Okay, first of all I have to explain about Ruby's career/schooling. She attended a school that specialises in ballet, and is also a private school (Lola, Ross etc attend this.) instead of some lessons she will have a ballet period, she would stay behind after school for dance lessons & such. It basically prepares her for life as a ballet dancer. She knows all her friends from either the ballet or the private school. She's now graduated, but can still take classes at the school for practice and to learn new routines.
Chapter Three
'Why do you need to come? You're gonna cramp my style.' I moaned as I munched on my toast and Nutella. Alex was just after telling me that he planned to join Lola and me tonight, out partying.
'Because, I promised mom that I would look after you, and I'm not letting my seventeen year old sister run around town. There are creepy men out there.' He said, smiling widely at me. He knew that I was mad at him, and he loved that he was ruining my plans for tonight.
'You're the crappiest big brother ever.' I complained, pouting.
'I'll keep my distance, Zack and Jack are going anyway so I won't be hangin' with you and Lo.' My heart fluttered as he mentioned Jack's name, and I blushed slightly. He rolled his eyes at my reaction. It had been a week since he had found out about Jack, and I guess he wasn't fully over it yet.
'Fine, if you're following me around like a lost puppy tonight, can you drive me to the studio today? I need to practice again, I feel as if I've been neglecting ballet.' I asked, in my uber sweet I'm-such-a-good-sister voice. He huffed at me.
'I can't wait until you can drive.' He groaned, I pecked his cheek and ruffled his hair.
'Well, if you teach me or convince Mom and Dad to get me driving lessons, your chauffer duty will be relieved.' I sang as I bounced upstairs to get my dance bag together.
I grabbed my Pointe shoes, and ballet slippers from the cupboard, shoving them in a rucksack and added an old All Time Low top and some yoga pants. I wouldn't have to wear my proper things today, it was more just stretching and making sure I was still capable of doing some of the moves.
I ran downstairs, and met Alex in the hallway. He huffed at me, obviously pissed off that he had to drive me somewhere. Cons of having a little sister. I smiled sweetly at him, ruffling his hair just to piss him off a little more, and stepped out of the house.
He locked the door behind us as I scrambled into his black Range Rover. It still had that new car smell; he had only bought it a couple of months ago. The engine purred to life and we set off on the familiar route to my old school.
'So what time are you and Lo heading out, tonight?' he asked, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of the Panic at the Disco song in the background. I huffed; I had almost forgotten that Alex would be coming with us tonight. I crossed my arms over my chest and sighed.
'Well, Lo's coming round to ours to get ready, about five? So whenever we're ready, I guess.' I told him, grumpily. Why did my brother have to be so over-protective? I didn't want him to be following and judging my every move tonight, I wanted to get absolutely wasted with my best friend and have a great fucking time. I would regret it in the morning, but live in the moment, right?
'I love that I'm ruining your plans for tonight.' He chuckled, and I whacked his arm grumbling. He just laughed even more at me.
'Just let me do my own thing, watch from a distance. Or don't watch at all, stay at home by yourself, romance Lisa. Don't come out with me, your boring little sister.' I tempted him, trying desperately to get him to stay at home. He looked as though he was considering what I had said, and the smiled wickedly at me.
'No.' he laughed, I threw my hands up sighing dramatically. He better not come near me tonight.
'Okay, so will I tell Zack and Jack to come round for seven? Give you time to get 'glammed up' or whatever.' He asked me, I huffed again.
'Whatever.' I mumbled. Why did my plans always get messed up? Tonight was supposed to be a fun girly night with my best friend, and now I had two boys and my brother coming with us. Not that I minded about Jack going…but still. What's a girl gotta do for a night out on the town with her best friend?
'Well can you text them?' he asked in a duh voice.
'Can't you do it?' I asked grumpily.
'I'm doing this thing called driving, so no. I can't.' he said as if I was mentally disabled.
'Why can't you do it later?' I asked for no apparent reason, I could just have whipped out my phone and text Zack and Jack, but I just liked being difficult.
'Because, I'll forget later. Can you just text them? It's not that difficult.' He said angrily. I snickered at him, I loved winding him up.
'Yeesh, calm the fuck down. Fine, I'll text them already, keep your wig on.' I said, rolling my eyes dramatically. He just sighed at me. I got my phone out and sent a quick text to Zack first.
Hey Zackaroo, Alex is too lazy to text you himself, so I'm on about tonight. Can you head round to mines for about seven? Or even better, don't turn up so that Alex won't come out with me tonight. Whatever works. And if you do come, please please please, distract my brother and don't let him approach me tonight. See you soon! Or if you don't show, then I won't and I'll be forever grateful to you for forcing my brother to stay in. :).
I sent that one first before moving onto Jack's message.
Jackyyyyy! Alex wants you at ours for seven, but can you just not arrive? Then maybe he won't want to go out, and will leave me alone? He's gonna follow me around all night :(
I sent that quickly, and in record time I had two replies.
I'm not giving up a night out. Sorry, you'll just have to be forever-ungrateful towards me :)
Rubyyyyyyyyy! I'm arriving alright, I need a night out! He won't follow you; he'll just watch your every move from the corner of the room :) see you soon!
I groaned at both of their replies. Looks like it was gonna be a 'group outing.'
'How come Rian can't come?' I asked curiously, it was weird for him not to be coming. They usually all did everything together.
'He's doing something with Kara, they're making the most of the next two weeks.' He said grimly. That reminded me that Warped tour was in a few weeks. My stomach flipped excitedly, I was really looking forward to it. I guess Alex was dreading leaving Lisa again. She had been round every day since they had gotten back from touring last month. It must be hard, having a relationship with someone that was touring all the time.
'Then why aren't you out romancing Lisa?' I asked, getting my hopes up again. 'You'd have the house to yourself and everything.' He turned and looked at me amusedly.
'Ruby. Shut up, I'm coming out with you. Lisa's having a night with her brother, so I have nothing better to do.' He smirked at me, obviously remembering something. 'And think about it, having three elder and legally allowed to drink adults might actually help you get into the club.' He laughed, and I smiled a little. I suppose it would. We would have been able to get in ourselves, we looked old enough and being a girl had its advantages at times. As if Alex was reading my mind, he threw me a question I didn't exactly know how to answer.
'How were you even planning to get in?' he said half curious, half serious. Aw shit. I said mentally. I didn't want to tell my brother that I had been there before, and was actually quite friendly with the bouncer that worked on Fridays. Nor did I want to tell him about using my womanly ways to get myself in. Mind you, I had been blessed with quite an open-minded brother. He was cool with whatever I did as long as he didn't hear details. It was a fair deal, and at least he wasn't breathing down my neck.
This had been the first time in forever that he had insisted that he come out with me. I guess he just wanted a night out too. And anyway, it wasn't as if he would be hanging around with me, he had even said that he would keep his distance. I thought this all over in my mind, almost forgetting the question he had asked me.
'Oh, erm. A little bit of this, a little bit of that. Just flirting really.' I said vaguely. He huffed and readjusted himself in his seat. Guess he was a little uncomfortable talking about his sister flirting with random guys, and the other methods I would use, that he had surely guessed.
We continued the rest of the drive to the school in silence. It was only a ten minute drive, and twenty minute walk. I guess I could have walked instead of getting a lift off of Alex, but I was too lazy to even have attempted it. I hummed along to the radio and looked out of the window, taking in the sights ofBaltimore.
Alex pulled up at the familiar looking modern building and turned to smile at me.
'Have a good practice. Do I need to pick you up too?' he half moaned as I grinned evilly and nodded.
'Is four okay? That gives me a few hours to go over everything.' I asked, and he rolled his eyes and nodded. 'See you soon.' I sang, and jumped out of the car, slamming the door behind me.
I walked up to the school, heading straight for the ballet studios. You could enter them from outside, without going through the school hallways. I went this way, wanting to avoid the halls where bad memories had taken place.
Reaching the door to Studio 2; my usual studio, I pushed it open with a massive smile on my face. I loved coming to the studios. It was a place I could let all my excess frustration out, and just be myself. I spotted one of my old dance teachers, Simone sitting beside the piano at the far left of the room, mumbling to herself and scribbling on a piece of paper. She obviously wasn't aware that I was here.
'Simone!' I squealed, running at her. She was one of the younger dance teachers, only 25. Her eyes widened when she saw me and her face split into a smile.
'Ruby!' she yelled, opening her arms up for me. I hugged her back, a massive smile on my face. I hadn't expected her to be here. She was definitely one of my favourite teachers, she was more like a friend and we would be able to have fun while doing ballet. She was an amazing choreographer too; she had choreographed some amazing pieces for the school, some including me.
'I didn't expect to see you here today!' she gasped, grasping my shoulders and looking me over. 'You haven't changed a bit.' She said happily, smiling kindly at me.
'It's only been a few weeks, you're acting as though I've been to war.' I chuckled, she looked exactly the same. 'So, are you staying here? I was just going to practice some of the dances, see if I can still do some of the stuff.' I asked her, gesturing around the deserted studio.
