Author's Note: This AU was inspired by Jordan Smith's music video for his amazing song Stand in the Light. (it's a fantastic song; you should go check it out)

So, yeah, I totally did my research on this dance competition (because this is a Dancers AU, in case you didn't get that) so go me. But it is a real thing.

21 year old Caitlin Snow twisted her hands nervously in front of her stomach. She felt the soft silk of her skin tight leotard against the back of one of her thumbs, and the feeling made her gulp. Standing in hallway of Hilton Saint Petersburg Bayfront, Florida, with her forehead pressed against the wall was supposed to help her forget what was about to happen, not to bring it all rushing back.

Caitlin had been dancing since she was 4. She loved all of it- tap, hip hop, even ballroom dancing- but ballet was her favorite. She loved the way it moved, the way her body flowed with the music, the way the stage lights seemed to swirl around her as she spun and leaped and forgot about where she was... and even who she was.

Tonight, she was performing at Hilton Saint Petersburg at the Youth International Dance Competition. She had flown from her one room apartment in Central City all the way to Florida, just to compete in the Senior Classical Ballet devision. It was the last year she could compete, being 21, so she had used nearly all of her vacation days, packed a bag, and caught a flight across the country.

She was nervous beyond belief. All the other contestants- both male and female- were scattered around the building. Most of them were gathered in the break room, stretching, chatting, and drinking special concoctions that would apparently calm their nerves and help them dance better. Some were practicing in some empty rooms and the rest were like Caitlin: wandering the corridors and taking a lot of very deep breaths.

Caitlin tilted her foot back and stretched out her calves, pulling her forehead reluctantly from the wall. Her heart was fluttering in a very uncomfortable way, and she glanced at the clock on the wall.

Only one more hour. Then the competition would start and she would be fine. Once she was on stage, dancing her heart out and burying herself in music, there was never a problem.

The sound of soft footsteps made Caitlin turn her head. A young man, around her age, with floppy blond hair and startling blue eyes was hurrying down the corridor.

He noticed her and pulled up short. "Uh, hello there, mate."

"Hi." Caitlin said hesitantly.

They watched each other for a moment, and then the man cleared his throat. "Er, I'm Julian Albert."

"Caitlin Snow." Caitlin introduced herself. "It's nice to meet you."

"Same to you." He nodded, reached out absentmindedly and stretching his shoulder and arm. "You, uh, you alright? You look a bit unsettled. If you don't mind me asking."

"Oh, yeah, I find." Caitlin shook his off, dropping her gaze. "Just a bit of pre-show nerves, that's all."

Julian nodded, rubbing his hands together. "Right, of course, completely natural." He rose up and his toes and Caitlin watched as the muscles of his calves flexed rather impressively.

Her cheeks heated a little bit and she looked away. "Are you... are you preforming tonight?"

Stupid question. Of course he is.

"Yeah." Julian nodded. "Senior Classical Ballet division. It's my last year. What about you?"

"Uh, same here, actually." Caitlin said, a little surprised.

"Coincidental." Julian commented.

Caitlin wasn't quite sure what to say to that, so she just stayed silent.

"You know," Julian spoke up again after a bit. "What always helps calm my nerves before a performances?"

"What?" At this point, Caitlin's stomach was in such terrible knots that she was willing to try just about everything short of leaving the competition entirely.

"I find that dancing, actually, helps." Julian shuffled his feet and gave her a little half-smile. "Not what your actually going to be doing, of course, just a little free dancing. Putting on some music and getting your blood moving for a bit. Always seems to calm me right down." He paused, looking a bit bashful. "I was just heading to find a free room if you'd- if you'd like to join me."

Caitlin considered the offer for a moment. One dance couldn't hurt, and she did need to warm up before the competition started. "Alright."

He looked surprised, but smiled at her and extended a hand.

After a moment, Caitlin took it and the two of them made their way down the hall.

They found a room with minimal trouble, and Julian took his phone out of his pocket and plugged it into one of the speakers on a small table in the corner.

"Any preferences?" He asked.

"I like Dark Night of the Soul by Philip Wesley," Caitlin said hesitantly. "But I'm really good with whatever."

"I happen to quite enjoy that song." Julian assured her with a smile, and scanned through his music until he found what he wanted.

Then he extended a hand to her, and they danced.

Caitlin wasn't used to dancing with another person. It was usually just her, dancing in her crowded living room, or in the nearly empty grocery store at 11:00 o'clock at night, or at her friend Cisco's cluttered lab while he tinkered with some sort of device.

But the way Julian moved... he flowed around the room like water, spinning around her and with her and through her with a gentle, calm motion. Caitlin felt like she was the center of his world for the whole dance. His eyes stayed locked on her's as they twisted and spun, one hand gently grasping her fingers.

When the song ended, Caitlin was breathless. There was a wind-rushed feeling in her head that could only be compared to the first trophy she had ever won, back at her High school talent show, where she got silver for her tap number when she was 17.

"Feel any better?" Julian asked in a soft voice.

She could feel his heartbeat under her fingertips, his skin warm through his shirt. "Yeah." She whispered. "Yeah, I do. Thanks, Julian."

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45 minutes later, Caitlin and Julian were standing in the wings of the theater's stage. They had stayed inside the practice room for awhile longer, stretching and warming up their muscles before the competition.

"You ready?" Julian whispered to her as the lights began to dim on stage.

