Freestyle Read online

  Contents

  Blurb

  Bea Paige’s Books

  About Bea Paige

  Academy of Stardom Playlist

  Note to readers

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Author Note

  Delinquent Excerpt

  Copyright ©: Kelly Stock writing as Bea Paige

  First Published: 7th June 2020

  Publisher: Kelly Stock

  Cover by: Everly Yours Cover Designs

  Kelly Stock writing as Bea Paige to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without written permission from the publisher. You must not circulate this book in any format.

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Blurb

  Dance is in my blood.

  It’s what keeps me sane, out of trouble. It used to keep them out of trouble too.

  A group of boys I grew up with.

  Xeno, York, Zayn, and Dax.

  We were a crew once and we ruled the clubs.

  Separate we were insanely good, together we were unbeatable.

  I was their girl and they were my Breakers.

  Until they did something they promised they never would, break my heart.

  We were seventeen when they left me.

  For kids like us, dance was all we had.

  Growing up in a rundown housing estate in London with no prospects can make you view the world differently.

  It can make you choose the wrong path.

  I chose dance, and they chose crime.

  Three years later I’ve won a scholarship to Stardom Academy. I try to forget my past.

  But how can I do that when the four boys who hurt me are back?

  And this time they’re following in my footsteps and joining the academy too.

  Bea Paige’s Books

  Academy of Stardom (academy reverse harem romance)

  #1 Freestyle https://books2read.com/AcademyStardom1

  #2 Lyrical https://books2read.com/AcademyStardom2

  #3 Breakershttps://books2read.com/AcademyStardom3

  Academy of Misfits (academy reverse harem romance)

  #1 Delinquent https://books2read.com/AcademyMisfits1

  #2 Rejecthttps://books2read.com/AcademyMisfits2

  #3 Familyhttps://books2read.com/AcademyMisfits3

  Finding Their Muse (dark contemporary romance / reverse harem)

  #1 Stepshttps://books2read.com/Steps

  #2 Strokeshttps://books2read.com/Strokes

  #3 Stringshttps://books2read.com/StringsFTM

  #4 Symphonyhttps://books2read.com/FTM4

  #5 Finding Their Muse boxsethttps://books2read.com/FTMBoxset

  The Brothers Freed Series (contemporary romance / reverse harem)

  #1 Avalanche of Desire https://books2read.com/AvalancheOfDesire

  #2 Storm of Seduction https://books2read.com/StormSeduction

  #3 Dawn of Love https://books2read.com/DawnOfLove

  #4 Brothers Freed Boxsethttps://books2read.com/BrothersFreed

  Contemporary Standalones

  RH Fairy tale retelling

  Cabin of Axes https://books2read.com/CabinOfAxes

  Age gap romance

  Beyond the Horizonhttps://books2read.com/Beyond-the-horizon

  The Sisters of Hex series (paranormal romance / reverse harem)

  Prequel to The Sisters of Hex series:

  Five Gold Rings: https://books2read.com/FiveGoldRings

  Sisters of Hex: Accacia

  #1 Accacia’s Curse https://books2read.com/AccaciasCurse

  #2 Accacia’s Blood https://books2read.com/AccaciasBlood

  #3 Accacia’s Bite https://books2read.com/AccaciasBite

  #4 Accacia’s Trilogy https://books2read.com/AccaciasTrilogy

  Sisters of Hex: Fern

  #1 Fern’s Decision https://books2read.com/FernsDecision

  #2 Fern’s Wings https://books2read.com/FernsWings

  #3 Fern’s Flight https://books2read.com/FernsFlight

  #4 Fern’s Trilogy https://books2read.com/FernsTrilogy

  The Infernal Descent trilogy (co-written with Skye MacKinnon)

  #1 Hell’s Callinghttps://books2read.com/HellsCalling

  #2 Hell’s Weepinghttps://books2read.com/HellsWeeping

  #3 Hell’s Burninghttps://books2read.com/HellsBurning

  #4 Infernal Descent boxsethttps://books2read.com/InfernalDescent

  About Bea Paige

  Bea Paige lives a very secretive life in London… she likes red wine and Haribo sweets (preferably together) and occasionally swings around poles when the mood takes her.

  Bea loves to write about love and all the different facets of such a powerful emotion. When she’s not writing about love and passion, you’ll find her reading about it and ugly crying.

  Bea is always writing, and new ideas seem to appear at the most unlikely time, like in the shower or on driving her car.

