down, and vise versa, still spinning. On the violin swell, she broke from her toes, setting her right foot flat and leaning over, her left rising to the air in a point. The next note brought her back upright and up on her right toe, her left tickling the inside of her knee, creating a figure four, and then she extended back out to her previous arabesque. Using gravity and momentum, she spun her upper body down over her right leg, her left following in an arc in the air, and then planted on the ground. She sunk down, bending her right knee, her left staying straight and trailing on the ground as she pushed it out. She rose, gracefully, releve-ing on her toes her hands coming in towards her chest, her head leaning to the right. On the quick successive notes of the violin, she flowed her hands toward the right, back in, and then out in front of her, her chest following, and back in, finishing by painting her right arm in an arc over her head, her left balancing it out with a downward arc.
Tired mechanical heart, beats 'til the song disappears
She repeated the same turn on her toes, her arms flowing in opposite motions while she spun. On the repeating violin swell, she arabesqued again, straightening on the following notes, her feet taking two tiny steps, and sunk back down into another arabesque. On the next note, she prepped and then leapt in the air, her toes pointing into a perfect split. On her landing, she spun wide, prepping her for another leap, followed by a third.
Somebody shine a light, I'm frozen by the fear in me
As the music picked up, she could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Her moves became quicker, more frantic, as spun across the stage. She kept her gracefulness, allowing the music to course through her veins. This is what dancing was about, this is who she was.
Somebody make me feel alive and shatter me
Her head began to pick up, a true smile splitting her face. When the first large drum beat hit the music, she was ready, roughing the edges of her moves, changing them from the graceful ballet style to the more coarse movements of hip-hop. Just a taste though, just a touch.
So cut me from the line, dizzy, spinning endlessly
She spun once, throwing her left leg high in the air and bending her right knee to slow her momentum down, and then brought her left leg right beside her right, going on her toes and spinning a good amount of times quickly.
Somebody make me feel alive and shatter me
The pace drove her as she leapt twice across the stage, first with her legs out, and the second with her right leg pushing vertically, her left popping out beneath her. She landed in a spin again, pushing herself around. Then, the music stopped, her feet popping out and planting her as she pushed her hand outwards, her head coming up to stare at the audience.
The dubstep hit, and Elsa allowed her moves to have a rougher edge, to flow into the hip hop realm. She dropped with the beat, pushing to the right while popping her chest on the drum beats. Her right leg flew up into a standing kick-splits, then came back down while she did a quick sequence using her hands and legs with the beats. When the violin smoothed out, she lapsed back into ballet, leaping across the stage and spinning with the flow of the music
Shatter me!
This is why she danced. It wasn't because of a specific style or music, it was because she loved to move with the music. It helped her reveal what she was feeling, allowed her to figure out how to feel. After her parent's death, she had lost sight of her emotions, but when she danced, she could finally feel something again through the music. This is why.
Somebody make me feel alive and shatter me
And so she allowed the music to flow through her body.
If only the clockwork could speak, I wouldn't be so alone
As the verse came back, she stepped forward and popped her chest with the beat, allowing the hip-hop moves to flow through her. As the violin swells swept through the air, so did the lyrical moves. Her leg lifted as she went on her toe. Not setting her foot down, she pulled it behind her, bending her knee slightly and gave herself some momentum to spin.
We'd burn every magnet and spring and spiral into the unknown
Coming off her toe, she pulled her foot in the air, while effectively removing her right ballet shoe. She had cut the ties before-hand, leaving the ribbons running up her calf, but baring her foot to the world. Bringing her bare toe down to join her clothed one, she spun, the tip of her toe barely gracing the floor. She desired to show the true fusion of the styles.
Somebody shine a light, I'm frozen by the fear in me
Somebody make me feel alive and shatter me
This time, she picked up the pace, flowing seamlessly between the rougher movements and the lyrical ones. This was her life, this is what she did. Dance was dance, no matter the style.
So cut me from the line, dizzy, spinning endlessly
Somebody make me feel alive and shatter me
She could still show the same emotion, show the same feelings. Her love for the art leaked through, giving her movements extra passion. Nothing mattered at that moment except for the emotions flowing through her veins and driving her body.
If I break the glass then I'll have to fly
The drum beat hit her, almost driving the breath from her lungs, as she popped her legs out and pulled the right in, followed by a roll of her hip. On the last word, she went on her still-clothed toe, throwing her right foot in the air, but with a flexed foot rather than the normal point.
There's no one to catch me if I take a dive
Following her foot down, she took that momentum, spinning across the stage, then leaping into an. orchestrated fall-roll onto the floor.
I'm scared of change and the days stay the same
The same momentum took her back to her feet and she planted, pushing both arms forward and popping her chest to the beat.
The world is spinning but only in gray
She spun on her toe, bringing her hands up and over her head gradually.
If I break the glass then I'll have to fly
Breaking out of the spin, Elsa leapt in the air, landing it with a spin, and then leapt again, her legs and arms flying out.
There's no one to catch me if I take a dive
Landing, she planted her feet and then dropped on the beat, her knees flying out. She stood back up, bringing both hands to her chest and popping them out.
I'm scared of change and the days stay the same
Leading with her right arm, and doing a sudo-salsa step with her feet but following the drum beat of the music, she hit each beat with an arm sequence.
The world is spinning but only in gray
As the first theme sounded again, she slowed her racing heart. She went back on her toe, repeating the same arm movement while slowly spinning. But this time, the beat picked up. As it did, she pulled her right leg up, allowing it to move through the air to give her momentum and spin on her left foot. The music got faster and faster, and finally she broke out of the spin, taking a prep forward, and then hit a flying leap on the big climax, her right toe high in the air, her left popping off the ground, and her arms following exactly in suite.
Somebody shine a light, I'm frozen by the fear in me
Somebody make me feel alive and shatter me
So cut me from the line, dizzy, spinning endlessly
Somebody make me feel alive and shatter me
The various styles flowed through her, to the point where she couldn't tell what was what. One move was hip-hop, and then she was leaping through the air. The music helped her show who she truly was, helped her feel again. The audience was long forgotten, the judges forgotten, the competition forgotten. It was just her and the stage, just her and the music.
Shatter me!
She was alive, her veins pulsing with the swells and beat of the music. This was dance, this was her.
Somebody make me feel alive
And shatter me!
The music stopped, Elsa coming to a stand-still in the center of the stage, feet planted.
This was her. Released.
So I didn't want to tell you til now, but this is the last offical chapter... The epilogue will be out soon and will tie up all the loose ends for you. Don't worry, you will really enjoy it :D
The song was Shatter me, by Lindsey Sterling, and the choreo was my own. I really wish I was in a place where I could dance it out, but unfortunately I have lost much of my ballet skills and tricks.
Thank you all for the Congrats and friendly reviews! This was the most reviewed chapter, and most of it was congradulations. I love you all and it made me feel so special :D
Til the next, last, and final, chapter!
xoxoxoxo,
Siren