• Let's everyone turn their attention to the ladies in this video who killed it and me •

"So," Adam smugly smirked as Fiona stepped into the studio the next day. "It's day two and you haven't skipped town yet. Hashtag progress."

"You're still as annoying." She extracted a broad grin from him when she rolled her eyes. Did he ever stop smiling, seriously?

"And I'm gonna become even more annoying today, baby. No more ballet." He told with a smile. Fiona's heart stopped for a second but quickly restarted when he reminded her of why; "This training is about teaching you anything but that, so get warm and I'll be right back," He said and walked up to the door, his axe body spray wafting into Fiona's nostrils as he passed her. "Nature calls."

She gave a wooden nod, then took a deep breath and begun warming up like he told her to, stretching out her muscles and joints. She warmed up for a long time and had nearly forgotten about the time when she accidentally glanced up and saw it had been almost 20 minutes since Adam left.

She frowned, confused. Where the hell did he go? Did he have Indian food last night or something?

Getting up from where she was bending on the floor, she walked up to the door and had barely put her hand on the doorknob when her eyes caught something through the window. Coming out of the girls bathroom from down the hall, Adam had his arm slung around a girl who was fixing her messy hair. Her face looked flushed and her lips were gnawed, and Adam wore a small grin.

They stopped up in the hallway. Adam turned the girl towards himself and put his hands on her shoulder. They certainly seemed familiar with each other. Fiona saw him say something to her, holding a pause, then smirking and adding something more. Whatever he said made the girl blush and made him brush her cheek with his thumb, chuckling cheekily. He then leaned in and pecked the same cheek before giving her a hug and waving her off. Fiona instantly backed away from the door when he begun walking back.

She pretended to have seen nothing as he returned, walking in like nothing was off. "Sorry about that, something came up. You warm and ready?"

Fiona snorted lightly. Yeah she bet something came and it definitely went up. "Whatever..."

Adam frowned a little her way. "What's with the salt? What'd I do?"

Probably a lot of things with that girl. He better have washed his damn hands. "Nothing."

"This is a trap," He declared and stared at her with conspicuous eyes. "You say 'nothing' and I say 'alright', but the next thing I know, your knee is lodged between my legs and I'm singing gospel on the floor."

Fiona rolled her eyes. "It doesn't matter."

"My balls say otherwise."

"Look, what you do is none of my business, but you were the one who offered to help me," She stated, shortly. "If you're just gonna waste my time while you fool around with girls in the bathroo—"

"—whoa, whoa, wrong kind of jumps you're doing there," Adam interrupted and walked up to her. "You saw me with Ali?"

"I don't care what her name is, I care about dancing—"

"And I care about the folks around me," Adam cut her off again and crossed his arms. "And you just made a damn wrong assumption, Fee. I didn't ball her, Jesus. Not even close."

"It's none of my business," Fiona repeated and turned away from him, walking up to the barre. "Just keep your extra activities out of my—"

"That girl just got dumped by her boyfriend and she needed a shoulder to cry on," He spoke over her and walked after her, leaning up against the barre besides her. "She was bawling her eyes out, so I cheered her up. When we came out, I gave her a hug and told her to forget about that dick and told her to start looking at other dicks. I told her she could look at mine if she wanted to."

Fiona stared speechlessly. Who exactly was he? A saint that never left this building and just walked door to door, cheering up all of the crying girls? "Whatever, okay? Just... can we please get started?"

"Fine," He shook his head a little, but then suddenly gave her a slow grin. "You really thought I was doing her in the bathroom? Come on! Give me a little more credit than that," He laughed when she fought the urge to roll her eyes again. "And even if I did, I'd need a helluva' lot more time than just twenty minutes." Scratch that; she did roll her eyes again when he walked away with a wry wink.

Why couldn't he just be a normal gross teenage guy so she'd have a reason to snap at him? Oh, wait.

"Alright. Let's get started," He finally said, slapping his hands together. "You're comfortable with ballet, but you're not comfortable with anything that basically breaks your lines. That's our first challenge," He went up to the stereo and plugging his phone in. "We need to tear down that wall, Ms Gorbachev, and get you out of your little comfort zone; Get you back to your roots."

"My roots?"

Adam glanced over his shoulder and met her with a nonsensical glare. "Fiona, you are a gorgeous African American woman and I wanna see your black magic on this dance floor."

