Though We May Fall {An Aphmau AU}

Valentine's Disaster

@KraftyKat323 , I told you I was planning something

**Aphmau's POV**

    Two months since December, and I was already feeling much more like myself. Amazing how spending so much time with friends can help you forget truly awful things. I was positive that all was going to turn out well now that I had overcome the difficulties that were the queen bees here at PAA. I was once more playing the lead in the spring ballet⸺ the title character in Giselle. It was challenging, but with Aaron once more as the male lead, I was confident that we would do amazing together. How wrong I was.

    At the moment, I was in a studio with Ein, working on our dance for the spring showcase (if you want to see their dance, it's the video at the top). Even though I was still mad at him for basically ignoring me during December, I had decided to move past that and instead pretend as if nothing had ever happened. If he didn't want to know what had almost destroyed me, then I wouldn't tell him. However, I was too preoccupied at the moment to stay mad at him. We were working on a very hard lift, one where he pushed me up into the air and held me above his head with just a hand on my hip. His other hand was holding mine, and both our arms were straight. My other hand was pressing down on his shoulder, and my legs were out in a straddle. That wasn't the hard part though⸺to get down, I literally had to fall straight down with only one arm still holding onto him. Then, he would wrap his arm around my waist and straighten me out. It looked really cool when we could do it, but I was constantly freaking myself out. I knew he could catch me, but if we messed up with the main lift, then the falling down would be messed up as well. And if he messed up his grip on my waist, then I could hit the ground wrong and be out of the game for several weeks. It wasn't that I didn't trust him, rather, it scared me to put all of my faith solely into one person.

    "We'll get there, I know we will," Ein panted, resting his back against the wall as we paused for a break. I nodded, downing half of my water bottle in one go. We had been practicing for nearly an hour, and the showcase was in two days. If we didn't get it now, we never would.

    "Hey, umm, do you want to go out to dinner after we're done? It is Valentine's Day after all." He smiled at me, brushing hair away from his face. I smiled back at him, reaching down to readjust my shoes.

    "I was thinking maybe just hang out at your place? I have a lot of homework but I don't want to just leave you alone." He nodded, his smile growing.

    "Sounds great! Once we get back there, I'll head out and grab something to eat for us while you finish your homework. Sound good?" I nodded, feeling a light blush rise to my cheeks. EIn laughed as he watched me duck my head before he reached out to grab my hand. "Do you want to try the lift again? Then we can run through the whole dance and see how it flows together."

    "Yeah, let's do that. Let me get a drink and then we can try." After finishing the rest of my water bottle, I got into position with Ein next to me, his hand already wrapped tightly around mine.

    "Three, two, one-" I turned towards Ein, placing my hand on his shoulder as he piléd and put his hand on my hip. He pushed me up, we held the lift for a few seconds, then I tumbled down into his arms and landed safely on the ground. I laughed, and he pulled me into a tight hug.

    "We did it!" I laughed again, taking a deep breath as the stress flew out of me. Now, I actually felt ready for the showcase. "Come on, let's do the whole thing!" He laughed at me before grabbing my hand and pulling me across the floor to our starting position. As the music started, I lost myself in the dance, trusting my feet and Ein to do the right thing. As we came up to the lift, however, things started to feel different. His grip on my hand didn't feel the same as it normally did⸺it was too loose, not in the right place. As I turned into him, his pilé was too shallow and I couldn't get my hand right on his shoulder, and his hand was on my waist, not my hip. I started to say something, to ask him to stop, but it was too late. I was already flying into the air.

    I never even made it all the way up. I had no support on his body because of my bent arm, and his loose and high grip combined in all the wrong ways. My arm crumpled and he lost his grip, causing me to fall straight towards the ground. At the last second, he grabbed my waist and frantically tried to keep me aloft, but I was already hitting the ground. I cried out as my left ankle landed awkwardly on the floor with a loud crack, holding all of my weight while twisting too far to the side. Fire shot all through my body, causing me to crumple to the ground, only supported by Ein's arm around my waist. Tears burned the corners of my eyes and streaked down my face as the fire spread through my entire left leg. I gasped, breathing hard and short through my mouth as the pain became close to unbearable.

