i almost want to make a kent/lauren icon for this! EDIT: okay i totally gave in and did. clearly.
I DON'T KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT CHARACTERIZATION IN THIS, HAHA. I hope I got them right. I kind of took liberties with how I thought they would act to fit into my little plot bunny (which actually turned into a big fat plot rabbit, I can never END fics which is why I hardly ever write them) and I hope it's enough like them for you! :[ I JUST HOPE YOU LIKE IT HJGSKLJ THE END IS KIND OF LAME, BUT I CAN'T END THINGS FOR CRAP, SO. HERE YOU GO WAHOO!! FINGERS CROSSED THAT YOU LIKE IT!! ^____^
When Kent is onstage, he feels confident, the one place where he knows what he's doing. Dance is the same no matter where he is, and the thought always comforts him, like it's his security blanket. Even doing things like hip hop, step, they're no challenge because all he wants to do is dance. But off-stage, the bright lights of Los Angeles seem to swallow him up, and it scares him, doing awkward interviews by himself with no one to tell him the ins and outs of Hollywood that they already somehow seem to know.
Alex was his roommate, the person who understood him the most, the guy he thought would be there with him until he had to pack up his own things and go. Kent has never thought he could win the competition -- after all, personality only gets you so far, which Jose has handfuls of, and both Billy and Alex outshine him in dancing skills by a mile -- but then Alex gets hurt and leaves and now he feels alone in this new world that he's still desperately trying to learn.
They're the same age, but Kent feels centuries younger than Lauren. She's so worldly, at least in his eyes, and all he's ever known are the farms and his tiny little school back in Wapakoneta. She's nothing like the girls in Ohio, at least not the ones he's ever seen. She's beautiful, but it's a natural look, something that he hasn't seen all that much since arriving in California. They're fast friends and she kind of takes him under her wing, although she sometimes seems to have deer in the headlights moments too. He's relieved that he's not the only one.
Kent gets paired with Lauren and their choreographer is Travis, and he's scared out of his mind because he's seen Travis's routines. He doesn't know how to be that sexy and definitely not with someone like Lauren, so he's relieved when he learns that Travis has taken it down a notch for them, given them a cute, romantic routine instead of something over the top sexy like he's seen. Their rehearsals go well for the first day, though of course they're still learning, and Kent likes dancing with Lauren, even if she does keep burping in his face. She's not controlling like Anya or perfect at everything she does like Allison or oozing confidence and sex appeal like Courtney. She's the only one of his partners who's in the same boat as him, who is going through the same thing at the same time, and though he likes Ashley, he's really, really glad Lauren is his partner.
They're having lunch together, sitting in the corner of the studio, Lauren with her ham and cheese and Kent with his childish peanut butter and banana, sharing a napkin full of potato chips and joking around, when Travis tells them he'll be back, and leaves. The atmosphere doesn't change much now that they're alone, the jokes and conversation still coming easily, two friends having a good time together. Lauren pulls her knees up to her chest then, cradling her legs with her long arms, and she rests her head on top of them, staring at Kent in a way he's never seen as he rambles on about life back on the farm.
"So did you ever have a girlfriend back home?" she asks when he finishes talking, and the question takes him by surprise.
"Oh, um, no, not really. I mean, I went on a couple dates with a few girls, but they were just friends. I never really thought of any of the girls in my school like that." He watches her bite her lip and he wonders what's going through her mind, wishing for once he didn't have to be so naive.
"Did you ..... you know, think of the guys like that?" It takes him a second to process what she's asking and when he finally does, his eyes widen. He knows a lot of male dancers are gay, but he never had the slightest inkling that anyone might see him that way.
"No!" he stammers, shaking his head. "I mean, there's nothing wrong with that, but ...... did you really think I was gay?" Her face is bright red now, and he's feeling awkward and silently praying in his head, Please come back, Travis. Pleaaaseee. She shrugs a shoulder up, and looks down.
"Not really," is what she finally says, what feels like ten minutes of awkward silence later. "I just wanted to make sure." And then she's letting go of her knees, crawling on them instead, and her lips are pressing up against his, her hands on his shoulders, and he can feel her hair brushing against his cheek. She tastes like mustard, from her sandwich, and something else, something sweet that is so very undoubtedly Lauren. Kent likes it. He's never kissed a girl, not really, just like he's never dated one, but his hands find her hips and clutch onto her and it's like something inside of him just knows what to do because she's Lauren and this is what's supposed to happen. Her lips are soft, not worn from too much nervous chewing like his, and he doesn't want this to end, but of course it has to and she leans back, her blonde hair hanging in her face as she stares at him nervously. "Was that okay?" she whispers and he nods, unable to say anything. She's red again and out of breath and he knows he's the same way, but all he wants to do is kiss her more.
Of course Travis chooses this moment to come back to the studio, and Kent silently curses himself for praying he would come back in the first place. They're caught in a compromising position, but instead of being embarrassed, Lauren just burps in his face again and pretends like everything is normal, which of course it's not. Kent is sure Travis knows, but he doesn't say anything, which he is immensely thankful for. He savors every touch between him and Lauren, practicing each slow, romantic move over and over until they've seemingly gotten better, and when they finally end for the day, Lauren kisses his cheek and flees before he can say anything to her.
