Circus of Hell (Oliver x Fukase)

Before The Show

Another loud clash of metal dropping on the floor echoed through the room. The massive vibrations lay in the air for some time, but slowly wore off again. Once again metal dropped on the floor. This repetitive game continued until Oliver sighed heavily and swung the chain around in the air. Boredom struck the blond as he waited to be brought backstage. Today was the day of the show, and Oliver surely has never been that unenthusiastic before. Strangely to the blond, he didn't feel nervous at all, despite the mistakes he continued to make during rehearsal. Quite the contrary, he was oddly calm.

Oliver eyed the neck chain in his hands and grunted. When thinking of Fukase's weak promise back then to never let Oliver have to endure his suffering ever again, it almost appeared as a form of annoyance to the blond now to have wasted his time and energy on it. Oliver decided it was best to see Fukase as a stranger and play all the memories off as nothing but an odd way of communicating among strangers. Like this, he managed to dull his mind to an extent it felt like nothing has ever changed. Almost as if he has never even had the thought of escaping this building – which would have been the case if Fukase hasn't been there. However, this 'almost' still wasn't enough for Oliver. Every now and then the blond got into a conflict with his inner self about what to believe and what not.

Running his fingers through his hair, Oliver sighed in defeat as soon as he noticed he spent further thoughts on this issue. He just couldn't help himself. In this boredom of waiting, divergent thinking was too tempting. Oliver knew it wasn't too long until he'd find something to occupy his mind with though. The last few minutes before the show always were more exciting and hastier. However, with his outfit already on and the choreography in mind, there wasn't much left to do for Oliver. It were mostly the younger and new ones that got nervous about even the littlest things, as well as the leaders who had to make sure the show was running well too.

Suddenly a loud bump resonated in the room and Oliver turned to the door. Finally it was time for some distraction. Despite the boy's wish to escape boredom, his steps still were hesitant. Being around a leader nevertheless was an unpleasant occurrence. As soon as he was close enough, he already got pulled out the room by being grabbed harshly on his neck chain. Oliver suppressed a gag and tried to keep up with the leader's pace. Oliver's own legs had trouble carrying him today, but he tried to ignore it, despite the sharp pain nagging in his head. Soon he'd get a short break backstage anyway.

As soon as Oliver entered the backstage room, he already perceived familiar chuckled greeting him. A look into the twins' faces already signaled him in what good mood there were again. Mischievous and sarcastic to their greatest extent. Oliver didn't feel like talking to the twins and just moved on, not giving them a second glance. Instead, Oliver found space on a pile of wooden planks and sat down. Like this, he had a decent overview over his surroundings. Quite a lot of children were already gathered. Oliver didn't give himself more than only a few minutes of mental preparation time before the show.

Oliver's eyes wavered across the room once more, inspecting if anyone was acting strange – not that he cared much, but solely for his own amusement. Instead of finding a misfit whatsoever, he shortly locked eyes with Fukase. The blond noticed the longing in the other one's eyes to have a short chat, but Oliver turned his head away. He didn't need that now. With a frown, the boy fixed his eyes on the wall until he noticed Fukase's eyes shifting off him eventually. Only then, Oliver sat properly again and sighed irritated. He should have seen it coming that he couldn't just simply ignore his trouble. Maybe Fukase on a short run, but definitely not the twins. The said ones already walked up to the blond and sat down next to him with a chuckle.

"Now, did you still not make piece with the ginger there?" Len asked teasingly and searched for Fukase in the crowd. Rin nodded affirmative and added: "You're just not made for each other, huh?"

Oliver decided to completely ignore the twins. It had no use for him to talk to them much anymore. Their behavior didn't change, but the new weak points they found on Oliver simply were too big for the blond to withstand all the time. Avoiding the twins completely was most likely impossible, but Oliver still tried his best.

A mass of heavy boots suddenly echoing through the room interrupted everyone from their doing and made everyone look up. Oliver perceived a few younger children to whine nervously at the sight of having all the leaders at once so close. It was nothing Oliver wasn't used to though. As usual, he got in position to be inspected for his look and behavior. Surprisingly, the process went by quicker than usual and Oliver allowed himself to glance around what was happening. Silence filled the room as not even the leaders took a step anymore. Oliver caught himself pausing his breathing because of the weary atmosphere.

"It's showtime." One of the leaders sneered as he took a last glance at the actors. The door opened and as prepared, everyone immediately got to their position. Oliver gulped a little nervously now but tried to shake it off before it was too visible. He knew he mustn't mess up now. The lights were still only dimmed, so barely vague silhouettes were visible, but from experience Oliver could tell it wouldn't be only a few sitting the audience. Waiting for the show to begin, Oliver breathed in slowly and tried to focus. Hours-long performance was ahead of him, and he was not looking forward to it.