Le duel pour l'amour de la ballerine

Three is the perfect number; all sides are even, and it's the strongest shape. For Kerr, Dwain, and Cecily, it was their whole childhood. They did everything together, but, like all good things, they grew up and developed different interests. Cecily had dedicated her life to studying ballet and other dances to strengthen her core and improve her flexibility. Dwain got absorbed into social media and the fame that came with that, to the point that he seemed so distant. Kerr remained the steady base of the triangle; he kept his head down, building a life in construction while the others chased the spotlight. One thing that Cecily didn’t know was how much the boys grew to love her, but it was for very different reasons.

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Cecily

“Thanks for watching, everyone! I hope you tune in next time for my ‘How to: Beginners in Ballet’ video. Ciao for now!” Cecily said with an enthusiastic tone as she waved into the camera. She let out a breath before collapsing on her bed. That was the third video she did this week; her feet were on fire from all the spins and stomping.

“Cecily! Cecily, you got something in the mail, dear.” Her mother shouted from downstairs.

She rolled out of bed, groaning as her feet hit the floor; every inch of the bottom of her feet hurt as she walked across the plush carpet that lined their upstairs level and continued down the staircase. Walking into the kitchen, she saw a stack of mail, but a single letter had been set aside, and it had her name on it. Ripping open the envelope, a crisp, clean white sheet of “velvet?” she whispered as she felt the fancy paper, it was soft to the touch, and on the very top in the middle, had an embossed logo stamped into it. She had never seen something so pretty and fancy in all her life, but as she unfolded the letter, she saw her name in black ink.

‘Dear Miss Cecily,

We are delighted to inform you that you have been formally invited to play the lead role of Clara in The Nutcracker at the Royal Ballet in London. We were impressed by the performance you sent in, and we believe you would be an exceptional fit for the role. We would be grateful for a prompt reply.’

She could feel her excitement building as she scanned down the rest of the letter; her body started vibrating and bouncing up and down. Her voice reached a new octave as she squealed in pure delight and let out a joyous scream while crumpling the paper close to her chest.

“What on earth?” Her father said as he looked over from his chair in the living room.

“Honey, what is going on?” Her mother inquired as she set down the plate she was cleaning.

Cecily pushed the paper out in front of her to show it off, “I got accepted to perform as Clara in the Nutcracker at the Royal Ballet in London!” The words seemed to just fall out at a rapid pace.

“You did!”

“London?”

“Oh, honey, that's wonderful!”

London!”

“We need to get you ready…”

“Wait..wait…our baby isn't going to London by herself!” Her father shouted as he finally came to the realization of what was happening.

“Honey…she is twenty-one years old, she isn’t little anymore, and second, she is an adult, not that I am thrilled with you going by yourself, but I know you have worked so hard for this.” Her mother said as she gave her a big kiss on the cheek.

Cecily scanned the formal instructions on the reverse, noting the deadline for her confirmation. As she typed up a response to her letter, she had texted both Kerr and Dwain about what happened, since they were her best friends and all. Her phone pinged; she had a new message from Kerr.

‘Wow, that's amazing, Cecily! Congrats.’ She smiled. He was always so simple but kind, which made her giggle. She typed back a response when her phone pinged again and again. It was from Dwain, and of course, he couldn't send just one.

‘OMG stop!!’ ‘No way! I need every single detail.’

Ping>

‘We have to film a reaction/announcement together. It would be insane for the grid!’

Ping>

‘You’re doing it, right? Say yes!!’

He then proceeded to send several emojis and more questions that made her phone light up like a Christmas tree; he could overwhelm her. While he was a nice guy, he was a bit of a playboy. She remembered having a crush on him in high school; he was three years older than her, but his short, fluffed-up blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and that devilish smile always made her knees weak. However, before she could confess her feelings, she caught him flirting with her best friend by their lockers, and then he had the nerve to ask her for advice on what her friend liked. Ever since then, she threw him in the won’t touch bin of her mind, but while she friend-zoned him, she still did care about him.

Kerr, on the other hand, asked her if she needed help with anything for her trip. She almost forgot that he used to travel a lot for work and with his family. If she remembered correctly, he mentioned having gone to London before. She might have to take him up on that; he was so sweet.

