The sound of soft classical music filled the air, the dance instructor was moving from barre to barre, inspecting them with stern eyes,

"...now reverse. rise and test your balance," His voice echoed loudly, and they followed his instructions, "Open to first, Repeat with a second and finish off with a four-count side bend, right, left. And a nice full rond de corps."


She let her eyes flutter close, allowing her body to take control of the steps, dancing ballet was the only thing she was grateful to her mother for. It was like she was another person entirely when she danced, in that moment, her body was no longer hers. It moved and flowed with the emotions evoked by the music being played.

She didn't feel like a caged bird anymore. She was free to spread her wings and fly.

"No, no, no. You're getting it wrong, Louisa. Drop the hip."


Her eyes flew open as the music stopped, flitting in the direction of the instructor. He had a disapproving look on his face as he glared down at the blonde.

"Oh, here we go again." Mason drawled in an unimpressed tone, shifting to stand beside her.


"You're putting your weight on the wrong foot, stop lifting your hip and dance. Now, again," He clapped and the pianist began playing once more, "Everybody moves to your positions, and one, two, three,"

Aurora rose into a pointe and began the drill, her legs moving in flow with the music.

"No, no, no. Your hip is still up to your neck, darling." The instructor groaned again, walking behind Louisa to point at her hip bone with his cane, "You have to put your weight over your supporting leg, not your hip, and close your ribs. Now, start." He motioned for the pianist to begin again,

Mason scoffed beside me, "If I have to do this one last time, I swear."

"At least, she's holding the barre correctly this time," Natasha chipped in and both of them snorted in response.

She rolled her eyes, blocking them out, instead training her gaze on the fidgeting girl. She watched as her shaky hands grabbed the barre and her legs lifted into a pointe,

As she lifted her legs for an arabesque, Aurora grimaced at the action. The girl was getting so many things wrong.

The dance instructor shared the sentiment too because he screamed at her to stop, "Jesus, Louisa. This is a simple exercise, something you should've learnt since high school, what's going on?"

Louisa shook her head slowly, eyes trained on the floor, "No, professor. I'm sorry."

The instructor sighed, dragging a palm down his face, "Aurora, come up here."

Everyone's eyes suddenly fell on hers and she puffed out a breath, sauntering towards them. She stopped in front of the instructor, her eyes trained on the man. She could feel Louisa's eyes on her but refused to look in her direction,

The instructor smiled softly, "Demonstrate to the side, please." He motioned to the pianist and the soft keys of the piano came to life again,

She held the barre with a hand and began dancing, lifting her foot and executing a perfect arabesque.

"Look, do you see?" The instructor asked and Louisa nodded. "Okay, everyone. That's all for today, practice hard, sleep more and cut down on the soda and we'll be good for our next class, okay?!"

"Okay, Professor Julius!" Everybody chorused and the man smiled, tipping them a wave.

Just before he left, he turned towards Louisa, "I'll spare you today but next time you won't be so lucky. Practice hard, do you understand me?"

Louisa gulped, bobbing her head fervently, "Yes, professor."

He rolled his eyes at her and when they fell on Aurora's, he smiled big. She watched as the man sauntered out of the class. Immediately he was out of sight, everyone broke out into loud conversations.

Louisa blinked shyly at her and she looked away. Was it possible that she saw wrong? Maybe it wasn't Matt she was but another guy who looked like him.

But there was no mistaking it, she moaned out the name 'Matt' and there sure as hell wasn't another Matt in the institute, yet it still made no sense.

Louisa Roberts was a very shy person, always hiding behind the shadows or at the back of the classroom. Being a scholarship student among the wealthy kids wasn't an easy feat and the students never made it easier for her either. So how on earth did she know Matt?

There were so many loopholes in their relationship and the only person with the answers was standing in front of her. Aurora licked her lips nervously, facing the timid girl,

How was she even going to ask her? Going upfront would be a bad decision but there was no other way to phrase it.

She was fucking Matt Traynor. Her long-time crush.

"Louisa, you-" She started to say when three figures walked towards them, their eyes narrowed dangerously at her,

"You don't need to brag in her face, princess. We get it, you're the teacher's favourite." Eva Winners said in a mocking tone, "Why don't you pretend to be nice for once and back off."

