You Belong With Me

Chapter 1

24/9/2022
Dance away the pain---

Two weeks prior ...

"Did you see the news?" the tracks cause the train to sway side to side, brushing the strangers beside me with my shoulders.

"School newspaper?" I ask Leila

"Brandon Chisholm, apparently he and his family suddenly fled to Mexico," she says with a glint in her eye "Which is rich." She snorts "Considering he just decides to up and go right after he-"

" Yup I know, right after he came onto me." I finish hastily, the woman holding onto her purse for dear life next to me gives me a strange look the wound is still fresh. The tension in the carrige grew.

I was about to change the subject to anything relevant. But she tells me,

"yknow, I'm always here when you want to talk about it." Leila reassures me, she's a good friend. But sometimes she needs to shut her mouth. This was one of these moments.

"I know, lets just focus on something else, okay?" I utter softly, I tried to sound assertive but my voice box betrays me.

It's not even like he took my, yknow. It's just that he got really creepy, telling me that he has waited too long and that I was leading him on, proceeding to me being banned from a certain diner. Honestly why me?

I drop the hand that was massaging my temple onto my lap, clearly I'm uncomfortable.

The train jolts right before it stops in it's tracks and leila and I get off the cramped train. In our leg warmers and leotards we exit the station and walk through the November fog towards the royal ballet studio building. Lei and I became close friends when we realised we were the youngest at the royal ballet being around the same age, and we hated the same snobs that are in our class. she's only been to my house once and the first thing she told me was ' your mom's a bitch'

I mean she's not wrong.

Royal Ballet Studio grows in sight and Lei and I link arms and inch closer to our quadrant.
Leila and I enter the changing rooms and walk towards a bench. After tucking the perfect bow underneath my pointe shoe straps, grabbing my water bottle and theroband me and Lei making small talk on the way to studio 4, beginning to stretch.

My favourite spot on the bar is at the front, you may think that it's odd considering how shy I can be, that's the first person you would pay attention to. But when you think about it, people always forget the first person performance, and always remember the last, so when you're at the front of the bar people always look past you.
Which is great.

"Cleo, come over here for a sec" a menacing rumble people call a voice interrupted my painful stretches.
Mr Senspa. He was a famous dancer before he bacame our dance professor, in my opinion he had a bright future, if he didn't assault one of the dancers back in 2009, I used to admire him when I was a little girl. Realise I said used to. My mom defended him with her life when the case was opened. Saying things like 'Some women are liars' and that females hate successful men, I call bullshit.

I make my way slowly towards his desk, he stays seated, his face in level with my crotch. He doesn't even bother to look me in the eyes. What a pervert.

"I have a preposition for you Cleo," the way he says my name sends shivers down my spine, and not the good kind of shivers

I don't even bother to ask what the preposition is, he does this every year. First, he'll ask me to play lead role, then he'll advertise private lessons he doesn't think I'm dumb does he?

"How do you feel about playing the lead role in the nutcracker?"

Thinking, thinking, decided
I actually mighr like the idea of being the lead this year.

"Don't tell anyone is Cleo. But, you're my favourite in here, you have a really bright future ahead of you if you were just a team player you could get so far" he butts in before I can even reply.
He knows I decline his offer.

Out of all the girls in this big ass studio. He chooses to prey on the youngest, it's just wrong. After being rejected 4 times you give up right? WRONG. He's practically begging me at this point. Trying to win me over. He finally looks at me in my eyes properly. 'Eyes full of sin' as my mother likes to say on the streets to the homeless.
I bet he says that to all his students

I play along and gladly accept his offer for just the lead roll peice of cake my father used to say that was I was a little girl.

Moving on, I flash him an innocent smile which he returns, didn't know he was capable. I swiftly make my way back to leila. My expression unreadable until I reach her.

Her face is masked with confusion at my antics until I drop the bomb

" He said what!?"

"Yes. Then I got offered the lead role!"

"Just like that?"

Lei and I entertain outselves with my encounter with Mr Senspa the whole train ride home.

After parting ways with Leila I lazily open the door, turning my chainless key into the light green doors. The strong smell of rum and rich and masculine cologne hitting my nostrils immediately catching me off guard. My mother is quite unpredictable but I know she isn't a drinker, which mean she must have conpany over.

At this hour?

UGHH!!