Fiona felt her body both heat- and freeze up at the same time when a fast beat song that was impossible to dance to suddenly boomed through the system. Why did he pick these songs? Why?

"No backing down today," He said and walked up to her, taking her hands. "You danced with me yesterday and we're gonna dance now. Move those hips and let me see those feet work. Channel your inner African Queen," He smirked, and then to Fiona's mortification, started shimmying his shoulders invitingly to the beat. "Come on, Feeeeeee... you know you want to."

Hell no. Fiona stepped back when he suddenly jumped onto the floor without further ado, bent his knees and then begun dancing full on African style. Something cool she swore she had seen one of Beyoncé's background dancers do in one of her music videos, but when Adam did it... it looked so fucking weird. It was impressive he could actually do it, she gave him that, but seeing his pale hip hop ass move around on the floor like that was just a downright sight to behold.

"Please stop... whatever you're doing," Fiona told him, seeing him shake his head with a laugh. "No, please stop. My eyes are about to bleed."

"Not gonna happen," He grinned, making a fool of himself by turning around and actually sticking his ass out at her. And then he fucking twerked. Please dear God make it stop, she prayed. "Show me yours and I promise I'll never show you mine again."

Fiona actually felt her face melt and covered her eyes when he kept popping his ass at her, laughing loudly at her reaction. He was making a fool of himself and he wasn't the least bit embarrassed. How could he not be? "Please, please, please stop."

Suddenly he turned back around again and grabbed her hand before she could move away. He yanked her to him and caught her against his chest, rolling his body towards hers. Fiona's heart immediately jumped up into her throat when he cupped her face and pinned her with his eyes. They were intense, but only on one thing.

"Move, Fee," He told her.

She shook her head. She couldn't dance like that. Not even with his stupid ass next to her. "I can't."

"Yes, you can. It's just a matter of confidence."

The thing she had none of? "I can't..."

"Hold up then." He abruptly untangled himself from her and walked up to the door. He opened it wide and stuck his head out, then startled her by hollering down the hall full blast; "RANI! KALO! CODE BLACK, I need some damn magic up in here! Where you at?!"

There came some whopping downstairs. Then rushed footsteps pounding the floor.

What the hell did he just do?

"Watch this," Adam grinned excitedly and wagged his eyebrows at her when she spotted two girls in loose fitting hip-hop slacks and oversized crop tops come grinning towards their studio. Adam rubbed his hands like a kid in a candy store and then chuckled when they burst in. "Kalo! My little coffee toffee!"

"Whatcha doing hollering in here for, gringo?" Kalo, one of the gorgeous girls said, coming up to Adam who laughed. "What'd ya need, boy?"

"This girl right here," He said and gestured to Fiona, "Needs to get her inner African Queen out. I don't think she actually knows what twerking is, and apparently my moves aren't good enough."

"Don't tell me ya skinny little ass tried twerking again?" She shook her head disapprovingly at him. "Boy, I thought we told you to never do that again. You look damn stupid. Step aside and watch how it's done. And you," She said and looked at Fiona who was in a frozen standstill. "You watch and learn. Jump in when you're ready. And if this puta tries to do the same, do us a favor and slap him. Never seen something so damn stupid in my life."

Adam threw his head back and guffawed, but then clapped to the beat when Rani and Kalo stepped onto the floor, swaying their curvy hips sexily. They then jumped into the song like that.

They moved and danced in perfect synchronization. They danced so coordinated and so rehearsed, Fiona could all but step back and stare. They brought it and they brought it good.

She heard a wolf whistle from her side and automatically turned her head to see Adam grinning at them, cheering them on. "That's what I'm fucking talking about! You see that? See the passion? The freestyle? The cake? That's what we're aiming for!"

Fiona simply just stared at them and their impossible moves. She had never moved like that in her life. Ballet was all about fine and clean lines. This... this was all over the place. She wasn't going to make a fool of herself trying to replicate it. "I can't do that. I c-can't..."

She suddenly felt Adam move up behind her, placing his hands on her hips. "Yes you can, Fee. It's all about the music. You gotta feel it, baby," His voice was right in her ear and sent shivers up and down her already alert body. His hands started moving her hips, making them sway from side to side. "Try it."

"Why couldn't you start me up with something easier?" She whispered, shaking her head and stopping his hands. She couldn't do this. She felt uncomfortable and ridiculous.

