Where I'm trying to enjoy the performance
Gray eyes look at me with surprise. Is he stalking me?
— Buonasera, ragazze! — finally someone spoke.
— Buonasera, — Ella was completely unfazed, she had already moved over one seat, stop... No-no-no.
I glance at Elizabeth, and my eyes are pleading. Ella just shrugs. Nicolas sits next to Ella and is already whispering something in her ear, while I’m dizzy again from the scent of his cologne.
— I won't sit next to you, — I crossed my arms over my chest and tilted my head to the side, it was my resolute protest. Resolved as much as possible in that situation. Leo just shrugged, like Ella, and pointed to the seat one away from him. The choice was limited, and I sat where he indicated, — what the hell are you doing here? — I switched to a formal address with him again.
— Are you really curious, or do you just not want me to be here? — Leo asked.
— I see no difference, because this is clearly not a coincidence, — I tried hard to hide the trembling in my hands.
— Sol gave us two tickets and invited us here.
— Great! — I rolled my eyes and turned away. I’ll get to Mia eventually. Another question troubled me. I took out my phone and texted Ella:
«Did you know they would be here?»
Elizabeth pulled out her phone and read my message, turned back to me and smiled faintly, confirming my suspicions. I frowned even more and scratched my chin, as if to say, how could you set me up like this? She merely waved it off. I pointed with my eyes towards the exit — we need to talk, and she took her phone and texted me:
«During the intermission. Enjoy the evening as you planned»
I shook my head, and Nicolas, who was watching us with surprise, finally spoke:
— What’s this secret language?
— Don’t mind us, — I turned away again.
Back in high school, Ella and I decided to create our own sign language, so no one would understand what we were saying. As you've probably guessed, we still liked to use it. And sometimes it just happened on some mental level.
The last bell rang, and the hall began to fill with darkness. For some reason, I’m starting to feel uncomfortable now because he’s sitting just one chair away from me, the one who’s starting to draw too much of my attention. And how irritating it is! The curtain rises, and Mia (Juliet) is already standing on stage; she is simply incredible. Another of my weaknesses is ballet tutus. When I practiced ballet, I always loved trying on different looks for performances. Maybe back then I should have considered a future in fashion?
I followed every movement of Juliet. I will never stop saying that ballet is beautiful and so graceful. Each performance so precisely reveals the fragility of the ballerinas playing the roles, that no poet, no matter who they are, could ever describe it. The music and Mia’s performance are so penetrating and atmospheric that I am captivated and start to worry about the character. I worry so much that I don’t even notice how tightly I’m gripping the armrest. Leo interrupts my actions:
— Hey, it’s just a performance, don’t worry, — he holds the hand that is guilty in this absurd situation. I quickly pull it away, feeling extremely embarrassed.
During the first act, I felt Leo’s gaze on me so many times that at some point I just stopped paying attention to it. Every time his look was different: questioning, interested, or even... in love? Nonsense. Every five minutes I myself would cast a quick glance at him to be sure he hadn’t moved closer while I was trying to enjoy the performance.
The curtains parted, and I stood up. The hall began to move. I grabbed Elizabeth by the arm, pulling her away from Nick.
— I’ll take her from you for a few minutes, — I wasn’t really interested in his response.
— Ah, yes, of course, — the guy was a little flustered, as if he had completely forgotten he came here not just with Ella.
— What were you thinking? — we both argued next to a column in the hallway, glasses of wine in hand. A lot of people were swirling around us, and I periodically checked to see if our companions were among them.
— I wasn’t thinking about anything. I told you I’d handle all this, — “all this” didn’t suit me. — So when I told Mia everything, she said she had a plan. And here we are, — of course, I really wanted them to find common ground, but not like this!
— How could you? I trusted you! — I was still facing the same conversation with Miss Mendelyuk.
— Don’t be an idiot, we didn’t do anything wrong. You like him, so why not at least try? — it seemed like she didn’t understand.
— Because I don’t need him. Neither him nor his feelings. I have everything I need. And I don’t like him; he’s not my type at all, so let’s drop this subject, — of course, this was a lie, but who cares?
— Um, you might lie to anyone but me, I know you inside out, — she gave me her sly smile. — We’ve known each other for far more than just a year; I’ve studied your taste in men well enough, my dear. He’s a blonde, tall, with sharp facial features, gray-blue, deep eyes, a toned body, a bright smile that fogs your head, and…
— Stop! — my pupils were dilated, and my heart was beating in a frantic rhythm, but my head commanded me to think clearly. — Elle, I’m not looking for a relationship right now.
— I don’t understand why you’re so fixated on this. Remember, I’ll do everything to make you happy, even if I have to set you up with Leo every day.
— It’s madness! — I exclaimed.
— What exactly, Cinderella? — chills ran down my spine, and my knees slightly buckled at the voice behind me. I instantly turned around and found myself mere centimeters away from an insolent face. A few steps back and I’d bump into someone. Well, that was the last thing I needed…
— Careful, — I heard Nick's voice, feeling his hands on my shoulders. — You could have bumped into some other handsome guy.
Despite such a comment, there was concern in his voice, as he quietly asked if I was okay, to which I nodded briefly.
— The only handsome guy here is me, so the odds were zero, — joke of the day, two peacocks once met. And I know for sure that the same dimples appeared on one of their faces. Well, that’s it, I even forgot what we were talking about, what’s happening to me?!
— Whatever makes the child happy, as long as it doesn’t cry, — I blurted out out of the blue.
Ella couldn’t hold it in and started giggling.
— What does that mean? Why are you laughing? — Nick was the first to recover.
— To put it simply: enjoy whatever you like, kids, just don’t annoy those around you, — my friend broke it down, then winked.
— You have an interesting sense of humor, — De Ville remarked.
— And who said I was joking?
— No, you’re still a grump. A grump with red lipstick, — the last sentence he said so that only I could hear, the hint about the handkerchief with red lipstick I had left with him was quite clear. I was not made up today.
He waved his finger, and I saw that the same handkerchief was peeking out from his breast pocket on his jacket.
— What a jerk you are... — I rolled my eyes, not wanting to converse further with him, — to hell with it.