Alternate Realities

“ You excited kiddo?” I glanced over at Carrie as I pulled into the parking lot of the Johnson Performing Arts Studio.

“Oh yeah! I can’t wait to finish last week’s dance!” She jumped out of the car, grabbing her duffel bag, an skipped over to the main door.

“Goodness girlie, slow down!!” I laughed, making my way towards her slowly, “Where did all this energy come from?”

She tapped her foot impatiently, “Hey, I’m not the one who was driving like a maniac, trying to get her at the speed of light.”

“Touché, but watch it, kid.” I narrowed my eyes at her, and laughed at me, signaling for me to hurry up and open the door. I honestly sometimes forgot that she was only a ten year old. She was small, but wise for her age. Way too wise for my liking. Sighing, I opened the door to let her in and turned around to grab both our bags.

“ OH MY GOSH!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!”

I whirled around in a panic, throwing the duffel bags to the side, and rushed over to Carrie. "Carrie? Care what's wrong? What happened? Care?" But I got no response. It seemed as if my sister had gone into paralytic shock, standing with her mouth agape and her eyes rooted to one spot at the back of the room. Worried, I reached out and snapped my fingers in front of her face. "Earth to Carrie. Come on Care, snap out of it." Right on cue, Carrie stumbled backwards, shaking her head and blinking her eyes as if bright lights had stunned her. Without a word, she sprinted to the back of the room as I followed behind, thoroughly confused. As I rounded the corner, getting ready to yell at my sister for being such a spaz, and felt my jaw drop open slightly. Carrie had latched herself onto the legs of a curly haired, brown-eyed rockstar, standing next to two older versions of him.
"Carrie Elizabeth Michaels!"
Instantly, I felt three pairs of eyes lock on me as I walked forward to control my little sister. " Where are your manners? Don't you know it's rude to attack people?"
"But I-they-it's-" she stuttered back at me, apparently too dazed to formulate a full sentence. I laughed at the loopy expression she wore and reached over to pull her away from the three brothers, "Okay, Care back away from the rockstar, you don't want to cut off the circulation in his legs do you?" I heard light chuckles coming from the two elder brothers, and looked up, smiling. "I'm so sorry about that, my sister is a huge fan, as you can tell."
"It's no problem. She's a cutie. I'm Kevin, by the way, nice to meet you." He stuck his hand out, and I slipped mine in, giving him a warm handshake. "Ashaya, but please, call me Shay. And it's very nice to meet you too."

