Shit, there's no way I'm going to make it on time, Jane thinks, while she's walking to school. She slept in, Frankie and Tommy already left. That's a deal she made with Frankie, if she's not up by 8:10AM, he should make sure they get to school in time. She'd rather be late on her own than be late with her brothers.
The hardwood doors give way and she walks inside Fenway High, immediately turning left towards the hallway.
"Miss Rizzoli," she hears, and freezes.
Almost got away with it.
She turns around and tries to look friendly when making eye contact with the desk worker. "Yes, that's me."
"Are you aware that you're late by ten minutes?" the man says, already writing a note.
"Yes, I'm very sorry," she says, but doesn't mean any of it.
He hands her the note, telling her to get to class as soon as possible. She nods and turns back into the hallway, only to enter the first bathroom she sees and close the door behind her. Looking in the mirror, she tries to figure out how she can fix her hair in the little time she has. She looks like she's been walking through a storm. She's busy pulling the hair tie out of her hair when she hears a quiet sniff coming from the second to last stall. She decides to wait, but when she hears it again, she can't help but ask "Are you okay?"
It takes a few seconds before she gets a reply, but a soft "yes" is the answer she gets. She recognizes the voice, but can't quite place it yet. She repeats herself just so she can hear the voice again, and this time she knows who it is.
"Maura?"
The door of the stall slowly opens and a honey blonde girl emerges from the stall, eyes red-rimmed from crying.
"What's wrong?" Jane asks, immediately concerned. Maura stands next to her and holds her hands under the freezing cold water before pressing her fingers against her eyes, careful to not smudge her foundation. The black mascara is ruined, but the blonde pulls a small bag from her pocket and stars reapplying her mascara.
"It's not important, I'm fine," Maura answers, looking at Jane in the mirror.
"Two lies in one sentence," Jane says, trying to keep her voice light. "You're not crying because nothing's wrong and it isn't important, Maura. Tell me."
Can Maura trust this girl? A brunette with big brown eyes, who made sure she didn't get bullied by mean girls on her first day, and who wants her to feel included. Maura is not sure why the brunette is being so nice to her when they haven't even known each other for more than a week.
"My mother, she's still in Paris," Maura starts hesitantly, "she agreed to meet me here in Boston tomorrow, but she canceled. I don't know why I'm so upset over this, it always happens so I should have known better than to get my hopes up."
For a moment, Jane doesn't know what to say. Her own mother is usually gone by the time she wakes up, but Jane can't remember the last time her mother hadn't been home and cooking dinner when she got home from school.
"I'm sorry Maur, I don't .. I don't really know what to say," Jane says.
Maur. A nickname that's not meant to tease me, the blonde thinks, not quite managing to blink the upwelling tears away. She puts the mascara back in her bag, trying to draw attention away from her face.
Jane sees the moment of hesitation, and thinks she's done something wrong when she sees the blonde's eyes get a little wet again.
"Hey, are you okay? What did I do? I'm sorry," Jane says panicky, putting her hands on Maura's shoulders, waiting until Maura looks up.
"No, I just, ..." Maura sniffs. "No one has ever nicknamed me before."
Jane smiles. That's all?
"Do you want me to call you Maura?" she asks, looking into hazel eyes. The blonde shakes her head and sniffs again. "No, it's fine."
Jane really wants to hug the blonde, but she's not sure that's the right thing to do. If Maura has never had a real friend, she's probably not familiar with the hugs and occasional touches that are part of a friendship. She decides not to do it, and asks which class the blonde has.
"I've got humanities in B101," Maura replies.
Jane nods. "I'll walk you there, alright? I'm headed to B114."
They walk up the stairs, talking about the upcoming classes. Jane can't help looking at Maura a little more than necessary, just because she can. And Maura either doesn't notice, or doesn't say anything about it. For the time being, it's okay.
When Jane enters the classroom, there's only one empty spot left because she's late. It's Audrey, a girl from her soccer team. They don't often speak because of their positions on the field; Audrey is a center back and Jane a striker, meaning that they don't have much to do with each other.
