AmericaxReader - Pointe

You sighed in relief when you heard the doorbell ring. Getting up from your couch, you walked to the
door and pulled it open. You smiled at who stood before you.

"Hey, _______! You wanted me over for something?" Your best friend Alfred Jones asked,
walking into your house.

"Yes. I need a lot of help with something. Thanks for coming over on such short notice." You
said, walking into your living room with him.

"So, what did you want me to help you with? If it's homework, I'm afraid you're at a loss." He
chuckled to himself.

"Oh, no, it's not anything like that." You walked over to the couch and sat down, Alfred doing
the same next to you.

"Then what is it…?" He asked again, his baby blue eyes full of curiosity. You reached under the
coffee table and pulled up a pair of pink satin shoes.

"Ballet? You want me to help you with ballet? _______, have you gone crazy? I don't know
anything about dancing, let alone ballet!" He exclaimed, watching you bend over and slip one shoe onto
your foot.

"I'm not asking you to help me like you're thinking, Al. You don't have to know anything." You
put on the other shoe and tied up the ribbons.

"I still don't see where you're going with this…" Your American friend sighed as he watched your
fingers wrap the satin ribbons around your ankles in a criss-cross fashion and then tying them up on the
inside of your leg. You got up and walked to the centre of your living room, your pointe shoes making
hard thumping noises against the hardwood floor.

"Jeez, what are those made out of, wood?" Alfred asked as he got up, eyes wide.

"No, just glue and canvas. Although sometimes it feels like they're made of wood." You laughed
a bit before continuing on. "Okay, I called you over because you're the strongest person I know. Miss
Catherine said if we were good enough at it, we could do pointe for our dance in the Nutcracker."

"And this involves me how…?" Alfred asked, folding his arms and raising an eyebrow.

"I only got these shoes in September, and I have about two months to pretty well master pointe.
I've only just started out so I still need support." You said, unfolding Alfred's arms and holding his hands.
He looked down at them in confusion until he heard you suck in a deep breath. Pushing your legs up
under you in an échappé relevé (1), you gripped Alfred's hands from the pain and for balance, gritting
your teeth.

"Okay, that looks extremely painful…" Alfred said as you shut your eyes tight.

"It is." You managed to say as you tried to bourrée (2).

"Okay, girls are officially stronger than guys, 'cause I would NEVER be able to do that!" Alfred
stared down at your feet in wonder. Unable to take the pain any longer, you hopped down off your
shoes and wiggled out your feet.

"Yeah, so think about this next time you bench press two hundred pounds!" You giggled at him
and stepped onto your shoes again, your face twisting in pain once more.

"Come on, _______, I know you can do this." Alfred smiled at you. And that smile made the pain
much more bearable.

XxXxXxXxX

For the next week, Alfred came over every day to help you with your pointe work. You opened the door
even before he knocked on it.

"So, what did Miss Catherine have to say about your pointe skills?" The American asked as he
walked into your house and into your living room.

"Well, let's just say I'm currently the best in the class!" You said excitedly as you sat down on the
couch and slipped on your shoes, then started working at the ribbons.

"No way! That's amazing, _______!" Alfred exclaimed, giving you a hug, even though you were
still lacing up your ribbons. You couldn't help but giggle at his childish nature.

"Well, I can't take all the credit. It probably wouldn't have happened without you." You
straightened yourself back up and gave him a sincere smile. You thought you saw something flash in his
baby blue eyes, but you just passed it off as the light reflecting in his glasses.

"I've always thought you tied the ribbon up your legs, not around your ankle…" Alfred said,
averting his eyes from yours and looking down at your shoes. You could have sworn you saw a light
scarlet dusting on his cheeks.

"That's what my class thought, too. When we first tied our ribbons all up our legs. Miss
Catherine almost had a conniption. It was so funny." You laughed at the memory.

"Well, we aren't going to get anything done by just sitting here talking. Let's get to work!" Alfred
said loudly as he stood up and offered his hand to you. You smiled and took it, letting him guide you off
the couch and onto the centre of your living room. You took his other hand and then took a deep
breath, preparing yourself for another hour of pain. Slowly, you stepped up onto your blocks (3) and
your eyes widened when you discovered that it didn't hurt as much.

"Huh? What's wrong, _______?" Alfred asked, noticing your shocked expression.

"It barely hurts at all anymore…" You looked up from your pointed feet to his face.

"Really? How awesome is this? You're doing amazing!" He flashed his most brilliant smile at you.
For some reason, that smile made you feel a lot different than usual. Your stomach began to turn and
your heart accelerated so much faster. You were a bit confused at this, but decided to ignore it for the
moment, because you really wanted to focus on pointe. After doing a couple of pas de bourrées (4) and
arabesques (5), you decided to try something different.

