Welcome to my first garbage AU! As someone who grew up in a dance studio and performing arts school I've always been drawn to dance AUs, and I felt it was high time I write one myself. I'm not sure how frequently I'll be updating (I tend to write around 5 stories at the same time, a terrible idea,) but I do have a basic outline for the plot plan, and hope some of you stick around to see the end. Happy reading!

Marco Diaz's day had started off as uneventful as any other. He woke up, went through his morning routine, shoved a piece of fruit he probably wouldn't eat in his bag for breakfast, walked to the California Academy of Dance, and pulled a practice outfit out of his bag before shoving it (forgotten produce and all) in his locker. He ran off to change before meeting his two whole friends in life, Janna and Jackie, at their first class.

Well, he would've met them there, but of course he was there before them. He was the first to show up for class, actually. He usually was. They didn't call him the safe kid for nothing, after all. He was trying to get away from that motif, though he would admit that the fact he always kept extra wool (for the girls, of course), bandages, and a sewing kit on him at all times probably wasn't helping his efforts to rid himself of the title.

"Hey Diaz," he heard someone say, drawing him out of his safe kid thoughts.

He looked up from his position sitting in front of his spot at the barre to see Janna, dressed in her usual ballet dress code breaking attire of a black leotard (normal), black tights (less normal), and an opaque purple pull-on skirt, which she wore because "wrap skirts are a waste of time, and you don't have to see my ass to know I'm a good dancer". He honestly had no idea how she got away with breaking the usual girl's dress code of black leo, pink tights, and optional sheer wrap skirt, but no one had ever dared question her on it.

"Hey, Janna," he greeted, patting the floor to his right as an invitation for her to sit.

She immediately sat down next to him and leaned against the wall behind them. "Anything exciting happen to you this morning?" she asked, seeming entirely uninterested as she scrolled through her phone, which she really wasn't supposed to have in the room. Not that Marco was about to bring it up, trying to get away from the safe kid thing and all.

"Absolutely nothing, as usual." He sighed and pulled the soles of his feet together in a butterfly position, trying to get some stretching in before their stretch class. Very safe kid.

Janna snorted and glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "When are you going to do something exciting, safe kid?"

He shot her a glare and muttered, "I don't even know why I'm friends with you."

She just shook her head with a smirk, not bothering to dignify his comment with a response. They spent a few minutes sitting in comfortable silence as other students started trickling into the room, one of them being his other friend and childhood crush, Jackie Lynn Thomas.

"'Sup," Jackie said, leaning sideways against the barre. She was chewing gum, another thing you weren't supposed to do, but she always managed to hide it from their instructors. Marco found it strangely fascinating what his friends could get away with.

"Nothing, as usual." He grimaced and stood up, knowing that if Jackie was here that meant class must be starting soon. "What about you? Got anything going on?"

"Oh, you know, nothing you'd be interested in," she said in a way specifically to pique his interest.

He raised an eyebrow at her, completely aware that he was taking the bait. "Go on."

"You know that sketchy looking alley a couple blocks from here, the one that always has a weird amount of cardboard and old aluminum flooring?"

He did know that alley, in fact. He'd always kind of wondered what was with its very specific selection of trash, and the fact that it seemed to be very well kept for an alley, aside from the specific selection of trash.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Well," she said as she leaned slightly closer, as if this were a big secret, "I found out what goes on over there."

"You did?'

"Dance battles, man!" She grinned, her words starting to speed as she got more excited. "Like rap battles, but with breakdancing! And tap! They tap dance! In an alley! It's so weirdly professional! And they take bets! They bet on dancing! I saw this girl win like, fifty bucks!"

Marco held a hand up to stop her rant so he could ask, "How did you find this out, exactly?"

"I may or may not have just hung out there until people started showing up," she said with a shrug.

"You did what?!" He threw his hands up in an exasperated gesture, to help emphasize his exasperation. "What if they'd been doing something dangerous? You can't just hang out in alleys, Jackie!"

"Well not with that attitude," she laughed. She opened her mouth to say something more, but cut herself off when she noticed their instructor had just entered the room. "I'll take you there tonight," she whispered. It wasn't stated as a question, but a fact.

The rest of Marco's school day was just as uneventful as his morning. He dragged through the rest of his classes, switching between academics and dance training every few periods or so, only resting for their mostly useless lunch break. Not useless because it was a break, no, but because it was designated for a lunch basically no one ate.

That fact was about the last thing on his mind though as he walked with Janna and Jackie, who'd somehow convinced him to go with them to the Specific Trash Alley to see the "dance battlers". He was ninety-nine percent sure there had to be a better name for them.

"Wait, stop," Jackie said, holding her arm out in front of the other two. "That's the girl who won last night." She gestured towards a blonde girl sitting in the back of the dimly lit alley who seemed to be exhausted, even with (or maybe because of?) the gaggle of puppies that were squirming in her lap.

The puppy-laden girl pulled a box of dog biscuits out of a threadbare duffle bag, giving each of the puppies a biscuit before standing up and stretching. It was only when she turned away from the wall that she noticed the three teens watching her from the opposite end of the wide alley. She seemed surprised at first, but quickly covered it up with a friendly smile as she walked (more like skipped) towards the sidewalk they were still standing on to meet them.