"Ah, Jane Rizzoli! What a great start, already ten minutes late on the first Friday of the year," her teacher says when he sees her.
She scoffs and decides to leave him be, and walks up to Audrey.
"Hey," she says. "Mind if I sit here?"
Audrey shakes her head. "No, it's fine, sit."
Jane does and dumps her bag on the floor, taking two books out. She looks at Audrey questioningly, who holds up three fingers.
She nods, smiling, and opens her book on page 3.
"Okay, class, before we're starting, SAT's are coming up. My class doesn't have much to do with it, but I'm sure you'll hear about them in English or Maths. Just saying it so you're prepared. Anyway, Mike, will you start reading please?"
..
..
During lunch break, Jane sees the blonde again. Jane is sitting at her usual table, with Ryleigh and Frost, and the blonde seems to hesitate when she sees them.
Jane waits until Maura's eyes meet hers, and then smiles, letting her know that it's okay. That does it, and Maura approaches them.
"Scoot," Jane says to Frost, who's with his back towards Maura and doesn't see her.
"Hi," the blonde says, sitting next to Frost. They all greet her in unison, and Ryleigh immediately includes her in the conversation. "So, Maura, are you a fan of sports? We were just talking about the Red Sox, you know them?"
"Yeah, I've heard of them before, but I'm afraid I'm not familiar with baseball. I'm a dancer," she says, feeling Jane's eyes on her.
"Oh, really? That's awesome. My sister's a dancer too. What kind of dance do you do?" Frost says.
Maura looks around, surprised by the interest everyone seems to have. "I'm with the Boston Ballet, I auditioned last summer."
Ryleigh and Jane look at each other, Frost's eyes go wide. Everyone seems to think the same thing.
"Wow," Ryleigh says, putting in to words what everyone thinks, "that's really impressive."
Before Maura can answer, someone calls Frost's name and he looks around. He puts his hand up as a sign that he's coming, and Ryleigh gets up too. For a second, Maura is afraid Jane will get up as well, leaving her alone, but the brunette doesn't. Ryleigh gives Jane a look Maura can't place, but Jane motions with her hand that her friend should go, leaving them on their own.
Jane is sitting opposite Maura, and the blonde has the time to observe the girl sitting in front of her without anyone else looking. Jane has big brown eyes and a strong jaw, that she sets tight when someone says something she doesn't agree with. Her hair is messy, but never too tangled to not look beautiful. When Jane walks through the hallways, there are at least a dozen people who say hi to her, and she always says hi back. It's as if she knows everyone in this entire school by name, and everyone knows her.
"Hey, where are you with your mind?" Jane's voice makes her aware of her surroundings. She makes eye contact with the brunette, ready to apologize.
"It's fine, Maur. I was simply asking if you've already been to ballet practice," Jane says.
The blonde smiles, nodding enthusiastically. "I went on Monday to talk about my schedule, and on Tuesday for my first classes. I want to practice every day, but I'm afraid that's not possible because it's Senior Year."
Jane smiles too, encouraging the blonde to continue talking.
"Starting next week, I'll take technique on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, and also pointe on Monday and Thursday. If I have some spare time, I'll see which other classes I can take on that day."
"Wow, that's a lot," Jane says, surprised. "How many hours are that?"
"If I only count the standard hours and not the occasional other classes, six and a half to seven probably. I must be able to combine it with school, without needing to skip classes for it," Maura says, putting a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Yeah, okay. I think I have the same amount of hours for my soccer practice, not including the games and tournaments," Jane says, looking at her watch to see that they've only got three minutes of lunch break left. Time goes quickly when you're talking to someone you like.
Maura asks how many hours of soccer practice she has, and it takes Jane a couple of seconds to avert her attention from Maura's teeth that are stuck on her lower lip. The blonde probably doesn't notice, but the lip biting has an effect on Jane.
"Uhh, six then, not including the weekends. Monday from 7-9, Tuesday and Friday from 4-6. And throughout the year, I have competitions every weekend that last about two hours as well," Jane explains, loving how Maura doesn't avert her eyes once.
