Ficlet: Pas de Deux (Bandom, Victoria/Bebe 1200 words, Teen)
Summary: The dance students get assigned to work in cross-style pairs. Victoria is tall and there aren't very many boys, so of course she doesn't get one. Instead, Victoria, (ballet/voice/piano) gets assigned to work with Bebe (jazz/contemporary/voice).
Story on AO3
The dance students get assigned to work in cross-style pairs. Victoria is tall and there aren't very many boys, so of course she doesn't get one. Instead, Victoria, (ballet/voice/piano) gets assigned to work with Bebe (jazz/contemporary/voice).
*
Bebe's trying to get Victoria to do what she's talking about and she puts her hands on Victoria's hips and says, "You have hips. Use them."
They're really, really close, and Victoria thinks they're having a moment.
Then Bebe looks at her more thoughtfully and says, "Do you think you can lift me? I know I'm too tiny to lift you, but if you can lift me-"
There are few enough boys in the dance program that Victoria's used to being on that side of lifts, and Bebe is tiny enough that she knows she can do it.
They build their choreography around three lifts. For the first one, Victoria reaches out, lifts Bebe sideways, but can't hold onto her. For the second, Bebe uses Victoria to float halfway across the stage. For the third, Bebe comes straight at Victoria, who reaches for her, holds her up. They dance the end of the piece together.
Victoria still wants to dance with a guy - it's a better career builder - but Bebe is so good and so nice that she doesn't mind.
"And you like her," Gabe says when she tells her boys this.
"I like her so much," Victoria says.
"Cheer the fuck up," Gabe says, because Gabe is an asshole as well as one of her best friends. "We're going out."
Victoria groans. She has school in the morning. "Where are we going?"
"Pete has a new band. They're playing tonight." That is worth staying up late for. Pete seemed kind of lost when Patrick went to Juilliard; his new band is worth checking out.
Victoria goes with the boys to this all-ages club, and of course Pete's new lead singer is Bebe. Victoria might know the other guys in the band, but she can't look away from Bebe to check.
They go backstage after the set, and Victoria grabs at Bebe's arm. "That's what's missing." She kicks off her shoes. "Do the lift, but this time do what you were doing on stage."
Bebe looks confused. "What was I doing on stage?"
"Exuding sex." Victoria doesn't wait for either of them to get embarrassed by that. "Come on."
Bebe unlaces her boots, Victoria counts them into the first lift, and they do it in the middle of what serves at the club's green room.
"The other two?" Bebe asks, focused on dance again.
Victoria nods, and they do the second and third lifts too. "There," Victoria says. "We should do it like that."
"I'm turned on," Gabe says.
Victoria flips him off. "The color purple turns you on."
"It's a very sexy color."
Bebe puts her boots on while Victoria banters with Gabe. Victoria touches Bebe's arm before she can leave. "That was really good. I'll see you tomorrow, to work on it."
Bebe smiles at her a little and says, "Yeah," but avoids her for the rest of the night.
She's got it, though, what Victoria wants her to do, when they have time to rehearse the next day. Even from the inside, Victoria knows it's going to look great.
*
They take first place in the contest (of course there's a contest), which means they get to perform their piece at the end-of-year showcase.
"So," Bebe asks at the last dress rehearsal, "is your boyfriend coming?"
"Boyfriend?" This is not a piece of gossip about herself Victoria's heard.
Bebe asks, "The guy who gets turned on by purple?"
Victoria makes a face. "Gabe? No way. Just a friend."
Bebe looks a little lost at that. "Oh, really?"
"Yeah." Victoria shoves the rest of her stuff into her bag. She's supposed to be home for dinner for once tonight.
"Oh. I guess I'll see you at the show."
"Yeah." Victoria slings her bag over her shoulder and hesitates for a moment. She and Bebe head into the hug at the same time.
"I'm really glad I got you," Bebe says.
Victoria smiles at her. "Me too."
*
The show is perfect. They dance their asses off and get a huge round of applause. After the show, there's a reception, which is also a big deal. People come to this thing to scout talent, and the reception is where they get to schmooze.
