The Treehouse - Chapter 1

"I'm so nervous!" Brianne (pronounced "BREE-ANN") whispered, shaking violently. She tried to wipe the sweat from her palms and clenched her teeth so they wouldn't chatter. Her partner and best friend put his arms around her and gave her a comforting hug.

"You'll be fine. We've rehearsed this for months, what can possibly go wrong?" he soothed.

"I could think of a few things…" Brianne began.

"Good luck, Chris!" a female interrupted from behind Brianne. She cringed; Brie knew whose voice that was without turning around to stare into her cold face.

"Victoria, you're not supposed to be back here!" Chris whispered harshly. No one is allowed backstage except the dancers, especially during performances. It was hard to make out anyone's face in the dark of the curtains aside the stage, but Chris was well aware of who was standing in the doorway.

"Oops! Well, see you later!" Vickie said to Chris, moving her dark brown waves out of the way and kissing him on the cheek. She gave Brianne, who had turned around for a stare-down if the opportunity arose, a very dirty look before leaving. Chris wiped the kiss off in disgust, turning back to Brie. Both of them were anxiously anticipating the moment when their names would be announced to perform. In case you were wondering, Brianne and Chris were performing a duet in their dance school's recital. This was a first, but they were the best of friends, so they hoped there wouldn't be a problem. Victoria didn't go to the dance school, but she knew Chris was a member, and she was planning on joining for that reason. This was unfortunate for Chris, with whom she was obsessed.

"And now, Brianne Morro and Christopher Trousdale, performing a duet…" the announcer proclaimed.

"Smile!" Brie reminded Chris through her teeth as they positioned themselves onstage. The dance was a swingy sort of tap style, since swing is the type of dancing you're supposed to do to the song. The song they chose was often referred to as the "Chips Ahoy!" song from the television commercials, called "Swing, swing, swing." Their costumes were green and black; Brianne's was a knee-length dress with short sleeves. The top was black with green-sequined trim and the skirt was green with big black polka dots. Chris's outfit was the opposite; his long-sleeved was green with big black polka dots and his pants were black. The tacky costumes went with the theme of swing, but they constantly got teased by their friends at rehearsals because of it. Both of them finished the dance flawlessly and strutted happily off the stage.

"AAAHHH!" Brie screamed when they got out into the hallway, engulfing Chris in a gut-wrenching hug. Chris picked her small body up and spun her around. Brianne was only five feet tall, so it wasn't too difficult to lift her; even her "weak" girl friends could do it.

"I told you we wouldn't mess up!" Chris smiled, placing her back on the ground. Meanwhile in the auditorium, Victoria was throwing another one of her fits. She was famous for them when she didn't get what she wanted, especially when it came to guys. Of course, Chris was the only one she couldn't get to like her, which made her even more mad.

"I can't believe he didn't let me stay!" she fumed between performances. She had finished watching Chris and Brianne's duet, and was annoyed that Brie was best friends with Chris when she couldn't even get him to look her way.

"Girl, he doesn't like you like that!" her friend Gabriella was saying. "We've already gone over this!"

"Then I'll make him!" On the other side of the auditorium, Chris's friends Jesse, Matt, Greg, and Frankie had come to watch. They decided to visit Chris in the guys' dressing room when Chris and Brianne were done with their dance.

"Oh, look! I can do a toe up, too!" Greg exclaimed, attempting the move and losing his balance, falling over and causing an entire rack of costumes to crash. The other guys ignored him and went over to talk to Chris.

"Those polka dots are so hot," Frankie commented.

"Yeah, I'd wear them every day if I had some," Jesse chimed in.

"Don't worry, I hate them, too," Chris assured them.

"We passed Victoria on our way," Matt remembered. "Apparently, she's still trying to get you to go out with her." Chris rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation.

"I don't like her, it's as simple as that. If she wasn't so mean to Brie, I might think to look at her. Greg, pick those up before the director walks in."

"I didn't do it!" Greg yelled.

"You've never met the director before, have you? Once, I saw her whip someone's ankles because their feet weren't turned out…"

"Alright, I'm going!" Greg gave up his fight. "Sheesh!" In the girl's dressing room, Brianne couldn't stop talking about the dance.

"Elle! We didn't even mess up that lift!" Noelle, one of Brie's other best friends, wished she would shut up at the moment. Then again, she probably would've been doing the same thing if she had a perfect number. Brianne and Noelle had been going to dance school together ever since they could remember, as they lived near each other and attended the same academic school since kindergarten.

"And right when this recital is over, I am going home and sleeping," Brianne declared, yawning. She almost rubbed her eyes before remembering how stupid it would look if all her stage makeup was smeared across her face. She picked up her costumes, makeup, and dance shoes, saying goodbye to Noelle, and walked to the door of the guys' dressing room to wait for Chris, who was bringing her home. Jesse poked his head out the door and saw Brianne leaning up against the wall. She jumped as he recognized her.

"Don't scare me like that!" she exclaimed.

"Sorry. Hey, nice job with the dance," he commented.

"Thanks," she smiled at him. "Is Chris coming?"

"Right here," Chris replied in the doorway behind Jesse, leading the way outside.

"Do you want any help?" Jesse offered to Brianne.

"Awww, thanks!" she grinned, handing him her bag full of costumes.

"What do you have in here, bricks?!" Jesse yelped as the weight of the bag made his arm go limp for a second. Brie laughed because Jesse was always trying to convince Greg that his muscles were just as big as Greg's, but he had never succeeded. This didn't prove Jesse's statements true in the least.