The Dancer

She woke up around seven and yawned. She didn’t have to be at the studio until ten and she decided to use her time wisely. She took a long shower, making sure she shaved everything that needed to be shaved, and she washed her hair and thoroughly conditioned it before squeezing the water out and tying it on her head. She scrubbed her entire body and then stepped out of the shower.

She wrapped a towel around her body and her head before sitting down on the toilet to rub lotion onto her legs and feet. Once the rest of her body was dried, she put lotion on it and took the towel from her hair. She rubbed her hair mostly dry before adding heat serum to her hair and brushing it out. Naked, she dried her hair and plugged in her straightener. She changed the song on her phone that was charging on the sing and moved a bit to the music.

Digging through her suitcase, she pulled on a pair of underwear, her bra and tank top, and a pair of sweatpants. She slipped socks on her feet before moving back to the bathroom to do her makeup. Not bothering with foundation or powder, she went straight to the eyes, making sure they were dark, before lining them and applying mascara.

She ran her straightener through her hair, making sure each strand was pin-point straight before unplugging it and her phone. She cut the lights out in the bathroom and moved back to the bed to pull the long-sleeved black shirt over her head. She slipped on her shoes, grabbed the black and pink hat from her bag and set it on top of her head, the bill facing backwards.

It took her no time at all to find the building. She showed the guard her I.D. and found a parking spot easily. She grabbed her bag and headed inside, pushing the lock button on the rental car. Glancing at her phone, she realized she was at least an hour early. Shrugging, she walked into the studio. There was a guy standing by a table in front of the wall of mirrors.

He turned around at the sound of the door closing and smiled at her before making his way to her.

“Hey, I’m Kevin. I’m the choreographer,” he said holding his hand out.

She took his hand and shook it. “I’m Dakota.”

“Nice to meet you. Well, you’re certainly early,” he said with a chuckle.

“First impressions are everything,” she said, laughing.

“Absolutely right,” he said, smiling. “Well, I hope you don’t mind me playing some music to pass the time.”

“As long as you don’t mind me dancing,” she said, smiling broadly.

“Absolutely not. Have you danced long?”

“I’ve been dancing since I could walk.”

“Impressive. Mind if I watch?”

“Nope,” she said.

She moved to the back of the studio and set her bag on the ground. She bent down and lifted her right pant leg up to her knee. The sounds of Beyonce filled the studios impressive sound system and she found herself nodding along with the music. She glanced up to see Kevin sitting on the table with the equipment and she moved to the center of the floor to start moving. He watched her dance for the full song and then changed it to a Lil' Jon song and came to stand beside her.

Brian made his way to the studio early. He was hoping to catch Dakota as she came into the studio so he could introduce himself. Unfortunately, by the time he got there, she was already there along with the rest of the girls. Everyone was standing with their back against the back wall watching two people in front of them dance in sync. Kevin, the choreographer was dancing beside Dakota in a choreographed dance to some fast-paced rap song. She looked completely intense as she moved around beside Kevin, sweat forming on her brow, just below her hat.

He looked at his phone and realized he was ten minutes early, yet it seemed like everyone had been here for a while. When he looked back up through the glass, he saw Dakota and Kevin were no longer dancing. It seemed like everyone wanted them to continue, however, and so Kevin said something to Dakota before moving back to the disc player. He watched Dakota walk towards her bag and pick up a bottle of water, taking a long drink of it. She took her hat off and set it on her bag. By the time Kevin had found a song, she was back in the middle of the floor.

She threw her head back as she recognized “Bang It” playing over the speakers. She’d already come up with a dance to this song. She placed her feet shoulder-width apart and let her arms dangle by her side. When the song started, she moved a little bit and when the bass dropped, she threw her right arm in the air and then her left, repeating.

Brian watched with ongoing fascination as she moved around, teaching the others the dance. He was so enraptured that he didn’t even notice Zacky walking in beside him.

“Is that the chick you’ve been talking about?”

Brian glanced at Zacky before turning his eyes back to Dakota in front of him. She was now laughing at something Kevin was saying.

“Yeah, that’s her,” he said.

“Let’s get in there,” Zacky said moving to the door.

“Wait,” Brian said, stopping him.

Zacky looked through the mirrors to the group of girls that was coming forward to join in with Dakota.

“Let’s just wait until they’re done,” Brian suggested. “I don’t want them to get nervous or some shit.”

