Dancing for the Lord: The Academy (19 page)

Danni was Katarina’s opposite in every way that mattered.

By the time they reached the dress rehearsal, Nick was actually eager to dance the entire pas de deux with Danni again.  He had dreaded the dress rehearsals, the performances themselves, for weeks; but now, suddenly, he was able to relax into it.  Danni would look out for him—he knew that, and appreciated it more than he could put into words.

And then, on his way to the dress rehearsal, Katarina caught up to him. 

“Well, it looks like you’ve made it,” she sneered.

Nick’s eyebrows shot up.  “There was a question about whether or not that was going to happen?” he asked curiously.

“Well, sure.”  She shrugged.  “Without me, you don’t have the drive to get it done.”

He didn’t dare point out to her that Danni had even more drive and determination than she did.  It would just end in Katarina hating Danni more than ever before, and that was the last thing he wanted to happen.  “Well, looks like Androv disagrees,” he said instead, his voice flat and steady. 

“Surprising.”  Katarina looked down her nose at him.  “I would’ve never thought you would actually make it to the performance, not the way you’ve been going.”

Nick bit down hard on his lip and didn’t answer her. 

“You know what?  I’ve been thinking.”  Katarina shifted up as close to her full height as she could get without running the risk that she would knock her crutches over.  She must have known full well that after what she was going to say to him, even
chivalrous Nicholas wouldn’t bend over and pick them up for her.  “I don’t think I want you back once my ankle heals.” 

“That’s your prerogative.”  Nick shrugged.  He had long since stopped caring whether or not Katarina intended to keep her. 

“Actually,” she continued, “I don’t think I would be willing to dance with you if you were the last male dancer at the school.” 

Nick’s hands fisted at his side, but he didn’t respond the way he desperately wanted to.  Instead, he gave her a cold, hard smile.  “Again, that’s your prerogative.  I’ll be sure to let Danni know that she no longer has any competition to worry about.” 

Katarina glowered at him.  “Oh, yes, precious Danni,” she taunted.  “Wouldn’t want her to have to worry.  Does she realize yet that you’re scum of the earth, or has she been so entranced by dancing with the great Nicholas that she hasn’t realized what a jerk you are?”

“I’ve never been anything but kind to you, Katarina,” Nick pointed out patiently. 

“Oh, right.  Kind.  Is that what you call it?”  She threw her head back and laughed.  “As if you have any idea what that means!  I had to
drag
you into the practice room every time I wanted to dance; you never initiated
anything
; and as I recall it, you were a real pain about working anything but the piece you wanted to work at any given moment.  How many times did I stand and wait on you before I could get started?  Do you even know?”

“It’s not my fault,” he told her stiffly, “if you get there thirty minutes early and then stand and wait.”

“Everyone knows,” Katarina insisted shrilly, “that when you have plans to meet someone, you should already be warmed up when you get there!”

Really?  Because Danni thinks that we have plenty of time to warm up together.
  He held the words back with an effort of sheer will alone.  Patronizing Katarina wasn’t going to get him anywhere.  Besides, he was very close to being late for the dress rehearsal; Danni would be worried about him. 

Danni
.  Suddenly, he desperately wanted to hear her voice, just for a moment.  In a few short days, she had come to mean a great deal to him—probably because she was a real partner, the kind that he knew he could count on.  Katarina didn’t even register by comparison. 

“You know what, Nicholas?” Katarina informed him.  “You can
have
your precious Dannie, and you can do whatever you want to together—because I don’t want to have anything to do with you.”

“That,” he said formally, “is your choice, Katarina.”  His hands were trembling as he strode away from her—as much from hurt as from anger.

He had always done his best for her.  He hadn’t been the partner she wanted; but then, she had wanted an iron man, someone who felt no pain and never objected no matter how many times she wanted to force herself through a routine.

He couldn’t be that for her.  No—he couldn’t be that for anyone.  He wondered if anyone could. 

