My Fallen Angel

"I'm so excited you're here!" Francis squealed as I stepped into the studio, Ashlandil hot on my heels. This was supposed to be my first session of learning the routine for their play next month, and he wasnt going to leave me alone at any moment.
He wouldnt be able to come every time, however, considering he was going to have to start going back to the studio with the others.
"How long is this going to take?" Ashlandil sighed as he followed me into the mirrored room, and I sighed, letting my bag drop to the floor.
"A couple hours," Francis informed him, frowning lightly. "Are you going to stay the entire time?"
"Probably, yeah."
"Well, I hope you don’t get too bored then," he sighed, stretching his arms above his head as he waited for me to finish readying myself. I leaned down, finishing up the laces to my ballet shoes. They werent as comfortable here as they were above, but I suppose that shouldn’t be a surprise to me.
I wasn’t quite as fond of the silly outift they wanted me to wear, but it was comfortable for me to move around in, and Ashlandil seemed to like looking at me in it as well, from the aura I got off him anyway.
"Now, sweet love," Francis took my hand, helping me to my feet, "let's begin the routine! There's going to be a lot of strenuous moves and poses, and considering your unfortunate condition, we don’t want to push too much. So if any of it becomes just too strenuous, let me know so we can modify a little bit, yes?"
"Yes." I nodded my head, ignoring Ashlandils annoyed expression at its mention.
They'd been bummed when I'd told them I was pregnant and would only be able to do this one play, though apparently I could still instruct some of the minor or younger classes.
"In a few more weeks we'll start having rehearsals at the local theatre." Francis informed as he trotted over to the stereo to find the right music. "There you'll meet the rest of the cast members and the like and will be performing your routines together. I know they're going to just love you! Josie is the Good Queen, and she should be here in a couple hours to practice so you'll be able to meet her too," he babbled, blips of music shooting through the stereo as he switched between different songs. "Will your boyfriend be joining you every practice?"
"I doubt it," I glanced at his reflection in the mirrors. "He'll need to be at his own studio."
"Studio?"
"He's in a band." I shrugged, lightly twirling around on my toes as I waited, growing bored.
"Oh, really?" Francis glanced at Ashlandil. "Are you guys popular?"
"We just got back from tour a few weeks ago," Ashlandil shrugged. "We've been in the UK for what feels like forever."
"Only four long months," I sighed, glancing up at the lights on the ceiling. "With all that awfully dreary weather! I don’t think I like Wales."
"You wouldn’t," he chuckled, and I frowned at him.
Music suddenly blared, and I winced, hearing the high, arching tones.
"Now, this is going to be a battle scene," Francis called over it, trotting to my side. "I'll show you the routine, and then we'll start practicing together, yes?"
"Yes."


Ashlandil

I was so damned bored there.
And it got on my nerves listening to Francis constantly be amazed and praising Kenali for doing everything perfectly.
Of course she was doing it perfectly.
She had practically invented the damned movements.
I propped my chin on my hand as I sat on the couch in the studio, watching as Jake and Jinxx talked music; I wasn’t too fond of having to be back in the studio, but it was better then forcing myself to go with Kenali to every practice session she had just because I didn’t trust her going anywhere alone.
Especially if the others knew of her pregnancy,
The dance studio had seemed a little bummed about her being only able to perform one play, but they were eager to get her to sign a contract with them, which I was firmly against until my lawyers took a good look at it to make sure there wasn’t any trouble with it.
"So how's Kenna doing?" CC asked, and I glanced up as he strolled into the room, plopping down into the rolling chair by the speakers and twirling around to face us. "Does she have a bump yet?"
"Of course not," I grunted, shaking my head. "She's not even that far along."
"What is it now? Six weeks or so?"
"About, yeah."
"She's got a long way to go then," Jinxx yawned. "Is she excited now?"
"If you mean I just spent two hundred dollars on random shit in some stupid baby store that I don’t even know the use of as excited, then yes," I sighed, running my hands down my face. "Very excited."
"What about your other kid?"
"My what?" I glanced at CC.
I'd forgotten all about Kacy.
"Are you... I mean, does it.... are you gonna be involved in its life too? Are you claiming it?"
Fuck no.
"Er, that's not really something that’s been discussed," I shrugged, thinking about it. Kacy was having a girl, from what Kenali had told me (I'd never listened to the message myself), and at this point she was what, four or five months into it? Six? Hell, I had no idea. I had no intention of ever seeing her again unless I needed to renig her enamor or something to make sure she gave the thing a good life.
I had no intentions of ever knowing it, otherwise.
Hell, I would suggest Kenali do the same if she didnt want to have it so badly.
There was no chance in hell she was giving up that thing.
Unfortunately, as Francis had put it.
Asshole.
"How's Kenna feel about it?"
"She's not talked about it."
"So it doesn’t bother her you're having another kid at the same time?"
"Okay, I am NOT having two kids at once, for starters," I huffed, sitting up on the couch. "Kacy --- she's --- fuck, I haven't even talked to her. She doesn’t want me in its life, and I'm not going to argue about it. Besides," I sighed, "she was just a fling."
They all frowned at me.
I could feel them judging me, and I knew without a doubt they all wanted to know if Kenali's baby was actually mine, or Andys. Just none of them wanted to ask me about it and cause a scene.
Which I didn’t blame them.
Awkward, right?
Where was Andy, anyway?
I was surprised he wasn’t in here on the inquisition.
I felt my pocket buzz, and I shuffled, fighting it out of my skinny jeans.