They practice for the rest of the week, and the kiss is never mentioned. Kent feels sad, almost let down at the fact that she doesn't bring it up again, doesn't kiss him again, and he's too scared to do it himself. He isn't shy, not in the slightest, but he doesn't know what to do with a girl he likes. He notices little things about her, like the way she laughs and how beautiful the sound is, the way her nose wrinkles when she gets something wrong, the way she's a perfectionist and practices every move over and over until it's exactly to her liking. They're all things that make Kent like her a little more and he doesn't quite know what to do with the feelings, especially since she's continuing to burp in his face -- just another chance for him to get to look at her lips and want another kiss -- and poking fun at him, just like she used to before anything happens.
It's the first dance he's nervous for, and they wait in the wings together, Lauren bouncing up and down in her little pink dress. She looks beautiful, and he can't take his eyes off of her, something she notices.
"Do I look okay?" she asks nervously, looking down at herself as if he's been staring at her for a bad reason, and he nods furiously.
"You look beautiful," he insists, and then he's losing it, blurting everything out that's been going through his head the past few days. "Why haven't we talked about what happened on Friday? Why did you kiss me if you're never going to talk about it again?"
"I .... I don't ...."
"All I've wanted to do for this past week is kiss you again, but every time you were in my face it was to burp, and I like you, but I don't want to kiss you while you're burping, and ....." His words are cut off as she kisses him again, and he remembers exactly how much he liked kissing her, why it's been eating him up all week that he hasn't been able to again. Then she's pulling away, spinning around and running toward the direction of the stage hands calling them to their places and he feels happy inside, his heart beating fast. He knows they can do this dance. It's kind of like the dance they were meant to do.
It goes beautifully, without a hitch, and he hears the crowd cheering for them as they spin around the stage, using the raw emotion from backstage to fuel their chemistry for each other onstage, and he feels wonderful, knowing this is his best dance yet. Their best dance. The dance is supposed to end with a hug, her head pressed to his chest, but as he hears the music come to a close, he kisses her. If she's surprised, she doesn't let on, kissing him back, and though he can hear the ringing of the audience's screams in his head, he feels like they're the only two in the world.
"Will you go out with me?" he asks as his lips part from hers, and she nods, and he hopes that exchange wasn't caught on camera, but he's never felt like this for anyone and he's almost so giddy that he doesn't care. Cat's behind them, urging them to stop, nearly pulling them apart as she teases about their parents killing her, but Kent doesn't care. He doesn't care if the judges hated their dance, if they told them it was the worst dance they had ever seen on the So You Think You Can Dance stage. All he cares about is the girl in his arms and the thought of getting to kiss her yet again.
When Kent is onstage, he feels confident, the one place where he knows what he's doing. Dance is the same no matter where he is, and the thought always comforts him, like it's his security blanket. Even doing things like hip hop, step, they're no challenge because all he wants to do is dance. But off-stage, the bright lights of Los Angeles seem to swallow him up, and it scares him, doing awkward interviews by himself with no one to tell him the ins and outs of Hollywood that they already somehow seem to know.
Alex was his roommate, the person who understood him the most, the guy he thought would be there with him until he had to pack up his own things and go. Kent has never thought he could win the competition -- after all, personality only gets you so far, which Jose has handfuls of, and both Billy and Alex outshine him in dancing skills by a mile -- but then Alex gets hurt and leaves and now he feels alone in this new world that he's still desperately trying to learn.
They're the same age, but Kent feels centuries younger than Lauren. She's so worldly, at least in his eyes, and all he's ever known are the farms and his tiny little school back in Wapakoneta. She's nothing like the girls in Ohio, at least not the ones he's ever seen. She's beautiful, but it's a natural look, something that he hasn't seen all that much since arriving in California. They're fast friends and she kind of takes him under her wing, although she sometimes seems to have deer in the headlights moments too. He's relieved that he's not the only one.
Kent gets paired with Lauren and their choreographer is Travis, and he's scared out of his mind because he's seen Travis's routines. He doesn't know how to be that sexy and definitely not with someone like Lauren, so he's relieved when he learns that Travis has taken it down a notch for them, given them a cute, romantic routine instead of something over the top sexy like he's seen. Their rehearsals go well for the first day, though of course they're still learning, and Kent likes dancing with Lauren, even if she does keep burping in his face. She's not controlling like Anya or perfect at everything she does like Allison or oozing confidence and sex appeal like Courtney. She's the only one of his partners who's in the same boat as him, who is going through the same thing at the same time, and though he likes Ashley, he's really, really glad Lauren is his partner.
They're having lunch together, sitting in the corner of the studio, Lauren with her ham and cheese and Kent with his childish peanut butter and banana, sharing a napkin full of potato chips and joking around, when Travis tells them he'll be back, and leaves. The atmosphere doesn't change much now that they're alone, the jokes and conversation still coming easily, two friends having a good time together. Lauren pulls her knees up to her chest then, cradling her legs with her long arms, and she rests her head on top of them, staring at Kent in a way he's never seen as he rambles on about life back on the farm.
