Roxas popped his right elbow out, then the left, then shifted into a crip walk, and then a chest pop and sliding forward.

Coach Katie screamed out the count as he weaved left then right and made his way across the floor of the dance studio. "Four, five," and he dipped down on five.

The pumping beat of Ke$ha's "Take It Off" came right along. The intro beat to the music thumped low, vibrating the artificial wood floors and full-length mirrors, building volume, and his arms lifted high while his heels pounded the floor.

Roxas focused on counting to the beat before letting the lyrics sway his body. The pumping beat traveled through his arms and legs.

"And now we lookin' like pimps.

In my gold Trans-am.

Got a water bottle full of whiskey in my handbag"

The dance music sped up and every beat got a kick, turn, and a pop&lock. By the time the chorus came up, Roxas was already entered the Zone. When the chorus ended, Coach stopped the music, and sighs of relief echoed throughout the heated dance studio. Suddenly the ringing of Coach's cell phone was heard.

"Take five everyone. I need to take this." And with that she slid her finger on the screen and exited the studio and into the hallway.

Roxas pinched the piece of his loose fitting t-shirt just at the base of his chest and pulled out, fanning in an attempt to cool himself. He then lifted the lining of his shirt and wiped a few beads of sweat from his forehead, then tugging up his black baggy sweatpants.

His Nike high tops squeaking until he plopped on the floor, his back pressed to the cool glass of the mirror. Conversations had already started in the studio, and many people were desperately chugging down their water; crushing and contrasting it.

As Roxas was scrolling through his messages on his phone, suddenly there was a thump, and the next thing he saw was a chestnut colored ponytail flopped on his thigh. His eyes traveled down until he found Charlotte and the blonde roots of her scalp. Her eyes closed, head resting on his other thigh, she groaned.

Roxas chuckled. "Well, it looks like a forlorn Charlotte lying sprawled across the floor." He teased and she took a deep breath and moaned again. "Obviously depressed. Tell me, dear Charlotte. What foul tricks in this world doth left thee in such a despicable mood?"

"Roxas don't even start with that Shakespeare crap with me." she said irritated, but there was a hint of amusement in her tone. "I get enough of it in English, one more line and my head with blow!" she extended her arm in the air with a clenched fist to exaggerate her point.

Charlotte was very expressive.

Roxas laughed at his friend's gesture. "Oh come on Char, it's not that bad." He says.

"I barely understood Romeo and Juliet, now I have to read another confusing book?" Charlotte complains.

"Didn't you read Romeo and Juliet last year?" Roxas asks, fiddling with her ponytail.

"Well, technically. Skimmed as a better term. I ended up watching the movie." She said with a smile. "It seems to me that all that happened was that two children of rival families fell in love. If I wanted to know about that, I would've watched "The Lion King 2"." She says.

"You know they say that the movie was based off of Romeo and Juliet." Roxas says with a smirk.

"Don't start." Charlotte snapped and Roxas only laughed.

Coach soon walked back in and exhaled a breath of what sounded like stress. Everyone stood up from their seats, put away their water bottles and prepared for what they thought would be another walk through.

"All right guys, I've got to go so that's it for practice today," she said as she was gathering her things. "Great job, oh and Roxas," she said

Roxas' head perked up.

"Good job today." Coach said sounding a bit more relaxed. "Let's keep it up." She then waved a hand of dismissal, not even giving a glance at Roxas' smile. Everyone then turned with a mumble and trudged to collect their gym bags and water bottles.

Roxas slogged toward the window to grab his bag, yanking it up from between Charlotte's and another dancer's. He lugged it over his shoulder and pulled out his phone from the pocket on his pants.

He shoved open the push-bar door with his hip. A rush of cool, moist air blasted him in the face, whipping his blonde hair into a frenzy as he slipped out to stand on the concrete steps.

A hand smacked down on his shoulder and he turned and saw Charlotte, her green eyes sparkling with excitement. "Hey Roxas, I was wondering if you wanted to come over today." She asked.

She was now wearing a simple thin jacket over her neon pink tank top and she tugged on her booty shorts as she followed Roxas outside.

"I can't, I'm visiting Olette today." He said, and he felt a tug of guilt.

"Oh, okay. What are you two up to?" she asked casually with a cocky grin.

"We're just going to hang out. After I wash up." Roxas added at the end as he caught a whiff of his own sweat scent in the breeze.

Charlotte giggles as they make their way down the steps and onto the sidewalk where a Ford Fusion waited parked near the sidewalk. From inside, Hayner tapped the horn in an attempt to say 'Hurry Up!'

Roxas raised his hand with his finger pointing, gesturing to wait for a moment. He chuckled when he say Hayner slouch back.

"Well can we hang out later this week?" Charlotte asked.

"Yeah sure." Roxas said, and with that, they hugged good bye and Roxas jogged his way to the car.

He first placed his bag in the trunk that Hayner automatically opened, then Roxas rode shot gun as they drove off.

"Thanks for driving me Hayner." Roxas thanked.

