Three

Elijah was casually walking towards the cafeteria when a heavy arm suddenly draped over his shoulders. Looking to his side, he saw a grinning Lucas.

"Hi!"

Elijah stared at him in disbelief.

"Hey, what do you think about skipping book club today and sitting with us during lunch?"

Elijah furrowed his eyebrows, "Book club?"

"Yeah whatever you guys do during lunch." Lucas rolled his eyes, "Come on!"

He didn't even wait for a reply as he dragged Elijah into the cafeteria. The latter, however, was way too shocked and weirded out to even react. He could feel everyone's eyes on them since Lucas was basically the most popular guy at school and Elijah was always known for being a loner. Before he knew it, they arrived at Lucas’ usual booth. All his friends were seated there, gaping at them.

"You guys remember Elijah, right?" Lucas said.

"Uh, the guy you punched the shit out of a few weeks ago?" Sam suggested, making Lucas shoot him glare.

"Well I guess you could say we sorted out our differences and I thought I'd invite him over to our lunch table."

"No we didn't," Elijah muttered, more to himself but loud enough for Lucas to hear. The latter simply ignored him and pushed him down to take a seat before sitting next to him.

Cue awkward silence.

Elijah looked over his shoulder and saw Noah sitting at their usual booth, and right at that moment he wanted nothing more than to join him in their safe little bubble, as far away from Lucas and company as possible.

"Your arm's heavy." Elijah said through gritted teeth and Lucas quickly retracted it, muttering a tiny "Sorry".

"Well this was lovely. Can I go now?" The blonde said sarcastically, standing up from his seat. The rest of the guys just looked around awkwardly.

"Of course!" Lucas stood up too, "Let's go get some food." He began pulling him towards the canteen but by then Elijah's had enough. He pulled his arm away from Lucas's grasp and the latter stopped and turned around to face the glaring boy.

"I know why you're doing this. I already told you I'm not gonna be your stupid dance partner, so quit the act."

Lucas slightly widened his eyes, wondering how the hell Elijah figured it out. Looks like he's not the first in our grade for no reason, he thought.

He sighed in frustration, "Why not?!"

"I have my reasons. And if you think this whole 'nice guy' act is gonna cut it, let me just tell you now that it's not gonna work. Stop wasting your time on me and go bother someone else."

"Then it'll just end up like every other time! I'll work my ass off day and night and in the end..." Lucas looked at Elijah in the eyes, "I'll just end up second place."

"Winning is not everything you know. And what makes you think it will be any different if you partner up with me?"

"Dude… Because you dance like you were born to do it!"

That slightly took Elijah by surprise.

"Dancing is not just about showing people a bunch of cool moves. It's more than that. It's about telling people a story. It's about making people feel something. We work day and night to try and achieve that but you, Elijah, you did that so naturally and effortlessly that night that I'm almost fucking jealous of you."

Elijah was speechless. He didn't expect words like these to come out of Lucas's mouth. In that moment he actually sounded mature and passionate, like dance meant the world to him.

"Please think about it."

Elijah knew his parents didn't approve of his dancing. He had tried so hard to impress them, to show them how much it meant to him, but all they did was roll their eyes and say that it wasn't a real career. Before he knew it, he was not allowed to join any dance clubs and was set to go to medical school. He had no say in it.

"Okay, at least do this," Lucas said after seeing that Elijah didn't reply, "Stay a little late after school and come to the dance studio. Just come... and watch."

Elijah didn't reply again, making Lucas sigh. He walked away from him, but not before saying, "I'll be waiting for you."

Elijah was still frozen in place in the noisy cafeteria, clenching and unclenching his fists repeatedly. With a sigh, he finally decided to just go and get some food. Taking a seat at his usual booth, Noah looked up at him and smiled. "Hi."

"Hey," Elijah greeted, suddenly finding the need to apologize to him, "I'm sorry I was late. I had to deal with someone annoying."

Noah smiled, "By someone you mean Kim Lucas, right?"

"Y-Yeah."