"Hi! You guys new here?" she asked, picking up one of the puppies that came to nip at her ankles. Now that she was illuminated by the streetlights they could see she wore a slightly faded blue tank top adorned with a pink octopus, accompanied by tattered pink leggings and matching pink high-top sneakers, which had their rubber siding split in multiple places. She wore her hair in a high side-ponytail, decorated with a red devil horn headband. The whole look was cute, despite its disheveled appearance.

Janna was first to speak, purely because the other two didn't seem aa if they were about to anytime soon. "Yeah, we are. What exactly goes on around here, anyway?"

"You... don't know?" The girl tilted her head to the side, her ridiculously big blue eyes wide in confusion. Marco found the gesture offensively cute, not that he was about to admit that. "Why are you here then?" she asked, not out of any sort of gatekeeping, but genuine curiosity.

"I saw you last night," Jackie said, sounding a bit like a kid who'd been caught stealing from the cookie jar. "You were really good, I wanted to show my friends here," she explained.

The girl chewed on her lip as she thought it over, eventually deciding that they weren't exactly a threat. "Great! I'm Star Butterfly, I'm kind of a big deal around here," she said with a grin. "You guys here to bet or challenge? Or both?" she asked, her chipper tone unaffected by the puppy licking at her face.

"Uh, neither," Marco said quickly. As cute as this girl was, he wasn't about to bet on street fights. Street dance fights? Either way, still seemed like a bad idea.

"Aw, just watching, then?" Star scuffed her feet on the ground and looked up at him through her eyelashes, as if she were trying to get him to change his mind through some kind of adorable mind control.

He crossed his arms and leaned into one hip in a casually defiant position. "Just watching," he confirmed, working to keep his tone perfectly cool.

"Okay, you don't gotta get defensive, I'm cool," Star said with a giggle, taking a step back and motioning her arms to invite them deeper into the (maybe her?) alley. "My friends should be here soon, then we'll get started-" she cut herself off, eyes going wide as she stared at the three for a moment. "Oh my god, I'm sorry, I didn't even ask what you guys's names are! I'm so rude!" She placed the puppy she'd been holding on top of her head, bouncing on her toes as she waited for their answers.

Jackie threw up a peace sign with a subtle smile. "Jackie Lynn Thomas."

Janna gave a curt nod. "Janna."

Marco spent a second seemingly conflicted on how to introduce himself, before shoving his hands in the pockets of his hoodie and deciding on, "Marco. Marco Diaz."

Star smiled and nodded, though her smile dropped when she noticed something (more someone) entering her territory. "Luuudoooo," she growled under her breath.

The newcomers followed her gaze to see a boy who had to be at least a couple years older than them, despite the fact that he was a significant amount shorter than anyone in the group.

"Got some new meat, princess?" he asked with a ridiculously wide smug grin.

Star rolled her eyes and set her head-puppy down before stomping over towards her apparent enemy. "Get lost Ludo, and I told you to stop calling me that!" she snapped, his use of nickname seeming to have struck some sort of nerve.

He laughed in a way that could only be described as maniacal. "Sorry girly, but you know that one's my favorite!"

She groaned and pointed towards the end of the alley, a silent demand for him to leave.

"Aw, come on, you haven't let me hang out here for weeks!" he whined.

"Yeah, and I'm not about to let you any time soon."

"Come on princess, all I did was-"

She scowled at him, taking another step forward to jab him in the chest with her finger. "I told you to. Get. Lost!" She glared daggers down at him, seriously hoping now would be the time those daggers would magically become literal.

He just kept his Jack Nicholson Joker grin, unperturbed by her glare. "Sure, fine, but I'll be back tomorrow. See you on the flip side, princess!" He laughed again before turning tail and strutting his way back to where he came.

Star's fists were shaking by that point, and she violently dragged an arm across her eyes to rid them of their dangerously close to shedding tears. She'd momentarily forgotten she had a small audience witnessing that exchange and allowed herself a pathetic, watery sob, which caused her small army of puppies to come huddle around her ankles in sympathy.

"Are... you okay?" Marco asked, unintentionally reminding her that there were other sentient beings besides puppies in her presence.

The moment she turned to face them he felt whatever reserve he'd had about trusting her melt away, quickly being replaced by a distinct need to prevent her from having the look she currently held ever again. Her face was pale, aside from the flush of red on her nose and around her eyes. Eyes which were still watering, despite her best efforts. She looked defeated, like a kicked puppy who'd never had someone to love it in its life.

This would not fly with Marco "Safe Kid" Diaz.

His arms were around her in a tight hug before he could even process what he was doing. She stiffened at the contact at first, having absolutely no idea what drove him to do this. After a few awkward seconds of silence (and immediate regret on Marco's part) she relaxed and eventually returned the gesture. She found herself weirdly comfortable hugging this guy who was practically a total stranger, and hoped he wouldn't mind her shoving her face in his shoulder. It seemed that he didn't, as he responded to the gesture by rubbing her back and making some vague shushing sounds.

Nothing gold (or warm, as the case was,) can stay though, and she jumped away when she heard a rowdy group making their way down the street, presumably towards her alley to start the evening. As much as she would've liked to stay in the newfound safety of her new friend's arms for the rest of the night, she had spirits to break and money to make.

Thank you for reading! As with all AUs I'm sure there are some confusing things in this, so please leave any questions you have in your comment! Next time we'll see what exactly happens during a dance battle, and maybe see some more of Marco admiring our girl Star ;)