Unexpected

A sudden engagement?!

Chapter 7

Leon was unsure how to react. He looked away in shame as his character was supposed to, he didn't move as Sora stepped closer. The crowd gasped as the grotesqueness of his face was unveiled, Sora didn't flinch. Her hand moved to his face, her fingertips gently traced the raised bumps across his face, they hadn't rehearsed this. He stood perfectly still and hoped the fake skin wasn't sticky anymore. Her fingers moved from his face and she looked straight into his eyes. Her eyes fluttered closed as she moved in.

He was caught off guard, but the audience couldn't know that. Her lips were soft and warm against his and he knew she could tell he was surprised. This wasn't part of the scene, he thought, but the audience doesn't know that. Despite the unexpectedness of the action, Sora's lips felt like warm silk, and strangely familiar. The heat spread through Leon's body, he felt as though he couldn't control his actions as his arms moved to envelope Sora's petite frame, he pulled her flush against him and returned the kiss.

"I can't do that!" Sora nearly screamed when Cathy whispered in her ear.

"Why not?" Cathy asked. "You're both actors, both performers, just think of it as another act, a kiss can't be as bad as the way you're pressed together when you perform."

"But he-" has a girlfriend, she didn't finish the statement out loud. Leon hadn't really said anything himself, Sora thought as the icy feeling in her chest spread; at least he hadn't to her. Her chest felt heavy as she thought of the idea of Leon holding someone other than her in his arms. She mentally slapped herself, of course he'd held others, she wasn't his first partner.

"Just do it, It'll tie the whole thing together." Cathy finished and Sora knew there was no winning an argument against Cathy.

Sora felt Leon tense up. Oh no, she thought, she feared he'd pull away, for more reasons than one. Just play along! She willed and much to her relief, his arms wrapped around her in a tight embrace and his lips softened against hers, she felt his lips part slightly as she breathed in his scent. Leon tasted of mint and spice, she felt his strong hands move up her back and hers found their way into his hair. It was as if all time had stopped. Neither of them heard the crowd cheer, neither of them noticed the mob left after they found the mask on the ground, and neither of them noticed anything but each other. Everything just seemed right in that moment. Sora forgot about Annette, about the audience, even about the need for air, but it seems they both forgot that one as they pulled apart slowly; she discreetly inhaled Leon's spice and lavender scent as he pulled her into an embrace. There they stayed until the lights began to dim, the crowd cheered, Sora gasped silently. She had completely forgotten about the audience, Sora froze up and she was sure Leon noticed. Then Leon did something unexpected, He scooped Sora into his arms and held her tightly to his chest as he leapt out into the darkness that was the trapeze platform, the Phantom finally got his love.

Leon could feel Sora tense up as they pulled apart, the crowd went wild and he knew that the ending of the show didn't go as planned. To say he was caught off guard was an understatement, he never thought Sora would have kissed him, let alone in front of the whole audience, what was happening? He struggled to slow his heart back to normal as he held Sora in his arms, hoping she wouldn't notice. He needed to act fast, in was completely intolerable for performers to be lost on stage, they couldn't just stay there; the audience would know it wasn't planned. A thought struck him. The Phantom never seemed to be able to keep his love; he was doomed to die alone in the darkness of the underground caverns he called home. But this show wasn't going as plan, so he may as well ad-lib a little more.

Leon scooped Sora up into his arms, she relaxed against him, a sign of trust, as he'd come to learn. He quickly and discreetly looked around and found his target. Aiming for the side platform, Leon jumped with Sora in his arms. What the audience saw, was the two lovers escaping, never to be seen again.

Backstage was still a little dim as Leon set Sora on her feet, the house lights began to brighten, signaling the ending of the show, he knew Cathy was right on top of things as usual. Leon noticed Sora step away a little quicker than he would have liked. He heard the others' footsteps as the cast made their way backstage. Sora wouldn't look at him; his chest felt heavy. Leon raised a hand to her, his mouth parted as he was about to speak, but he seemed at a loss for words. He let his arm go limp at his side and turned away, his heart still speeding. He needed to think.

Sora could feel her face heat up as Leon set her on her feet backstage, the audience was till cheering as the house lights began to glow, Sora couldn't bring herself to look at Leon. The rest of the crew came out to congratulate them on a successful show; Sora smiled and accepted their praises. She was glad for a distraction but also apprehensive; she was scared to see Leon's reaction and she hoped he wouldn't hate her.

"Thank you." She heard him say to a crew member as they congratulated him on the show, her face flushed more.

