Scream Me a Dream

Saturday May 8,2010
6:30pm

“Do you still get nervous before a show?” Josef teased as he entered her dressing room closing the door behind him, muting the chaos that was happening behind the door.

“Do not start with me Josef.” Soya warned as she looked over at him, black suit pants that had been made especially for the dance, his black ballet shoes that looked like boots and a white poet’s shirt. Josef looked very much the prince that he was supposed to be playing. “I’m not in the mood.” she continued as she slipped her red peasant skirt over her flesh colored tights, the gold rings that lined the skirt jingled as she moved.

“You’re nervous about the turns.” Josef stated as he sat down on her makeup chair, propping his feet up on her vanity as she pulled on the matching off-the-shoulder peasant top that ended just below her cleavage. “You’ve done these turns for the past four months Soya, you know you can do them, I don’t see why you worry about them.”

Soya sighed as she stood behind him so she could see herself in the mirror to braid her hair. “It takes one slight movement to cause me to go tumbling down,”

“A slight movement you’ve never made.” He reminded her, grabbing her hand as she began to fidget with the ends of her hair. “You’ll do perfectly fine Soya,” he shook his head. “You’re acting like the eighteen year old I first danced with, skittish as a new colt, dancing to please others. What happened to the Soya I’ve spent that last eight years bringing out huh?”

Soya laughed. “Josef.”

“I’m serious Soya, I don’t want to dance with the Juilliard graduate tonight, in fact,” he dropped his feet off the table and stood in front of her meeting her grey eyes with his blue. “I refuse to dance with her. I want to dance with Soya, the twenty eight year old women who has the confidence in her own abilities and dances for herself.”

Soya sighed. “Rebecca said the critics are coming to these next two shows.”

“Fuck the critics.” Josef said harshly. “Bunch of wash out reporters that don’t know a devant from an arabesque. You need to forget what Rebecca and your parents say and just dance Soya, forget the turns at the end of the shows, that’s hours from now. I’m right there with you all right?”

Soya took a deep breath and shook her head with a laugh. “You’re amazing, you know that.”

“I do,” Josef laughed. “But why now?”

“You know just the thing to tell me before every show to get me over my nerves.”

“Ah, that’s because I know you miláček.” He let her sit down on the makeup chair and start her makeup as he went and sat on the brown leather couch against the wall where Soya had tossed her clothes. “So tell me about breakfast.” Josef said grabbing her laptop out of the case, hidden beneath the clothes, opening it up.

Soya gave a grumble as she started applying the white makeup. “My mother made me feel guilty for not joining them last night swore that it ruined all of their plans.”

“And your father?” Josef asked, putting in the password to unlock the computer before accessing the internet.

Soya rolled her eyes. “Didn’t even notice I hadn’t joined them, he’d taken his pain pills by the time mother had gotten back to the hotel and was out of it an hour later, according to Aida anyway.”

“How is my sweet little Aida?”

“She’s going to be the next Toivonen dancer, or haven’t you heard?” Soya teased. “She starts her lessons this next summer; she couldn’t be more excited about it.”

Josef smiled. “Aida looks up to you Soya, she wants to be you when she grows up you know.”

Soya shrugged. “I just wish I tell her burden of being a dancer, especially a dancer in this family, I just don’t want to ruin her dreams.”

“Then don’t, you have no right to that anyway. Let her make her own mistakes, and if dancing ends up being a mistake, it’s one she needs to learn.”

Soya nodded in agreement, she just hoped her parents were much more lenient on Aida’s dancing career then they were on hers. “How was your date? You weren’t home when I got in.”

“Didn’t get back until late.” Josef said with a shrug. “And it went well, we’re going out tomorrow night after the last show and before he has to work.”

“He seems like a nice man.” Soya said leaning closer to the mirror as she carefully applied the fake lashes to her eyelids.

“He’s very nice,” Josef nodded, his eyes trained on the screen in front of him. “I’m having a good time getting to know him, which is much different then all my other relationships. It’s a nice pace.”

Soya looked over at him and couldn’t help but chuckle lightly, Josef was surprised at actually enjoying the beginning of a relationship, when he usually skipped the getting to know a person part and jumped into bed with a man he happened to enjoy.