“Whatever, dude,” Zacky said and chuckled.

He watched his best friend’s eyes follow the dark-haired girl with every move she made. He’d never seen Brian so worked up over a girl. Hell, Missy was his conquest: he’d pursued her and he’d won. Zacky smiled as he watched the girl dance on the other side of the glass. She wouldn’t be easy; she was going to challenge Brian and he was going to hate it. Zacky’s smile grew. It wasn’t as if he was jealous of his best friend because he wasn’t. He thought it was funny the way women threw themselves at Brian and he always acted like they were a challenge to get. This time, there really was going to be a challenge and it was going to be fun to watch.



Dakota’s hair felt like it was two miles high with the amount of head nodding and bobbing and flipping she’d done. Her body was covered in sweat and she’d had to pull her shirt up over her head, just like in class. Honestly, she hadn’t expected to do much in this “meeting” except, well, meet everyone. The producers and executives had come in at exactly ten to say just that. It was just a meeting so the dancers could get used to everyone. Much to their surprise, it ended up being a dance class led by Dakota and Kevin.

In reality, it was a huge surprise to Dakota. She had never expected anything like this in her life. She really didn’t expect to like the other girls, either. They all had dancing in their background, and she was the only one who had never been a stripper. They'd even shared their numbers with each other, suggesting they get together for lunch or something before the show.

Closing in on noon, they were in the middle of a dance when Dakota saw him. Zacky Vengeance came in first, followed by Synyster Gates. She mentally went dumb and if she hadn’t been doing a dance that she taught her class and knew by heart, she would’ve faltered in her step. In the mirror, she kept her eyes on him, trying to memorize his every move. Finally, she had to continue her dance and she took her eyes off of him but she couldn’t shake the feeling he was watching her.

Just like when she was at work when that feeling hit her, she threw herself into the music. She made sure her hips popped a bit more, her chest stuck out another inch, and her ass shook just a little bit longer than necessary. All of her moves were exaggerated but it was because of her job. She needed the guys to look at her in order for her job with Gemma to work right.

The song ended and another one came on, but Kevin called it quits. Dakota walked with him to the table where her bottle of water was sitting. As she took a sip, she watched Zacky and Syn introducing themselves to the other girls.

“I know we’re gonna be working together until the concert and stuff, but I wanna give you this,” Kevin said and held out a card. “If you ever want another gig dancing or you’re interested in becoming a choreographer, you should give me a call.”

“Wow, this is incredible,” she said as she flipped the card over in her hands. “Thank you so much.”

“I’ll be in touch,” he said, nodding.

She smiled her goodbye and turned around to get her things. Everyone had left the studio and she felt a small bit of sadness over not meeting Zacky and Syn.

She pulled her long-sleeved shirt off and threw it over her shoulder, placing the bag strap on top of it before putting her hat on her head. She reached inside the small pocket on the end of the bag and pulled out her sunglasses, cigarettes, lighter, and car keys. She put her sunglasses on as she pushed her way through the doors and as she got close to the front doors, she pulled a cigarette out and put the pack under the shoulder strap of her tank top.

As she exited the building, she paused to light the tip of the cigarette and closed her eyes as she exhaled.

“Feels good, doesn’t it?”

Brian could see he startled her by the way her eyes shot open from behind her sunglasses. She looked around her until she found him leaning against the building to her left. A small smirk graced the left side of her mouth.

“Yeah, it does,” she said, somehow knowing what he was talking about.

“I’m Brian,” he said while extending his hand.

She took a few steps toward him and grasped his hand. “I’m Dakota.”

“Nice to finally meet you.”

“’Finally’?”

“We were at the auditions. I have to say out of all the girls there you really intrigued me. Maybe it was your tattoo, or maybe it was the fact you were the first person not to dance to a rap song or one of ours.”

Dakota picked up on what he probably regretted saying. She intrigued him? Fine. Two could play that game.

“Well, I’m not normally known to do what’s expected of me,” she shrugged.

“Would you wanna grab lunch?” Brian found himself asking.

“Hmm…Lunch with Syn, huh?” she asked, tapping her chin with her fingers. “No, thanks. I’ve got to go to church.”

He watched as she winked at him before turning and walking to a sleek black Mercedes. She climbed in and started it up. “Got the Life” by Korn blasted through the speakers of the car, making him smile. She rolled down the window and flicked her cigarette out just as she pulled off, but he knew she snuck a second glance at him.