"My turn!" A chipper voice called out from next to Kevin, his wide-rimmed glasses and shaggy beard coming into view. "I'm Joe. Pleased to make your acquaintance pretty lady." He smiled and pulled me in for a hug. Surprised, I stiffened for a few seconds, then relaxed and hugged him back, chuckling. "Oh, you flatter me kind sir." I pulled back, making a fake swooning expression. He laughed, faking offense. "Does the lady not appreciate my efforts?" I scrunched my nose, shaking my head, "Not at all. You see, this lady is interested in guys her own age. But you would be prefect for my sister Joe!" He gasped, putting his hands over his heart playfully, "Ouch! That one hurt!"
"Looks like you finally met your match, huh Joe?" A soft voice called out. I turned, searching for the almost musical sound, and met with deep chocolate brown eyes. I smiled, "Yes, he definitely did." He nodded, "Mhhmm. I'm Nick." "Nice to meet you Nick." He nodded in reply, "Likewise." I raised my eyebrows, turning away from him. What was with the cold and dry greeting? Was Mr.Rockstar getting to big for his pants? I shrugged, deciding to ignore it, and turned back to the brothers in time to catch Joe and Kevin glaring at Nick.
"So, what brings you guys here?" I asked, clearing my throat. "Well, before we tell you, there are some more people we want you to meet." Joe replied, "So close your eyes, real quick."
I eyed him suspiciously, "Why? So you can jump me?"
"Ha.Ha.Ha. Hilarious. Now come on!" Before I could protest, Joe turned me around so that my back was to him and covered my eyes. "Joseph! Whatever you're planning better not involve-" I was cut off when I felt Joe's rough and calloused hands being replaced with smaller, softer ones; hands that were more familiar.
"ASHAYA LYNN MICHAELS!!!" A bubbly voice rang out behind me, and the hands covering my eyes dropped.
Without missing a beat, I answered, "DEMETRIA DEVONNE LOVATO!!!!" whipping around to squeeze my best friend in a tight hug. We pulled back at the same time, squealing, and then hugged again.
"How have you been girlie?"
"Ehh, ok, but that's not important. How have YOU been Miss Rockstar? Tell me something, how come your hotshot boyfriend here had to introduce himself? I was expecting full details woman!" Demi laughed, reaching out to grab Joe's hand, "Wooops. Let's fix that, shall we? Shay this is Joe, my boyfriend. Joe this is Ashaya, my bestest friend in the whole world!" Joe and I chuckled at her childish introduction, before Joe spoke. "Pleased to meet you again, Pretty Lady." I groaned, "You know Dems, I might have liked him IF he didn't keep trying to hit on me." Demi laughed, along with Kevin who came up behind his brother, clapping him on the shoulder, "Oooh, rejected twice in a matter of minutes 'Bro? You're losing your touch."
"Yeah, yeah Kevin. As if you could do any better." Joe replied, rolling his eyes. Just then, Carrie decided to make her presence known again, and came barreling at Demi.
"DEMIIIIIIIII!!!!!" she squealed, squeezing Demi tightly around the waist, "I missed you!!" Demi chuckled, leaning down to hug my sister properly, "Aww, I missed you too Care. How have you been? Breakin' hearts yet?" Carrie laughed, "Almost. But you have to teach me, remember?" Demi nodded, smiling and I pulled Carrie away. "Gee, it's good to know that you're plotting to corrupt my sister Dems. Have you been hanging out with Gomez lately?" Demi's laughter, which had started up almost as soon as I started talking, died down quickly, and she looked at me with a guilty expression. "Yeah, about that...."
Narrowing my eyes, I straightened. "Care, go into the other room and start stretching, okay? The rest of the kids should be here soon." As Carrie pranced away, I turned back to Demi, "What?"
"She-uhhh-she's here." Demi sputtered, not looking directly at me
"WHAT?' I exploded, "Are you seriously telling me that SELENA GOMEZ, the same Selena Gomez who I cannot stand to have within 500 ft of me, is coming HERE?"
Demi nodded meekly, opening her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the opening of the door. Looking past Demi and the three brothers who were now staring at me with confused expressions, I locked my eyes on the poofy brunette locks that I despised. "Hello boys!" she nodded at Kevin and Joe, moving over to Nick. "Hello Nicholas. How are you?" She asked, in what was supposed to be a flirty manner, but Nick just nodded, scooting over a tad, "Selena. I'm good thanks." Dissatisfied, she moved over to Demi, "Hey Demi! How have you been? Long time no see!" Demi gave her a weak smile, and I scoffed audibly,
