Hello everyone! As promised, the next chapter! Just a quick reminder that I don't own The Flash, but you already know this!

Also, this is the last chapter before the explosion, yay! I'm so excited because the real story begins here!

Enjoy!

Chapitre Quatre

Attachée Dans Des Cordes

When Marie was eight, her grandparents decided to take her to an amusement park. Marie was used to be around them, since her mother lived with her parents until a year before. This was the first time she seen her grandparents since they moved.

Marie's grandmother decided to take her to the Ferris wheel. She was excited to see the world from above, until she looked down. To Marie, it was like staring at the abyss. She was so terrified that her grandparents brought her back home immediately, but she couldn't stop crying. From that day on, Marie avoided heights with all her strength.

But sometimes you can't run the other way.

This is one of this situations.

Marie's tied in strings, hanging from the theatre's roof. This is the last costume rehearsal before her debut as the Sylph, but she's been dancing with the corps for almost a week now. Director Moore wanted a grand entrance for the second act, so why not make the air spirit actually fly?

Marie's blood runs cold in her veins. She's terrified, but does her best to keep calm and don't let it show. If she freaks out now, she might never have a chance like this again.

"Is everything okay up there, little Taglioni?" the Director asks her.

Marie wants to nod, but she doesn't dare to move. "Better impossible!" she answers with an uptight smile.

"Alright, let's begin!" he shouts. The corps de ballet, property dressed in their sylph costumes, gets ready to come in. Marie crosses the stage hanging from the roof, her face solemn, while Damien, who's dancing James, runs after her, completely infatuated with the Sylph. And so they go on.

During the break, Paige and Marie are drinking water in the backstage and commenting the casting for Don Quixote and Le Corsaire. Paige will play Kitri, the explosive main character. In Marie's opinion, there isn't a dancer in the entire company that fits this part more than Paige. As for her, she had the difficult task of dancing the Queen of the Dryads for a couple of nights.

Paige was also casted to play Gulnare in Le Corsaire for a few nights, alternating with the first odalisque. Marie was also casted as an odalisque, the third, alternating with the pas d'eslaves that she will dance with Damien.

"What Penelope will think when she returns to find out that you stole her partner?" Paige teases, fixing the flower crown on her head.

"Oh, he's hardly my partner," Marie dismisses. "I mean, it's not an official thing."

"If you say so," her friend sends her a suggestive look. "I think he likes you."

"Paige, I'm older than him," Marie points out.

"So? Manon was older than Des Grieux."

"And look what happened to her!" she throws her hands in the air. "I don't want to dehydrate in a desert."

The two just look at each other for some seconds before busting in laughter.

"Yeah, maybe it's not a good idea," Paige says as she wipes away a tear of mirth.

"So, is Raf coming to watch you dance?" Marie asks.

Raf is Paige's long term boyfriend, and a journalist. He travels a lot, and Paige's also a workaholic, so they barely see each other, and yet they make this work somehow. For Marie, they're the couple that gives her hope that true love can really happen.

"He couldn't find tickets. Everybody's obsessing over this Particle Accelerator thing," Paige snorts.

"Oh, I forgot about that," but she didn't. Her mother is pretty excited as well. She had done her research on Star Labs and, most importantly, Doctor Harrison Wells, whom she gently calls "Hot Doc". Marie was pretty sure that her mom would go to Star Labs for the activation if she didn't had something else to do in that date.

That is, of course, watch Marie dancing the Sylph.

"Marie," a male voice calls her. She turns around: it's Damien.

"Speak of the devil," Paige smiles roguishly. "I'll let you talk," she leaves, winking at Damien. The young man cheeks are red like a tomato now.

"Hey, Damien. What can I do for you?" Marie asks.

"You were talking about about me?"

Marie raises an eyebrow. "Y-yes. Paige was j-just saying how good you are. Dancing, I mean," she adds quickly.

Damien looks awkwardly embarrassed now. Actually, it's kinda cute.

"Oh, I should thank her later then," he scratches the back of his neck. "I just wanted to ask if you're okay."

Now Marie's surprised.

"Me? Well, I'm fine," she frowns. "I appreciate your concern but why do you ask that in first place?"

"You looked... uncomfortable. I mean, when you where up there," he points to the roof.

"Oh," Marie bites her lower lip. "I guess I'm not a good actress."

Damien laughs a bit. "Or maybe I'm good in reading people."

"Sure!" she smiles. "What gave me away?"

"You were tense. And you barely moved. I just assumed you're afraid of heights."

"You assumed correctly!" Marie tries to laugh, but it feels forced.

"You don't need to be afraid, you know?" Damien says after a moment of uncomfortable silence. He looks deadly serious now. "The company wouldn't expose you to any kind of danger, I'm sure."

"I'll remember that next time I'm up there," Marie feels her phone vibrating. She takes a look at the screen, it's her mom. "I gotta take this, is my mom," she says in an apologizing tone. Damien nods and starts to leave, but stops when Marie calls him again. "Thank you," she smiles. This time it's for real.

He smiles too. "Don't mention it."

So, I don't like to pressure you guys to review, but I really want to hear what you have to say, so if you have time to leave a little hi, just to let me know you're there, please do :)