Chapter 4
Charles wept quietly as he ran down the dark streets, occasionally sniffling and wiping at his face furiously with the side of his arm. Everything that happened was just awful. He wanted to run and run until his feet gave out from under him. He'd felt depressed before, but not like this. The things they said to him really broke his spirit. He tried not to think about what they said, but it kept coming back, swallowing him up in a dark place.
"What were you thinking, Charles? You looked so stupid out there! If people knew Erik was dancing with a beginner like you, a clumsy guy in drag no less, he'd be the laughingstock of the competition!"Scott said in a condescending, yet annoyed voice, as if Charles had offended his sensibilities with what he had done. Jean and Kitty actually nodded in agreement, while Peter and Wanda regarded Charles with their silent loathing.
Charles could only blink at Scott, speechless and feeling ashamed of himself. The other students surrounded him and they were glowering at him; the way they looked at him in an accusatory manner made him feel small, like he'd committed something heinous or perhaps, something especially offensive. Erik couldn't come to his aid because he was taking heat from the other instructors as well. Erik and the instructors were arguing loudly at the side of the dressing rooms while the students corralled Charles in a corner close by. Erik worriedly looked over at Charles, wanting to see if he was alright, but he was currently detained. Alex shoved Charles' shoulder to get his attention.
"You probably talked Erik into it! He wouldn't have done something like this if you two weren't so frigging lovey-dovey! You're just both not thinking straight! Yeah, that's right! We know you're only sleeping with him to get attention! That's why we never liked you! You're a sneaky, suck up piece of homo-faggot shit and we'd be better off without you!"
Charles swallowed thickly, a numb feeling spreading from his face down to his body. He suddenly couldn't breathe, like something heavy was pressing down on his chest. His eyes trembled slightly with unshed tears as the other students continued to tear at him with their words. Not everyone intended to shoot him down. Rogue actually tried to stop them from saying mean things to him.
"Stop it, you guys! This dance competition is open to same-sex partners. There's nothing wrong with what they're doing!"Rogue said hotly.
"Yes, there's something wrong with it, alright! Charles will eventually humiliate himself before those people and he'll drag Lehnsherr studios to the ground! Look at him, dressed like this! He looks like a clown!" Sean said derisively and that was the last straw for Charles. He turned from them and ran out of the Ballroom Centre, ripping the blond wig from his head and running into the night, his sight blurry due to the tears streaming down his face. As he ran on, he tore Ororo's old costume from his body, running bare-chested and wearing nothing but his shorts. He had ripped the mesh stockings off and even left Ororo's high heels on the pavement. He didn't care if he looked ridiculous, running half-naked down the streets. He's a clown to them after all. All he wanted now was to get away from everyone. He was too overcome by his grief that he did not hear Erik calling his name over and over, the other chasing him. The only sound he could hear was the sound of the cars whizzing past him and the thumping of his broken heart. Erik finally burst forth, catching up with him and then he wrapped his arms around Charles to stop him.
"Charles, please stop!"
"Let me go!"Charles cried out brokenly, sobbing as he did so, but Erik wouldn't let him go. He drew Charles to himself and hugged him fiercely.
"Charles, I didn't hear what they said to you, but you shouldn't let them get to you! They didn't know any better!"
Charles shook his head weakly, his face contorted with his crying."No, they're right! I'm a pathetic joke! I'll just bring shame to the studio! Look at me! I put on those clothes in an effort to hide myself because I didn't want to embarrass you, but I ended up humiliating you even further! You should just dance with Emma! If you danced with her, the studio will become popular-"
Erik grabbed Charles' cheeks so that the other would look at him directly."Charles, I don't want to dance with Emma. I want you. I don't want anybody else. We've been together, all this time and the more time I spent with you, the more I've come to terms with something very important. I realized that winning isn't everything. I don't care if we aren't popular or if we fail to win in the competition. Hell, I could always file for a loan to save the studio! We'll eventually achieve our goals if we work on our routine together,"
Charles could only stare up at Erik, stunned.
