This one is for RaijjB who was a part of the character additions for the book.
She was so lovely to work with!
Thank you sis.
~ NJNJ14
III
Sora Itsuki's POV
"Lux, is this necessary?" I mutter.
"Absolutely it is" she responds.
Me, her and a bunch of her students are all in the studio and they are about to watch what I have learned so far and then critique me.
Nova has been running me through a dance routine that she had the fucking nerve to call simple and I have learned it as best as I can.
She has me in some leggings and a singlet and if my ego was shallow I'd be out of the door and anywhere else by now.
How did I allow her to get me to do this?!
Well...
I suppose it does help that she promised to give me something nice afterwards...
I don't know what it is, but where she is concerned?!
I'm not about to shit on my luck.
"Alright, quiet in the studio" Nova says.
Her voice is not even a semitone higher than her usual tone and immediately the children are quiet.
It gives me chills.
Nova moves to turn the music on and I get into position.
It feels like hundreds of pairs of eyes are on me, relative to what has to be a mere twenty, maybe twenty-five pairs.
I've already stretched out so I start off with ease.
I flow through the moves like I'm cutting through air, extending my body like my life is dependent on it.
And then comes the hard part.
I look at Lux, who gives me a slight, but encouraging, nod.
I do the moves, bending to one side, my leg risen high and I feel like my back could snap in half.
Whoever said that ballet was easy?!
God will judge you.
I transition out of the move and wind down to the end.
The music stops and the kids give me a polite applause.
Nova walks up to me and hands me a towel to wipe off with.
It's then that I realise that I'm dripping with sweat and my breathing is heavy.
This is exhausting.
And these kids do this regularly?!
I applaud them.
"What did we like about the performance?" Lux asks.
"His body was extended and he followed through!" One kid pipes up.
"He got the facial expressions right!" Another says.
I inwardly beam, so happy that they have a good review.
"Okay what could he work on?" Lux asks.
"His back was static" one deadpans.
"His posture was terrible" another says.
"He had very bad balance!" Another chimes in.
Woah!
I look at Lux, who shrugs, then turns to the kids.
Was I that bad?
After the kids are done with their onslaught of scrutiny, they are picked up by their parents and they filter out, until it is just me and Lux.
I help her to pack some of the stuff from the session away, and while we're sorting things out in the storage room I turn to her.
"That was terrifying" I sigh, slumping onto her shoulder.
She laughs lightly.
"It was necessary. A lot of them want to take this up as a profession. A rookie, who hasn't even stepped foot into an elementary school recital, is not going to impress them" She says.
I nod almost solemnly.
It makes sense.
I stand upright, towering over her once again, before I take her hand.
She looks up at me.
"Thank you for taking all this time up, between teaching the kids to help me" I say gently.
She smiles brightly.
"You're welcome. I'm glad you finally appreciate it" she responds, making me grin sheepishly.
I really was an asshole when we met.
I'll find a way to properly apologise.
She lets go of my hand and turns around to pick something off of the floor.
I watch as she bends over to pick it, enjoying the view.
Fuck, it's like a gift.
I want to reach over and smack it.
But I don't.
She'd kill me.
Not that Lux killing me, would be the worst way to go-
"Sora" she calls.
"Ma'am" I respond, feeling flustered.
Did she catch me staring?!
I instantly, avert my gaze and she laughs aloud, confirming that she did in fact catch me staring at her.
"See something you like, Itsuki?" She teases.
I don't answer, looking anywhere but into her face.
She approaches me, reaching up and pulling my face down to look at her.
"I asked you a question" she says softly.
"You know I like looking at you" I respond.
I keep my hands behind my back, even though I'm itching to grab her.
I gulp and she looks at my lips.
"You gonna kiss me?" She asks.
"Do I have your permission?" I ask her in return.
"C'mere" she says.
I lean down to kiss her, hands still behind my back and she kisses me back.
"You did so well today. I'm proud of you" she says.
I say nothing, pulling her even closer to me and kissing her again.
She wraps her arms around my neck and I am two seconds away from getting on my knees and asking her to let me go crazy.
"Nov!" A voice calls.
Lux smiles at me, straightens out my clothes and then pulls away.
"I'm in the storage room" she says.
I move out of the way, hearing footsteps approaching and the storage door is swung open, to reveal a beautiful girl standing there
^^ Amethyst Babineux
Her clear skin is a warm shade of brown and her face is round.
Her tied up hair emphasises her dark eyes, which are rimmed with simple but flawlessly done eyelashes and her naturally full lips are a glossy red colour.
She's about 5'2, making her shorter than me and Nova, but you can tell that she means business and taking shit from people is not an option.
She wears a jumper with daisies on it, exposing her small tattoo and a pair of black jeans and some black and white Nike trainers, handbag trained to her arm.
"Cousin!" Nova greets.
She smiles warmly.
"Good to see you too sunshine" she drawls.
She turns to me and gives me a 'nothing but polite' smile, which has a thin layer of coldness under it.
"And who might you be?" She asks, delicately extending her hand.
I take it and I smile brightly.
"I'm Sora Itsuki. I practice here and like your cousin." I say boldly.
Her eyes widen and she turns to Lux, who has a similar look on her face.
I shrug.
"Pleasure to meet you, miss..." I trail off.
"Babineux. Amethyst Babineux. But you can call me Zuzu. Like the cookie" she says.
"Nice to meet you Zuzu" I say, letting go of her hand.
She turns to Lux.
"We have a date that you're now late for because you didn't want to introduce me to your mennaj" she says.
Lux says something back to her in another language and Amethyst cackles.
"Not your boyfriend, but you're blushing like a harlot" she laughs.
"Don't call your big cousin a harlot" Nova warns, grabbing her stuff.
She packs them into her bag and walks up to me, pecking me on the lips.
"Lock up for me. My cousin is my nail tech and my hairdresser, so I'll be MIA for a couple of hours. We're still on for tonight though. Pick me up at 8:30" she says.
"Yes ma'am" I say, taking the keys from her and following them out of the storage room.
Amethyst says something else and Nova nudges her in the ribs.
"If he could understand Creole, you'd be finished. He's an MMA fighter, you know" she says proudly, and I feel my face warm up pleasantly from her praises.
"Okay enough gushing about your boyfriend, we actually have to go!" She rushes.
"He's not my- -"
"Not yet I'm not" I cut in teasingly and she smacks my chest.
"I'm going!" She announces and she grabs her laughing younger cousin's hand, pulling her away to the door.
"I like this one!" Amethyst cackles and I grin to myself.
I look in the outstretched mirror in front of me and I shrug at my reflection, making him shrug back.
I can hit one more practice before I leave.
——————————————
What did you all think?
You excited for the next part?
Tell me in the comments and don't forget to vote!
~ NJNJ14.