Tightrope, Tiffany Alvord

We know, we can't fight it,

We're a mess, but we like it.

And I won't let it go,

Lovin' you is like walking on a tightrope.

Matthias

Heh, my brother knew me so well! Hell ya, I wanted to go! The curiosity from whatever the girls were up to was killing me! So right after our drills of the day, Berwald drove Alfred, Gilbert, Antonio and me to where they were performing. I stared outside at the buildings in amazement. This was some high-end street! Everything was bright and flashy at this late time from the lights along the streets. People were walking around, either shopping or looking in windows.

"Matthias, over here!"

I turn to see Gilbert waving at me and the rest of the guys standing by the entrance of a flashing, fancy looking club. That's where they were performing? Sweet! As I made my way over to them, I noticed a long line waiting in the front. It was really long, wrapping all around the block. I started to get a little nervous from all the stares as I reached the area. The red-head bouncer standing outside the entrance watched me suspiciously. "Guys, who's this?"

"Hey, I'm Matthias, Berwald's brother," I told him with a grin as I wrapped an arm around the Swede's shoulders. His glare intimidated me a bit, just a bit. Were we really in the right place? He gave an unimpressed snort and glanced over to Alfred. What, he didn't see our family resemblance at all?! Luckily my bespectacled buddy backed me like a true pal he is. "Yeah, well soon to be step-brother. He's new to the area, so it'd be cool if he came with us, right?"

The way he stared Alfred down worried me for a few seconds, but then he suddenly guffawed and reached out, unclipping the rope chain. "Man, if you weren't with Alice, I'd definitely wouldn't be doing this."

"Thanks bro!" Alfred bumped fists with him as he walked inside, everyone else following right behind. As I walked through the door, the red-head scanned me one last time before turning back to the crowd. "But if he gets into any trouble, it's on you," were his parting words as he shut the door behind us.

"Don't worry, I won't," I told them, half meaning it. I couldn't make any promises right now, could I?

"Sure, sure!" he agreed quickly and ushered us in. "Alright guys, my shift's gonna start soon, so sit somewhere and make yourselves comfortable before the show starts!" Alfred hurried over to a door and disappeared. I turned to Berwald for answers. "So, who was that guy at the entrance, and how does Alfred know him?"

"He's Alice's older brother, Alistair," answered the Swede, "Alfred works with him here along with Alice's other brother, Dylan."

He nodded at a dude wiping the counter-top. I watched him for a few seconds before turning away to look at everything in awe. I've never been inside a club like this before. "Whoa," I breathed, taking everything in. The place was brightly lit inside, with plush seating scattered all over. There was a stage at one end of the room with a couple singing. On the opposite end was a bar with many different types of alcohol on display with miniature spotlights. It looked too expensive to be here. "Are you sure we're allowed to be in here?"

"We're here for the music, not the drinks," he pointed out. "Should be fine."

"Yeah, but," I glanced at Gilbert, who was already sitting at the counter with a beer, "Why is he drinking?"

Berwald rolled his eyes. "Because he's an idiot."

"So then . . ." I trailed off suggestively, wiggling my eyebrows.

"No," was his immediate answer. I used my best sad look on him, but he only glared at me. Even though I was technically the oldest, by one day (haha), he decided to be the mature and responsible sibling. That was fine by me, but this included being a downer when I wanted to have fun, making sure I stayed out of trouble, and wouldn't hesitate to rat me out.

"Alright, fine," I huffed, looking away and giving up. Even though I wasn't planning on driving back, he only saw me drunk once, and decided he couldn't or didn't want to deal with that again. We decide to sit at a mostly empty group of tables near the back, with the exception of one guy in red, since the people here hogged all the tables near the stage. Berwald left to order water while Antonio was busy cooing at his phone. This left me with only my thoughts for company. As we waited for the show to start, I went back to the conversation that we had on the way here.

•~•

"So, what kind of gig do the girls have?" I asked them curiously, casually.

"Well, they're gonna perform at the club where Alice and me work at," Alfred answered me. "It's kinda normal for them by now, a couple times a week, every Friday."

"Really? That sounds awesome!"

"Yeah, but it's just a side thing for them. Like extracurriculars for college applications, you know?"

"Not for Luna," Gilbert cackled. "She's pretty hardcore, practicing every single day. Though, not as bad as our Mozart wannabe teacher!"

"Every day?" I echo in amazement. So that's why she didn't want to watch us yesterday.

"Mhm," Berwald confirmed, never taking his eyes off the road. "Plans to major in music."