"Sora!" yelled a familiar voice, she turned to see a familiar young redhead run to her, though she wasn't quite so tall the last time Sora saw her.

"Rosetta!" Sora cried as the young diablo performer nearly tackled her to the ground. Rosetta was now 19 and fully grown; standing a few inches taller than Sora with her hair grown a little past her shoulders now, her gray eyes shown as she hugged her old friend. Sora couldn't help but gush at how much Rosetta had grown since they last saw each other, she looked good, how she'd missed her, the usual stuff. "How was Berlin?" Sora asked as the pulled apart.

"It was great!" She cried, Rosetta had been doing an international tour with various circuses doing a mix of trapeze and the diablo, her training on the swings had paid off over the years and she now guest starred in many shows all over the world. "The weather was awesome! And the sights were amazing!" She beamed. "And so were some of my partners," she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, Sora couldn't help but giggle.

"Hey, Leon!" Rosetta cried when she looked past Sora, she jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug; Sora couldn't help but look at him now and couldn't help but laugh at the look of shock on his face right then. He brought an arm up and patted Rosetta on the back awkwardly as he greeted her.

"It is nice to see you too." He replied with a hint of a smile on his face.

"Rosetta, you made it." Sora nearly jumped three feet into the air. She was so caught up in Leon's smile that she never even noticed Kalos standing behind her.

"Hey, Kalos!" Rosetta gave him a hug also, she'd missed everyone. "How's Sarah?"

"Sarah is just fine!" They heard the British woman call over the noise of the crowd that was now backstage. The blonde singer walked up and wrapped Rosetta in an embrace, everyone was excited to see her, even May seemed to be stuck to her side.

"Wow, you look great!" Rosetta said, indicating the black dress she was wearing. Sarah was clothed in a knee length black dress which was shorter on one side that the other and had an halter neckline that dipped low and hugged her body almost like a second skin, her waist length chestnut blonde hair was pulled into a loose yet elegant bun at the top of her head; she looked ravishing.

"We were just about to go out for a late dinner." Sarah explained as Sora finally saw how Kalos was dressed, he wore black slacks and a white buttoned shirt, a change from his normal shorts and buttoned short-sleeved shirt. Sarah and Kalos had been together for a long time, though at first Kalos didn't really want to admit his feelings for Sarah, he'd even urged her to go sing in New York at some point, feeling like he was holding her back, but she stayed because she loved him.

"We don't want to hold you guys up." May said from next to Sora, she was still in her Carlota costume and Sora could tell she was just itching to get out of it. Ken jogged up behind the group that now consisted of Anna, Mia, May, Sora, Leon and a few others. Ken had been finishing some last minute details in the control booth, taking care of the show's tapes and whatnot. Rosetta attacked him next, earning a glare from May, but May quickly got over it and laughed at Ken's reaction.

"Wow, Rosetta, you've grown!" Ken laughed holding her at arm's length.

"I am nineteen after all!" She laughed, "What did you expect!"

"Not for you to be almost taller than me, that's what!" This elicited a laugh from all around.

"Leon," Kalos called over the noise, "Can you lock up for me?"

"Of course." Leon said evenly.

"Thank's," To Sarah, "We'll be late for our reservations."

"By all means," Sarah said, glancing at her watch, "Let's go."

"I'll talk to you tomorrow, Kalos," Rosetta called.

"Have fun!" Sora called. She turned to see Annette by Leon's side, Sora had nearly forgotten that she was back and her heart dropped to her stomach; she was sure that Annette had seen the kiss. Annette smiled at Leon and then saw Sora, her smile stayed in place and she waved with much enthusiasm, Sora tried to smile back but a feeling of unease settled about her. Leon began speaking again so Annette turned back to face him, he seemed to be introducing her to Rosetta.

Sora's stomach began to feel a bit queasy and she suddenly felt very hot. Her medicine must have worn off and the excitement seemed to be too much since Sora was feeling unwell. She became a little light headed.

"Are you feeling okay, Sora?" Mia asked, concern showed on her face. "You look a little flushed."

Sora could feel the others turn to look at her. "I'm fine," she replied, "just an upset stomach is all." Anna moved forward a put a hand to Sora's forehead and placed the other on her own.

"You do feel a little warm, are you sure you're okay?" She questioned.

"I'm fine," Sora insisted, she could hear the slight irritation in her voice and hoped nobody else caught it; she had no clue why she was irritated though, her friends were just showing concern. Her stomach twisted; maybe she was getting the flu, hopefully not for she had another show the next day.

