Chapter 20 Shaken
Chapter twenty
Shaken
Ivy
I sat on the floor Friday morning, waiting for class to start. This week had been a lot. New pieces, more rehearsals, and a performance schedule that kept growing, not to mention a move into a new place and becoming physical with each of my mates.
Preston and I continued to rehearse our duet daily for the upcoming production, though at this point, it felt ready to go. Isaac’s new piece was finished as well, yet he kept complaining about us holding back.
Nutcracker rehearsals had started, too. Preston and I were learning Arabian choreography while Isaac worked with me again to tweak Clara’s role. And when I had a free moment in the schedule, I was in the small studio, working on the Sugar Plum Fairy variation for the funder’s performance.
I looked around the room as more dancers trickled in. At this point, the company was pretty divided on whether to accept me or not.
The right side of the room supported not only me but the goals of the Arco pack. They chatted constantly about how famous Preston and I were going to make the company, and loved to speculate what shows we should perform next.
The left side of the room glared constantly at me and frequently laughed at me behind my back, just loud enough for me to overhear. It was frustrating, but I shrugged it off, instead focusing on myself and improving my solo work.
Five minutes before class started, to everyone’s surprise, Preston walked into the room and made his way to where I currently sat.
“What’s up?” I shot him a surprised look, not used to seeing him until class was over.
He looked at the barre spots around the dancers who were nearby me. Gesturing to a spot next to me, he asked. "Can I stand here today?"
“Oh…of course!” I scooted over, trying to make space for him. The dancer next to me excitedly made more space, allowing Preston to join me.
“How long’s it been since you took company class?” I whispered to him as I noticed all the company dancers watching him.
“I dunno…three years?” He shrugged, fiddling with his shoes.
“What made you join today?”
He gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze. “I thought about what you said this past weekend, about you wanting to stay connected with the rest of the company. It made sense to me.”
Steven walked in, signaling the start of class, which forced us all to stand and prepare.
As soon as the first combination started, I instantly knew Preston would be very distracting to me all of class.
I enjoyed watching him dance, not just because he was so sexy to me but because he was so damn good.
In between combinations, he flirted with me endlessly, doing me no favors with the half of the company that loathed me.
After most of barre was complete, he leaned in towards me during a rest break. “There’s an odd vibe in this room. What's up with those dancers over there?”
I chuckled softly. “Welcome to my reality. It’s been like this since it was announced I’m the pack’s omega.”
“That’s ridiculous,” he frowned. “I’ll talk to Dem.”
“No, don’t bother, that'll only make this worse. The best thing to do is to earn my right to this spot. I have to keep working harder and prove I deserve to be here.”
Holding his frown, he shook his head. “You don’t need to prove anything to them.”
At the end of class, we sat on the floor, chatting with a few of the friendly corps girls, when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Adrienne walking over to us. She wore a big smile on her face like we were all her best friends.
“Preston! It’s so good to see you in class today! I feel like I never see you anymore!”
“Hey Adrienne, what’s up?” he responded cautiously while reaching for my hand. I naturally felt threatened by her, which he could probably sense.
“I was just thinking how much I missed partnering with you.” Turning towards me, she tossed in another fake smile. “Preston and I were the perfect pair for every show the last three years. We were pretty much the dream couple until…”
“Until I came along?” I tilted my head, finishing her sentence while Preston scooted closer to me. The corps girls around us were shooting each other looks of concern.
“Those experiences were good learning experiences.” Preston looked at me with a smile. “I’ll have to share with you later some of the stupid mistakes I made onstage back then.”
“Like the one time you accidentally let go of a sword during the fight scene?” I joked with him.
“No, that was before my time here. There was this one performance where they put my vest on backwards…”
Adrienne sighed loudly, regaining our attention. “I love reminiscing too. I often reflect on our Romeo and Juliet last season…the ending especially…”
“Where you all die?” I smirked, trying not to let her bait me. The irritation was crawling up my skin. At least my comment earned a few laughs from the girls around me.
“Be careful how you die!” Preston nervously laughed, leaning into my ear. “I fell dead onstage with one of my legs propped up. My whole leg fell asleep, and I had to crawl offstage in a blackout.”
