"Just a couple more stops" A boy thought to himself as he adjusted his headphones. He covered his face with his hands as boredom struck him again. He drew his hands up, running his fingers through the bright green highlight in his spiked up, pitch black hair. Looking down at his iPod, the boy flipped through it's songs. He came across one of his favorite songs, which was interesting since it was a classical song, for he prefers Hip Hop and EDM (Electric Dance Music). But this song in particular made him feel calmed and relaxed. After hearing the harp and the violin, he had already felt his emerald-green eyes get heavy, and then, everything went black.

It had been around 2 hours of doors, opening and closing, letting in cold air into the subway, since it had first left the stop that the young Asian boy had been waiting at after school. The middle schooler goes to a school very far from home, for it was the only public school in his town. He never liked going to the school, he had not one friend there, but it's not like he had a choice. After his mom died from breast cancer, his father had disappeared when the boy was very young, leaving him with his uncle, Charles, who couldn't give more of a damn about him than he did about his whiskey. Charles' wife, Angela, had recently left him, causing his drinking problem. He sometimes got himself so drunk he had beaten the boy multiple times without a reason. He never knew the boy's name, leaving him nameless, for his father never even told Charles about the boy's existence. The boy hated his father, though he had never met him, he just knew it.

BANG!

The young teen opened his eyes slowly, then quickly winced after feeling a sharp pain in his head. After opening them again, he looked around. The Subway had just halted to a stop, jerking him from his seat. Realizing he had hit his head against the pole next to the seat he was sitting on, he sat up straight, rubbing his head and checking his hair to see if it was still spiked up right in the reflection of his iPod.

The doors of the subway had opened and the boy stood up, stretching his legs while he waited for the rest of the people to get off. It was colder on the subway than it was outside, but Fall's cold gust of wind entered the subway as the doors opened once again. The 8th grader shivered and he pulled his T-shirt's sleeve down further. His mouth and nose, he kept buried in a red bandana he had around his neck, breathing in it to warm up his face. He pulled his headphones down and hung them around his goose bumped neck, but he could still faintly hear music. He looked down at his iPod again but it was off. Putting his ear to one side of his headphone he noticed that the sound came from somewhere else. He finally stepped outside and he could hear the music more clearly. There was a crowd of people, standing and cheering, surrounding something that had clearly been catching everyone's attention. At this station, it was common for activities to occur, drawing in people from different cities. Crafts, magicians, even the homeless came in search of a way to make money, but a major attraction that always caught the boy's attention were the dancers. Their music blaring out, the dancer's crazy outfits, killer dance moves, and addicting songs, what wasn't there to love about them? The boy himself, loved to dance, it was his dream, to one day dance with the best crew in the state of New York.

Slowly, he started walking, making his way through the crowd. The song he was starting to recognize was over and the cheering started up with a loud roar of claps. He made it to the front of the crowd and the first thing he saw was a large silver boom box on the floor.

Three boys stood in the middle of the crowd, they all looked about 17. They waved to the crowd and winked at a couple groups of girls. They pointed to some people, nodding their heads and smiling and theirs cheers got louder. "Did you see that? Storm winked at me!" "O-M-G! KJ I love you!" and more side comments from fans were heard by the boy. The crowd kept cheering and waving back at the three. The boy could see now. They were dancers!

The dancer in the middle front was wearing a strange, V-neck T-shirt, that was divided into 6 parts, each part a different neon color, ranging from white, to blue, to yellow and reds and pinks. He wore black, skinny jeans with white, stitch patterns on its shins and a neon pink belt. A black, baseball cap sat atop of his head, just above his eyes, keeping them hidden. Covering the hat, was an orange and black sweatshirt, hung on his head by just the hood. His skin was a lighter brown, like milk chocolate. The younger teen looked down at the boy's magenta shoes, then looked down at his own shoes. They were exactly the same! But of course, a different size. The background dancer standing to his left had the same tone skin, but a little darker. He was bald but had a yellow sweatband around his head. He wore a bright green tank top and black, baggy shorts. He also had white socks that stopped below his knees. The other background, to the right of the strange shirted boy, had much lighter skin, like the young 8th grader watching them. Like the other background dancer, he was also wearing baggy pants and white socks that stopped just below his knees. He also wore a maroon tank top, making the boy realize that he was much more muscular than the other two. He was almost a foot taller than the boy in the middle. It was a bit scary, if he wasn't smiling and acting cheerful, the boy would think he was a mass murderer or something. He had no clue which dancer was Storm or KJ, nor the one who's name wasn't mentioned.