Leon chose this moment to speak up. "You should rest." Everybody stared at him now, it wasn't much like him to voice his concerns but then again Sora had been his partner for a few years now and he knew that performing when not fully rested could be potentially dangerous.

"But I should help clean up and everything, it wouldn't be right for me to leave it all to you guys." Sora insisted.

"Just go," May said, pushing Sora in the direction of her dressing room, "we can handle it just fine without you."

"But-" Sora began, only to be cut off by May again. In her mind, Sora knew there was no winning this argument.

Annette couldn't help but notice the way Leon watched Sora as she walked away. His eyes seemed to be drawn to her and Annette didn't think Leon noticed it himself. Annette had seen the way Leon's face lit up as soon as Sora walked into a room, though he'd mastered his poker face so well that only one who's known him for years would be able to pick up on it. She'd seen how he'd watch her and knew he thought of her, that kiss was only going to cement her into his mind even more than she already was. Annette couldn't help but smile at her discovery; she'd never seen Leon so smitten.

She turned to Leon and said "Well done, the show was very entertaining." Her English was getting better every day. In French she said "You seemed to enjoy that particular scene," mischief lined her words as her statement brought a little pink into his cheeks, he turned away and walked toward his own dressing room, Annette knew he was trying to hide it, but she took his silence as a yes. She walked back to the group with a sly grin on her face.

Sora felt even worse the next day, her nausea seemed to have subsided a bit but her head felt like someone had used it as a soccer ball and she was exhausted even though she'd had at least 8 hours of sleep. She dreaded having to go to practice that day.

Sora finally managed to drag herself out of bed when she was then attacked by an onslaught of goose bumps and chills. She immediately decided to jump in the shower and try to clear her head. Her headache didn't go away any when she emerged twenty minutes later, her stomach twisted a little as she brushed her teeth, the mint seemed to upset her stomach a bit. She opened the medicine cabinet and took some painkillers for her head, hoping the throbbing would subside by the time she had to practice.

The stage was busy as usual when Sora walked in later that morning. Stage hands were running back and forth, shouting to each other to see who moved what the night before. There was another show scheduled for that night and people were doing their rounds again, for the fortieth time, but the Kaleido Stage isn't the best for nothing.

Sora was wearing a pair of white shorts and a baby blue tank top, her hair was pulled into a lazy looking bun and she had bags under her eyes. Nobody really noticed on account of being too busy to even see her. Sora made her way to her dressing room to change into her practice clothes.

May stood outside the practice room just listening. She would hear squeaks and grunts from the other side and she smiled. The swings could handle the strain; that's what they were made for. She heard a dull thud as the net caught Ken. She heard him grunt as he pulled himself back up.

She sometimes liked to just listen to him practice; it was kind of inspiring in a way that he'd want to continue after so many years of not performing. She moved on to rehearsals with a newfound energy.

She nearly ran into Sora as she left her dressing room.

"You look like hell!" May said when she really saw Sora's face. She had dark circles under her eyes, her skin was pale and she looked physically drained.

"Gee, thanks." Sora said sarcastically. She rubbed her temple as she tried to stifle a yawn.

"You all set for the show tonight?" May asked, concerned. She rose placed her hand on Sora's forehead, "You still feel feverish."

"I'll be fine," Sora sighed, brushing her hand off, "I'll just take a nap or something later." She started walking towards the stage. Leon was yet again laughing with Annette and that did nothing to help Sora's mood.

He gave a small wave and returned to his conversation, Sora nodded in his direction.

Sarah was there today along with Layla, they were speaking to Cathy about the show; Sarah liked to tell the crew about the audience's comments and Layla occasionally stopped by just to see how things were doing. Sora waved to them and got to work.

Sora started stretching; her limbs felt like they weighed a hundred pounds each and her back was stiff. She spent more time warming up than usual and Leon seemed to take notice, not that she knew.

May went over to Sarah and started talking about who knows what when she gasped loudly enough that everybody actually stopped what they were doing to look at her.

May was holding Sarah's left hand and seemed to be inspecting it rather closely, her eyes wide and her mouth agape; she was silent for once.

Charlotte and Julie went to see what May was so shocked about when Julie nearly screamed. "Look at that ring!"

Suddenly all the females in the room crowded about Sarah and the air was filled with excited squeals, Sora was the last one to get there and saw what all the commotion was about. There on Sarah's left ring finger was a shining princess cut diamond set in a stunning white-gold band that shone in the stagelights.