Dance

To everyone who, like
me, believes in love at first sight

“Dance, when you're
broken open. Dance, if you've torn the bandage off. Dance in the middle of the
fighting. Dance in your blood. Dance when you're perfectly free.” 

~ 
Rumi

Chapter one

Fenix

Poison
was moving to Queen Victoria!

Finally.

Fenix
was beyond ecstatic. Queen Victoria had always been his favourite London
theatre, ever since he’d seen his mother, the great ballerina Evelyn Bergman,
dance on its stage fourteen years ago. A nine-year-old Fenix had watched in awe
and clutched his dad’s hand tightly as they sat side-by-side in the front row,
and had been forever captivated by the iconic London theatre.

It
was because of that moment that right after he’d graduated from
Juilliard,
Fenix had accepted the offer to move to London
and play the lead in a brand new musical called
Poison
. He could have stayed in New York, only to fight tooth and
nail pursuing his dream to be on Broadway. And he knew he would have, sooner
rather than later. He had inherited his mother’s grace and talent. But while
Evelyn could not sing to save her life, Fenix had a voice that could fill
stadiums. His mother always joked that her greatest fear was that he’d choose
to become a rock star instead of a dancer. And Fenix had always replied that
Broadway was a much nicer place for effeminate gay boys than the rock and roll
world.

In
a way, he had become a rock star.
Poison
was a show based on the rock
band City of
Shadows
’s
music, and Fenix’s character was the lead singer. He played a rock star every
night, a very convincing one at that. He’d put on eye liner to accentuate his
pale blue eyes, style his long blond hair in a messy way, put on the leather
pants and a tight, black t-shirt and pour his heart out on stage. That was what
Fenix lived for and it showed.

Poison
was based at a small London theatre, but Fenix saw the potential the moment
pre-production had started. Obviously, everyone else saw it too. After just
four months of performing on the barely-large-enough stage of
Cutty
Sark theatre in Greenwich,
Poison
got an offer from Queen Victoria. It was going to be their
main event, with four scheduled shows per week. Queen Victoria was hosting
another musical –
Of Kids and Monsters
,
but it was aimed at a younger audience and started at 4:00 pm, five days a
week. The show was hugely popular ever since it had opened at Queen Victoria
about a year ago. It had started as a small production, created by a couple of
kids with nothing better to do while they studied at
LAMDA
– The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Steven Hamilton, a notorious
West End producer, saw the show one night at the small amateur theatre and had
been immediately interested. Long story short,
Of Kids and Monsters
and its creators had become one of those
incredibly lucky, overnight success stories. The show was offered the matinee
slot at Queen Victoria the moment it got a little makeover. Fenix imagined Mr
Hamilton’s influence had played a great role in the offer, but it really didn't
matter. He’d seen the show and he knew it deserved all the success it had
gotten so far, and then some.
 

Of Kids and Monsters
had been playing at Queen Victoria for almost a year and it was still sold out
weeks in advance. Fenix knew the lead, Jared Hartley, had a lot to do with
that. He was one of the original creators, and the man’s charisma and stage
presence made the musical what it was today. Sure, the script was great, the
story well thought out, the songs were beautiful, and the whole production was
lavish and entertaining, but the moment Jared stepped on stage, the atmosphere
in the whole theatre changed. Nobody was able to look away. Fenix was sure that
was exactly what Steven Hamilton had seen that fateful night at the small,
amateur theatre. He’d felt Jared’s presence, fallen under his charm and, like
the good businessman that he was, he’d known that man would make this show a
hit.
And would make
him
lots of money.

Fenix
had a slight crush on Jared ever since he’d gone to see the musical a couple of
months ago. He’d seen his picture in the magazines before, and had always
thought the guy was gorgeous, but seeing him in person was a whole other
experience. And now Fenix was going to share Queen Victoria with Jared! It wasn’t
Broadway, but this was almost as perfect.

The next two
weeks flew by. Fenix had been in a constant happy
daze
.
The final performance at
Cutty
Sark the night before
had been an emotional one; the audience all stood, cheering for ten minutes
straight. The theatre staff had thrown the cast a small farewell party, and
everyone had shed a few tears, including Fenix. Yes, he was extremely happy
he’d be performing at Queen Victoria from now on and he’d be within touching
distance of Jared Hartley, but still. He’d had a good time at
Cutty
Sark – it had been the first stepping stone in his
career and he’d always remember it fondly.

Fenix
looked at his watch as he chewed his sugar-free, oat cereal, floating in soy
milk. In about half an hour he had to move into his new dressing room at Queen
Victoria. Everyone else had decided to go on Monday when the theatre was closed
to the public, and while it would have been generally more convenient, but
Fenix couldn't wait. He wanted to see the dressing rooms, the rehearsal room,
backstage... Thankfully, the staff manager had agreed to meet him on a Saturday
– considering the weekend was the busiest time for the theatre – and to show
him around.