“Just because I’m distracted with my own love life doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten that you saw your friends again after thirteen years.” Josef teased.

“I would never think you’d forgotten Josef.” Soya said before applying her bright red lipstick.

“So what’d they say?” Josef asked finally looking up from the computer. “Were they just as excited as you were? Oh! Oh! Were there tears? Tell me there were tears!”

Soya laughed as she sat back on her makeup chair and turned to face him putting her foot up on the seat and hugging it to her chest, massaging her ankle. “No tears on their part, just tears on mine.”

Josef frowned, not quite liking what she was saying. “Elaborate. Now.” He said glaring at her.

Soya sighed and dropped her chin on her knee. “I didn’t actually talk to them; I just watched them and then left as they were coming off stage.”

Josef hit his forehead with the palm of his hand. “Oh Soya!”

“I was nervous.” She defended. “I wasn’t ready for them to see me, I just…it wasn’t time.”

“Thirteen years Soya! You haven’t seen them in thirteen years and you flush it all down the toilet because you were nervous!” Josef groaned. “By the time you gather the nerves to actually talk to them you’ll be wrinkly and much too old to act on any sexual tension between you and Ville.”

Soya burst out laughing, throwing her head back at Josef’s ridiculous rant. “There is so much wrong with that statement.”

“Tell me, what’s wrong with it?”

“Well for one, there is no sexual tension between Ville and myself, there never was.”

“That kiss you described tells me different.”

“The very reason I don’t drink.” She groaned, before staring up again. “And secondly you assume that I didn’t have a plan.”

“You had a plan?” Josef asked amused.

“Of course I did,” Soya said with a roll of her eyes. “I knew the night could have gone one of two ways, I either stayed and talked to them or I didn’t. Either way I wanted them to know I had seen them.”

“And?” Josef asked moving to the edge of his seat.

“I left them tickets to the show.”

Josef’s eyes widened. “Tonight’s show?”

Soya nodded with a small smile. “They’d always wanted to see me dance.” She admitted. “I never wanted them to. I was beginning to resent dancing, I hated it and I wasn’t at my best, I didn’t want them to see me going through the motions.”

“And now?”

Soya shrugged. “Now, I’m proud of what I do, I accept it as part of myself. I have to dance just like I have to breathe.”

Josef studied her for a minute before grinning. “Is that why you’re nervous? Because they might be in the audience?”

Soya laughed, Josef really did know her, “Partially.” She rolled her eyes at herself. “All right a lot, but it’s also just plain nerves.”

“You’ll be fine.” Josef said with a wave of his hand. “So what exactly happened last night?”

Soya shrugged. “Nothing really, except,” she shook her head as the annoyance came back. “There was another guy backstage with me; he was a cocky little bastard.”

Josef smirked. “Really?”

Soya nodded. “He said I didn’t look like any of the HIM fans he’d ever met. Then when I out and out told him that I was a fan of HIM before he even knew who the hell they were he said he doubted it. As if he were the one and only HIM fan in the world, looked like he and Ville are close though.”

Josef sucked on his bottom lip, before going back to the computer and typing into the search engine, finding what he was looking for her turned the computer back to Soya. “Was that him?”

She leaned over and squinted at the screen, turning her lip up as she saw the scowling face on the screen. “Yeah, that’s him.”

Josef laughed. “Miláček, you met Bam Margera.”

Soya raised an eyebrow. “And?”

“He’s a very big HIM fan and a very good friend of the band. From what I’ve seen on his show and read about he’s one of Ville’s very close friends.”

Soya rolled her eyes as she got up, grabbing her red ballet shoes from the hook next to her vanity before placing them on her feet. “That doesn’t mean he had to be rude.”

“He makes his living off being rude.” Josef pointed out as he closed the laptop and got up from the couch. “Have you truly never seen Viva La Bam?”

Soya shook her head. “Never heard of it.”

“Which is something seeing as Ville is in four of the episodes”

Soya frowned as she followed Josef out of the dressing room, watching as everyone started to take their places at the wings. “I’m not that obsessed with Ville or the band that I follow their every movement Josef.”

