A day later, Fèlicie and Mattheau were sitting at their new favorite spot to hang out: Mattheau's roof. They had been just talking for a while, but things had been moved up a notch since then. "Okay, okay," Fèlicie giggled. "Truth or dare?" Mattheau thought about it for a moment. "Truth," he answered slowly. Fèlicie smiled and lowered her voice. "Have you ever kissed a girl?" Mattheau immediately felt his cheeks turn bright red and his heart started beating fast. "Uh...I-I.." he stuttered. "Hmm?" Fèlicie asked, pretending to be innocent. Mattheau started panicking, and when he panicked he couldn't think straight. "N-not yet?" he tried.

Fèlicie just rolled her eyes and leaned in closer. "Are you suuuure?" she teased. Mattheau started getting worried that she knew something he didn't, and he tried to flip the conversation around. "Y-yeah I'm sure! Are you?" he asked. "Oh please," Fèlicie said, as she playfully tapped Mattheau's nose. "You're playing hard to get, aren't you?" Mattheau frowned in confusion. "Hard to get?" He echoed, "If you remember correctly, princess, you had me at 'hello,' right?"

Fèlicie shook her head and tousled Mattheau's hair. "You've got to be the most absentminded gentleman I've ever met," she said. "Well you've got to be the most rough-and-tumble ballerina I've ever met." Mattheau replied. Suddenly Fèlicie jumped up and got an excited look on her face. "That reminds me, I have practice later today for the Nutcracker and I want you to be there!" Mattheau was a little surprised, but agreed nonetheless. "Yeah of course! I can't wait!" He responded, "I know you'll nail it."

At that moment, Fèlicie lowered her eyes and the smile left her face. "Well I'm glad you think so, because I have to nail it." Mattheau was confused, especially since he knew nothing about ballet anyways. "What do you mean? Like you have to as in the sense that it's a personal goal? Or you have no choice?" Fèlicie sighed and held up two fingers, indicating the second option. "B-but how? You got the part, didn't you?" Suddenly Mattheau remembered that he had quit the auditions and left the theater before Fèlicie had done her audition. "You did get the part, right?" He slowly asked.

Fèlicie closed her eyes and shook her head slowly. "Then...why are you going to practice?" Mattheau asked, truly shocked at the whole situation. "Because..." Fèlicie began, "I made a bet. The man running the production, Merante, you remember him?" Mattheau nodded attentively. "Well he and I...didn't agree on the outcome of the auditions. He said that I might have a chance of getting the part, but only if I practice nonstop." Mattheau couldn't believe what he was hearing. All the drama involving ballet was slowly killing Fèlicie's spirit.

"But I didn't see any other officials at the auditions...who are you practicing with?" Mattheau asked. Fèlicie looked up and smiled a little. "I met a very kind woman named Odette," she began. "She...used to be a ballet dancer. Until there was an accident." Mattheau was unable to make virtually any sense out of that statement, so he tried a different question. "Um...what was the accident?" Fèlicie took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "There was a fire onstage," she said. "Odette hurt her leg badly...she's been using a cane ever since."

Mattheau took a moment to let all this sink in, then remembered what they had originally been talking about. "But what does all this have to do with you?" he asked. Fèlicie sniffed a little and crossed her arms. "Merante said that Odette would have to work with me privately, since I haven't been to formal ballet school. And..." Fèlicie hesitated, unsure if she should continue. "It's alright, you can tell me." Mattheau said, gently placing a hand on Fèlicie's shoulder. She took a deep breath before continuing. "If I mess something up and don't get the part...I-I'm out."

Mattheau tilted his head in concern. "Out? What do you mean by out?" he asked nervously. Fèlicie shrugged and stared at the ground. "It means I'm done," she muttered. "I'll have nothing left to do. Except for going back to the orphanage." Mattheau felt like the ground was slipping out from under his feet. He refused to believe that he could lose this girl he cared so much about, especially when she was so close to achieving her dream. "Please Fèlicie, there has to be something we can do! You can't just give up and go back to the orphanage if you don't get the part!" Mattheau begged. "Then what can I do?" Fèlicie responded.

"I...I don't know." Mattheau answered in a low voice. "But I know we'll figure something out. Together." Fèlicie wiped her eyes. "But how? How do you know we can do it?" Mattheau looked at her and felt some sense of dependency, meaning if all else failed, at least Fèlicie can continue her dream. "Because you..." Mattheau slowly began. "You just keep finding something to fight for. Your optimism is what motivates me to get up everyday to see you. If it weren't for you, I don't know where I'd be right now."

Fèlicie smiled and hugged Mattheau tightly. "Now come on," Mattheau said. "We've got a dance practice to get you to." He offered Fèlicie his hand, and she stood up and took it in hers. Unbeknownst to them, as they walked to the theater a tall, shadowy figure was watching from around a corner. "It appears that the street rat mustn't fail this practice, or else she is out...and my little Camille will get the spot." The figure smiled sinisterly as she started following the two children.