Hunted

Act 5; Meanwhile

Zack was so gonna kill him.

Not only was he stood up, but Zack received nothing but taunts from his siblings since the show began. Their friends were adding salt to the wound bymerely being there.

Well, Allison, Michelle's friend, was adding insult to injury by being on the same wavelength as his sister.

"Jeez, bro. You really got our hopes up, huh?" Michelle said during the intermission before sipping on her cup of coffee. She wore a baby blue dress that looked simple when she showed it to him on a hanger earlier. But once she wore it, accompanied by a few circlets here and there, it looked different. "To think that the eldest brother is the one who couldn't comply with the demands of the winner, that's just sad. Right, Alli?"

Allison bobbed her head with a snide grin on her face. The pair grew up together, in a way, and viewed him with the same sibling animosity. Michelle picked out her pastel red dress that showed off her fine waistline.

He grunted, then took a swig at his root beer without comment.

It really was his fault though. He should've had a backup plan. Most of his friends wouldn't come by this late in the show, so there was never a point in waiting. But this time, he invited Cooley, a dude who couldn't hold a conversation as soon as his nerves hit, but once he agrees to something, he goes through with it, a personality Zack found admirable if not for the fact that he keeps redeeming himself by acting even when it was too late.

When their Science project exploded and all of them were doomed with low grades, he was the one who asked for a second chance even when the teacher had already written on her record book.

He sighed, lowering his can to rest on his lips. The moron would definitely try to get in here, so better warn security right now.

He shuffled for his phone from his pocket, saw it was a quarter pass eight, and ignored the twitch on his forehead. He sent the text, and readied himself to enjoy the rest of the story. He better make it before the end of the show, or else that'd just be a kick under the belt of his pride as a gambler.

The balcony seats were VIP sections in the arena with four pairs of seats each. And as the seconds ticked by, closer to the recital's continuation, Cardor watched his eldest brother as he started to relax, resting his glass of orange marmalade on his crossed legs as he did so.

His companion was a clubber named Aaron White who had been tweeting away throughout the show.

On the last pair of chairs was the youngest and his companion. Raphe, the youngest Heir to attend DDA, has been asleep sitting up since the show went to intermission, and the friend of his choice, a musician boy named Simon, was utterly disgusted with his classmate's spectacle.

All throughout this, the performers got ready, and Amelia could feel her blood rush and her breathing heave in nerves. It didn't matter how many times she did it, she thought to herself, performing in front of strangers would always demolish her inner core to no end. It'd only be during the performance when she wouldn't be able to feel her own fear.

"Walters?"

She jumped. Oh God, she was so consumed by her own thoughts, she didn't realize Caesarea had been standing behind her the whole time. "S-sorry." She answered weakly, then, straighter, said "Did you need something?"

Caesarea studied her for a while before shrugging something off her shoulders and reaching her hand out toward her with a smile.

Amelia stared at the palm for a bit before taking it.

Caesarea shook it once, and let go. "It was an honor to dance with you, Walters. You were an amazing co-worker and I'm actually surprised I'm sad for it to end tonight. You have a talent in you I've never seen in anyone else before, and I know you'll make it big in the business."