"We are on to something amazing together. People just don't know about it yet, that's why they couldn't understand why I chose you as my partner and besides that, I don't just want you as my dance partner, I want to be with you. I've seen you grow as a person and I could see how hard you've worked your ass off to get to this point, I see you as you are, Charles. I see you-"
Charles began to sob, too overcome by Erik's words. Regardless of their surroundings, Erik pulled Charles close, kissing him and pouring all his feelings into the kiss. Charles immediately melted against him, tentatively placing his hands upon Erik's chest and allowing the other to comfort him within his loving embrace. Sighing into the lingering kiss, Charles finally pulled away, nuzzling his face against the crook of Erik's neck.
"You're nuts, you know that?"Charles murmured, albeit affectionately as Erik held him.
"Ah, yes but you like it anyway-"Erik joked back. They both chuckled over their situation, standing there a while longer and then Erik offered to accompany Charles back home. Erik also offered his suit coat to Charles, because the night was chilly and Charles barely had anything on. Although the view of Charles' barely clothed body pleased Erik, common decency prevented him from taking advantage of the situation. Erik wrapped his coat affectionately around Charles, while the other looked up at him gratefully. Erik then took out a handkerchief and began to wipe off the smeared make-up from Charles' face. It touched Charles deeply that Erik accomplished these small gestures for him. As soon as Erik finished the task of helping make Charles presentable, they began to walk side by side, not saying a word to each other, comfortable in the silence that passed between them. When they got to Charles' backyard, Charles tried to return Erik's coat but Erik insisted that he can keep it.
"Just keep it for now. You don't need to give it back to me-"
"I'm already home. I don't want to ruin your suit coat-"
"Charles really, it's ok-"
They pushed back at each other in hushed tones, but Charles suddenly froze up when he heard his Uncle Logan's voice from his back.
"There had better be a logical explanation as to why you're standing half-naked in the middle of the night on my goddamn lawn, Charles-"Logan said bitingly.
Charles slowly turned around and when he did, his Uncle saw Erik standing out on the sidewalk. Logan's face contorted with anger and he pushed Charles aside to grab at Erik's collar.
"So you're the reason he's been coming home late! I saw your face on the news. You're his instructor at that washed-up studio!"
"My studio's not washed up!"Erik replied tersely back, his eyes narrowing down with defiance. He pushed Logan's hand roughly away, smiling insolently."I'm not just Charles' instructor, I'm his dance partner. We'll be dancing in the Graymalkin dance competition together!"
Logan became thunderstruck, his furious gaze going from Erik to Charles, then back to Erik again. When he found his voice, he shouted out his disapproval.
"I won't allow it! Charles, I forbid you from going to that studio ever again! Now, get in the fucking house and let me deal with this asshole!"
Charles just about had it with people trying to bring them down. He quickly went to Erik's side and defiantly met his Uncle's eyes."No!"
"What?"
"You heard me! I said no! If you won't let me dance with Erik, then I'll run away and I'm never going back again! I won't work in the restaurant anymore and I don't care what else you have to say! You can't stop me from doing what I want!"Charles said with feeling, reaching out to hold Erik's hand. Logan's eyes immediately went to their clasped hands and then he suddenly realized, Erik was not just Charles' partner, they're together. Charles thought that Logan would start to rattle off with some homophobic slurs and attack them both. Instead, Logan sagged against their wooden gate and sighed heavily, his expression softening.
"This is all my fault. I've put these ideas in your head, Charles. You're like your dad. Passionate...driven. There's just no stopping it when you feel strongly over something-"
Erik appeared confused at first, unsure of how to respond to Logan's sudden capitulation, with Charles equally so. Logan gestured with his head that they should head inside the house.
"Come inside. Let's talk. You're freezing your butt off out here, Charles-"
Charles blushed under the harsh street light illuminating the backyard and meekly went inside. Erik hesitantly moved forward and entered the house as well. This was the first time Erik had entered Charles' house. Charles hurried upstairs to wash his face and get dressed and when he went back down, his Uncle and Erik were sitting in the living room, waiting for him. Charles nervously took a seat next to Erik, waiting to hear what his Uncle had to say.
