5 months prior

If anyone could see her now, they would think she had been bawling her eyes out.

Jenn stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were bloodshot. Strands of hair had escaped from her bun and fell in front of her face. Jenn grimaced. She looked like The Grudge.

In truth, Jenn had been cooped up in the dance studio for hours. Her group members had left hours ago. She had been trying to perfect their dance routine for hours, to no avail.

They would be debuting in a few months, and Jenn lagged far behind her other members in terms of preparation. She was the last to be scouted in the group, leaving her to learn the dance routines independently, as the others already knew the dances by heart.

Jenn sighed and fished her phone out of the front pocket of her sweatpants.

No new messages

She groaned and laid her head against the mirror with a 'thump.'

Kass had not texted her in days, still angry over Jenn's decision to move across the country to join the girl group.

"You don't even know if you'll be successful," Kass had said venomously. "You're throwing your whole life away for some stupid childhood dream."

Some nights, Jenn thought Kass was right. Maybe this was just a childhood dream. They could debut, and everyone could hate them. Or worse, they could debut without Jenn.

She didn't really bring much to the table. She was scouted at her university after her current manager, John, saw her at a talent show. Jenn wasn't even doing anything spectacular. She was a backup dancer for one of her friend's performances. John seemed to think differently, though, immediately making a bee-line for Jenn when she got offstage.

"Think about it," He said, shoving a business card toward her. "I'll make you famous."

Jenn thought about it. A lot. She ended up calling John. More out of curiosity than anything. She tip-toed out of bed and into the living room, dialing his number quickly.

"I'll arrange a plane," He asserted, "To pick you up next week, you'll do amazing."

Jenn didn't protest.

Now Jenn sat alone in the dark practice room, tired and yearning for a girlfriend that didn't even want anything to do with her.

The door to the practice room creaked open.

"I'm almost finished. I'll be back home soon, I promise. Jenn said without looking up.

Silence.

"Nana?" she questioned.

Nana, one of her groupmates was often the one who came to fetch her after hours.

She could hear the person shifting slightly behind her.

"No," a deep baritone voice said. "I'm not Nana."

Jenn's eyes widened in alarm, and she picked her head up. She stared at the figure from the mirror, unable to make out a clear face. It was man, though. He appeared to be wearing sweatpants similar to Jenn's and a muscle tee.

He must be here to practice.

Jenn knew about another group debuting around the same time as them, a boy group. They were supposed to be 'rivals' in the industry.

"It's like a little competition," her manager told her. "It makes the public more interested in each group."

Jenn couldn't argue with that logic.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You must want to use the practice room. I'm about to leave. Jenn said, getting ready to stand up.

"You've been in here for hours." The man stated.

Jenn fought the urge to roll her eyes. "I'm the newest member of my group. I'm trying to learn all the routines before we debut."

The man walked over to the corner, placing his bag down. "It can't be that hard." he pawed through his bag, pulling out what appeared to be a water bottle. "You girls get the easy dances."

Jenn did roll her eyes this time. "Oh please, our dances are just as hard. You know, it takes a lot of effort to dance wearing heels and short dresses." She stood up and turned toward the man. She still couldn't make out his face in the dark room. "Also, I'm not a naturally-gifted dancer like the rest of my group. I also can't sing as well them either." She added.

The man continued to silently rifle through his workout bag.

She felt herself flush slightly. She didn't have to go into that much detail, but his statement riled her up. Jenn already struggled with trying to assimilate into her group, and his words made it harder for Jenn to feel like this was something she could actually do,

"You dance fine." He said after another beat of silence.

Jen blinked. "What?"

"You dance fine," He reiterated. "I've seen the rest of your group practice, and you're just as good as them, so stop spending hours in here repeating the same choreo over and over."

Jenn stared at the man in disbelief. Now he was complimenting her after saying that her group's choreography was easy.

"Also," He hesitated, "I'm sorry. You're right. I forgot that you all will be wearing heels."

Jenn felt a smile pull at her lips. She let out a small laugh. "It's okay. I'm sorry for talking about my insecurities." Jenn moved to pick up her duffle bag from the floor. My name is Jenn, by the way. I'm debuting with Electric Angels. What's your name?"

The man snapped around quickly, "Electric Angels? My si-"

A familiar blaring melody filled the air.

Kass.

"I'm sorry," Jenn fumbled with the strap of her bag, pulling out her phone simultaneously. "I have to take this."

Jenn brushed past the man, bumping into his side as she pushed open the door to the hallway.

She never got his name, but Jenn figured she would run into him again. If only she knew what he looked like.