Kenna: Francis says I need another hour
Me: Y? Arent you doing perfect?
Kenna: of course he just wants me to stay longer so I can meet some of the other
Kenna: people who are going to be performing with me
Me: Are you sure that’s safe maybe I should be there
Kenna: I can take care of myself of course its safe
Me: you can never be too careful in your condition what if the others
Me: are like us or nephilim? Its not safe I should be there
Kenna: so you can glare in the corner and make everyone uncomfortable
Kenna: no thank you I can handle this myself
Me: im serious kenali be on guard we don’t know if the others know about
Me: your little situation yet or not and you know that they will want to take a
Me: little vengeance on you if they didn’t like you up top
Me: u need to b more careful before you cost yourself
Kenna: don’t be cruel ashlandil im fine ill see you in two hours

And she refused to text me back anymore
Great.
Just fucking great.
She was going to get herself hurt if she kept up with that kind of attitude. Her or the stupid baby.
"What's that face for?" Jinxx chuckled, slipping his violin back into its case.
"Just Kenna being annoying," I grunted, clicking my phone screen to go dark. "she needs more time at the studio."
"Studio?" CC asked curiously.
oh, right, they didn’t know.
"We visited this dance studio a couple weeks ago to help someone out," I sighed, running my hands through my long hair. "And she, sort of, got sucked into doing the play they're performing next month."
"In her condition? Can she even do that?" CC demanded, his eyes widening.
"She's not even showing, she can do whatever she wants. Besides, the studio lost its evil queen; she broke her toe or something." I shrugged. "They practically begged her without even seeing her dance to be the star. Something about her hair color or whatever."
"So Kenna's gonna be dancing?" CC actually looked eager. "Like we can actually see her dance for once?"
"Uh, yes?"
I'd seen her dance before, I could remember it from being in Heaven, the performances she and the others had been in. She had been the instructor, the very best at what she did, the one who taught the others, and the shows had always been amazing.
But it was Heaven, of course they were amazing.
There was no other way it could be.
"You kept saying she was a dancer, but she never talked about it," Jake said after a moment, fiddling with his guitar. "When is the show?"
"Eighteenth." I sighed. "She's excited about it. She hasn’t been able to dance since she fe--- left home," I shook my head. "She's already got the routine down."
"That's so cool!" CC grinned. "I'm totally going! We all should, to support her, yknow? She has to be a little nervous, and she needs someone there for her, considering you guys said she wasn’t close with her family."
"Oh, well, I'm sure she'd like that."
"Awesome, how much are tickets?"
Shit.
I had no idea.
I looked at him blankly.
"Ashley," Jake was frowning at me. "Did you even buy a ticket yet?"
"Uh..." Shit I hadnt; it hadnt even crossed my fucking mind to buy a ticket for her show.
I was such an asshole.
"Ashley!" Jinxx scowled at me. "How could you not buy a ticket to her show? She's one of the stars of it!"
"I just --- I just didn’t think about it," I blinked. "I'm at the studio so much, I don’t know why it didn’t cross my mind! Shit shit shit," I ran my hands down my face. "I'll get some though, don’t worry. They'll make sure there's enough for her, they wouldn’t want to displease her."
At least I hoped so.
"A ticket for what?"
I tensed, my eyes flicking to where Andy stepped into the room, looking tired. He was wearing his signature leather jacket, his hair loose around his face today, only making him look more exhausted.
He smelled like an ashtray as he walked by me.
"To Kenna's show. She's staring in a play some studio is throwing," Jake informed him, and his brows raised.
"Really? That was fast. How'd she get to star in a play when we've barely been back a couple weeks?"
"She's lucky like that, I guess," I frowned. "She just manages to fall into things like that."
"We're all going," CC rolled his chair around to look at Andy expectantly, and I saw Jake and Jinxx exchange a look; yeah, CC had just decided the entire band would go without really asking anyone else. "You up for it? It would mean a lot to her, yknow, for all of us to go and be there to support her. we'd be the only ones, considering she doesn’t have any close family. Plus this will be the only one she'll be able to perform for a long time after she and Ashley have their kid, so this is probably a big deal to her."
