Cirque Degrassi
A/N Appreciative of the reviews guys, thanks! This installment reveals a little more about Declan and Fiona. This is the start of something seriously crazy. P-p-please give me feed back ;)
Chapter 2-Secrets, Secrets Are No Fun.
/On Stage/
Declan stood tall, his arms loosely crossed. He wore all black from head to toe, a tuxedo. The audience was dead silence. He smiled. He was beautiful. His hair was an organized mess, his features neat and symmetrical across his smooth face.
One look at this boy and everyone knew he was trouble. He didn't even have to say anything. His reputation was international.
A rogue that covered the tabloids, previously been seen with Hollywood's elite until he got bored of them.
He'd prance around with multiple women candying his arm. He was one of those who appeared to be famous for being famous, but this was not the case. He could be caught in the dead of night, in the dark foreboding alleyways in Prague, wrecking unsightly havoc.
The danger of outlaws and murderers did not bother him, rumor has it he was one himself.
It was said that he taught the Queen of England how to dance. He club-hopped in Dubai while on vacation with the prince of Arabia. There was no question to his importance. There was no question that he was lusted after. But really, how much of all those stories could be true?
Despite his status in the media, he never once was seen with an entourage of bodyguards. In fact, most say he often keeps to himself, to dilute all the attention from him. No one has seen him recently, and the idea that he should be performing in a circus would ordinarily tarnish any good reputation. But for Declan, and his lovely, equally rebellious sister, this was just another challenge. One that was surprisingly well-respected all over the world. They were probably responsible for most of the appeal of Holly J's show.
He lifted a tapered finger, pointing to a girl in the second row.
"You. What are you afraid of?"
"Uhm, wow, me…uhm. I'm scared of Heights?" Her eyes were wide as she looked at him, in disbelief that he gave her such attention.
"If you'll allow yourself to be escorted to stage, I'll make it so you never experience this fear again," he beckoned with an open hand. The girl stood, and looked around a bit confused. Then from seemingly out of nowhere, a beautiful girl dressed in a vintage can-can dress and dark bouncy hair appears at the female audience member's side. Both men and women in her parameter gazed up in awe at her beauty, her porcelain skin nearly glowing beneath a black veil.
She takes a firm hold of the girls arm.
"Fiona. How considerate of you," Declan smiled and nodded. "My sister Fiona will be assisting me in this evenings performance." At the sight of Fiona's familiar face, the crowd nearly went crazy.
Fiona lead the girl onstage, hands her off to Declan, and takes a seat on a stool near the edge of the stage.
"What's your name? he asked softly.
"Kim," she said, in awe, never thinking she'd ever get to see, let alone get so close to this…almost unnatural being.
Declan pulled a rose out of the air, and handed it to the girl, whose face lit up. He grabbed her hand with the rose in it, and waved his hand around the flower; it burst into flames. She cried out, and dropped the rose, though it was ashes and scattered embers when it hit the floor.
The audience oo-ed and awe-ed.
"Acrophobia—your fear—is far from a psychological disorder," he walked around her, inspecting. "It's usually attributed to a traumatic experience…" He leaned in close to her face, "did you ever fall out of plane when you were a child?"
The audience laughed.
She smiled and shook her head.
"Well. Perhaps it was when you were an infant. Maybe we'll never know," he motioned to Fiona, who glided across stage to the too. Various hoots and screams were produced by many males that populated the audience, all of which she coldly ignored. Declan offered his hand, which Fiona took.
"Unlike you, my sister adores heights. Allow her to demonstrate," he pointed upwards, and spotlight highlighted a thin silver tightrope, several feet above their heads. The audience, including the girl named Kim, gasped. In a swift motion, Fiona leapt atop Declan's hand, who then boosted her in the air. She did two flips before landing flawlessly on the tightrope. Everyone gasped, Kim nearly fainted.