"No prob." Hayner replied. He made a quick glance back while Roxas fiddled with the radio station. "So who was that?" Hayner asked with an amused grin on his face.

Roxas chuckled as he got Hayner's inside joke. "That's Charlotte. She's in my class."

"Ah," Hayner said.

"And no, she's not my girlfriend." Roxas added on and Hayner laughed. "You know that girlfriend thing's getting old." Roxas said with a smile.

Hayner kept his eyes on the road while he spoke. "Aw come on Roxas, can you blame me? I mean, you have practically every girl breaking down your door to be with you. You're living every man's dream!"

"Well this dream sucks, and I'd like to wake up soon." Roxas said.

He peered out the window as the buildings and trees zipped by in a blur. They've been through this many times before. Hayner always teased Roxas since he had so many girls at his school have crushes on him. Roxas didn't know why, he always assumed that the compliments that come from his family and friends were always obligated.

He actually met Charlotte when she joined his hip-hop class a month ago. Long story short, instant friends.

While dancing was something he did, mostly outside school, the word spread around about him taking dance classes. And he received a few snotty comments from the jarhead jocks of the school.

No doubt Seifer was behind it.

Of coursed Roxas got teased about it since the minute people think about dancing, they think about tutus and leotards. But Roxas actually made an agreement with his parents, that if he took dance, he wouldn't take ballet.

His majors were hip-hop, a little bit of jazz and concert dance. His parents wanted him to join something at a young age so he'd at least be involved in something at school. Roxas was fine with it being outside of school, but soon his school got a dance team and he was eager to join.

At first, to see how it would work out. But when he found out that Coach Katie was in charge, he joined right in.

The story about Coach Katie was that she was a friend of his mom's and she recently had another kid, a young son. And since Roxas was just naturally good with kids, he babysat for her when she needed to work late.

Now they're close friends of the family. Like the barbeque on the weekends and invite to family parties, kind of friends.

"I don't get why you just don't date already." Hayner said as they made a left turn at a green light.

"I date; I just don't date that often." Roxas reworded.

"And what I don't get is why." Hayner retorted.

And Roxas simply replied with an annoyed yet played sigh. "We've been through this Hayner." Roxas said.

"I know," Hayner said in a normal tone. "Your big goal at making it to the big time."

"Hey, thanks for not saying 'dream'." Roxas said as he leaned his elbow on the edge of the window.

"Because it's not a dream. You can definitely make it. No doubt." Hayner said as he turned into Roxas' block.

"And that's why I can't think about dating anyone, right now. I need to stay focused." Roxas said.

"Like on relationship's gonna kill you." Hayner snapped as he pulled into Roxas' driveway.

"Maybe." Roxas said with a laugh.

He thanked Hayner before opening his door and jogging around to the back to retrieve his gym bag. As he walked around his own car, a blue Mustang, he waved Hayner goodbye and fetched out his keys.

He shut the door behind him and dropped his bag in the foyer. He didn't even bother to call out to see if anyone was home. His parents had gone out for the night, leaving the home to himself.

Roxas trudged over to the fridge where he pulled out some water and the last slice of leftover pizza from a day ago. After finishing the crust and chugging half the bottle down, he made his way up to his room.

Flipping on the switch, he felt a soft breeze brush his face and realized his window was open. Fresh air stirred his curtains and ruffled his sheets. He made his way through the clatter of random papers, books, clothes and shoes until he reached his closet.

After pulling out a simple black V-neck and a pair of old jeans, he stripped off his loose-fitting tank and sweatpants. He simply flung them aside to the floor to join the mess, then grabbed his towel hanging on its hook and headed for the bathroom.

Roxas' playlist played rhythmic songs as he washed his face. The beat was awesome and the rhythm infectious. Steam coated the mirror as he assaulted his blonde hair with the towel to suck up the moisture, and the finishing his wash with a sprits of his cologne.

He gathered up his sweat-stained clothes and music and left the steamy, warm bathroom. Passing through the frigid hallway, he made the ten-foot trek to his room. He shut his bedroom door behind him and dropped his clothes in his hamper. Dressed in less than a minute, he threw on his checkered black-and-white bracelet with matching rings to finish.

Shutting off his music, the radio automatically clicked on and after several seconds of static, his favorite station came on with an advertisement.

Roxas was about to shut it off when the announcer said, "Do you want to dance for major popstars like Jennifer Lopez, Taio Cruz and Jessie J? Well now's your chance!"

Roxas withdrew his finger as he listened. "That's right! This week only, FREE screening auditions will be held in town looking for dancers just like you! How exciting! Can you imagine dancing for your favorite music stars?! So if you want to dance for major popstars like Jennifer Lopez, Jessie J and Taio Cruz, then you have to call 855-646-4656."

The number was repeated three times and the announcer said, "Call Now!" before the commercial ended and the host of the radio show voiced in. Roxas stood there, pondering over what he just heard. He never trusted commercials like these. There was always some catch to it. And yet he already had the number memorized.

He assumed it wasn't legit, so he shook it off and grabbed his keys off his desk before leaving the house.