'I'll stay, and help you go over some things. If you help me? I need someone to look over these notes; I'm trying to put a dance together for the younger ones, and I'm failing. You were always good at putting the dances together for the groups.' I blushed slightly at the compliment and nodded my head a little. I would get on much better if Simone was here, someone that could criticize me properly, and tell me what I was dong wrong.
I got my stuff out of my bag, and walked to the toilet telling Simone I would be back in a minute, she nodded and grabbed her ballet slippers from beside the piano and slipped them on. I got changed quickly in the tiny bathroom, and shoved my Pointe shoes on, coming back through to the Studio.
'You got your iPod on you?' she asked me, I nodded. I always had my iPod, wherever I went. I knew the drill; I grabbed it from my bag, and plugged it into the stereo almost invisible at the very corner of the room and put on the play-list 'warm-up'
'You're Not in on the Joke' by Cobra Starship blasted from the speakers as started out warm-up, jogging softly on the spot. I didn't do things normally, I preferred to mix things up when it came to ballet, with pop punk music, and alternative instead of the old fashioned piano pieces.
We got down on the floor, sitting with our legs straight out in front of us and pointing our toes up and down around 20 times before repeating with the other. We then rotated our ankles, to strengthen them, ten times each.
Our warm-up was kinda basic, but it had worked for me since I had started this school, so I never complained. We continued with our stretches, before we moved onto the real business. I was already covered in a light sheen of sweat, and panting lightly. I had forgotten how much energy ballet took out of you.
I was doing my routine to My Chemical Romance's, 'This is How I Disappear'. I told you I liked to mix it up.
'Ready?' Simone asked as I took my place in the middle of the floor. I nodded my head nervously. I hated performing in front of people, a bit of an inconvenience when that was the career plan I planned to take; performing arts.
I took a few deep breaths as the music started, and tried to get lost in it and take Simone's advice.
'Keep your arms straight, like that. Good.' She barked over the music. I leaned further back, stretching my arms out before slowly standing up. 'Toes, keep them straight remember. Good, keep going.' My arms lifted slowly as I raised myself up onto my toes. 'Keep the emotion in your face, that's it. Anger, how angry are you?' I gritted my teeth asGerard Way's voice screamed 'Go.'
My signal to start. 'And turn, turn, turn keep going!' she screamed at me, as I started to get out of breath, it was hard doing these turns, I had forgotten. I kept turning, the aching in my feet becoming more prominent. Fuck, I love ballet. I continued with the routine, listening and taking Simone's advice. We did the routine five times before she told me to stop.
'You're doing amazing; I can't believe you thought that routine up yourself. Are you planning on going on with ballet?' she asked, beaming with pride. I blushed, biting my lip. It was nothing spectacular.
'Yeah, of course. It would just be a waste of a high school career if I didn't. My whole life, I've wanted to do this. I'm going to go toNew York. I haven't said to anyone yet, but that's my plan. I'll have more opportunities over there for roles in the theatre. I'm gonna try for Juilliard, some other schools too. I want to make a name for myself in the ballet world. I know that it's a terrible choice to major in ballet, and I know I'll probably be penniless and live like a hermit, but it's what I want to do. I will do it, it's my dream.' I admitted.
Everything I said was true. I had been thinking about moving toNew Yorkfor a few months soon. I knew that it would be good for my career; there would be more colleges over there willing to accept me than there would be here. There would be more work too, with the amount of theatres and production teams inNew York. But I was too young, I mean I was only seventeen going on eighteen right now, and going toNew Yorkright now would change my life dramatically. I didn't know if I was ready for it yet. My brother was twenty three years old, had made it big in the music world and still lived at home. Moving at such a young age would turn my world upside down, I would be paying bills, living on my own, making my own money, it was a lot for an eighteen year old.
That was the main reason I had decided to take a gap year. It would give me time to relax and think everything through, so I wasn't making any rash decisions. I could also improve my ballet skills, and still have plenty of time to fill in application forms. It would give me time, if I was going to move toNew York, to look at flats and stuff.
'I have no doubt that Juilliard will snap you up in a minute if you apply. You have talent, raw talent. Some of the best that this school has ever seen. Follow your dreams, just do it.' She beamed at me. I blushed bright red, I hated when people complimented me. It was embarrassing.
'Thank you.' I said quietly, smiling a little at her. I took a break, and we worked on the choreography for the younger group. After we had finished, Simone went, leaving me alone in the studio.
