Song: Heart By Heart - Demi Lovato
Cheslock barely listened as Edward spoke animately with his younger sister Lizzy. He looks around, noting that the other schoolhouses are slowly entering the field. He also observed that spectators were slowly filling up the bleachers too.
Cheslock cranes his neck when he hears someone talking loudly and immediately gets flustered when he notices the loud blond in question is walking behind the pink-haired girl he saw earlier. The blonde seemed to speak to the spectacled-wearing woman beside him enthusiastically while the girl he had met earlier conversed with an elderly gentleman at her side.
"Ooh, Amy looks nice in her dress, don't you think so, Brother?"
Cheslock turns, noting the slight blush on Edward's face as he stammered out a yes.
"You know the pink-haired girl there?" asks the goth student.
Lizzy nodded for him, "She is my fiancee's maid. She is a new addition to the home."
Cheslock blinked, surprised that his initial assumption that the pinkette was a noble was wrong. He turns his head when he realizes Edward is eyeballing him.
"Are you courting her, Ed?"
"No"
Cheslock raised an eyebrow at the sad tone in the short answer he received, but he didn't press. Without a moment's hesitation, he left Lizzy and Edward Midford to stare after him as he approached the Phantomhive family servants briskly.
Bard saw that Cheslock's interest was in Amy/Amu, so he immediately straightened his back when the goth teen introduced himself to her. Mei Rin watches in adoration as Amy blushes easily at his attention and awkwardly introduces herself. Meanwhile, Tanaka had noticed the Midfords observing them as he drank his tea. Tanaka wondered what they were thinking. He kept calm and watched.
"Could you sing in English?"
Amu nods, noting the mischievous look on his face. Cheslock proposes an idea, and Amu stammers hesitantly, but Finny excitedly encourages this, causing Snake to roll his eyes. Ciel was going to kill them all for the stunt Cheslock was describing.
Later, Ciel leaves the tent, exhausted by everyone's attention on causing another Blue Miracle. He turns when he hears a soft whistle and sees his maid underneath the shade of the tree, smiling tenderly. Ciel wastes no time. He immediately comes toward her.
Amu grins at his eagerness and steps out of the shade to talk to him but is surprised when she finds herself pressed against the tree for the second time today. Ciel's hands were on her hips as he kissed her fervently. His insistent mouth was parting her shaking lips, sending wild tremors along her nerves and before a swimming giddiness from his fervour spun her round and round, Amu knew she was kissing him back.
When they finally broke apart, Ciel whispered in her ear how much he missed her, causing Amu to blush at his forwardness and the sincerity in his voice. The pinkette's heart pounded as she said she missed him just as badly.
Ciel smirks and kisses her cheek, causing Amu to smile. She takes his hand and looks at him earnestly, startling him. "Ciel, I can't deny I have feelings for you, but you have a fiancee, and Lizzy is not bad. You're the Phantomhive head. You need a noblewoman to continue the line."
The young earl tilts his head, wondering why they are discussing this. He intertwines his fingers with her, eyeing her carefully. He speaks gently but honestly. "I told you before I care about Lizzy, but you are who I want to be with."
Amu blushes out of shyness. Slowly, she asks him, "So if you don't like Lizzy like that, why haven't you broken off the engagement?"
Amu's eyes widened, seeing Ciel's face change, surprised by her question as if the thought had never crossed his mind. "Okay, so was I going to be your night service maid?"
Ciel shook his head vigorously but wasn't sure what to say next, so Amu removed her hands from him and walked away. Ciel called out after her, but she ignored him.
Sieran and Cyan floated down from their hiding spot in the trees, noting how sad Ciel looked. Cyan moved to comfortingly rub his tiny hand on Ciel's cheek while Sieran watched Amu leave, dejected.
He couldn't blame her.
Cheslock felt his jaw drop when Amu suddenly approaches him backstage in her disguise. She had asked him earlier before changing to refer to her as Amara if anyone asked about her. She stood there, confident and elegant in her dress and high heels, increasing her height to his eye level.
'Amara' wore an open-shoulder, sleeved, soft pastel green taffeta ballgown with a built-in corset that expertly accentuated her hips and developing buxom. Cheslock licked his lips at the sight of the white lacing in the front, practically teasing him to be untied.
The older teen's eyes drifted to her right shoulder; there was an intricate mark of a rose. It was purplish, almost like a bruise, but it was alluring as it stood out on her peaches and cream skin.
Cheslock watches Amara lift one of her white-gloved hands to her neck, touching the pearl choker. He finally noticed how different her face was.
Amara's hair was now a dark mahogany brown; he could not tell if this was a wig. She tied her hair up into a small bun, bangs framing her heart-shaped face and a fringe on the right side covering her face. Amara's left eye was a different shape somehow; the outer corners slanted upwards, ending in a distinct sharp point. Amara purses her softly painted red lips, embarrassed by all the staring.
