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

Chapter 3

Ella Nobel awoke from uneasy dreams to find Louanne fast asleep amongst Ella's clothes at the bottom of her wardrobe, despite the fact that she'd hung them all up the night before. Ella sighed, but didn't have the heart to wake her. She slid quietly out of bed and down the stairs, pulling pieces of her hair as she did so. Ella always did this when she was stressed, quite subconsciously, which meant that anyone could tell when there was something on her mind. Her Mother used this to stunning advantage.

Luckily for Ella it was a Friday, which meant that both her Mum and Dad were working today. Ella looked at the clock on the kitchen wall. 11.05. Both her parents were well away, and wouldn't be back until 5.30 at the earliest. She would usually have enjoyed having the house to herself, but lying alone in a hospital bed for so long had put her off the idea. She hadn't realised how much she enjoyed other peoples company, nor how much she needed it. She bit her lip thoughtfully. Her Father had offered to stay home from work, but Ella insisted she would be "perfectly fine without parental guidance thankyou". She didn't think about the fact that she was alone, in an empty house, with her attacker still out there somewhere...

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Someone else did. But there was no way to take advantage of her position. At least they had her scared, the note was a nice touch. There was time to plan the next move, but not too much time. They mustn't let her grow much stronger, the dance performance was three months away, which gave them plenty of chances to toy with her, but also a great chance for her to improve. No. That would not do. Not after what she'd done to them, how she'd treated them. Miss Prima Ballerina was due some pain. She was about to ride through Hell.

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Ella was stupid, in the particular way that very clever and talented people can be stupid. She was as nieve as a baby lamb, but had a sting like a bee when she needed it. But she was stupid, in that it would never have crossed her mind that walking alone in the woods the day after being let out of hospital after being attacked would be a dangerous idea. She wanted to get back to her level of fitness as quick as possible, and the pain killers were doing their job well. The sooner she got better at walking, she thought, the sooner she'd be able to dance again. That's all that was on Ella's mind, dancing again. As she drifted mindlessly through the woods near her house, she thought about Giselle, the character she would embody and embrace in the weeks to come. She already knew her extremely well, almost better than she knew herself, not that she knew that. Giselle was beautiful, graceful, sweet and talented, all traits that Ella herself possessed. They also had something else in common, the ability to fall deeply, madly and helplessly in love very quickly. Giselle's love was Albrecht. Ella's was Ryan O'Connor, her very own nobleman in disguise. That wouldn't be a surprise, he looked like he could be a prince. A beautiful Irish prince... Ella caught herself blushing, and giggled to herself. The sound was quiet, but echoed out through the hollow forest. She shivered. The sound reminded her just how alone she was. She changed her course and headed for home, her thoughts still on Ryan. If he'd been there that night, he would have protected her. he always did. Ella always told him she was fine, that she could take care of herself, but in reality she relished in the attention and the protection that his warm green eyes would bring her. The way he looked at her, she simply melted inside. But, he was her onstage love interest too, and Ella knew that she had to keep things strictly professional - at least for now. The sky was beginning to grow dark clouds that looked ready to burst soon. But her mind was full of sunlight at the thought of Ryan's cheeky smile, and the way he pushed his hair back when she talked to him.

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The figure stepped cautiously into the hallway, obviously nervous but trying hard to diminish any signals that may cause suspicion amongst anyone who walked past. They had the information they needed. Locker 238. The note nestled quietly in the back pocket of their jeans as they made their way down the hall, down towards the lockers. No one was around, there was no need for nerves. Surely it wasn't this easy? Taping the note to Ella's window was easy, but then it was guaranteed that no one would be around. Here a teacher or a student could walk through at any moment. But, slightly to their horror, they enjoyed the thrill of it. It was the same thrill that had succeeded the initial panic, that had rushed through them when Ella had slumped neatly to the ground and they had ran, ran, ran for their life, leaving no trace. The perfect crime. But now was no time to dwell upon, those memories. Locker 238 stood before them. A quick glance around told them that they were alone, and the note was swiftly unfolded and slid underneath the locker door. She would find it soon. The plan was truly in action.

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A sudden gust of wind caught Ella's hair and blew it playfully around her face. she brushed it from her eyes and pulled her coat tighter. It was late June, but this was stronger than any Summer breeze. It was starting to get colder, and Ella increased her pace as she made her way home. She quickly took out her phone and glanced at the time. 5.27. Crap. She'd left nearly four hours ago! How had it got so late? Her Mother could be home soon, and Carys and other friends had been out of college for an hour. If she'd realised she would have called Carys and asked to meet up with her, why did she suddenly feel so alone? Oh, but she'd fought with Carys. She probably hated her. But, they were best friends. Surely they could make it through anything. She decided that she'd make up with her as soon as possible, but right now she needed to concentrate on getting home. Which way was it again?..

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5.40. There stood Ella's house, quietly nestled between the thickets and hedges. It was such a peaceful place, it looked like something out of a fairy tale. But the princess inside was far from a princess, the figure peering over the gate thought. She was beautiful, but she wasn't the perfect girl everyone thought her to be. She was self-centred, cruel, mean and heartless. These words made their blood boil and their fingers itch as they unlocked the gate and walked quickly towards the front door. There was the trellis, entagled with climbing roses, but leaving just enough space for a fairly small foot to gain grip enough to climb. They walked towards it, the paperclip burning in their back pocket, burning to be used. The lock would be easy enough to pick, just a few more steps now...

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Ella was running now. She was screwed if her Mum was already back. She turned the corner at such a pace, she nearly skidded over on the damp grass. She saw her gate was already unlocked, not a good sign, she must be back! She pelted to the front door, then nearly skidded over again, this time in shock.

"Josh?"

Joshua Dennis span around, eyes wide with surprise, hands clutching a bunch of flowers so hard his knuckles were white.

"Ella! Oh, Hi! I was wondering why you didn't answer the door. How are you feling? Any better? Or worse? I brought you some flowers!" He thrust the bouquet clumsily into Ella's chest, then toyed with his hands nervously.

"Umm. Thanks Josh. How...kind." He gave her a quick smile, then focused his gaze downwards. He wouldn't meet her eyes, but Ella was not particularly upset by this.

"I'm sorry, I've got to be going...into my house I mean. There's...things to do." Ella moved around him towards her door. She prayed he'd get the message to GO AWAY!

"Oh right. Sure. Well, see you at dance or college soon yeah?" He asked.

"I'll...be at dance tomorrow." She said, avoiding answering the question directly. He nodded, then opened his mouth to say something but turned sharply and shuffled back down the garden path, like a puppy with it's tail between it's legs. Ella wasn't sure whether to laugh or cringe, so she did both. She pitied Joshua with his nervous ways. He didn't have many friends, he was bullied for being a ballet dancer rather alot. The guys at Ella's college had no sympathy for someone who couldn't kick a football. She unlocked her door and walked inside, relieved her Mother wasn't already in. That was one close call.

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The figure watched Ella walk into her house, then came out from behind the wall. That had been close. If it wasn't for that stupid boy the deed would already be done. But they mustn't get too angry. Another time. Another time...

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AUTHORS NOTE:

Sorry that took so long, havn't seemed to have much time over the last week. The book actually made it to #123 in the Thriller charts for a while! I was really proud of that :) Keep reading!

Ceri xx