Dancing has always been something I've loved doing ever since I can remember. There's just something about letting go of your body and letting it move as if it has a mind of its own. Like me and the music are one, floating above ground and releasing energy into the universe. Each beat and lyric spreading emotions into my veins. Plus, it does give a good workout.

As I dance to 'the boy is mine' playing in a loop, I recollect that moment six days ago when Natalie and I were locked in the bathroom. Tingles spread throughout my body, and not because I just slammed my feet on the hardwood floors.

I'm thrilled that she finally opened up to me, even if it was just a little bit and after it took some convincing. Each small detail matters, because it's one more thing that I know about her. She's so... mysterious, like a safe whose code I need to crack in order to open up all her secrets.

Learning that not one, but two people have hurt her tugs painfully at my heart. That might explain why she acts the way she does, yet I'm surprised that her confidence levels are through the roof. Although, I guess she does need them if she actually sleeps with everyone.

Honestly, I don't really understand the satisfaction or reasons behind wanting to sleep with multiple people without any feelings, even if somebody hurt her. Like, how does that even happen? How can you not develop attachment or connection to a person before wanting to have... s-word with them?

What got to me the most is when she said that she deserves it. She doesn't. Nobody does. And what could a person like her ever do to have that happen to her as... "karma"?

Warmth rises to my cheeks as I recall that moment when I wanted to kiss her. When she was on top of me, with her face so, so close to me. Oh my god, why did I want to do that? Maybe they're right. Maybe I am into girls. Not just girls, one in particular.

My roommate from hell.

"You're doing it wrong," a feminine voice says behind me. I turn around to find Aubrey, the dance instructor, entering the empty space.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"Here, let me demonstrate." She walks up to me and, placing her hands on my waist, turns me back to the front. "Your body should be moving like this." Her mouth is uncomfortably close, hot breath pricking at my skin.

"I think I got it," I say, trying to get away but her grip on me tightens.

"Where are you going? I'm just trying to help, Mira."

Panic courses through me. I don't want her touching me. She is taller than me, stronger than me, and I know I'm no match for her. Just like that time years ago.

"I'm sorry, I just... I---"

"Calm down, Mira." Her hand grabs my arm as soon as I free myself. "Jeez, why are you acting like this?

Hot tears prick at the corners of my eyes. Aubrey's face is actually contorted with concern, but all I want is for her to let me go. I don't want them to start up, those flashbacks, I don't want them, I don't--

Pressure weighs on my chest as I try to breathe when a voice I'm relieved to hear cuts through the horror.

"She said she's done, Aubrey. Let her go," Natalie says calmly, approaching the two of us. Her face doesn't match her eyes that are blazing with a low, dangerous fire.

Aubrey's hold on my arm disappears as she turns to look at Natalie. "I was just correcting some of Mira's moves."

"Yeah, well, that doesn't mean you should be pressuring her outside of class, especially when she told you to let her go."

Aubrey's jaw twitches before she glances at me. "Sorry about that."

I sniffle, wiping away my tears with the heel of my palm. "It's okay.

"Look, I---"

"Get out of here before I inform Kayla that you're 'misbehaving', and that's not the word I'll be using," Natalie snaps.

Aubrey sets her lips in a thin line and walks away, not without first exchanging a few whispered words with Natalie. Both their expressions blur into one as I swipe at my tears, but that doesn't matter to me as long as she's no longer touching me.

Once Aubrey leaves, Natalie walks up to me, her eyes scrutinizing me. "You okay, fruit tart?"

I nod. "I'm fine." My voice trembles a little, betraying my little white lie. I clear my throat and straighten. "I'm fine."

Natalie studies me for a few seconds, worry spreading across her features but she doesn't argue.

"If Aubrey gives you any more trouble, just let me know, and I can make sure she doesn't work here anymore. She's a great dance instructor, but sometimes she can be a bit... much."

"I'm fine, really. It was nothing." I take a deep breath. It was the opposite really. It had set me off into a slight panic attack, making me overreact over something so little. "I um... Overreacted."

Her eyebrows furrow. "It's not overreacting if someone touches you with your permission and doesn't let you go when you tell them to."

"I'm fine, Nat. I promise."

"If you say so..." Her voice suggests that she doesn't believe me, but I'm glad she doesn't ask any questions.

Instead, she approaches me and stands a foot or so away, tilting her head to the side with an amused smile. "She's right about one thing though. You do need a bit of help."

I quirk an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"It's better if I show you. Is that okay with you?"

