Chapter Text
The music ends and the younger dancers watching start clapping wildly. Trip puts Bobbi down and whispers, “Thirteenth times a charm”, through gasps for air.
Bobbi smiles at him as May tells them they worked hard and deserve to go home and relax their muscles. Bobbi Morse follows her paux partner as she heads to the locker room and rips off her pointe shoes, wiggling her toes allowing circulation to come back. She lets herself take a deep breath because after next week that’s it, they are flying out to Scotland for YAGP finals. That’s where she either makes it or breaks it. Her whole life has led to the moment she got to prove herself on that stage. Sure, she already got a boatload of scholarships from placing sixth in the New York semifinals. She’s on companies raydars but that’s all from small companies, she has bigger dreams than that. None of the companies she’s dreamed of care about the early phases, it’s about finals. When the most talented dancers of the world are together, competing for the attention of the most prestigious companies. Being a principal with any company would be amazing but she dreams of the Bolshoi Ballet. To do that she needs to place high at finals, prove she is one of the best in the world. Bobbi is pulled from her rapidly spiraling thoughts by someone near and dear to her, who happens to be the director's daughter.
“You looked amazing out there. I don’t know how you do it. I can’t run a lap around the track. But, you’re here for eight hours straight six days a week.” The cheerful, 14 year old brunette said while leaning against the lockers.
“It’s exhausting, Daisy. But everything is leading up to YAGP.”
“Yea, but you are going to be amazing. I mean you are one of the most talented dancers in America.”
“Thanks, Daisy.” Bobbi says not sure what exactly to say, she’s never been great at taking compliments.
“I mean it. I can’t wait to see you perform in Scotland.”
“You’re coming?” Bobbi was glad to shift the conversation off of her.
“Yes! We all are.”
“Oh, Yay.” A little conflicted with how she feels about all of the Coulsons going.
“That’s actually why I’m here. Mom wanted help with the organizing because she’s so busy. I mean it’s cool to see her in action. Because usually...” Daisy paused, taking a visible gulp. “you know.”
And there it is the thing she doesn’t want to talk or think about. “You can say his name Daisy.” Bobbi said it jokingly but deep down she’s glad she didn’t have to be reminded.
“Yea” getting unusually flustered. “I mean he’s not, he’s staying home and doesn't want to be a distraction.”
“Ah.” This hurts more than it should. She’d rather it be awkward between the two of them, then to be the reason he doesn’t go. He was so excited for her to make finals.
“But he’s happy for you- we all are.”
“Thanks Daisy.” Bobbi becomes increasingly interested with her ballet bag wishing for an end to this conversation.
“I should go help my mom pack up, see you tomorrow?”
“Yep, good night.”
“Good night.”
Bobbi hastily finishes getting ready and rushes to the car speeding all the way home. Stepping into the house, she lets out a big breath that she didn’t realize she was holding. And as much as she wants to sit in a daze with a bag of goldfish, there are things that need to get done. She changed into the loose sweat clothes and set down to do five hours of homework in just one hour. She let her right brain take over to crank out her AP calc homework, AP bio essay and take notes for russian. She was surprised that her school work made sense at 11 pm after school and a six hour rehearsal at the studio. She forces herself to take a speed shower and once she steps into her pajamas and her cozy sleeper socks is when she allows herself to think about what Daisy said, not that she really said much at all.
It should be a relief, knowing he won’t be there. She worked her whole life for this, she doesn’t need him getting in her head. That's why she ended it in the first place, because he was one giant distraction with quick wit and cute dimples. He didn’t understand that ballet it's the reason she’s not at rock bottom. That the scholarships and award money she’s gotten, that her job cleaning the studio after hours, the people making sure her talent doesn’t go wasted, is why she is able to keep her head above water, and most importantly make sure her brother Lincoln doesn’t have to go through what she has had to endure. She keeps reminding herself of Lincoln to justify how she ended things with Hunter. That her future and protecting Lincoln is more important than Hunter. Still, even with how horribly things ended, she knows that when the whole world is watching her, when her whole future is in the balance, the only thing that can make it ok is running into his arms.
The only thing that can make it ok is running into his arms.
What a pathetic thought. She’s never been the type of person to get caught up in romance and wallow when it doesn’t go her way. But Hunter has always been an enigma. She reminds herself of what May told her, ‘to be a professional dancer you must be in love with ballet to be able to cast aside everything else, and you must cast aside everything else’. Bobbi then laughs at the irony that May’s words are being used against her own son.
After all May is right, she is young and in her prime she can find love when she retires hopefully, in her early 30s. That’s what May did, and she seems happy. And Hunter is just some stupid boy. There are hundreds of stupid boys, he should not matter.
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The next morning Bobbi woke up 10 minutes before her alarm to the tune of pots and pans clanging together. She walks down the stairs in a state of daze and confusion.
“Lincoln?” She smiled when she turned the corner and saw the pancakes he was making.
“Hey, I woke up early and you seemed stressed last night so I made pancakes. Blueberries your favorite” Lincoln said, shoving a plate into her hand and spilt some batter on the counter in the process.
“Thank you Linc” Bobbi smiled as she accepted the plate. She knows that he has been feeling the stress too. He’s been worried about the possibility that things might not go the way she hopes. And if something happens and she’s not able to take care of them, they’ll be forced to move in with their grandfather. She tries not to worry about that and treasure these sweet little moments with her brother.
“Yea, and I made an extra plate for Daisy if you wanna give it to her at rehearsal. She said she’s helping her mom.”
“I could. “Or you could give it to her yourself.”
“Well- I mean- no.”
“Why not?” Bobbi said, smiling at her brother’s crush. And happy for some light hearted sibling banter.
“Because”
“Because, why?”
“What if she thinks its weird, what if she actually hates me, I could say something stupid, and she’s supposed to be organizing.”
“She’ll think it's sweet. You two talk all the time; she wouldn’t do that if she hated you. You aren’t a ashole you won’t say something offensive and if something comes out wrong you laugh it off. You can offer to help her with organizing, it would let you spend time with her with the pressure off of your conversation.”
“You make some points.”
“I know.”
“I think I’m gonna do it.” A smile he obviously is trying to hide as he thinks about spending time with Daisy.
“Good. Now put some deodorant on you smell like feet.”
“Brave words coming from a ballet dancer.”
“Ha.”
They both leave to get ready in their respective rooms and head to the car twenty minutes later, wrapped up in bundles to brave the effects of a car outside in winter. Lincoln stairs out the window clearly in deep thought, Bobbi smirks at his nervous energy.
Ah, to be young and infatuated.
“You think she’s gonna like it?”
“You are bringing her pancakes not an engagement ring.”
“Right. You know you are really good at this relationship stuff for a girl who has dedicated her life to ballet.”
“Thanks?” Bobbi can tell that he was contemplating saying something else but ultimately decided against it. And for that she is grateful. She doesn’t need her brother’s misguided attempts at trying to help a situation he doesn’t know anything about. Whether that be YAGP finals or her love life, or lack thereof.
“Hey Linc, because of rehearsal I put my phone on airplane mode and I forgot to turn it off. Can you check and look at my texts?”
“Sure.” Lincoln enters her password and goes to her messages. “ There are so many texts Natasha says that there was a car crash but that was last night.”
“Oh-”
“People are freaking out- I think it was one of ours in the crash- Hunter just texted, he says, ‘I guess I’m your paux partner now. Don’t worry sweetheart I’m just doing this for my mum. See you at rehearsal.”
“Wait.” Bobbi suddenly slams on the breaks. “What?”