"Are you done?"
Cheslock meets eyes with her and nods, "You look splendid."
Amara smiled at his offered arm, allowing him to lead her onto the stage.
Ciel looked around. He couldn't find Amu anywhere in the crowd - she wasn't with the servants. Ciel frowns, wondering if anyone picked her up to court her. He grits his teeth at the thought. Suddenly, Ciel noticed that the curtain of the built stage was opening. He sees Cheslock with a brunette on his arm—a grand piano at his side.
"Cheslock is doing his first live performance at the school." He turns to see Edward at his side with Lizzy in tow. Lizzy immediately hugged Ciel and pressed her cheek against his, forcing him to see the brunette sitting on the stool and Cheslock taking his place at the piano. Ciel's frown deepened seeing the brunette, something about her was familiar.
When your soul finds the soul it was waiting for
When someone walks into your heart through an open door
When your hand finds the hand it was meant to hold
Don't let go
Someone comes into your world
Suddenly your world has changed forever
Sebastian stood at the side of the stage, noticing how transfixed everyone was on Amu/Amara. He tilts his head, his eyes appreciatively taking in how seductive she looked in the corset and her neck so exposed with his lovebite. He made a mental note to try and take her in his embrace again later.
Sebastian licks his lips at the thought.
No, there's no one else's eyes.
That could see into me.
No one else's arms can lift
Lift me up so high
Your love lifts me out of time
And you know my heart by heart, whoa, whoa
When you're one with the one you were meant to find
Everything falls in place, all the stars align
When you're touched by the cloud that has touched your soul
Don't let go
Someone comes into your life
It's like they've been in your life forever
Ciel knew. He knew.
He would recognize her voice anyway. Even though she masterfully used a sultry tone in the song. He could remember those high notes and hand movements as she sang soulfully.
Amu, why are you singing to us now?
No, there's no one else's eyes.
That could see into me
No one else's arms can lift
Lift me up so high
Your love lifts me out of time
And you know my heart by heart
So now we've found our way to find each other
So now I found my way to you
No, there's no one else's eyes
That could see into me
Kurosu looks over at Ciel with Lizzy draped over him. She growls irritably. She hated that Amu was hurting, and it was because of him.
She made a mental note to talk to her bearer, choose someone sincere, and wouldn't toy with her as Ciel, Ikuto, or Tadase had done.
No, there's no one else's eyes.
That could see into me
No one else's arms can lift
Lift me up so high
Your love lifts me out of time
And you know my heart by heart, whoa, whoa
And you know my heart by heart, whoa, whoa
And you know my heart by heart.
And you know my heart by heart.
A loud round of applause startled Cheslock and Amara when the song finished. Amara smiles shyly at the praise while her partner grins at the reception. He walks over to her, and she lets Cheslock guide her out of her stool so they can both thank the audience in a bow/curtsy. After the curtains closed, the stage crew excitedly hurries over to the two, gushing about the incredible performance. Cheslock was impressed at how skillfully Amara was in thanking everyone politely but still able to manoeuvre her way through them to make a swift exit with his hand in hers.
Cheslock watches her release a breath to steady herself the moment they are out of the ballroom, and he tilts his head to kiss Amara's cheek catching her off-guard.
She blushes and turns to look at him, and Cheslock smirks at her sweet expression. "You were fantastic, you know."
"I heard. I am glad, but your piano playing elevated the song."
Cheslock's eyes softened. He remembered how whenever anyone praised Amara's singing. She always pointed out his piano playing, too, as there were moments in the song when he was only playing for the audience. He had tried his best to emote so the audience could connect with him.
"You're kind."
Amara smiles and leans forward to kiss his cheek, too, "Thank you, but I should get going."
"Do you need to go so soon?"
Amara did not fail to notice the neediness in his tone. She smiled apologetically.
"My grandfather told me the carriage would come at midnight to pick me up. It's 15 minutes till then, and I'm sure it'll be a long walk back to the school entrance."
Cheslock squeezes her hand, "Let me accompany you then to the entrance. I wouldn't want a beautiful girl like yourself lost in a big school like this."
Amara shrugs, ignoring the fluttering in her chest from Cheslock's blatant flirting. "Alright."
Meanwhile, Sebastian was watching the couple from the shadows, he could tell that Cheslock was enamoured, but Amara/Amu was not responding to his attempts to woo her.
However, he could sense the succubus in her aching to explore, her powers were growing steadily, and if she weren't careful, she would gain her demonic appetite sooner. He needed to get to her quickly. Amu could be at risk of losing her humanity, and it was clear to him that it was the most precious to her now.
Silly girl.
In truth, Sebastian would prefer the girl quickly let herself go and allowed her demonic side to roam free, but it was apparent that wasn't what Amu wanted.
Oh well, Sebastian would enjoy playing with her in the meantime.