Pulling the ribbons tightly around her ankles, she tenderly tied them in a bow before puling herself up so she was standing. It was the same old, usual kind of day. The brightly lit room, the warm, polished wooden floors, the walls of perfectly clean mirrors and the endless rows of ballet bars. It was all so perfect. So immaculately perfect that it made her sick to her stomach. But she couldn't show it. In such a harsh world, there was no room to be anything but flawless. So she rose onto her toes, making sure her shoes were on right, before dropping back onto the souls of her feet and taking her place at the ballet bar amongst the other members of the class.

Pulling her shoes from her feet, she breathed a sigh of release. Being on points for 3 hrs a day 5 days a week had been killing her feet. She pulled back the layers of bandages she'd wrapped around her toes before putting on her shoes, to find blood. It didn't faze her anymore. She simply grabbed some Betadine from her bag, some Band-Aids and a tissue, and tended to the wounds. Around her, the other girls were receiving warm hugs from the mothers or boyfriends, and heading home. Not her. She packed up her stuff and exited the building, waiting outside for her driver to arrive. When her car finally did pull up, she opened the door and stepped inside the fancy vehicle, before buckling her seatbelt. The long drives home were when she felt the loneliest. Clutching onto her mobile, she tried to resist the urge to call him. Every ride home she had this problem. It was then she missed him most. Not being able to control herself any more, she found herself dialing his number and raising the phone to her ear.

"Marissa?"

"Ryan...hey"

"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah…I just.."

"Just what?"

His voice wasn't angry. It was more concerned. She hadn't called him for such a long time.

"I miss you Ryan"

There was a short silence. They could both hear each others breathing, and for her, that's all she needed to feel safe.

"I miss you too"

--

Pulling a singlet over his head, he headed for the kitchen. The smell of fresh bagels filled his senses as he entered the room. It was a dreary kind of morning. Rain clouds were gathering, and there was a cloudy kind of feeling about the day. Opening a cupboard and pulling a box of cereal from it, Ryan proceeded to make breakfast. Taking his usually seat at the bench, Ryan starred deep into the milk and cereal filled bowl, not knowing entirely what he was looking for. He could hear Seth and Sandy's murmurs from outside the room.

"I'm really starting to worry about him Seth"

"Yeah, me too. He's seems to be finding cereal more and more interesting each day"

"How about you boys go somewhere today, on me. Go see an Imax movie or something"

"I'll try, but last time I suggested we get out of the house I got one of those 'Are you crazy?' looks"

Not wishing for the conversation about him to continue, Ryan chimed in.

"I can hear you"

An awkward 'what do we do now' silence fell over the room. Seth, being the person he is, rudely interrupted it.

"So Ryan, how about we go somewhere today? You know go see an Imax movie or something?"

"Ummm…not today, maybe another time. I have a lot of school work to do"

"No offence Ryan, but how much school work can a person have?"

"Seth…"

Shooting Seth one of his "I'm this close to knocking you out'' looks, Ryan rose from his seat and placed his bowl in the sink.

"Maybe another day" Sandy suggested, before Ryan left the house and headed for the pool house.