Work Text:
Since he could walk, Liam danced.
At first it was with his mother in the kitchen, the radio turned up on full volume or alone in his room, headphones in his ears when he couldn’t sleep, and as soon as he learned about the Beacon Hills Ballet School he pestered Jenna about joining the classes there.
When he first stepped through the elegant wooden double winged doors his heart fluttered with excitement and nerves, almost beating out of his chest.
When he enters the familiar halls today, almost 12 years later, only the excitement is left.
He nods at the doorman, giving him a small smile that the other man returns before taking the stairs up to the first floor, two steps at a time. Today, he is even more excited than normally because his teacher, Madam Piers (who is not as French as she would like to be) will announce who gets to dance the main role in their next performance.
Liam has trained a lot and he knows that he can do it, that he is ready for it. The only question is if his teacher sees it too.
~♤~
Apparently she does. After class, Liam stares at the cork board that is home to important news, like the casting for future shows. There it stands, black on white.
La Bayadère
Lydia Martin - Nikiya
Liam Dunbar – Solor
Hayden Romero – Hamsatti
Scott McCall – Radscha Dugmanta
[...]
A shrill, enraged sound brings Liam back out if his daze, Annabel, one of his classmates angrily stares at the list.
“A maid? What the fuck? I should have been the Nikiya!”
Tom, her partner for the last few practices snorts as the group watches her storm down the hallway, “Yeah sure, as if she could have memorized all those steps...”, after Annabel had a meltdown because his shoes didn’t fit into the colour scheme of her outfit, Tom's patience with any diva behaviour has pretty much zeroed out.
Lydia Martin, a petite redhead two years older than Liam, shakes her head at the scene before throwing an arm around Liam's shoulders.
“So, the two of us, huh? Congrats on your first leading role, Li!”
Immediately forgetting all about Annabel's antics, Liam beams at her. “Thanks! I can't wait for the first rehearsal!”
The rest of the group breaks out in excited conversation about their roles in specific and the dance in general. Slowly they make their way down the stairs and out of the school again.
Only for all voices to die when they take a look at the scene unfolding in front of their eyes on the parking lot.
He was a boy
She was a girl
Can I make it any more obvious?
He was a punk
She did ballet
What more can I say?
He wanted her
She'd never tell
Secretly she wanted him as well
But all of her friends
Stuck up their nose
They had a problem with his baggy clothes
Annabel is there, standing tall, like the asphalt is her stage, blonde hair in a golden fury around her head as it blows in the wind.
Everyone seems to hold her breath as she basically screams from the top of her lungs. Everyone, except for the guy standing right in front of her.
If it wasn’t for the swooping dark hair and the leather jacket, Liam wouldn’t have recognised Annabel's boyfriend of the last few months. Normally he just picks her up after practice, completely clad in bike leather, with dark shades hiding half his face.
Today, a longboard is clamped under his arm and he wears jeans and white converse with his jacket.
An almost bored expression rests on his face like a mask while Annabel continues her monologue.
“I've had enough! Nobody in this goddamn school takes me seriously! And now you have the audacity to come here, completely ignoring the one thing I asked of you? You know what? It's over. I don’t need a boyfriend who can't even perform the simplest tasks. I am too good for you and your shitty garage band anyway.”
He was a skater boy
She said, "see you later, boy"
He wasn't good enough for her
She had a pretty face
But her head was up in space
She needed to come back down to earth
Liam sees a brief moment of hurt flashing over the boy's face before his expression closes off again.
“Fine", he almost snarls, “you were boring me anyway.”
With that he turns around, lets his board fell to the ground and then, after one quick kick off, he rolls away casually, seemingly no care in the world.
~♤~
The boy and his pretty face continue to run through Liam's mind even after the crowd disassembled and he said goodbye to his friends. He loves walking home after practice, it helps him burn the last of the adrenaline dancing sets free his body.
And most importantly, the good ten minute walk gives him time to think. It's rare these days, to have time for himself. Between senior year, dancing, friends and college applications Liam sometimes feels overwhelmed with life and so he enjoys the silence as he walks through quiet streets, dipped in sunset colours.
Liam is so lost in this thoughts that he almost walks right past him.
The skater boy is sitting on a low stone wall, kicking his feet while staring into the distance, low music playing from his phone and Liam can’t help but think that this aesthetic fits him far better than the motorcycle and the mirrored sunglasses.
He stops right in front of him.
“I never liked her anyway.”
The other guy turns his head to look at Liam.
“What?”
“Annabel. She is kind of a bitch, you know? Especially if she doesn’t get what she wants.”
The boy snorts. “Oh trust me, I know.”
Liam holds out his hand, “I’m Liam, by the way.”