The three pointed toward at the crowd, the strange shirted dancer, pointed straight forward, right at him! The dancer in the back left, pointed to the left, and the dancer on the right, pointed to the right. The cheering had suddenly stopped, and a song had come up. It was Party Rock, one of the young boy's favorite. The three moved their hips to the beat and every forth beat, they pointed somewhere else, shaking their hips.

"PARTY ROCK!" The song burst out and the cheering rose again. The dancer in the middle moved his whole body, popping and locking, to the beat, and the two dancers behind him, dancing perfectly in sync with him. Without even realizing it, the young boy had been nodding his head and tapping his foot already, as if feeling this eternal rhythm inside him. He couldn't control his legs, and before he knew it, he was standing right in front of the trio.

"Shake That..." The beatbox echoed in the now quiet subway station. The cheering had stopped, and the boy looked straight up at the lead dancer in the middle, though he still couldn't see his eyes. The pause was suppose to last just four beats... But it seemed like a century to the kid.

"Everyday I'm shufflin'"

Right after hearing those words, the beat dropped and boy's body seemed to move on its own, twisting and turning with the beat, his arms and legs moved with the rhythm. The three older teens backed up, despite being shocked, they kept straight faces. The crowd roared up again, louder than before. "Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!" everyone cheered in unison. Joy filled the boy's heart, for he had never been cheered for before. No one ever talked to him back at his school. He felt this strange feeling inside him, if this feeling were a physical object, it would feel warm and fuzzy. It made the boy feel happy, and he kept on dancing.

The song came to a stop and the young dancer brought his right hand up in a Rock On sign. Everyone in the station clapped, and for the first time in a long time, a broad smile spread across the boy's face. His heart pounded and he was breathing hard, he felt like he was about to faint from excitement. His smile quickly faded after realizing what he just did, he had just barged in on a performance! He turned around to face the group, clenching his already sweaty fists.

It was clear that that song was their last, and everyone seemed to know that since they all walked away, back to whatever or wherever they were going to, but not before leaving large tips in a small bag for them. It was just the strange-shirted teen and the young boy. The other two dancers were already sitting on the floor, getting out their water bottles and talking to each other. The older boy raised his hand a little. The young teen closed his eyes tight and brought a hand up, ready to take a blow. It was an instinct, his uncle did this same gesture when he was about to slap the boy. But before he could do anything, the lead dancer had clasped his hand with the young boy, clenching it firmly and bringing the kid close to him. His body felt so warm, against his. "That was great, man! Where'd you learn them moves from?" The kid was astonished, he thought the boy would've hated him for barging into a performance like that. He could barely get any words from his mouth. He looked up at the boy, trying to catch a glimpse of his eyes. "W-Well, I uh.." He sputtered out. The older boy let go. Leaving his side, the younger boy remembered how cold he was before. "The name's Mo, and what's yours little man?"

Nobody ever asked the boy's name, not even Charles, this all was very new to him. "My name... Is Glitch." He swallowed hard, ready to hear any insults on his name. "Glitch huh?" Mo started, "I like the name, who gave it to ya?"

Glitch's heart skipped a beat. "I g-gave it to myself..." he paused and swallowed hard, "..Because of how I like to dance to techno.." he continued, his face a little red out of embarrassment.