"So did you ever have a girlfriend back home?" she asks when he finishes talking, and the question takes him by surprise.
"Oh, um, no, not really. I mean, I went on a couple dates with a few girls, but they were just friends. I never really thought of any of the girls in my school like that." He watches her bite her lip and he wonders what's going through her mind, wishing for once he didn't have to be so naive.
"Did you ..... you know, think of the guys like that?" It takes him a second to process what she's asking and when he finally does, his eyes widen. He knows a lot of male dancers are gay, but he never had the slightest inkling that anyone might see him that way.
"No!" he stammers, shaking his head. "I mean, there's nothing wrong with that, but ...... did you really think I was gay?" Her face is bright red now, and he's feeling awkward and silently praying in his head, Please come back, Travis. Pleaaaseee. She shrugs a shoulder up, and looks down.
"Not really," is what she finally says, what feels like ten minutes of awkward silence later. "I just wanted to make sure." And then she's letting go of her knees, crawling on them instead, and her lips are pressing up against his, her hands on his shoulders, and he can feel her hair brushing against his cheek. She tastes like mustard, from her sandwich, and something else, something sweet that is so very undoubtedly Lauren. Kent likes it. He's never kissed a girl, not really, just like he's never dated one, but his hands find her hips and clutch onto her and it's like something inside of him just knows what to do because she's Lauren and this is what's supposed to happen. Her lips are soft, not worn from too much nervous chewing like his, and he doesn't want this to end, but of course it has to and she leans back, her blonde hair hanging in her face as she stares at him nervously. "Was that okay?" she whispers and he nods, unable to say anything. She's red again and out of breath and he knows he's the same way, but all he wants to do is kiss her more.
Of course Travis chooses this moment to come back to the studio, and Kent silently curses himself for praying he would come back in the first place. They're caught in a compromising position, but instead of being embarrassed, Lauren just burps in his face again and pretends like everything is normal, which of course it's not. Kent is sure Travis knows, but he doesn't say anything, which he is immensely thankful for. He savors every touch between him and Lauren, practicing each slow, romantic move over and over until they've seemingly gotten better, and when they finally end for the day, Lauren kisses his cheek and flees before he can say anything to her.
They practice for the rest of the week, and the kiss is never mentioned. Kent feels sad, almost let down at the fact that she doesn't bring it up again, doesn't kiss him again, and he's too scared to do it himself. He isn't shy, not in the slightest, but he doesn't know what to do with a girl he likes. He notices little things about her, like the way she laughs and how beautiful the sound is, the way her nose wrinkles when she gets something wrong, the way she's a perfectionist and practices every move over and over until it's exactly to her liking. They're all things that make Kent like her a little more and he doesn't quite know what to do with the feelings, especially since she's continuing to burp in his face -- just another chance for him to get to look at her lips and want another kiss -- and poking fun at him, just like she used to before anything happens.
It's the first dance he's nervous for, and they wait in the wings together, Lauren bouncing up and down in her little pink dress. She looks beautiful, and he can't take his eyes off of her, something she notices.
"Do I look okay?" she asks nervously, looking down at herself as if he's been staring at her for a bad reason, and he nods furiously.
"You look beautiful," he insists, and then he's losing it, blurting everything out that's been going through his head the past few days. "Why haven't we talked about what happened on Friday? Why did you kiss me if you're never going to talk about it again?"
"I .... I don't ...."
"All I've wanted to do for this past week is kiss you again, but every time you were in my face it was to burp, and I like you, but I don't want to kiss you while you're burping, and ....." His words are cut off as she kisses him again, and he remembers exactly how much he liked kissing her, why it's been eating him up all week that he hasn't been able to again. Then she's pulling away, spinning around and running toward the direction of the stage hands calling them to their places and he feels happy inside, his heart beating fast. He knows they can do this dance. It's kind of like the dance they were meant to do.
It goes beautifully, without a hitch, and he hears the crowd cheering for them as they spin around the stage, using the raw emotion from backstage to fuel their chemistry for each other onstage, and he feels wonderful, knowing this is his best dance yet. Their best dance. The dance is supposed to end with a hug, her head pressed to his chest, but as he hears the music come to a close, he kisses her. If she's surprised, she doesn't let on, kissing him back, and though he can hear the ringing of the audience's screams in his head, he feels like they're the only two in the world.
"Will you go out with me?" he asks as his lips part from hers, and she nods, and he hopes that exchange wasn't caught on camera, but he's never felt like this for anyone and he's almost so giddy that he doesn't care. Cat's behind them, urging them to stop, nearly pulling them apart as she teases about their parents killing her, but Kent doesn't care. He doesn't care if the judges hated their dance, if they told them it was the worst dance they had ever seen on the So You Think You Can Dance stage. All he cares about is the girl in his arms and the thought of getting to kiss her yet again.