In Pursuit of Perfection | Nalu | Collab with ofthefeels

| Chapter 2 |

Drag Me Down, by One Direction

| Previously in Chapter 1 |

Walking out the backstage with her head held high, she passed a pretty white-haired girl and met her eyes. She smiled at her, but the girl glared back as if she had done something wrong. Bad day, probably, she thought, but she refused to pity her. It's a shame because in ballet, if you let a bad day brings you down, you let your entire world come crashing down.

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| Chapter 2 |

I stumbled to my usual corner in the backstage the next day and I took off my shirt and leggings, revealing my black leotard and tights. I tossed and turned the entire time last night, thinking about father's comments. Even though he said I did great and to not worry, his voice hinted stress and disappointment. My heart sunk. I didn't practice enough. I didn't perfect the leap. I didn't dance to my fullest potential.

I finished tying the ribbons on my dance shoes and it suddenly struck me. Today, they'd be announcing the results! I quickly headed to the auditorium, eager and anxious to hear the results. It was already packed with people sitting with their own group of friends and chattering. I sat down near in the middle area on the cushioned seat, feeling a little out of place. I had no friends, maybe some people I said hi to in the hallways, but never close friends. There was no time to make friends, my world revolved around ballet and ballet only. I patted my bun, making sure there were no loose hairs.

"Hey, can we sit here?" a voice asked, and I turned my head around so fast it cringed. A pretty red-haired girl stood to my left as a short, blue-haired girl peeked over her shoulder.

"Sure," I said, nodding, moving a couple seats down.

"Thanks," she said, turning around and beckoning her friends. Behind her, a flash of pink caught my eye and my heart leapt. No doubt it was—

"Natsu Dragneel! Gray Fullbuster!" the red-haired girl said, sharply. "Sit down and stop arguing!" He and his black-haired friend immediately shut up and sat down, glaring at one another.

"Sorry about them," the blue-haired girl said, giggling. "They're just a bit...hyper. I'm Levy."

"Erza," the other girl said. "The pink idiot's Natsu and the immature one's Gray."

I cracked a smile. "I'm—"

"Lucy Heartfilia," the girls chorused, exchanging looks of excitement.

I looked away, embarrassed. "Yeah, um, that's me. Don't, like, don't treat me any different, just as a regular person, okay?" They nodded.

"Ice Princess, want to bet on who got Siegfried? I think I did, at least I didn't make a fool of myself on stage," Natsu said, sitting next to Levy.

"At least the judge didn't cut off my audition, Flame Brain," Gray retorted. Erza and Levy rolled their eyes and sighed.

"You don't know how many times they've had this conversation since yesterday." Erza shook her head.

Natsu opened his mouth. "Well—"

"QUIET!" a man roared as the chatter instantly died down. He held a piece of paper in his hands and everyone's eyes were glued on him. "I have here the results for the auditions. If you hear your name, please step forward." I gulped and prayed in my head that I got the lead role or at least made it into the production.