Chapter 7
2 dances one choice Kiara's point of view
Its been a week and the boys have been nicer it's strange but maybe they are afraid of me, good I am scary. Right now I am walking to school on my path then I hear a scream
"OUCH" I look over to see what happened and I see Michael sitting on the side walking bleeding. Frick, blood. I am so afraid of blood but I have to help him.
"Here let me help you" I pull out a bandage from my bag and wrap it around him even though I am getting dizzy. All I hear is him saying thanks then it goes black.
I feel tapping on my shoulder "Kiara, Kiara?" I am closing my eyes but then I opened them. I'm laying in the school the teacher is gone but all the boys are there.
"Yay you woke up." Luke says
"It's You have been asleep for 2 hours" Ram says. Two hours! I check the time on my phone and see it's 10:37. Wow I have been out for that long? Usually it's just an hour.
"Hey are you ok what happened?" Luke asks
"I don't know I saw blood usually I just like faint" I respond
"Why is there a story?" Michel asks
"Well it's been going on ever since- No I won't go back" I can't tell them just no, it's to much I tried so hard but I can't forget about it-
"Kiara just tell us" Ram replies
Should I tell them?
"Me and my brother Kaleb were inside a store when an active threat came inside. We didn't know until we tried to walk out and my brother was shot. I tried to get help but when I came back with help he was dead." That's when I found tears falling down my eyes.
........
The boys had been working on a dance without me. They didn't say it, but I could tell. Every time I walked into the studio, their music stopped. Their formation broke. Their faces shifted like I'd walked in on a secret.
Whatever. I made my own routine.
I was mid-rehearsal when the door swung open and the three of them walked in—Ram, Luke, and the one who always acted like he invented breathing: Kieran.
"What are you doing?" Kieran asked.
I kept dancing. "Practicing my routine."
"We can only have ONE dance," he said, stepping closer. "And it's going to be mine."
I stopped, chest rising with heavy breaths. "Who put you in charge?"
He lifted his chin. "ME. I'm the class president."
"So?" I said.
"So," he huffed, "that makes me the boss."
"That doesn't make you the boss of me," I shot back.
Luke snorted, earning a glare from Kieran.
"You weren't here when we started this," Kieran said sharply. "We already have spacing and timing. You'll just… throw it off."
"So I'm supposed to sit on the side and clap for you?" I asked.
Luke shifted uncomfortably. Ram stayed silent.
Kieran crossed his arms. "We need a clean routine. We don't have time to redo everything."
"You haven't even SEEN my dance," I said.
He opened his mouth, probably to say something bossy or annoying, but stopped. Something in his expression changed—curiosity slipping through the cracks of his attitude.
"Fine," he said. "Show us."
My heart thumped, but I nodded and walked to the center.
The music started, and I danced—not for him, but for me. To prove I belonged here, in this class full of boys who didn't think I fit.
When the final beat hit, the room went quiet.
Luke whispered, "That was actually… really good."
Kieran ignored him. He stepped forward instead, eyes narrowed like he was trying to decode every move I made.
"Do it again," he said.
"Why?"
"Because if we're going to work together, I need to see how you move."
His words caught me off guard. Work together?
But I didn't question it. I moved back into place and started again. This time, Kieran watched differently—less annoyed, more focused. Almost impressed, though he'd never admit it.
When I finished, he nodded once. "Alright. We'll try to fit you in."
"Fit me in?" I repeated. "I thought you said I'd throw everything off."
"I said we'd try," he muttered.
Luke smiled. "A mash-up could be sick."
Ram nodded. "Yeah… it could work."
Kieran didn't look at them. He looked at me.
"From the top," he said. "Let's run it together."
He moved beside me—closer than expected—and for the first time since I joined this class, he didn't seem like he wanted me gone.
Just challenged.
Just intrigued.
Just… watching.
The music played again.
And when he matched my steps, it didn't feel like competition.
It felt like the beginning of something.