"I don't blame her. Who would want to see you?"
Demi and the three brothers froze as Selena slowly turned around to glare. When she saw me, her eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped open, "ASHAYA??" I raised my eyebrows at her, "Good of you to remember Gomez."
She stepped forward with a wide, fake smile spread across her face, "What are you saying, of course I remember you! How could I forget?" Automatically, I stepped backwards, "Don't even think about it Gomez. And save the fakeness for someone who actually believes it." From the corner of my eye, I saw Kevin smirking and Joe trying to hold back his laugh. Nick stayed expressionless however, his eyes locked on me. Selena glowered at me, opening her mouth to say something snotty back, but I cut her off, “Save it. Not interested.” And turned back to the others, “Now, who would like to explain why I’m surrounded by four rock stars and a wannabe?” From behind me, I heard a growl, “Watch it Michaels. I am an internationally known superstar, and you will give me the respect I deserve or I’ll-“
“Or what? You’ll leave? Please, be my guest. As far as “giving you the respect you deserve”, I’d say I’m being more than civil. I haven’t even started with the name calling yet.”
“Uggh, I see some things never change. You’re still a little bi-“
“Don’t you dare, Gomez. You know, you’re right: some things never change. You still have no shame. You still try to pull of the flirty look when you know no one’s interested. And I daresay that you still are the lying, manipulative witch, that we all know and love?” I was breathing heavily by now, my cheeks burning red. Demi stepped forward, gently turning me around to face her, and set her hands on my shoulders, squeezing lightly. “Forget it Shay, she’s not worth it. Don’t get so worked up, it’ll give her more credit than she deserves. “ She shifted slightly to glare over my shoulder at her former best friend.
“And you. You better not try anything Selena. I’m warning you.”
Selena huffed, annoyed, and walked over to the bench across the room, sitting down. I turned my back on her again, shutting my eyes tightly, clenching my fists, before releasing a deep breath and looking up.
“I’m sorry you had to see that boys. But it’s been four years in the making.” Joe and Keving smiled slightly, shaking their heads, while Nick gave me that same expressionless nod. It was becoming slightly frustrating.
“I take it you know her already?” Joe voiced the unmasked question in the eyes of the other two brothers. I sighed.
“Unfortunately, yes. Selena, Demi, and I go way back. We, or at least Gomez and I, don’t get along, if you couldn’t tell.”
“Aw, man. And here we thought we’d surprise you with famous people.” Kevin spoke this time, his grin telling me that he understood. I smiled back.
“You did. You guys brought me my bestie.” I plopped down on the ground, cross-legged, and invited them to do the same.
“Ok, Dems, what’s going on?”
“Well, Disney is having us do this dance-off competition and we were looking for dance choreographers. The two teams are split into me and these three against Selena, Miley, Liam, and Justin. We need to have some pretty awesome dance routines, so who would we come to besides the most awesomest choreographer?” She finished, grinning cheekily.
Chuckling, I replied, “Aww, thanks Dems. But you’ve seen me dance before and you’ve seen my choreographing before.” I shifted slightly so that I would be facing the three brothers a bit more, “but you guys haven’t. So, in all fairness, I think you guys should have a preview of what you’re going to be up against.”
“Is that a threat?” Joe asked, grinning widely
“I dunno. Could be. Guess you’ll have to find out for yourself, huh?” I stood, brushing off my leggings, and motioned for them to follow me to the next room. “Right now, I have a kid’s class that I’m teaching for this other competition, that will go from 3:00 to 4:00. From 4:00 to 4:30 is my “alone time” so to speak, and I usually do whatever I feel like. But since I’m preparing for a competition, lucky you will get to see all the different types of dance styles that I prepared. Sound good?”
“Yep, definitely.” They all chorused. Well, all except one. Any guesses as to who didn’t respond?? I rolled my eyes, this time making sure that he saw.
“Alrighty then, cop a squat over here and enjoy!!”

