***You need to read Catching Feelings before you read this one, or else some of the situations will be lost to you.***
~~~After Jeremy is Arrested~~~
Chloe Wright walked in the hallway that led to the dance rooms of KSU, wanting to release some of the stress she was feeling in the only way she knew how. She had no trouble finding an empty room that she could practice in, as it was a little later at night. The sun was just barely on the horizon when she had come into the building. She didn't bother to close the door as she walked over to where the sound system was and hooked up her phone to it so the room could be swathed in music.
She slipped on her ballet shoes, which were a light pink color and well worn. She was wearing pale pink tights and a black leotard, while a dark purple sheer skirt that went down to her knees finished off her look. She had pulled her blonde hair up into a perfect bun atop her head, with her bangs framing her face in light curls.
After she was ready, she pulled up her dancing playlist on Spotify and started it before moving to the middle of the room, facing the mirrors. Chloe had been dancing all of her life, after her parents put her into dance when she was only three years old. She didn't want to make a career of it, because it was so hard on the body and she knew her mother would lose her mind trying to control it, but she also never wanted to cease dancing either.
She let the music move through her as she began to dance. These songs were more contemporary, though she always threw ballet moves into her contemporary or jazz dances. Her body moved in fluid motions and she let the emotions of the songs play along her body and face as she danced, lost to the music entirely now. The entire football team could run a play in the room and she wouldn't even notice it.
Wayne Davis could often be found walking back to the dorms from the gym in the later hours of the night. He had always had to work extra hard for what he wanted out of life, so he counted the gym as no different. He often heard music coming from the dance building but seldom gave it any thought, but tonight the music was an eclectic hip-hop remix and he was curious about the track, so he angled himself toward the building, curiosity winning out.
Many of the rooms were closed or empty, but the one he could hear the music coming from had the door opened and the lights on. When he came up to the door and looked in, he could see Chloe dancing in what was a mix of styles, similar to the way the music was. For such a short woman, she made herself seem taller and larger than life as she moved along the room in spins and leaps. Seeing her dancing, Wayne forgot all about the track. He sat down right in the doorway and just watched her fluid movements.
Chloe ended in a pose on the ground when the music ended, and she stayed that way for a moment, breathing heavier than she normally would as she had been dancing for a while. There was a sheen of sweat on her skin where Wayne could see it. She turned the playlist off and then turned around and noticed Wayne there, looking at him in surprise.
"I think you've gotten lost, Mr. QB," she told him.
"I was wondering about that track you were listening to, then I got distracted," He said, laughing a little nervously as he stood up.
Chloe chuckled at that and pulled up her playlist to show him the name of the song. "I like to dance to remixes or covers. It works because I've learned quite a few different styles of dance, like ballet, jazz, contemporary, and hip-hop."
"So I saw. You're really good!" He wrote down the name of the track and the artist so he could pull the music up himself later and sneakily memorized her Spotify username so he could check out the other music she listened to.
"Thanks," she said with a smile. "Mom wanted me to make a career of it, but it destroys your feet and knees over time, as well as her just being too much like a crazy momager for that..."
"I feel that. So what do you want to do with your life?" he asked.
"I'm in school for social work," she replied. "I thought I would work in group therapy situations or hospital psych wards doing music therapy. I have also considered teaching dance. What about you? Is football a life goal or just a means to an end?"
"Much like dance, it takes a toll on the athlete. It's always best to enjoy it as a means to a different end. My short term goal is to get into the NFL, but I'm a marketing major and I want to make sure I market my own brand well enough that I can do other things once I'm done. I'd like to find some way to help people who grew up like me not have to work so hard at it, but that's a long-term goal that still needs developing," he answered, a little surprised that she'd pulled so much out of him with a simple question.
"It's an admirable goal though, and considering how determined you seem to be about your goals in school, I'm sure you'll succeed," she commented as she pulled her golden hair out of its bun. It fell down around her shoulders and back in soft curls and Wayne could see in the light that it had some red in it. Because they were standing close, Wayne could catch just the slightest scent of citrus on her.
He audibly sniffed, "Girl, why do you smell like a snack? Is that a perfume or...?"
Chloe looked up at him and smirked. "It is, yes, though I'm surprised the sweat doesn't cover it up now."
"Well, unless your sweat smells like lemon scones, it didn't get covered up. Makin' me hungry over here." Wayne said with a smile.
"Sadly, the only snack in the room is me," Chloe joked with a laugh. "But I think the cafeteria might still be open."
"Wanna grab a bite?" Wayne offered, moving out of the doorway in case she wanted to get by.
She grabbed her bag and turned back to him before turning off the light in the room. "I would love to. Does football season mean a specific diet?"
"I usually eat a lot of protein and carbs during the season to help me bulk up and then slim down in the post-season," Wayne said.
