Midnight Shadows

Chapter 1 - Memory

Aurora's POV

I feel the sweat dripping down the back of my neck and soaking my leotard as I stand at the bar on full pointe, watching my posture and extensions in the mirror in front of me.

My left foot slips and with a loud clack, my pointe shoe hits flat on the floor, the arch of my foot throbbing with the impact.

"I really need fucking new shoes." I say out loud to myself and scoff as I sit down and untie my ribbons and fully remove my shoes. I flex my toes and rub both my feet to ease the strain and tension in them, and then lay back flat on the studio floor, sighing loudly.

I'm distracted, as I know my life is surely going to change again.

They're coming back.

"Aurora!"

I turn my head towards the voice recognizing it instantly. My brother Davian walks into the studio room and tilts his head to the side, his green eyes set intensely on me. "You okay?" He asks and I sigh.

"You heard." He says quietly.

"Of course, I did. Doesn't change anything anyways."

"That's a fucking lie and you know it, Ror." I roll my eyes at his use of my childhood nickname.

"I'm not getting into this with you right now." I turn my head away from him.

"You know you'll have to face them at some point Aurora." I whip my head back to him. "I know that. Doesn't mean I have to right at this exact moment."

"No, but believe me, it'll be sooner than later."

"You're their best friend, why don't you just go do that and leave me the hell alone. I don't want to see them; I don't want to talk to them and I'm sure as hell am not the same love-struck teenager that I was at thirteen. It's embarrassing enough that I ever felt anything for them, and then to just be...." I trail off, realizing I'm doing exactly what I didn't want to.

"Just drop it." I say with a finality to my tone, and he looks at me and sighs, sadness emanating from him.

"Okay. Just let me know if you need anything. I'm your brother first and their friend second."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Thanks."

He turns and walks out, and I sigh loudly, feeling irritated and annoyed.

Things weren't always like this. Davian and I used to be a lot closer when I was younger. Maybe because he still felt a bigger need to protect me when I was still a naïve young girl, but that changed when I told him that I was in love with his best friends at the age of thirteen and proceeded to embarrass myself and him when they flat out rejected me and disappeared for ten years.

They kept in contact with him, that I know of, but I hadn't heard from them at all. It was if I never existed. Which I mean, I couldn't blame them for, as much as I tried to. I was a child, and now that I look back on it, I was just intrigued with the idea of them, and got stupidly infatuated as most girls did back then.

Kaede and Acyn Knight. Twin brothers, vampire royalty.

Mine and Davian's parents were close with theirs, being their business lawyers and helping the Knight family businesses thrive. My parents were hired by them when I was 10, so, Davian and I were around Kaede and Acyn quite often, and naturally we all developed good friendships and did most things together. Davian was closer with them then I was, and I did have the feeling sometimes that I was brought around with them for the sake of pity and not wanting me to feel left out, but it didn't really dawn on me until later.

When they completely rejected me and told me that they wanted nothing to do with me.

I grumble to myself as I sit up and stretch more. Reaching over, I grab my toes on my left foot and lean down, stretching the muscles I've now abused for the last three hours of practice. I keep up with my ballet training regularly, because if I ever lost my flexibility, I wouldn't forgive myself.

Life is better now. I'm 23 now, and work as a performer and bartender and the local nightclub, Devour. After Kaede and Acyn left, I threw myself into my hobbies and made them into a career. I'm a professional dancer, trained in ballet and contemporary, but I dabble into a lot of other styles for my job. I stopped working for the local ballet company last year, as I was tired of performing the same routines repeatedly, in addition to the competition with some of the other girls in the company. It's cutthroat and I was just tired of it.

I'm happier now that I'm dancing for my enjoyment and not breaking myself mentally and physically to appease instructors wishes. Bartending became a second love in addition to dance, and the atmosphere at Devour is intoxicating and alluring and I fucking love every second of it.

I reach over and grab my shoes and stand, looking at myself in the mirror smiling.

I can handle what's coming, I'm sure of it.

_________________

- Laying down some background!!

- See you in the next one!! - vv