Hey guys! I'm glad you're all enjoying the fic so much, it truly warms my heart :3 I hope you guys enjoy this next installment!
To say that he was nervous was an understatement – he was extremely anxious to the point of almost being terrified.
Newt still wasn't quite sure why he had agreed to Mr Graves' proposal, if he was quite honest: it wasn't as if he had been inebriated at the bar, even after a few shots of whiskey, and he was certain that if it had been anyone else asking, he would have declined. But Mr Graves was…different; there was something about him that made him persuasive and set the young man at ease. The way he spoke of his plans for his circus had been so confident, so sure, that Newt had found himself drawn in all too easily.
His family would never forgive him if they found out.
As he approached the circus building later that morning, Newt planned an apology to give to the ringmaster: he couldn't stay and be a part of a circus, of all things, and he was expected to return home to England soon. Besides, he had only a vague idea of how it all worked, and he doubted he would be terribly useful anyway – it would be best for everyone involved if he ducked out while he still could. As he carefully let himself in through the stage door out the back (as Percival had instructed him to), he went over the speech he had prepared one last time and braced himself.
He found himself in the dressing rooms backstage, and he was surprised to see that it was completely empty; he could hear some chattering and quiet from the direction of the stage, however, and he supposed that they were probably rehearsing. For a brief second, he wondered if the dark-haired woman would be there to practice her act, swinging from her trapeze alongside her sister – and then he discarded the thought, trying not to think about her. It was a silly infatuation, absolutely ridiculous to keep thinking about, and the sooner he stopped the better.
Newt was considering finding a pen and paper, scribbling his speech out and fleeing before anyone could find him, when he heard a movement; curious, he realized that it was coming from an area up a flight of stairs. Mere seconds later, a face appeared from over a railing and grinned.
"Ah, Mr Scamander!"
"Oh…erm…Mr Graves, hello," Newt said awkwardly. "I was just-"
"No need to apologize, we're just going over some acts," Graves assured him before waving a hand. "Come, come up here and I'll talk you through everything – much better view from the platform."
The older man disappeared without a moment's hesitation; speechless, Newt looked at the stairs and then sighed – so he would have to do it in person after all. The steps creaked slightly under his weight as he made his way up, stomach twisting in knots and face flushing at the thought of what he was about to do; he just hoped that Mr Graves wouldn't be too disappointed.
He found Percival peering out of a curtain, clearly studying an act rehearsing; he saw Newt out of the corner of his eye and smiled again, turning towards him. "Tell me, Mr Scamander, what act did you enjoy the most on your visit last night?"
"Oh, well, I… They were all fantastic," The Englishman answered, and his speech disappeared from his mind all over again at being put on the spot. "Everyone in your show is talented, sir."
"Please, call me Percy," Graves said easily. "The whole circus do, and you're no different! Come, you must think one act stood out in particular?"
The younger man swallowed. "Well…yes. I must say, I rather enjoyed the trapeze act."
Something in Percival's eyes lit up. "Ah, yes, the Goldstein sisters are very popular in our show – two of the hardest workers too, at that. In fact, they're practicing a new routine out there right now; would you like to take a look?"
"Oh. No, I couldn't possibly… I wouldn't want to distract… I was actually…"
But the older man just waved a hand dismissively, taking him by the shoulders and steering him towards the opening in the curtain. "Nonsense, I'm sure they'll barely even notice you – and even so, the more feedback on their act the better."
Newt found himself pushed through the curtain, suddenly standing on a very high platform that couldn't have been completely safe; for a moment he felt incredibly dizzy, looking down at the ground, and he barely noticed the rest of the circus watching the air from below. He saw the bearded lady hooting, a tattooed man cheering, and the woman in the turban was pointing at the sky – but not at him. Cautiously, he raised his eyes to see what had captivated them all so.
And time slowed to a halt.
His gaze immediately met a pair of dark brown eyes, and his breath caught in his throat; swinging towards him, almost as if in slow-motion, was the brunette trapeze artist – and she was even more stunning up close. Her arms were outstretched towards him, legs wrapped around a bar and her form perfect as she flew through the air; her mouth had the faintest smile, eyes twinkling with a slight merriment that made something in his chest tingle in the most pleasant way.
For him, there was nothing else in the world in that moment – just her, gazing at him with all her wide-eyed beauty.
There was a strange familiarity that came with flying through the air, a freedom; it was so easy to leave any troubles below on the ground and just let herself go. When she was swinging and falling, the world fell away – it was just her and Queenie together, a bond of trust between them that they would catch each other without fail.
Tina heard a few of the other circus members clapping and cheering as she wrapped her legs around a bar and let go of Queenie's hands – she couldn't help but smile to herself, pleased. The momentum made her swing towards the other side of the room, and as she flew high she arched her body with her arms outstretched; head held high, she drew her gaze to the nearby platform to see if Percival was watching.
Instead of the cool steely grey of her mentor's eyes, however, she found herself staring straight into the brightest blue-green she'd ever seen.