Wow. She's only a sophomore, and she already has her life planned out. Compare that to me, I don't even know what I want in life yet. She really is—

I was pulled out of my thoughts when I heard a high-pitched squeal. Looking up, I saw a blurred figure wearing dark clothing tackle-hug Berwald. It wasn't enough to knock him over, but he did lose his breath from the collision.

"Ber-bear, you're here~!" Tina beamed up happily at him. The Swede reached down to stroke her hair with a slight smile. "Of course. Wouldn't miss it for the world."

I silently gagged to myself. Twice in a day was my limit, I think. While they were still in their soulmate bubble, I noticed Tina's clothes again and did a double-take. They were different from she wore at school. Her shirt was a dark navy blue with holes all over the sleeves, a black skirt with real metal chains hanging on, and her look was completed with a black flower in her hair and a silver cross necklace. She looked like a younger version of Luna, make-up and all. What happened to her?

Wrapped securely in Berwald's arms, she turned and finally noticed me. "Oh, hej Matthias! You came too?"

"Yep!" I grinned at her. "Since Berwald here was talking about how good you guys were, I decided to tag along to see for myself. Hope you don't mind."

"Oh, no it's fine! I'm glad you're here!" she reassured me. "I just came out here for some help." Tina tilted her head back to look up at her soulmate. "Berwald, can you help me move the equipment to the stage?" she asked with big, round puppy eyes. As you could probably tell, Berwald didn't stand a chance against those eyes. He nodded and started to get up. Dang, I gotta ask her how does she pull that off.

"If you want, I can help too," I offered. It was getting kinda boring, sitting down and watching everyone in the bar. My body was itching for some exercise.

"No, that's okay," Tina said. "There's not that much, but Alice and Luna might get mad if you mess with their stuff. And Berwald's really strong~" She glanced at her soulmate with another adoring smile before continuing, "Besides, it's your first time here! You should just relax and enjoy the performances!"

And with that, they left me. I was still bored, so I looked around some more. On the stage, the couple singing the duet finished and walked off the stage. One of Alice's brothers, I forgot his name already, stepped into the spotlight and spoke into the microphone.

"Alright guys, in a few minutes Siren's Voice will be up," he announced, "So be nice and patient, yeah?"

"Siren's Voice?" I repeated to myself. I've never heard that song before, but judging from the crowd's wild response, they knew it well.

"You've never heard of them?" A shocked voice echoed my thoughts. I looked up to see the guy sitting at the table next to mine, staring back at me curiously. He looked like your typical cosplayer, with a small dark red bowler hat, weird burgundy eyes, an effect from wearing red contacts I think because there was no way that was his natural eye-color, and matching coat. A pair of fake fangs hanging out his mouth completed the look.

. . . was he supposed to be a vampire?

"Um, yeah," I said sheepishly, scratching my head, "I'm kinda new here, so—"

"Oh really? I thought so!" The stranger laughed widely, the colored lights bouncing off his 'teeth'. I mean, he sorta looked like a vampire, except that his strawberry blond hair didn't really fit in. Maybe if he dyed his hair black? Unless he was going for the whole Twilight look and messed up his hair dye... But I really shouldn't judge.

Looking closer though, I thought I saw something glitter on his skin—

"Anyways!" He continued, interrupting my thoughts again, "Siren's Voice is one of the most popular groups around here. Made of three members, all girls, one being the club's owner's younger sister, which makes her untouchable, and her friends. She and one of them found their soulmates already, so they're off-limits. The third member, who is still single, is none other than—"

"Luna Bondevick!" Another voice burst out loudly behind us over the music. We turned to see Gilbert, grinning and on his way to being drunk out of his mind, making his way towards us. He plopped down on Berwald's empty chair and placed his half-empty beer bottle on the table.

"That's right," the 'vampire' agreed, "But she's no easy catch. Luna's really picky about her men, doesn't date often, our renowned ice queen. You're better off in your wildest dreams—"

"Nu-uh!" The Prussian butted in again. He hiccuped and wiped his red face before guffawing, "I went out with her before! But man, that girl's seriously frigid though! She just couldn't keep up with my awesomeness!"

"Well, so have I," retaliated the strawberry blond with a sigh. "It's such a shame that she doesn't like me though. Luna's quite a lovely girl..."

"She's just like Lovi!" Antonio chimed in cheerfully, "but Lovi's definitely cute!"

For some reason, the conversation seriously ticked me off. I really didn't like the way they talked about her. Maybe it was because they mentioned her like an object, not a person to care about. She wasn't that heartless! And Lovina probably wasn't the best person to compare her to. I decided to try and defend her honor. "Well, I think Luna—"

"Talking about me, I see." A cool, empty voice slid in smoothly.

