𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 [𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘹 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳]

010

after you'd left the studio, the lingering feeling of jealous eyes burning into your back stuck around. it followed you all the way to bed where you'd tossed and turned, dreading having to face it again the next day. 

a few days had passed since tryouts and most of the stares had died down, but you could still tell there was a lingering resentment. eren hadn't been at practice a majority of the past week, and when he was, he stayed as far away from you as possible, demonstrating a specific move to other dancers or talking to your instructor. 

the blare of your alarm jerked you from blissful sleep and into the waking world, the first rays of sun greeting you through the blinds. 

with a sigh you rolled over and grabbed your phone, quickly turning off the assault of noise and reading any messages, the first being from anna.

anna (1:30 am): don't forget to check the bulletin board today bb :)

you groan and shut off your phone, rolling yourself out from under the warm fluffy heaven of your duvet and onto your aching feet. the soft creak and popping of your sleepy joints audible as you stretch your body. 

today was the day that the company announced the roles for swan lake and you were filled with dread.  you knew that your audition with eren had been strong but you were worried that they could see how much you were relying on him. they weren't just looking for a good performance, they were looking for strong individual dancers. 

it was well-known that dancing the swan queen was one of the hardest roles of a ballet dancer's career. it was a sign of mastery to convey both the virginal innocence of odette for half the performance and then transform into a completely different person to perform odile. being able to communicate a visceral change in personality through movement alone took an intimate understanding of your own body. 

you'd worked tirelessly to achieve this understanding, but hadn't been able to show it due to your useless injury. instead, you'd had to rely on eren's ability to pick up your slack and support you. 

by the time you got to the studio, there was already a crowd gathered in front of the board, eager face scanning the list of roles. you could already see a few dancers skulking off to the side, not having got the role they wanted. 

as you got closer, you noticed people staring at you. it got kind of quiet as you approached and some people even moved to the side to let you through.

you look at the bulletin and find the list of roles, expectations set low to avoid disappointment. you see eren's name at the top as expected, playing the role of prince siegfried. you continue down the list but your heart stops in your chest as your eyes do a double-take. right below eren's name you see your own, and next to it says the swan.  

you're frozen in place, relaying the words in your mind over and over thinking you must be hallucinating. suddenly two arms wrap around you in a tight hug and you quickly recognize anna's perfume.

"oh my gosh this is amazing!" she says excitedly, "i told you you would get it," she says. after your mind catches up you reciprocate her hug, thoughts going a mile per minute. 

the faces around you are a mix of emotions, some look happy for you, some expressions are unreadable, but the most palpable emotion is anger and jealousy. you can see it blatantly painted on the faces of people around you, whispering to each other and looking your way.

as you scan the faces around you, you notice eren's figure standing back away from the crowd, leaning lazily against the wall, hand in his pockets with a boyish slouch that he somehow makes look elegant. he's watching your face, expression unreadable. you hold his gaze for a moment before looking away.