Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story. It all belongs to Mr Baz Luhrmann and everyone else involved in making the wonderful movie about the Moulin Rouge. I would like to apologise for any grammar and spelling mistakes… just be gentle lol

He doesn't know that I'm standing here. He is writing. I've never seen anyone so devoted to his work. He is crying, I can hear it clearly… That is my wake up call. I have to come clean. The poor penniless sitar player deserves to know the truth about the once sparkling diamond. His fingers know exactly where to go. They are going in a steady pace, but now they are slowing down. He stops, looks out the window at my old work place, puts his head in his hands… How could little old me have caused such a destruction? The first time I saw him HE was the sparkling diamond. He was fresh and new… He starts typing again… But now he reads the words out loud as he types them.

"And then on a not so special day I sat down and wrote our story. A story about a time… a story about a place… a story about love… a love that will live forever… The end" He stopped. A lump developed in my throat. I can't cry now. I have to stay strong. He thinks I'm a bitch and I probably am… and he should think that way when I reveal the truth. I can't keep it back anymore. I take a step towards him. I try not to make any noise, but as I sweep past an empty bottle of absinthe lying on the floor it starts to roll. The sound cuts through the air. It has been so silent for so long. Christian jumps, his head turns fast. His beautiful blue/grey eyes are all red and sore. His cheeks wet. He looks shocked and angry.

"Nini! What are you doing here?! Can't you see I'm busy?! Don't you have ANY respect?!" He is yelling. Bursting towards me. Clenching my wrists and holding me up against the wall. I'm scared. I've never seen this side of a person before. It's like he is possessed.

"Oh Shakespeare… I thought you would like some company…" DAMN! Why did I always have to screw things up? I hate what I've become. The accent (If I can call it an accent) isn't even mine, it just comes out. Why can't I just speak from the heart? He throws me out the door. He doesn't say anything, he just looks at me. I want to say something, something human, something sympathetic…

"Toulouse is dead"… Close enough. I turn around and walk out of the building. I can still feel Christian's glance in the back of my head as I stand out on the street staring up at the red windmill. My thoughts drift to the first time I lay eyes on it. They drift to the time before I was known as Nini-Pattes-En-L'air. I've never revealed my real name to anyone I met at the Moulin Rouge. Nanette… That's my real name. Now that I don't dance anymore I should brush the dust of it and use it more often.

"Wait! Stay right there!" I twirled around. Christian shouted down to me. I could see him grab his hat and run towards the door of his room. A few seconds later he stood out on the street with me. God… Now I have to behave… I want to tell him the truth.

"Christian" "Nini" we say at the same time. I blush and for the first time in a long while I can see a smile on his face, It's not a big smile, but it's a smile.

"You realise that Nini isn't my real name?" I say… Good… just something to brake the ice.

"Well of course. I didn't think your last name was legs in air either… hehe" Wow… a brave attempt to make a joke. I smile back at him.

"Yeah… I keep forgetting how smart you are. I'm Nanette" Not too bad. At least I didn't stamp all over his feelings.

"Well uhm… Nanette I just… I thought…" He was stuttering.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, I got the impression that you came to talk to me about something. And I got a hunch that it wasn't about Toulouse…" He stared down at his feet.

"Why did you come to that solution?" I don't feel like telling him right here and now so I'm going to stick to my story about coming to him to inform him about Toulouse.

"Well. You and Toulouse were good friends, and I don't think that you would wear that dress to tell someone the tragic news" Damn… I keep forgetting that he is the master of lies here. I look down at my dress. It's bright yellow with quite a plunging neckline.

"Okey you are right. I didn't want to talk about Toulouse… I actually got some information about Satine that I thought you should know" Wow… Didn't that come out a bit too fast?

"Uhm… But I don't want to talk about it standing here in the middle of the street. So… Nevermind" I turn on the spot and walk away from him. He stands there shocked. He shouts something to me, but I'm not listening. I have to talk to the doctor. The doctor can tell Christian what happened. Yeah… that's a good plan. The best I've had for a while.

~~~~

"You have to promise me that you will be gentle with him. Try to avoid mentioning the parts where I'm involved" I have to talk fast. I can't stand his face. You get that feeling after you unwillingly have to make love to someone. He didn't rape me, but it was just something I had to do.

"Remember, just be professional, be a doctor. That's what you do best after all" Gah those eyes. They keep drifting away from my face and down on my body all the time. I can't stay here anymore. I have to go back to my fiancé.

"But miss… You are very involved in all of this. I can't tell him the truth without mentioning you" That little old bastard. If he thinks that will get me to bed, then he better think again. I just roll my eyes and walk out. I have better things to do, I'm praying he won't tell on me too bad.

I'm standing outside the door of my new home. It's located just outside of Montmartre. I'm scared now that James will og all nasty on me and ask me a hundred questions about where I've been and what I've done. But I can't tell him anything.

"Where have you been my dear?" The sound of his voice makes my whole body twitch.

"Oh I've just been down at the Moulin Rouge informing old friends about our loss" I'm hoping he will fall for it. After all James is very gullible.

"Loss? What loss?" I stand there gaping for a little while. I recollect myself and reply as firm as I can.

"Toulouse is dead James. I've lost a good friend. I want other people who know him to know too" He snurps up his mouth and goes back to reading something. It looks like a letter. But I'm not interested.

Now guys… what do you think? Don't worry the rest of the story will come soon. I've got the whole plot written down, I just have to fill in the blanks and polish the story a bit. I would really like to know what you think about this beginning. Is it interesting? Is it different from other Nini fics? (I've only read one.. and this is very different from the one I read)…