Mo's expression didn't change a bit, he just kept a warm, welcoming smile on his face. "Then you, little man– er... Glitch.. Then you, Glitch, have got a great taste in names." He looked back at the others who both got up. They clasped their hands together, bringing themselves into a one arm hug, slapping each other's back, kind of like what Mo did with Glitch. But they both also bumped fists. The darker skinned dancer picked up the silver boom box. "That's KJ," Mo said, pointing to the boy in green with the boom box, "and that's Storm," he continued, pointing to the other, more muscular dancer.

"Well, see ya Mo" KJ said, "I think today's was the best performance yet," Storm added, nodding towards Glitch. Glitch felt that same, warm feeling again, inside him. Mo did the same "I'll be seein' you both, KJ, Storm, keep up the good work". Then, the two boys bumped fists with Mo. Seeing the two next to each other, Glitch noticed that Storm stood over KJ by about a foot and a half. They both nodded their heads at Mo and Glitch, and they raised their hands in the air, giving Mo a motionless wave.

Mo looked up at the roofless station. It was getting dark. The station seemed very empty already, only two or three people were waiting along the walls for a train. Even KJ and Storm were already out of sight. "Well Glitch, I'll be seein' ya. Imma head on out" Mo said, turning to leave. He kicked one end of a skateboard and it shot up into the air. He caught it with his left hand and brought it under his arm.

There was a long pause... Glitch just met someone new, someone he actually cared about, and now he was walking away. He watched, everything seemed to happen very slowly, one step... then another.. further and further away Mo went. Further... And further away from Glitch. Glitch couldn't move, or speak. He knew the words he wanted to say, but it was if an invisible piece of duck tape covered his mouth. "Hurry..." He thought, "..before it's too late."

Glitch seemed to gain mobility again, and he took a step forward. The words came back to him like lava, building up inside his head and before he could stop and think, the volcano erupted... The words just slipped out.

"L-Let me come with you."

Mo stopped and turned around. "What?"

Glitch swallowed hard, "Please.. Don't leave me here," he felt the sweat roll down his face.

Mo took a step towards him. "Don't be silly, little man. Don't you got somewhere to go? Y'folks at home, I bet they miss ya,"

But he didn't have a place to go... Back at home his uncle wouldn't even notice he was there.

This tugged at his heart a little, "No.." Glitch looked down trying his hardest to fight back his tears. "Hey man, I'm sorry... I didn't know," Mo said, looking down. Glitch felt Mo's arm go around his shoulder and he felt this warm feeling again. Is this what it feels like to have someone care about you, Glitch wondered. He looked up, and he could see Mo's soft, black eyes.

"Alright, you can come with me. I could use a partner like you, little man... KJ and Storm are amazing dancers, but they refuse to be my partner, they don't like the attention." Mo smiled then added, "It's kinda chilly out ain't it? Y'ain't cold?"

Glitch shook his head, "Don't worry I'm fine."

Mo shook his head and took off the sweatshirt from his head and wrapped it around Glitch anyway.

Mo dropped the skateboard in front of Glitch, "Ever boarded before? Here step on up." Glitch hesitated before shaking his head, "I'd rather not... I've never really–" but he was cut off by Mo, "Don't worry about it! Don't think, just stand up straight," Mo said, pushing him on the skateboard. Glitch couldn't keep his balance and nearly fell over, but Mo grabbed his hand and Glitch regained his balance. Mo kept a firm grip on his wrist and started walking. "Keep your legs and abs tense as I pull, a'ight?" Mo said, picking up the pace. He was nearly running before pulling Glitch forward and then he let go, sending Glitch speeding ahead of him. "Mo! What're you doing! Don't let me go!" Glitch cried out. But Mo just chuckled, "Stay tense, and you'll be fine." Hearing Mo's voice calm, Glitch remained calm and kept his balance. As Glitch started to slow down he looked back at Mo. "Take one foot off, and push yourself forward," Mo called out, running after Glitch. "If ya wanna go left, lean left, if ya wanna go right, lean right. Easy as that," he added and Glitch did just that. He stepped one foot down and pushed off, gaining speed again. The streets were littered with cans and papers, perfect for Glitch to practice with. Glitch leaned left and right, guiding the skateboard paste the obstacles. Mo's sweatshirt was falling off, so Glitch wrapped it around his arm and held it instead.

