Dancing to our Beat; Daniela Avanzini (Katseye)
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Summary: Daniela hates how you seem unshaken despite the toll that Dream Academy has taken on everyone else, hates that you still dance with life in your bones instead of the exhaustion that's mirrored in everybody else's.
The hate was meant to last, meant to be seen through to the end. But one chance encounter in an empty practice room at night changes everything Daniela felt towards you bit by bit.
"Let's show them we are better" - The Chainsmokers
Requested? ❌
Genre: One sided rivalry, soft, Pre-relationship
Warnings: Daniela's a bit mean towards R
Katseye M.L | Main M.L
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The first time she really looks at you after running through an extensive dance routine, she hates it- Hates you.
To Daniela: Dance is pride, it's to showcase how she breaks every mold. She uses it like a lifeline connecting her to her bloodline's heritage.
You dance like water, like the waves of a turquoise ocean. It is peace, it is to ebb and flow. It's more than an extention of your body, it is more than just a story- It is your soul.
Daniela sees you breathing just as hard as the rest of them after every practice, sees the sheen of sweat drenching your skin and the fabric of your shirt, hears the gasping breaths you take as your lungs beg for rest that outlasts the meagre scrap of two minutes the trainers give everyone.
But where you differ is that every single time that everyone else has a lump in their throat begging to escape, accompanied by tears in the corners of their eyes as the pressure on their shoulders threatens to snap their spine. A corner of your lips is tilted upwards even as you gasp for air with your palms on your knees-
You look alive. Despite the hardships, you look at ease.
The expression of peace and satisfaction she sees in your eyes makes Daniela wants to punch you so hard that the joy leaves your bones. She almost foams at the mouth as she itches for a sliver of a chance to drag you down to everyone else's level, even if it would be for just a moment; She would cherish that moment like a priceless heirloom.
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Daniela sits in the quiet of the practice room. Savoring the quiet and the stillness of the place that's usually so laden with an air of competition so thick it feels claustrophobic.
Time passes differently when she's alone in this place at night, makes her feel like she can enjoy the quiet for an eternity and all the problems and burdens on her shoulders are non-existent.
The place she hates by day, becomes her favourite place by night.
The practice room has always been hers, always been where she shined best in daylight hours and where she's able to just breathe at dark. The silence is a blanket that sits on her shoulders in a comfortable manner.
But tonight, she door clicks open to her surprise and you walk in with a small bag slung over your shoulders while humming a tune under your breath that Daniela cannot hear.
You turn the lights on to their mellow yellow setting instead of the glaring bright white they're usually set to during official hours of training, and your eyes find her sat form on the far side of the wall before she could move a muscle.
You wave with an easy motion before making your way over to her, but unbeknownst to you- All Daniela sees in the dim atmosphere is a suffocating red before you even come to a stop before her.
"Wanna dance with me?"
You reach a hand out to her in an offer, tilting your head in question while your spirits remain hopeful- Maybe this time, stealing whatever peace you can find wouldn't have to feel so lonely.
The smile on your face is easy and friendly. But it's easy to fake smiles and even if Daniela can't find any maliciousness in your eyes, she can't stop herself from throwing punches towards the person who got on her nerves without ever meaning to.
She strikes before she can convince herself it's unfair, unwise, and unwarranted.
"Is dancing all you can think to ever do?"
She spits the words out with disdain in her voice, the punch lands square and it turns your smile to a frown and the hopeful look in your eyes to no more than a ghost of a memory.
Your hand drops to your side, shoulders slumping as you slowly seat yourself down on the hardwood floors infront of her. You tilt your head up to the ceiling, and Daniela can't help but care whatever reason for but she's glad you don't have to see the shame that colors her face.
The silence mingles with the sound of your fingers tapping against the floor in a rhythmic motion, the atmosphere feels heavy with awkward tension and Daniela can't force herself to break it. What is a good conversation opener when she just met your kindness with hostility?