Danni stood in front of the mirror, carefully smoothing down her tutu.  She was the Sugar Plum Fairy!  It seemed unbelievable, even after the last two weeks of absolute insanity.  She had practiced the dance a hundred times.  Androv had referred to her as the Sugar Plum Fairy.  Nick had repeated it over and over again, whenever she needed to hear it.  It still didn’t seem entirely
real
. 

But here it was.  She was wearing the beautiful pink tutu, her face made up perfectly, her hair twisted into a perfect arrangement.  Her warm brown eyes sparkled.  This was really it—the final dress rehearsal.  Today, she would show Androv that he hadn’t made a mistake in allowing her to take the role, in spite of the fact that she had been at the Academy for no time at all.

And she was dancing with Nick.  That was the part that warmed her the most.  Whatever happened out there, during the pas de deux, at least, Nick would be there to catch her hand and let her know that everything was all right.

Someone knocked on the door to her dressing room and came in without waiting for a response:  Nick. 

“What’s wrong?”  Danni turned immediately, seeing the pinched look around his eyes and worrying.  He had been fine when she left him only an hour before.  What could have changed? 

“I’m okay, Danni.”  His voice said one thing; his eyes said something else entirely, she thought, studying him.  “It’s just Kat being Kat, okay?”  He forced a grin that didn’t meet his eyes.  “She’s just jealous because you make a better Sugar Plum Fairy than she does.” 

She didn’t let him get away with the compliment and walking away.  “What did she say to you, Nick?”  Her voice was gentle, compassionate—the voice that she had learned would get him to tell her the truth most of the time.  It was the easiest way to get him to admit that his shoulder was hurting, and the fastest way to get him to tell her what was really on his mind—it hadn’t taken her any time at all to figure that out.

His face fell, almost as though it was beyond his conscious control.  “I didn’t—she said—“  He closed his eyes, probably to hide the tears burning there.  “She said she wouldn’t dance with me again if I was the last guy at the Academy.” 

The blow had gone deep.  He hadn’t cared that much about Katarina personally—didn’t even like her—but they had been a good team.  Hearing that she, who had no other prospects, didn’t even want him…it was a serious insult.  Danni understood it immediately, and felt not the slightest hint of jealousy—just concern.  It wasn’t that Nick particularly wanted to go back to Katarina, though she knew he had been keeping that option open for next year, when Michael joined her.  It was just that she should have wanted him.  He was the single best male dancer at the school—Androv aside, since Androv was unable to dance professionally anymore.  Everyone knew it—or, at least, they had known it before.

The slur on his reputation was going to hurt, even though he knew it shouldn’t matter.  Worse was the fact that Katarina, who he had given so much, didn’t even want him. 

She closed the distance between them and hugged him instinctively, the way she would have if it had been Michael upset over a girl’s rejection—in his case, a girl that he had wanted to date.  “It’s okay,” she said quietly.  “If she doesn’t want you, I’ll keep you.” 
It wasn’t until the words were out that she realized just how much she meant it.  Michael would always be her best friend; but right now, he seemed very far away.  If she had to make a choice between the two of them, she realized suddenly, she would choose Nick.

Nick’s arms came up, and he hugged her back with a desperation that surprised both of them.  “God bless, Danni,” he told her quietly. 

“You’re a great partner,” she pointed out gently.  “And I love dancing with you.  If Katarina is stupid enough to give that up, then I’m more than willing to take her discards.”

He buried his face in her hair, and she could practically feel him drinking in her gentle words.  It was probably, she thought, the first time he’d had a partner compliment him in a long time.  She let him hold her until his trembling stilled—until she was sure that he’d gotten his balance back under him again.  “Come on, Nicholas,” she said quietly.  “I’m sure Allie is waiting for you.”

“I’m not sure I care.”  But he let her go, if reluctantly.  “Thank you,” he told her seriously.  “For just…all of it.  Looking out for me, and not believing that crap Kat is spewing, and…well, for everything.” 