"Well I suppose being able to eat carbs is nice," Chloe replied as they walked toward the student center. "I keep my diet to proteins and veggies. Carbs are a treat, though since I stopped dancing full time I enjoy pasta more often. The things we do for our sports."
"Honestly, carbs tear me up but I burn through so many calories while I practice and play that I would die on a vegetarian diet. Is your diet a lifestyle choice or...?" Wayne asked.
"Oh, I do eat meat, but not a ton of it," she told him. "Red meat, some chicken, and lean fish. More fish than anything else. It's mostly because of the needs of the body when you dance, and I've been dancing more since Jeremy's arrest. It's calming for me. I can get lost in the music and let my emotions out in a healthy and safe way, rather than taking off my earrings and ready to beat someone's ass, you know?"
"Oh, I think both are kinda hot, but I'm attracted to crazy," Wayne admitted.
"Oh really?" she said as she looked at him sideways, though it was good naturedly. "That's true, you have seen me taking earrings off twice now, and you're still walking to the student center with me. Are you sure you haven't hit your head too many times?"
Wayne shook his head, then stopped and listened, making a noise like marbles spinning around a bowl. "Maybe I have, but that's okay. Concussions are good for building character, according to coach."
"Well, you certainly have character, and I rather like it too," she admitted, looking back up at him. "You're very quick in your thinking on the field too. That was what first got my attention, actually. That and your ass looks great in those pants."
"What? My uniform pants? Nobody's ass looks good in those things," Wayne laughed.
"We'll have to agree to disagree there, Davis," Chloe said as they went into the student center and to where the food was. They focused on getting their food and paid for it before finding a seat. The place still had a few stragglers trying to catch a meal but it was fairly empty as they sat down. "There's something about men in uniforms. I don't know. Maybe you don't see it because you're a straight man."
"Eh, I've seen women in uniforms too." Wayne said, "They're usually unappealing in any kind of satisfyingly sexy way, which is generally the idea for uniforms. I think of them as work-wear. I'd far rather see what someone wears when they're trying to look nice, or just hanging out around the house, y'know?"
Chloe couldn't help but laugh a little at the two different images in her head. "My hanging around the house is far different from my trying to dress up and look nice. I live in leggings and sweaters at home, or shorts in the summer. I never knew Ohio could get so damn hot and humid until I moved here for school."
A few of the football players had come in to grab some food after workouts, and they said their hellos to Wayne. One of the men on the defensive side, who had been a real ass to Jimmy, named Jones, looked from Chloe to Wayne with a look that said he wasn't impressed with Wayne's choices there.
"Got a problem, Jonesy?" Wayne asked without getting up, his tone dangerous.
"Not at all, Davis," Jones replied. "I just don't know how I'd feel about someone's sloppy seconds, you know? Or is it more like the team's sloppy fifteenths? I've lost track."
"Keep it up and you'll lose some more teeth, Jonesy," Wayne said cheerfully, putting his tray to the side and setting his feet under the table, all of the relaxation gone out of his posture.
Jones just smiled at Wayne and then went to get into line for food. Chloe was watching the man leave, her eyes narrowed. Wayne leaned over to her, "Little does he know, I was getting ready to try to hold you back so he could get away. Poor guy has built up way too much of coach's character, if you get my meaning."
"Oh, is that why he's like that?" she asked him. "It's too bad, really, his face would look nice with a few claw marks on it. It definitely couldn't hurt him. For the record, though, the rumors of my exploits are greatly exaggerated. I think I've made out with three guys on the team, and slept with all of two, and Jones was never in the running for any of it."
"Ah," Wayne nodded, "Sour grapes, then. It's too bad for him. Honestly it doesn't matter to me if you slept with the whole team at once, your sexual exploits are only a part of your story, and I want to hear all of it."
For the first time since Wayne had met her, Chloe looked a little unsure as she considered that. She stabbed at her broccoli a little bit. "It's not all happy or bright. We may grow up with a lot of privilege, but we grow up with a lot of...harsh discipline too."
"That sounds terrible. I'm sorry you went through that," Wayne said sympathetically.
Chloe shrugged, like it wasn't a big deal at all. "It's just the way it works, I guess. My mother gets really mad during arguments and it makes her lash out. Ethan's dad does similar things. Jeremy has never been hit but his dad has said some pretty awful things, especially when he got outed. Maybe it's just the cost of growing up wealthy? I don't know."
Wayne looked thoughtful. "Seems like a shitty price to pay for any kind of upbringing. It's not like you asked to be born, let alone into privilege. Parents should be trying to give their kids a better life than the one they have, always. If that means you have money and privilege, then your goal should be not to pass along generational traumas along with it. Or at least that's my understanding of it."