"Alfred, when I say okay, let go of my hands." You ordered him.

"What? _______, you sure you can do this? I don't think you've ever done this without some
kind of support…" Alfred said, his face full of worry.

"No, I haven't. Just trust me on this, Al. I'm not going to get better at this if I just hang onto
something for dear life all the time." You smiled inside at his concern for you.

"Alright then, I'll be right in front of you in case you fall, okay?" Alfred reassured you, giving your
hands a soft squeeze. You nodded, smiling a little, then took a deep breath.

"Okay, you can let go now, Al." You said quietly. And with that, Al released his hands from yours,
setting you on your own. He took a couple of small steps back as you began to boré towards him. Smiles
lit up both of your faces as you were moving all on your own.

"That's my girl! Go _______!" Alfred cheered you on, motivating you to go farther. He took
another couple of steps back as you were making your way across the living room. Ignoring the pain and
focusing on your goal of making it all the way across the room, you tiptoed forward a little bit at a time.
But, when you were about halfway there, you began to wobble around, and Alfred, knowing what was
coming, put his arms out in front of him. As expected, you tumbled forward, falling right into his arms.

"Hey, that was great." He said to you, that sweet smile that made your heart thump spread on
his face.

"Yeah, I didn't realize how far I…" Your words trailed off as you realized how close you were to
him. Alfred probably noticed as well, because his cheeks began to darken slightly. His cerulean eyes
gazed into yours and you gazed into his. Now, you were very aware of his arms around you as they left a
tingling sensation in your skin.

"_______, I'm about to do something really stupid. If you don't feel the same way, then please
don't let it ruin our friendship." Alfred said very quietly. Slowly, his face began to move closer to yours,
but, you didn't move an in. You stayed there and let his soft pink lips connect with yours in a soft and
gentle kiss. Your mind raced as it dawned upon you that you really did love Alfred. Much more than just
a friend. You returned the kiss and wrapped your fingers around his muscular arms. You two broke the
kiss for some oxygen.

"_______, would you be my girlfriend?"
Alfred asked, giving you a boyish smile that turned your
heart to water.

"I'd be an idiot not to." You giggled and kissed him again.

XxXxXxXxX

Alfred sat in the audience staring up at the stage. Up on the elevated platform was the only
reason why he had come to see the Nutcracker. On the stage were about fifteen other Sugar Plum
Fairies, but his blue eyes were focused on only one: you. He smiled to himself as you twirled and leaped
as graceful as ever to one of Tchaikovsky's most famous songs. With your elegant movements and
amethyst tutu, he was almost convinced that you were a real fairy. His smile grew bigger as he watched
you lean forward in an arabesque on pointe, no sign of pain on your beautiful face whatsoever. Alfred
was so glad to have been such a huge help to reach your goal, and seeing that gorgeous smile on your
face was enough payment for him. He never wanted the dance to end; he just wanted to see you move
gracefully about forever. But, sadly, you did a couple of posé turns (6) and disappeared off the stage as
the dance ended.

After the show was over, Alfred was waiting in the main foyer of the building with a beautiful bouquet
of flowers in his hand. You walked out of the hall and saw him there, then ran to your boyfriend and
wrapped your arms around his neck. He laughed, picking you up by your waist and spinning you around.
People who were walking by 'awww'ed at the adorable sight.

"You were amazing, babe." Alfred said to you as he put you back down and handed you the
flowers.

"Thank you so much, Alfred." You beamed at him, smelling the freshly cut flowers.

"Well, looks like all that hard work paid off, I don't think I've seen anything as graceful as you up
on that stage." He smiled back at you, taking your hand and walking you out of the building.

"Oh come on, Al, you've definitely seen a swan before." You giggled, thinking of the most
graceful thing you knew.

"Don't worry, I have. And right now, I can safely say that tonight, you put that bird to shame."
He swung your arm back and forth.

"Wh-why…thank you…" You stammered, at a loss for words.

"Didn't think I had it in me, did you?" Alfred laughed, winking at you.

"No…it's just that I'm not very good at taking compliments." You looked down at the ground,
blushing.

"Well, you should get used to it soon, miss _______ if you want to be my girlfriend."

"Alfred, stop it." You couldn't help but laugh.

"Only if you give me a kiss." He played on. You smiled, rolled your eyes and standing on your
toes, gave him a peck on the cheek.

"No, I demand a REAL kiss." He pouted cutely. You couldn't possibly say no to that face, so you
reached up again and met his lips with yours. Your arms flew up around his neck and his snaked around
your waist, deepening the kiss. Suddenly, your boyfriend swept you off your feet into his arms, bridal
style.

"How about we head home, my little ballerina?" He said softly.