Oh my giad. I slid down the musky mirror falling in exhaustion to the sleek wooden dance floor, I couldn’t breathe, I stared blankly at the decorated across the wide empty room. Unable to catch my breath, I pressed my forehead against my knee as my chest rose and fell rapidly, sweat dripping down the lining of my chin. I needa work out more. Out of the corner of my eye I detected a familiar figure heading towards me, I couldn’t help but smile, letting my fake face slip away, as I took a final long breath and threw my head back resting it against the reflecting mirror, the sun shining into my squinting eyes.

“You smell beesh. ~” the outline greeted.

“Oh shut up, help me up,” I replied smiling even more now, holding my hand up daintily awaiting his helping hand. Instead he tugged my hand up, surprising me and forcing me to fly into his chest and into a delicate hug.

“Annyeong~” he said in the cutest voice ever.

“What are you? Korean?”

“Arasso?”

“Arei co?” I mocked.

“Arasso!” He grinned; his thin flipped hair disappeared into the bright shining sun light behind him. Still smiling he turned me around, hugging my hip and dangled his fist in front of my face, to my surprise a brown paper bag fell out of his fist, only to be caught at the last moment. “Surprise.”

“BREAD!” I bit the brown bag in front of my face and squirmed out of his arms, already tearing apart the wrapping hindering me from digesting my soft fluffy dinner roll.

He laughed as he slid down next to me leaning against my damp forehead. “Pst, you smell REEEEALLLY BAD.”

“Aish.” I laughed around bites of bread. What? I practiced nonstop for 6 hours, don’t judge. Finishing, I stood up gathering my soaked Merlin Monroe shirt and shuffling towards the open door away from his dramatic expression-- nose scrunched and sniffing loudly. “Alright alright, I’ll shower, I’ll shower~. That reminds me, I wanna go to a Carnival. Find one before I’m done arasso?”

“Showers have nothing to do with Carnivals!… Heeeey, you’re not allowed to know more Korean than me! ” Henry pouted.

“I’m not the one who at learning!”

“Hey!”

I laughed as I tossed the remnants of what had been bread in the direction of his protests as I headed towards the locker room once more only to nearly break my face when I tripped over poorly wrapped box shaped nonsense. I was about to explode when I noticed a scribbled note card.

“To my greatest hero.”

I smiled a white pure smile, recognizing the uniquely shaped note card as the one that had been clutched in the hands of the little girl who had been my audience outside the practice room’s door earlier this evening, she had been rubbing her thumb over the creases over and over again. I could even see the places where the lead had smeared due to her persistent efforts to smooth the creases. I guess I’ve just found the  second person who has been able to break past my choreographed cold deposition. My attention immediately shifted to the brown contraption that had nearly killed me, and my curiosity got the best of me as I shredded through the paper revealing a skillfully weaved leather bracelet. Where the girl had gotten the leather I will never know, but just imagining her struggle as she attempted to weave such a complicated design made me smile as secured the bracelet shaped like a twirling ballerina around my thin wrists. I admired its handwork as I distractedly walked into the empty locker rooms, thankfully their where no more unexpected gifts lying around the floor, and I made it to the shower stall without another plunder.

 I must have spent an hour in the shower, constantly distracted by my new favorite piece of jewelry, because when I exited the shower a huge mist of steam was emitted off my skin as I tugged clean clothes over my wet skin. Putting skinny jeans on with wet legs may be the most difficult part of my day. Anyone who doubts me, obviously knows how to use towels correctly and is not fit to correct me <3

“I was about to go in the shower stalls to find you, who takes such freaking long showers?” Henry lectured, leaning against the open locker room door just as I had successfully zipped on the tight black jeans, his eyes never leaving the screen of his IPhone.

I smirked as I wrapped my wet hair in a giant mound covered by my towel in a pointless attempt at drying it as I  walked briskly towards Henry, “So the Carnival?”

“Got it, Check it, be amazed by it.” He sang as he turned the screen on his phone towards me.

“I’m impressed, let’s go.” I laughed as a pulled my backpack over my shoulder. I threw the wet towel back into my locker, managing to close the door as well. Yeah, I’m just that awesome~. We walked out of the deserted dance studio hand in hand as opened the right door of his Ferrari for me.

“New car?”

“Violin contest, what can I say? I’m good.” He smiled his usual cocky smile as he pushed the door closed only to slide into his leather seat beside me moments later.

~`~

I burst out the car door, hugging the lamp pole in front of me in a dramatic fit, I had a mental break down after surviving the thing he called “driving” no wonder he had crashed six cars. I suppose I should have figured, but the Carnival was just so tempting. The lights, the smells, the rides. All fears for my life disappeared as I caught my first whiff of freshly spun cotton candy along with that familiar smell of over-operated machinery.

“I told you to put on your seat belt.” Henry laughed as he walked around his car towards me leading my shocked motionless body towards the entrance. I didn’t even know we had a Carnival. The powers of Google are something to be marveled at.

We must have spent the entire evening eating cotton candy, riding rides, or trying to eat cotton candy while riding rides. In the end I even won him a giant SpongeBob. Meh, what can I say? He at throwing rings onto empty bottles. I have the best luck in the world. I guess all luck runs dry at some point. As we rode our final Ferris wheel ride we watched the lights of New York flicker on, and the Carnival lights shut off, apparently operating the Carnival at night is dangerous in this part of the neighborhood. And yet I never felt more comfortable, for once I felt that being me was enough as I dozed off into Henry arms.