We looked up to see Luna herself gazing at us with a cold, disinterested stare. She too was dressed up for the performance, her usual dark clothing adorned with chains of silver jewelry. Her pale blond hair stood out in stark contrast. Most importantly, her shades were off. Looking at her dark eyes, my stomach wiggled. What was up with my lunch today?

She looked absolutely, terrifyingly breathtaking, and our table was silenced right away with her presence.

"Hey Luna," somehow the 'vampire' was able to greet her naturally, "Shouldn't you be in the back getting ready?"

"Just getting a drink, Vlad," she answered, holding up a water-bottle. "We're going to start in a few minutes, so—"

"Luna~" Gilbert slurred, reaching up to wrap his arm around her shoulders, "Can yooou singyy a songyy for meee?" Suddenly, something surges within me, and I felt the urge to punch him. The feeling was much stronger than before. Watching the way he touched her felt wrong. Luckily, before I could act on those weird feelings by doing something that I might regret, Luna beats me to the punch by easily shoving him off with a flat, "What kind?"

"Hm..." He didn't deem to be fazed at all by her actions, lazily resting his head on his arm and gazing at her with half-lidded eyes, smirking sloppily. Was he drunk already? Why would he be hitting on her after complaining earlier? This only fueled the strange swirls inside as I watched for her reaction as he asked, "One about your feelings for me~?"

But she only rolled her eyes at his request, saying only, "Sure" and turning away from him in dismissal. The relief I felt when she did was overwhelmingly calming for some reason. I couldn't change my expression fast enough when she happened to look directly at me. "Oh. You're here too," Luna said, though she didn't seem to be that surprised to see me like Tina was. I quickly put a grin on my face.

"Uh, yeah!" I managed to say with those steely eyes on me, "You see, Berwald told me about this and I was curious so I came with and—"

"That's nice," she cut me off, effortlessly saving me from my nervous rambling. Her eyes looked away to sweep around the room, which was almost full by now. All the seats were taken by now, and some people were already standing by the stage. Huh. I didn't notice before, but it seems like Siren's Voice really is popular with this crowd.

"As much as I would love to stay and chat a while longer, I should go now. Everyone has waited long enough. See you guys in a bit."

With that, Luna turned away and swayed over to a door labeled 'Employees only'. I found my voice again and called out without thinking, "Hey Luna!" I didn't think that she'd listen to me, but when she actually stopped before the door to look back surprised me. Since I hadn't planned out what to say, I just told her lamely, "Good luck."

"Thanks," she replied quietly before slipping behind the door. Even though her response was a bit stiff, I could feel a warm glow. Somehow, wishing her luck made her happy. I didn't know how I knew that, since anyone else would think she just brushed off my words, but I knew. It made me grin.

But then some sharp whistling popped my happy bubble. I turned back to see the va-Vlad smirking at me. "And that, my friend, is Luna Bondevick."

"Yeah, I know," I told him absentmindedly, thinking about her cute reaction. "I go to the same school as her. We have a couple of classes together."

"Do you now?" He shook his head in admiration. "Lucky you. Too bad she's out of your league."

"Obviously!" I forced out a laugh, feeling my stomach twist at his words. "Besides, I've already found my soulmate."

•~•

Tip-toe, when you chase me,
Turn around, you can't make me.
And I won't let it go,
Lovin' you is like walking on a tightrope.

•~•

Luna

I softly shut the door behind me, leaned back against it and let my body slide to the floor with a sigh. Closing my eyes, I curled up, resting my forehead on my knees and clutched my wildly racing heart. It had taken all my concentration to keep my calm and ignore Matthias. Every molecule within me screamed just to look at him, to touch him, to be with him, but by some miracle I managed to resist.

Thump, ba-thump, thump, went my heart.

Feeling his conflicting emotions didn't help either.

Ba-thump, thump, ba-thump!

It was all Tina's fault. She probably invited him to come and watch, neglecting to tell me beforehand on purpose. Though it was unnecessary, since I could feel his presence as soon as he arrived. Even so, my heart wasn't prepared for another meeting so soon. It refused to stop beating, knowing that he was only a few feet away from the door behind me.

Thump, ba-thump, thump, ba-thump, THUMPH!

I heard footsteps approaching. They stopped in front of me and someone crouched down. I looked up to see Alice looking at me in concern. "Luna, are you alright?"

"Just fine," I told her sourly, easily regaining my composure. Thank God I had Alice to listen to my problems. "It's just that I found out that we have an unexpected guest this evening."

"Really? I wonder who could make you irritable like this. You're usually more prepared for our performances..." She frowned in thought. I opened my mouth to tell her when she easily concluded, "Oh, Matthias is here, isn't he?"

