Now that Ale knew Quinn knew she was a dancer, her entire day opened up. She knew exactly where she wanted to go.
When she and Lio had lived with Mama and Papa, they lived about a half an hour out of Boston to the North. There was a dance studio right on the edge of Boston where Ale spent her entire child hood days, except for when she and Lio were playing on the intermural lacrosse teams their town had.
From their new house, the studio was on a completely different side of town. Still, Ale made frequent visits there after her Papa died, helping the instructors who once taught her teach other aspiring dancers. Her dance partner still worked there, as well, teaching a few classes.
Ale led Quinn to the dance studio, smiling as she walked in the front door. She was glad that the studio could make her smile, especially after talking with that woman on the subway. It had rattled Ale and she wasn't sure she was going to be able to shake the bad mood that had come over her.
The studio, however, was the perfect distraction. The man working the front desk, the studio owner, immediately dropped everything he was doing, going around the desk and enveloping Ale in a hug.
"My Alessandra. Have we missed you!" he said excitedly, Ale laughing. "We haven't really seen you since you came to tell us your Papa passed. We all heard about Lio. I am so, so sorry," the man cooed, putting Ale at arm's length.
Ale looked at the man, Mr. Werth, thinking back to all of the times he greeted her as she walked into the studio, the times he talked with Lio as they both watched Ale dance, and the dozens of times Ale's whole family ate dinner with his family, as well as her partner's family.
Ale and her partner were, for a while, the oldest dancers at their studio. They were heads and shoulders above the rest of the kids, not only setting the examples for the younger students, but also setting the precedence for other dance schools in the area.
"How are you doing?" Mr. Werth asked, Ale sighing.
"Truthfully," Ale thought, looking straight into Mr. Werth's eyes. "I'm a bit of a mess. But I'm okay."
"Well, I think there are plenty of people who would like to see you. Do you have any of your clothes or shoes?" Mr. Werth asked, Ale following him into the teacher's lounge.
"You know I hate shoes so no. I do have socks, though, and for me that is all I need."
"And a leotard?" he asked, looking at Ale pointedly.
"I have to say this was a spur of the moment trip," Ale admitted, Mr. Werth laughing.
"Well then, let's see what we can do," he smiled, opening the store room door where they kept the extra merchandise they sold. Mr. Werth left Ale alone in the lounge to get changed, Ale grateful for the silence.
She chose a coral, halter neck leotard, the entire back of the garment missing, the front a deep v in the front. She also took some black spandex shorts from the closet, slipping them on over the leotard. As Ale looked at herself in the mirror she smiled, finally looking a bit like the Ale she once knew.
Quinn watched as Ale talked with the old man, him leading her back to some room. The man came back out, smiling at Quinn.
"Are you her boyfriend?" he asked, Quinn not sure what to say. "Well if you are, don't hurt her. She has been through enough. If you are just a friend, make sure no one else hurts her."
Quinn nodded, smiling at the man.
"That's the plan," he nodded, the man smiling back. Ale came out of the back room, a smile bright on her face. Quinn took in Ale's appearance, her mocha skin radiant in the low cut leotard, the black shorts just covering her. When Ale turned to set her bag down behind the desk, Quinn caught sight of part of a tattoo on her ribs, words poking out from the side of the leotard. Her entire back was open, the coral fabric only reappearing right before the black shorts began.
"I had a feeling you would pick that one," the man laughed. "You never have liked wearing leotards."
"I get unbearably warm," Ale laughed, grabbing something out of her satchel.
Quinn continued to study Ale's back, many scars dotting her skin. They were dark and looked like they had once hurt badly. He wished he didn't know how she got them and could pretend they were from her dancing.
He knew better, though.
"Quinn, you can either watch or you can stay out here or go in the studio or stay in the viewing area. It's up to you. I might be bouncing from studio to studio. I have a lot to catch up on," Ale smiled, looking at him. Ale looked so excited, a light accompanying her eyes that he hadn't seen in the short time he spent with her.
"I can stay in the room, as long as that's okay with all of the people here, and you," he smiled, wanting to see Ale in her natural environment. It was mesmerizing.
"That's fine with me, which means it will be fine for everyone else," the old man said, Ale smiling.
"Where do you want me, teach?" Ale asked, looking at the man.
"Well first of all I want you to go see your partner who will freak out if he finds out you went anywhere else first. He is teaching a class, but I'm pretty sure the kids would be happy to have you. Then you can have the studio to yourself for about an hour if you would like," the man smiled, Ale throwing her arms around the man, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"You rock, Mr. Werth!" Ale yelled, heading up a flight of stairs. Quinn followed Ale, hearing the man chuckle from the desk downstairs.