They talk until the bell rings and they have to part ways, because there are no classes they have together.
"Jane," Maura says before the brunette heads down the other hallway.
"Yeah."
"You're welcome to come to one of my ballet practices, if you'd like?" she makes it sound more like a question than an invitation.
Jane thinks for a moment, but already knows what her answer will be. "Sure, Maur. Thursday maybe? I can't skip my practices at the beginning of the season."
It's only Friday, and Thursday feels like a lifetime away, but Maura nods. Now she has something to work on and look forward to, and she knows she'll spend much time in the studio in her house this weekend, practicing her basics. She wants to be the best she can be, if that means getting Jane's attention. She's unaware that she already has it.
"Okay. If I don't see you around today, I'll see you on Monday again, alright?" Jane says, unconsciously brushing her hand against Maura's.
The blonde nods, already turning around. "Bye, Jane," she says, desperately hoping the brunette will still like her after the weekend.
..
..
As expected, Maura spends almost the entire Saturday in her own ballet studio at her house. She warms herself up with a simple exercise, consisting of a combination of pliés and relevés. After that, she continues with tendus, followed by battements, careful to work on her pointe and her turnout. She comes up with a few combinations, and practices them the entire afternoon until she has perfected each and every movement.
Jane spends her Saturday on the field with Ryleigh, practicing passes, crosses and tricks. She thinks of Maura, and how she'd love for the blonde to see one of her games. Frost and Frankie usually come when there are important ones, such as championships and interstates. Maybe she should invite Maura too, and although the blonde doesn't know a single thing about soccer, maybe she'll like it.
On Monday, Jane sees Maura again, and they sit at their table during lunch. It's become a habit already, even though everyone has only known Maura for a week.
Tuesday and Wednesday are just like any other day, although Jane seems a little nervous on Wednesday.
On Thursday, they agreed to meet at their lockers, because they're almost next to each other anyway. When Jane is finally allowed to leave class, she speeds down the hall towards her locker, where the blonde is already standing. "I'm sorry," Jane pants, "I had to talk myself out of detention."
Maura raises her eyebrows, laughing. In a week's time, Jane has already had to do this twice, and there's no way she'll make it through the year without getting detention at least a few times. Maura has no idea what the brunette does, but she's sure Jane could cause some trouble.
"So how do you get to the ballet studio?" Jane asks, taking her coat out and looking for some textbooks to bring home.
"I always ride the bus, my mother has arranged a card for public transport in Boston for the entire year," Maura says.
"Oh, um, yes. Hold on, let me find some money. I don't have a travel card or something, I always walk," Jane explains, looking through her stuff. She prays she has money somewhere, because it would be embarrassing if she didn't. Luckily, she finds a five-dollar bill under some books, and shows it to Maura. "Got it."
Jane closes her locker and they make their way over towards the main exit. Jane tries to get her coat on while holding her bag, which is not really working. She stops, motioning for Maura to hold her bag.
A few minutes later, they've arrived at the bus stop, where only two other kids stand. Most of them ride the school bus instead of a regular bus, because if you live far away, you can ride it for free. Others, like Jane, just walk.
The ride takes about fifteen minutes, and Jane is getting more nervous by the minute.
"How many classes have you taken already? Do you like the people there?" she asks Maura, trying to start a conversation.
"This is my fourth class. And fifth too. Did I tell you that I'm taking both technique and pointe today?" Maura says, looking at Jane.
"Yes, you mentioned that. About six times in the past three days," Jane adds teasingly.
Maura sighs and rolls her eyes, but still smiles. "I've met two girls, Allison and Brynn, they're nice. I can't say for sure though, because they're not in my pointe class, so I've only spoken to them twice."
They talk until Maura says they have to get off the bus. The studio is right in front of them, so they quickly enter and walk towards the changing rooms.
"Am I allowed to go in here?" Jane asks nervously.
Maura nods. "Yes. I told my teacher you'd be joining us, and since we're early no one will be in here yet." She opens the door and reveals a huge room, complete with lockers. She stuffs her school bag into one of them before putting her dance bag on one of the benches, encouraging Jane to walk inside.