"Listen, Charles. Let's get one thing straight. I didn't want you going to that studio because of what happened to your dad. You know he had the same lofty dreams you're having now. He wanted to become a famous dancer, but he failed to break into the business. There's just too much competition during that time. Still, your dad kept at it. All that came to a halt when he got sick. Before he passed away, he asked me to guide you, to get your head straight and keep you out of trouble-"
"I'm only fulfilling his dreams. What's wrong with that?"
"Charles, he didn't want you to suffer the same fate. Passion and talent could only get you so far. You have to be pragmatic nowadays. I'm pushing you into the restaurant business because I want you to have a stable future. It's what your dad would have wanted. Get your head out of the clouds and into reality. The real world will just eat you up and spit you out if you don't man up and face it-"
Logan could see that Charles wasn't about to budge. He wearily turned to face Erik.
"Why don't you talk him out of it? Can't you see that you're teaching him unrealistic ideals, wasting time in that studio of yours? There's more to life than just dreams and fantasies. Those ideals aren't going to feed your families or put a roof over your heads! Just so you know, I used to dance the Argentine Tango with Charles' dad. We were famous back then, but I eventually grew out of it. It's just a phase! Whatever you're both getting into-"
Erik did a double take, placing a hand over his mouth."No way! You're Jim 'The best there is' Logan! I thought you looked familiar-"Erik said in an awed voice. Erik had apparently heard about Logan before. His father had told him stories of two men dancing together in an international competition and thrilling the crowd with their dance moves. Lehnsherr senior even showed Erik a grainy picture of Logan and his partner from a newspaper clip once, but that had been awhile back. Talk about coincidence!
Logan made a face."Let's not focus on that. That's a past I don't want to dig up. So, will you talk some sense into this boy?"
"No."Erik said, flat out.
"What the hell?"Logan shouted, indignant.
Erik thought Logan was about to lunge at him, then and there because of Logan's sudden movement. Logan almost did shoot out of his chair, but thought better of it. An angry vein visibly pulsed from Logan's reddening face. Logan struggled for control and sat back with forced calm.
"Why?"Logan said tightly.
"Because you're wrong about us. Dreams and fantasies are the very things that made this real world of yours possible because people like us pushed their fantastic ideas forward and dared to dream up crazy things due to their passion. Sure, we may not look like much now, but you should see Charles on the dance floor. You have to see how special he is. Everyone's attention will be on him and even if we fail, we'll just keep trying until we get to the top-"
Charles could only look at Erik with affection as the other said those passionate words. Logan did not say anything for a while, staring at them hard. Finally,"Show me then-"
"Now?"
"Yes, now! There's no other way you could convince me otherwise!"
Erik quickly stood up and he gave Charles a confident wink. He reached for Charles' hand and led him towards an open area in the living room.
Logan stood up as well and started up a well-preserved LP record player and in a moment, music began to stream from old-fashioned speakers arranged on both sides of the player. As soon as Erik and Charles caught the right rhythm of the song, Erik began to lead Charles into one of their Argentine Tango stances. Logan watched them silently and likewise, Charles' household woke up to the sound of "Vuelvo al sur". Peeking from upstairs was Charles' mother and his half-sister, Raven Darkholme. They heard the argument earlier, but didn't come out of their rooms until they heard the music playing. They watched, entranced, as Charles and his partner, Erik Lehnsherr moved to the sensuous cadences of the music. Raven met Sharon's eyes as they leaned on the handrail. Raven could see tears shining from Sharon's eyes.
"Charles' father would be so proud. Look at your brother dance, Raven!"Sharon said, her voice tremulous.
Raven patted her shoulder and smiled. They continued to watch the pair dancing, until the music ended. Erik looked over at Logan, proud of what he and Charles had accomplished, his chest heaving. Erik's face fell when he saw the skeptical look on Logan's expression.
"Well, what do you think?"Erik said, his eyes wide and intimidating.
Logan stepped towards Charles, glaring down at him hard; he seemed to be searching for something in Charles' eyes. Then he acknowledged Charles performance with a nod of approval.