Her brows furrowed in annoyance as they stepped in front of the blonde, completely blocking Aurora's view of the girl.

"No one asked you to intervene, Eva." Aurora sneered, taking a threatening step forward, "And if you're that jealous of my status, why don't you give it a try? Being prima ballerina, I mean?"

Eva's face reddened, the tips of her ears flushing terribly. The rest of her gang members gasped incredulously, eyeing Aurora with renewed hatred.

"I don't have time for your shit today, move." She made to walk past them but they blocked her path again.

"You see, princess. I wouldn't have minded if you were buying bullying another person but Lou here is a friend." Eva slung a shoulder over Louisa's shoulder, pushing her forward.

The girl looked like a frightened cat and Aurora's brows only climbed higher.

"You're lying."

"Oh, but we're not." James, the cocky bastard of the trio, drawled instead, "Tell her, Lou. Tell her who your new friends are."

They flashed their perfectly whitened teeth in he direction but she ignored them, eyes trained on the fidgeting girl. When Louisa finally looked at her, Aurora was for a moment stunned.

She really was beautiful.

"Yes," Louisa responded with a soft tone, "They are my friends."

The three of them burst into victorious laughter and Skylar Madi, the last one in their group, stepped forward, grabbing the gem resting on her chest,

"Did you hear that? Now back-"

"Step away from her, you bitch." Natasha jumped in between them, slapping Skylar's hand away and holding her wrist protectively, "What the fuck are you doing?"

She felt a shadow beside her and turned to see Mason standing to her right, a fierce look on his face.

"Oh, and her bodyguards are here." James cooed mockingly, another round of laughter following.

"You-" Natasha began to say but she tugged at her arm.

"Stop, they are not worth it." She stepped forward, an inch away from Louisa and regarded the girl closely, "I was going to offer to teach you how to do an arabesque perfectly but I'm sure your friends can handle that." She said the word 'friends' with a sneer causing them to scoff in response.

Aurora gave them a witty smile and stalked off in the direction of the exit. She heard footsteps behind her and lifted a hand, "Don't follow me."

They did she ordered and she let out a relieved breath. Her feet moved faster against the wooden board,

Why did she do that? Why did she offer to teach the girl how to dance?

She must've been crazy.

"Hey, Wait up!"

Aurora's feet froze, and she spun on her heels. Louisa raced towards her, a wide smile etched on her face. "Hey," She breathed when she was within arm's length.

"What?" Aurora snipped, crossing her arms across her chest.

Louisa tucked a stray hair behind her ear, "I-um, I wanted to apologize on my friend's behalf-"

She snorted, unable to hold back a snide laugh. Louisa frowned, "What's wrong?"

"You know it's funny you call those people your friends. Do you know what they do? How terrible they are?"

"Oh," Louisa chuckled, shaking her head gently, "I do know but when you get to truly know them, trust me they're wonderful people."

She snorted again, "I highly doubt that."

Louisa smiled and she narrowed her eyes at the blonde. Louisa had a certain beauty to her, she was soft and angelic, and her eyes were like twin sapphire gems. She understood then why Matt would be drawn to her.

"I want to take you up on your offer."

"What was that?"

She grinned again and Aurora had a sense that the girl liked doing that a lot, smiling. "You offered to teach me how to dance well, and-"

"An arabesque." She cut in, "I offered to teach you how to perfectly do an arabesque. You'll figure the rest out yourself."

Louisa giggled softly, "Of course. So when are we starting?"

She eyed the overly bubbly girl cautiously. What was a person like her doing with Eva and her minions? There were so many strange things about her and frankly, Aurora didn't want to know.

However, teaching the girl would be an opportunity for her to find out if she was truly with Matt. So she shrugged,

"I'll come to you."

She began to nod but froze, looking at a place somewhere over her shoulder. Her lips parted slightly as though in shock and Aurora frowned, turning to face her line of sight,

Then she saw him, approaching them with a purposeful stride. His trademark award-winning smile almost made her swoon and her heart skipped a beat when he came to a stop in front of her,

"Hello, Aurora." He outstretched his hands and she caught sight of the bouquet of lilies in his hold.

She was astounded. Utterly, and rightly so.

When she whispered his name, it came out as a question, "Matt?"