In Pursuit of Perfection | Nalu | Collab with ofthefeels

| Chapter 1 |

Swan Lake, by Tchaikovsky

| Chapter 1 |

For Lucy Heartfilia, the trick to nailing the audition was to not overdo it on warm-ups. She couldn't help it sometimes, though. Only when she was sweating and working to her fullest potential did she feel ready to take on the world—or an audition.

She peeked behind the velvet curtains, standing on her toes as she studied the people seated at a table in the audience. There were three judges in total: the director of Juilliard on the left, a man with flaming red hair in the middle, and a woman with brown hair on the right. Starbucks coffee cups littered the long table and paper scattered everywhere as if the wooden table was the desk of a sleep-deprived worker. The man in the middle glanced at his clipboard and pushed his glasses to the bridge of his nose.

"Lucy Heartfilia..." he started, as she inhaled deeply. "...and Natsu Dragneel." Murmurs and whispers rang throughout the stage and backstage and she instinctively reached up to smoothen her already-perfect bun. Although the staring and hushed talking were frequent occurrences, it still sent prickles down her spine.

"Good luck, Flame Brain. Hope you break a leg," someone said behind her. A loud scuffling noise echoed in the backstage. Turning around, she spotted a boy with pink hair, smirking at a black-haired boy next to him. It was wrong to stare at people, but she couldn't help it. His hair was pink. Pink!

"Watch as I do so much better than you on your audition, Ice Princess," the pink-haired boy shot back. Snorting, his friend walked out the backstage, leaving him there standing alone as he turned around to face Lucy. His white and wrinkled t-shirt and busted up slippers left her cringing, not to mention his hair. Not only was it such an unusual color for hair, but it was all over the place as if he just woke up. He grinned at her and she frowned back. She would slap herself if she ever went into an audition grinning. She and her father. Why couldn't she have been paired up with a more serious partner?

"I'm guessing you're my Odette for the audition?" he joked, giving her a lopsided smile.

She nodded, her face grim. "I hope you'll take this seriously, since I need to get the lead role."

His grin faltered and her conscience scolded her for being so hard on him, but she pushed it away.

"The world is a tough place and only those who are tough can thrive. You must be tough, too, especially on yourself in order to become the best you can be and succeed," her father said, so many times it'd be impossible to count.

"I will," he said.

"Good," she said, turning towards the main stage. Whispers still echoed throughout the auditorium, but she couldn't focus on them right now. She had an audition to nail and for that, she needed to be strict on herself. She needed to be 100% focused on the routine.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and quickly went through her routine in her head, pausing at certain parts for important notes. She opened her eyes and cleared her mind of any distractions, focusing on the audition and the audition only.

This was it. The moment she had been practicing for the last four months.

"Ready?" he asked. She nodded, and together, they walked onto the stage with her chin high, back straight, and toes pointed. Determination shone in every step she took towards the center stage. Turning to face the judges, she lifted the corners of her lips just a little.

"Hello, Lucy Heartfilia and Natsu Dragneel," the director said, smiling back. "It's so nice to have you two here this afternoon."

"The pleasure is all mine," she said, politely as she dropped into a graceful curtsy. "I hope to deliver a wonderful performance for you all."