𝐁𝐮𝐛𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐖𝐫𝐚𝐩 𝐁𝐚𝐛𝐲 |» 𝘫.𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘰

-its not soccer luke. its called rehearsal-

The sun had gone down and Ellouise sat on the floor of Miss Patty’s with beads of sweat dripping down her forehead as the music played in the background. Alone, she was practicing her ballet. It had been years since she had last danced, making her out of practice. Her feet were aching in her pointe shoes that were 2 sizes too small.

Pushing herself off the floor, she stood up and moved her body in time with the music, trying to lift her leg straight up. Losing her balance, the girl fell flat on her face. In frustration, she wandered over to her bag and kicked it against the wall. “For God’s sake!” she yelled at herself.

“Woah, chillax, Wilkins,” Jess murmured from the doorway making Ellouise jump.

“Jeez, Warn a person,” she sighed, shaking her head and holding her hand to her chest. Grabbing her bottle of water, she chugged it, sucking up as much water as she could get. “What?” she narrowed her eyebrows at the boy staring at her.

“Since when did you dance?” he questioned.

“Since I was three,” Ellouise shrugged.

“Huh,” he nodded, crossing his arms as he leaned against the sliding door.

“What now?” the girl sighed, getting more and more irritable by the second.

Jess stood up straight and approached her, “For someone as committed to dance as you seem, you’ve never spoken about it before.”

“I haven’t danced since the end of middle school,” the blonde sighed, brushing back her wet baby hairs
from her face.

“Any particular reason for that?” Jess continued to interrogate her.
Wandering into the middle of the room and looking in the huge mirrors, she lifted her leg high in the air.

“Yeah,” she muttered through the stretch, observing her movements in the reflection. “My parents wanted me to focus on my grades,” she sighed. “I can’t get my leg high enough!” she shouted into her
hands that she had brought to her face.

Lifting her leg onto the ballet bar, she leaned over it and touched her toes. “Oh, that looks painful,” Jess muttered as he watched her.

“So, what are you just gonna stand there or do me a favor,” she snapped at the boy who instantly stood next to her.

“What can I do for you, Milady?”

Dragging him by the sleeve into the middle of the room, she put her hands on his shoulders and raised her leg in the air. Jess looked at the straight line she had created with her body. Letting go of him, he
stepped back and watched as she balanced herself on one leg.

Finally dropping her leg to the ground, she ran over to the boy and hugged him around the neck. “I did it!” she cheered. “Oh, sorry,” Ellouise muttered as she stepped away from the guy and looked down. “I’m all sweaty and,”

Jess cut her off, “No, It’s fine,” he nodded. “Hey, you want some coffee?” he asked, using his thumb to point towards the diner across the street.

“Sure,” she smiled, picking up her bag and locking up the studio as she left. The cold air made her shiver for a second because she was still in her leotard.

Walking into the deserted diner, she smiled at Luke who was pouring coffee grounds into the coffee machine. He glanced at her for a second but then turned around fully. “What are you wearing?” Luke
scolded as he looked at Ellouise’s skin sight leotard. He covered his own eyes, “God, put something on!”

Ellouise chuckled as Jess tosses her his denim jacket with a fluffy collar. “Luke you can open your eyes now,” she chuckled and sat down at the counter.