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The next day

Kerr and Dwain were hanging out at a small coffee shop in town, not something they did often, but once in a while. Conversations were sparse, though the low hums of machines and people chatting filled the void of silence between them. Kerr was quietly sipping his coffee while Dwain was absorbed in his phone, tapping away at some invisible crowd.

“So you heard about C going to London, right?” Dwain said out of the blue, breaking the silence without taking his eyes off his phone.

Kerr finished taking a big gulp of coffee, “Yeah, I congratulated her already,” he said dryly.

“I am trying to get her to do a collab with me, it would be so–”

“Can you not talk like that? C’mon, man, it’s me.” Kerr interrupted. Dwain always put on this flamboyant act to attach people to him; it worked about 99% of the time because people somehow lowered their guard to it.

He grumbled and sighed before flopping backwards into his chair, “Fine, let's be real,” he said in his normal voice, it wasn’t super deep but not as high-pitched as he was making it sound earlier. He set down his phone and looked Kerr dead in the eyes, “You know I love C, right?”

Kerr stopped drinking mid-question. It wasn’t a secret amongst them; both boys knew they liked Cecily, and at some point, they made a competition out of it, but Kerr surrendered when he saw how uncomfortable she got. “Yeah, and? Is this supposed to be new?”

“Well, I need a collab with her, it will boost my ratings, followers, likes, everything and who knows, she may be able to get something out of it too…But I don't know if she would be willing. So, best friend, can you ask her for me?” Dwain asked, but there was something in his tone.

Kerr chuckled to himself, “You know that's not love, right? That's you trying to steal the spotlight. Let her have this moment, dude, don't you dare ruin it for her.”

“Pfft.” Dwain blew raspberries, “Oh please, you couldn't confess to her then, and you can't now, so don't play the hero. I know what I want, I want her, and yeah, we’d look great together on a thumbnail. I could help her be more famous.”

Kerr hated that Dwain was right; he couldn't confess; he was too scared and didn’t want to ruin what they had as friends, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to let Dwain just swoop in and steal her thunder. “That's the difference then, I don’t need to confess to support her, you have to make a grand gesture, or you don't get your moment.”

Dwain actually looked shocked, “Whatever…if you won't do it, fine, I'll just find another way to ask, and that's that.” He mumbled as he went back to his phone.

Cecily

She was sitting in her tub that had a healing herbal blend of salts, lavender, and rose. There were only three weeks left till she headed to London, and her new training regimen was tough. Cardio, core, balance, and more yoga to work on her flexibility and to calm down from the intensity. Scrolling through her phone, she was texting her boss and the volunteer lead on how she was going to be out of the country for a time, which was just one thing on her to-do list. Putting her phone down, she sank further into the water and took a deep breath, letting all the noise and pain flow out of her.

Her phone pinged again, which brought her out of her blissful state, so she sat up, wiping her hands off, and grabbed her phone. “Ugh.” It was Dwain again. He had been pestering her for the last two weeks about a collab for her announcement, and while she hadn’t said no, she really didn’t know how to approach the subject. Sure, she wasn’t the best with social media; everything she did was done by accident because either the right people shared it or she posted it at the right time, so maybe a small collab with him would teach her some stuff.

She sent a message back saying they could meet up for a quick collab, though she would have to figure out where in her new schedule to fit him in. Yes, the Royal Ballet was going to give her more training and practice for the role, but she wanted to get into the best shape she could before then.

Cecily sank back down into her warm water to reclaim her bliss, but her phone went off again, and this time someone was calling her, “Kerr!” She nearly splashed water everywhere as she sat up in the tub. “Hello! Yeah, I’m just soaking to calm down these muscles, ha. Oh, really sure I might have a little time to hang, let me check my schedule and get back to you, ok? Of course, aww thanks and I am excited…” She rattled on and on about the trip details, things she wanted to see, and before she knew it, two hours had gone by, and her bath water had grown cold. “Well, I have to get to bed early, but I will definitely send you some dates to hang out, promise. Good night.” She hung up the phone and felt a shiver.

The next few weeks were torture. Cecily had managed to hit one of her goals of gaining about three more pounds of muscle and better dexterity in her feet. While she was taking a break and taking a sip of water, she checked her phone to see a message from Dwain.

‘Hey, we still on for our collab? I was thinking maybe my place? I got the lights, the sound, and the small studio.’