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“No, no Carter, spin her outwards not into you. And you have to hold onto both hands when you spin her. Hold her hands above her head.” I positioned his hands and fixed his posture again, attempting to show him how to spin the girl without tripping her and making her fall backwards.
“I can’t Shay!” Carter whined slightly, frustrated, “can you show me? Like a demonstration?”
“Umm....” I trailed off, looking around the room for someone to make this possible with, when my eyes landed on my four guests. Demi and Joe were off in their own world, giggling and cuddling while trying to pay attention, Kevin was attached to his phone and would look up every few minutes, but Nick, Nick kept his eyes trained on me. I could feel his gaze every time I turned, and it made me wonder even more about the boy. I couldn’t understand why I was so intrigued by him, nor could I pinpoint why he looked so familiar. Maybe it was his eyes. That deep chocolate brown held a promise of --- something. Something that just drew you in, something that you could drown in. Abruptly, I snapped out of my thoughts, focusing instead on the task at hand, only to find his eyes still on me. What was his deal? Looking away quickly, I sighed.
“Hold on Cart, I’ll try and see if I can give you a demo.” I walked over to the group, standing with my feet apart and my hands on my hips, and cleared my throat to get their attention.
“Can one of you boys help me out? One of my students needs a demo done and I need someone close to my height for it to work. “
“Uhhh….Well….we don’t know…” they trailed of, looking this way and that out of nervousness.
“Pweeeeeeeease?” I put on my famous pouty face, eyes wide and blinking, lips pouted, and waited for them to crack.
“Hey, I know! Nick can help you! He’s taken those cotillion classes or whatever.” Joe spoke, nudging Nick’s shoulder. Nick sent his brother a glare before glancing back up at me. I hesitated for a quick minute before deciding to ignore his attitude and reached down to grab his hand, pulling him up to stand before me. “Thanks Nick! I appreciate your enthusiasm. How tall are you?” I stepped closer as I spoke, trying to gauge the height difference. I was roughly around 5’7 and the top of my head reached the tip of his nose, so he was tall enough for me to have to tilt my head slightly to look up at him.
“5’9” he spoke quietly, barely opening his mouth, and stared intently into my eyes.
“O-okay, that’ll do. Thanks again.” I cursed myself internally for stuttering just because he was close.
“Alright, Carter, Carrie, pay close attention please.” I instructed the two kids, then turned to face the rest of the class, “Okay, kiddies, class is almost over so you guys can work on the stretching routines that we learned last class till it’s time to go, alright?”
“Yes, Shay!”
I turned back to Nick, “Do you know what to do Nick? Joe mentioned the classes, but I don’t know the extent of what you learned.”
“What exactly are we showing them?” his voice was still muted, soft and smooth, like velvet. “Stop it!” I internally scolded myself for being so obsessed over his voice,“You don’t even know the guy!”
“Um, a salsa lock spin. Basically, you’re spinning me with both hands. You know how in ballroom dancing you would spin the girl with one hand behind your back and the other twirling?” He nodded, “Well in this, you have to be holding both my hands the whole time. Spin right first, then spin back towards the left and then a double spin with hands over head. Got it?”
He nodded, “I think so.” I reached forward and grabbed his hands, twining them with mine. They were large and rough, but smooth at the same time. His calloused fingertips pressed against my palms, sending an odd sensation shooting through me.
What was wrong with me? The guy had been nothing but cold and distant so far, and here I was acting like an obsessive schoolgirl. “Control yourself, Shay.”
Looking over to my side, I called out “Cart, Care, are you guys paying attention?” getting them to snap their heads towards us instantly. “Watch carefully guys. We’re only going to show you once.” I looked back over at Nick, “Ready?”
He nodded, again.
Sighing, I counted out the beat, “and 5, 6, 7, 8.”
Tightening his grip on my hands, Nick pulled me forward, spinning me at the same time with a speed and grace that surprised me. For one so rigid, the boy sure could move. He was light on his feet and nimble, yet his movements were graceful, timed perfectly with mine. When we pulled apart, I looked over at Carter who was wearing an incredulous expression on his face. He came over, shaking his head adamantly. “You except me to do that?” He questioned, raising his eyebrows, “There’s no way!” I chuckled, letting go of Nick’s hands to ruffle Carter’s hair.
“Yes, I do and Yes, you can. Now come on.”
“But, Shaaaaaay! I can barely spin her normally! Like, the one hand kind!” Carter pouted, crossing his arms over his chest.
“You know, you have a point kid.” I looked back and forth between Carter and Carrie. “Care, come here for a sec.” I turned the two kids so that they were back to back, and instantly realized the problem: Carrie was a good four inches taller than Carter.
“Oh, woops. Can’t believe I didn’t see that earlier.” I laughed lightly, “Care looks like I’m going to have to find a new partner for you somehow. Cart you can be with Bella.” Carter skipped off to Bella with a sigh of relief and I turned back to Carrie. “Gee kid, do you think you could slow down on the growth?” I asked playfully, “where am I going to find a tall enough boy for you?” Carrie giggled, wrapping her arms around my waist and looking up. “I don’t know, that’s your job.”
“Thanks, that helps a lot Care.”
“Anytime sissy, anytime.”
“Maybe I can help?” A low voice cut in, making me realize that Nick was still standing next to me, and had seen the entire thing play out. I turned towards him in time to catch the small smile in his eyes disappear, his face going back to blank. It bugged me more than it should have. “Sure Nick, what do you have in mind?”
“My little brother, Frankie, would be perfect for her height I think. If you’d like I could bring him in tomorrow?”
Before I could answer, Carrie’s excited squeal interrupted us as she once again latched on to Nick’s leg. “You’d do that for me Nick?” she asked, pulling back, her eyes wide and shinning with excitement. He bent down to her level, softly ruffling her hair. “Of course I would. But on one condition.”
“What is it?” Carrie asked, bouncing up and down lightly
“Can I call you Care Bear?” Nick asked with a small smile. My breath caught in my throat. The only other person who had ever called Carrie “Care Bear” was my dad. But my dad was long gone. I came back to reality to see Carrie wrap her arms around Nick’s neck, pulling him in for a hug, and I realized that Nick was staring at me with a strange expression. I turned away quickly, not wanting to give away anything, and called out to the kids again, “Okay kiddies, class is over! Have a great rest of the day and remember to practice !!!” I was engulfed with hugs and kisses and versions of “Bye Shay!!” Laughing, I waved goodbye to all of them before turning around to face my mini audience.
“So,” clapping my hands together, I walked over to the CD player, “What did you guys think?”
“You’re amazing with kids!” This from Kevin who had a broad grin stretched across his face. I laughed, blushing slightly. I was never too good with compliments. “Thanks Kevin. But what about the dancing?”
“Well so far, we’re pretty impressed.” Kevin replied, Joe nodding his head in agreement. Nick stayed silent. Demi spoke up, “Oh you think you’re impressed now? Just wait till you see what’s next.”
Joe and Kevin and even Nick, looked over at Demi, “Why? What’s next?”
I answered for her, grinning at the group, “It’s my time.”