"That was good, Charles. That was really good-"
In a moment, Charles' face lit up with a bright smile. He had not smiled at Logan like this for a while now. He had always thought that Logan was too controlling and that he would never get any support from his Uncle and now the other encouraged him with his words. That happy moment became struck from him when his Uncle turned on Erik and said the opposite. Charles thought that his Uncle would equally praise them, but he was wrong. Logan pointed a disapproving finger at Erik.
"You on the other hand, you suck! What do you think Tango is about?"Logan said evenly.
"What? What's wrong with the way I'm dancing?"Erik cried out angrily. His eyes had narrowed down to slits and his chest puffed up in his defiant indignation at Logan's words. Logan shot back with a derisive retort.
"Are you kidding me? You dance like a cornered nun! You're too stiff in the hips! Tango is about sexuality and aggressiveness. I ain't feeling that vibe from you-"
Erik was about to launch into an argument with him, but Charles interjected. He grabbed both of their shoulders.
"Then teach us how it's done! Teach us the right way to dance Argentine tango!"
It startled Logan to hear Charles ask for his help. He could see that dancing meant a lot to Charles. Even though he had promised Charles' father that he would do everything in his power to draw Charles away from that world, he couldn't stop Charles from making his own choices. Logan had a hard day at the restaurant earlier, but that didn't matter now. He took out his dancing shoes from one of the cupboards in the kitchen and then he put them on. He then got up from his seat and stared at them intently.
"Alright, then! I'll do it or I'm never going to hear the end of it if I refuse. Ain't that right, Sharon?"
Logan sensed Sharon and Raven's presence from earlier on.
"You've certainly read my mind, Jim-"Sharon said sweetly and then both Charles and Erik smiled up at her. Raven giggled at the turn of events and silently watched the men practice their dance moves.
Logan was in this case, a far worse slave driver than Erik. He frequently used a ruler to slap Erik's arm if he made a mistake and it was all Erik could do not to strangle him.
"What the hell are you doing? When I meant sexuality in your movements, it's not just about pumping your hips like you're humping something! Charles is not a hump toy, got that? Argentine tango between male partners is asserting your maleness, showing your partner you're controlling the dance; showing your sexual side without doing so overtly!"
Erik fumed silently, but he patiently bore with it. Logan is a master of the craft after all. Charles gently reached down and touched Erik's hips, surprising him.
"Here,"Charles murmured softly and even though it should have insulted Erik that his own student taught him, he understood that this wasn't about his ego. If they are ever going to get a chance in winning the Grand Prix, he had to push that aside. Charles guided his hips, controlling the motion and then Charles slid the side of his hip sensuously against Erik's hip. Erik was finally getting the hand of it.
"There! That's it! Move your hips slowly, control the movements-"Logan encouraged him.
They practiced deep into the night, eventually getting into the groove of things. Logan even began to laugh with them when they made mistakes. Meanwhile, Sharon and Raven watched them from the living room, taking their seats upon the sofa and cheering them on. Logan actually joined Erik and Charles in a silly dance that had Sharon and Raven cackling wildly. When they finished, Sharon and Raven had already prepared them a late dinner and they all ate together, with Charles and Erik telling them about the Showcase and the coming Grand Prix. It impressed Logan when Erik explained what they did earlier to draw in the crowd with their Swing dance, using the white sheet and the lights to show a Shadow dance.
"People are going to talk about you by tomorrow-"Logan said, taking a slug of beer and sighing in satisfaction. He was dead tired, but having a relaxing time with the family made up for it.
"I'm counting on it!"Erik said, unable to hide the excitement he felt. He didn't care if everyone at the studio opposed his partnership with Charles.
Charles' mother invited Erik to stay over for the night and she prepared the sofa for Erik to rest on, placing pillows and comforters for his use. When everyone was in their bedrooms, Charles quietly crept down to make out with Erik. Logan knew about their intimacy, but he didn't say anything. As long as Charles was happy and as long as Erik treated Charles right, then he was willing to overlook their relationship, odd as it is.
