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Mia didn't know what to make of her friend.
When Sora came back from New York, she was depressed. Her performing wasn't lively at all; she just meshed with the other bats when before, there was a little spark of her movements that made her stand out. A week later, she had been improving a little, but not by much.
Now though, Sora's behavior was strange. It wasn't necessarily bad, but ever since last Friday, the teen's been in la-la-land or something.
Mia watched her friend grab the pitcher of orange juice and pour some in her clear cup. Then, the redhead went down the drinks line of the cafeteria, Mia right behind. Absentmindedly, Sora undid the top for the milk and sloshed the white substance into her cup of orange juice. When it spilled over, Sora squeaked and finally noticed what she was doing.
Something's definitely up with her.
And Mia was determined to find out.
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Sora felt the happiest since…well, in a very long time if she stopped to think about it.
One thing after another had been occurring even before Layla's injury and Leon and May's arrivals to the stage. I guess things started to go wrong around the time Yuri was acting out against Kalos. Those times had been tough, but she had been able to perform on smaller stages with her friends.
What with May, the Dracula show, and then the drama in New York, there was finally-finally!- a lull in the bad situations.
Her eyes spotted Leon in the back, as usual, as she finished up her trampoline performance with Marion. Her cheeks tinted in memory of Thursday night and then their activities on Friday morning.
The weekend had been busy, so they did not meet again, much to the dissatisfaction of both. Monday, she had to cancel their date to fill in for someone's closing shift. Then Tuesday, Leon and May had an interview to do after the last show, forcing Leon to call Sora for a rain check.
They have a tentative date for Wednesday, which was tonight.
Hopefully it's still doable. She had managed to swap someone for a shorter night shift.
Marion and Sora grabbed hands as they waved and did a little curtsey together. She looked around as she waved again, meeting Leon's gaze. He looked the most relaxed she's seen him, making her take that as a sign that their date was still good to go.
The audience started leaving; Marion and Sora got off the small stage.
"You're getting better, Marion!"
The young girl beamed. "I've been practicing regularly."
Sora pulled her shoulder bag from the little cubbyhole shelving Marion's father put in for them. "Well it's working and it shows."
Marion laughed and then ran off when her father showed up for a late lunch. Sora unclipped the hair piece from her hair and shrugged her light jacket on. She was rounding the front of the stage, seeing Leon still there and waiting for her. She smiled and did not even pass the first step in the aisle when Ken called out to her.
She abruptly broke eye contact with Leon. "Ah, yes Ken?"
"Great job out there, for starters," he started with a rub to the back of the head. "Your performances have their energy back."
She blinked at the praise. "Oh, well thanks!"
His eyes were intently looking at her, giving her the impression that he wanted to say something big and meaningful. She swallowed a little, hoping she can shrug it off somehow.
"Sora, you really do know how to bounce back up from anything," his hand slipped away from rubbing his neck, "I think that's really incredible. Not many people can do that, you know?"
She laughed a little. "Well, my friends help with that, I'm sure."
His face deflated a bit as she easily misread the complement. "That's not—"
The sound of her perky ringtone disrupted Ken. She gave him a hasty "sorry" and then rummaged for her cell phone in her bag.
"Hello?"
"Are you trying to make me envious?"
Her eyes widened as Leon's smooth voice came from her phone. She quickly looked over to see if Ken could hear or recognize the voice, but he wasn't even looking at her.
"That would be a stupid plan," she said in a lower tone of voice. Her eyes darted over to where Leon usually stood only to find it empty. So he moved away in order to call. The question she had was whether he called in order to help or to make things more difficult for her.
"Agreed," he said with a rumbling chuckle.
"Then why did you suggest it?"
"…Because it's working."
Her jaw dropped a little, but he spoke before she could gather herself to reply.
"I'll see you tonight." Then, there was silence.
She hung up the phone in a daze. He's…jealous?
He had to be teasing her.
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AN: Just had to do it, seeing as Ken's phone call interrupted a moment between Sora and Leon. XP