Josef snorted. “Tell that to the collection of magazines you have in your closet.”

“I’m proud.” She defended.

“Sure you are…stalker.”

Soya laughed and pushed him away from her. “I am.”

Josef grabbed her and laughed. “You know I’m kidding. Now,” he looked up at the stage manager who was tapping his watch. “Break a leg.”

Soya pushed on his chest. “Break your own.”

Josef chuckled at their tradition before a show before kissing her forehead. “We’ll do fine,”

Soya swallowed. “We always do.”

Josef smiled down at her. “That’s my girl, now go, I can see Bill is getting agitated that we’re not in our places.”

“See you out there.” She said pulling away, giving him one last smile before walking away towards the other girls. Josef sighed before walking to the other side of the stage to his own group, saying a silent prayer that everything went right.

XxxxxxX

“We’re late!” Linde said as they got out of the cab and started up the steps of the theater they had just played at the night before, but instead of teens and adults lining the streets in HIM hoodies, men and women milled about in dress gowns and tuxedos.

Linde dug the tickets out of his jacket pocket handing them to the man at the door. Ripping off the stubs the man handed the tickets back to Linde and directed the group towards the balcony where their seats were.

Ville sighed as he went to grab a program, only to have Linde smack his hand. “What?” Ville asked.

“Let's go.” Linde demanded as he started pushing the group towards the stairs.

“We’re not that late.” Mige groaned as they climbed the steps. “And why didn’t Gas and Burton come?”

Ville nodded. “Yes, why were they allowed to weasel their way out of this, but we weren’t?”

“I could have weaseled.” Bam muttered. “You just wouldn’t let me.”

“If I have to suffer, so do you.” Ville said grabbing his arm and pulling him up the steps faster. It wasn’t that he didn’t occasionally enjoy a show like a ballet, he had gone to a few and enjoyed them, he just wished he had a say in going or not.

When Gas and Burton had asked Linde if they really had to go to a ballet on their night off, Linde had easily accepted their excuse and said no they didn’t. When Mige had tried, Linde had cut off his excuse, said he was going and left the room. At that point, Ville hadn’t even tried to argue with Linde or offer an excuse; instead, he had dragged Bam along, knowing the night would be much more entertaining that way.

They reached their balcony seats just as the lights dimmed; Ville took his seat between Bam and Linde and crossed his legs, as the curtain raised. The stage that had been used as a concert arena the night before had been transformed into a forest scene. The music from the orchestra started with a playful somewhat fast-paced piece as a group of men came out onto the stage in white pants and black poet shirts, just as a single man in black pants and a white poet shirt, sauntered out with a quiver and bow over his shoulder.

“I could have stayed home for this shit.” Bam muttered.

Ville turned to him. “What?”

Bam shrugged, before smirking up at him. “Novak would be more than willing to dress up in tights and dance for me.”

“Shhh.” Linde hushed, glaring at them. Mige snorted beside him, causing Linde to glare.

“Oh come on, you’re taking this so seriously Mikko.” Mige whispered.

“You will too, trust me.”

“We would if you told us why you’re so excited for the damn thing in the first place.” Ville grumbled as he glanced down to see the men dancing, from what he could catch of the ballet so far, the man was some sort of royal, hunting in the forest. He looked over and saw Linde straighten just as a group of women twirled out on stage, surrounding a lone woman, before they separated, partnering up with one of the men, leaving the lone man in white with the one woman dressed in a red skirt and matching top.

“Ugh, when do they start talking?” Bam asked.

“They don’t.” Ville muttered.

“What do you mean they don’t talk?” Bam asked loudly, causing the others from the balcony next to them to shush them.

“You’re supposed to follow the story from the dance itself, not any type of dialogue or from the program, but since Linde refused to let me get one.”

Linde sighed knowing they wouldn’t shut up until he explained; he had researched the ballet the night wanting to see how long it took Ville and Mige to figure out just who the female lead dancer was.

“It’s a story of forbidden romance.” Linde started. “The girl in red is a gypsy, while the man she’s dancing with is a prince. The prince’s family has just put out a ban on all gypsies in the town.”