Ale was so excited to see her partner. They hadn't danced together since her Papa died, and that had been too long. The two had been dancing together and teaching together for forever, being inseparable. They had even dated for a short spell. It hadn't worked out, though, and now the two had a brother/sister relationship that was irreplaceable. They talked constantly, until Ale went off to Italy. They wrote letters for a while until the stuff with the orphanage began eating up Ale's time.
Ale pushed her way into their usual studio, Ale immediately recognizing the class Evan was teaching as the kids she had taught since they first started. They were now in sixth grade, and she had missed the so much. The kids had missed her, too, and they all squealed when they saw Ale walk in the room.
Quinn wasn't surprised by the warm welcome Ale got when she got into the room, fifteen girls running up and enveloping Ale in a huge hug.
"Hey you guys," she laughed, giving a few of them kisses on the head. "I take it you missed me. Is Evan being horribly mean again?" she teased, the man in the room turning to see Ale amongst the girls.
Quinn could tell that the man cared for Ale, but not in a romantic way. He seemed relieved that Ale was okay and standing, as if he had been holding his breath until he saw her in person, to ensure she wasn't gone.
Once the girls moved away from Ale the boy, Evan, Quinn was assuming, started moving toward Ale. She was excited, though, and ran towards him, flinging herself into his arms.
Evan held Ale tightly to him, not wanting to let her go. Lio had called him when she had gone missing…he knew how close they were, and he figured that Evan would want to know. Ale called him once Lio had died, as well, and told him everything. Since then, all Evan wanted to do was make sure Ale was okay.
Now that Lio was gone, that was his job.
Evan was taller than Ale, and her toes barely touched the ground as the two hugged, Ale's arms around Evan's neck.
"I am so glad you are here," Evan whispered, Ale sticking her wet eyes in Evan's neck. His hug was all she needed to feel like it was okay to crumble. Ale nodded, understanding the true meaning of Evan's statement—I am so happy that those men didn't kill you, and I'm so glad that you didn't let what happened destroy you.
"Well, someone had to help this class. I didn't want to leave them to the wolves," Ale joked, eventually finding her voice.
"Oh, so you are going to help me teach them? You haven't stepping foot in the studio in almost a year."
"Hey, if you're good, you're good," Ale shrugged, Evan laughing. She slipped on a pair of socks, folding them so they only covered half of her foot.
The girls took their positions on the floor again, Evan throwing out a combination. The girls, including Ale, repeated it back to him, Evan nodding and turning on the music.
Quinn watched as Ale danced, the girls watching her with concentration in their eyes. They were memorizing her movement, some of the girls moving slightly as Ale did.
Evan counted off again, Ale and the girls repeating what Ale had done.
It was obvious that Ale was an amazing dancer. Yes, she was older than the girls in the room, but she was good compared to anyone. She kicked higher, spun cleaner, and jumped higher than anyone Quinn had ever seen dance, and he had watched a lot of dance recitals.
She danced with such conviction, her being the only one your eyes were drawn to.
As the class continued Ale was the demonstrator, her dancing with the different groupings of girls as they took their turns across the floor. Once the class was done the girls all gave Ale hugs, her promising to be back soon.
Once the room was cleared Ale nodded at Evan, reading his mind.
Yes, she wanted to dance with him.
The music to one of their duets started, the movement coming back to Ale easily.
Quinn watched as Ale danced with Evan, their movement fluid and connected. Ale danced with no fear, allowing Evan to lift her in complicated holds and flinging her body across the floor, to the ground, and back into Evan's arms.
It was breath taking.
Quinn eventually took to sitting the corner, watching as Ale and Evan danced through different songs. When they seemed to run out of material Evan hugged Ale, Ale promising to come back as soon as she could and to call him when she got home that night.
Ale was then alone on the floor, plugging her iPod into the stereo system. Quinn watched as Ale's body moved around the studio, him never seeing something so beautiful.
He didn't know how Ale could keep this a secret from the team. It seemed to be the entirety of who she was.
He assumed that the studio, and the dances, brought back a lot of memories of her old life, though, and that was something difficult to deal with. He couldn't help but notice how free she looked, though, and how happy she seemed to be.
When Ale felt entirely drained she shut off the music, sitting in the middle of the floor the stretch. She thought about the hours she spent with her Mama as she made her costumes, the hours she spent with Lio as he escorted her to her dance classes, and the dozens of flowers her Papa brought her anytime she performed.
The memories, Ale realized, were what was keeping her from telling Eliot and the team that she could dance.
They hurt…they filled her heart and her mind, creating an ache for the life she once had. As Ale stretched tears burned down her cheeks, Ale completely forgetting that Quinn was even there.
Quinn watched as Ale stretched, not being able to ignore the tears that streamed down her face. It was heartbreaking and beautiful all at once—just like Ale.