circus ★ crygi

intro

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 — CIRCUS.

in which circus lover crystal & circus artist gigi slowly fall in love.

CRYSTAL Elizabeth Methyd had loved going to the circus ever since she was a little girl. She always remembered with nostalgia when her mother would lead her by the hand throughout the tent until they found their seats, and enjoy hours of spectacle, just her mother and her. Many people would think that now that she was a grown up, she would have stopped going to those silly circus performances, but it was pretty much the opposite. Now that Crystal was 28 years old — old enough to take herself to the circus, she did it more often than ever. It was a very odd ritual, but special to her heart, especially now that her mom wasn't by her side. Ever since she passed away, Crystal had gone to every single performance a circus had organized in her town, as some sort of promise to her mother, who Crystal knew looked after her from Heaven.

GIGI Grace Goode was a circus performer, specialized in aerial silks. Young, but incredibly talented, and brimming with energy. She didn't have any other option, anyways. Originally from Illinois, she wanted to become independent, so the day she turned 18, she escaped the comfort of the home she shared with her parents. It was much more difficult than she thought: life on the streets was hard; but her good looks brought her luck, and a job. And some classes, training, and a plane ticket to California later, she was ready for life in the circus. Now, she was 23 years old, and had been working in the circus for 5 years, which technically qualified her as an expert. Gigi sometimes felt lonely — the other circus performers were quite unfriendly, and she didn't have any so-called friends at the circus, besides the creepy old men that would look for her after each show, of which Gigi was already getting fed up. She longed for someone her age to swing by the circus, and that they could chat for at least a while as two normal people, and not as an entertainment and a customer. Because that was what Gigi had been made to believe she was: a simple tourist attraction.

But it could all change for the two of them with just one visit to the famous circus. An alluring, mysterious dancer with an unreal svelte figure to die for. Her platinum, almost white, locks falling softly as she lets herself drop, with the silken fabric as her only grip. An oddly beautiful girl, with striking red hair, who opposed to Gigi in every aspect, but at the same time, caught her attention from the very first moment they locked eyes. There was a particular thing, however, where the two girls definitely coincided in. And it was that they hid large secrets from each other.

Gigi wouldn't dare confess that every single thing about Crystal drove her crazy, that each of her little quirks were what made Crystal unique to her, and very distinctive from the other hundreds of people that paid to see her; or that whenever Crystal looked at Gigi in amazement during a performance, it made her little heart beat rapidly and her palms begin to sweat uncontrollably, forcing her to be extra careful to hold onto the fabric to avoid falling out of it.

Crystal would never admit to anyone that Gigi Goode was the most stunning girl she had ever laid her eyes on — with her heavenly look, her graceful moves, legs that seemed to be leagues long, and a stare that could kill anyone almost instantly, she was irresistible to Crystal. Gigi had become the most important reason Crystal yearned for the circus to come to town. She felt as if she could not stand another minute without staring at the blonde, in astonishment.

And why was it a secret, you may wonder... Because neither Crystal nor Gigi could hint to anyone that maybe, just maybe in the slightest, tiniest bit, they were gay, which wasn't something that brought pride to neither of the girls. Crystal lived with her father as her only company — an elder, old-fashioned, religious man who would've had an even harder time conceiving the idea that his only daughter was a lesbian; and her mom, the very only person in her family who would've supported Crystal, wasn't there with her anymore.

Meanwhile, Gigi had to keep it as a secret because it would bring great shame to the circus if everyone found out that the godly seraph that yearly swung from the silks for everyone to see was, in fact, unattainable for all the men who drooled over her. Gigi could not afford to lose this job — she had worked awfully hard to get it, and she would do everything to keep it for as long as possible, even if that meant ignoring the girl of her dreams.

Crystal may be pretending, and Gigi may be pretending too, but at the end of the day, they both were powerfully in love with each other. And that's what irritated both of them the most — an everlasting reminder that they would never, ever be normal, no matter how hard they tried and buried the truth. Every time Gigi and Crystal's gazes met and their hearts skipped a beat, they found themselves reminded of the secret they endeavored to bury so deeply within their desperate souls. 

The secret they had worked so hard to mask felt threatened to spill if they weren't careful enough when they looked at each other out of the corner of their eyes. Before each show, Gigi prayed and begged to the divine beings that watched over her, that nobody noticed — that the spectators thought that her impish winks and flirtatious movement were directed to them, and not to Crystal.

And so, almost systematically, their two mischievous souls, desperate for each other, devised a foolproof plan: aerial silk classes at the circus, with the coquettish blonde as the instructor. Nothing could go wrong. Right?

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WARNING!

this book isn't 100% true to reality, where it addresses crystal & gigi's parents as bad or irresponsible. i have written this characters as so solely for the sake of the argument.

this book and i as an author in no way, shape or form support the romantization of bad parenting.

this topic is brought up for the mere purpose of adding depth to the characters, to add pieces of my own story into this one, and to hopefully help others find themselves within at least one of my characters.

if any of you are offended or easily triggered by this topic, i understand and highly suggest you don't continue reading.

i promise that none of these topics will be written about in an unhealthy manner — i.e for shock value, to weaken a character, for vulnerability or for the trope of the main protagonist "healing" the other and making these issues disappear for them. i will try my best as the author to have these issues go about in a healthy & not misinterpreted way.

and, last but not least, this is my second proper fanfic, but the first one with this new kind of format, so please do excuse the fact that the writing may be a little iffy at times. i promise it gets better overtime. i'm trying my best <3

with that being said, i hope all of you enjoy circus. if you have any issues or complaints about the story, please let me know. xoxo,