It was tempting.

I glanced up at the empty stage.

Leo gave me permission to stay in the auditorium and finish my homework since the library was closed.

There was no one here, the crews had gone out to eat before the annual Winter Show. I was invited to join them, but I ate while they were setting up.

I stared at the open music library on the main computer and it’s wide variety of songs to freestyle to.

“Fine!” I shouted. I stood up and stretched my muscles before putting a timer on the computer and making my way to the stage.

As I looked down at the empty seats in front of me, flashbacks of my past competitions and performances flooded my mind.

I closed my eyes and after a few seconds of silence, the music began.

In an instant my mind went solely on the next move I was going to make.

Everything was going smoothly, until I let my mind wander.

“Why did you mess up?”

I heard Suzy’s exasperated voice in my head and lost my balance.

“Do you know what I would give to be called for an audition like that? How could you mess it up?” Suzy yelled after I had asked her why she was upset.

“I just did okay?” I said, rolling my eyes at her outburst.

“Did you feel sorry for me? You idiot, I don’t need your pity. It pisses me off when you act like you don’t care about this. If you don’t care then move aside, let me be the dancer. I seem to love it more than you”

We stood there in silence, until I spoke up.

“You express yourself enough for all of us”

“What’s that suppose to mean?”

“I mean if you wouldn’t have had your stupid tantrum and felt so sorry for yourself I wouldn’t have felt bad for you and I wouldn’t have messed up. You need to stop acting like the world is going to end every time you don’t get what you want. The world doesn’t revolve around you!”, I yelled.

Suzy’s eyes were filled with tears and her lip was quivering, and I knew she was going to argue back, but I never did get to hear what she was going to say.

We were too focused on arguing that we didn’t hear a car pull up, or the footsteps of the monsters creeping up on us until we were both being silenced by sturdy hands.

Suzy’s eyes showed fear, but she fought back and tried her hardest to yell out.

I was immobilized; I was so afraid of what was going on. 

 “Shut her up!” I heard an icy voice say.

I heard a snap and the last image I saw before my eyes were covered, was her body hit the floor.

I sat there on the stage, my ankle throbbing and my heart aching.

Would Suzy be angry that I gave up dance?

I sighed, knowing the answer to that.

Of course she would.

“That’s it? You fall and you give up?” I looked up.

Haru was sitting down in the front row looking at me with a serious expression.

“If you think a twisted ankle will keep me down, you obviously don’t know me very well” I replied coldly.

I lifted myself off the floor and avoided eye contact as I limped to the stairs.

“Then what did keep you down?” He asked, meeting me at the bottom of the stairs and holding out his hand.

“It’s a twisted ankle, not a broken foot,” I said, ignoring his hand and walking past him.

“You still shouldn’t put pressure on it”

“I’ll make sure to elevate it when I get home as well, anything else Dr.?”

“Why you’re so pissed off at me?”

I laughed drily, “It annoys me that you assume you know me so well. When you couldn’t begin to imagine the real reason as to why I gave up dance”

“I would if you told me,” I noticed a hint of annoyance in his tone.

“What makes you think I would tell you? I don’t owe you an explanation” I grabbed my satchel and gathered my things.

“Min!” Haru called out, but I ignored him and continued walking to the auditorium doors.

“Fine you don’t owe me anything, but just because you’re in a foul mood doesn’t mean you have to take it out on someone who just wants to help you. I don’t know what happened or why you stopped dancing, but I saw you up there. You can lie to me all you want, but not to yourself, Min”

I slammed the auditorium doors shut and leaned on them.

Stop crying!

I gritted my teeth, but the tears were still rolling down my cheeks.

I closed my eyes and took a few breaths.

Enough!

My eyes shot open, frightened that the voice had yelled in an angry tone.

I looked down at my injured ankle.

I used to be scolded for dancing even while injured.

If it didn’t hurt like a , I continued.  

As a dancer, I was stupid. I could’ve only injured myself more and lost the ability to dance all together.

But pertaining to my emotions, even if I was hurting and scared, I had to keep going.

I won’t let you down again, Suzy.