  She has lots more books planned, so be sure to subscribe to her newsletter:

  beapaige.co.uk/newsletter-sign-up

  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BeaPaigeAuthor/

  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beapaigeauthor/

  Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/bea-paige

  Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/beapaigeauthor/

  Academy of Stardom Playlist

  The theme song for this book has to be Gangsta by Kehlani. I love a book playlist, and had loads of fun finding songs for this trilogy. This will be added to over the course of the series. I hope you enjoy it!

  Other favourites are:

  Boys by Lizzo

  Da Rockwilder by Method Man

  X Gon’ Give to Ya by DMX

  Yummy by Justin Bieber

  Work Song by Hozier

  In Da Club by 50 Cent

  Listen to the full playlist on Spotify HERE

  Note to readers

  Dear Readers,

  Whilst this book is most definitely about dance, it’s also about friendship, hardship, gang culture and the darker side of life. For Pen, dance is her escape, her outlet. It’s also mine too, though I won’t profess to being the greatest dancer, just appreciative of it. I love art in all its forms and three of my series include artists in one form or another.

  I’m also British. There are words throughout this book that are spelled differently to what you might be used
to, and some slang you might be confused by. Hopefully you’ll enjoy those differences and learn some Brit slang too!

  Lastly, I hope you enjoy this book. As Martha Graham once said: “Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance. Great dancers are great because of their passion.”

  Be passionate about what you love. That’s a motto I live by and most definitely apply to my writing.

  Much love, Bea x

  For the dancer in all of us and for the kids who dare to dream.

  This one’s for you.

  Bea Paige

  xoxo

  “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.”

  ― Oscar Wilde.

  Prologue

  Zayn

  We’re the Breakers.

  We’re friends. A crew. A fucking team.

  Me, York, Xeno, Dax.

  Inseparable.

  We all loved the same girl.

  See a Penny, pick it up, all day long you’ll have good luck.

  She was ours. Our Pen. Our shiny gold coin, and aside from dance, the only other bright thing in the pile of stinking shit that was our lives.

  She was our first, our last, our everything.

  Not anymore.

  It’s been three years. Three years since we’ve seen her, talked to her, laughed with her, danced with her, fucking touched her.

  Now we’re back.

  Forgiveness is a luxury we can’t afford.

  Too much has happened.

  She believes we betrayed her. The truth is it was Pen who betrayed us.

  We can’t let that go.

  We won’t.

  1

  Present Day

  “I can do this. I can do this. I can fucking do this,” I repeat under my breath, over and over again as I enter the main lobby of the Academy.

  The air is thick with nervous excitement as I stand in the long queue leading to the harassed looking receptionist. Around me chatter and laughter lifts into the air and floats up high into the glass domed roof. There are girls in leotards and expensive dance gear talking in groups with boys who are just as well turned out. They all look like they’ve walked out of an Abercrombie and Fitch ad, but I refuse to feel inferior. Just because they look the part doesn’t mean they can actually dance. I glance down at my beat-up Nike trainers, baggy sweatpants, and thin black t-shirt that I’ve tied up around my waist and blow out a steady breath.

  You can do this, Pen.

  A group to my left starts laughing loudly and my body flushes with heat under their scrutiny.

  “I didn’t realise the academy was opening the doors to the local chavs,” one particular snooty bitch remarks. I meet her disgusted gaze with a steely one of my own.

  “Chav?” I bark out a laugh. “Bitch, I’m a street kid and we learnt from a young age that words have zero power. My fists, however, they pack a punch,” I retort through a gritted smile. Her pretty mouth drops open and her cheeks flush a crimson red. I don’t suppose she expected me to respond.

  Well, fuck her.

  In my world, bitches get stitches. She’s lucky I’m here to make a good impression or her pretty white teeth would be scattered across the parquet flooring by now. I refuse to let anyone make me feel small. I deserve to be here. This is my last chance to get a dance scholarship. It’s a one-year, intensive course that should I be lucky enough to win, would open more doors for me than hoping to get spotted dancing at nightclubs. I’m twenty and fully aware that the older I get the harder it will be for me to have a career in dance.

  “Ignore her, she’s an arsehole,” the girl in front says as she turns to face me. She gives me a lopsided smile then swipes a strand of curly, orange hair off her face before holding her hand out for me to shake. I look at it hovering between us. “I’m Clancy,” she explains.

  “Clancy?”

  “That’s right, it means red-headed warrior.”

  “Because of the hair?” I ask, ignoring her hand, which she drops back to her side.