“Theo.” He takes it.
Liam smiles before hopping onto the wall next to Theo, “So, who is that?” he asks with a gesture towards Theo's phone.
“You like it?”
“Yeah, they sound nice. Rock but not without feels, my favourite kind of music.”
Theo's whole face lights up, “It's my band”, he says, “our first album, self produced but I am super proud of the way it came out. Took us almost a year to get to this point but I think we finally made it.”
Liam can't help but admire the passion behind those words, this is a guy who knows exactly what he wants and who puts his heart behind things. Despite the cool exterior, he can see Theo's excitement and it fascinates him.
“Come on, turn it up", he encourages Theo.
They listen to Theo's voice coming out of the tiny phone speakers until the sun goes fully down, only interrupted by occasional remarks when Liam asks a question and the singer answers. That way he gets to know that the band is called “The Chimeras" and that they mostly do rock music, but take inspiration from a lot of different genres.
And that they are playing their first big concert the coming weekend.
It was the reason why Annabel got so angry earlier, one more thing Theo seemingly prioritized over her.
“You should come, you know", Theo casually says as they finally slide down the wall, “you can text me and I will come get you backstage.”
Liam's heart takes a leap, he has never been to a rock concert before.
“I would need your number for that text...”, he tries to answer in the same indifferent tone but Theo already holds out his hand.
“Give me your phone?”, an almost shy smile plays around his lips, as if he fears Liam would say no.
~♤~
Of course Liam didn’t say ‘no' and that is how he finds himself in front of a medium size concert hall one town over, along with a real crowd of people, all excited to hear ‘The Chimeras' live on a big stage for the first time. Liam looks down in his phone where his text to Theo sits, read, but unanswered; slowly he is getting nervous because there are only a few concert goers in front of him until he will reach the entrance without a ticket.
Come on, Theo!
But Theo doesn’t answer and so Liam looks up to the security guard, a helpless smile on his face, “Hello.”
“Ticket?”
“Look, I know this will sound like complete and utter bullshit but... Theo Raeken has invited me to come backstage with him.”
The man, easily two heads taller than Liam, scans him up and down before speaking again: ”Liam Dunbar?”
“Yes!”, Liam almost screams in relief before fumbling out his ID for the guard to see.
Five minutes later he is following another security guard through the hallways on the backside of the building, on his way backstage, and a different kind of nervousness sets in.
He likes Theo.
The light in his eyes when he talks about music; it reminds Liam of his own love for dancing; but the tingling in his body when he stands before the door leading to the small area next to the stage where he will be able to see the band says that this feeling is more than just admiration for someone's passion.
He was a skater boy
She said, "see you later, boy"
He wasn't good enough for her
Now he's a super star
Slammin' on his guitar
Does your pretty face see what he's worth?
And after the concert, when Theo jumps down from the stage and comes towards Liam with those glowing eyes, when Theo's lips meet his in a passionate, adrenaline filled kiss, Liam knows that he isn't the only one feeling that way.
The crowd erupts in screams and cheers but neither boy cares as they continue to kiss.
~♤~
Liam breathes in, holds his breath for a few seconds and then releases it slowly but even this technique doesn’t stop his heart from almost beating out of his chest.
He takes a peak outside the curtain again, scanning the audience.
There they are, his mum and his step dad, looking almost as excited as he feels, and, of course, the talent scouts. The men and women who could help secure his future after Highschool.
Liam takes a step back, the curtain falling shut again, effectively blocking out the noise of the outside world, “I can't do this", he mumbles to himself, his breath stocking. He stumbles back to their preparation room, sinking down a wall while everyone else bustles around him, their energies high because the show is about to start soon.
I can't do this.
Liam buries his face in his lap, trying to calm himself down.
What if I make a mistake?
He needs a scholarship if he wants to go to Juilliard or Ailey's, there is no way he can afford their tuition fees.
Suddenly a warm hand is placed on his back.
“Hey, Liam, is everything alright?”
Theo. Theo is here. Liam's head flies up only to meet his boyfriend's eyes, soft and genuine as he sits down next to him.
“I know you are nervous", the singer says, “I was too, before the concert. So much is on the line. But you know what? Even if you make a mistake, they will still see how talented you are. There are always more dances, more possibilities. And hey -", he ends with a grin, “- if everything goes wrong you can always come with me and work as my personal assistant. A job with a lot of benefits.”
The wink makes it clear that Theo is only joking but his words fulfil their purpose.
Liam dances.
He forgets all about his parents, the scouts and his future, as his movements fluidly work with the music and pure happiness runs through his veins.
He's just a boy
And I am one too.
Can I make it any more obvious?
We are in love
Haven't you heard
How we rock each others world.