To use dance against you like it was a waste of time is a disgrace considering she loves it just as much, considering that it's what connects her to her family and culture the most-
"I used to stargaze back home, didn't matter how tired I was. I had the freedom to do it as I pleased and sometimes I'd fall asleep in the backyard because of how exhausted I was. But I'd stargaze every night if I could.
As confused as she is, the Latina is much more thankful that you broke the silence for the both of you instead of having to force herself to do it. You sit cross-legged now, hanging you head down low and bringing your gaze from the ceiling down to your fidgeting hands in your lap.
Daniela is grateful for the grace of not having to look you straight into your eyes.
"Now I can't stargaze. We're not allowed out of the building past six-thirty in the evening, and we're never allowed on the roof. Dancing's all I have but they're trying to break it into something that's just a tool for entertainment."
There's a lump in your throat now, and you take a moment to try swallowing it down. It's a fruitless attempt and you're forced to speak through it despite the shakiness of your voice, thanks to your unwillingness to be defeated.
"Dancing's all I have that feels like peace. I'm not letting them take it from me."
The words are delivered with a shaking voice underlined with pain and fatigue. For the first time, Daniela sees you as imperfect and sad. She sees you struggling to speak and hears the exhaustion in your voice. For the first time, Daniela looks at you and finds herself absent of anger and jealousy and hate.
"I don't know what I did, but it's clear I got on your nerves somehow and I'm sorry for that. I'll head back to my room and try to get some shut-eye."
You look pathetic, broken, beaten, and let-down. The exhaustion in your bones seeps out through your pores and it stains every miniscule move you make to push yourself off the floor. Then for the first time tonight, Daniela finds her words lacking venom as she reaches out a hand to cling to your sleeve as you're in the middle of getting up to leave her be.
You still. Your presence as sturdy as metals lying beneath the earth's surface, Daniela's eyes meet yours and there's an apology in them that comes out of her mouth as a peace offering that makes you smile.
"I'd like to dance, if the offer's still up…"
There's a part of her that still hates how you seem to take everything in so easily. Old habits resurface when you pull her up to her feet with both hands so soft and sure that your touch feels like an anchor to sanity in this dreadful place.
But most of Daniela feels apologetic, and for a second she wonders if trying to be civil would help heal the wound on your soul she didn't know was bleeding up until now.
She stands on weak knees and unsure footing. Her palms are clammy but you hold onto her hands like none of it matters and the Latina suddenly finds herself feeling like a deer in headlights- Primed to bolt.
"Wait, there's no music-"
You shrug your shoulders, the mannerism is lighthearted and easy. Paired with a smile on your face, you move to place one of Daniela's hands on your shoulder while keeping hold of the other.
"We've got our own beat."
Following your lead felt more natural than she's comfortable admitting. The soft counts leaving your lips give her all the instructions that she needs to adjust to this silent impromptu waltz.
Your steps fall into each other with a synchronicity Daniela wants to label as dumb luck, but somewhere along the innumerable steps you've taken together- She ends up leaning her head against your shoulder and finds nothing of shock or awkwardness in your skin even as she stays there.
Time still passes like it does when she's alone, and against all odds it feels like she's okay with spending tonight's eternity with you. Her mouth runs again before she could even think to ask herself if her question was appropriate considering her past behaviour.
"Do you think we'll regret staying up this late in the morning?"
Daniela feels you shake your head, feels the small sigh that leaves your chest and hears the presence of contentment in the air that escapes you before any words are spoken in reply to her question.
"I know I won't, dancing with you is worth any headache in my future."
It shocks her how easy you said it, with your head against her shoulder and hers on yours. She's unable to understand the science behind how easy you seemed to let her misplaced outrage roll off you like water off a duck's back.
Some part of her feels like she should apologize, and all in all she feels like she should apologize immediately. But her pride gets in the way of her wish for bluntness and her next words are less of a well-deserved apology and more of an olive branch.
She still shocks herself with how easy it felt to say her next words.
"I don't think I'll regret it either."
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A/N: Another small practice piece as I near the end of my internship, I'd be glad to hear your thoughts!