Ba-thump, thump, ba-thump!

"Took the words right out of my mouth," I grumbled, glad that I didn't have to say his name, yet ached at the missed opportunity. My heart fluttered at the sound of it. "You could say that I'm . . . a bit nervous about singing in front of him."

To my surprise, she laughed at my confession. "Oh, is that all? Don't worry too much about it. The words will come out naturally, and even more so when you're singing for him."

Thump, ba-thump, thump!

"You don't say," I stared at her skeptically. "The butterflies within me doubt your words."

"There's no reason for them to!" Alice protested with a smile. "Don't you remember last summer when I sang to Alfred for the first time on his birthday? Sure, I was nervous as heck, but as soon as I looked into his eyes, all my uneasiness fell away and I was able to sing with all my heart and soul."

"Alright then," I muttered, not fully accepting her words. Unlike her, I wouldn't be able to watch my soulmate's reaction during our performance. It'd look weird if I put on my sunglasses now... I'll have to figure something out. But there was another pressing problem that demanded attention.

Ba-thump, thump, thump...

"Also, Gilbert asked me to 'singy a songy' for him too. I have no idea what to pick." I grimaced as an afterthought.

"Ah," Alice's emerald eyes lit up with mischievous delight. "In that case, I have the perfect song for him."

•~•

Tightrope, tightrope.

•~•

It's only been a few minutes since Luna left, and I found myself awkwardly making small talk with my table-mates. I was just about to kill myself out of boredom when the mood of the music suddenly changes up from a subtle, pulsing beat to an old-timey sounding tune. The audience begins to cheer as Dylan—Oh right! That's his name!—steps on the stage with a mic.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thanks for your patience. Here's what you've been waiting for, Siren's Voice!"

The lights drop and the music picks up, the curtain rising to reveal Alice and Lovina posed back to back on the stage. As the crowd cheers, they begin to sing:

" Now's the time, get in line,
Don't be afraid tonight
We're gonna take you high,
Before you realize—

Luna and Tina stalk in from the sides, continuing the song in synced voices:

'Round and 'round you'll go,
Up and down, never slow...
Feel the excitement grow, oh!
This is where you let go—

They moved in time to the beat, their arms and hands forming quick patterns. I had to admit, it was impressive. It must have taken hours of practice for them to perfect their timing.

Hands high like a roller coaster,
This love is taking over
Take us higher, here we go!
Oh-o-oh

Welcome to the show!"

Together they bowed to the audience with a flourish, rousing a loud round of applause. Alice held her hand out for Dylan to toss her the microphone. She twirled it in her hand for a few spins before bringing to her face to speak. "Good evening everyone! Glad you could make it. Tonight our first song is dedicated to a very lucky guy out there."

She handed the mic over to Luna, who glowered at her before reluctantly accepting it. She turned back to the crowd, narrowing her dark eyes at our table, stating chillingly, "This is for you, Gilbert. Hopefully, this'll tell you exactly how I feel about you."

From the way she rolled her eyes when the albino jumped up to shout drunkenly, "That's me!" I'm guessing that wasn't the way she wanted to start the night off. Then again, he was only on his fourth or fifth drink. It might have been the trick of the light, but I thought I saw the smallest hint of a smirk on her face when she turns back to her usual calm, the cue for the music to begin as the girls began to hum the chorus.

I could only wonder which song she picked for him.

[The Best Thing (That Never Happened), We Are The In Crowd]

(Ow, ooh~)

" I let you get away with-
Thinking you're the cure...
I think I'm in too deep,
It's time to pull the cord.

The way Luna began the song was alot like when she delivered her lines in class, carefully measured and in monotone. I glanced over at Gilbert to see his response. He didn't seem to be affected by the words, grinning and nodding to the beat of the music. It didn't sound like a love song to me though...

" You like me more when you think,
I'm getting bored...
I hope you're home the day I-
Tear down the walls!

She flashed a quick smirk at our table before jumping into the lyrics with more enthusiasm than I thought she'd have. The group followed her lead seamlessly:

" I won't settle, settle, settle—!
You are never gonna hold me down...
So toxic, you ain't nothin' but a prick!
I'm the best thing that never happened to you!

Never, never, never,
You are never gonna live this down!
Life's too short, I can't fake it anymore.
I'm the best thing that never happened to ya!

Now a frown was starting to settle on Gilbert's face, his smile faltering. I couldn't blame him, it probably wasn't what he was expecting to begin with. He had it coming for him. Still, the next stanzas had to hurt.

" Don't you get sick of only
Hearing your own voice?
Talk like you're so damn tough,
But you're just a little boy.