    "Oh my Irene! Aph!" Ein pulled me close against his chest, kneeling down and looking at me in fear and worry. "Oh my Irene! What happened?!" I shut my eyes, digging my fingernails into my palms to distract myself from the agony in my ankle.

    "I... I... I think I... sprained my... ankle..." I managed to gasp out, burying my face in his shoulder. I didn't even blame him for dropping me; it was part of dance that lifts didn't go right. I just wished it didn't hurt so bad.

    "Hey, I'll-I'll grab an ice pack, and then I can carry you to my car, okay? I can take you to the hospital." I shook my head, digging my nails even deeper into my palms.

    "N-No... just... let's go to... your place... all I need... is ice... a brace... and to elevate it... trust me... I've done this before..." Between each phrase, I took a ragged breath and kept my eyes closed. I reached up and wiped away the tears still streaming down my cheeks before wrapping my arms around Ein's neck. He lifted me up, taking care to hold me gently.

    "Oh Irene, Aphmau... I'm so sorry," he whispered, placing me in the passenger seat of his car. I shook my head, not trusting myself to speak without my voice cracking. "I'll be right back; I'm gonna get our things and some ice, okay?" I nodded, leaning my head against the headrest and closing my eyes.

    Next thing I knew, Ein was laying me down on the couch, resting my throbbing ankle on a pillow. Ice was wrapped all around it, covering the white ACE bandage that was compressing my ankle. I smiled up at him as best as I could, letting my eyes drift shut again. "I'm going to go out, okay love? I'm going to get some food and other things. I'll be back within the hour," he whispered, brushing his hand against my forehead. I nodded, sighing softly and shifting slightly. I felt him lay a blanket over my body, but I was asleep once more before he left the apartment.

    The next time I woke up, I knew something was wrong. There was a constant noise in my ears, familiar but not clicking. A smell filled the air, and I frowned, trying to ignore it. Then it clicked. I knew the noise. I knew the smell. And I knew the danger.

    My eyes flew open and I threw the blanket off of myself. All around me, smoke alarms were going haywire. All around me, smoke was pouring into the room and filling the air with the stench. I gasped as the full gravity of the situation hit me, and I swung my legs over the couch and went to stand up. Ice packs fell to the ground and I screamed as I put most of my weight on my left foot. Tears forced themselves out of my eyes, but I forced myself to stand up. Looking around, I grabbed the blanket that had been draped over my legs and limped to the bathroom. I turned on the shower, hoping for water, but none came out. Cursing, I lifted the lid off of the toilet and dunked the blanket in there, completely drenching the fabric. My vision still blurry from tears, I struggled through the dorm room until I made it to the front door.

    Smoke was leaking through under the bottom of the door and the wood was burning up, but I had no choice. I had to leave now or I would die now. Taking in a deep breath and bracing myself for the heat, smoke, and pain that I was about to endure.

    Looking back on it, I barely remember anything that happened in the minutes I was out in that hallway. I remember a lot of screaming and crying and coughing. I remember sticking close to the ground, trying to cover myself with the drenched blanket. That blanket might have been the one thing that saved my life.

    I gasped, looking forward to see that the fire escape was only ten feet away. I started crying even more. I was almost there. I was almost safe. But as I kept crawling forward, the entire building seemed to creak. Almost as if in slow-motion, the ceiling started to fall. Timber and fire and plaster started to crumble down directly above me. Almost by instinct, I threw myself forward, ignoring the burning pain in my leg as I leapt forward, hands outstretched towards the door of the fire escape. My hand wrapped around the handle, and the momentum of my flying body pushed the door open. And behind me, explosions seared my back and sent me free-flying through the air and towards the ground several stories below.