Gant
“What the fuck was that?” I hiss the second I get Aria alone. It’s a whole five fucking hours after the role assignments, thanks to étienne. I had to wait for him to take a piss break, a rarity, as I swear he’ll only go if Aria does. He probably changes her tampons and wipes her ass.
“What was what?” she asks innocently as I drag her around the dining hall and glare down at her. She must be used to this angle with étienne, who’s at least four centimetres taller than I am because she doesn’t flinch as she gazes up at me beneath her lashes.
“Aria.”
“Did you just growl at me?” she smirks in amusement, leaning against the dark stone wall. “I always wondered how ‘he growls’ in books sounds like in real life.”
“Aria.”
“Hmmm, I think I do like it.”
I smack the wall above her head and she jumps, only to ease back into that shit-eating smirk.
“I don’t have time for your little games.”
“Who says I’m playing?”
“You’ve never cared to be a lead in any play, yet today you dance your little ass off.”
“I’d say it’s pretty fat if you take proportions into consideration. It’s all relative,” she says, bouncing on her toes to make it jiggle.
“Why?”
“Why not? It’s senior year, after all. I’ve suddenly realised it”s time to embrace my full potential.”
“Hmm, and let me guess, Elle was the catalyst?”
She doesn’t deny it.
“Why the fuck would you want to beat her? So you can make étienne jealous? Is this what this is all about? You’re still pissy over étienne and Rin?”
She snorts, “If I wanted to make étienne jealous I’d choose Bae. Not you.”
I pause, scrunching my brows. “Bae? You’d choose Bae?”
“Well, he’s already a bae, isn’t he?”
“Over me?”
She rolls her eyes. “You think everything revolves around you, don’t you?”
“Yes. If étienne’s not the reason, then that leaves three options. Elle, me, or both. You don’t give a damn about ballet. So cut the bullshit because I’m not playing whatever this is.”
“You sound just like Elle whenever she talks about you. I’m not playing his stupid games!” she mocks before pouting. “You never want to play with me.”
“Because I don’t want to deal with your demonic bodyguard who’s going to be looking for you in three, two…” I look around the trees for a tall, lean figure creeping along the branches before peering down at her again. “So what do you want, Aria? Tell me. Now.”
She tilts her head in thought. “I’ll tell you the night before the play. Then we can make a deal. A trade.”
I gape at her and shake my head slowly. “That’s three weeks away. Why so last minute?”
“One.” She lifts a finger. “So it won’t look suspicious to Madame that I’m already dropping out, and two, so you don’t have time to double-cross me.”
“And why would I do that?” I rub my throbbing forehead in frustration. “You know how badly I need Elle to be the lead.”
“I know how badly you want her to be,” she says, her smirk dropping as a serious expression overtakes her features. “I just don’t know why. What are you planning?”
I study her, studying me for a beat before sighing. “Just tell me what you want.”
Her lips press into a hard line. “I will. Right before the play.” She tries to walk around me but I grab her arm, stopping her.
“You don’t want me to cheat you, but what about you? How can I trust you’ll keep your word?”
“Faith,” she smiles. “So long as you give me what I want, I’ll give you what you want.”
“And why the hell would I accept a barter without knowing the terms? You’ve asked for outrageous things before.”“Like?”
“When you made me blow dry and flat iron your hair, when I lost that bet last year.”
“What’s so absurd about that?”
“It took eight fucking hours.”
“And you gave me those horrible bumped ends.”
“Aria!”
She shrugs. “Look, those are my terms. What does it matter what I want? You’d do anything to have Elle be your princess for one night, right? I wonder why that is?”
Again I say nothing.
“Now look at who doesn’t want to share.”
“Why’s your clit suddenly hard for Elle? Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for her.”
“Too?” she quips. “Are we twinning?”
I’m not getting anywhere with her, but I know who’s about to get closer any minute as I see étienne cooly strolling down the path that leads to the hall.
He may look calm, but étienne always looks calm. Bubbling deep inside his perverted mind are thoughts I don’t want to analyse as his eyes subtly flicker around the grassy patches and benches in search of who’s right in front of me.
I bite my cheek in thought. “After we make our deal, when will you drop out of the play exactly?”
“The play starts at seven. I’ll conveniently get ill at six-thirty. I’ll make it look real so I don’t get into Mistress’ bad books.”
“How will you do that?”
“By taking a few prisoners,” she smiles but doesn’t elaborate and I don’t have the energy to pick apart her conniving brain. “In the meantime, keep practising the choreography with Elle, so she stays sharp. As she’s my understudy, it shouldn’t seem too suspicious. Just don’t tip her off. She’ll get in her head, and when she gets in her head, she always fucks up. Unless, of course, that’s your plan?”
I ignore her. “Fine. We’ll meet the night before the play and I’ll give it to you. Whatever it is you want.”
“I like the way that sounds,” Aria says thoughtfully. “Maybe Elle’s taste isn’t so tragic.”
“Says the girl in love with her possessed stepbrother,” I say as she flounces off right in time to join étienne, who laces his fingers with hers.
I stay hidden behind the dining hall until they disappear inside before stalking off to the forest line. I have an appointment.
Aria, the deal, the trade, whatever it is, I’d worry about later. For now, the only important thing is that Elle will be my Cinderella.
Just like the prince, I’d scoured the town for her, and now that I’ve finally found her, all I have to do is slip on her glass slipper.