Mo caught up to him surprisingly quickly, and when Glitch realized how close he was, he started to wobble. "Wh-whoa..!" The skateboard flew froward and he came crashing down in front of Mo. This all happened to fast for Mo to react, and he tripped over the fallen boy and flipped over him, landing on his back.

Glitch sat up, and looked down at Mo's sweatshirt in his lap. It was safe! Then he glanced over Mo, "Oh crap! I'm so sor–" he started, but was interrupted by Mo's laughter. "...–ry..? What's so funny?" He continued. "Funny?" Mo looked up at him, "I find it funny, that you're apologizing! That was your first try, and you did awesome!" Mo said, Glitch just tilt his head to the side, looking at him, confused. "My first try I didn't even get up on the board without falling, but you.." Mo continued, "you rode a long ways already." Glitch rubbed his head out if embarrassment, "Oh.. Well uh.. Thanks Mo," he said, standing up, his cheeks now a bit red. "Wait! The skateboard!" Glitch said, and he ran after it. Mo stood up and dusted himself off and walked after him. When he caught up he held out his hand to help Glitch up, but Glitch shook his head, "Nah, I got this one down, man!" Glitch said, and he nudged the skateboard with his foot, sending it down the street and he ran after it, jumping on it as it was moving. When he got his balance he shot his hand up in the air, "Wooo! I did it! Mo, did you see that?! I did it!" Glitch shouted out. Mo ran after him, clapping, "That was insane man! You're gettin' good at this aren't ya. Now c'mon lets go," he said, holding out a fist to Glitch. Glitch stopped the board and stepped down. He remembered that this gesture was the one he gave his other dancers. Glitch bumped fists with Mo. Mo walked along the streets, but Glitch didn't follow him. "Mo..." he said quietly. Mo turned around, but before he could even reply, Glitch ran and jumped into his arms and wrapped his arms around Mo. Glitch was happy, but he didn't smile. "Thanks Mo..." he said. Mo was speechless, "You're kinda like the father I never had.." Glitch cotinued. Mo, looking down at him, wrapped his arms around him too, "And you're like a little Asian brother I never had, man" he said and he patted Glitch's head. The two stood there for a while, then let go.

Nothing else was said. Mo picked up the skateboard and started walking, Glitch following after him. Glitch pulled Mo's sweatshirt over his shoulders again, then pulled it close to his chin. It was warm, and it smelled good. It made him smile. Mo looked down at Glitch and grinned, "So you were cold after all, huh?" Glitch opened his eyes. He didn't even realize that he had his face half buried in the sweatshirt! "N-No.. I uh.. Well.." Glitch looked away and hid his mouth with the sweatshirt out of embarrassment, "..it just smells nice." Mo chuckled, but said nothing.

They walked for a little while longer before walking up to a small, two-story apartment. None of the lights were on except one room at the top if the building. Mo picked up a small stone and threw it at that window. It only took seconds before it burst open. A boy, about the same age as Mo poked his head out. His blonde hair, despite being a little long, didn't cover his freckled face, but instead, looked as if it was combed straight up. He wore what Glitch could make out as ski goggles over his forehead. His soft sky-blue eyes became fierce as he glanced down at Mo.

"MO! Not so hard! One day you're gonna break this–..." He stopped after spotting Glitch. Glitch realized he had a slight Canadian accent. "Uh.. Mo, did you catch another fan girl with your sweatshirt?"

Glitch blurted out, "I'm a dude..!"

The blonde didn't say anything to Glitch, he just stared at him, before turning back to Mo, "Is he bi?"

