Chapter 6 (Edition 1, well 2 technically but 1 for all intents and purposes.)

Okay, so there are two versions of this chapter. I don't know if I should show you the other one as well, or just this "new and improved" version. I kind of like this one, but I kind of like the other one. Then again, I kind of don't have the old version typed...I guess if it was requested I could type it, but this one isn't too bad. Lemme know.

Chapter 6~ Alex
Alex smiled to himself as he stretched his legs out. As usual, he’d changed faster than Kelly. He’d had an awesome time with her, and now he’d get to dance!
When Alex’s legs were sufficiently stretched, he switched to his arms. As he began loosening his wrists, Kelly came leaping in, grinning ear to ear. Alex returned her glowing look, and then started rolling his shoulders, and finally raised them over his head and pulled them backwards. Without warning, he felt a stab of pain sear through his right shoulder. He immediately lowered his arms. The pain eased, but did not vanish entirely.
That same shoulder had been bothering him for a few days now, but he wasn’t overly concerned about it. That was one of the prices he had to pay for dancing every day. Muscle aches and pains were nothing new to senior dancers. Still, he thought, I should probably go easier on that arm for awhile.
“So,” Kelly began, interrupted his thoughts, “do you want to see that choreography I told you about?” “Yeah, where do you want me to be?” “How ‘bout you stand by the wall opposite the mirrors? That way you can see what I’m doing from all angles.” Alex nodded, and walked to the spot she’d indicated.
Kelly turned on the music and started to dance. As she did, she kept up a running commentary on what she was doing and what she thought he would be doing. Between being enchanted by the way she moved, and wondering if he should tell his mom about his shoulder (what if it was a pulled muscle, not just sore from being stretched too often?), he hardly heard her. She finished gracefully right in front of him, “Well? What do you think?” In Alex’s head, he said, I think I just missed half of it. Out loud though, he said, “It was great, you’re a dance genius.” She grinned, blushing. “Thanks, you want to try it?” “Uh, sure, I guess. You’ll have to help me through it.” “That’s okay, I don’t mind.” She positioned him correctly for the beginning of the dance, flicked the remote to start the music, and began moving. Alex followed sloppily, always a step behind her.
She paused about halfway through the dance. “I thought here we could do a lift…” Alex nodded, “Okay.” “Uh, do you want to try it?” she asked hesitantly. “Oh, um, alright.” Alex knew he shouldn’t over-exert his shoulder by lifting her, but how could he tell her that? So he just tensed his muscles and watched her come toward him, trying not to wince when she placed her hands on his shoulders. He grabbed her hips and lifted her high over his head. His right arm shook and threatened to give out. Alex gritted his teeth, he did so many pushups, and his arms were usually so strong. Why were they choosing now to be weak? He was in intense pain. Stretching the arm over his head was bad enough; having Kelly’s insubstantial weight pressing down on him was almost unbearable. He set her down quickly. Too quickly actually, she stumbled slightly at the harshness of the landing.
Kelly turned around and looked at him oddly. “Are you okay? If you’d put me down any faster, you’d have dropped me on my knees!” “I know, I’m sorry. My shoulder’s kind of sore. I think I might’ve pulled a muscle or something.” “Let me see it,” she said, sounding concerned, “maybe I can feel if anything’s out of place.” Alex allowed her to move his t-shirt sleeve out of the way and feel around. When she pressed down slightly on his shoulder bone, he jerked away. “That hurt? I was hardly pressing. I can’t feel anything weird though.” She moved her hand down the rest of his arm, pausing to trace her finger around a few bruises she found. He shivered under her touch. “Where’d you get the bruises?” she inquired. “I don’t know, I must’ve bumped them somewhere. It’s really no big deal.” “If you say so,” Kelly sounded unconvinced. Alex nodded and removed his arm from her hand.
“You want to do some of our other dances,” he asked, determined to change the subject. “Are you sure?” “Yes,” Alex responded firmly. Kelly still looked hesitant. Alex walked over to the CD player and selected a disk with one of their songs on it. Her reaction was exactly why he hadn’t wanted to reveal the pain in his shoulder to her. He knew she’d get all worried and try to mother him. While it was sweet, it was annoying. He could take care of himself. If it hurt too much, he’d take a break. Alex sighed and popped the disc in the player. Hopefully he could dance away everything bad.