You like to think you broke the mold,
But now I'm sure...
You'll crack just like the rest when I
Break your freaking jaw!

Amusement danced in Luna's dark eyes as she laughed openly into her microphone, chanting, "I won't settle! I won't settle! I won't settle...

" I won't settle, settle, settle,
You are never gonna hold me down!
So toxic, you ain't nothin' but a prick...
I'm the best thing that never happened to you!

Never, never, never,
You are never gonna live this down!
Life's too short, I can't fake it anymore.
I'm the best thing that never happened to ya!"

(Ooh, hahahaha, woah~)

They finished their song exactly as they did with their first, inviting another round of applause. Gilbert's head was on the table, his face hidden from view. I felt kinda bad for him, being publically rejected like that. Even though he was rude to her, Luna didn't have to be that harsh on him. I decided to try to cheer him up.

"Hey," I began, ready to say anything, but then his shoulders started to shake with weird sounds muffled by his arms. Slowly rising from his slumped pose, he threw his head back and laughed loudly, "Kesesesesesesese! That's so Luna!"

"For sure," Vladimir agreed. "But I'll have better luck next time."

"Um... what?" I ended up asking, looking back and forth between them questioningly.

"Ah, this is just a bet between me and Gilbert," Vlad explained, taking a sip of his suspiciously red drink. "To see who can win over Luna first."

The albino crowed in agreement. "Yeah, and I'm winning!"

"No, you're not. Did you not listen to the song she sang for you—"

"KESESESESES! Admit it, you're just jealous of the AWESOME ME—"

As I watched them argue, I shook my head in amazement at their carelessness. Weren't they worried about their own soulmates at all? To see them fight over a girl-who wasn't even the soulmate of either one?

Or what Luna's soulmate would do about it?

Turning my back on their bickering, I turned back to the stage, where Siren's Voice had already started another song. Even though Luna never looked back at our table for the rest of the performance, I could tell she was feeling smug and confident over her victory.

•~•

Shot me like a bee sting,
You know,
Poison is my everything,
And it, doesn't hurt so bad,
I'm past the point and never turning back...

First off, I have good news. I'm ALIVE~! :D

WaityoualreadyknowthatwhatwithhowmuchI'vebeenreadingandreviewinglately... ha.. ha... TwT

Isn't it funny how I have more time to read than write? okaynowthatjustsoundslikeareallybadexcuse xvx

Honestly, I did mean to post this MUCH sooner (seeing as I haven't updated this since... September? Wow, it has been a long wait... sorry (இ﹏இ`｡)/ but it's not exactly my main priority. *awkwardly passes out list full of life's excuses*

Last year was kinda rough. I was struggling with worries, the loss of my rabbit in November (my editor and muse), a bit of writer's block and laziness. Reading helped me forget, even for a short while, brimming with emotions from wonder-filled stories~

But things got better this year. For some reason, I started getting signs to update this story. Notifications from readers despite the time gap. My rabbit returned last month (albeit unwillingly, but returned nontheless~). The ever so friendly death threats from my lovely peer-reviewer cousin who read half of the unedited version of this chapter for Christmas.

(Also I was going through a mild overthinking crisis of whether the characters were OOC or not. [The result of reading too many soulmate stories to compare myself to. But they were so goooooood] As an author, I believe their behaviors are justified, but they might not be... then I went 'eh' and posted without a care, since someone will tell me if they were, right? Right? ;A; )

The final straw was when last week's Spotify's Discover Weekly offered me not one, not two, but THREE different covers of the EXACT SAME SONG. I've posted this story on three different sites, so if that wasn't a sign, then I don't know what is-

(It was The Chainsmoker's Closer. Yes, I am that person who listens to covers despite the fact that THE ORIGINAL IS SO MUCH BETTER. But I digress.)

As for the next chapter, realistically I'm hoping by next month, but I'm not promising anything (no I'm not one of those 'won't make a promise that won't keep'). It's better not to keep your hopes up when I'm terribly lazy at heart and still struggling with some block and would rather read other stories. Though I am planning to post a new story sometime this week..

Still, I kinda wish that this chapter was at least slightly romantic for the holiday. Oh well. [willieveracheiveromanceinthisfic? D:] For now, I'll just throw a recommendation at you for romantic DenNor feels:

Crystal Kisses - by Coshledak here on FFN~ It's a Cinderella twist, kinda old, but extremely well-written ~ (I got reminded of it from another recent story)

Code: /s/5602807/2/Crystal-Kisses

As for my fellow Asians, Happy New Year! :D

whydidthisturnoutsolongillprobablyendupdeletinghalfofthisanlaterwhenimlesstiredandmorecriticalofmyself... meh