Bebe and Victoria stand together to accept compliments on their piece. Victoria's boys are there, and Gabe picks her up when he hugs her. He puts her down and does the same to Bebe, who looks startled at first, but then just hits him in the arm.
"Victoria's the only one who gets to pick me up."
Victoria's saved from whatever embarrassing thing Gabe might be about to say by the arrival of an adult.
"Girls," the woman says, "your piece was wonderful."
They say thank you, and Bebe shifts a little closer to Victoria, so their arms touch.
"I don't think I've ever seen a piece that did a better job of expressing the passion that can exist between women as women."
Victoria has no idea what she's talking about, but Bebe smiles brightly at her. "Thank you so much. That was all Victoria's idea."
Victoria startles. "You're the one who can just bleed sex onto the stage."
Bebe taps her arm. "Yeah, but you're the one who said we should put that into the dance."
"You're obviously a wonderful team," the woman says. "I hope to see more of you."
They both thank her, and Bebe grabs Victoria's arm when the woman moves away. "Do you know who that was?" she hisses.
Victoria looks after the woman. "No. Should I?"
"That was Mia Michaels. Mia Michaels liked our piece!"
Victoria does ballet; the name means nothing to her.
Bebe shakes her head. "She's a big deal, okay? Trust me."
"I trust you," Victoria says.
*
There's a party after the reception, of course, hosted by one of the kids with a large house and permissive parents. They're a performing arts school, so there's no shortage of DJs and kids who want to jam to keep the party going.
There's also no shortage of dancing, and in the midst of that, Bebe and Victoria get called on to do their lift again, the third one. Victoria realizes, as Bebe comes toward her, that this is the last time they're going to get to do this lift. She doesn't put Bebe down. She lowers her a little, though, and waits for Bebe's smile before she kisses her.
Victoria recognizes the most piercing whistle amongst the catcalls they get as belonging to Gabe, and she flips him off without dropping Bebe.
"I've been hoping you would do that," Bebe says.
"Oh." Victoria smiles and lets Bebe down to stand on her own two feet. "I didn't know."
"Of course you didn't." Bebe kisses her this time. "Let's show them how this is done."
Victoria laughs and lets Bebe take the lead on the makeshift dance floor. Maybe not the last time after all.
Story on AO3
The dance students get assigned to work in cross-style pairs. Victoria is tall and there aren't very many boys, so of course she doesn't get one. Instead, Victoria, (ballet/voice/piano) gets assigned to work with Bebe (jazz/contemporary/voice).
*
Bebe's trying to get Victoria to do what she's talking about and she puts her hands on Victoria's hips and says, "You have hips. Use them."
They're really, really close, and Victoria thinks they're having a moment.
Then Bebe looks at her more thoughtfully and says, "Do you think you can lift me? I know I'm too tiny to lift you, but if you can lift me-"
There are few enough boys in the dance program that Victoria's used to being on that side of lifts, and Bebe is tiny enough that she knows she can do it.
They build their choreography around three lifts. For the first one, Victoria reaches out, lifts Bebe sideways, but can't hold onto her. For the second, Bebe uses Victoria to float halfway across the stage. For the third, Bebe comes straight at Victoria, who reaches for her, holds her up. They dance the end of the piece together.
Victoria still wants to dance with a guy - it's a better career builder - but Bebe is so good and so nice that she doesn't mind.
"And you like her," Gabe says when she tells her boys this.
"I like her so much," Victoria says.
"Cheer the fuck up," Gabe says, because Gabe is an asshole as well as one of her best friends. "We're going out."
Victoria groans. She has school in the morning. "Where are we going?"
"Pete has a new band. They're playing tonight." That is worth staying up late for. Pete seemed kind of lost when Patrick went to Juilliard; his new band is worth checking out.
Victoria goes with the boys to this all-ages club, and of course Pete's new lead singer is Bebe. Victoria might know the other guys in the band, but she can't look away from Bebe to check.
They go backstage after the set, and Victoria grabs at Bebe's arm. "That's what's missing." She kicks off her shoes. "Do the lift, but this time do what you were doing on stage."
Bebe looks confused. "What was I doing on stage?"