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“Hey mom?” asked Alex. It was after dance class, and Alex had just recapped his date with Kelly to his mom. “Yeah Alex?” He hesitated. Should he tell her about his shoulder? Would her reaction be like Kelly’s? However, his shoulder was extra sore after the lift. He probably should get it checked. It felt like more than a stretched muscle. “Um, my right shoulder’s been hurting for a few days. I think I might’ve pulled a muscle or something.” His mom frowned. “Did you twist it at dance?” “I guess I must’ve,” he said, puzzled, “I don’t remember doing anything to it though.” “Hmm, I’ll have a look when we get home. Do you want me to make you an appointment to get it checked out?” “I guess,” Alex said dejectedly. He hated doctors. However, Lena had drilled into her dancers since the first year of junior dance team that if you feel sore anywhere and it lasts longer than a few days, get it checked! You could do yourself permanent damage by continuing to work on it.
Alex sighed. He was so tired. He sat the rest of the ride home in silence. When his mom pulled the car into the driveway, he grabbed his dance bag and stepped out into the crisp November chill. He shivered; he’d always been extra-sensitive to the cold. Walking quickly to the house, he tripped over an enormous tabby cat and nearly went sprawling. “Pudgy,” he murmured, bending down to stroke the cat, “You’ve got to learn to get out of the way.” Pudgy just purred and exposed his massive stomach. Alex rolled his eyes. “You have no pride,” he said, laughing at Pudgy’s affronted look. After a couple of rubs, Alex stood and went inside the house. His limbs were heavy with exhaustion.
He dragged himself and his bag upstairs to his bedroom. As he stripped off his dance clothes, he noticed more bruises coloring his legs and torso. They hardly registered. Once his sleep clothes were on, he fell into bed asleep almost immediately.

As Alex blearily walked to the bathroom the next morning, the first thing he noticed was the heightened pain in his shoulder. It had stiffened dramatically overnight. Stepping into the shower, he gasped in pain as hot streams of water pelted the bone.
“Are you okay honey?” his mom inquired when he came downstairs a few minutes later. “You look a little pale.” “My shoulder got worse, and I think I might be getting a cold or something. I don’t feel too great.” His mom offered to give him an Advil for the pain. He accepted gratefully, and washed it down with the dregs of his cereal. He then put his book-bag carefully onto his left shoulder, and headed out the door.
The biting cold of the morning seeped through his jacket and into his skin, sharpening his senses. The bus was just coming around the corner as he reached his stop. As soon as he was on and seated, it lurched into motion and Alex’s shoulder bumped against the window. He bit his lip and his eyes watered. Taking a few deep breaths, Alex tried to relax. He was glad his mom had scheduled the doctor’s appointment. This felt serious.

When the bus pulled up in front of Hancock High, Alex grabbed his book-bag and got off. The first thing he noticed upon pushing through the double doors and entering the building was Kelly. She was leaning against Lily’s locker, holding her books. She smiled when she caught sight of him. After exchanging greeting with her and Lily, Lily left, saying she had to get to class. “I should probably go too,” Kelly said, but she didn’t move. She took Alex’s hand. “How’s your shoulder?” she asked, after a minute. “Not great, but I’ll live,” he muttered. She smiled sweetly, “Good, I’ll see you at lunch.” He nodded and headed in the opposite direction.
As Alex walked away, someone accidentally ran in to him and sent him crashing into the wall of lockers. His right shoulder slammed into one of them, and the area exploded with pain. He dropped his books to the floor and then slid down beside them. The pain was unimaginable. It was throbbing, pulsing threatening to blind him. He had never known pain like this. How he managed to stay conscious was anybody’s guess.