Glitch's face turned red out of embarrassment, "HEY!" Glitch brought up his fists but Mo stepped in front of the two.

"Maccoy say another word and I'll drive that stone into your face... Now hurry up and open that door."

The blonde shrugged and left the window and came down to open the door. "I was only joking around..."

"That ain't somethin' to joke about and you know that..." Mo gave him a cold look when Glitch wasn't looking. "Well this is Glitch, he'll be a part of Hi-Def," Mo said, bringing Glitch to his side. Glitch nodded to Maccoy. The blonde reached out a hand, "If ya haven't heard already, the name's Maccoy." They shook hands and Maccoy turned to Mo, "Oui, don't ya have to get ready?"

Mo immediately jumped up, "Oh shit! Yeah I do!" As he said that, he ran straight into the apartment, slamming the door shut, leaving Glitch and Maccoy outside.

The two exchanged looks. There was an awkward pause that lasted quite a long time.

"So! You excited to be in Hi-Def or what?" he asked.

Glitch bit his bottom lip, "Hi-Def... Sounds like a tv como. What is it?"

Maccoy just stared, "Alright... I'm Maccoy, also a dancer, and I dance with a crew called D-Coy. D-Coy is my crew, Hi-Def is Mo's crew. You've met uh.." Maccoy rubbed his chin and looked up, "Who's it.. AJ?"

"KJ," Glitch said immediately after.

"Yeah... KJ" Maccoy said, "And that other dude... Uh..–"

"Storm," Glitch cut him off.

Maccoy looked down at Glitch, "So you have met them!"

"Nah," Glitch started, "but I've seen them, I haven't really had like a big conversation with 'em or anything."

Maccoy gave him a worried look, "Uh oh.. Then you dunno their back-story huh? Didja know that Storm once–" he started, but was interrupted by Mo. He rushed back out the door, "Yo, why are you guys out here?" Maccoy gave him a stern look, "Ah, no reason, we're just enjoying the cold.." Glitch knew he didn't mean it, but with his accent, it was hard for him to sound sarcastic. The three went back inside, Glitch still clinging to Mo's sweatshirt. He looked over at Mo, who looked exactly like he did before.

"I thought you had to get ready, Mo," he said, a bit confused.

Mo looked down at himself, "I am ready, 'showered and everything." It took only seconds before Maccoy and Glitch were hit with the huge wave of the strong smell of Mo's cologne. Their eyes widened in unison and they both staggered backwards, covering their nose. "Whoa whoa whoa! I thought we're going to someone's house, not your girlfriend's house!" Glitch said. "Glitch is right! It's not your girlfriend's house, she'll never loooooove you back!" Maccoy added, then started laughing. Glitch quickly caught on, "Oooooh, Mo... That's what you were getting ready for," he added with a wink. "Maccoy, you shut your mouth..." Mo said, giving him a cold glare before turning back to Glitch, ignoring his teasing. "Here," he said, spraying Glitch with the same cologne, "We got a performance to get to. It's always good to smell better." Glitch coughed, then chuckled, "'Performance'," he said, raising his index and middle finger, bending them with each syllable of the word. Mo rolled his eyes and continued, "Now... Me and my boys, KJ and Storm, rehearsed for this already, but seein' how everybody just went all out with your dance..." Mo paused for a minute. He looked up at Glitch, grinning, "...we decided over the phone that if you teach us what you did back there, you can lead on your first big performance."

Hearing that, Glitch could barely keep himself contained. His new friend... His own idol.. He wanted Glitch to teach him his own moves! Now he can finally show Mo what a true dancer he is. But what if his moves were too hard for Mo? Being smaller than him, he is able to move a little faster and easier. What if his moves were too easy? Or too lame? What if Mo wasn't satisfied but was just pretending to be before! What if KJ and Storm don't want to dance! What if they won't even accept him! What if... What if..!