"Exuding sex." Victoria doesn't wait for either of them to get embarrassed by that. "Come on."
Bebe unlaces her boots, Victoria counts them into the first lift, and they do it in the middle of what serves at the club's green room.
"The other two?" Bebe asks, focused on dance again.
Victoria nods, and they do the second and third lifts too. "There," Victoria says. "We should do it like that."
"I'm turned on," Gabe says.
Victoria flips him off. "The color purple turns you on."
"It's a very sexy color."
Bebe puts her boots on while Victoria banters with Gabe. Victoria touches Bebe's arm before she can leave. "That was really good. I'll see you tomorrow, to work on it."
Bebe smiles at her a little and says, "Yeah," but avoids her for the rest of the night.
She's got it, though, what Victoria wants her to do, when they have time to rehearse the next day. Even from the inside, Victoria knows it's going to look great.
*
They take first place in the contest (of course there's a contest), which means they get to perform their piece at the end-of-year showcase.
"So," Bebe asks at the last dress rehearsal, "is your boyfriend coming?"
"Boyfriend?" This is not a piece of gossip about herself Victoria's heard.
Bebe asks, "The guy who gets turned on by purple?"
Victoria makes a face. "Gabe? No way. Just a friend."
Bebe looks a little lost at that. "Oh, really?"
"Yeah." Victoria shoves the rest of her stuff into her bag. She's supposed to be home for dinner for once tonight.
"Oh. I guess I'll see you at the show."
"Yeah." Victoria slings her bag over her shoulder and hesitates for a moment. She and Bebe head into the hug at the same time.
"I'm really glad I got you," Bebe says.
Victoria smiles at her. "Me too."
*
The show is perfect. They dance their asses off and get a huge round of applause. After the show, there's a reception, which is also a big deal. People come to this thing to scout talent, and the reception is where they get to schmooze.
Bebe and Victoria stand together to accept compliments on their piece. Victoria's boys are there, and Gabe picks her up when he hugs her. He puts her down and does the same to Bebe, who looks startled at first, but then just hits him in the arm.
"Victoria's the only one who gets to pick me up."
Victoria's saved from whatever embarrassing thing Gabe might be about to say by the arrival of an adult.
"Girls," the woman says, "your piece was wonderful."
They say thank you, and Bebe shifts a little closer to Victoria, so their arms touch.
"I don't think I've ever seen a piece that did a better job of expressing the passion that can exist between women as women."
Victoria has no idea what she's talking about, but Bebe smiles brightly at her. "Thank you so much. That was all Victoria's idea."
Victoria startles. "You're the one who can just bleed sex onto the stage."
Bebe taps her arm. "Yeah, but you're the one who said we should put that into the dance."
"You're obviously a wonderful team," the woman says. "I hope to see more of you."
They both thank her, and Bebe grabs Victoria's arm when the woman moves away. "Do you know who that was?" she hisses.
Victoria looks after the woman. "No. Should I?"
"That was Mia Michaels. Mia Michaels liked our piece!"
Victoria does ballet; the name means nothing to her.
Bebe shakes her head. "She's a big deal, okay? Trust me."
"I trust you," Victoria says.
*
There's a party after the reception, of course, hosted by one of the kids with a large house and permissive parents. They're a performing arts school, so there's no shortage of DJs and kids who want to jam to keep the party going.
There's also no shortage of dancing, and in the midst of that, Bebe and Victoria get called on to do their lift again, the third one. Victoria realizes, as Bebe comes toward her, that this is the last time they're going to get to do this lift. She doesn't put Bebe down. She lowers her a little, though, and waits for Bebe's smile before she kisses her.
Victoria recognizes the most piercing whistle amongst the catcalls they get as belonging to Gabe, and she flips him off without dropping Bebe.
"I've been hoping you would do that," Bebe says.
"Oh." Victoria smiles and lets Bebe down to stand on her own two feet. "I didn't know."
"Of course you didn't." Bebe kisses her this time. "Let's show them how this is done."
Victoria laughs and lets Bebe take the lead on the makeshift dance floor. Maybe not the last time after all.