  “No, because my mum once loved the Clancy Brothers…”

  “Who the fuck are the Clancy Brothers?”

  She snorts with laughter, and shakes her head. “Never mind. Yes, because of the hair.”

  “Got it,” I note.

  “Aren’t you going to tell me your name?” She cocks her head and gives me an amused look, not put off by my scowl.

  “I’m Pen,” I answer after too long a silence.

  “Nice to meet you, Pen. Is this a call-back or your first audition?”

  “My first audition.”

  “Me too.” She glances across the room to the stuck-up, haughty cow who dared to belittle me, and pulls a face. “That’s Tiffany. First class bitch of epic proportions.”

  “You know her?” I ask as we move forward, the queue slowly moving up. I’m eight places from the front and getting more and more nervous with every passing minute, though I do a good job of hiding it. I just want to grab my registration documents and get to the audition.

  “Know her? Yeah, I know her. That’s my sister. She’s auditioning here today as well. Specializes in ballet, tap and modern,” Clancy explains, puffing out a breath and rolling her eyes for good measure.

  “She’s your sister?” I look between them both. They’re nothing alike. In fact they’re complete opposites. Clancy is petite like me, with pale skin and bright red, curly hair, freckles, and pale green eyes. Pretty. Quirky. Tiffany, however, is classically beautiful, modelesque. She’s tall, slim, with dark hair and olive skin. She’s got no tits to speak of, but is beautiful in a cat-like way. Though I’m betting she’d sooner scratch your eyes out than rub against your leg, and has the attitude that only the privileged carry around with them like an expensive Louis Vuitton bag. You know the kind of people I’m talking about, right? The ones that shop at Fortnum and Mason, who drive the latest Audi, wear Givenchy and drip with jewels. Money keeps people like Tiffany on a pedestal, except for days like today, when raw talent counts for something and money can’t always buy happiness or a future in dance. Well, that’s what I tell myself anyway.

  “That bitch is your sister?” I repeat, trying to correlate the two.

  “My stepsister,” Clancy clarifies.

  I pull a face. “Shit outta luck there. What a piece of work.”

  “Don’t worry, we hate each other. You can call her all the names you like. I really don’t care. She’s made my life hell for the last five years since her mum married my dad. You’re currently looking at Cinder-fucking-rella. I kid you not, she more than makes up for the lack of a second ugly stepsister, the least she deserves is a bit of her own medicine.”

  “Fuck, that sucks.”

  “Yeah, it really, really does.” Clancy grins and I give her a begrudging smile. She seems alright and nowhere near as stuck up as her catty stepsister.

  “Is she already a student?” I ask.

  “No, she’s auditioning as well today for a scholarship.”

  “A scholarship?” I scrunch up my nose. “Then why is Tiffany acting like she’s one of the rich kids that go here.”

  “Because she was a rich kid before her mum left her dad and married mine for love. Her dad was an abusive twat and cut them off in spite, so Tiffany has to rely on my father to support her. We’re not poor, but he can’t afford the fees for the two of us. So here we are.”

  I nod, making a mental note. There’s nothing worse than a stuck-up posh nob than an ex stuck-up posh nob pretending they’re still rich. We fall back into silence mainly because I’m not great at making friends. Actually, that’s not strictly true. Once upon a time I made four best friends, but then it all went to shit.

  Pushing thoughts of the Breakers firmly out of my head, I focus on the receptionist in front of me now that I’ve finally reached the front of the queue. Out of the corner of my eye I see Clancy hovering by the end of the desk. She’s chewing on a nail and when I glance at her she gives me a rueful smile.

  “Thought I�
�d wait for you,” she shrugs, unperturbed by my lack of social skills and standoffishness.

  “Whatever you want,” I mutter.

  “Name,” the woman behind the desk snaps, raising her perfectly plucked eyebrows.

  “Pen Scott.”

  “Pen Scott?” the woman repeats, running her finger over the long list in front of her. She looks up at me with her murky brown eyes. “Not on the list. Move aside,” she snaps.

  “Wait, what?!” I look at her in shock whilst the boy who’s standing behind me tries to elbow me out of the way. “Back the fuck off!” I growl at him under my breath before addressing the receptionist once more. “I received an invitation to audition. Check again.”

  “Listen, you’re not on the list. If you’re not on the list there’s no audition, got it?”

  “Got it?” the boy repeats, staring down his nose at me and giving me the same shitty look as everyone else in this goddamn place. Everyone bar Clancy, who’s currently looking at me with pity.