The man watching from the platform was not Graves but a young man in a faded coat; in the back of her mind, she recognized him as being the awkward gentleman from the bar the previous night. He seemed absolutely entranced, his lips pursed and expression one of complete awe as he locked eyes with her; Tina felt something in her stomach flip as she gazed back at him, time seeming to slow. Up close, she realized he was rather handsome in a subtle kind of way; his hair was rather messy, as if he didn't quite know how to tame it, and he had so many freckles, like he had spent too much time in the sun perhaps.
As she swung away, Tina felt light-headed and strange, though not in an unpleasant way; for the first time since she had taken up trapeze, she found herself distracted. Thankfully there was just one more trick – a fairly easy one at that – but she was certain that her sister would be able to see it on her face that she wasn't as focused now. Trying to shake off the image of the man from her mind, she forced herself to focus on her technique, on making sure that she didn't fall to the ground and seriously injure herself.
Even after she and Queenie had finished, however, and the group down below clapped enthusiastically, she couldn't quite stop thinking about the strange man in the faded coat.
Once the girls had finished, Newt found himself being pulled away from the platform and back towards the stairs; he was briefly aware of Percival talking to him animatedly, but he couldn't take any of it in. His mind was still in awe of the beautiful brunette – she had been so close, almost enough to touch, and it had taken him completely by surprise.
As they reached the bottom stair, two people entered from the stage; his heart thudded in his chest when he realized that it was the Goldstein Sisters, still in their practice leotards.
"Ah," Percival said grandly, capturing the attention of the two women. "There's the two shining stars of our show – girls, you did magnificently!"
"Oh, but you're biased," The blonde woman laughed fondly as they drew near. "Teen and I still have some things to work on before we go on tonight – we nearly fumbled that last trick."
The older man merely waved a hand dismissively. "I know you two, and I know you'll have it all worked out in no time. Anyhow, allow me to introduce you properly to my new apprentice." He gestured towards Newt with a grin. "Girls, this is Newt Scamander – and Newt, I'd like you to meet Queenie," Here, he motioned to the younger of the women, dressed in pink. "And Tina."
So that's her name… Tina.
As the blonde beamed, the brunette folded her arms and looked him over curiously. "And what is your act, Mr Scamander?"
Newt was speechless. "My…oh, erm…I don't have an act-"
"Everyone's got an act," Tina said wryly.
Graves laughed, shaking his head at her. "We'll see if he has an act – for now, I've hired him to be my apprentice and, if all goes well and we can get the right papers signed, our animal trainer."
Queenie lit up. "Animal trainer? Does that mean we can have ponies? Imagine how amazing it would look, us riding around on a set of ponies during the opening number!"
"Now that's an idea," Percival agreed thoughtfully. "We'll have to see what we can afford – a lion or two might increase our ticket sales, and I'm sure the crowd would enjoy an elephant… But until then, he's going to be helping me with running and organising everything. Anyway, you two better get some rest before the show tonight – wouldn't want you to fall out the sky in the middle of your act."
The younger woman beamed widely at the Englishman as she and her sister turned to leave. "It was real nice meeting you, Mr Scamander – you're gonna be a great addition to our show, I know it!"
Newt mumbled a goodbye in response to her, but his eyes were fixed on the brunette; Tina merely gave him a tight smile before rushing away with Queenie, looking somewhat awkward and uncertain. For the life of him, he couldn't think of what he could have said to her – his mind had been wiped completely clean by their encounter just minutes previously, the only thing he could think about being how bright her eyes were and how beautiful she was.
He didn't notice the small smirk Percival gave to himself in amusement, nor the knowing look on the older man's face as he followed him up to his office.
Meanwhile, behind the privacy partition that separated the sisters' space from everyone else's, Queenie was giving her sister an equally knowing look.
"That fella seems nice, doesn't he?"
Tina shrugged. "I guess. He's that swell from the bar last night."
"I thought I recognized him," The blonde hummed, readjusting her leotard. "You know, he's kinda cute."
Her sister frowned. "Oh? Really?"
"Cute – but not my type," She continued slyly. "Do you think he's cute?"
"I think he doesn't know what he's getting into," Tina muttered, somewhat sharply. "Just give it a month or so, and he'll realize what he's gotten himself into and leave…he'll probably go back to his fancy home with all his money. Not all of us have that luxury."
But Queenie wasn't fooled: she knew her sister better than anyone, even Percival, and she knew what she had seen. There was an obvious attraction there, some kind of mutual spark – and she'd be darned if she wasn't going to encourage her sister to pursue it.
After all, she thought to herself as she started to brush her hair out, Teenie deserves to be happy with someone she likes – even if she won't admit it just yet.
Firstly, I apologize for how long it's taking me to update – I've had other things and writer's block. In fact, I have some amazing news: one of my screenplays is going to be performed for four nights during the Camden Fringe Festival! :O I've had to do some edits to it to make sure it's fit for the stage, but I'm so excited!
Anyway, don't forget to maybe leave a nice comment? :)