"Don't tell me he's in this class too" Ciel said as Arran entered the Dance class dressed in shorts and a vest.
"I guess he is" Alois said.
Ciel sat down on the floor and then began stretching. Alois stood up and lifted her legs up so she could stretch properly. Ciel sat up and then did a handstand. She spread her legs wide apart and Alois put his hands on either side of her waist to slowly lower her onto the floor.
"I can feel your little stalker's blush a mile away" Alois teased and Ciel sat up just as Sebastian entered the room.
"Welcome back to Dance. You all did rather well in your final. Actually better than I thought you would be"
A few chuckles and high fives broke out from the students.
"So partner up and we'll begin. Oh, Ciel you're with me again" Sebastian said.
"Why don't you choose another girl, sir?" Emily asked.
"Because Ciel is shorter than many of you and is quite easy to lift" Sebastian replied.
Ciel blushed and Alois nudged her. He went to partner with Emily and Ciel headed over to the front with Sebastian.
"Today we'll be starting the quickstep" Ciel shot a panicked look at Sebastian like the rest of the class.
"I know, it might be complicated but we have two weeks to complete it. Let's begin with basic movements"
By the time the class ended, Ciel had an aching waist to take care of. After the basic movements they had done a quick dance around the room. It required a lot of energy and many of the students were left exhausted by the routine. School ended quickly for everyone and Ciel decided to call Claude to pick them up. She was way too tired to walk.
"Hey, Ciel!"
"No, anyone but him" Ciel groaned and Alois chuckled.
"I was wondering if we could practice together for the music competition. You're way better in piano than I am" Arran said with a sunny smile.
"I don't know, Arran. The music room's taken by seniors after school" Ciel said.
"Then how about in the morning? No one will be in the music room before school starts" Arran suggested.
"Sure Arran. Tomorrow morning at seven. But only for half an hour" Ciel replied.
"Okay! Thanks Ciel!" Arran ran off and Ciel turned to Alois who had a teasing smile on his face.
"Shut up" Ciel snapped.
"I didn't say anything" Alois replied and Claude's car came driving up.
As soon as they reached the mansion, Ciel limped up the stairs to her room. Hannah was waiting for her with fresh clothes.
"Are you in pain, my lady?" Hannah asked.
"Yeah, Dance class was murder" Ciel replied.
"After your shower I can give you a massage if you wish" Hannah offered.
"That sounds heavenly. I'll be out in a few minutes" Ciel replied.
Ciel finished showering and then Hannah made her lie down on the double bed. Then Hannah began the massage and Ciel relaxed. There was a knock at the door.
"Who is it?" Ciel asked.
"Sebastian, my lady" Sebastian replied.
"Come in"
Sebastian opened the door and then closed it behind him. He bowed and Ciel glanced over at him.
"An invitation had been received from Kang, my lady" Sebastian said.
"Kang? The Chinese opium dealer? Hasn't the Queen discovered his dealings yet?" Ciel asked.
"Apparently not yet. He has invited you as well as Master Alois to a midday get-together at his mansion" Sebastian replied.
"I'll have to see whether we're busy but I don't think so. Check Alois's schedule with Claude. If he's fine with it then we'll go accompanied by you two" Ciel said.
"As you wish"
Sebastian left and Ciel relaxed. When Hannah finished, Ciel had already fallen asleep.
The next morning, Ciel and Alois went to school early. Alois disappeared elsewhere so Ciel went to the music room by herself. She could hear Arran practicing by himself. He looked up when she entered the room.
"Where's your boyfriend?" Arran asked.
"Who? Alois? He's not my boyfriend" Ciel replied.
"You guys are joined at the hip so I just thought..." Arran's voice trailed off.
"Everyone makes that mistake" Ciel replied.
She dragged a stool over and then sat down. Arran busied himself with arranging the sheet music so Ciel fiddled with her iPod.
"I was planning on playing one of Beethoven's numbers for the competition" Arran said.
"That will be too common wouldn't it? I'm sure there are lots of seniors using Beethoven. Why not use something different?" Ciel asked.
"Like what?"
Ciel flipped through the songs in her iPod and then found the song she had been planning to play. She clicked on 'Tu Muskura' from the Indian movie Yuvvraaj and the classical music began playing. She closed her eyes and then let the music take over her body. Arran also fell silent as he listened to the song. As the song ended Ciel opened her eyes and saw Arran sitting still.
"That was beautiful" he said.
"I'm planning to play that in the competition" Ciel said.
"It sounds complicated" Arran commented.
"It's not that difficult. It just needs to be arranged into a piano melody more than a violin melody" Ciel replied.
"You're really talented, Ciel" Arran commented and Ciel smiled.
"I'll see you later, Arran. Good luck" She stood up.
"Good luck to you too" He said and Ciel left the music room.
That morning, the competition began. Ciel wished Alois luck before he headed off to play his cello. The competition went on and finally the piano players were called in. Ciel sat down on the piano bench and closed her eyes. She began playing quietly and slowly built up the tempo of the song. Her hands also moved faster and faster until they were a blur. Everyone applauded went she completed her solo.
"Male and female vocals will be judged tomorrow since our time is up. Thank you everyone. It was spectacular" Sebastian said.
Ciel grabbed her bag and was about to walk over to Alois when Arran blocked her.
"You were amazing, Ciel!" Arran exclaimed.
"Thank you Arran. You were really good too" Ciel said, her grip tightening on her bag.
"I'm sure you'll get selected for the piano solo. You'll be competing in the vocals too?"
"Yeah. You've been selected for vocals too right?" Ciel asked.
"Yup. I haven't really been practicing that much but I hope I don't choke in the middle of the song" Arran replied.
"It's us against the seniors. The competition will be huge" Ciel commented.
"Ciel! Let's go!" Alois said from the doorway.
"Bye, Arran. Good luck for tomorrow!" Ciel ran off before Arran could say anything more.
That night, Sebastian entered Ciel's room. He undressed her and then dressed her in her nightclothes. Ciel could feel something was wrong.
"You didn't kiss me when I got home" Ciel said holding out her arms.
"You should sleep. You have a big day tomorrow" Sebastian replied.
"What's wrong?" Ciel asked folding her arms.
"Nothing's wrong, mistress" Sebastian replied.
"You only call me mistress when you're trying to push me away. Tell me what's bothering you"
"It's the brat who's hovering around you" Sebastian replied.
"Who? Arran? You can't possibly be worried about him. He wouldn't hurt a fly" Ciel said.
"He has feelings for you Ciel. As the person who has given you his nonexistent heart, I should be worried after all" Sebastian said.
"Well you shouldn't be worried at all. I love you and not Arran" Ciel replied.
She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head against his chest. Sebastian sighed as Ciel's arms tightened around his slim waist.
"Don't worry about Arran" she repeated and Sebastian sighed again.
