Page 3 of Becoming Cinderella

He spins to face me, his eyes wide.

“I think we need to get you out of here.” I look at the girls closing in. I keep my hold on his arm as I pull him into the stockroom, throwing my body against the door right as the girls hit it on the other side. Liam adds his weight to the door to keep it shut as I scan the room frantically for a way to keep it from opening. There’s no lock on the door and I silently curse this detail. Weight on the other side pushes against us, jolting me forward before I quickly reposition myself against it. My palms lay flat against the door as I lean against it with all my weight.

“I don’t suppose you have a secret trap door I can sneak out through?” Liam flicks his attention to me before he turns his body so his back is up against the door.

“We covered it up just last week,” I somehow manage to joke as I jerk back slightly as the girls on the other side continue to work together to get the door open. “Do you see something to block the door?” I ask Liam.

I don’t have to ask twice as he quickly begins searching the room. There are metal shelves that are too big and heavy to move and empty clothing racks that won’t stop anyone. I hear Jared on the other side trying to get the girls away from the door in vain. I pray at this rate he’s called the police, but I have a feeling he hasn’t, that he’s been too busy trying to get the girls away from breaking down this door.

“Any luck?”

In response, I hear a loud bang. I jerk around, making sure to keep my body weight on the door, to find Liam climbing over a fallen clothing rack. In his hand is a broom that he’s quickly unscrewing from the stick. I notice a look of determination before he steps over to me and slides the broomstick through the door handle. He slips the ends of the broomsticks behind the metal shelves and shoves clothing filled boxes against it to help keep it secure, but the door still manages to crack open against the weight of the gaggle of determined girls.

“It’s not going to hold.” He sounds panicked as his eyes continue to search the stockroom for something better to block the door.

With each passing second the door manages to open wider and wider. I turn to Liam with wide eyes. If they get in here it’s not going to be pretty for him. Well, or me either. I’ll be trampled on their way to their target.

It’s what I imagine the zombie apocalypse will be like; they’re hungry and we’re the only ones with brains to eat. The broom rattles as girls, at least twenty by now, continue to push against it and I doubt it will hold up for much longer. I don’t know how often Liam deals with this, but based on their squeals and screams, I know they’re out for blood.

I spot the door that goes to the back alleyway. There could be fans starting to circle the store at this rate, but we have to risk it. I grab my bag off another set of shelves and sling it over my shoulder before turning to Liam.

“I know this sounds crazy, but I need you to trust me.” I don’t wait for his response, instead taking him by the hand and pulling him towards our new escape. The broomstick cracks behind us and arms and hands shove into the gap in the door. This is one hundred percent a scene from a horror movie now.

I can feel my heart pounding against my chest, as well as Liam’s pulse in his wrist. I unlock the door and peek into the alley to make sure no girls are waiting there already, then I push Liam ahead of me out the door as the first girl slides into the room behind us. I look back at her, my eyes meeting her hungry ones.

“THEY’RE GOING OUTSIDE!” she shouts.

I slam the door shut and turn to Liam who is being strangled by a girl. Okay, not technically strangled but she’s got a firm hold on him like she’s some sort of python. Where did she even come from? I scan the alley to make sure there are no other girls I missed. The girl goes for the phone in her pocket as she blubbers about how much she loves him. I know time is running out before all the girls make it into the stock room. Without any thought, I grab Liam’s hand again, yanking him free from the clutches of the snake-like girl.

We take off running, hitting a hard right out of the alley. I lead us past my car, not sure we have time to get in and make a clean getaway before they encircle it. I’m not about to risk running anyone over.

We’re a building away when we hear the girls. They’ve made it to the alleyway and it appears this is about to become a full-on foot chase. Fantastic. I don’t know the last time I ran outside of PE and now I am being chased by Liam Taylor’s fangirls with Liam Taylor himself! I don’t have much time to think how deranged this is and focus on putting distance between us and the fans.

“Please tell me you have another brilliant idea to save me?” Despite the girls after us, Liam gives me a flirtatious smile and this moment will forever be engrained in my memory.

I realize we’re still holding hands and in a panic of realization I drop his. My hand instantly feels empty and I immediately regret it. I was holding Liam Taylor’s hand and I’m the one who let go! I’m going to be in my nineties on my death bed and tell my great-grandchildren my biggest life regret was dropping Liam Taylor’s hand.

“Yeah, I just might.” I’m impressed by how steady my voice is, not sounding at all affected by Liam’s presence. I think the fact we’re practically running for our lives is to also thank. I can’t really focus on my current company when we’re in survival mode.

A couple more screams come from behind us and Liam turns to me with panicked eyes. “Do they sound like they’re getting closer?”

“We’re almost there.”

I look over my shoulder into the street before we cross it to take a left past Center Street. I know I have to lose these girls and running straight down the road isn’t going to do that. We have to get them to lose our trail ASAP. I take a few more rights before spotting in the distance our final destination; the dance studio.

Chapter Two

We sprint two more blocks before I pull Liam to a stop at a blue paint chipped door and climb up a couple of creaky metal stairs. From the outside it doesn’t look like much, but it just so happens to be my favorite place in the world. I’m able to be myself within these walls. No matter how I’m feeling, whether I’m upset or excited, I can come here and express myself through dance. Dancing is my favorite form of personal expression, and it’s here I’m able to do that.

I fish out my keys from my bag and unlock the door, ushering Liam inside the dark building. He hesitates, looking over his shoulder when a lone scream down the street makes the decision for him. He hurries inside and I make sure the door is locked behind us before switching on the lights. The light wooden floors are laminated and the entire length of one wall is covered in recently cleaned mirrors. There’s even the small dent in the wall where Penn and I in seventh grade were trying to see who could spin the longest without falling down, and I crashed into the wall.

We’re enveloped by the scent of lemon that comes from a wall diffuser my mom uses to try to mask the smell of feet and sweat the studio typically smells like.

I watch Liam as he walks out into the middle of the dance floor, making a small circle as he looks around.

“Does everyone around here have keys to dance studios?” Liam asks as he notices a wall of photos and walks over to it.

“Oh, uh, it’s my mom’s studio.” I follow him, but keep my distance. I can’t stop watching him as he leans in towards the pictures, like he’s a mirage that is about to disappear.

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