"It's okay Jane, I asked," Maura says, pulling her sweater over her head, revealing a simple black top. The brunette does not know whether to look away or not, even though she has spent much time around half-dressed (or even undressed) girls in the changing room at her soccer matches.
Maura is standing in only her underwear, looking through her bag for the appropriate clothes. Jane cannot remember the last time she felt so uneasy, not knowing what to do with her body's reaction to the blonde's current state of undress. She fidgets before taking her phone from her pocket, pretending to do stuff on it until Maura is at least a bit more dressed.
"Your feet go into those?" Jane asks, looking at Maura's pointe shoes. "Doesn't that hurt?"
The blonde shakes her head and starts wrapping the pink elastic around her ankles. "You get used to it."
A few minutes later, Maura is dressed and ready to go into the studio. Jane hesitates, but finally follows Maura into a big studio with mirrors everywhere.
"I'm just going to warm up. You can put your bag down there," the blonde says, gesturing towards a corner of the room. Jane does, and when she turns around, Maura is up on her toes, arms high in the air. It only lasts for a second, and Jane is disappointed when the blonde stands on her feet again.
"Hey, Maura! I didn't expect to see you here so early," two girls walk into the room, and Maura turns around.
"Hi! Yes, we came here straight out of school. Jane, this is Allison, and this is Brynn. Girls, this is Jane, she's a friend," the blonde says, loving the smile on Jane's face when the brunette introduces herself to her friends. Jane talks easily, and doesn't care what kind of person she's talking to.
About five minutes after Allison and Brynn have joined, their teacher comes in, and other girls are joining as well. Maura introduces Jane to her teacher, and he makes sure she can sit in front of the class. She sits on the floor instead of a chair, but only because she wants to.
Jane doesn't know where to look during the class. She makes eye contact with Maura a few times during her warm up with the group, it being simple tendus and battements. When they start practicing turns, the brunette is amazed by the amount of turns the blonde can do without falling. Also, Jane can't help but notice how beautiful her friend looks when she's dancing. When they're practicing a few combinations, Maura looks at peace and happy, and the nervousness she usually carries with her is gone.
The class is over way too fast, and Jane wants to ask if she can join every class just so she can see the blonde dance.
"What did you think about it?" Maura asks when they're waiting at the bus stop.
"You're amazing Maur," the brunette says, admiration evident in her voice. The blonde doesn't know how to respond to it, she's never been looked at with such admiration. She simply smiles, returning Jane's smile. "Thank you."
"How do you do that?" Jane asks randomly, not specifically referring to anything she just said. "What?" Maura says, looking at her questioningly. "You just, you know, get up on your toes like it isn't hard at all. How do you do that?" Jane asks.
"Well, we're supposed to make it look easy. In reality, it's really hard to keep your balance. You get better over time, though," the blonde replies.
"You were amazing," Jane repeats, not really knowing how to express what she's feeling. Maura looks at her, smiling. "You've covered that."
The bus comes and when they get on it, Jane places her hand on Maura's back without thinking, supporting the blonde. When she realizes what she's doing she immediately pulls back, afraid of what Maura's reaction will be. To her surprise, the blonde doesn't comment on it, instead places her hand dangerously close to Jane's when they sit down.
They talk until the bus stops near Jane's house, and the brunette has to get off. She says goodbye to Maura, but decides against giving a hug. She's not sure if the blonde wants that. So Maura simply waves through the window of the bus, and Jane lifts two fingers, her way of saying goodbye.
It isn't until Jane gets home that she realizes the blonde never pulled away from her touch, instead only moved closer to her after that moment.
She has no idea what to do with that information.
A/N: Lots of new names, I'm sorry about that. Maura's family will be addressed in the next chapter. Also, I know you don't simply get into the company at the Boston Ballet, but lets just pretend like Maura does, okay? And I don't know if anyone on here has ever been to/with the Boston Ballet, but I have no idea what it looks there like so I'm just making stuff up. If it doesn't correspond with your experiences, know that this is fiction :)
Please tell me what you think, reviews are always appreciated.