Finishing
his breakfast and rinsing his bowl in the sink, Fenix went to his bedroom to
get dressed and pack a small bag with essentials for his dressing room. As he
put on jeans and a t-shirt, he thought about his current living arrangements.
He lived in Greenwich because
Cutty
Sark was right
across the street. But he couldn't keep living here now that he was performing
at Queen Victoria. He wanted to move somewhere closer to the theatre, but the
rent in that part of London was impossible to afford right now.

Unless he shared with someone.

Fenix
pondered that for a moment. Joy, his co-star and love interest in the musical,
was a possible candidate. She was the closest thing to a best friend Fenix had
ever had. He’d never been very sociable, and he’d never had many friends, but
Joy was cool and they got along pretty well. Unfortunately, she needed to have
her own space and she’d rather commute for an hour from her downstairs
apartment than share with anyone. Fenix had already tried to convince her to
move in together with him to save money on rent, but she flat out refused.

Another
person he sort of liked was Benedict, or Ned, as everyone called him. He played
City of
Shadows
’s
drummer in
Poison,
and Fenix knew him pretty well, since they’d spent so much
time together. But those past few months were precisely why Fenix was reluctant
to share an apartment with the guy. Ned had to be taken in small dozes
otherwise it just got too much. Everything around Ned was constantly changing –
his opinions, his hair, his style, his boyfriends, his mood. It was a non-stop
whirlwind of emotion that Fenix found fascinating but could not imagine having
in his home twenty-four-seven.

Fenix
didn't know anybody else well enough to live with them. Besides, the rest of
the
Poison
cast were all either
married or already living with someone or he knew he wouldn't get along with.
Fenix ran his fingers through his hair, which didn't do anything to tame the
mess it was right now, and sighed. Commuting an hour to work it was, then.

“What do you
mean I have to share with Jared Hartley?” Fenix squeaked when Gary, the staff
manager, escorted him to the dressing rooms. They were standing in front of a
door with Jared’s name on it and Fenix was too stunned to move a muscle.

“Everyone
shares, man. We don't have enough dressing rooms to fit all performers
individually,” Gary explained.

Wait,
did he think Fenix was complaining?

Fuck
no.

If
Fenix believed in God he’d be on his knees right now, thanking him.

“I
understand. I meant, isn’t he going to mind?”

“Nah,”
Gary said. “Jared is a cool guy. He used to share with one of the guys from
Cult,
but when they moved to the
Barbican, their places opened up.” He eyed Fenix curiously and frowned before
saying, “Look, if you really don't want to share with Jared, I’m sure we can
re-arrange the set up and fix you up somewhere else. Nobody has shown up and
moved their stuff in yet, so it won't be a problem...”

“No!”
Fenix yelled in alarm. Gary startled and his frown deepened.

Great.
Way to make a good
first impression, moron.

“Sorry,”
Fenix apologised, giving Gary his most charming smile. “I didn’t mean to sound
so dramatic,” Gary rolled his eyes, murmured ‘actors’ under his breath and
moved in to open the door. He walked in and Fenix followed him.

The
dressing room was large enough for two people to share comfortably. It had two
huge vanity tables with three-part mirrors, a wardrobe, two sofas, a coffee
table, and a big window overlooking Piccadilly Circus.

“This
is pretty much it,” Gary said, walking to the centre of the room and spreading
his arms wide. “You’ve got a bathroom through that door,” he continued,
pointing to the left. “When you meet Jared, he’ll tell you where to put your
stuff.”

Fenix
thanked Gary before he left the room, and flopped on the sofa. Smiling slowly he
pondered how quickly his life had changed, and wondered what else was in store
for him.

“Hi,”
a voice said, startling him. Fenix had been daydreaming and hadn’t even heard
the door open. Looking towards the owner of the voice, he saw his new dressing
room mate.

Jared.

Jared
Hartley was standing a few feet away, a pleasant smile on his handsome face.
The man was even more beautiful up close – he was probably no taller than
Fenix, but didn't have Fenix’s lithe dancer’s body. His shoulders were wider
and the arms peeking under his t-shirt were bulkier. His dark hair was tousled,
curling under his ears and falling into his eyes.

“Hi,”
Fenix replied as he exhaled the breath he was holding. Jared quirked an eyebrow
and Fenix realised he must look like an idiot sitting there, staring at the
guy.
“Hi, sorry.
I just got here and I’m still a bit
overwhelmed.” Jumping to his feet, he offered Jared his hand. Jared took it in
his own, his dark blue eyes never leaving Fenix’s icy blue ones. The touch of
Jared’s warm skin as his elegant, soft fingers wrapped around Fenix’s palm sent
shivers up his arm and his skin erupted in goosebumps. “I’m Fenix Bergman,” he
said quietly.