The Ballerina

“Sorry about that. I honestly thought he’d be better behaved.” Luke shook his head, and turned the basement light on.

“It’s alright. You guys are nothing alike, you know."

“Yeah, I know.” The boy smiled. “Help me move this couch.”

Luke pointed to a large, red couch in the middle of the floor. The basement was practically bare except for the couch and some random sheets on the wooden floor.

Acelynn stood at one end of the furniture, and Luke stood at the other. “Why are we moving a couch? Sorry, but this isn’t really my idea of fun.”

“Aw, really? That’s too bad – I thought we could rearrange my whole house.” Luke replied sarcastically, but lightly.

“It would take all day in this freakin’ mansion. How many floors do you have?” The ballerina grunted as they lifted the couch.

“Only three.”

“Well I have one, rich boy.” Acelynn teased.

Luke looked embarrassed again. Even slightly angry, as he set the couch down next to the wall. “Is this going to be, like, a thing now?”

“Calm down; I was just screwing with your head. I’m done now.” The ballerina smiled, and looked around. “No, really; why are we moving a couch around?”

“One sec.” Luke replied and picked up a few sheets. Then he put them on top of the couch, which was now near the staircase.

Acelynn helped out and picked up a tan sheet from the floor next to her shoes. “Is this like, a game or something? ‘See how long it takes for Acelynn to crack’?”

“You sure are pushy today.” The boy commented.

It was true, she noticed in herself. She had become more assertive lately. She was using vocabulary she usually wouldn’t – more slang. She was teasing Luke. She was becoming his friend, rather than some emotional outlet 24/7. “Does it intimidate you?”

Luke hacked a laugh. “I think I could probably take you.”

“I’m sure.” Acelynn rolled her eyes and lifted her arms to flex. “Do you see these pythons? Fourteen years of training, buddy.”

The dark haired boy burst out laughing. It was a hysterical type of laugh – his arms were holding his stomach, his eyes were tiny crescents on his face, and he was half curled over before he collapsed on the couch. He sounded like he was having some sort of attack as tears soaked his face. “Oh God, make it stop!” He chanted.

“What?” Acelynn giggled lightheartedly. “What is so funny?”

That only seemed to make Luke laugh harder. “Jesus Christ, Ace. You kill me.” He gasped as he began to settle down. He still let out random bursts of laughter.

“I don’t know why you got so worked up. I was just showing you the guns.” The ballerina giggled and sat next to Luke, who was out of breath.

He laughed again. “Oh wow. It’s been awhile since I’ve laughed that hard.”

“It wasn’t that funny to begin with.”

“Acelynn! You’re 5’4’’, you do ballet, you’ve never even thought about dropping the f-bomb, and yet you refer to your biceps as pythons.”

“Oh, so are you stereotyping me?” Acelynn inquired jokingly.

Luke rolled his eyes and got off the couch. “So, what do you think?”

“What do I think of what?” She asked, and looked around. There wasn’t anything special about the room except a large mirror on the west side.

“The room. What do you think about the room?” Luke asked again, sounding a little exasperated.

“For what?” Acelynn stressed her voice. “You might want to start drawing a map, because I don’t get it.”
Luke stepped into the middle of the room and examined it, as if he had never been there before. “Well, you were really upset that you had to go to therapy. And I don’t blame you at all. But you said that they may take away your ballet if you don’t go, and you were really put off. So I thought if you knew you had a back up, just in case you decided to stop going, then you’d—“

Acelynn cut him off when she embraced him in a hug. She wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed tight. No one had ever done something quite that big or important for her. Tears of gratitude were falling down her face. “Oh thank you so much, Luke. Thank you!” And once again, the ballerina felt safe.

The boy hugged her back. “It’s not like, a professional studio or anything.” He warned. “But I can fix it up for you. Just remember it for a rainy day.”

She didn’t think it was possible, but she hugged Luke tighter. She felt him do the same. Acelynn was still sobbing into his black jean jacket as he held her upright. The ballerina couldn’t seem to make her stop. Luke always brought out so many sensitive emotions from her soul. They were intense and pure. She had never felt so alive.

Luke slowly brought her to the old red couch and sat her down. The sobbing had seized and the teens sat in silence. Everything was deathly quiet except for an occasional thump from the upper floor. Tuck was probably entertaining himself in another way Acelynn didn’t even want to think about.

“Where’s your dog?” She croaked.

“What?”

“You said you had a dog. Where is it?” Acelynn explained.

Luke shrugged and gave it a moment of thought. “She’s probably out back. She spends a lot of time outside in the yard.”

“Oh.”

“Did you want to see her?” Luke offered, but made no motion to move.

Acelynn shook her head and leaned against the boy. She didn’t need anything but Luke anymore. He completed the circle. She was comfortable with just him around.

Unfortunately, Tuck didn’t feel they should be alone. “Alright, I tried to stay away but I just can’t. I don’t care if you get busy right in front of me; I just need to be around people.” Tuck begged on his knees before the couch.

“Tuck! We are not, I repeat not having sex.” Luke emphasized.

The older boy rolled his emerald eyes and got off his knees. He stood with his arms crossed, looking down condescendingly at the two teens. “Yeah right. Girlfriend, you seem like an honest girl; are you two doing it?”

Tuck seemed a lot more immature than his younger brother. He couldn’t even bring himself to say the word sex. But he had a certain air about him; like he knew more than he let on. He seemed capable of doing more than lighting trees on fire. And he also had an arrogant way about him – like he knew this about himself, but most people didn’t. “No, we’re not doing it.”

Tuck’s jade eyes gleamed, even in the dark basement, and he smiled. “Aw, the Big Bad Wolf corrupted Little Red Robin.”

“What?” Acelynn asked, completely confused.

“Luke taught you to lie.” It wasn’t a question.

“He didn’t teach me to lie.” The ballerina rolled her eyes.

“Tuck, if you can’t play nice, I suggest a time out.” Luke stepped in, sensing Acelynn’s discomfort with his brother.

Tuck definitely didn’t make the girl feel comfortable. She was on edge every time he showed up. Butterflies danced in her stomach, the hairs on her arms prickled, and she had to force her breathing to stay calm. Acelynn leaned into Luke more, as she thought about him.

That didn’t really help their situation of Tuck thinking they were dating. He smirked as they became closer. That sent Luke overboard, and he got up with the ballerina attached to his hip. “Let’s go, Ace.”

The two began to walk up the stairs, but Acelynn stopped. “Oh yeah, and my name isn’t Girlfriend, its Acelynn. I assumed you forgot, but now you know. Don’t call me that again.” She spat bitterly. She didn’t know why she was being so hostile to the boy – she knew he was just bored. But she couldn’t help herself.

Tuck wasn’t intimidated by the small girl, but he was a little surprised that she actually challenged him. “I’ll be sure to remember that.” He replied with a good amount of amusement in his voice. He stood there watching them ascend to the main floor, with his hands in his pockets, smirking.

With Luke’s arm wrapped around her shoulders, making her calm, and Tuck’s piercing eyes staring at her, making her uneasy, Acelynn wasn’t exactly sure with what she felt.