only yours | gxg

「1」

"How you feeling?" I asked, grabbing her hands and playing with her thumbs as I looked into her light brown eyes, a sense of comfort washing over her.

"Excited. Nervous. But mainly excited." she laughed slightly and I assured her with another small smile.

"You're going to do amazing, as you always do!" I winked, and her smile widened as she hugged me, pulling her arms tightly around my neck.

"Miss Woods!" the coordinator called out, a clipboard in his hand. She released me and smiled as I returned one back, running off back to the stage as they started their last dance rehearsal.

————

As I noticed the back door opening a couple hours later, a single file line of families and friends entering the building, I rushed backstage. I opened the door, chaos ensued before me. Even the coordinator looked stressed out. Ashley sat on the counter, dangling her legs around and looking at the floor - a known habit of hers that she was nervous.

I clapped my hands, grabbing all attention from everyone in the room.

"Look, we can't be doing this right now people. This may be one of your last performances before you guys graduate, you have to give everyone everything you have. And freaking out right now won't do that." I announced, one of the only students who looked calm and collected walked up to me.

"Claire. They're probably just freaking out because this is our first performance in London." Martin said, his caramel skin shining slightly from stage makeup. I nodded, understanding the situation.

"I get it, but there's nothing different about performing here. I've seen you all dance before and I know how talented you are. I know there's still some stress and some people just flew in here from last night but jet lag isn't going to be an excuse right now. This is your stage. I've seen you guys perform in front of the most professional dancers with 100% focus. I know your family is watching and maybe your friends too, but that should only make you more proud to actually perform in front of them. Give it your all."

Suddenly the whole room nodded, agreeing with me, some people clapping and cheering as the coordinators continued walking around trying to make sure everything was in place. Some people were going over some of the moves with one another in the cramped room. As if I had just said the magic word, or snapped my fingers, everything fell back into place. Ashley smiled and hugged me again, showing me her warmth as her limbs stopped shaking from nervousness.

"That's my best friend." she mumbled against my neck, and I giggled from the tickling sensation.

————

The time was going by quickly, the dance team already in their positions as they were ready to start dancing. My eyes never left Ashley's, her eyes growing dark, showing me she was ready to perform as she set her focus on me. I nodded slowly and she smiled at me, getting ready to push through the opening curtain and give it her all. I disappeared behind the door and joined the staff backstage again, as they had been watching the big screen the whole time, sipping slowly on their coffee.

I joined them, watching the students in white gracefully dance to the music. Martin lifted up a female student in a spin, followed by different duets of boys and girls doing their own lifts and spins. Then suddenly, the elegant, soft music was cut off. The lights flashed from a light blue to a deep dark red, a spotlight focused on the centre of the stage as the dark velvet curtains pushed open, showcasing Ashley in her black costume. Black wings lumbered on each side of her back.

She was snapped into performance mode, the other students being pushed away as she performed on her own, grabbing the attention of the shocked audience. The music increased in terror as my best friend focused on her graceful yet choppy spins. Her body shook violently along with the music, and suddenly the stage was swarmed back with the students in white, pulling an invisible rope against her, spinning around and dropping onto the floor.