"Losing," Aurora said breathlessly and returned her gaze to the professor, "Isn't it obvious by now that that is what I'm doing?"

"What?"


"Losing," Aurora said breathlessly and returned her gaze to the professor, "Isn't it obvious by now that that is what I'm doing?"

Everyone was dumbstruck by her revelation, including Louisa who had her mouth agape with surprise. Aurora took the opportunity to rise, pretending to wipe dust on her skirt, when she looked back at them, Monroe in particular, her gaze was firm,

"I thought about what you said and you're right, it's in no way fair to anyone in the academy if I keep getting the spot that's meant for everyone. I decided to let the rightful owner take this spot instead," She gestured with her head towards Louisa, "I watched her dance and I'm fully convinced that with more practice, she'll do an excellent job during the nationals. Besides, I think it's about time for a new prima ballerina to take the stage."


Monroe had a pale expression, her lips slightly parted, "But-Y-You-"

"If you have nothing left to say then I'll take my leave," She did a little bow and swiveled on her feet, gingerly walking towards the backstage area.


When she was inches away from Louisa, she paused and stretched a hand forward,

"You're going to do wonderful things, Roberts," She said with a genuine smile, "This is me congratulating you in advance."

Tears welled up in the other girl's eyes and her next action stunned Aurora. Louisa jumped on her, wrapping her arms around her neck and squeezing her tightly,

"I don't know why you did this but thank you," She muttered shakily, sniffling, "Thank you."

Aurora shifted at the display of affection, raising her hand and awkwardly patting Louisa's back. But she only tightened the hug, burying her face in the crook of Aurora's neck,

"Alright, that's enough," She grunted and peeled the other girl off of her body, "You should return to the stage now.

Louisa nodded, her eyes shining with unshed tears as she muttered one last 'thank you' before hurrying towards the center of the stage. Aurora smiled ruefully, taking in the grandiosity of the stage and a nostalgic feeling began to creep into her chest.

She was certainly going to miss this.

She shook her head, ridding her mind of the melancholic thoughts and walked past the curtains into the backstage area.

"Aurora."

Her feet faltered when she spotted the two figures approaching, her heart rate sped up when they stopped in front of her, both of them on the verge of tears.

She swallowed, her throat constricting tightly, "What are you doing here?"

They both shared hesitantly looks, she was familiar with that expression. They were trying to determine who would speak first and as always, Mason stepped forward,

"We heard you were contesting today and thought to come," He shrugged weakly, "To give you moral support, I guess."

She tried not to show how much that meant to her, instead responding with, "I lost, so there goes the moral support."

Mason gawked. Natasha sputtered and she shrugged.

"You-You lost?" Natasha gasped, her eyes widening into saucers, "But how's that possible? You've never lost a dance contest before, never-"

"It was deliberate, wasn't it?" Mason cut in, his eyes peering at her curiously.

Her lips quirked and she nodded. Neither of them said anything and they stood like that, sharing the silence.

"So how long will you keep ignoring us?" Natasha finally asked, her voice soft, "We miss you and we tried to reach out so many times but you never responded." Mason bobbed his head in agreement to her words.

Aurora sighed, they weren't wrong. They had called, texted and sent notes but she ignored them all and it wasn't because she wanted to,

"I just wanted to fix everything first," She answered weakly, her eyes falling to the ground, "I didn't want to drag you into the shit storm."

Mason sighed, taking another step forward and gently taking her wrist, "But we're friends, we are supposed to get through the shit storm together," He looked towards Natasha who meandered forward, taking her other hand.

"We admit that we were quite surprised when we saw those pictures but we never blamed you, heck I've done worse," Natasha boasted causing her to chuckle softly, "We've been friends for way too long to allow a silly post come between us."

Aurora felt liquid warmth surround her chest, "Didn't you read the tabloids from this morning?"

"And so?" Mason interrupted, scoffing softly, "It's not new that every family has dirty laundry, yours were just unlucky that it got aired."

She threw him an offended look and jabbed her elbow into his side causing him to squall in pain and laughter.

"So?" Natasha queried, batting her lashes cutely, "Will you take us back?"

Aurora pretended to contemplate on the question and they both watched with eager gazes. She laughed airily, throwing her arms over their necks and tugging them close,

"Of course, I've missed you guys too."

They squealed in excitement, bundling nearer to each other in a group hug. Aurora sighed in contentment, allowing herself to ease into the comfort of their embrace.

She had truly missed them a lot. And to be honest,l they were right. She shouldn't have left them in the dark to solve everything on their own, they'd grown up together and at that point, they were practically family.

It wasn't that she'd done this with a cruel intention, she just wanted to make sure they didn't look at her the way others did. Like she suddenly had a defect but she should've known better, this was Natasha and Mason, they would never judge her without reason and even if there was one, she was assured that they would take her side still.

"I'm so sorry for being a dunce," She muttered apologetically and Mason chuckled.

"You're forgiven."

They finally tore apart from the hug and resorted to linking their arms together. Natasha cleared her throat, straightening her back,

"So what are you going to do now? Once your mother finds out that you lost, she'll go berserk," She shook her head, fear flashing in her eyes, "Especially when they tell her that it was deliberate."

"Yeah, Nat is right. She's not going to like it."

Aurora smiled ruefully, looking at Mason and then Natasha, "I know that which was why I came up with a plan beforehand."

They both had confused glances and Mason arched a brow when he studied the expression on her face

"I know that look," He said with an amused scoff, "It's the one you always have when you've come up with a devious plan."

Her lips curled into a smirk and she squared her shoulders, "You're right, I do have a devious plan. However, I'll need both your help."

Natasha smiled, "You have us at your service, anything you need," Mason nodded along, repeating her last statement,

"Anything you need."

She breathed in relief, thankful that she now had both of them at her sides. Tonight was going to be a really long ride.