She forgot about that, checking her calendar, the time she set up was around four, so that meant she had another hour at the gym, which should be enough time to finish up her set. Taking another sip of her water, she went back to practicing her routine and ballet positions.

That night

Cecily arrived at Dwain’s just a few minutes before four. His apartment building was so fancy; most places in New York were so tightly packed together, but this place felt spacious and breathable. The front desk attendant showed her to the elevators, told her which floor, and wished her a good evening.

The door rattled, then Dwain popped it open, “There she is! My shining star, come in, come in!” He said as he pulled her into his apartment.

She forgot how large his apartment was; it was a studio, but it had a small space attached to it that he used as a studio. She assumed most people made offices or bedrooms out of it, but he had to make a creative space. His bedroom, living room, kitchen, and office were all in the large space.

“Can I get you anything? Water? Sparkling? Juice?” Dwain asked as he walked around his marble island to the fridge.

“No, I am good, but thanks,” she said as she found one of the dining chairs appealing to sit in.

“Ok, so down to business,” Dwain said, sliding a sleek tablet across the marble countertop towards her. On the screen was a color-coded spreadsheet that looked more like a military operation than a hangout. “I’ve mapped out a three-part rollout that we will film tonight. We start with a Teaser Reel tonight—just some soft-focus shots of you packing. Then, the Main Feature: a 'Tell All' Q&A about the audition. I’ve already got the trending keywords researched: Royal Ballet, London Bound, Tearful Goodbye.” He took a sip of something that looked like champagne or white wine. “So what do you think?”

Cecily was a little baffled, confused, and still trying to take it all in. “Uh, well, it sounds cool, but why a 'Tell All'? Yes, I got into a prestigious program at one of the best dance schools, but that's kind of it, not reality-worthy,” she said as she scrolled through some of the other endless tasks he had, along with B-roll footage suggestions and outfits.

“It is if we want the reach, C!” He waved a hand dismissively, his fingers tapping rhythmically along the glass he was holding. “We need to maximize the cross-promotion. If we hit the Explore page by Tuesday, your following will triple before you even touch down at Heathrow. It’s about brand longevity.”

Again, her head began to spin, reach, promotions, Explorer page, followings, engagements, and metrics? Sure, she knew all these things, but was all this really that big of a deal? She didn't want to stress out over this; she did this ‘cause it was fun to show the world what she could do, not to build some kind of cult following overnight.

“Listen, Dwain, I just don’t know…well, understand most–”

“Nope, I have this under control,” Dwain interrupted, dragging her toward racks of costumes that would 'pop' on camera. Cecily squeezed into a blindingly bright orange dress—stiff, awful, but mobile.

“Do you have something I can use, scissors, to break in my shoes?” she asked, holding up the rigid satin.

“And ruin the line?” Dwain snapped, readjusting a ring light. “They look fine. We’re burning daylight, the shoes can wait!”

An hour later, Cecily was on the floor. Her toes were numb, the insides of her shoes slippery with burst blisters. Every "one more spin" felt like treading on glass. When she finally told him she had to stop, Dwain just groaned about being "just warmed up."

“There you go with the ego again,” a voice barked from the door. Kerr stood there, spinning a spare set of keys he had for the apartment. He didn't wait for an explanation; he crossed the room in three strides, kneeling to see the slight tremble of her ankles and some spotting along the tip of the shoe.

Before Cecily could speak, Kerr was up. He squared up and brought a punch that caught Dwain in the jaw, sending him backwards. “You dumbass! She needs her feet to dance. You don't ruin a career for ratings.”

He gently helped Cecily up, draped his jacket over her shivering shoulders as they made their way to the front door, and led her into the cool New York night. On the sidewalk, the cold pavement was a mercy to her feet.

“I wanted to give you this,” Kerr muttered, shoving a thick envelope and a London guidebook into her hands. Cecily’s eyes bulged as she opened the envelope—inside was a stack of ten thousand pounds.

“Kerr, why? I don’t deserve this.” She got verklempt over his sweet gesture.

“Because I love you,” he said, his face flushing deep red. “It’s ten thousand pounds, C. I’ve been pulling double shifts at the site for two years for a rainy day—and it’s about to pour in London. You’re going to be training for months without a paycheck; don't let the rent be why you come home early.”

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As her flight boarded the following week, Cecily felt her heart skip. One adventure was beginning, but she already knew exactly which one she was coming home to.