Status: new chapter june 8

The Ballerina and the Rocker

Chapter 20

Quinn

With her final soon approaching, she nothing but practice. And practice and practice. She could only imagine how much more difficult and time consuming it was going to be continuing on at Juilliard. If she continued on at all.

“I don’t think your legs are straight enough when you do the brisé” she said to Crystal after she performed the jump. “That’s probably why you’re having trouble with the landing.”

While Quinn preferred to work alone, Crystal had asked for her help numerous times that she just couldn’t say no. It was also a nice distraction when Quinn grew worried with her own routine.

“Ok, let me try again,” Crystal said. She got into fifth position, threw her legs up, and pushed herself backwards where she firmly landed back in fifth position. It was perfect.

Quinn gave her a thumbs up. “You’ve got it.”

“Thanks so much for helping me, Quinn,” Crystal said, thankfulness dripping from every word. “I don’t think I could have gotten the hang of it without you.”

“I’m sure you would have,” Quinn replied humbly. She knew she was good, but that didn’t mean she needed to be praised constantly.

“How’s yours coming along?”

“Um, pretty good, I think. I’m just having trouble finding a song.”

“How long do the routines have to be again?”

“Four to six minutes.”

Four to six minutes may have seemed like a piece of cake, but trying to choreograph a ballet routine in that amount of time showcasing what you’ve learned was incredibly difficult and daunting.

“Well, you can’t go wrong with a classical piece, right?” Crystal suggested. Quinn nodded and said good-bye as the two parted ways to their dorm rooms.

Her dorm was empty since her roommate Jessie was at her voice lesson. Quinn pushed her dance bag under her bed before grabbing a box of CDs she kept next to her dresser. She sat cross legged on her bed with the CD box on her lap as she rifled through, hoping to find the right song choice for her final routine.

A smile stretched across her face when her fingers landed on a purple CD case. She pulled out Sounding the Seventh Trumpet which Zacky had sent to her and looked at the song listings on the back.

“Perfect,” she said out loud to herself when her eyes found the four minute twenty two second track she was looking for. It was definitely going to work for her routine, and hopefully set her apart from the crowd.

Zacky

Signing on to their first label and recording their first CD out was a big deal, even if the whole ordeal seemed sketchy. But the excitement of being signed by a legitimate label who actually took an interest in the band was uncomparable.

”And they’re way more legit than the other guys?” Quinn asked over the phone. Zacky had called to tell her the news almost immediately.

“Totally,” he replied. “And the great thing about Hopeless is that they’re going to re-release the CD and help get us on some tours. It’ll still be work, but it’s gonna be so much nice having extra help, you know?”

”That’s wonderful. I’m so proud of you guys!” He could tell she was smiling and it just made his heart swell.

“Thanks, Q! It’s all a little crazy right now.”

”I can only imagine. Celebrating pretty hard?”

He laughed. “You know it.”

”Make sure you and Brian do some shots for me!”

“Still not digging the booze?” The memory of Quinn’s first Halloween drinking escapade never failed to amuse him.

”It just doesn’t really mix well with all those pirouettes.”

“Yeah, how’s that going? With your dance final?” With all the excitement happening with Avenged he had almost forgotten about Quinn’s project, which made him feel like a complete asshole.

”Good,’ she answered after a heavy sigh. ”I’ve got it all choreographed so now it’s just constant practicing until I have to perform it… I’m going to dance to one of your songs.”

His lips snuck into a smirk. “What?”

”Yeah, uh, Warmness on the Soul,” she explained, and Zacky could hear the pride but adorable embarrassment in her voice. ”It actually fits perfectly with my routine.”

“You’re the most rockin’ ballerina I know. I fucking love you.”

Quinn

Fuuuuhhh-ck was the only thought occupying Quinn’s mind as she walked off the stage after her routine presentation. Always a perfectionist, she felt her routine fell short when it came time to perform it for her instructors, especially after all the hours of preparation she poured into it. And while part of herself knew she did just fine, there was the other part that kept pushing doubt forward.

She needed a distraction, and fast.

As if on cue, Quinn saw her father walking towards her across Lincoln Center’s plaza. She had been so concerned with her performance she had almost forgotten he was coming.

“Dad!” she exclaimed as her father swept her up into a hug.

“Hey, sweetie,” Dan said, equally as exuberant. “I was just on my way to your dorm.”

“Yeah, I literally just finished my dance final.”

“How’d it go?” Quinn sighed and shook her head. “Bad?”

“No, it was fine. You know me.” Her father smiled and took her dance bag from her.

“Well, want to talk about it over lunch?”

Quinn smiled. “If you’re buying.”

