Chronicles of Lucy and Caspian [ENG]

Ballet

Lucy had always grown up in her siblings shadows- but mostly Susan's. Her sister was annoyingly talented. Singing, acting, gymnastics, horseback riding- there was nothing that Susan couldn't boast about.

Except for ballet.

For whatever reason, Susan couldn't master ballet. She could tap circles around anyone and knew her leaps and jazz squares- but she just could point her toes or twirl across the room.

That's why Lucy dedicated her life to ballet- she practiced every day for hours and hours until her toes broke and her feet bled. It was cruel and demanding habit, almost self-harming in a way, but Lucy loved it. Not even because she was "better" than Susan at dance- simply because she loved ballet.

She loved how she could tell stories and evoke feelings. She loved the feeling of stretching at the bar. She loved dancing.

....

Lucy woke up to her seven am alarm blaring some local radio station. Rubbing her eyes, Lucy tossed her covers back and headed towards the bathroom. "Edmund!" She pounded on the door, "It's my turn for the shower!"

The water turned off and her brother came out with a towel around his waist. Lucy jumped back, "Ew! Put on clothing!" She shoved past him and wasted no time hopping in the shower. At least he had left warm water for her. Lucy wet her hair and threw in some conditioner, skipping the shampoo. She gave herself a quick wash and then rinsed herself off. She was done in three minutes. Wrapping a robe around herself, she slipped back to her room.

She dressed quickly in her leotard and tights. She threw on the sweatpants she had taken from her partner last class. Brushing her hair quickly, she carefully put her hair in a ballet bun. She grabbed her bag and slipped on her toms. "Mom!" Lucy yelled as she skipped down the steps, "Mom, we have to go!"

She ran into the kitchen only to stop short upon seeing her souring looking sister. "Mother had to run Edmund to soccer, I'll be taking you to your class today." The way she spit out the words "your class" showed her contempt. "Great…" Lucy said, groaning internally. She grabbed her steel water bottled from the fridge and gestured vaguely. "Shall we?"

"Let's go." Susan snapped, heading towards her car.

The silence was thick for the first twenty-three minutes, only Susan's classical music humming at a low volume.

"How much longer to you think you'll continue…this?" Susan asked.

"As long as I can."

"You really enjoy it then."

"Yes."

The silence grew tense until Susan growled out, "Is it just because you're better than me?"

"Are you kidding me?" Lucy threw her head back, "I can't enjoy this unless it's in some gloating sense?"

"Is it?"

"Susan!" Lucy snapped, "You are amazing at everything. I can't have one thing?"

Susan had a comeback on the tip of tongue but they had arrived at the studio so Lucy stormed out of the car and slammed the door. She huffed and puffed, fluming all the way into the studio and to the back bar. Stretching, she tried to let go of her anger and breathe deeply.

"Don't tell me," A deep voice teased, "Your sister?"

"You are a mind-reader Caspian." Lucy sighed. His arms wrapped around her and she twirled into his hug. "She's a petty, jealous person." He sighed and stroked the back of her neck. She shivered a bit and buried her head into his neck, "And she hasn't even met you yet."

Caspian laughed, "She can be as jealous as she wants- she won't scare me off." He pulled back, "I'm still meeting your family tonight?"

"Yes."

"As your boyfriend, and not just your dance partner."

"I'm about thirty percent sure my dad still thinks you're gay…"

"I could prove him wrong…" Caspian wigged his eyebrows at her and she smacked his shoulder, "Caspian!"

"Hey- it got you to smile." Caspian stroked her cheek. He pressed his lips to hers for a brief moment before he pulled away, "I knew you were the one who stole my sweatpants last week."

"They're so comfortable!" Lucy groaned and he had to chuckle. "You can keep them." He pulled her towards the floor, "Come on, we have a very romantic routine to practice."