"Because we have three weeks, Fee," He replied. "There's no time for easy. You either go full out or not at all."

"You know they won't be dancing like this at the NY ballet."

"No, but they'll be wanting to see where you come from. You're from Harlem, Fiona. There's culture running through your veins," He said and let a finger slide down the vein in her neck. "I want you to release it and show me what you got."

Suppressing the surge of heat that traveled through her from his simple touch, she sucked in a breath and focused. "Are you suggesting that I cut?"

"I'm suggesting that you move. Starting with this." And before she could think, she felt a sharp smack on her ass. She practically jumped and let out a screech while Adam chuckled behind her.

"Get your hands off my damn ass," She yipped. That was twice he had slapped her butt within two days.

"Then get your ass on my dance floor," He moved and walked out on the dance floor, out to Kalo and Rani who were still dancing. In less than a second, he jumped into the rhythm with them and started dancing alongside them, doing the exact same routine. He moved confidently, the girls moving fearlessly beside him as well. Watching all three of them slay it African style, she stared astounded.

But suddenly, it didn't look so stupid.

Observing them for another couple of minutes, Fiona knew she would never feel confident enough to jump out beside them and try and attempt to do what they did. At least not today. This wasn't just about people seeing her dance, this was uncomfortableness on a whole new level. She needed more time to get used to this.

Catching her sunken expression, Adam jumped off the dance floor and came up to her. Cupping her face and turning her head up when she tried to look away, he caught her gaze. "Hey... don't lose hope on yourself. The moonwalk wasn't perfected in a day."

She didn't want to lose hope, but the feeling in her stomach wasn't the most uplifting right now. "Do you think... maybe we could... try it alone?"

He watched her for a moment, then gave her a smile. "Alright." Without any further explanation, he then turned to the two girls. "Hey, gumdrops. Could you give us the room again? We all know I look best not standing next to you two shimmy-shaking it."

The girls laughed and walked up to him and leaned in towards him, placing a kiss on either side of his face. "You owe us. Come find us when you're free."

Chuckling silently, he smacked them on their asses as they left, skipping out of the room with a bounce to their feet. Apparently his booty-slap was his signature. Turning back to her again, Adam then held his hands out, gesturing into the open and now empty studio.

"The stage is yours, Beyoncé."

Sighing, Fiona reluctantly joined him on the dance floor, gulping when he didn't waste a moment to walk up behind her and place his hands on her hips.

"Rhythm comes from the heart and I know you got that part down," He told, his lips moving to her ear like usual. She suppressed her shiver and closed her eyes. "I want you to channel it to the rest of your body. You need to feel it in the tips of your toes and every curve on your body before you can dance like a professional. Today, though, we just want you to channel your energy to your hips."

He patted her on her hip bone, then gripped it like he was going to assist her in a turn. Channel to the hips... breathe... "Alright..."

"Bend in your legs," He instructed. She did as he told. "Arch that ass out a bit and pop your chest. Then, place your hands on top of mine..." He waited until Fiona had taken a deep breath and timidly followed his last instruction; carefully placing her hands on top of his. They were warm and soft, yet calloused. "Now start grinding those hips like you mean it."

Guiding her hips to move, he molded them around in a slow, circular motion until she got the hang of it. The music had long ago stopped playing, and the silence and her shallow breath was making her very self-conscious about how close her rear was to his crotch. If he moved just a centimeter...

"Keep going," He encouraged, softening the grip he had on her when her hips started to move on their own. "You're doing it, Fee. Try picking up the pace a little."

She did, and the second she did, she felt him behind her. She gasped as she felt him start moving behind her, following her movements. When she started loosening up, yet tightening at the same time, he moved away and came up beside her.

"You're doing it!" He grinned, watching her move slowly, but definitely not uncoordinatedly. "I knew you were a natural! It's in your blood, baby. Let it out."

Fiona couldn't actually believe she was doing it. It felt boundary breaking, moving her hips so daringly. Ballet certainly wouldn't allow this. It wasn't about wiggling your ass, it was about keeping it tight and tucked in. Having to do the exact opposite right now... it felt weird.

But good weird.

A nervous sound passed her lips. A laugh? Beside her, Adam laughed too. He suddenly moved towards the stereo and put on the same song as before, letting her get used to the rhythm of that one. Now knowing how the song went, Fiona tried to envision what the two girls, Rani and Kalo, had done. They had moved around, kicked their feet somehow and made snake-like twists with their hands in the air, making it appear effortless and gorgeous. She wasn't about to go there yet.

Coming up beside her again, though, Adam was losing his cool and howling. He was grinning and moving in the same rhythm as her, matching her movements. Why did it suddenly look... hot? He was dancing with her, dancing like her ancestors, and suddenly... it didn't look ridiculous.

"C'mon, Fee! Kill it for me!" He started moving his arms, showing her again what Rani and Kalo had done. Nervously, she copied him to the best of her ability. He chuckled and nodded, watching her do it. "Hell, yeah! I'm seeing that magic! Fuck, keep going and you'll blind me, baby."

It was nerve wracking whenever he talked like that, watching her with that look and that smirk. It was blatant flirting, and yet all it did was make her feel... good? More assured of herself. The best part was, the way he did it wasn't in a crude or 'I-wanna-fuck-you-senseless' kinda way. There was nothing behind it, simply just... encouragement?

"That's it," He moved closer to her again, coming up behind her and placing his hands on her hips again. Her pulse instantly spiked up. "Keep going, keep moving your hips. Now try shifting your weight onto one foot and move the other back. Repeat with the other and then turn. Got it?"

Shakily nodding, Fiona figured she might as well try it before she lost her courage. Doing like he said, she shifted onto her left leg and moved her right one back, taking a step backwards. Adam did the same behind her. Repeating with the other leg, she was surprised how well he was able to coordinate with her, like instruments harmonizing. All that was left to do now was turn.

But, just as Fiona turned, his hand slid to her lower back, way too close to her rear. It distracted her and caused her to fall out of rhythm, messing up her turn. She swung around clumsily before Adam was ready, and that resulted in her knee landing in the one place she had been trying to avoid ever since they first started dancing together.

- His groin.

Screaming, she jumped back when Adam cursed out and fell to the floor, clutching his jewels. He had managed to break some of the impact before she got him too good, but still, her knee had definitely hit him. She cupped her mouth in horror and embarrassment as Adam crimped down on the floor, his face twisting. "Fuck!"

"I'm so sorry!" Fiona panicked, watching him curse some more and squeeze his eyes shut. "Oh my God, I'm so, so sorry!"

He blew out a hard breath. Then, he groaning, he tried to sit up. "I fucking knew it—my balls would pay for it."

"I didn't mean to do it!" She exclaimed. When he finally looked up and gave her a half-assed smile, she let out a frustrated sound. "You jackass!"

He chuckled hoarsely and shook his head again. "Fuck, that's gonna sting all day. You have heels for knees, Fee. Just thought you should know."

Glancing down at her knees by reflex, her eyes also dropped to his crotch where he slowly tried removing his hands. And that's when she saw it.

"You're not wearing a dancer's belt," She stated. Even through his loose track pants, she could tell that he wasn't wearing any protective underwear that could've helped... tug away the problem.

"They're uncomfortable as hell," He replied. He finally managed to stand up with another small groan, still slightly clutching himself. "And besides, all of this shouldn't be contained," He added and smirked as he gestured towards his crotch.

It became Fiona's turn to groan, and with an eye-roll, she turned away, suddenly less concerned about him as his humor seemed to have returned already. If a knock to the groin couldn't knock off his smirk, then what could?

"It's dangerous dancing without a dancer's belt. At least up close." She reprimanded. She might not have danced with an actual boy before him, but that didn't mean she didn't know the risks and safety procedures of doing so. "If we're going to keep dancing, you better start wearing one." She couldn't have him flapping all over the place as they progressed to twerking. Oh, God. Twerking.

"If I owned one, I would wear it," He chuckled, blowing out a breath. "But speaking of dancing, I might need a small break. Lunch?" He suggested with a ginger grin.

Sighing, Fiona walked up and turned the stereo off while Adam took a seat on one of the chairs up against the wall. He still looked a little pale, but somehow he was still smiling. Even so, Fiona knew she couldn't keep dancing with him if he didn't start protecting himself. Knowing herself, his junk wouldn't survive if he didn't.

- Yeah, she was definitely going to have to fix that.

• • •

And again, if you don't know what a dancer's belt is, it's just a fancy ballet term for 'male thong.' Helps keep the general and his twins packed away for brutal war machines, also known as knees and feet.

(I'm getting all of this info from Google btw, blame her if I got it wrong)