Perfection † Dennor

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A week or so after the party, the ballet master informed the dancers that rehearsals with the orchestra were to begin in the next couple days. The premiere of the ballet was in two weeks, and doing rehearsals with the full cast and orchestra were super important for success. Everything sounds different with the orchestra once they're playing live, so the dancers needed to prepare for the loudness.

Lukas was super nervous for his first day of rehearsal with the orchestra. He knew Mathias was going to be there, and he knew he was going to be incredibly awkward. It had been a week since Mathias had given Lukas his number, but Lukas hadn't texted him in fear of looking too eager or saying something stupid. He was hoping today they would get a chance to speak again. 

Lukas and Tino had stopped by Starbucks to visit Berwald before rehearsal and then immediately made their way to the theatre. Tino had spent the entire stroll rambling about how excited he was for dress rehearsals to begin and how happy he was that Lukas met Mathias at the party. Lukas still hadn't told Tino that they had met prior to the party. He also hadn't told him that Mathias had given him his number. 

Lukas had been feeling a bit nauseous and hadn't eaten anything prior to starting their hour of stretching warm-ups. He knew it was detrimental to not have anything in his stomach before rehearsals but he couldn't shake his anxiety, and it was forcing his stomach to reject anything that he tried to put down. A few of his friends noticed his pale face and baggy eyes and asked him if he was alright, but Lukas simply responded with a quick nod. He knew being the principal dancer, all eyes were on him, and that certainly didn't make him feel any better. 

He knew people were watching him when his breath hitched on his first penche. Or when his legs started to shake on his releve. Or when he fell out of the turn sequence he had perfected when he was sixteen. Even his pliés looked sloppy. At one point the maître even laughed at him. Everyone knew something was wrong, they just figured Lukas was having an off-day. 

When their class was finally over, the director gave him 15 minutes of break before starting his solo rehearsal. Everyone else had an hour or so in between their rehearsals, but as primo, he didn't get much time off throughout the day. Deciding he needed to put something in his stomach so he didn't look like an idiot all day, Lukas decided to go to the starbucks down the road to get something to eat. He typically wasn't one to go to Starbucks in fear of the ridiculously high caloric intake that occured when drinking their drinks. But he knew that they sold fruit and yogurt, so he figured he could pop in, eat, and possibly say hi to Berwald if he was working. Though he had only spoken to the Swede for a few minutes, the Norwegian liked him quite a bit. Maybe it was the stone-faced silence that reminded him of himself. Or maybe it was just that Berwald looked like a very nonjudgemental person. Lukas hoped he and Tino would eventually end up dating. He wouldn't mind having a friend who didn't work at the ballet.

When Lukas finally arrived at Starbucks, he noticed Tino was already there in line. Norway snickered to himself. Of course he was there. Lukas had taken out the trash the other day and noticed the bag was 60 percent Starbucks cups. Picking a fruit and yogurt cup out from the fridge, Lukas walked to the counter and paid. Tino still hadn't noticed he was there. After ordering his drink, Tino simply continued staring at Berwald as he made it. Lukas was literally standing 3 feet away from him and Tino was still transfixed on his crush. 

After paying, Lukas walked up to Tino and cleared his throat, waiting for the Fin to respond. Tino continued staring. Lukas smirked and waved a hand in front of Tino's face, finally eliciting a reaction from the zone-out dancer. 

"Ready to get back to rehearsal?"  Lukas asked, a slightly teasing tone in his voice as Tino turned bright red. He knew Lukas had caught him staring. 

"I-uh, I didn't know you were here!" Tino stammered, his face turning slightly red as Lukas continued smirking. 

"I came to get some food" Lukas explained, holding up the fruit cup to show his roommate. 

"Oh, good! Because you looked like a mess stretching today. No offense" Tino responded, eliciting a laugh from Lukas.

"I know. I think I just need to get some food in my stomach. My legs are a little shaky when I'm hungry" Lukas admitted.

"Like they always say, you can't drive a car without gas!" Tino exclaimed as Berwald called his name from behind the counter. 

"Okay I'm going to head back. Have fun" Lukas teased as he watched Tino go and grab his drink. Lukas did a double take as he detected a slight simle on Berwald's face. He didn't know it was physically possible, but the man's lips were curled at the edges in the most discreet way possible. Lukas couldn't help but root for them. He hoped some day Tino would have the courage to ask him out, or vice versa. 

On the walk back to the theatre, Lukas noticed he only had a few minutes to eat. Sighing, he popped the plastic lid off the cup and picked out a grape, plopping it in his mouth as he entered through the back door of the theatre. He hated grapes, but as Tino said, he couldn't properly function without fuel. Lukas ate a strawberry as he walked into his dressing room. Nobody was in there because they were all on break and probably milling about getting lunch or shopping, so Lukas had the changing room all to himself. Eating another strawberry, Lukas checked the clock. He only had three minutes to get on stage. Slightly panicking, Lukas set the cup down and  grabbed his pointe shoes. His solo was the only part of the play where he was en pointe and he was always exhausted afterwards. 

After lacing them up, he quickly ran through backstage until he saw the maître. "Lukas, hurry! Hurry! Your rehearsal starts in two minutes. Don't leave the orchestra waiting" he scolded. Lukas wasn't even late yet and he was already being scolded. Lukas rolled his eyes and fast-walked to the stage, where one of the choreographers was waiting for him. Avoiding the stares of the orchestra, Lukas greeted the choreographer before being told what to do. The plan was to rehearse the solo until it was absolutely perfect. 

Lukas took a deep breath and positioned himself at the start of his solo. He could feel the stares from the orchestra. He knew Mathias was there but he tried to block it out as he felt his nervousness rising. He had never felt nervous dancing. Dancing was when he was most relaxed. But today he was an absolute mess, and he didn't know whether it was the lack of food or the Dane. 

As Lukas heard the music begin, he blocked everything out. Thank god for music, because without it, Lukas would be lost. As soon as he heard the first note of the song, the jitters disappeared, and he moved with the music as gracefully as he had in previous rehearsals. 

He was feeling pretty good about his form, and he pretty muched nailed every turn and jump in the first half of the variation, but his ankle unlocked on his arabesque, and he face-planted the ground. The orchestra immediately stopped playing and his choreographer gasped and Lukas got up from the ground with a bloody nose. 

"Lukas, what was that?! You've never fallen on an arabesque before" the choregrapher asked, brushing the dust off of Lukas's shoulders as he tilted his head backwards to stop the blood from flowing onto the stage. 

"I think it's the stitching on my pointe shoes" Lukas lied, not wanting his choreographer to kill him by telling her that the only things he had eaten all day were a grape and two strawberries. 

"Okay, well work through it for now and then I'll get them stitched properly while you're taping your ankle" she said, handing Lukas a tissue from her pocket. Lukas nodded and held the tissue up to his nose until it finally stopped bleeding. When he was finally ready to start again, he made his way back to the 'x' on the stage that marked where he started. He knew where he started at this point, but the choreographers still insisted on putting an 'x' just in case. 

The music started again, and so did Lukas. He perfectly executed the first part, and this time, when he got to the arabesque he was extra careful and made sure his ankle was locked completely. As he moved onto the second half, he could feel his body getting weaker. Mid-tour jete, Lukas saw black dots scattering the audience. His vision was going. Landing with a thud, Lukas dropped to the ground and hit his head. All he could hear was his choreographer's gasp before his eyes closed and his consciousness faded. 

Okay kids my b for not updating in 600 years y'know I've got school and all that jazz (no pun intended). This was a longer chapter because I'm sorry for not updating... Anyway, thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed <3