The girls spun around and quickly descended the stairs, grabbing their bags, leaving a flustered Ally to quickly gain her composure and follow after them. They began briskly walking down the aisle towards the back of the theater, and Ally nearly had to run to keep up.
"What am I in on, exactly?" Ally said, breathing heavily. The blonde stopped in her tracks and whirled around, causing Ally to nearly slam into her. Her mouth hung open and she looked at Ally as if she was crazy.
"Are you serious?" The blonde asked, looking Ally over. When she realized that Ally was, she sighed. "You're so ignorant, it's cute."
Ally blushed and looked down at her shoes. The redhead put an arm around Ally's shoulder and the group continued walking, this time Ally in line with them and not trailing behind. They headed through the doors, through the lobby, and out onto the street, where a huge town car was awaiting them. The driver opened the door and the redhead nudged Ally forwards. Ally clambered into the car and gasped.
It was probably the nicest car she'd ever been in. It was pretty much a luxury limo rolled up into a SUV. The black leather seats faced each other, and a light strip along the trim gave the car a soft, luxurious glow. Ally took a seat on the bench where her back was to the driver. Like a limo, the driver was separated from them by a little window.
The three girls climbed in after her and sat across from her. Ally rested her backpack on her lap, while the girls set their designer bags by their feet.
"So…" Ally began, as the car pulled away from the curb, "Can someone explain to me what exactly this all is? I mean one girl told me this was all for some magician-"
"Not some magician," the black haired girl said, cutting Ally off, "the magician."
The redhead shuffled through her bag and produced a small stack of magazines. She handed them over to Ally. Ally looked at the cover to see a ridiculously handsome guy flanked by four girls; three of them were the ones sitting before her, the other was a tall brunette. It was like this on each cover: the guy stood with his arms crossed and a mischievous smile while the four girls stood on either side, all glammed up with revealing costumes and big headdresses.
"What happened to the brunette?" Ally asked, still looking over the magazines. Headlines screamed, "Las Vegas' New It Man" or "The Hottest Act On the Strip: Austin Moon."
"She went after-"The redhead began, but the blonde gave her a hard look that cut her off.
"She just couldn't handle it," The blonde said, reaching over and taking the magazines from Ally. "Anyways, what's your name?"
"Ally Dawson," Ally replied.
"Ally," the blonde said, as if trying her name out. "Simple. I like it."
"I'm Delaney," the blonde says, pointing to herself, "this is Pandora," she points to the redhead, "and that's Evie," she points to the black haired girl.
"Don't even think about calling me Dora." Pandora says, narrowing her eyes at Ally.
"Wouldn't dream of it…" Ally said cautiously.
"Anyways," Delaney says, rolling her eyes, "Before we start discussing things, you need to know the rules. One: You never, ever talk about Austin's illusions to anyone other than the three of us. Two: No matter what you're going through, when you're on stage you have to act like you're having the time of your life. I don't care if you just found out your grandmother died, you smile and look pretty. And three: you don't speak to Austin. But you shouldn't have to worry about that, he's not going to talk to you."
Delaney's face was hard, and Ally gulped. "O-ok."
"Oh! And four:" Evie chimed in, "don't make us look bad."
Pandora and Delaney nodded.
"Thousands of girls would kill to be in your position, Ally. Do you understand?" Delaney says, her eyes hard.
"Y-yes, I do." Ally stammered, although she still wasn't quite sure.
"Good." Delaney leaned back into her seat, crossing her long, thin legs. "Now let's get to business."
"You'll obviously be the singer," Pandora states.
"Wait, what? I thought this was a magic show."
"It is," Evie says, beginning to file her already perfect nails. "I guess you can say it's a… musical magic show."
"Tourists want more than just a magic show," Delaney contributes. "The live music and original songs makes us different from any other show on the Strip. I usually sang most the songs, but you're… really good." Delaney twists her face as if the compliment pained her. "We sing backup. It's important that you sing, but don't make a big deal about it. It's Austin's show, not ours. We want all the focus to be on Austin."
"Ok, simple enough, I guess." Ally looked out the window and realized that the Strip was far behind them and they were starting to head out into what seemed like total desert. These girls are going to kill me, Ally thought, why did I think getting into a car with complete strangers was a good idea?
Ally was just contemplating the pros and cons of jumping out of the speeding vehicle when Delaney spoke up.
"Ally," she said, her voice surprisingly soft, "I just want to warn you. Once you get on that stage, there's no backing down. This new world is going to be a whirlwind, trust me. But we're here for you. We've been where you are right now before. We can help you. But just… be prepared, ok?"
A lump formed in Ally's throat. "Ok."
-A&A-
It turned out that they were actually headed to a secret rehearsal building. From the outside, it looked like an abandoned textile factory that was randomly plopped down in the middle of the desert. There were no roads to it, making it very unassuming. The inside was a whole different story. The inside was the size of about half a football field. When you enter through the front door, you nearly run right into a stage mockup of the one in the AXIS Theater. It turns out that the building was mostly for practicing everything that went on behind the scenes.
Going up the stairs and into the stage wing revealed a huge well lit room that the stage blocked off. There were dozens and dozens of tables for makeup, hair, and electrical equipment lined up on the back wall. Rows and rows of clothes racks were pushed to the left, while technical equipment was pushed to the right.
But what was most impressive were the objects that covered the rest of the giant expanse of floor. Ally gasped as she realized that probably every prop she had ever seen in any magic show was present. There were boxes on wheels, chairs mounted onto of platforms, everything.
"Don't try to take it all in at once," Evie said, playfully nudging Ally's shoulder.
"Do you guys seriously use all this stuff in the show?" Ally said in awe, yet gulping as they passed what looked to be very real, very sharp blades.
"No, we're always switching things up, combining different illusions. Gotta keep things fresh."
The group finally reached the back of the room, where the hair and makeup tables were nestled.
"Alright, Ally," Delaney said, putting her hands on her hips. Ally could see that the protective girl from the car was gone. "We're going to get you all done up, and go through a dress rehearsal."
"A dress rehearsal?!" All screeched. "You literally hired me not even an hour ago, and I didn't even know what I was auditioning for!"
"Relax, Ally," Pandora said as she sifted through the costume racks. "The next show is in two days, you have plenty of time."
Delaney grabbed a stack of papers from a nearby table and handed them to Ally, while at the same time Pandora thrust a hanger into her hands. Ally looked over the costume that she had been given.
"Oh there is no way in hell that I'm wearing this!" The outfit was like someone had taken a silver flapper's outfit and cut it in two, making a crop top and shorts.*
Evie rolled her eyes. "It's not even revealing. It's just a crop top."
"I've never worn a crop top." Ally nearly whined.
"Well there's a first time for everything."
Pandora and Evie strutted off to go change into matching costumes. Ally looked down at the papers Delaney had given her.
"They're the lyrics," Delaney explained, "for the current show. We change the songs every six week or so when we change acts. Evie will go over them with you during hair. Go get changed."
Ally set the papers down on the table and scampered off to the little corner that was curtained off. She changed quickly and looked at herself in the mirror. She had to admit: she kind of liked the outfit. She did a little shimmy and watched the shiny fringe bounce and catch the light. Maybe this wasn't all as bad as she thought.
When she returned to the hair table, she found all three girls already changed and starting to get their hair styled. She took the seat next to Evie and a woman appeared behind her, immediately starting to try and tame Ally's wild locks.
"So," Evie began, "let's start with the first song…"
Ally and Evie spent the rest of hair and makeup discussing melodies and tempos. Ally actually felt prepared for the singing (that was the easy part) but she had no idea what to expect as far as the "magic" part.
Ally looked at herself in the mirror after the woman finished her makeup and gasped. She looked like a whole new person and she was-dare she say- beautiful. Ally hardly wore makeup, because Dallas had always told her not to.
"Not used to all the make up?" Pandora asked, stepping beside her to look in the mirror, fluffing her hair.
"No. My boyfriend-ex-boyfriend, actually, never let me wear it." Ally tilted her head side to side, still not believing she was looking at herself.
"Well screw him. Does the makeup make you feel good?"
Ally stared at her face in the mirror, still entranced. "Yeah, I guess. I feel beautiful-powerful, even."
"Well then it's settled. From here on out I say you say 'screw what my crappy ex-boyfriend thinks I'm going to look good for my own self.'"
Ally laughed as Pandora held her fist in the air. Pandora smiled and started towards the stage, Ally following beside her.
"Now's when the real magic begins." Pandora said dramatically as they stepped out of the wing and onto center stage, where Evie and Delaney awaited.
"Ok," Delaney said, clapping her hands together. "You got the songs down, correct?"
Ally nodded.
"Perfect. Now all we have to do is show you the routine."
Ally looked around for a moment, realizing one thing was missing.
"Wait, what about Austin? Isn't the magician supposed to do the illusions?"
Evie snickered.
"Austin doesn't practice with us." Delaney said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "We pretty much do all the work. Austin just has to show up."
Evie motioned Ally over to a chair that was situated on a platform with stairs leading up to it on either side.
"This is simple," Evie explained. "You're not claustrophobic, right?"
"No..." Ally said, a little worried.
"Good. You're going to have to get used to being in tight, sometimes uncomfortable places for a while."
Evie motioned for Allie to go sit on the chair.
"Ok," Pandora began, "like most illusions, you need to be quick. When Austin and Delaney pull this sheet up," she motions to Evie and she and Delaney lift up the sheet up and over Ally's head and it quickly blocks Ally from view. "Reach under the bottom of the seat. Do you feel a lever? Pull it." Ally did and the seat gave out from under her. She held herself up with her arms on the armrests. "Ok this part is important; you need to stand so your feet are in that square. The audience can see your head, so it needs to look like you haven't moved at all. Try it again."
Ally pulled the seat back up and sat down. The sheet was starting to feel stifling. "And now!" On Pandora's cue, Ally pulled the lever, bracing herself this time, and lowered her feet into the base. "Perfect! So then they will lower the sheet, just to your chest, to show the audience that you're still there. As they pull it up, you need to pull the decoy up and lower yourself at the same time, so he sheet goes over the decoy." Ally did as she was told, pulling the decoy (which was a head shaped sphere on a hinge) up as she crouched down.
"Perfect! Now you're going to sit and put your legs down one side, and then you're going to have to bend backwards into the other half. I know it's uncomfortable, but trust me after a while it's not even that bad."
Ally eased down and was surprised to see that the stairs were hollow, so that her body fit perfectly. It was a little tight, and the blood was sort of rushing to her head, but Ally felt a slight thrill. She had just "disappeared." She was actually excited to be a part of the illusion.
"That's great, Ally! So then they'll pull the sheet backwards so it knocks down the decoy, and Bam! You're gone! Then you'll get wheeled backstage real fast and a stagehand will help you out."
The side opened and Evie helped Ally slide out. For another two and a half hours the girls went over cues, motions, timing, and other tricks where Ally had to contort her body to fit into small boxes. The stage manager watched them do a run through and then dismissed them for the day.
"I'm impressed, Ally," Delaney said, flipping her hair off of her shoulder. "I think after tomorrow's rehearsal you'll be totally ready for the show."
Ally was relieved she was meeting Delaney's expectations. The girls changed out of their costumes and back met up at the front door of the building. They climbed into the car and the driver started off back towards downtown.
"So Ally," Evie began. "Since you're now officially a Moon girl, you'll be staying with the rest of us. I mean, if you want to, of course."
"Actually that sounds great. Where do you guys live?" Ally didn't even question the whole Moon Girl thing because Evie had said it like it was the highest honor someone could achieve.
"We have the Nobu Penthouse at Caesar's Palace." Delaney said nonchalantly.
Ally's eyes almost bulged out of her head. "Are you serious? Doesn't that go for like four thousand dollars a night?!"
"More or less," Pandora shrugged.
Ally was in shock. She was going to be sleeping in four thousand dollars a night hotel room.
"How do you guys afford to live there?"
Evie laughed like Ally was a small child asking ridiculous questions. "The shows, duh. Austin pays for us to stay there, though."
"How much do you get paid for the shows?" Ally gaped.
"Depends on your rank; you know, like your seniority." Pandora shrugged.
"I make about two thousand a show," Delaney stated.
"Eighteen hundred." Pandora chimed in.
"A little over seventeen hundred." Evie nodded.
Ally was sure her eyes were about to pop out of her head.
"You'll start out at just under a thousand, but trust me; it just goes up and up for every show." Delaney said distractedly as she began to rummage through her Louis Vuitton bag.
Ally couldn't speak. She couldn't believe the way the girls talked about the huge sums of money so nonchalantly.
"Are you kidding me?" Delaney groaned.
"What?" Evie said, not even looking up from her phone.
"I lost my Coach scarf. It was one of my favorites." Delaney whined.
"Hey, we can stop by Fashion Show on the way." Pandora said.
Delaney instantly perked up. "Yay!"
"Fashion Show?" Ally questioned.
"It's this high end mall right on the Strip." Evie said, still consumed by her phone.
"Let the driver know we need to make a stop." Delaney ordered Ally.
Ally turned in her seat and opened the little window.
"Can we stop at Fashion Show, please?" Ally asked awkwardly. She felt weird giving the guy orders.
"Sure thing, miss." The driver caught her gaze in the mirror and tipped his hat. Ally closed the window and sunk down into her seat.
"After we do some shopping we can drop by wherever you need to grab your stuff." Delaney said.
"Actually, this is all the stuff that I have." Ally said, gesturing to her backpack.
"What?!" Pandora shrieked. "Does that mean that you only have one outfit?!"
When Ally nodded, Pandora clutched her heart and pretend fainted.
"How did you come to Vegas and only pack one outfit?"
Ally sighed and launched into her tale of being stranded by Dallas.
"Ok, we definitely need to go shopping now."
-A&A-
Ally had a mountain of various clothing items in her arms. Delaney, Pandora, and Evie were sifting through the racks of Urban Outfitters.
"You do realize I only have thirty seven dollars right now, right?" Ally watched as Pandora pulled a black lace dress and flung it into Ally's arms.
"Don't be silly, Ally! After finally getting rid of that deadweight-you-called-a-boyfriend, you deserve it. Trust us, we want to get these clothes for you. You're like our own little doll that we get to dress up!"
Evie and Delaney nodded enthusiastically. Ally laughed and shifted the weight of the clothes.
"Oh this is perfect!" Delaney exclaimed as she held up a black leather jacket. "You'd look so badass in it!"
Ally rolled her eyes teasingly.
"Yeah right," she said, but still took it from Delaney and added it to the pile.
After trying on the pile of clothes, Ally left the store with three bags teeming with her new wardrobe. They walked farther down the mall, stopping at Coach where Delaney purchased a scarf and also a purse for Ally that she insisted went with everything. They continued walking, each girl weighted down by all her bags.
Pandora as the Steve Madden store came into sight. As they entered the store, Ally's jaw dropped. She had never seen so many beautiful shoes in one place.
After at least an hour, Ally walked out of the store, bags full of every kind of shoe, but mostly high heels.
"I don't think I can take anymore shopping. I'm pretty sure my arms are about to give out." Ally groaned.
"One last store!" Evie chimed, speeding up slightly. Ally looked up and saw that she was headed towards Free People.
"This is my favorite store!" Delaney said, also speeding up.
When they entered, the lady behind the counter nicely took their bags and set them underneath the counter so that they were freed up to browse.
Ally almost couldn't stop herself from drooling at the clothes. She didn't need the girls to pick out clothes for her this time; she plucked things from the shelf left and right. She couldn't help herself; they were the prettiest clothes she had ever seen.
The girls all headed into the dressing rooms. Ally slipped into the red Teardrop Pixie dress she had picked up on a whim. She stared at the mirror in awe. It looked like it was made for her. It was short, but not too short. It fit her curves perfectly.
"Ally! Come show us!" Evie called.
When Ally stepped outside, the girls' jaws dropped.
"Ally! You look hot!" Pandora admired. Ally looked at herself in the mirror. Evie and Delaney nodded in agreement.
"I… I don't know. I don't think I'd ever wear it." Ally went to turn back into the dressing room but Delaney gripped her shoulders and turned her back to the mirror.
"Ally, don't be ridiculous. Do you feel good in this dress?" Delaney asked.
Ally looked at herself. She still had on the makeup from the rehearsal and her hair was actually tame in a bun. She felt different. She felt great.
"Yes." Ally breathed.
"Then it's settled! That'd be a perfect dress to wear on a date." Delaney nudged Ally and winked. Ally laughed and headed back into the dressing room.
-A&A-
After stopping by Sephora to get Ally all the makeup she could possibly need, they headed off to Caesar's Palace. When they pulled up to the luxurious entry, bellhops immediately rushed to the car. They took the girls' bags and helped them out of the car.
"Wow. I feel so glamorous." Ally laughed.
"Get used to it," Delaney said, linking her arm with Ally's.
They headed into the lobby where tourists milled. They pushed through the crowd and piled into the elevator, where Evie hit the button for the top floor, after sliding a card through a reader.
The elevator opened right into the room. As Ally exited the elevator, she gasped for the millionth time that day. The place was amazing. It was everything Ally imagined a luxury room would look like. It was even two floors!
Ally followed the girls up the stairs, trying to absorb as much of the space as she could. They went down a hall and stopped in front of a door.
"This is your room."
Pandora whisked the door open and Ally's jaw dropped. It was bigger than her entire apartment back home. There was a giant bed against the back wall, a fireplace, and a seating area. She could see that the door to the walk in closet was open, revealing that all her shopping bags were already piled up inside. She could also see a bit of the giant bathroom.
"We'll leave you get settled in." The girls walked out of the room and closed the door.
Ally immediately launched herself into the bed, finding that it was just as squishy as she thought it was going to be. She fished through her backpack and pulled out her phone. She had four missed calls from her dad, but she ignored that, dialing her best friend's number.
"Hello?" The Latina answered.
"Trish! You will not believe the day I've had."
-A&A-
So yay, Ally's acquainted with the girls (who now have names, lol). Austin will probably come in next chapter, but don't worry, we'll be seeing a lot of him. ;P
I want to thank you for all the reviews for the first chapter. I'm so so so so glad you guys are excited for this story. I'm so into it (more than any other story I've written tbh) and I hope you're as into it as me.
*I imagine Ally's costume as the one Taylor Swift wore to perform Shake It Off at the VMAs, in case you want to look it up.
Do you think we can get to thirty reviews? That would be awesome.
I own nothing.
Reviews Rock :) (Especially if you want me to continue)
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|April|