Noah chuckled, "I saw you guys in the hallway earlier. You seemed a little annoyed with him. He can be an idiot sometimes, well, most of the time, but he's actually a good guy."

Elijah's eyebrow quirked up curiously, "You, uh, you know him?"

There was a distant look on Noah face. After a moment of silence, he replied softly, "Yeah. We used to be friends."

"Oh." Elijah didn't want to ask any further questions since it looked like a touchy subject. The rest of lunch was silent.

Elijah was distracted the entire day, contemplating over whether or not he should listen to Lucas and go to the dance studio after school. The last bell was ringing before he knew it and he still hadn't made up his mind. With a sigh, he picked up his book bag and made his way to the outside. As he was outside campus, he looked back and contemplated one last time.

“I'll be waiting for you.”

Lucas was stretching in front of the mirror as he stared at Max and his partner, who were busy practicing their routine. He then glanced towards the door for the hundredth time, hoping to see Elijah walk in.

"Ah, Lucas. Found a partner for the showcase yet?" Mr. Lee, their dance teacher, asked.

"Not yet," He sighed, "There's someone on my mind but he isn't agreeing."

"Who is it?"

"He's not from the club. But he's really good."

"Yeah?" Mr. Lee seemed curious, "What's his name?"

“El-" He paused, wondering if he should say. No one in school knew that Elijah danced and it didn't look like he'd be happy if someone went around spreading the word. "I don't think he'd want anyone to know so..."

"I understand." Mr. Lee smiled, "But it'd be great if you could get him to join the club. We could use some new blood."

Lucas chuckled, "Trust me. He'd blow your mind."

Mr. Lee nodded and proceeded to move to the center of the studio so he could start their class. Lucas spared one last glance at the door and sighed again. No sign of Elijah anywhere.

This will be harder than I thought.

Once class was over, Lucas picked up his bag and made his way towards the door. He was dripping with sweat and there was nothing he wanted more than to go home and take a nice cold shower.

As he walked through the hallway, he could see another figure walking away a distance ahead. He squinted to get a better look, instantly recognizing the blonde hair and broad shoulders and slowly, a smile stretched across his lips.

He came.

Elijah stared out the window of the car on the way home, feeling extremely tight in his chest. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he remembered how everyone in class looked so happy, dancing together, moving together in sync, having fun. Because they all had something in common- a dream. And they had the freedom to chase it. Elijah was envious. Watching them was so heart-warming yet suffocating at the same time.

"Hey, you can stop here," He told the chauffeur. He didn't want to go home just yet because he knew his mood would get even worse.

"Here? We’re still a long way from home."

"It's okay. I'll get back home on my own. I just need some air."

"Alright." He agreed, albeit hesitantly, before pulling over to the side of the road. "If you need me to pick you up just give me a call."

"Okay." Elijah got out of the expensive car and watched it leave. He was still wearing his school uniform. He unbuttoned his blazer and loosened his tie around his neck. He then made his way to the nearest bus stop. Occasionally he liked to do that- going out by himself, taking the bus like other people would, going around shops and maybe trying new restaurants. But there was one thing that never changed.

He was always alone.

At that moment, Elijah wished he had someone to talk to. Someone who would just listen to him. Even if it was a stranger... It was crazy but he just wanted anyone to lend him a listening ear. So he didn't have to bottle everything up in his chest that was already getting so heavy.

When the bus stopped at the busy downtown streets, Elijah got off and started to wander around. He stopped at a hotdog cart and bought himself a hotdog before taking a seat at one of the benches nearby.

"Come on bro, let's go watch a movie!"

“I want fried chicken!"

"I wanna do some shopping!"

Eli's jaw tightened and he stared down at his untouched food, tears pricking at his eyes.

"Eli, you’re gonna the best dancer in the world!"

"Someday, you’ll become a great dance teacher."

"Elijah?"

Said boy snapped out of his reverie when he heard his name being called. He looked up to see a concerned Noah.

"Are you alright?"

Elijah quickly composed himself and forced a smile, "I-I'm fine. What are you doing here?"

"I live in the area. I was just taking a walk when I found you all grumpy all by yourself. Everything okay?"

