Her legs moved in accordance with the haunting tone, she pushed herself with her feet off of the ground and did a wide twirl. The music was like a soothing balm to her soul and the steps came easily to her.

This was why she liked dancing The Swan, it felt similar to her own life. Trapped, unable to live life freely, to love freely and under a spell, most possibly for the rest of her life. She prepared to do the final quadruple arabesque when the music cut off suddenly, causing her eyes to fly open.


"I can't imagine why people enjoy shitty dances like this," Ryan said gruffly, his hands were tucked in his pockets and he was leaning against the entrance doorframe.

She cocked her head to the side and placed a hand on her hip, "When did you come in?"

"That doesn't really matter," He answered, walking further into the room, "I brought food."


He raised the lunch pack in his hand, the corner of his lips quirking up. She frowned when he settled beside where she stood, folding his legs as he began unwrapping the package.

"I didn't know what you would like so I just grabbed a little of everything," He said, bringing out a wrapped hamburger, fries, a small cheesecake and soda.


Her nose wrinkled when the scent of hotdogs hit her nostrils and she turned her face away, pretending to stretch. "Thank you but I brought my own lunch."

She faced him then, surprised to see him looking at her, both eyebrows raised skeptically,

"Really?"

No, that was a lie. She hadn't intend on eating lunch, maybe a dressed salad would do the trick at the restaurant downstairs but that didn't really classify as lunch especially since she'd only had an apple for breakfast.

"Yeah," She muttered, nodding, "Ate in a while back."

Now his expression was disbelieving, "Before or after you started dancing?"

She opened her mouth and then closed it, wincing when he snorted. A surprised sound escaped her lips when he wrapped his fingers around her wrist and pulled her downward. She crashed on the floor beside him, her back bumping against his shoulder,

"Here," He shoved a burger into a hand, "Eat it."

She didn't react so he sighed, moving to help her unwrap the flimsy cellophane around the food. "Look," She started hesitantly, trying to push the burger back into his hand, "I can't eat this."'She said firmly.

"Why?" He asked, pausing in his movements, "Don't tell me you plan on eating those stupid vegetables?"

Irritation flared in her gut and she pushed his hand away from hers, "Stupid?" She scoffed in disbelief, pinning him with a deadly glare, "Those stupid vegetables are what makes me strong enough to dance."

"But they don't add meat to your body. Look at you, all angles and bones," He snipped harshly, pulling away the wrapper from the burger and lifting it in the air.

Aurora opened her lips to retort something equally scathing but he shoved the burger into mouth, muffling her statement.

"Mmmph!" She yelled at him, trying to swat his hand away but he didn't relent. She took the first bite and swallowed, her taste buds coming to life instantly causing her stomach to grumble loudly.

Her cheeks heated up and Ryan chuckled, dropping his hand on his lap. Aurora cleared her throat and took the burger away from her mouth but not before taking another bite,

"Isn't it delicious?"

She ignored him, wiping the back of her fingers against the corner of her mouth. He laughed softly, facing his own meal. They ate in silence accompanied by the sound of their quiet chewing and slurping.

Aurora finished the first burger within a second, licking her fingers clean of the cream. She reached for the small folded tissues on the lunch pack and used it wipe her hands.

"I shouldn't be thanking you for this," She muttered stubbornly, refusing to look him in the eye, "But thank you."

She managed to lift her gaze, their eyes connecting and the small smile in his lips made something light flutter in her chest. She frowned at the feeling and quickly looked away,

What was wrong with her?

Ryan cleared his throat, dropping the half eaten hotdog on the paper plate he'd brought with him. "I don't accept your gratitude,"

Her head snapped up to meet his, brows furrowing together, "Why?"

"Thank me in another way," He leaned forward and her eyes widened slightly. The warm scent of peppermint and sandalwood invaded her nostrils and she found her breath seizing.

"Wh-what do you mean?" He was still leaning towards her and she kept inclining back, her hands propped on the floor. Her widened gaze flickered to his plump rosy lips and then back to his dark eyes,

His head fell forward, face nestling in the crook of her neck and her entire system shut down. A small gust of breath escaped her as he inhaled loudly, the tip of his nose rubbing against the skin of her neck.

"Ryan?" She shakily whispered and he moved back, facing her.

Their faces were inches apart, noses almost touching. Her eyes seemed glued to his full mouth, for some reason they didn't want to look away from that spot and she gulped,

"Strawberry," He muttered gutturally and her eyes snapped up to meet his.

She licked her dry lips and his eyes followed the movement. "What?" She question in confusion.

His lips curled slightly, "You," He whispered, pressing his forehead to hers, "You smell like strawberry."

She still didn't understand what he was rambling about. Did he not like the scent of strawberry?

That was her favourite body wash and she'd been using it ever since her mother allowed her to pick her own cosmetics. She'd fallen in love with the fragrance and used it religiously. It would be a bummer if Ryan said he disliked the scent.

"You don't like it?" She asked, her voice small and innocent.

His eyes fell on her slightly parted lips and then her heaving chest, trailing all the way down before going back up to her face.

"Jackson Avenue, the alleyway behind Daphne's pub," He said instead and her confusion deepened, "Come there tomorrow by eight. You'll see a small metal door at the back of the pub, knock thrice and then tell the guy there that you're with scarface and he'll let you in."

Wait...what?

He rose to his feet before his words were even able to fully sink in. She stared dumbfounded as he casually strolled to the exit, his hands tucked into his pockets.

"Ryan!"

She hollered and he paused. Aurora quickly scrambled to her feet, dusting her sides, "I-I don't understand. Why do you want me there?"

He looked over his shoulder and the smile he gave her was enough to send any female swooning,

"You're my good luck charm."

He disappeared through the door without another word, leaving her even more puzzled than before.