I think he was guilting Andy.
Andy's expression wavered, and he sort of tensed when CC called it my kid; Kenali was right, he did know better. He did know that it wasn’t mine, that I was just claiming it because it was Kenali.
Fuck, it could have been anyone's kid and I still would have claimed it because I loved her so much and didn’t want her to be alone.
"When is it?"
"The eighteenth," I answered after a moment, shifting uncomfortably. "Tabley Theatre. Tyler's is the studio hosting it."
"Isn't that the best studio in the city?"
All the guys looked surprised.
I merely shrugged. "Kenna's really good. She has a... really good track record."
Like she was a fucking angel who basically invented ballet herself.
"Damn," CC whistled, looking impressed. "She must! And they begged her to take it? Damn!"
"What day is the eighteenth?"
"Friday night. And its formal, so everyone's gonna have to dress to the nines." I added.
"Considering what fucking studio it is, no doubt!" CC bobbed his head. "That place only kicks out the best of the best. My niece was wanting to join It, but the classes are so expensive my sister didn’t want her too."
He didn’t have to tell me that.
Six hundred fucking dollars man....
"So are we all agreed that we're going?" Jake asked, leaning back in his chair, and I think we all looked at Andy.
He shifted uncomfortably.
"She's the star of it?"
"Well, one of them. she's the evil queen."
"Evil queen?" He chuckled, rubbing his jaw thoughtfully. "Well, I mean, I don’t see why not. It will be the only one she can do for a while."
A long while, unfortunately.
"I'm just going to google the ticket prices," CC sighed, shuffling for his phone. "It can't be that high, right?Do we wanna sit in one of the boxes?"
"Of course. Do we really want to get mobbed down there?" Jake chuckled. "Though, honestly I doubt anyone in that crowd would be recognizing us that much."
"You never know," I chuckled, thinking about all the women in their fancy jewels and dresses that would be going to see the shows.
Good picking ground, at least.
"Damn," CC whistled slightly. "It's ninety bucks a ticket, not even including tax, to sit up there."
"That's not too bad. And worth It, right?" I raised my brows. "To support the lovely leading lady?"
"Of course it is. Do you guys wanna bring your girls?" CC looked at Jake and Jinxx expectantly.
"Probably. I mean, they've been wanting to meet Kenna anyway," Jinxx shrugged. "It'll be a good outing for all of us. I'll talk to Sammi when I get home tonight."
"Nice. This'll be great! Andy, you're in, right?"
"Yeah, I'm in. We need to be there for her, she's been here for all of us so much," Andy nodded his head, propping his chin on his hand as he looked away, as if getting lost in his thoughts. "She deserves it."
She deserved a lot more, actually.
And as much as he owed her, he better fucking show up to support her at her own show.
"Good, I'll see if I can't buy us tickets all together," I said, relaxing slightly. "She'll be excited to know everyone is coming."
"Can you get all of us together?" Jake raised his brows.
"I better be able too," I chuckled, thinking about Francis in his lameass leotard. "Like I said, at this point, they don’t want to displease Kenna. They need her too much. They'll basically do whatever they can to keep her around."
Kind of like me, I suppose.
I would do whatever I could to keep her around.
No matter what it meant doing.

Notes

So, my life right now: I'm surviving off leftover pizza and living out of my yoga pants. I am hunkered beneath a blanket because its cold as fuck already, and for some reason I need an air conditioner on just so I can sleep, because suddenly, ITS HOT AGAIN.
ugh.
my life, right?
anyway, wasnt that drum cover like awesome? I thought so. Though I'm not musically inclined whatsoever, though I do try to sing while making grilled toast in the kitchen. Like literally I was listening to Victorious, PATD's new single (amazeballs, btw) with my headphones in dancing around the butter with a spatula in my hand as I majestically did the wave in my pajamas.
That is how I do my Friday nights, thank you very much.

Hoped you enjoyed reading! Let me know in the comments if you think the play is going to be a big disaster, if something maniacal might show up, or if it's going to go smoothly! Thanks!

--- Kellyrages