Caitlin nodded breathlessly, squeezing her hands together and twisting them.

She had learned more about Julian while they were getting ready. He was a forensic scientist who lived only a few driving minutes away from her house, in an apartment where he mostly kept to himself. He didn't have many friends and most of his family lived in London, where he was originally from.

When Julian asked her what she did, Caitlin hesitated. "I... I don't really know what you would call my job. I'm sort of a... self-employed scientist that occasionally teams up with STAR Labs for certain big projects." She had shrugged then. "I don't know. It pays the bills, right?"

Julian had laughed. "So you like science, then?"

"Yeah. Almost as much as dancing. But not quite."

He nudged her now, pulling her hand away from the other one's grasp and squeezing it excitedly.

Caitlin was up 8th (though they had been warned that there could be some scheduling changes if there were any kind of wardrobe or technical malfunctions). Julian was 5th, and it wasn't long before he was called out.

And the way he danced. It was one of the most beautiful things Caitlin had ever seen. He flowed over the stage with a soft smile on his face, like he wasn't performing in one of the biggest, most stressful international competitions.

It was like he was everywhere at once. Julian spun and twirled and dipped and turned the entire audience into a crowd of openmouthed viewers, their eyes locked on his captivating performance.

When the music ended and Julian came to a stop, Caitlin was finally broken out of her daydream. The crowd applauded loudly and Julian grinned before bowing once and hurrying off the stage.

Caitlin grabbed his arm as he passed and gave him an amazed look. "Julian, that was... that was fantastic. I can't- that was so amazing."

He turned a bit pink. "Uh, thanks, mate. I- I appreciate. I thought it went rather well, if I do say so myself."

Caitlin giggled, the butterflies returning to her stomach as the next contestant was called up.

A backstage hand hurried up to her. "Uh, Caitlin Snow?"

"Yes, that's me." Caitlin said, confused. "What is it?"

The attendant looked apologetic. "There's been some sort of confusion with the program." He told her. "You're up after this girl."

He gave her another apologetic look, and left Caitlin to stare frantically back at the stage. How long had that girl been dancing? How long did she have until it was going to be her out there, on the stage, dancing in front of hundreds of people and a crowd who was expecting more then her best effort.

Julian grabbed her elbow. "Calm down. You'll be fine. You're all ready to go on, right?"

He looked poised to run, to get her something or help her prepare, and she appreciated it. "No, no, I'm fine." Caitlin said, taking a deep breath. "I- I'm ready to go on, just not... you know."

Julian nodded, letting go of her arm. "Right then. Good. Now take a deep breath and take this time to focus."

She followed his advice, and when she opened her eyes he was giving her a little push and sending her stepping onto the stage.

The lights blinded her for a moment. Caitlin blinked stupidly as audience members came into view, watching her movements toward the center of the stage closely, like she was some sort of zoo animal on display.

The judges, sitting at a small table in front of the stage, waited.

The music started.

If she hadn't practiced as much as she had practiced, Caitlin probably would have forgotten everything. She had never performed in front of an audience this big- nothing bigger then 200 people or so- and never in front of judges. She couldn't seem to relax; couldn't seem to get into her groove.

Her eyes caught Julian's, where he was watching her from backstage. He gave her a thumbs up and a smile, and Caitlin danced.

It was all over in a few minutes. Caitlin came to stop in the center of the stage, her ears buzzing and her legs shaking.

The audience's applause was white noise as she stumbled off to the side. Julian gave her a huge smile. "You did amazing, Caitlin. Absolutely fantastic."

"Really?" She let out a breath, relieved. "I honestly wasn't sure. I mean, my first pirouette felt a bit shaky, and then my-"

"Don't over-think it." Julian advised. "You'll drive yourself crazy. It's over now; there's nothing you can do."

She decided to take his advice.

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"Caitlin, wait!"

Caitlin paused with her hand on her dance bag, looking over her shoulder. Julian came running down the hall, waving at her to stop.

That afternoon had been a mix of disappointment and excitement for her. She hadn't won anything, but Julian had gotten a silver in the Senior Classical Ballet devision, and the smile on his face felt like a win.

"Hey." She greeted him, setting her bag back down on the ground and straightening up. "What's going on?"

"I just, uh, wanted to give you this." Julian thrust a scrap of paper toward her and Caitlin took it, looking at it quizzically. "It's my phone number, in case- in case you wanted to keep in touch. I mean, we live pretty close together, and-"

"Thanks, Julian." Caitlin said happily. She tugged out her phone and pulled off the case, placing the scrap of paper inside where it lay amongst a few spare dollar bills. Then she glanced at her watch. "Sorry to run out on you like this. I have to catch a flight home."

He nodded, "Understood. It was very nice meeting you, Caitlin Snow."

"You too, Julian Albert. Thanks for the dance."

"It was my pleasure."

With one last smile, she hoisted her bag on her shoulder and strode off down the hall.

A few days later, once she was back in Central City, she had forgotten her purse and was pulling out a few bills from the back of her phone case to pay for a newspaper. A scrap of paper fluttered to the ground, and frowning, Caitlin picked it up.

10 numbers stared back at her.

With a smile, Caitlin turned on her phone.

She had someone to call.

Author's Note: And that is that!

I'm actually really happy with the way this turned out. There's this writing competition I competed in last year, and I'm thinking maybe I should submit this (changing the names and some details, of course). Tell me what you guys think!