Fiona did an impressive dance number on the tight-rope, never once wavering, always precise. She finished by leaping down onto Declan's hand, and gracefully stepping off.
"Now, your turn," Declan said, thrusting his hands upward in the air. The girl was lifted off her feet, by some unseen power. She began shrieking in panic. "Shhhh," he clasped his fingers together, closing his eyes. She immediately went limp, her head slinging forward lifeless. Everyone reacted in shock.
"When she wakes," he said, quieting everyone, "her fear of height will vanish."
Declan lowered his arm, and the girl slowly began dip down until she was draped across his arms. He gently placed her on her back, and snapped his fingers. She awoke immediately.
"What happened?" she looked around, trying to recall the few moments earlier. At this, Fiona made her way back up to the tight rope, balancing herself on a stool, and reached downward, extending her hand to the girl. Her eyebrows raised, she took Fiona's delicate hand. In one motion, Fiona swung the girl up onto the tightrope with her. The girl gasped, about to scream, then exhaled, confused. The tightrope was shaking violently, the girl was having trouble standing.
"Just don't look down," Fiona offered. She helped steady the girl, and once the tightrope was still, Fiona and the girl threw their hands, smiling; the audience cheered.
The night was long, acts followed including Sav, the knife and fire-eater, Riley the strongest man alive, Anya the Snake charmer and so many more. When Holly J stepped out onto the stage for the last time that night, her eyelashes glistened with sweat.
"…thank you, and goodnight."
The curtain dropped.
/Declan's Dressing Room /
A knock at the door.
"Come in," he said, running a hand through his hair.
"Good job. I think your fans are going to enjoy the fact that we are circus performers," Fiona remarked.
"Fiona, if you think it's beneath you, then you can leave. No one is holding a knife to your throat," he rolled his eyes.
"I wish," she retorted. Declan grimaced
"Want to tell me why you're in here?"
"I'm just letting you know, I'm going after that girl, the one who you cured of heights or whatever. She looks delicious, and smelled great" she smiled.
"We've gone over this. Do you not listen to rules?"
"Do you?"
He sighed. "Do what you want. You obviously won't listen to me," he rubbed his forehead.
"Obviously," she grinned. "You know you want her too. Maybe I'll save you some." She laughed as she exited.
Declan looked at his reflection in the mirror. It's a good thing he decided to join the circus. It gives him an excuse to run.
/Fiona/
She spritzed herself with some expensive European perfume before she kissed her reflection, and darted out of her own dressing room. She spotted the girl looking at some Cirque Degrassi merchandise. She flipped her hair, walked in her direction, and subtly bumped into her.
"Oh, whoops," Fiona said dully.
"Oh, I'm so so—Oh my gosh! Wow! Hi!" She nearly squealed.
"Hey," Fiona replied, checking her nails.
"You're Fiona. I've read so much about you, I-I love your style!"
"Thanks."
"I mean how crazy is it that I bumped into you, wow!" she gushed. Fiona just raised her eyebrows. "Actually, you know, I am like completely in love with your brother, do you think, if he's not busy or anything, you could introduce me?"
Fiona exhaled.
"Sure, why not. Everyone always wants to meet Declan," she rasped, but the girl did not catch her sarcasm. Fiona led her in the direction of his dressing room, but instead of going down the hall where his door was, she took her to a door that led her to the alleyway.
"Weird, is his dressing room like, separate from the circus?"
"Mm, something like that," Fiona responded. The girls looked around for a moment, puzzled, and before she could take another breath, Fiona had her pinned against the cold stone wall of the alleyway.
"Woahh, I'm a serious huge fan of you and everything, but I don't swing that way," she laughed nervously. She didn't realize how strong Fiona was by looking at her, but she couldn't move.
"You know, I don't really like girls that much either. They talk to much," she batted her eyes at the girl, and a smile spread across her lips.
A scream pierced the night, shrill and resonating searing pain. It didn't last too long, though. It was silenced just as quickly as it began.