sunrise

Ari smiled at this. “Count me in.” She then offered one of her pinky fingers out to Aurora. “You can’t break one of these. I already know we’ll have a blast.” She chuckled as she settled on her seat, allowing her legs to lightly dangle over the floor. “They’ll miss us as much as we’ll miss them… might as well give them something we can tell them about.” Ariel’s eyes sparked up as she rested her chin on her hand, ready for her idea to bubble up to the surface. “See that colorful board over there? They’re all new drinks and you can vote on which one you think should make the regular venue. Are you up to the challenge of casting a vote between four contenders?” She squinted her eyes at Rory and tried to play it like a serious broadcaster– she wasn’t able to hold her chuckle in for long.

Aurora lifted her own hand, hesitated for just a moment, then wrapped her pinky around Ariel’s. She smiled softly, nodding. Turning towards the board, Rory squinteed to filter out the static of the bustling Friday night crowd. “I think I could handle that,” she laughed, then copied Ariel’s stoic expression, her shoulders straightening to show she was also very serious. “What are my choices?”

“The last of the pack! Ariel.” The girl stated proudly, feeling her smile warm up even more at the mention of her sister. “Well, you’re about to find out that if you’re a friend of any of us, you’re a friend to all of us.” That was true in about 6 out of 7 cases, Rory gave the vibe of being a lovely person and Ari was determined to prove it herself. Her mouth did a little o at the explanation. “Well, then we definitely have to make it a great night. Can I ask what is it that you do or should we just forget all about our lives outside of this place?” Ari asked, though she loved to talk, work was seldom a topic she could go on about for long. Rory probably had a cooler job than hers, though. “Oh, I wish.” Speaking of topics she couldn’t go on for long– she didn’t linger on the thought and followed up with a chuckle. “I wanted to take the world’s quickest shower so I could go out before anything tried to keep me home… like a fuzzy robe.” Ariel admitted sheepishly, hoping the other girl wouldn’t find her explanation too dorky. She followed Rory along, merrily sitting beside her. “Only if I can get the second round! Actually…” She bit on her lip and looked up at the day’s menu, turning back to grin at Aurora. “How adventurous are you feeling today?”

“Ariel,” Aurora repeated, her soft lips curling up in delight. She hummed in thought, a long, delicate finger tapping the point of her chin. “Tell you what. If tonight goes well, we’ll have to meet again, and I’ll tell you anything you want to know then. For now, let’s keep it a secret.” She laughed, nodding, “I know the feeling. My bed is calling my name.” Aurora raised a brow. “What do you mean?”

“I’ll be honored to be your first.” She giggled, already looking at her phone so she could sign them up for the next group. “Okay, we can be there in like half an hour…” Bella looked at Rory and grinned. “You find yourself in a gigantic dark room that’s like a maze– only lit up by pretty lights; with a bunch of other guys that want to get all the thrill of paintball without getting hurt. It is a blast!”

Aurora was only slightly overwhelmed at the idea, but she was doing her best to branch out, so she put on her best smile and leaned in to show she was still listening. “I believe you,” she said, trying to convince herself that was true. “You won’t leave me alone in the dark, will you?”

The feeling of her damp hair brushing her back as she walked was a pleasant sensation all on its own. Ariel took big, exaggerated breaths as she made her way to one of her favorite places in the entire town; freedom certainly was a feeling she didn’t take for granted. For the first time in years, she’d finally managed to turn in every single assignment for the week before the due dates were biting at her. With no shifts to tend to, she promised herself to have a relaxing night full of dancing and colorful drinks with little umbrellas. She was eager to walk in, maybe run into either Flynn or Raphi– Ariel’s eyes were just adjusting to the change of lighting when she heard someone come up right behind her. “Hi, sweetheart!” She exclaimed, though it took her a moment to place her, she did find the girl quite familiar; she had the kind of lovely face with big eyes you didn’t expect to run into often. “You’re an A name too, that I remember… A… Rory! Oh dear, we have; it’s nice running into you again. You’ve got big plans tonight?” Ari asked with a wide smile, catching the door of the venue so the two of them could make their way in. “After you.”

Aurora couldn’t help the rush of warm embarrassment that filled her cheeks as she ducked back so as not to run into the other girl. She held a soft hand up to hide her shy grin at the pet name, which she found strangely agreeable. Nodding, Aurora finally placed the familiarity she felt. “That’s me! And if you have an A name, I assume you’re one of the Triton sisters? Adella is a good friend of mine,” she offered to connect the dots. “Nope, just trying to blow off the steam from a long shift.” Aurora noticed Ariel’s wet hair, the corners of her mouth curling into an amused grin. “What about you? Looks like you’ve spent the day enjoying the beach.” She lead the way into the bar, scoping out a couple of stools in the back corner of the room. She wasn’t normally so forward, but something about Ariel helped her feel more comfortable than she was around most almost-strangers. “Can I buy you a drink?”

“Then I definitely will. To be honest, that was more of a warning than a possibility.” He laughed softly, feeling his chest fill with pride as he watched Aurora practice her movements. She moved and flowed with a rhythm that was only hers, he admired the connection the girl had to the dance. It was impossible for Héctor not to be moved by moments like this, he believed every single person had a unique spark of expression to them and this was Aurora’s to enjoy. “I believe in you.” He smiled wholeheartedly before shaking his head. “In any case, if they need some sense to find them… I can always borrow a fake mustache from the theater department and pretend I’m a casual bystander that has been so utterly captivated with your talent that is incapable of holding back from jumping at your defense.” Héctor shrugged. “Just saying.”

I believe in you, Aurora repeated in her mind. With a tilt of her head, any tension she had in her body melted away, revealing a soft, grateful smile. “You know, I haven’t heard that in a long while.” Her family believed in her ability for greatness, but they didn’t see ballet as a part of it. “It’s nice to know someone does,” Aurora added, reaching out to squeeze his hand. She pulled her hands up quickly to cover her warm chuckle. “If my career wasn’t riding on your ability to pull it off, I’d love to see it. I’m just not sure a mustache would suit you.”

“You know what you need?” Bella jumped out of her seat. “You need a change of pace. When was the last time you did something that would crash your planner if you wrote it down? Oh! How about laser tag?”

Rory let out an uncomfortable chuckle. “I’ve never done laser tag before,” she admitted, softly scratching her head, “Is it fun?”

@ari-triton​

“And that’s why you’re the best.” Miguel smiled, excited to learn something Aurora was so passionate about. “Vale…” He said a little bit ashamed, unable to join in on the chuckle. “Is it too late to say I was joking and I totally knew what you meant?” He was careful as he held Rory, making sure his grip was secure but not uncomfortable. “Okay, on the count of three. One… two… three!” Miguel locked himself in place before doing as told.

“Never too late,” she giggled. On his count, Aurora hopped up into the air, trusting him to keep her off the floor. Her hands, previously gripping his wrists, floated up to hold themselves above her head as she kicked a pointed toe back. She beamed, looking down for a moment and bracing herself with her hands on his shoulders.

She couldn’t help it but it caught her by surprise, Bella threw her head back and let out a big laugh. “You got me there.” After calming down, she looked at Rory and shook her head. “And not giving yourself time to fix what you might actually be able to control will not solve the bigger ones, will it? It’s okay, Rory. We’ve all got shit to deal with, big or small, if it affects us– I mean, it’s perfectly fair to feel D in the D’s about it.”

She laughed along with her, feeling more comfortable now. She nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. It feels like I’m... ‘d in the d’s’ a lot lately.”

Héctor kept quiet for a moment, if there was something he absolutely had to believe in, it was the intricacies of the spirit world. “Mi hermosa Aurora, I think you just might be onto something. Never underestimate the pull of your soul.” He said with earnest devotion, not failing to return the squeeze with a genuine smile of his own. “I promise to use it if I’m not standing up and clapping through the whole thing.” Héc teased, settling in his seat as he focused on the dancing. “You’ll get it right, because you will make it your own. Besides, Art is not about thing being perfect; they’ll commend you on your attitude, I will personally give them a piece of my mind if they don’t bet on everything you can bring to the table.”

Aurora was surprised at how intrigued he was by the idea, as she was only joking. She gave him a strange look, but her grin soon returned as she lept toward the center of the room. “You can if you want to,” she laughed, facing herself in the mirror as she practiced her arabesque. Aurora easily hopped up onto her toes, bouncing for a moment before turning to see him. “Well, let’s hope I can win them over so you don’t have to chase after them. I love you, but that would be embarrassing.”

“I don’t particularly give a shit.” Hopper let out a dry laugh, looking at her dismissively. “If it’s working so well for you, keep at it.”

Not one for confrontation, Rory found it difficult to blink away the stinging of her eyes. She swallowed thickly. “I will. And people will like me for it. And they won’t wonder what they did to deserve such harsh treatment.”

“Maybe if you’re naturally graceful and good at it.” Tulio replied with a chuckle. “It wasn’t that fun in my case, though… A lot of punta-tacón punta-tacón for my taste.” 

She took his hand, pulling herself under his arm in a graceful turn. “I’m sure you’re better than you think.” Her giggles continued. “I’m sorry you felt that way. I think it’s beautiful.”