Dance Till You're Dead (ON HOLD FOR THE FORSEEABLE FUTURE)

Chapter 2

Ella spent the next eight days in hospital. She was lucky to be alive, the doctors has said, let alone be able to walk. She could walk, but it caused her great pain in her back. She had cried for nearly two days straight after discovering this. If she could barely walk, how could she dance? She was more upset about this than the fact that she'd been attacked. She didn't remember it at all, just a pair of wide, worried eyes, then darkness. She had a dent in the back of her head, the doctors suspected it was something metal that she'd been hit with, possibly a baseball bat or a metal pole. But there was no damage to her brain. An inch higher and she could quite possibly have been brain dead, an inch lower and her neck would have been smashed to pieces. Overall, she was a very, very lucky girl.

Everyone from Eva Ecott Dance Academy had visited her over the last week, including Eva herself, or almost everyone. Lanelle Yates had yet to make an appearence, but Ella wasn't surprised not to see her squinty face or to hear her drone on in her sarcastic tone, in that ridiculously over the top American accent. Yes she was American, but she'd lived in England since she was 5 and had lost her accent almost immediately. She'd started putting it on when she was about 10, and hadn't stopped in eight years. She was pathetic. They'd never got on since they met at Primary School and then at dance class, and had always had a sense of rivalry between them. Lanelle was madly jealous that Ella was Giselle, she was playing the part of Giselle's Mother. But everyone else had shown up. Carys hadn't left Ella's bedside all weekend, and Victoria came in wearing her usual expression of confusion and nerves with a bunch of flowers. Ella had appreciated this. She didn't speak to Victoria much, no one did really, but she seemed like a sweet, decent girl. Ryan O'Connor visited too, much to her delight, and so had Joshua Dennis, much to her distaste. But she put on a fake smile and accepted his gift of chocolates. She almost died when she read the card attached to them. She knew Josh had a crush on her, he admitted his undying love when they were thirteen, but it always incredibly cringeworthy when he did stuff like this. Carys smiled for the first time that weekend when she read it aloud in her best over dramatic voice.

'My Dearest Ella

I cannot believe this has happened to you, you mean so much to me and I would have done anything to stop it from happening. I cannot lose you, I would go mad with grief if I did. Please get better soon and come back, I will welcome you with very open arms.

Yours, forever

Joshy xxxxxxx'

"And very open legs too. He wants you so bad Ells, it's so funny." Carys' smiled and tosed the card in the waste bin next to the bed.

"Oh shut up Carys!" Ella said. Carys made kissing faces. "I'd get up and hit you if I could." Ella laughed. At that point Carys snapped her hands to her mouth and her eyes filled with tears.

"Calm it, it's ok babe! No need to get emotional!" Ella said as Carys flung her arms around her, a gently as she could.

"Sorry sorry sorry Ells, I wasn't even thinking, I'm so sorry!" She cried gently.

"You've been crying way too much Carys, I honestly don't feel too sore. I can walk without as much pain and the doctors think I'll be able to dance again...soon. Come on Cary, it's not like it's your fault."

Carys froze and backed away from her.

"What's wrong?" Ella asked, suddenly full of worry. She didn't like the way Carys was looking at her.

"N...nothing. I just...feel bad for you."

"Then what's the problem?"

"Nothing! Why are you so stressy all of a sudden?!" said Carys, affronted.

"I could ask you the same thing!" said Ella, sitting herself up in her bed.

"Oh...whatever." sighed Carys and sat back down again, her arms folded. Ella laughed to herself in confusion.

"Maybe you should go home Carys, you havn't had a proper nights sleep in days..." Carys stood up and cut Ella off before she could continue.

"Fine, I'm off then." She gathered her stuff in silence and flounced through the door. Ella sighed and bit her lip thoughtfully. Why had she got so touchy so suddenly? It didn't make sense. She lay back against her pillow and tried to get her first proper moment of peace in eight days...but it didn't last long. The door banged back open and in bustled her Mother.

"I just saw Carys walking off in a bit of a flurry, what happened between you two? Did you have an arguement? You've never had a fight before, not in twelve years! Oh I'm sorry dear were you trying to sleep?" She'd finally noticed Ella glaring at her with her arms folded.

"Yes Mum." She said, flatly.

"Well you've been sleeping for a whole week darling more can't do you good! Now are you going to tell me about you and Carys or not?" She picked a chocolate out of the box from Joshua and threw her hands up when Ella began to protest.

"It's a coffee one Els! You don't like them, I'm practically doing you a favour." She sat down on the visitors chair, then stood up three seconds later to rearrange the flowers at the end of Ella's bed. Ella rolled her eyes. Her Mother never sat down, she could always find something to do.

"Nothing happened Mum, she just left because I said I was tired." Ella lied, and hinted. She loved her Mother, despite her inability to rest, but she didn't think she could properly explain her argument with Carys to her. She could barely explain it to herself!

"Hmmm, yes I know what you mean darling..." said her Mum, engrossed in arranging the Lillies. Ella giggled to herself. Even when her daughter was lying in a hospital bed after fighting for her life, Anne Nobel could still worry about which way some flowers were leaning.

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One week and eight bunches of flowers from Josh later ('one for every year I've known and loved you') Ella was ecstatic to be back home, and even more thrilled to have been given the all clear for dancing. She was on a course of medication to keep the pain in her back at bay, but the doctors had said it was good pain, a sign of healing. She walked into her house and was greeted by her cat Louanne, who ran towards her and brushed up against her legs, purring loudly. Ella bent down and picked her up, her Mother shouting to her to be careful as she did so.

"Hey Lou! Miss me baby girl?" Ella asked the cat, tickling her chin.

"I'll take your bag to your room sweetheart." said Kazuo Nobel, Ella's Father. Ella ran towards him.

"No Dad! I can manage it myself I'm not in any pain at the moment." Her Dad looked down, slightly hurt by this. Ella felt a pang of guilt.

"Thanks anyway Daddy." She said and kissed him on the cheek before taking her bag in one hand and still holding Louanne she walked upstairs. Her bedroom door was open, and as she walked in Louanne jumped out of her arms and padded over to her usual spot - amongst the piles of clothes that had fallen down in Ella's wardrobe. She nestled down and closed her eyes. Ella smiled at her, then went over to her window and opened the curtains.

Sunlight streamed in, and Ella had to blink twice at the brightness. Then she saw something attached to her window, flapping in the wind. It was a note, stuck to her window with sellotape. Ella opened her window, pulled it off and read it. She read it again, not quite believing what she saw. The words made her shiver in quiet terror as she recalled the pair of frightened blue eyes that had been her last memory before waking up in hospital. She scrumpled the note and threw it in the bin. She tried to forget it as she unpacked her clothes, but the words stayed in her head, flashing and flickering.

'Don't think this is over, Ella. It isn't.'