Fate's Identity

Chapter 24

"Ally, hold still," Dinah said.

I groan, feeling my face frozen. "Dinah, you're taking too long."

"Well, putting on makeup is not exactly a walk in the park. Besides, I'm almost done," she says, adding the pale lipstick on my lips. "Okay, I'm done."

She moves away, revealing the mirror in front of me. I stare at my own reflection. My hair was in a messy bun. My face looks pale yet elegant. Dinah did an amazing job. "Thank you," I said.

"Anytime," she says. "Now, to do Jane's hair."

She pulls my hair back a little, causing me to squirm and yelp. "Sorry," she said.

I give her a sympathetic look. "It's alright," I said. Dinah undoes my messy bun and lets my hair fall back.

Today was it. The very first performance. My stomach has butterflies, and I feel like throwing up. The first performance is always a test: to see whether one is capable of doing something new in front of an audience. Whether it's music, acting, editing, or writing, they all are the same.

My biggest prayer for tonight is to hope that everything goes well.

We hear someone knocking on the door. Dinah and I face the door and see Niall's head popping inside. "Ten more minutes."

"We're almost done," Dinah says.

Niall glances at me, and immediately, my stomach feels more than butterflies. It felt like someone had kicked me in the stomach as I read his eyes. Hurt was one word to describe it.

Niall exits and closes the door. Dinah sigh. "Ally, he will forgive you. Just let him take some time," she says.

I nod my head.

But what if we don't go back to where we were? What if he hates me to the point where we can't be in the same room anymore?

That thought scares me the most. It's weird not having Niall by my side.

"Finish," Dinah announces proudly.

I lean forward in my seat, looking at the bun she made and the curly locks falling on the side of my face. I look...great.

"You did a great job," I said. I stand up and straighten out my dress.

"You're welcome," she replies. "Now, I will be back. Please don't leave without me." I smile through the mirror, catching Dinah's reflected eyes, and nod my head.

She exits the room, and I admire myself once more. At this point, I decided to do some acting warmups to shake my nervousness away. I stretch my face and made weird faces. I shake my hands wildly. A laugh escapes my mouth, seeing how ridiculous I looked.

I hear the door cracking open, and without looking, I assume it was Dinah. I turn around and flinch. I blink my eyes a couple of times and see Jade standing right before me, already dress in her outfit.

"Jade," I mumble.

Her smirk turns into a smile. "Ally, how are you feeling?" Her tone sends chills running on my spine. Her wide lip did not seem to be as fearful as her wide eyes.

"Good," I reply softly. She stomps the floor, walking towards me. I take steps back. "What are you doing here?"

"What?" Jade asks, giving me a smug look. My back hits the edge of the table, and I knew that she had me in a corner. "Can't an old friend say hello to an old friend?"

"Y-yeah," I reply.

Just like that, Jade's expression melts away. She clenched her fists and grits her teeth. Her eyes grew red with fury.

"Don't play innocent!" Jade screams.

"I'm sorry, Jade, but whatever made you mad does not include me," I said.

"Does not?" Jade questions as if it was the most ridiculous thing she has ever heard. A chuckle escapes her lips. "Everything that I do was because of you. And I will not let you win."

"This isn't a competition," I said.

"Right," Jade says, rolling her eyes. "You know very well that Troy loved me first! Yet, you stole him from me. You couldn't get your greedy little virgin hands off of him."

I blink a couple times, finding my strength and courage. "Jade, you know very well that that is not what happened."

"I know very well what happened," Jade says. "He and I were together first, but then, you came along and ruin that. You cast a spell on him with your black magic. He soon became your slave until you got tired of him."

"Jade, you're making no sense," I said. "Are you okay?"

"I make perfect sense, and no, I am not okay. You stole Troy away from me, and you've taken Liam. They both loved me first," she says. "I was their first. First kiss. First date. First sex. You're just a rebound."

"Jade, if you're here just to insult me, then I suggest you get out," I point towards the exit.

"I will," she says. "But just remember this, what Liam has done to you, he has done to me first." She slams the door behind her.

A lump forms in my throat as my eyes wonder. Liam and Jade...? Ugh! I shiver in disgust. I can't believe Liam would do that. Or Jade just said that to get under my skin. Either way, I was not okay.

The door opens once more. This time, it was Dinah. She smiles at me, but that soon fades once she saw my expression. "What happened?" she asks.

I shake my head and put on a fake smile. "Nothing. I'm just nervous," I grab onto her arm. "Come on. We have to get going."

"Okay..." I yank her arm out of the room. We part when we were on the steps behind the stage. I peek through the curtains and see a vast majority of people sitting down, waiting patiently.

I turn around, and without knowing, I ran over somebody's foot and hit the floor. I moan softly, feeling my hands shake. A giggle forms behind me. "Watch it, Brooke," Jesy's voice taunts me. I remain on the floor, not making any eye contact with them. I force myself to stay calm, even though my heart grew angry.

I hear her footsteps clanking on the floor until they became distant. I raise my head and sit up straight. I slowly pull my knee in without ruining my dress. As I do, a stinging sensation ran throughout my body from my right ankle.

Not again.

I prop my hands against the floor and pull myself off the ground. I immediately almost fell down, but I pick myself back up. I slowly limp up the stage, behind the curtains, where the rest of my classmates were.

"Ally, there you are," Camila says, running up to me.

I nod my head, smiling through my pain. "Sorry I'm late," I said.

Ms. Gomez nods her head. "Well, it's better than never at all," she says.

Camila pulls on my arm, and I lost my balance and fell on her. However, Camila was strong enough to hold the both of us together. My movement causes a loud gasp.

"Ally," I hear Liam speak. My eyes shift to the left where he stood a couple inches away. His hands held my arm tightly. "Are you okay?" He asks.

I look at him before I shift my eyes down to his neck where there used to be Jade's lipstick imprinted there.

"Are you okay, Ms. Hernandez?" Ms. Gomez asks, crossing her arms.

I nodded. "Yes, I am. I just lost my balance."

I turn back to Liam's hands holding my arm. I glance back at the crew and slowly pull my arm back. "Liam, I'm okay. You don't have to hold on."

Liam creases his brows at me. Confusion washed over his face. I turn away, not being able to look at him.

"Okay, everyone, please be the best performers you've ever been tonight," Ms. Gomez says. "I believe in all of you. Make me proud."

We nod our heads. Ms. Gomez turns around as we get in our position. I slowly limp off the center of the stage. The curtains open, and I waited until it was time for me to come in.