Erik avoided the studio like the plague, spending more time with Charles and Logan at Charles' house and even helping out Charles at Logan's restaurant. The other instructors constantly called Erik on his cell phone, but he ignored their calls and their text messages. He would rather practice with Charles and Logan than get into a heated argument with any of them. Besides, they didn't support his cause. Once the day of the competition arrives and they see his dance moves with Charles, only then would he deign to forgive them. Charles had repeatedly chided him for not clearing things up with the instructors and the students.
"I can't forgive them, not yet. Look, they said some mean things about you! I find that unacceptable so I'm punishing them!"
"Erik, there's no use holding on to any hate. They did say mean things to me, but like what you've said before, none of that matters anymore-"
Erik suddenly reached out and gave Charles a rough hug."You're a really good person, you know that?"
Charles blushed softly and gave Erik a bashful smile. Charles actually became an instant sensation after the Showcase. People were buzzing about the mystery dancer that had captivated them with his/her dancing. More people came to Lehnsherr's dance studio, asking about Charles, but the instructors and the students kept quiet about it. They didn't want to say anything, unless Erik said anything about it first and Erik was currently avoiding them. All this furor over Charles grew into a full-blown frenzy and this was exactly what the dance community in their area wanted. They wanted to arouse the people's interest in ballroom dancing once more. Obviously, Erik and his 'partner' are still in the competition, despite their absence at the Showcase's eligible contestants announcement, with Ororo representing them instead. The competition officials even refused to name Erik's partner because they wanted to capitalize on the dancer's mystery. Erik and his partner also had the media asking, 'Who is the mystery dancer at the Showcase Performance that night?', splashing the tabloids and the news with a still from their unique performance at the showcase.
Shaw seethed with fury that someone else took his limelight after the Showcase. Shaw had taken to drinking and verbally abusing Angel, sending her away from his opulent mansion that day. His elegant mansion and his fancy cars were the result of his championship winnings in the International competitions. He mostly squandered his money on outrageous outfits and on the side, he did drugs, although it was against the competition rules. He weaseled out of the compulsory medical check-up given to the competitors and spent most of his time preening and tanning himself on his tanning bed. He taught exclusive dance lessons only to rich clients, but lately he's been getting less and less calls for private lessons. It infuriated him that Erik ruined his plans to draw the people's interest back to him. He thought he'd broken Erik's spirit by frequently bribing the past competition officials into letting him win, with Erik none the wiser that the officials saw potential in Erik. Circumstances were different now because the event wasn't handled by the usual dance officials, but by dance proponents and sponsors outside of Shaw's usual circle. He needed to win this competition so that he could go back to the Internationals and earn some big bucks to continue living a life of luxury. His current stints involved attending rich people's functions and performing ballroom dances with his glitzy and oftentimes lengthy numbers. It was getting old. He gloomily sat in his Jacuzzi as he drank straight from a bottle of Dom Pérignon. Emma suddenly made an appearance, strutting towards the side of the pool in her revealing white mini dress.
"Are we acting like a pouty child because Erik took your thunder away with his moves? I told you, we needed to step up our game and do something different-"
Shaw gave her a cutting stare."I'm a celebrity! I'm a goddamned legend on the dance floor! I don't need to do flashy steps to get the crowd going. They just need to look at my expert and brilliant moves!"
Emma rolled her eyes at him."My, the ego!"
Shaw drew closer to her."Well what about you? What happened to our plan to sabotage Lehnsherr?"
Emma's cool smile fell and she looked away. They had planned to make Erik think that Emma had quit her partnership with Shaw, pretending to be Erik's partner, however, with the intent to pull the rug from under Erik at the last minute and dance with Shaw on the day of the competition instead, leaving Erik without a dance partner."He didn't buy it. Although a little birdy told me he found a dance partner after I auditioned at their studio. Apparently, it's someone we've never heard of before-"
"Who the hell is it?"Shaw said, unable to hide his frustration.
Emma shrugged."No one knows."
Shaw suddenly threw the bottle of Dom Pérignon against a wall and shouted at Emma. Emma jumped slightly at the sound of breaking glass."Then what the hell am I paying you for? Go back to Lehnsherr studios and figure it out!"
"Don't you dare raise your voice at me!"Emma shouted back.