“That’s what partners are for,” she pointed out gently.  “At least, that’s the way I always understood it.”

“It’s the way partners are supposed to be,” he corrected, his voice as careful as hers.  “Around here, it’s just not always the case.”

Danni knew that.  She had just been trying very hard not to admit it to herself.  “Then that’s the kind of partners you and I are going to be,” she informed him seriously.  “And that’s the important part, right?”

“Definitely.”  He squeezed her fingers.  “Come wait in the wings and watch?  I know you’re not needed yet, but I’ll feel better with you out there.”

“Of course.”  She followed him without even thinking about it.  She was ready to go; it wasn’t as though there was anything she needed that she could get in the dressing room, and anyway, she hadn’t had a chance to watch him dance with Clara. 

As he waited for his opportunity, Nicholas perched on a box at Danni’s side. They didn’t hold hands; there was no romantic expression between them—but they were pressed very close together, the line of his body perfectly following the line of hers.

When Nick stepped out on stage, he was tentative.  He had worked this again and again over the last few weeks; but with Katarina’s words ringing in his ears, it was all he could do to complete the familiar steps. 

Then Danni joined him.  One touch of her gentle hand in his, and every worry he’d had, every fear he’d given in to, melted away as though they had never been.  Immediately, he was pulled back into the music, giving way to the song and the dance. 

Thank you, Lord,
he prayed silently. 
She is more than I deserve—and she’s a reminder.
  Bowing his head for just an instant, he let go of everything.  There was no pain, no upset, no worry; Nicholas simply danced for God.

Danni could feel the shift in him.  She made a similar one in response, both of them giving up everything they had and simply pouring their hearts into the dance.

They were trembling as those final notes faded, as the curtain came down—not from exertion, but from the sheer power of the Holy Spirit as it had washed over them. 

“Bless you, Danni,” Nick breathed. 

“It’s not just me out there,” she whispered back. 

The ballet passed in a whirl.  Before they knew it, Nick was escorting her to the front of the stage to take her bow—something which Androv insisted that they practice, so that no one would trip over anyone else on the night itself.  There was almost no one in the audience now, of course—just their teachers. 

Their teachers…and Katarina.

Danni sucked in a breath and hoped that Nick didn’t notice her.  She was absolutely
livid
, glaring at them both as though they had committed some great sin. 

“Bravo, Nicholas.  Brava, Danni.”  Androv stepped forward out of the wings, breaking Danni away from Katarina’s gaze.  “I believe you are the best Sugar Plum Fairy I have ever seen—and Nicholas, you make her a wonderful prince.”

Danni glowed—but even then, in the back of her mind, she was conscious of Katarina’s rising fury.  The other girl wasn’t going to like the fact that she was being complimented at all, especially not for the role that should have been hers. 

“I had a good teacher,” she demurred quietly, exactly as she had before, when Mlle Kirby had seen her dance with Nick for the first time.

She had the feeling that her own modesty wasn’t going to help Katarina in the slightest. 

“You’ve worked hard,” Androv corrected firmly.  “Trust me when I say that hard work has not gone unnoticed.  You’ve done a wonderful job, Danni—and I’m glad you were on hand to take over when Katarina was injured.”

Both Danni and Nick tensed at the same moment. 
Don’t remind her!
  But both of them knew it wouldn’t matter anyway.  Katarina’s fury wasn’t going to ease in the slightest regardless of what was said now. 

“She’s not happy,” Danni murmured to Nick as they made their way backstage again. 

“No, she’s not.”  He didn’t look at her as he said it, not wanting her to see the worry in his eyes.  Katarina in this mood could be vindictive—and even though he knew there was nothing he could do about it one way or the other, he prayed that her fury wouldn’t focus on Danni.  All Danni had done was show up; he was the one who had betrayed her.