Faye
The soft thuds my feet were making on the wooden floor and the classical music playing in the background were the only things that seemed to fill the room - and I liked it. Light as a feather, I landed lightly on my feet after a final twirl and took a bow ever so gracefully. The music stopped to be replaced by Mr. Walker's clapping hands.
Mr. Walker who was fit and tall with brown kinky hair was wearing his usual oxford shirt tucked in his black slacks turning him into more like a college professor than a ballet instructor. Still applauding, he stood up from being slouched down on his chair that was leaned against the mirrored-wall. "Absolutely beautiful," he started praising in an accent so strange to me, a mixture of American and French. "Well done, Faye." My cheeks instantly turned pink and I smiled at the floor. Not everyone gets a good comment from a perfectionist like Mr. Walker so I guessed there was nothing wrong with being flattered and blushing. I looked pathetic though, I assumed.
"Alright gals, I think that's a wrap. That's it for the auditions," he announced, his hands on his hips. The other dancers besides me, also dressed in their leotards, tights and romantic tutus, got up from the floor getting ready to be officially dismissed. "Your characters will be posted in thirty minutes before you leave the studio." My breath quickened upon hearing him say. "Let's see who gets the spot for the Swan Queen. See you all tomorrow for the rehearsals and good luck!" Mr. Walker gave a small encouraging smile to everyone before swinging open the exit door and leaving.
.
The faint murmurs and giggles of the girls turned into a fleet of laughter as I walked in the dressing room. Rebecca's booming voice bounced off on every corner when she laughed telling about something funny that happened today. Their laughing was then cut shortly when they noticed my arrival. "Hey, Faye! Didn't see you there," Lauren who was sitting at her corner next to Rebecca's, greeted. I made my way to my corner which was located at the far end of the dressing room, next to Jane's, feeling their eyes buried on me which was kind of intimidating.
"Hey," I gave a nervous smile to everyone.
"You were amazing, as usual! I wouldn't be surprised if you get the part," Jane commented when I reached my corner and hung my tutu on the rack beside my seat.
I gazed at Jane who had beautiful blue eyes and blonde Barbie hair, and sat in front of my small vanity table. The other girls then continued on their loud chatting. "Thanks! You were too," I said to Jane, my lips still curved into a smile.
The mirror of the vanity table had lights on the sides which lit my face. Posted on the lower right corner of the mirror were photos of my family and Kyle. I was observing them whilst rubbing my hands with sanitizer. Then I remembered I still had a dinner date to go to tonight.
My thinking was interrupted by the sudden loud opening of the dressing room door. Barging in was Molly, excitement burning in her eyes like wild fire. "Girls! It's out! Quick!" she exclaimed almost hopping, and everyone evaporated from the room as they hurried to see what the black-haired ballerina was excited about.
"Faye, c'mon!" Jane coaxed motioning me to come.
I bit my lower lip to hide the excitement that was growing in me. My heart was racing again. We went out of the room and ran through the hallway which led to the bulletin board where the list of casts for the play was posted. I only reached the board to be welcomed by pats, hugs and well done's.
"Congratulations, Faye!"
"Faye, you deserve it!"
"Great job, Faye!"
Slowly materializing in my vision was the image of a piece of paper posted on the board, like the view through a camera being focused. My eyes then scanned for evidence that I made the part. My mouth flew open once I found the title "Swan Queen" typewritten on the paper, and under it was the name Faye Harris.
.
It was beautiful as always, how the lights of New York stood before my eyes. Leaning my head on the window pane of the bus, I sat and watched as cars go by, and buildings zoom in sight. The sky was a deep purple dotted with stars with its main act, the moon like a silver coin. And in the background, Ed Sheeran's voice was lingering in my ears. His version of Skinny Love playing on my Ipod. I pulled shut the brocade coat that was hugging my body, closed my eyes and enjoyed this short moment of what I can call peacefulness.
Ten minutes flew so quickly and finally I was at the usual Chinese restaurant my Mom had always loved to eat in. I wasn't a fan of Chinese foods. I was more of a Japanese food craver. But since Mom always had to be the one to decide where to have dinner, I can't argue anymore.
"Oh, here's our ballet princess!" Dad welcomed me with his loud manly voice. The sides of his eyes formed wrinkles when he grinned.
Startled by my Dad's sudden outburst, Kyle hastily stood from his seat and caught my gaze. "Faye," he breathed showing a nervous smile. My eyebrows pulled together at the sight of him. Something looked different about him tonight. He seemed awfully alarmed to see me. But I must admit, he looked more dashing than he usually was in his office suit, it made me wonder if tonight was a special occasion and I just forgot. His usually tousled blonde hair was slicked, it might cause me to swoon any minute.
"Hey, Kyle," I managed a smile. He pulled the chair next to his motioning for me to sit. When I took a step towards the chair, he clumsily stepped on my foot which caused me to jerk.
"Oh, I'm sorry," he stuttered.
"It's okay," I nodded rather hastily. I finally sat on the chair, took off my coat and laid my bag on the floor under the table. Opposite me was my mother who was beautiful in a plain black tunic dress. Her hair - a dark brown like mine, except that it was curly and mine only was wavy - was in a pinned up ringlets updo, making her look so classy and British. Next to her was Dad in his usual black suit. His hair was a golden brown like my sister Eleanor's with a few strands of white. The line shaping his chin was always noticeable.
The ambience of the place made me feel like I wasn't in New York anymore, with all the red lanterns hanging everywhere and Chinese scripts carved on every wood. It was like being trapped in China. Everybody sat silently as we grabbed our menus from the wooden rectangular table and scanned for something to eat. I took the opportunity to nudge Kyle who was sitting slightly fidgeting beside me.
"Kyle, what's wrong? Are you alright?" I asked covering my face from my parents with the menu.
He covered his face as well and said, "Nothing, Faye. Nothing's wrong. Do I sound weird? No, I don't." He gave off a nervous laugh.
I squinted at him and bit my lips. It was evident on his face that he was hiding something from me. My thinking got interrupted by the arrival of a woman with yellow skin and narrow eyes, wearing a traditional Chinese outfit. She had a pen and a notepad in hand. She said something in Chinese and I guessed it was something like "Good Evening!" "Can I get your orders?" she smiled.
We told our orders then and the waitress left.
"So, how were the auditions, Faye?" Mom asked changing the mood, her English accent thick.
My eyes lit up and my heart flipped as I realized I almost forgot to tell them about the good news.
"I knew it! I knew you would get the part!" Dad exclaimed just when I was about to speak.
"Dad! I didn't even say anything yet," I cried.
"You don't need to say anything, Faye. It's written all over your face."
"That's fantastic, darling! I knew you can do it!" Mom squealed with glee.
"Congratulations, Faye," I heard Kyle said.
My eyes met his, and he was smiling genuinely. That handsome smile of his that always caused butterflies in my stomach. I smiled back, my cheeks red like tomatoes.
"I told you, you can do it," he added. "Can't wait to see you dance like a swan," he chuckled.
I giggled. "Thanks."
"Well, Faye..." Dad cleared his throat. "I think your Mr. Lover Boy right here has good news for you too. Right, Kyle?" He eyed Kyle who was in a bit of a panic mode again.
"I do?" Kyle wondered out loud.
"I know what you're up to. Just do it, kid. She's been waiting for since forever," Dad said exaggeratingly and I was baffled as Mom was.
"Kyle, what is it?" There was an edge in my voice, tinged with anxiety.
Kyle exhaled loudly before facing me. "Okay. Here goes nothing," he mumbled. "Listen, Faye." I sat straight and listened attentively to my boyfriend, gluing my eyes on him. "I know it's only been three years since we started dating. Those three years that I've spent with you have to be the best years of my life." His words caused my heart to somersault. "And so now I've come to a decision that I shall spend the rest of my years with you." My palms felt sweaty at the moment, and my hands were shaking a little.
I already knew where this was going and I was finally sure of it when he took out from the pocket of his tux a red velvet box. He slowly opened it revealing a thin shiny thing made of silver. My eyes glowed at the sight of it. Simply flabbergasted, Mom and I exchanged stares of astonishment.
"Kyle, this is-blimey!" I ran out of words.
He took the silver ring out from its place and held my hand to slip the thing through my finger. "By the way, I hope you appreciate my effort for doing this in front of your parents. I'm honestly really scared right now," he said in a slightly shaky voice whilst doing so.
I chuckled nervously. My stomach felt knotted so tight and I felt as if any minute, my heart will just rise up to my throat and flew out of my mouth.
The next thing I knew was his blue body-melting eyes were looking right into mine. His hand still held mine. "I love you, Faye Anne Harris." And then he asked, "Will you marry me?"
I'm not gonna vomit. I'm not gonna vomit, I kept telling myself in my head. Like the wild thumping wings of a caged bird my heart went. I've waited long for this. I couldn't believe what I was seeing as I laid my eyes on the ring. I exchanged looks with Mom who was as flabbergasted as I was. Her glowing eyes and the thin smile forming on her face indicated that she was happy at what she was witnessing.
"Go on. Say it," I read her lips say and my mouth twitched to the side. My eyes flew back to Kyle's, those beautiful ocean-like eyes that I wanted so badly to be the first thing I'd see every morning when I wake up.
"Yes." The word finally escaped from my mouth.
"Yes?" Kyle muttered in disbelief, his eyes lighting up.
"Yes!" I almost exclaimed.
The next thing I knew was my boyfriend - now fiancé - was holding me in his arms. I glanced at my parents to see them wearing the same smiles. I can see that Mom had tears in her eyes which she fought back. Kyle then let me go. When I looked at him, his whole face was red.
"Kyle, you're full of surprises," Mom commented and he chuckled.
"Congratulations to both of you!" Dad said.
"I trust you, Kyle. You're the best man Faye could ever have," Mom said in a low calm voice.
"I will never hurt or leave her, Mrs. Harris. I promise," Kyle assured. "And thank you. I feel like I'm the luckiest man on earth right now." My stomach currently was churning in happiness. It hurt so good. Then I felt his warm hand on mine on the table. I gazed at him and saw that he was staring at me, his eyes smiling. He squeezed my hand affectionately and I blushed.
"Cookies?" An old lady with narrow eyes, in a Chinese suit, appeared as if out of nowhere. I didn't know why but she scared me. She stood beside Mom's chair with a tray of fortune cookies in hand.
"Oh, yes please!" Mom chirped grabbing two cookies from the tray. "Do you want some, mates?" she offered and Dad scoffed. "Nah!"
"Kyle?"
"No, thanks, Mrs. Harris," Kyle replied.
"Here you go, Faye," Mom handed me one cookie. She didn't even ask if I wanted it. It seemed that she wanted me to take it whether I like it or not. I honestly wasn't interested. I never believed in what fortune cookies say. Cookies are not psychic. They're just cookies with a piece of paper inside.
I took it anyway, not wanting to dismiss my mother. I broke the cookie in half and a small thin paper was revealed. The paper was smooth when I slid my fingers across it to read what it said.
"Just when things are falling right where you want them to be, tragedy comes and changes your life forever."
"What does it say, Faye? I'm sure it sounds great," Mom said holding her cookie.
I frowned to myself. "Yeah," I lied. I really was not a believer of such Chinese beliefs, but why was I suddenly bothered by what the cookie said? "Tragedy comes," I whispered to myself, my eyebrows pulled together.
"What?" Kyle seemed to notice my reaction.
"Nothing."
.
Bruno
The Trance Club down in New York City was packed with people, intoxicated and sober. Colorful streams of strobbing lights were flickering on and off in the darkness. The loud thundering sound of Dubstep music made the whole place bounce that the floor seemed to shake and vibrate. It was steaming on the dance floor when I swam through the massive crowd of dancing people. Artificial smoke made it difficult to see.
Leaving my friends, I made my way out of the dance floor. I reached the bar counter and sat on one of the stools to rest for a while. I dug into my pocket and took out my phone. There were five unread messages and three missed calls coming from only one person, Gabrielle. I searched for her contacts and pressed call button.
"Bruno!" I instantly heard her voice.
"Babe-"
"I've been calling you!" She didn't sound mad, but relieved.
"I know. I'm sorry. I didn't hear my phone ringing," I said.
"Are you coming back tonight?" she asked. There was excitement in her voice.
"I'm afraid no, Gab. The guys decided to stay for another night to have a little night out. You know, 'cause-"
"Yeah, I get it. I understand. Congratulations on the five Grammy noms, babe. I'm really proud of you."
A grin appeared on my face. "Thanks, babe. I promise to come back tomorrow."
"Okay. Have fun!" I can imagine her sweet smile as she spoke.
"Yeah. I love you," I said.
"Bye. I love you too." Then she ended the call.
I put my phone back in my pocket. A small smile still was plastered on my face when I sensed someone's presence.
"You're Bruno Mars," the person said. I looked up to see a woman in a black fitted dress which ran through her neck and arms, standing in front of me. Separating us was the bar counter. She had a glass full of red wine in hand. Her eyes were dark and pretty with black lining and thick pointy lashes. I didn't know how but she appeared to be really attractive to me even with her long wavy brunette hair frizzy and looking like a mess. Her skin was pale white as if she was stoned. All in all, she looked like some sort of emo-goth-punk-rockstar-I don't know. She can't be the bartender, I thought.
"Yeah... Yes, I am," I replied.
Her shoulders rose and fell when she sighed. She put her glass down and leaned her arms on the counter. "Artists like you make me sick," she said right at my face with one eyebrow up.
"Excuse me?" I glared at her.
"You heard what I said. It must really suck to be you, huh?" she added drumming her fingers on the counter.
"Look, if you don't have anything nice to say, do me a favor and fuck off," I hissed.
She laughed. Her laugh was pretty evil. "I don't get why people are always pissed off by me when I'm only speaking my mind."
"That's 'cause you're wrong about what you think," I shot back.
Her eyes were sharp as daggers when she stared at me and I can see that they were the color of bright red now. I thought I might be hallucinating because the last time I check, her eyes were a pitch black. "Welcome to Trance, Mr. Bruno Mars," she beamed. One minute she was obnoxious, next she was welcoming. She was confusing me. "You're just the perfect guy for my little experiment," she smirked, her eyes showed wickedness.
I stared at her like she was a huge lunatic. "You must be really drunk. I'm leaving," I said. Thirsty, I stood up from the stool and grabbed her drink.
I already had my back on her and was about to take a sip from the wine when she shouted, "Hey! You don't wanna drink that."
I stopped and turned to see her. "Why not?" I frowned.
"It's a powerful thing," she said.
More puzzled than before, I stared down at the deep red liquor which smelt of sweet grapes. There was nothing else strange about its appearance besides its bloody color. "What are you talking about? It's just wine," I said and finally drank the whole thing. Before I could turn away again, I saw the woman's evil smirk fainting into the darkness. I shook my head and finally left.
As I walked my way back to the dance floor to meet my friends, it seemed like the world lost its gravity and I was floating. It was as if my soul was being pulled away from my body. At first I thought it was the smoke - I thought wrong. It was my vision starting to get hazy. Slowly, the loud music seemed to be drowning in water, even if there really was no water at all.
I shut my eyes and squeezed them open again just to see the world spinning around me and the strobbing lights dancing rapidly,
Welcome to Trance, Mr. Bruno Mars.
.
Faye
"I'll be fine, Mom. I promise to be back at eleven," I said on the phone to my Mom who was being hysterical at the moment for I was still out at nine o'clock in the evening.
"Faye, I don't want you doing anything reckless. You understand me?" she said firmly.
"Marilyn, please! Your daughter is twenty-five. Let her live her life!" I heard Dad's voice in the background.
"Just don't go home later than eleven. Clear?"
"Crystal!" I squeaked.
I ended the call and put my phone back in my jean pocket. The car halted into a stop and I looked out the tinted window to see where we were.
"Well, here we are, bitches!" Rebecca who was sitting on the driver's seat squealed in excitement.
"The Trance Club?" I exclaimed in horror as I read the huge signage in front of a bricked building. "You know my parents wouldn't approve of this!" I cried.
"Relax, Faye. It's just a club, not a gladiator arena," Lauren who was sitting beside me at the backseat said, rolling her eyes.
"Yeah, and besides, your mother won't know, will she?" Jane butted in. "You know, your mother's unreal. You're in your mid twenties and she still treats you like you're twelve."
The three girls quickly jumped out of the car except me. I remained on my seat with my arms folded across my chest. The car door on my right swung open and Rebecca was staring down at me, her eyebrows arched. "What the hell, Faye?" she shouted. "C'mon! This is your night! Don't screw up, will ya?"
"Get your ass out of the car now, Faye," Lauren said.
"C'mon! Don't be such a killjoy. This is like a pre-bridal shower for you," Jane begged.
I looked up at them then heaved a sigh. "Fine." I threw my hands up in the air. "I'm going. But I'm not drinking, alright?" I made my way out of the car and met them at the entrance door to the club.
Rebecca approached the bouncer and whispered something in his ear. He made way for us to the entrance and we instantly got inside the place without even waiting in line with the other people outside.
.
The smell of strong liquor was saturating the air making me feel sick and uncomfortable as I breathe. Circled around a round table were the four of us and three other men who were complete strangers to me.
"So let me get this straight..." the first guy named Mark, who was Rebecca's friend... or boyfriend - I don't know. I didn't really care who he was - started. "...You're all ballerinas?"
"Hot ones," Lauren corrected.
"I thought ballerinas only stay in their rooms after rehearsals and cuddle stuffed animals," the chestnut-haired guy who was sitting beside me, Jonathan, chuckled. A bit offended by his words, I bit my lips feeling even more uneasy than I already was. Kyle would never laugh at me even if I still sleep with a teddy bear. I miss him already.
"Faye, you're quiet there," Jane remarked.
"She's a shy type, isn't she?" The third guy named Gary smirked.
"It's just her first time at a club," Jane replied.
"No way," Mark muttered in disbelief.
"Uh-huh!" Lauren nodded. "She is our Swan Queen by the way for Swan Lake."
"What's a Swan Lake?" Jonathan asked, his eyes on me.
"It's a famous ballet. It's a classic," I answered in a low voice.
"Wow, I never thought you can actually talk," Gary chuckled pissing me off.
"So are you single, Faye?" Jonathan asked straightforwardly.
"Oh! She's not anymore. Kyle actually just proposed to her earlier tonight!" Jane squealed.
"That's awesome! Congratulations!" Jonathan smiled at me.
"Thanks," I smiled back.
"Let's toss to that, shall we?" Rebecca said wearing a proud smile. We all put our drinks up and howled, "Cheers!" I only watched as they all took a sip from their drinks and I didn't. I only put my untouched drink on the table and stood up from my seat.
"Excuse me. I need to go the bathroom," I reported and then left.
The night was killing me. If this really was my night then how come I wasn't having fun? Maybe this really just wasn't my kind of fun. I usually was already happy with just watching movies, having food trips, star-gazing and of course, dancing. I searched for the bathroom to have a quiet place where I can call Kyle. I just wanted to get out of the place and hoped Kyle would pick me up.
"Are you looking for someone, miss?" a voice said. Actually, it sounded more like a musical note than a human voice.
I tilted my head to the side and saw a figure of a man in the corner leaning on the wall. It was pretty dark for me to see his face so I narrowed my eyes upon looking at him.
"I'm looking for the bathroom," I replied.
A stream of white light finally hit his face and the cross earring on his left ear glinted. And I've never seen such beautiful chocolate brown eyes. They looked very familiar. I just couldn't remember where I first saw them.
Then the light quickly flickered off.
"Just walk straight this way. Then you make a left," he said pointing to the right.
"Ah, thanks," I nodded.
As I continued on my venturing to the bathroom, swimming through crowds of people, I accidentally stepped on someone's foot. The person jerked and I yelped. "Oops! Sorry." Our eyes met and I almost jump when I realized hers were the color of red. Then I thought maybe they were just contacts.
The person I accidentally stepped on was a pale woman in a black dress. She had a tray on one hand which held one glass of red wine. She looked kind and sweet when she smiled at me. "It's okay," she said. "Do you want some?" she held out the glass of wine from the tray offering it to me.
I hesitated. "Oh, I don't-"
"Go on, take it," she insisted.
I didn't want to argue anymore so I just took the drink. "Thanks. I have to go now," I said real quick and finally headed to the bathroom bringing the glass of red liquor with me. As I walked, I stared down at the red thing and the smell of sweet, sweet grapes tickled my nose making my mouth water. The smell was just too invigorating that I absent-mindedly shoved the glass to my mouth and drank the whole thing.
I walked in to the bathroom and immediately hold onto the counter when I almost tripped and lost my balance. I put the glass down beside the sink and looked at my reflection in the mirror. To my surprise, my reflection appeared to be blurry. I thought, Is it my vision or is it just the mirror? I shook my head and just ignored whatever was happening to me. I reached into my pocket and took out my phone. A sudden throbbing in my head began and I dropped it. I bent down to pick it up and the world seemed to twirl around me. I shut my eyes and in the back of my eyelids I saw the image of the same chocolate brown eyes. "Argh!" I groaned as I rubbed my face impatiently.
I shook my head once more and opened the faucet. I let the water ran down my hands and wet my face hoping to get my vision to go back to normal but it didn't help. My dizziness and the blurriness of my vision just got worse. I swung the door open and walked out of the bathroom forgetting what I was supposed to do.
Dubstep music was still being played in the whole place giving away eargasm. I made my way through the crowd of dancing people whilst tripping and bumping into random people. I couldn't hold on anymore. I felt like any minute the earth would just eat me.
Tripping for probably the fifteenth time, before I fell flat on the floor, someone caught me in his arms. He held me up and I looked at his face to see those brown eyes again despite the blurriness of my vision. "You okay?" he asked.
"Not really," I answered putting my hand on my forehead. I found myself just staring at the man, taking a deep dive in his eyes. The blurriness of my vision made it difficult for me to see his face clearly. But I can tell he was handsome.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Faye," I breathed.
"Bruno. You can call me Bruno," he said. His breath smelt of like the red wine I just drank, the scent of sweet grapes.
And for what seemed like a lifetime, we just stood staring at each other, unmindful of our surroundings. I forgot everything. Everything that mattered to me. All I knew was I was looking at the most beautiful eyes I've ever laid my own eyes on.
I stared out at the retreating image until all I knew was nothingness.
.
***Music: High For This (Cover) by Ellie Goulding
Author's Note: That was too long, wasn't it? Lol. My third Bruno Mars Fan Fiction "The Right Side Of The Wrong Bed" Let me remind you again that my language isn't English so I'm sorry for any grammatical errors/misspelled words. :D I'm not sure if anyone's interested in reading this. Just gonna post it. Don't forget to read the introduction. I don't know what else to say. I just hope someone reads this lol.
PS: THE WHOMP IS BACK! MERRY FUCKIN' CHRISTMAS TO US