We laughed together, which clearly bothered Adrienne more.
“There was this other time…” she began, but Preston cut her off.
“We have to rest before our next rehearsal. See you later, Adrienne.” He pulled me up off the floor, grabbed my bag, and led me away.
“We slept together many times, did he tell you that?” Adrienne called out after us.
My stomach tightened as a wave of nausea swept over me. I tried to remind myself that she was in the past, and Preston and I were already growing so much closer together, but it was hard. She was right here, trying to take my mate.
Preston’s scent turned sour as he let out a growl and pulled me tighter to him. I paused and turned back to Adrienne.
“Adrienne, enough!” Preston growled out at her.
“When are you going to realize that she’s all wrong for you?” Adrienne said, pointing directly at me. “We were in love!”
“We were never in love!” Preston shouted back. “I love Ivy, and she’s my fucking scent-match!”
“Hey guys,” Millie said, standing up to try to calm Adrienne and Preston down. “Let’s all take a step back here and breathe.”
Sending one last glare to Adrienne, Preston turned around and pulled me even closer to his side, keeping his arm tight around me. Once we made our way over to the next studio, he pulled me close to him and kissed me softly. Looking up into his eyes, I saw concern behind his gaze.
“Do we want to talk about it?” I asked. I wasn't sure if this would help me or not, but it was better than bottling everything up.
“I’m so sorry, Ivy,” he blurted out, seeming unable to stop himself.
“When we first started this company, I saw nothing wrong with dating the other dancers. But eventually, I realized I wanted to be committed to this omega dancer dream, and if I kept sleeping with company girls, it would affect the omega—you.” He sighed, adding, “just like now.”
“We all have a past,” I said, pulling his head into my arms. “I’d prefer that our pasts would not taunt me daily, but I trust that when you told me you loved me, you meant it.”
"I do love you," he whispered, softly nuzzling against my neck. "I love you more and more each day, and I can't imagine a life without you in it."
"Then let's keep building that life together and ignore the doubters," I said, running my hand up and down his back. I glanced over to the window between the two studios to see a very annoyed Adrienne trying to pretend she wasn’t watching us.
“She’s just trying to stir the pot. I’ll not rise to the bait,” I said.
“I should have protected you more. I’m supposed to be here to help and support you.”
“I'm not some delicate flower, but I appreciate the thought.” I released his head and kissed him lightly on the lips. “I can’t wait till we’re bonded.”
“Me too.” A huge smile grew on his face as he replied.
He still looked worried, even with his arms around me. But he didn’t need to be. I already knew where I belonged.
***
After lunch, the entire company was called for rehearsal in the main studio to run through the upcoming production. Artistic staff used this opportunity to see which sections needed the most work in the upcoming week.
Though I was pretty confident in our duet, Preston and I had never danced in front of more than a few people before, so this would be a good test for us as well.
We stood at the back of the room, watching the first half of Act One.
Our schedules had been so busy lately that we hadn’t had much time to watch the rest of the cast. Demetrius, Isaac, and Steven sat at the front of the room, taking notes, while Lukas sat on the side, taking pictures.
He sent me a wink and captured my picture with Preston.
Adrienne and her partner, Max, were the lead couple for the production, and they executed their opening number together brilliantly.
Despite being less than thrilled about seeing Adrienne, I had to admit she was a very talented dancer.
There was a reason she held the highest rank as a principal dancer with the company.
She finished her first adagio with Max, and as they walked back, she glanced at me with a smirk. Preston tensed next to me, and my stomach tightened a bit, but I took a deep breath and blocked her out.
“Come on,” Preston whispered to me. “We’re after this number.”
We prepared ourselves on the side as the corps piece came to an end. The pianist looked our way, to which we nodded, signaling we were ready.
Nerves churned in my stomach; so many of the dancers were hoping to see me fail, yet I couldn’t let that be my focus in this moment.
Preston and I ran out in character to the center of the room as our duet music started. Just as practiced, we jumped right into the choreography with fast footwork and intricate hand grabs. I tuned out everyone around me and focused on Preston, who was confidently smiling back at me.