“And that’s what makes the love forbidden, blah blah blah, do they have sex?” Bam asked.

Ville snorted as Linde sighed. “Just watch Bam or go to sleep.”

Ville frowned at Linde, as he continued keeping his eyes on the female lead dancer as she flew across the stage with the man. “Why are you so into this?” He asked.

Linde sighed. “You’ll see, just…watch.”

Mige looked away from Linde, knowing that there had to be a reason he was taking the ballet so seriously. Usually Linde was easy going, humoring Bam in his comments, but tonight it seemed like he had a short fuse concerning, what Mige thought, was a trivial thing. Looking back down at the dancers, he couldn’t help but frown as he watched the women in red, who Linde was watching intently.

He watched as her braid flew around her as she made her turns, her skirt flying at her sides, as the man lifted her up mid twirl. It wasn’t until her face was clearly in view that Mige recognized her. He held in the gasp, instead grabbing Linde’s arm and squeezing.

Linde frowned at Mige’s grip on his arm and was about to tell him to let go, when he looked up and saw Mige staring at him wide eyed.

“You knew.” Mige hissed.

Linde smirked. “Last night when I saw the tickets.”

Mige looked over at Ville who was talking quietly with Bam, every so often looking at the dancers but not really paying attention. “He doesn’t know.”

“He would if he’d start paying attention.” Linde whispered back.

Mige went back to watching the dancers on stage, keeping his eye on Soya, shaking his head in wonderment. “Holy shit she’s amazing.”

Linde grinned. “We always wanted to see her dance.”

“And to think I didn’t want to come tonight.” Mige muttered as he looked back over at Ville who was still talking quietly to Bam. “He’s going to kick himself when he realizes that it’s Soya down there. You should just tell him Linde.”

“Let him kick himself, not my fault he’s not paying attention.” Linde shrugged as the curtain dropped on the first act.

“Nice, is it over already?” Bam asked.

“Just the first act.” Mige corrected. “There’s one more act then an intermission.”

“Ugh, this is taking forever.” Bam groaned, growling as he loosened his tie.

“It’s just an hour in a half more.” Ville said trying to placate his friend, while searching his pockets. “Think I have time to get a smoke in, before they raise the curtain again.”

Linde sighed and let Ville pass him down the aisle before he left the balcony.

“I’ll go make sure he comes back.” Mige said getting up before Linde could argue.

“If those two leave us here…” Bam warned.

“They’re not leaving.” Linde said to bam.

Bam narrowed his eyes on the blonde before he spoke again. “So really, why are you so interested in this ballet, you have something going on with one of the dancers?”

“I have a girlfriend Bam." Linde reminded.

“Doesn’t mean the best men don’t step out.”

Linde sighed. “You swear you won’t tell Ville?”

Bam frowned. “Depends.”

“Bam.”

“Yeah, sure.”

Linde rubbed the back of his head just as the lights went down and the curtain raised up again. “The lead woman, the dancer in red.”

Bam nodded. “Yeah?”

“That’s Soya.”

XxxxxxX

“Linde send you to check on me?” Ville teased as he blew out a puff of smoke and looked over at his friend, who looked very uncomfortable in the suit Linde had forced him in to.

“Look, this is important to Linde, and…” Mige sighed. “It’s important to me.”

“Since when?” Ville laughed, “Thirty minutes ago you were bitching about having to come too.”

“God, Linde is going to kill me for this.”

Ville frowned as he tossed the butt of the cigarette down and crushed it with the sole of his shoe. “Kill you for what?”

“There’s a reason Linde dragged us here tonight and it’s not to torture us Ville and it’s not because he’s taken a sudden interest in ballet.”

“Then what is it?”

Mige sighed, and held out his hand, looking down; Ville saw the show’s program hanging between Mige’s fingers. “The Love of the Gypsy.” It read in the front along with the company’s name. Mige gestured for him to take it and open it. With a sigh, Ville took it from Mige and flipped it open reading the names.

“Prince Kai played by Josef Kolar,” Ville muttered. “The gypsy Maria played by…” Ville trialed off looking up at Mige with wide eyes. “Soya?”