They ate at a nifty little place in Hell’s Kitchen called Vynl, which Quinn suggested after having eaten there once before with Crystal and her annoying friend Eddie. The black patent leather booths were as welcoming as ever while the album cover wallpaper - ranging from Abbey Road to Darkside of the Moon to Zenayattá Mondatta - created a hip and retro ambiance no one could attest to. As she enjoyed the best stuffed french toast she ever had, her father couldn’t get over the Elvis themed bathroom (“The King sang to me as I took a whiz!” he said, trying to pass off his serious amazement as a joke).

Spending time with her dad always put Quinn in a better mood.

“Is your stuff all packed?” Dan asked as the two walked down the busy street back to Quinn’s dorm after they had finished their lunch.

“Yeah, pretty much,” she said. “I just have a box of stuff I want to mail back home so I don’t have to take it on the plane.”

Part of the reason why Quinn had felt so stressed about her routine was that she was simultaneously packing up and getting ready to move out of her dorm. It was as if Juilliard scheduled all these things at the same time on purpose as a sick joke.

“I’ve got to be completely moved out by noon tomorrow,” she continued.

“Then we’ll load up the rental car and drive right on up to Boston!”

“Ooh, that reminds me - I still need to get Audrey a graduation gift.”

“Want to go now while we’re out?”

“Sure, if you’re buying.”

Her father laughed. “Yeah, nice try.”

Zacky

It was strange to see Justin laying in a hospital bed. It was sad and pathetic, and while Zacky wanted to be sympathetic he couldn’t help but feel angry.

“I can’t believe he would do this,” Matt said after finding Justin passed out from taking too much cough syrup.

“You think he’ll be ok?” Zacky asked, truly concerned for both Justin’s life as well as the future of the band.

“Yeah, the doctor said he’ll be fine,” Brian answered.

The four band members gathered at Brian’s house after visiting their hospital visit to figure out what their next step was going to be.

“We can’t have another person who doesn’t want to be here,” Matt continued. “This is fucking ridiculous.”

“So,” Zacky chimed in with a heavy sigh. “The search begins again.”

This is not what was supposed to happen. Everything was looking up for the band, and then this? They needed a bass player, and they needed one fast since they were looking to start touring again over the summer. But they didn’t need a bass player to just fill in the gaps here and there - they needed a bass player that loved Avenged Sevenfold as much as the rest of them did.

Quinn

“Audrey, you’ve just graduated college - what are you going to do next?!”

“Move in with my parents and obnoxious sister?”

Quinn scowled. “You’re supposed to say I’m going to Disney World!

Audrey futzed with her black graduation gown. “Yeah, I wish.”

“Wow, you’re a bundle of joy.” She thought that graduating from college would have brought a bit more excitement from her sister.

“Oh, hush, you,” Audrey said, a smile coming into focus. “It just hasn’t really settled in yet.”

The two girls sat on a bench in front of Boston College’s main hall as they waited for their parents to bring the car around.

“Are you really going to move in?”

“For a bit, yeah. I mean, I don’t have a job yet or anything… I still have no clue what I want to do. That’s one thing about you I was always envious of.”

Of everyone in their family Quinn thought she and her sister knew each other the best, but every once in a while Audrey would say or do something that caught her completely off guard. She had looked up to her sister her entire life, striving to emulate her as best she could. If there was one thing about Audrey that Quinn was envious of it was her confidence and self-awareness, so the fact that Audrey was envious of her didn’t make any sense.

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve known what you wanted to do since you were three years old. Sure, I like journalism and writing and whatever, but I still haven’t been hit by that same inspiration you’ve had.” She looked into Quinn’s eyes and looked as though she was about to cry. “Or Mason, for that matter,” she added of their brother, who failed to make it away from his baseball practices.

“Audrey,” Quinn began, feeling close to tears herself. “I’m really glad you’re my sister.” Her sister smiled and wrapped Quinn up in a big hug, just as the rental car pulled up to the curb.

Ballet had always been what Quinn wanted to do, but it wasn’t her inspiration - Audrey was.

Zacky

Surfers crowded the shore as the Pacific Ocean crashed against the pier. While the beach was always littered with people, today it was especially full as Huntington Beach welcomed the beginning of summer. Digging his bare feet into the sand as far as they would go, Zacky sat alone on the beach as he people watched.

“Whatcha looking at?” a familiar voice said from behind him. Startled, he quickly turned around and saw Quinn looking down at him, her long hair blowing in the wind.

“Oh, nothing,” he replied with a smirk. “Just trying to find my girlfriend in the crowd.”

She sat down beside him. “Hm, what does she look like?”

“Well,” he continued, “she’s got the prettiest blue eyes and legs that don’t quit.”

“Sounds like you lucked out.”

They smiled at each other and Zacky took her hand. “I sure did.”
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I wrote this chapter kind quick, so I hope it's ok! I just really wanted to get one up. Thanks for all the comments :)

xo