"So, I'm sure you're all aware about the project I set you one month ago." Kukui began, grinning at the group of students in front of him. The class seemed to enter excited whispers and chatter, some even bouncing off their heels restlessly. Obviously they hadn't forgotten, and were ready to show off their stuff.

"Hopefully you all are prepared for this." the instructor crossed his arms "And I hope to see some fine pair routines before me."

A few students whooped. They were ready for this.

"Now here I have the running order," he claimed, holding up a few sheets of paper stapled together "I've picked who's going when completely at random, so you don't have to worry about who's on a higher grade than who. Understand?"

"Yep!"

"You ready to dance?!"

"Yeah!"

"Alright, that's what I'm talking about!" The tanned man grinned, fisting the air enthusiastically before looking down at the schedule "Now you all have five minutes to stretch and prepare now, and then the first ones up are... Rose and Janus!"

"Already?!" Rose whispered sharply from next to Lillie "Oh god, I didn't expect to be called out so soon!"

The blonde girl giggled, patting the smaller one on the head "I'm sure you'll be fine. You enjoyed making this routine, right?"

"Yeah...?"

"Then just focus on that, and not that you're going to be assessed."

Rose let out a breath, giving her friend a small nod "Okay... I can do that... I'm calm."

She's totally panicking...

"So dude," Hau spoke up as he and Sun continued to stretch "How do you feel about your routine?"

Sun smiled to himself and shrugged "I was a little skeptical at first but now... I think Ein and I got this. How about you and the, uh... c h e a t e r?"

The tanned male sighed, scratching the back of his neck "Well, the rehearsals went alright, but..."

"But?"

"Well, look around. Do you see him anywhere?"

Sun raised an eyebrow, but let his eyes scan the room for any signs of the blue haired bitch. He frowned "No, I don't..."

"Exactly! I mean, what if he doesn't show up at all?!"

"Calm down, maybe he's just running late." Sun assured "Have you called him?"

"I tried. He didn't answer..."

...Motherfucker...

"He better show up... he's not gonna drag my mates down with him..." the ravenette growled. Hau sighed and leaned against the wall.

"I guess we can only hope..."

Avory noticed Gladion sitting by his bag with his earbuds in and his eyes closed, probably listening to the song for their routine to keep it memorized. He sighed and walked over to the blonde, tapping him on the shoulder "Hey."

His emerald eyes shot open and stared up at the older male, and he raised an eyebrow while pulling out his earphones "Hey... can I help you?"

Avory nervously ran a hand through his hair "Just wondering... did you tell Megan about her sister being my girlfriend?"

Gladion stared at him for a moment. Sure what he was doing was wrong, but it's not like you can just walk up to someone and tell them you're dating their runaway sister. Besides, it was Laura's choice to leave... he sighed.

"No, I haven't. It's not my place to get involved."

The caramel haired male seemed to relax slightly, but his face remained a frown "Odd. I was sure that was why Megan's acting salty today..."

The two males turned their heads to the girl on the other side of the room, who was staring down at her phone as if she was waiting for it to do something. Plus, it was off, so that was even weirder.

Gladion clicked his tongue "The most logical explanation I can think of is lady problems..."

"That would make sense..."

...

"I'll never get women."

"Me neither."

Megan sneezed suddenly, startling herself and causing her to nearly drop her phone. She grumbled and wiped her nose on her hoodie sleeve, despite it not running, before looking back down at the blank screen. The truth was that she had applied for a job last night, and was currently waiting for a call to see if she got an interview or not. It was even more nerve wracking than the assessment, since she didn't know if she'd be able to find a well paid job close to home again. She sighed and dropped her phone into her bag, which took some skill as it was in a slightly awkward position, before proceeding to tie her hair into a ponytail. This could go three ways. They could call before her turn, which risked her missing the dance. They could call during the routine, causing her to miss her chance for the interview and the job. And they could call afterwards, which would be the safest option for her. But hey, how were they supposed to know when was a good time? After all, while she was applying her anxiety started kicking in, and she ended up saying she was free anytime without thinking.

Well, whoopty doodle doo... She was screwed.

"Hey."

Oh shit.

Her head shot up, her wide blue eyes meeting calm emerald ones as she stuttered "U-Um, hi."

Gladion raised an eyebrow, smirking "You're awfully jumpy today."

"I'm just a little on edge..."

"Why's that?"

She blushed, averting her gaze quickly "N-No reason!"

Gladion smiled slightly. Cute "So I assume you're done kicking off?"

"I wasn't kicking off!"

"Uh-huh..."

"I wasn't! It's just... I was a little stressed, because of the assessment. Anyways I've had coffee since then."

The boy snorted "Oh, so you're one of those."

Megan puffed her cheeks "The fuck is that supposed to mean, Frenchfry!"

"Okay, Rose, Janus, get into your positions!"

The teens' heads turned to the middle of the room, where the midget duo was making their way to for the start of their dance. Megan tapped Gladion's shoulder, getting his attention.

"Sit with me?" She asked, sliding down to a sitting position and patting the spot next to her.

"Did you just pat for me to sit?" Gladion scoffed playfully. Megan smirked.

"Perhaps~"

He rolled his eyes, proceeding to elbow her in the arm as he sat down next to her. She snickered and pulled her knees up to her chest, ready to support her friend in her assessment.

"YOU GOT THIS ROSE!"