I woke up to hear the roar of a motor end, already in front of my mansion like home. I’m so confused >m<.  Henry was already at my door, offering me hand as I wobbled out of the car in a groggy daze. Chuckling, he slowly twirled me in the direction of the front door until I was pressed against him on the doorstep of my house. He rested his chin on my hair as he whispered good night, pulling me into a tight hug before skipping down the stone-paced stairs and escaping in his loud Ferrari. I turned to the marble door handles that led to the entrance of my hell that I called home, my mask returning, my heart hardening as I breathed in one last breath of fresh air and turned the handle.

“Ms. Kurai, welcome home, Sir Wilson has requested to see you in his study.” A maid greeted me, her bow low and collected. I nodded in acknowledgment as I mentally prepared myself for what was to come, a visit to the study never brought me any good news. Before it was getting kicked out of Private School because I was supposedly interfering with his daughter’s social life by upstaging her in a talent show. And the time before that it was to inform me that dance was not something I should be showing interest in as a daughter-in-law of a prestigious man, despite the fact that his daughter practiced ballet as well. Poorly. But the worst piece of news I’ve ever received in that cursed room was when he stood blankly beside my warm, smiling mother mono-tenuously announcing to me that they were now wed and that he was somehow my new loving father, as if my real dad was fatherly or loving. During the time it took me to finish my internal ranting, recounting all the reasons why that study should never exist, I found myself in front of it. A gold plated knock, styled in the fashions of the 17^thcentury greeted my eminent dread. I solemnly raised my hand, bringing it to tap the heavy golden ring to the delicate wooden door making a sound that rung throughout the house, defined and apart from the strange Miley Cyrus commotion emitting from Laura’s room, I never understood her, Miley I mean, Laura is not something I bothered understanding.

“Enter.” A low booming voice said, not a hint of emotion lay behind his words. If anyone had mastered the art of lying better than I, it would be this man, this man who had taught me everything I knew about hardening a heart without even knowing it. Perhaps even taught me unwillingly as I imitated his expressions from a young age, but I could never tell, his face never changed, just as marble bust never alters. He never smiled for me, praised me, or even glanced at me, everything was for Laura, his precious gir-- “Sit.” He didn’t even glance up from his documents as I silently sat myself down in the deep set leather chair. He breathed in. “Your mother is dead.” He breathed out. “There is no more reason for you to remain here, you will only hinder Laura, you will return to the place from which you came,” he picked up a document lowering his glasses, “hm, Seoul? Yes, you will leave for Seoul tomorrow. You may begin packing.” He set down the documents, finally looking me in the eyes, waiting for me to exit his room, as if I was a stench that had infected his room and was glad to be rid of. And as I left I couldn’t help but glimpse what I thought to be a grin on his marble slat face, maybe even a chuckle, I will never know because Laura’s loud delighted skips back to her room ceased all brain functions. Daddy’s little girl, Empress of the night.

~`~Henry~`~

“Baby your my girl,

Baby your my world,

Baby don’t you see it’s you whom I love

Cuz BABY your my girl~”

 I sang into my air microphone as I slid across my carpet floor into a slowing halt as I crashed into my dresser. I fell back onto the ground clutching SpongeBob in my over muscled hands, unable to stop grinning giddily at myself, today counted as a date didn’t it? Carnival rides, cotton candy, oversized animals. It counts. I smiled as I rolled to my side staring at my violin that lay in a velvet styled lining. I had just touched the neck of the violin when my phone rang, I nearly snapped my poor violin in two as I flew across my room towards my phone.

“Wai? I mean, Hello?”

“Henry…” Okay, this must be the wrong number, there is no way that depressed voice was Kurai, Caller ID was lying to me, how rude. I was just about to press the END CALL button when I heard the sound of glass breaking across the wall on the other line, a faint voice became clearer as it walked closer to Kurai’s receiver, “Hey Beesh just wanted to say I hope you enjoy it in Seoul, your mother dying is the best thing that has ever happened in my life, god I hated that women, and look now you’re gone too.” I could actually hear Laura smile mockingly through the phone, her shrill pitched voice ringing in my ear. Aish that girl was never right in the head…wait, Seoul? Did I just hear Seoul? SEOUL?! Kurai is going to SEOUL? WAIT. HER MOTHER IS DEAD! WHHHHAT OMO!!  

“Kurai?!” was all I could manage to squeak out as a thousand questions raced through my head at high speed.

“Henry,” her voice was different, it had reverted back to the voice from when I had first met her, porcelain, choppy, fake, “I’m moving to Seoul. I’m…I’m not coming back Henry.” Her voice cracked. “Goodbye Henry, thanks for, thanks for everything.” She whispered as Laura continued to taunt her in the background. Then it went silent, static filled the silence, then all that greeted was the long shrill beeps of a disconnected line as a single tear rolled down my cheek without my permission.

“Kurai? I’ve been meaning to say this for a while now, but, I love you, I love you so much Kurai.” The tears rolled freely now as the shrill beeps matched each tear that fell. And just like that, I lost my last chance to tell the girl of my dreams what I had meant to tell her for five years.

--Beep. Beep. Beep.--

Tada. <3 Hope you liked it~