HEY! I'm a big retard for not saying this sooner, but I want to thank Gotensfirebendintwin for the review. Much obliged. ; Well, if that isn't something… I have 365 hits already. Haha, one for each day of the year! Lucky me! XD I also have sad news to report, the voice of Uncle Iroh has passed away. In my profile I have alink to a site where they have a small tribute in his honor. May he rest in peace.
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Today must have been Marisol's luck day or something because the music started as soon as she had positioned herself correctly on the stage.
The song she was to do her number to was a slower jazzy tune that is very similar to, in many ways, the song Fever, meaning that it is sultry and it has almost a seductive quality to it; that was exactly how Margan wanted Marisol to come off to the audience, sultry and a tad seductive. But for the most part, Marisol felt like a big, fat idiot prancing about on stage.
As the song continued on, Marisol realized the it was about the time that she 'chose' a person from the audience to bring on stage; not that she actually had to choose the guy, Margan did all that for her. All she had to do was point out the man immediately to Margan's left; he was the 'luck one' who actually paid for the experience.
" Hmm… He's a new face," thought Marisol as she singled out the pale young man with the wicked burn on his face. Margan leaned over and whispered something to him before the young man turned and started to walk up to the stage. Normally the men that are picked run to the stage like a kid running to catch the ice cream truck, but this one took his sweet time getting to the stage, which annoyed Marisol to no end because it threw her routine off slightly. When he finally reached the stairs, Marisol impulsively ran over, grabbed his hand and pulled him over to the center of the stage. Surprised the young man tried to take a step towards her but she was too quick for him for she twirled out of reach behind him. Again, the young man tried to move so Marisol had to hiss from behind gritted teeth, "Don't you dare move or you'll ruin everything!"
The young man knew how to take an order, blatant or not, because he went as rigid as a statue, allowing Marisol to continue with her routine. The next move the performance demanded of her was that she place her hands upon the young man's shoulders and 'grind' on him. The move looked like she was all over him, but in reality, the only other thing that touched him, besides her hands, was her hair. A couple of sultry moves later, and the song was finally coming to a close, Marisol's least favorite part.
At the very end of her solo, Marisol had to do 'floor work', which was basically throwing herself at the guy's feet. It was supposed to make her look submissive but Marisol thought it looked like she was having a seizure in skimpy clothes.
When the time came, Marisol felt she had one mean luck streak because the young man kept his eyes solely on her face instead of her chest like the others usually did. It was a little unnerving, but also strangely calming to know that he wasn't like any of the others.
The song finally ended with Marisol doing her signature closing move, it's where she grabs the guy's calves and leans back, and not once did her eyes leave his face. She was careful to keep a close eye on him because she didn't know what he was liable to do when he thought she wasn't looking. Her vigilance was paid off when he thought she couldn't see his gaze drift down from her face and past her throat to linger on her chest. But, when the lights went down and Marisol pulled her head back up, his gaze snapped back to her face.
"Ooh, think you're slick, do you? Typical…" thought Marisol as she got up and grabbed the young man's sleeve and motioning him to follow her. The young man followed without comment as they passed the next act, which was Lily, Afina and Akina doing acrobatics. They paused right outside of one of the dressing rooms where Marisol told him to wait just outside as she changed her outfit.
Her next costume, by far, was the skimpiest she ever had to wear. It was comprised of a pair of super short shorts and a bikini top. Every single one of the girls detested the outfit.
When Marisol was finished changing she stepped out to where the young man was waiting, and when he turned to face her, his eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"Oh please," scolded Marisol, "Stop it, it's creeping me out. It's not like you didn't get an eyeful already". The young man tried to form the right words in his defense but the sight of her seemed to knock all sense out of him and rendered him tongue-tied. Marisol ignored him and flipped her hair over to bind it into a high ponytail.
" Your tattoo…" he finally said when he spotted it on her right shoulder, "…When did you get it?"
" Had it for as long as I can remember," she replied before lifting her head and throwing her hair back with an audible whoosh, "How about your burn there? Doesn't seem too new…" The young man didn't reply. " Oh, I'm sorry, did I hit a sore spot for you?" continued Marisol sarcastically with a raised brow.
He didn't reply to that either.
" Then we're even. My tattoo is like your burn; both are sore subjects of conversation, both hold painful memories and we'd both like to hide them but can't seem to," said Marisol as she peered into a mirror to check her appearance.
" But you can hide yours far easier," he retorted as he watched her intently.
" Yeah right, not in this business," said Marisol as Hua walked over and told Marisol that they were on in one. Marisol nodded her assent and Hua left the way she came from, but not before eyeing the young man and shooting Marisol a 'who is he and what is he doing here?' look.
When Hua had walked out of sight, Marisol sighed and said, "Look, who ever you are, just stay here and don't move. I've got two more performances to do and after that Margan will see to you. I've got to go".
After Marisol walked off, Zuko was at a loss. He didn't know his way around and he certainly didn't want to be waiting like an idiot. Marisol had already made him feel like a bumbling idiot and he wasn't too proud the she, a girl, had been able to do that to him.
So, in a twisted way of revenge, Zuko ignored what Marisol had told him and started to walk in the same direction she had left in. He spent what felt like several minutes running into dead ends and when he believed himself totally lost, the music started to play. He was able to follow the sound of the music and he ended up in the left wing of the stage.
All the girls were dancing in the same hoochie outfits he saw Marisol sport and they were more or less synchronized because he noticed that the girl furthest from him had lost her place a little. As he continued watching her, Zuko noticed the girl next to her, the same one that had warned Marisol that she had one minute till stage time noted Zuko, extend her leg a little further than necessary and 'kicked' the one out of sync. Immediately, he noticed that the one that was off corrected her erratic movements.
Zuko was impressed that he caught that and it inspired him to keep looking for more signs between the dancers.
By the time the song ended and the girls had scampered off to change into their next outfit, Zuko had caught at least forty covert messages. The only problem was that he didn't know what half of them meant…