I decided to work on one of my older routines that I had been drilled into us last year. I loved it; it was one of my favourite. I turned the stereo up full blast and turned on 'Always' by Blink 182, it wasn't the normal music for it, but normal was over-rated. I smiled widely as the music began and became absorbed in the dance. I let the music take me, and the moves came naturally to me. The dance seemed to be ingrained in my brain. Four minutes later, I was panting heavily as the music finished.
'That was fucking awesome.' Jack's voice said, and I jumped in fright. Then I saw Jack and Alex standing by the emergency exit door. I put my hand over my heart that was beating
erratically.
'Jesus Christ, you scared the shit out of me,' I gasped 'how long have you been here?' I asked.
'Just from the beginning of that dance, you really zone out, huh?' Jack said, grinning at me. I smiled back at him, nodding slightly.
'You're early.' I said to Alex. He shook his head at me.
'Actually I'm late, it's half four. I had to pick Jack up.' He explained, I frowned I really had lost track of time.
'Oh. How did you know what Studio I was in?' I asked curiously. I was quite certain I hadn't told either of them what Studio I would be in.
'Ruby, you're pretty much the only ballet dancer that does routines with Blink 182 blasting. It wasn't hard to find you when you could hear the music from Alex's car.' Jack chuckled, and I rolled my eyes. I took my Pointe shoes off, grabbed my iPod and shoved my shit in my bag before heading out the door with them.
'Seriously, though. You're an amazing dancer.' Jack said honestly, as we walked up the pathway to Alex's Range Rover. I blushed brightly as my heart fluttered. Could I just kiss him?
'Thanks,' I mumbled, giving him a bright smile that he returned. My ego got boosted the tiniest bit.
We got into the car, me forced into the back because Jack fought me for the front seat, and Alex fiddling with the stereo.
'iPod?' he said to me, holding out his hand and I gave it him begrudgingly rolling my eyes. I had wanted to listen to it on my own on the journey home. That obviously wasn't gonna happen. He put my iPod on shuffle, and The Sharpest Lives by My Chemical Romance came on.
'Ew, you like My Chemical Romance?' Jack grimaced. I whacked the side of his head.
'Hey, don't be hating on My Chemical Romance, they're better than you guys.' I said indignantly.
He stuck his tongue out at me, rubbing the side of his face and I returned the gesture smiling. Alex skipped some songs, until we got one we all liked. 'Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous' by Good Charlotte, blasted from the speakers as Alex turned the volume up full. It was so loud it shook the car. We all screamed along to the familiar tune, massive smiles on our faces.
Always see it on T.V
Or read it in the magazines
Celebrities want sympathy
All they do is piss and moan
Inside the Rolling Stone
Talking about how hard life can be
I'd like to see them spend the week
Livin' life out on the street
I don't think they would survive
If they could spend a day or two
Walking in someone else's shoes
I think they'd fall
They would fall
We earned funny looks from passers-by as Jack put down his window and put his head out screaming the chorus. I descended into a fit of giggles in the back seat as Alex and Jack kept the singing going.
Lifestyles of the rich and the famous
They're always complaining
Always complaining
If money is such a problem
Well they got mansions
Think we should rob them
I was doubled over with laughter at Jacks antics in the front, he was doing his signature dinosaur roar, a woman walking down the street actually dropped her bags when she heard him, and then gave him a look of disgust.
By the time the song had finished I couldn't breathe. Tears of laughter rolled down my face, as Jack put his window back up and acted as though nothing had happened. He looked round at me, and then spoke to Alex.
'Um, I think your sisters having a seizure.' He said seriously, setting me off into another fit of laughter. They both laughed at me, as I tried to get my breathing back to normal. That never happened until we reached the house.
I jumped out the car, grabbing my bag and texting Lola.
Hey whore. I'm home; get your ass over here.
I sent it quickly and unlocked the door, letting Jack and Alex in. I practically ran to the kitchen for food. I grabbed a pop-tart from the cupboard and munched on it happily as Alex and Jack entered.
'Okay, so what's happening tonight?' Alex asked. I rolled my eyes, and spoke with my mouth full.
'Well, Lo's coming round just now, and we were gonna head out for seven, that okay?' I garbled, finishing my pop tart. Alex had a look of disgust on his face, and I smiled innocently at him. Jack was raiding our cupboards for something, probably peanut butter.
'Ew. But, yeah that's cool.' He said, grimacing at me.
'You can't talk Alebear. You're one of the messiest eaters I know.' I said wiping the crumbs from the side of my mouth. 'I need to go shower, I STINK.' I yelled, slightly hyper from the sugar rush. I ran up the stairs and tripped on the last step falling flat on my face.
