The Pointe of Love || Elriel & Nessian

Chapter 7 - Little Deer

Nesta was growing irritated.

She watched Cassian's large hands travel the length of Morrigan's waist as he gripped her body, their faces nearly touching as he leaned down before abruptly releasing her, twirling the lithe ballerina across the studio floor as she laughed, her sparkling perfect pirouettes taking center stage as Nesta dissolved into the shadow at the back of the studio, watching and waiting for the melodramatic black swan to finish her variation.

And they finished alright.

With a loud whoop, Cassian sprung from behind Morrigan, the pair performing the matching grande jeté's with a cheer before landing, the ballerina in a stunning display of second position, her hands arched over her head in fifth as Cassian whipped his head toward the blonde, throwing her his signature grin.

"Incredible! Just how I want it for the final showcase. That will be the grand finale." His smile had spread from ear to ear, his focus swallowed in Morrigan as Nesta felt her frown deepen, her arms pulled tighter across her chest as she glared at the choreographer.

Cassian had been giving Morrigan more than enough attention over the past two weeks of rehearsal, and Nesta was quite frankly... sick of it. Eris couldn't attend the early evening practice today, so Cassian had taken up the mantle of working the two ballerinas. Or rather... working one while the other one stood at the back of the room, her face etched in anger.

The pas-de-trois had progressed in such a way that the skeleton choreography was laid out, the dancers merely working on their chemistry, form, and drilling the movements until they could perform them without thinking.

Cassian was also choreographing a minor chorus variation to take center stage in the middle of the mini-black swan performance, often leaving the trio to practice alone in the studio over the past two weeks of rehearsal. Eris and Morrigan seemed to have a frosty dynamic, though Nesta could admit that she didn't mind the atmosphere in the slightest. The cold cutthroat studio felt professional, competitive, and perfect for sharpening her skills.
She had been happy to realize that Eris seemed to prefer partnering with Nesta over Morrigan, often taking moments to compliment her form, critique her angles, even offering to walk her to the subway after practice more than once.

And in any other world, any normal, sane, logical world, the world she had lived in up until a month ago... in that world Nesta Archeron would have been elated by Eris Vanserra's attention. Nesta from a month ago would probably be sorting out the timeline before an engagement, casting plans as to how she could lock down the danseur as a pas-de-deux principal partner in Velaris or even Paris for the next fifteen years.

But apparently, Nesta was living in an alternate reality because Eris' advances and warm encouragements seemed to have little to no affect on her.

Instead, Nesta was finding her gaze catching on the dark tattoos of a certain choreographer, wondering if he was seeing her perfected pirouettes, wishing he would perform the next practice choreography with her instead of Morrigan, waiting for him to compliment her, or hells, even critique her.

It was madness. Ludicrous. Total insanity.

Because Cassian was a jerk. He got under her skin, challenged her worldview, pushed her buttons, and drove her crazy. He was annoying, and frustrating, and his cocky smile and unballet-like body pissed her off. But despite all of that, day after day, the rehearsals dragged on and Nesta found herself unable to peel her eyes away from the intrigue that was Cassian.

Scowling again, she watched as Cassian gathered his things, ducking out of the room with a wave to take a phonecall, leaving Morrigan and Nesta to perform a cool-down routine on their own.