While Glitch was staring off into space, murmuring to himself, Mo turned back to Maccoy, "Yo Coy, tell T' to postpone her..." He glanced at Glitch, still off in his little world. "...you know what I mean, I don't want to spoil his surprise," Mo said. Maccoy shook his head, "One of these days she ain't gonna be so nice and keep delaying her house par–" Mo quickly cut him off, covering his mouth. "Shut up, man!" He glanced over at Glitch again, who was now paying attention. Glitch cocked his head to the side, "Um.. You guys, won't we be late to the uh.. Whatever we be goin' to?" he asked the two. Mo and Maccoy looked at each other, Mo nodded to him and Maccoy turned to Glitch, "Well, the people will gladly delay the.. Erm.. Performance, for a little while so you can teach Mo and his crew your moves.. So uh.. Yeah imma go now," Maccoy said and he turned to leave but Mo called out, "Tell your girlfriend to make another HD shirt but maybe a little smaller ya know? Oh! And the jeans, see if she got extra black jeans!" He paused... And then added, "and maybe suspenders too... Then meet us there okay!" When Glitch noticed Maccoy's face was red, he stood up on his toes and whispered in Mo's ear, "who's his girlfriend?" Mo slapped his leg and started laughing, "SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" Maccoy yelled out, and he stormed off, slamming he door behind him.

Mo was still laughing by the time Maccoy left, but he quickly recovered. "Well!" he said suddenly, making Glitch jump, "...let's get started shall we? The boys sh'be on their way soon, but can you teach me a little while we wait?"

Glitch thought for a moment, "We need music... You don't happen to have another boom box with you, do ya?"

Mo's smile faded, "Shoot, I forgot, I got a stereo system though, but uh.. We'll have to keep it quiet, ya know?"

After about 10 minutes, Mo had already got the first half memorized and the second he was still working on with Glitch. A little while later, Mo and Glitch took a break. Mo was digging in the fridge for drinks and Glitch was lying on the couch. Glitch looked over at a clock that was sitting on a small table next to the couch. It was already 9:37 and Mo told him they had to leave at be at some random girl's house by 10. Mo came out from the kitchen, tossing Glitch a Gatorade, and sat down next to him, "I dunno what soda you might like but this is all I can give ya, but once we ace this compe– er.. Performance, we can go to the store and get a soda or somethin' for ya," Mo said.

The two sat for a while, drinking in silence before KJ and Storm had walked in on them, nearly making Glitch drop his drink. He was hit with another wave of the strongly scented cologne. "Yo Mo, and uh.. I didn't exactly catch your name" KJ said, but he held out a hand for Glitch anyway. Glitch got up and grabbed his hand, and the two pulled each other into the same one-arm hug KJ and Storm did with each other and Mo. For once, Glitch felt like he was somewhere where he actually belonged. Storm and Glitch did the same, and then the two did the same to Mo, clasping their hands together and slapping each other's back.

Mo stood up and left into the kitchen, then came back, handing KJ and Storm some Gatorade too. They thanked him, then the three looked down at Glitch. There was a long, awkward pause, Glitch didn't know what to say, or how to start out. Thankfully, Mo broke the silence, "Well boys, me and Glitch have the first part down, I'm still working on the second, so we can start with that part. KJ, you bring the box?" KJ nodded, "Yeah man, it's just outside. I'll bring it in" he said, and stepped outside, but Mo stopped him, "It's alright, we can practice outside," Mo said, motioning Storm and Glitch to the door. The three went outside, following KJ.

After the four of them were outside in the streets, Mo and the other two turned to face Glitch. "A'ight ace," Mo started, "it's all on you now. You're one of us now, so let's see what ya got, teach'," he said. KJ and Storm nodded in agreement and KJ hit play on the boom box.

While the music played and the boys practiced their routine together, Glitch had the same warm feeling inside him than the one he felt when he was being cheered, and when Mo hugged him. He knew now, what this feeling was. It was the feeling of being accepted, a feeling of happiness, to be a part of something.. To belong.

~To be continued.