"I'll shout at you anytime I want! I own you, remember that!"Shaw snarled in response, his face a mask of rage. Emma stared at him angrily, appalled by Shaw's behavior. She muttered a response and stormed out from Shaw's pool room, her pride injured because Shaw treated her like some object and not a person.
Charles eventually got Erik to go back to the studio to make peace with the instructors and his students. It took a whole lot of convincing, but Erik finally made an appearance as the students and instructors practiced and trained in the studio.
"Erik! Oh my God! Where have you been hiding? People from all around kept asking about you and I didn't know what to say to them!"Ororo said, nervously looking around at everyone and wondering what Erik would say to them. Everyone was on edge as well, because they didn't know Erik's mindset. The activity in the studio came to a halt as they looked around uncomfortably at each other. Even though they had ridiculed Charles back in the showcase, he surprised them when he became the subject of the current mystery surrounding Lehnsherr studios by arousing the population's interest in him. It humbled them, particularly Scott, Alex and Sean. It embarrassed them that they had been mean to Charles. It surprised them even more when Erik spoke calmly to everyone.
"I know we had our misunderstanding at the Showcase, but I guess it was my fault. I kept everything secret from you. I kept quiet about my partnership with Charles due to two reasons. I wanted to keep things secret and I didn't want you to reject Charles, just because he's only a beginner. You've all seen how much he has improved as a dancer, but you haven't seen his special moves. I think now is the time to show you, so you'll understand why I chose him."
Erik turned to face Charles, smiling gamely."You want us to do a modern number or do we go for one of your Uncle's foggy records?"
Charles giggled, returning the smile."Let's do modern this time-"
Charles ran to the digital player and chose a song from their selection and everyone watched in silence as Charles and Erik took up their position. There was something different about Charles. An aura of confidence emanated from him and then to their shock, Charles took out two daggers from his coat pocket. They were just prop daggers, of course, but still it surprised them to see that props involved in Erik and Charles' number. Charles handed the other dagger to Erik and then 'A Los Amigos' began to play. Ororo's jaw dropped as Erik and Charles began to dance an old form of tango. She had seen it before, but not danced like this. Even though Charles and Erik didn't wear any costumes, the way they moved seemed to tell a story, of gangster foes locked in a long battle of wills, threatening each other with a knife to the throat and the promise of a quick death. Yet even though they are enemies for life, they admired each other's strength and passion, even to the point of becoming sexually attracted to each other. It was in the way they looked at each other; the way their bodies swayed with aggressive power and sensuality. It was simply amazing to watch. Everyone was gaping at their dancing, too shocked to say anything or to even make a move. When they finished their dance, Erik had dramatically ended it by pretending to stab Charles, with Charles falling to his feet, still holding his wrist as if he refused for their fight to end.
A thunderous silence filled the room. Only the sound of Erik and Charles' panting resounded as they stood before the group. For a long while, they all stood there, appraising each other and then Rogue began to clap, slowly followed by the other students and then the instructors joined in. Everyone was hooting and shouting in encouragement, along with their clapping and Charles could only place his hands over his lips and cry quietly. He finally felt their acceptance. The students all went to Charles and they apologized for the things they had said. They praised him and congratulated him for giving such a stellar performance while Erik walked over to Ororo. She was weeping as Erik drew near and then she threw her arms around him.
"I'm so sorry I doubted you. That performance was simply incredible! Now I know, you'll make Lehnsherr studios big!"
Erik hugged her back. He whispered in her ear that there was nothing to forgive and the rest of the instructors greeted him and patted his back. He exchanged a look with Charles and they smiled happily at each other.
Later on, they celebrated at Logan's restaurant and they had a good time together, discussing their plans for the competition, with Ororo jokingly scolding Charles for raiding her old costume closet at the studio and ruining her dress. Charles could only blush and hide his face in his mortification, but Erik came to his rescue and promised to pay for damaged costume.
"He does look quite delectable in it, doesn't he?"Erik teased and everyone laughed, much to Charles' immense shame, but he was too happy to care anymore. Erik quietly reached for his hand from under the table and smiled at him lovingly.