Arcane ~ ONGOING

~Chapter Twenty-Four~

not edited

My group let out loud cheers as Esai and Blake held up the trophy. A big smile was etched onto my face as I searched for some familiar faces in the audience. I saw my Lucien and Lydel cheering loudly while Jesper and Aaron settled for a more sophisticated way and opted to just clap with a smile.

The twins had a similar reaction to Jesper and Aaron where they gave a small smile and clapped but I could see the adoration and love in their eyes which made me smile even bigger. Dorian looked as unbothered as ever. He was scrolling through his phone ignoring the whole hall clapping and cheering. But I could spot the smallest smirk on his lips.

My eyes then landed on Octavian who was observing everyone on the stage with a cold guarded expression. As if feeling my eyes on him, his eyes snapped to meet him. His regular icy expression disappeared as he gave me one of his rarest fleeting smile. Eventhough the smile was only for a minute, Icould see his expression of approval and the pride in his eyes. That was enough for my heart to be filled with warmth.

Soon we were off the stage ready to get the heavy dance costumes, makeup and hair off. Everybody except my team looked like they wanted to lay down and stay in bed for a year. My team on the other end were chattering away as if nothing was wrong, jumping and prancing along the hallway, booming with the same energy they were before the competition. Esai came over to me, handing me the trophy, "Hold onto this till we give this to Miss Alex or these hooligans are sure to break it and she will have my ass for it," He muttered making me chuckle as Lucas and Declan dragged him back into the chaos.

I walked in front of the team with Tessa on my side. I wanted to get to the green room as soon as I could so that I could catch my brothers before they leave. I'm pretty sure that nobody will be able to leave before my friends and brothers are out of here and the crowd's eyes. I wanted to meet them before they left.

As soon we reached the green room I handed the trophy over to Carrie who was having a conversation with one of the mom's. "You did great today, Astria," Emily, Blake's mother, said with a small smile. I thanked her as she went back to talking with Carrie.

As I was about to walk over to my table, Miss Alex called me over. I walked over to her the moment my teammates entered, laughing and joking. As soon as they saw me with Miss Alex, they quietened down and formed a circle around her us.

"You did great today out there. If viewed from the audience's perspective, it didn't seem as if you were a new member. And you expressions and footwork was on point. I would like to reward you, your practice really showed out there. So, I'm happy to announce that you, Astria, are now a part of the team and officially off of probation," She said, handing me a black jacket that had golden accents. I stood there frozen for a second before cheers erupted around me. I felt a few pairs of arms wrap around me. I realized it was the girls going in for a group hug. The boys were just plain shouting and cheering making me chuckle, I reciprocated the girls' hug before thanking Miss Alex to which she responded with a nod, a smile on her face.

After everybody had congratulated me and the cheers died down a little, the moms quickly took control and ushered their children to their designated desks to get out of their costumes and makeup. Allen quickly and skillfully removed the headpiece and pins from Tessa's hair while I removed my makeup. As soon as I was done, she helped me with my hair as well.

Tessa and I changed out of the costumes and I thanked Allen and Tessa again before rushing to Blake and told her to wait for me in the compound near her car. As soon as I heard her positive response, I informed Tessa that I will be downstairs in the compound before rushing down the hallway and the stairs. To my surprise, I could see see a small but familiar group in one of the corners. I could also see the men spread around the compound and around, probably Octavian's security. I quietly walked over to them before slipping into their small circle. The three of them were there and as expected, Dorian wasn't there.