A Dance in the Dark (Book 1)

Chapter 9

"You were amazing," Hanna said in the middle of the street as they left the theatre, hugging Eliot so tightly Rosé saw his eyes almost pop out of place. "Grande, my best friend, is the greatest actor in the world." She screamed so the whole street could listen.

Alice in Wonderland was the theme of the university play and Eliot had played the Mad Hatter, and Rosélina couldn't agree more with Hanna. She was surprised by how great the play turned out. From the actors themselves to the costumes and lights.

She was speechless.

"You look like him," Rosé said. "Not just because you still have his makeup on." White-faced and beautiful smoked eyes, but with shorter hair from the lack of the voluminous wig. Still wearing the costume, he refused to return.

He looked incredible.

"I completely and extremely agree with Rosélina," Hanna hummed, sliding her arms around Rosé and Eliot's neck and pulling them down, almost hanging herself on their neck. Hanna was shorter than Rosé, hippie vibes with dirty blond hair and the craziest of all people Rosé had ever met, but the sweetest.

"In fact, Eliot is the most annoying version of the Mad Hatter. If that's possible," added James, letting out a laugh and running away when Eliot set off on him.  At first, He tried to use Hanna and Rosé as a shield, but their lack of height did nothing to help him, so he ran away.

"Your ass, motherfucker." Eliot's long legs gave him an advantage, as he could take longer steps and get to James faster. Their voices echo in the gardens of The Barbican Theatre, mingling with the calming sound of the water.

Hanna anchored herself next to Rosé one more time. Her hair swayed from side to side, smiling like an idiot and showing her a smiley piercing. "Go Eliot, take this bastard and knock him to the ground," Hanna screamed.

When he reached James, Eliot grabbed him and together, the two fell.

"Idiots," Hanna's cheeks were flushed. "They look like two immature children fighting."

"Sometimes I doubt their age," Rosé said before running in their direction, pushing them to the ground again and running through the garden, dodging them, not once or twice, but three times.

Rosé could hear them laughing behind her. The wind touched her face like a cooling breeze feeding the adrenaline in her body. The smell of exotic flowers invading her lungs. "Come back here, you'll pay for that!" Eliot screamed.

Rosé looked back, feeling her heart in her throat as he approached her. "Catch me if you can." She ran with everything she had left in her body, laughing as she believed she was faster.

"You're like them," Hanna added, her voice hoarse as she ran to their encounter. The cold wind pounded against her warm cheeks.

It didn't take them long to catch up.

"Cut off her head," shouted Hanna in a different accent. Raising her hand as a sign of power. Eliot knocked Rosélina to her knees when James and his imaginary sword cut off her head.

They laughed, sitting on the ground to recover the air stolen from their lungs until the only thing they could hear was the city around them.

<3

It was past eleven when they left the theatre and decided to celebrate Eliot's performance with beers and pizza.

"Where did you order this from?" James was the first to protest, throwing the pizza back on his plate. "It is horrible!"

"From 'Pizzeria di Aldo's'," Rosé informed them with her mouth still full, turning the lid to read the name. The pizza was bad, but the hunger spoke louder than it became eatable.

"It was the one with the worst evaluation," he said, protecting himself from the cushion Hanna threw at him from the sofa

"And why the fuck, Eliot? You believe it was wise to order it?" Hanna asked, throwing her slice back in the box as she passed through it, getting another beer from the fridge, and taking a long sip. "Fuck you, Eliot!"

James rose and disappeared into his room.

"Are you actually going to eat this shit?" Rosé wrinkled her nose, feeling the bile rising as she watched chewing. "I found hair on mine."

"One," he began, signalling with his finger, "I paid for it. Two, it's not even that bad. You guys are annoying. We have to support the pizzer­–."

James returned with a speaker on his shoulder. "This song, I dedicate to you darling," James interrupted Eliot and A Thousand Miles began to play. He hugged Eliot, grabbing a bottle of beer to use as a microphone as he sang loudly and out of tone.

Rosé took her phone, Hanna another bottle of beer, and Eliot used the TV remote as a microphone, and they all began singing along. Rosé could feel her body heating up. Sweat dripped off her skin, and her eyes got heavy from the alcohol.

They dance. Allowing the rhythm to take over their bodies. Seeing only glimpses of the world around them. The slow-motion movements as they danced, almost falling drunk to the floor, until a knock on the door interrupted them.