I brighten up, excitement coursing through my veins. "I thought you didn't want to be dancing buddies?"

She chuckles. "We aren't. This is just a one-time thing. I assume that's a yes?"

"Yes!" I beam at her. "Of course!"

"Okay, calm down," she says, a glint of amusement in her eyes. She walks to the front and looks back at me with a wink before she starts dancing.

Each movement of hers, each sway of her hips, every leap into the sky, everything about her is mesmerizing, hypnotic, entrancing. My eyes follow every move, sometimes focusing on her face. I should be watching how she dances, take notes. Instead, I'm admiring her like she's a work of art performing an equally beautiful piece.

She finishes in the middle of the song and approaches me with a raised eyebrow. "I hope you were taking notes instead of drooling over me."

I blink myself out of the trance. "Hm? What? I-- No, I was! Uh, I was taking notes! I think I got it!"

My face grows warm. Oh my god, why, why do I act like a stammering fool around her?

A light smirk creeps over her lips. "May I touch you? Just to guide you along."

Unlike Aubrey, I don't mind it if she touches me. Maybe it's more because she asked me first instead of grabbing me out of nowhere.

"Yes."

She walks behind me. "Okay, so, your hips." Her hands gently grasp my waist, sending shivers down my spine. "Move like this." She guides my movements from left to right. "A little more... flowy. You don't want to be so energetic at this point of the dance. You want your hips and body to flow with the music." I follow her instructions. "Yes, like that." She chuckles, the sound reverberating through my bones. "You're a fast learner." Her breath tickles my neck, making my breath hitch just a little. "You ready to do it with the music on?"

I nod as she releases me. "Yep! Hold on, let me turn it back on." The music had stopped even though it was put on a loop, a nuisance I have to constantly deal with. I run to my phone and press play, the bluetooth speakers starting up with the same song, then return to Natalie and hop in front of her. "Ready!"

We dance, me in front and her a few feet behind me. By the end, I decide to add in a bit of my own choreography once half the song passes, hoping, hoping that Natalie will know what to do. And she does.

I turn toward her just as she approaches me. Her eyes stare down into mine as I peer up at her: focused, confident. My hand lifts and grazes her arm as hers grasps my waist. Heat flows from the slight pressure, traveling its way into my stomach. Warmth sputters in my chest.

This must be how it feels when they say butterflies flutter inside of you, or however that saying goes.

"You're so... great at dancing," I manage to sound out.

"I know." One corner of her mouth turns up.

"How did you get into it?"

She turns me around and presses her body against mine. "It's been a passion of mine since I was a little girl," she says into my ear, her breath tickling me. "Hopefully one day it will be more than that."

I face her again. "In what way?"

She chuckles, sending vibrations through my bones. "Let's just dance, fruit tart," she says, closing herself off again. But I take every little information I extract from her as a victory and one step closer to figuring her out.

The song now switches to another, making me briefly remember I forgot to put it on an endless loop, but it doesn't disrupt the flow or dance as I continue to observe her. I want to ask her something. Something that has been stuck in my head for a while. A simple curiosity.

"What is it like?" I whisper.

"Hm?"

"Kissing... someone." My voice trembles as I say it. This seems like the best time to ask it, when we're dancing, when we're this close to each other

She raises an eyebrow, looking down at me with a slightly surprised expression. A few seconds of silence passes before a hint of a smile appears. "Depends, really." She reaches out, her fingers brushing my cheek as she tucks a few hair strands behind my ear. My skin tingles from her touch. "It can be the most amazing experiece life has to offer, or..." her eyes reflect what seems to be anger for just a millisecond. "Deadly."

That pain... god, if I had one wish, it's to make it disappear like magic.

I lick my lips and swallow. "What if I... want to know what it... feels like for myself?"

"I thought you were demi-"

"With you."

She frowns. "I'm not-"

"You're... interesting, Natalie. What you told me the other day, about what happened to you. You're so... complex, complicated, different. Yet we still share a common love: dancing. So I...

"So you what? Want to kiss me? I thought you said you would never want to in a million years?"

I smile. "Then I guess we time-traveled two million years into the future, because now? Now... I want to kiss you, Natalie."

Her eyes dart across my face, the confidence disappearing like smoke. Uncertainty, hesitance replaces it, something I've never seen in her.

She releases me. "I have to go. Let's just, forget this ever happened, yes?"

"But--"

"See you home, fruit tart." She forces out a smile before rushing out of the room. Despite her escaping me, there's one word that bubbles happiness inside of me.

Home. She said home.

Even though I just might have ruined it.