Olivia being upset... shouldn’t have affected Max as it did. A little guilt might have run through him at some point' but quickly quietened by the other emotions that ran through him - they couldn’t afford to mess this up!<br/><br/>He was so used to Bella yelling at him that he pretty much yelled back most of the time, both striving for perfection in their own ways. Sometimes their ways merged, sometimes they didn’t and they argued. Some might have said that was a good thing though, to get all the creativity going and make them ten times as wanting. Sometimes it bordered on obsession, slipping over that hazy line here and there...<br/><br/>No.<em>No more</em>.<br/><br/>Max breathed, listened to what Pyotr had to say, and started again. Over and over again, they slowed nailed the routine that their instructor hoped for until they had it down as best they could possibly get.<br/><br/>But some of his attention focussed on Olivia outside of the dance, outside of what he had to see. He had to admit her attempt at payback almost worked. Almost. They were each other’s golden ticket, if they just worked. Second place wouldn’t do - it would<em>never</em>do.<br/><br/>Yet anyone paying close attention (even closer than the eagle-eyed Pyotr) would see how his stance would shift so minutely into hers, as if there was genuine feeling past any acting.<br/>