"Everything’s fine. I was just... thinking." Elijah tried to sound convincing but his voice shook, giving away the fact that he was indeed not fine, not fine at all.

Noah seemed to catch the drift but he didn't want to pry at what wasn't his business. "Ah, I'm sorry to bother you then. I guess I should go."

"Wait!" Elijah found himself shouting when he saw Noah turning around, and wondered what the hell was wrong with him. "I-I mean, you can stay for a bit. If you have time, that is. I don't mind."

Noah was silent for a second, "Eh, okay." He took a seat next to Elijah and the latter called out for the man running the cart to get Noah a hotdog.

“Hey, you didn’t have to.” Noah said bashfully as Eli came back to sit next to him, handing him his sandwich.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Thanks…” he gratefully accepted it, pausing for a moment before he spoke again. "Look, I don't mean to pry but... Are you really feeling okay?" Noah asked cautiously.

"I..." Elijah sighed, "It's just been a stressful day. I'm having trouble making a decision is all."

"Maybe you should talk to someone about it." Noah suggested.

Elijah stared down at his lap and mumbled, just loud enough for Noah to hear, "I have no one to talk to."

Noah stayed silent for a while, contemplating over what to say. The younger boy looked so distressed at that moment and he wanted to help him, but he wasn't sure how.

"You can talk to me." He suggested.

Elijah looked up at him, slightly shocked. Just seconds ago he was thinking about how much he wanted someone to listen to him. And now here Noah was, as if a present from God, offering to lend him a listening ear.

"It's okay if you don't want to but... it's really not good for you to keep everything inside. I know how that feels." Noah added.

Elijah's eyes met Noah's and all he saw was someone who was trying to help. Not someone who just wanted to poke his nose into others’ business, but someone who genuinely just wanted to help.

"I..." Elijah wasn't sure where to start, "Lucas Kim, he asked me to be his dance partner for this upcoming showcase of his."

Noah's face changed ever so slightly at the mention of his name but he quickly played it off with a question, "Wait, you dance?"

"Kinda... I just do it as a hobby. Something that takes my mind off stuff. But it's something I'm really passionate about. My parents never understood that though. So they didn't allow me to join the dance club because they didn't want the idea that I could make a living out of it to grow in my head. They wanted me to be a doctor or a businessman, because apparently those are real jobs." He tried not to sound bitter but really, who could blame him?

Noah simply nodded at him, motioning for him to go on.

"Lucas told me to come to the dance studio after school just to see how things go. And when I looked at everyone there... I just felt so jealous. All I could think about was how I also wanted to be with them in that room, not as an observer, but as one of them." Elijah stared down at his abandoned food and let out a frustrated sigh.

Noah hummed softly before asking, "So why don't you?"

"What?" Elijah furrowed his eyebrows.

"Why don't you join?"

"My parents-"

"They don't have to know."

Elijah never did anything without having his parents' approval before, so the thought didn't even cross his mind.

"It's your last year of school, Elijah. If you don't rebel now, when will you?" Noah smiled, "And you know what you should do? Bring them to that showcase. Let them see for themselves how powerful this dream of yours is. Fight for it. Standing around and feeling sorry for yourself is easy, and it won't get you anywhere."

Elijah looked up at Noah. It was true... he never put up much of a fight anyway. All his life it was simply keep quiet and nod your head. But now that he thought about it, what did his parents ever give him in return? Fancy food? A huge mansion? Elijah didn't need any of that. He needed parents that actually treated him like he was their own flesh and blood. People who smiled with him and cried with him, people he could share his pain with, people he could always come back to at the end of the day because he knew they would always be there. Something so simple but it would mean the world to him. But they were never those people. Instead they stripped away his one passion in life.

If not for himself then he could at least do it for Ricky.

The one person who actually believed in him.

"You’re right... I'll think about it. Thanks, man."

Noah smiled, "Anytime. We should probably eat now though. The food's getting cold."

Elijah chuckled, finally finding himself having an appetite. For once he felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest rather than being added to it. Glancing at Noah, he smiled to himself.

Thank you.