Next chapter! For those of you who are following regularly, enjoy, and I promise that this chapter, though short, will not disappoint. :) For those of you who are just now realizing I exist, I hope you like it! It makes me so happy when I can give people something entertaining to read. ;) And don't forget to review and tell me what you think of it so far!
"Where ya going?"
Kendall turned around again to see Jo staring at him complacently. Man, he wished that expression could stay on her face. He knew it would be replaced by suspicion.
"I'm going to see Marguerite. She asked me to come and-"
"Kendall..."
"Jo, I'm not doing anything! She doesn't have any friends, and I feel, I dunno, I feel kinda sorry for her. Believe me, she is nothing more than a charity case." These words stung his heart, because he had promised they would be completely honest with each other. And he knew those words were anything but truthful.
Jo looked at him for a long time. Then she sighed and shrugged. "I suppose I can't stop your heart from being as big and warm as it is. Go and hang out with her. But please make sure that you..." She walked up to Kendall and pecked him on the lips. "Make sure that you stay mine, OK?"
Kendall smiled when he kissed her again. "I will. Always and forever." He patted her hand before walking away.
He had to catch a bus to the studio, because it was too far to walk, and Logan couldn't drive him. When he was let off at his stop, he was surprised that he hadn't ever been to this part of the city. He would find his way, though. Marguerite had given him the address, and he had gone over it too many times in his head to get it wrong.
Plus, it was pretty hard to miss.
Amid all the steel and chrome of an industrialized city was a huge structure of wood, glass, and brick. Ivy climbed the walls, and niches with stained glass artistry shone colors on the pavement of the large parking lot to the right. The Los Angeles Dance Academy stood out in curling calligraphic letters on the front of a very old-world looking building with stone step ways and wrought iron latticework. A fountain tinkled merrily beside Kendall as he pulled open the clean glass door.
It took him a little bit to get his bearings. There were so many people when he first walked in, the majority of them girls as old or perhaps a bit younger than Kendall himself. Some of the girls spied him standing there like an idiot and giggled. He blushed profusely. But ever confident, he strode up to one who looked intelligent.
"Hey, does Marguerite Jacque practice in this building?"
The girl beamed at him. Her hands then proceeded to flash and turn and spin in a dizzying way. He realized she was doing sign language.
He tried to make his words as clear as possible. Maybe she could read lips. "Is Marguerite here?"
The girl threw her head back, and smiled, though Kendall knew it would have been a laugh if she had had her voice.
Another girl rushed up to the other girl's side just then, quite breathless.
"Lacy, class is already almost half way over, where have you-" She then caught Kendall's eye.
"Oh!" She just stared for a moment. Kendall was very aware that he was the only male of his age in the entire room.
"Is Marguerite Jacque here?"
The girl smiled at him. "Yes, she helps to teach my class. I'll take you there, if you like."
"Thank you," Kendall replied gratefully.
He followed her down a hallway as she dragged the deaf girl behind her. When they got to a polished cherry wood door propped open, Kendall stopped. Should he go in? Would Marguerite think it was weird? Would he feel out of place? Dozens of teenage girls gawking at him, it didn't sound very appealing.
But he didn't have time to decide what he would most like to do as the girl called Lacy grabbed his hand just as her friend dragged her through the door.
Kendall was immediately bathed in the light of sunset. The room was large and had no furnishings except a mirror hanging over the entire right wall and a few bars about waist height off the floor. But the really amazing thing about this room was one entire wall was nothing but glass. The entire street stretched out only yards from Kendall's feet, and the beach was visible as a hazy blue strip in the distance. Kendall could do little but stare, until something even more beautiful diverted his attention.
Marguerite had her own bar in front of the huge window. She was dressed in a baggy black t-shirt, and very small gray heather shorts. She had black ballet shoes on, and her hair was fastened into a loose undone bun. The sunlight made her seem as if she was glowing, and her eyes were filled with a happy contentment. Those green eyes Kendall could get lost in so easily.
The girls jerked him out of his Marguerite induced daydream. They were whispering and giggling. Kendall sat down on the floor in a corner, where he had a direct view of Marguerite. He waved to the girls. They waved back and twirled their ponytails.
"Girls, come on and focus." Marguerite swung her leg up onto the bar and slid her arms down to her feet, curving her back into a smooth arch. The other girls followed her moves exactly. They went through a number of other cool down moves. But Kendall had eyes for no-one but her. She was graceful and perfect, and Kendall knew he shouldn't be looking at her like this, but he felt like he almost couldn't help it. If you're faced with something beautiful, so beautiful everything around it feels dim and pointless, wouldn't you just want to stare? He knew his love for Jo, but he also knew he couldn't trust himself if he was alone with this girl. He would lose his self control. The feeling that she was as right for him as could be, like they were two halves of the exact same story. One couldn't be without the other.
He was called back to reality when the other ballerinas started to pile out of the studio. He watched the back of Lacy and her friend disappear through the now open door. Some of the girls chatted for a bit, but in the end, him and Marguerite were alone in the lessening radiance of twilight.
When he had risen to his feet, he walked over to her. She was faced away. But he could still hear every breath that escaped her lips.
"Hi, Kendall," she breathed. She turned to face him. "I didn't think you'd come."
"Well, I wouldn't pass this up. You were... absolutely perfect. I never knew ballet could be so amazing to watch."
She smiled. "And you only watched the cool down."
"I know!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands up. She laughed.
"C'mon. Let's get home."
"OK." She took his outstretched hand and they walked away, back to the Palm Woods.
They parted in the lobby, where Kendall could feel he was being watched. He turned around once he was alone, and was surprised to see Katie standing looking at him. He walked over to her.
"Hey, baby sister."
"Mom wants to talk to you."
He was taken aback. "OK, that's not really an appropriate greeting, but I guess I'll just-"
"Have you been with that Marguerite girl again?"
"Yes, I have. Is there a problem?"
"You know Mom doesn't want you to."
"Katie, is there a point to all this?"
"I dunno. I would do what my MOM wanted me to do, but I guess you're old enough to decide."
"Katie what's going on?"
"Just go talk to Mom."
So he did.
"Mom, I'm home!" He threw down his bag and faced the living room.
His mother was standing, looking out of the window with a dazed expression. At his voice though, she turned suddenly.
"Hey baby." She smiled, but she looked sad. "Sit down, I wanna talk to you."
He sat down, thoroughly bewildered.
"Kendall, I know that you've been spending a lot of time with that girl lately."
"Mom, I need to know why that's bad. Please, just tell me. Don't try to avoid it."
"Kendall, can't you respect the fact that I'm your mother and I don't want you to hang out with her?"
"I would like a reason. I like her a lot and I-"
"No, you CAN'T!" his mother almost shouted. She rose to her feet, breathing heavily and choking a little on a lump in her throat. She turned to him, and her eyes were filled with tears.
"Kendall, she is a part of my past I don't want to relive. Please, I don't want you to know her. Forget about her."
His mother was begging him to forget Marguerite. How did this ever happen?
"But I-"
"Please..." She buried her face in his shoulder. "Please baby..."
Her patted her shoulder. His heart was standing still with shock. He had only seen his mother cry once, when she had told him about his father, and all the pain he had caused.
"Mom, OK, I won't. Just don't cry..."
She stayed in his arms, shaking with sobs. He wondered what on earth can Marguerite mean to her that just the thought of her son hanging out with her makes her cry?
"Promise me."
His throat closed up. Could he do it? Promise to forget that beautiful part of his life so newly found?
He swallowed and banished the thought of those eyes from his mind.
"I promise."
It's taking off now, huh? ;)
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