'You alright Rubz?' Alex yelled, I groaned before yelling back and jumping up.
'Yup, just fell.' I ran into my room and into the bathroom, stepping straight into the shower. About halfway through my shower, I heard my room door bang open.
'RUBY! GET YOUR FAT ASS OUT THE SHOWER AND HELP ME GET READY.' My best friend screamed, hammering on the bathroom door. I rolled my eyes at her dramatics and finished up quickly.
'Jesus fuck, I thought my room was messy before you arrived.' I said in shock as I stepped out of my bathroom. It was like a bombsite had went off, even more clothes were littered on the floor, and my dressing table was unrecognizable because of the amount of cosmetics on it. Welcome to my life, with my best friend.
'I found you an outfit.' She said impishly, smiling at me cockily.
'If the skirt isn't at least three quarters of the way down my thigh, I aint wearing it.' I stated. I had my limits.
'Oh please. Do you actually think I would put you in something shorter than that? Only I can pull that off and look classy.' She winked.
'Show me the outfit.' I said flatly. My best friend had a wacky dress style, but she always seemed to pull it off. Me on the other hand, not so much.
'Ta daaaaa' she squealed, revealing with a flourish my outfit. I had to give her credit, it was nice. It was a cream, almost tutu like skirt that flowed down just above my knees. It was patterned with a floral design, and was almost heavy looking. The top was a tank that I would have worn on a normal day, brownish black in colour with 'Wild Child' printed on the front, and an illustrated motorbike underneath. I could see that it would be tucked into the skirt, giving it a rocky feel. The shoes, I was a little nervous about. The large heel made the shoes seem daunting, but overall they were pretty. The tan colour clashed in a good way with the outfit and the straps holding them on made them seem more sophisticated.
'What do you think?' she asked excitedly, practically squirming with anticipation. Yes, my friend was a weirdo.
'I love it!' I said genuinely, and a massive smile lit up her face.
'Good. Now, can you manage your own make-up or do I have to do that too?' she asked, I smirked.
'I'm pretty sure I can manage that.' I said, slipping into my dressing gown and walking over to my iPod. I made up a quick play-list and put it on in the background. I sang loudly along to Blink 182 as I applied my make-up, and Lola half danced around the room getting her outfit together. An hour and a half later we were ready.
We descended the stairs slowly, me wobbling slightly in the dangerous heels Lola had practically forced me into.
'I'm gonna break my ankle.' I complained as I came to the last of the stairs.
'Oh, man up.' Lola said, rolling her eyes at my melodramatics.
'If I was a man I wouldn't have to wear heels.' I quipped, smirking at her. The glare on her face made me snigger as we made our way into the living room. Jack, Alex and Zack were gathered around the television all clutching Xbox controllers and yelling at the screen. They were all dressed up, kinda.
Alex had a blue plaid shirt on, with his usual skinny jeans. Zack had a dark blue shirt on and dark skinnies, and Jack was wearing a grey shirt with black skinnies and a scrummy looking leather jacket. He looked hot.
'Fun time's over boys.' I sang, turning the television off with the remote sitting on the arm of the couch.
'Aww, Ruby! I was just about to beat – whoah.' Zack said, stopping mid sentence when he turned round to face us. His eyes were on Lola. Yeah, she did look hot.
The other boys swivelled round, and Jack looked at me with wide eyes. I felt a deep satisfaction, he was totally checking me out. I blushed a deep red.
'What happened to my little sister?' Alex questioned, looking at me with wide eyes.
'She grew up, and bought high heels.' I said smiling gently at him.
I made brief eye contact with Jack again, and he blushed lightly as I looked at him. I must look nice tonight. I smiled widely at him and tottered over.
'You can be my walking stick tonight. I'm gonna end up falling on my ass with these stupid heels.' I told him. I noticed that even with five inch heels on, Jack still towered over my 5"2 frame. He smiled at me, making my heart all a flutter.
'Sure thing, Rubster.' He chuckled. If he just leaned down a little bit…
Alex pulled me out of my trance of Jack's lips when he announced that the Taxi's were outside. They had phoned them while they were playing Call of Duty. I walked out of the house, clutching Jacks arm tightly and got into the taxi.
I had a feeling tonight was going to be interesting…very interesting.
Well, hello. This update is really late! I'm gonna try and update every wednesday or every second wednesday from now on. This is a crappy filler, DRAMA IN THE NEXT ONE! I was gonna make it all one, but it would have been uber long. Anyway, I hope you enjoy. Feel free to review, and thank you for checking out my story and adding it to your alerts. It means a lot.