Looks like she wasn't the only one...

Rose visibly blushed at Guzma's yell of encouragement, while everyone else just facepalmed. The dude got a little... passionate when it came to his girlfriend.

This'll be interesting.

---

Another pair, consisting of a blue haired boy and a pink haired girl had just finished their hip hop dance piece. Well... they said it was hip hop. To be honest all they did was stride around the space making weird hand gestures. Everyone clapped awkwardly, sweatdropping as the duo skipped off the stage like a pair of gangsters.

"Well uh... thank you, Zipp and Rapp..." Kukui coughed and looked down at the running order "Looks like next up is... Gladion and Avory!"

Megan heard the said blonde curse under his breath next to her, and when she turned to him he was obviously nervous. She placed a hand on his shoulder, causing him to turn to her.

"Knock 'em dead, Frenchfry."

In an instant, as if by magic, her smile made all his nerves melt away. He suddenly felt motivated. It was just what he needed. He reached up and gave her hand a gentle squeeze, nodding at her before standing and making his way over to Avory. They stood in their starting pose and nodded to Kukui, who Avory had given the song name to beforehand. The instructor gave them a thumbs up before playing Bruno Mars's Uptown funk.

At the beat the boys bumped up their shoulders, before grabbing their pants and stepping forward while flicking their wrist. They clapped once and traced their hands down their shirt before bringing their right knee and arm up and instantly bringing them down again. They jumped and faced the front, extending one arm while swinging the other above their heads. Gotta say, they looked good. And their audience was getting into it, by the way they clapped along to the music.

Though to be honest, the one who was most mesmerized by their movements was none other than little Miss. Artemus. The funky movements and complicated footwork prevented her from looking away. The way their trainers squeaked against the floorboards, and how their hair flipped around when they spun...

Okay, maybe this was all one boy in particular. But come on.

"Stop!" Bruno yelled, and the boys extended their arm and palm in time with it. Kukui stopped the music, and the room erupted with claps and cheers.

"THAT'S MY BROTHER!" Lillie squealed, pointing at Gladion with a wide grin. The boy instantly covered his face with his hand in embarrassment.

Kukui whistled "Yeah, that's what I'm talking about! Way to go, boys!"

The pair smiled and bowed, before separating to their places in the room. Megan was waiting for Gladion, and oh boy she couldn't have looked prouder of him. He rubbed the back of his neck shyly and muttered "How'd I do?"

She raised an eyebrow "Seriously? I think everyone's reaction answers that."

"I know, but I want to hear it from you."

Initiate Megan's extremely red blushy blush.

"W-Why would you want my opinion?" She stuttered, but managed to get the sentence out. Gladion smiled at her flustered state and shrugged his shoulders.

"Mostly because you encouraged me before I went out there. I guess I didn't want to disappoint you..." He said, though got rather shy and murmured the last bit.

"You didn't."

He once again made eye contact with her, and this time she didn't shy away.

"Trust me, Gladion." A smile formed on her face "You were great. Both you and Avory."

Initiate Gladion's adorable red blushy blush.

Aw.

Megan's smile widened as his eyes cast away from hers. Without another word he shuffled next to her, hands in his pockets as he leaned against the wall.

"Thanks..." he murmured, almost inaudibly. Luckily though she heard it.

"No problem, Frenchfry."

"Okay time for the next team!" Kukui announced "Hau and Leven, get over here!"

Oh yay, Hau's on. Megan thought with a smile. H2-hoe is too but, he doesn't matter.

"Um... Kukui, sir?" Hau suddenly raised his hand, seeming unusually upset. Nothing like his quote unquote 'sunshine face' "My partner hasn't showed up..."

Kukui frowned "Have you tried calling him."

"Four times. First three he didn't answer, and the fourth he denied the call..." Hau answered glumly "I don't think he's gonna show up..."

Wtf, Mist?!

Megan and Gladion clenched their fists and jaws, their minds filled with insults for Leven that are a little too 'creative' to say out loud.

Kukui crossed an arm over his chest, massaging his temple with his other "That may be a problem."

Hau opened his mouth to speak, but closed it to rethink. Only to open it again and say "Is their any chance I can perform the routine on my own?"

He looked so hopeful, it almost hurt to see it disintegrate with a simple shake of Kukui's head "I'm sorry, Hau. The rules say that both dancers must be present. And since Leven isn't... I'm gonna have to fail you both."

Hau visibly paled at his words...

Megan however was fuming.

Oh hell to the mother-fucking NO!

"Lillie!" She suddenly blurted, startling everybody in the room. The blonde girl stared at her with wide saucers for eyes. Megan continued "You know Hau and Leven's routine, right?"

Lillie slowly nodded "I can recall the movements, yes. Why?"

"You can fill in for Leven, that's why."

"I'm afraid that's not possible, Megan." Kukui sighed apologetically "You can't be in more than one piece."

I know that...

Megan let out a deep breath. She knew that if she did this, she would get a fail, which of course would affect her permanent record in a really bad way. However she couldn't just let Hau fail for something that wasn't his fault, and especially if the fault was that damn four eyes's. Plus, she had less of a chance to miss that call she was waiting for...

Damn it. This better be worth it.

Making her decision, after multiple brain farts, she let out another deep breath and addressed the instructor once more. Only this time her tone had taken an almost sad tone.

"Well in that case I forfeit."

Gladion and Avory's dance: