#and she’s way to sensitive to have a civil conversation with her about her poor behavior and manners

[stonesandswords]

.

[nosebleedsturn]

twenty-seven ; snowflakes and dewdrops

Words: 2,235

tuesday, december 17th, afternoon, 3:50 pm

"i cannot believe you just did that!" mal snapped angrily. she had checked underneath all the stalls to make sure no one would eavesdrop on this conversation. it was none of their business. "what? what did i do?" vega argued back, crossing her arms over her chest dramatically. "you're being vega." mal's voice dropped low, desperate to exude how upset she was with her best friend. "i just can't believe you'd stoop that low. you know what it's like to have someone constantly up your ass!"

"you do not get to bring my ex boyfriend into this." vega scoffed, offended that malerie would bring such a sensitive topic into their argument. maybe vega had been a little rude. justina wasn't ugly, and was a skinny little blonde girl that seemed to be popular and made matt happy. but she didn't care if matt was happy or not. so why did she care so much about justina being there? she's just a girl. she's just a girl the same way cami and mal and vega all were. so why was her presence utterly upsetting to vega?

"i'm sorry v, but i won't let you bully some poor girl just because you're in love with her boyfriend."

vega takes a few steps back in utter shock. "i'm disappointed you don't know me at all. i don't love matt, i can barely even stand him!"

"then why do you care about him being with justina! you're the one who told him to go after her in the first place!"

"i don't know why you care! this has nothing to do with you!" vega argued. never before had the girls argued to this much intensity. so much so, that multiple women had opened the door to the bathroom already and dipped as soon as they saw vega and mal in a heated conversation. "i don't like her because she's just not one of us. we don't know her, she could be using matt for fame."

"you don't like him vega! why do you care who uses him?" malerie was literally at her breaking point. watching vega go through daniel was tough, she'd already lost her, but it felt like she was losing her all over again. "you keep letting yourself get worked up over a guy. so what you like him, so what you don't? what you need to do is get your feelings in check. and when you finally have that all solved, then you can find me, and then we can talk like civilized humans."

malerie decided, arms crossing over her chest as she passed vega, out of the womens restroom, shoulder checking her friend on the way. vega knocked into the wall. huffing as she slid down the wall, sitting down against it. she took a few deep breaths.

literally what was wrong with her?

when vega went to sit back down again, everyone had shifted a bit. the orchestra was already playing music, like the usually did as an opener before the first scene would be acted out. the space between mal and chris had closed, leaving an empty spot now beside sammy. vega plopped herself down there, feeling a bit empty on the inside.

"do you wanna talk about what happened?" sammy asked, leaning over to whisper to vega. vega stared ahead at the unmoving red satin curtain and shook her head no. "that's okay. i'm sure i'll hear about it later."

was she a failure? never, and when vega said never, she truly meant never, did she ever want to fall in love again. it was a mental promise she had made to herself. she was fine not being a virgin, that societal construct had already been taken from her long ago. and she was fine having her first kiss and date also stolen from her, and a lot of people didn't think of vega as the type of girl to want kids, but if there was one thing she wanted in life, that was to be a mother. she was fine with becoming a single mother.

but as the scene of ballerinas and male dancers performed in front of her, camille pointing and swirling across the stage, in and off, around and around, she couldn't help but think of a life filled with matthew sturniolo.

it made her sick to her stomach and so fucking guilty. guilty because he was already dating a girl. guilty because not 10 minutes ago she had brutally made fun of her (without her even realizing it), guilty because they were all in the same room together, and extra guilty because what could have been, she had iced out long before it even started.

but there were flowers that grew in the coldest climates, she knew that. but vega didn't even know if she deserved flowers anymore, not after the way she's treated everyone.

chris' mouth had been dropped open the whole time. he kept whispering questions to mal about who the characters were, what was happening. he didn't really get ballet, but he laughed a little too loud when the rat king literally popped up from a spring floor. he could not get over the costumes. he had to have every little thing be explained to him. that there were people in the costumes, that they were heavy and old and definitely unwashed. but every time cami appeared on stage, in her pretty diamond incrusted dresses. her pretty dusty pink pointe shoes which she made chris memorize all the different names and brands well before.

the way her hairstyle changed too, low bun, french twist (he's proud he remembered that one), the slight differences in choreography. he had never imagined that ballet dancing would be such a turn on.

vega's eyes were trained on camille flitting around throughout all her scenes. she tried to pay attention and be respectful, but her mind kept wondering over to the couple a few seats away. they had been together last night. did she spend the night? were they official. i mean, clearly she meant enough to him to bring her to events and be seen in public with him. it was a little crushing just thinking about it. who even was she? like really. what was justina all about? and why, why did vega push matt to see another woman?

cami was feeling it, the rush of adrenaline pumping through her veins, sweat gliding down her face and smudging the blush on her face a tad bit as she brushed a few baby hairs out of her face. he tucked all her belongings into her dance duffle, shoving it underneath the vanity with her name taped across the mirror. her own costumes hung and folded neatly in the large closet behind her. when she was done, she redressed into something more comfy, feeling a rush of power and control. she had done so well, every movement flowed out of her tonight with ease and poise. nothing had gone wrong, not even a little bit, not even at all. the orchestra played so well too, their music loud and powerful making her hit every movement with clarity.

she couldn't wait to go and see her girls and revel in the win of the night.

as she was finding herself out of the backstage dressing room, she pauses, knowing that standing ahead of her, was the recruiter. she could feel it. camille pushed the door open, coming face to face with none other than the person she suspected the most, as well as her instructor and the orchestra's conductor, all chatting away with two other ballerina's, smiling intently.

camille made her way over timidly, sliding her phone into her purse. "great show everyone, you all did fantastic." camille smiled nervously, butterflies gnawing at her stomach. her hands began to shake as the adrenaline coursed through her more powerfully. "and you too." her instructor replied with a huge smile. camille continued walking passed, waving to her friends.

"oh, mademoiselle!" a thick french accent beckoned camille. cami paused, turning around slowly and tilting her head to the side inquisitively.

this is it, this was her moment. "are you camille swan?" he asked again, eyebrows furrowed, and a hand politely outstretched towards her. camille nodded, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet nervously. was this nerves or excitement? both. her hands clasped against her lap, fingers folded like the polite young woman she was. "can i have a word with you?" camille nodded, not trusting herself enough to speak. she stepped closer, clearly the other girls were having a jolly good time, there mustn't be a thing to worry about. camille took the two girls beside her in more detail, realizing it was her friend that played the sugar plum fairy, and the lead star of the show, clara. obviously, there weren't too many roles that people payed attention too. a short feeling of sorrow overcame her, realizing that for some reason she was picked out of over 100 girls.

her? out of all people?

"well, i'm just going to simply say it and not, 'beat around the bush' as people say. we have three full ride scholarships at our ballet school in yew york. we only had one for the longest time, but we had someone grant us some money recently in hopes of bringing in two more dancers who deserve it. clearly, you were given your roles for a reason, and after speaking with instructors, and the conductor, you've been the best girls to work with. i'd like the three of you to attend our school starting as soon as january."

camille felt her heart drop, she glanced around at her, to the conductor and her instructor. was this a joke? a beautiful dream? she had to be in a come right now. this was a serious dream come true. the three girls all looked at each other for some support, before nodding and giggling profusely in excitement.

"fantastic." the recruiter bowed slightly. "my name is professor piaf , and i'm a ballet instructor at the new york state school of ballet. all i ask is for your emails and phone numbers so we can begin setting you up for classes for the incoming spring semester." he handed a clip board over to the girl played clara, and she wrote down her name, phone number, and email, passing it along to the next girl. "i would love to sit and chat with you three about the school and your education in further detail, but i fear i'm on a time crunch, and i don't want to waste any of your time either. i'm sure you all have something splendid to do after such a momentous evening that i don't doubt will be forgotten by your young mind for years to come."

once camille had finished writing, she handed over the clip board to the profess. "and i'm sure i'd forget the details. please just wait about three to four business days for your emails and phone calls. if anything goes wrong," he hands out a professional card to each ballerina. "these are to get into contact with me or the school if your information isn't sent out before christmas morning. i wish you all the best, happy holidays."

"happy holidays." camille bows breathlessly, the man walks away. camille presses a hand to her forehead. not only was she going to be getting a full ride scholarship, she had two other people there she already knew, she wasn't going to be alone in new york, stuck on a huge farm and a room made up of four walls of mirrors. she could go out with them, hang out. she wasn't going to be stuck in new york again.

after conversating with her instructor and the conductor one last time, she excused herself, turning and she found herself met with chris. her chris. her boy friend. cami almost drops her purse on the ground in shock. she walked up to him, wrapping him in a huge. "i didn't even tell you to come. i-i'm so sorry, i was too nervous." camille's arms slid around his neck, his around her waist. "don't apologize. i'm here and you looked beautiful." he whispered into her ear, just for them to see. "mal told me everything. and i saw all that too..." chris trailed off, not wanting to make her nervous or run off. cami backs up a bit, still embracing him but looking up at him. "saw all what?"

"you're going to the school in new york." chris confirms, like the decision wasn't hers to make. "oh chris, there's so much more to this than you relize. vega and malerie-"

"will be okay without you for a while. i promise you. i'll be okay too, this is your dream. all we talk about when we're together is our careers and our future dreams. all you talk about is ballet and this school. i just want you to be happy and if that means i only get to see you every other month then so be it. i need you to do what's best for you." chris leans down, pressing his forehead against hers.

"i really, really like you." cami murmured under her breath. "i really, really like you too." chris repeated.

"i'm going to my dream ballet school?" chris nodded, pulling away and grasping her hips tightly, he pulled her off the floor and twirled her around. "you're going to your dream ballet school."

N O S E B L E E D S