Chapter Text
Prologue
She stood back stage, leaning against the metal railing of the platform with her arms crossed, half watching the current dance on stage, half drifting into her own thoughts. She was the only intermediate soloist left to perform from her studio, so she was alone back stage, for the rest of her team had gone out into the audience to watch or to go eat and nap in the dressing room. The only other people back stage was a backstage monitor tapping away at his tablet, her teacher chatting with another studio's coach, and a few other girls waiting for their turn to compete.
She vaguely noted that it was the sixth lyrical solo in a row, and that the song and dance was generic. A pretty girl with great leg extensions and flawless turns in a flowing dress, turns in second on the crescendo, lots of over-dramatic arm reaching. Yet, she really couldn't say anything considering that was pretty much what her solo was.
The announcement of the next number going on and the backstage monitor stopping to tell her that she was on in 5 numbers ultimately snapped her out of her thoughts. With a swift 'okay' she stood up straighter, then jumped a bit to stay warmed up. Leaning backward to stretch her back, her eyes caught glimpse of green.
Quickly she straightened up, eyes wide as she turned to look at the girl ascending the stairs onto the backstage platform. The girl was short, yet had a great figure (she noticed despite trying to stop her mind from making that observation). She wore a simple forest green, long-sleeved leotard that came up to a heart neckline that switched to mesh which led up over her chest and to a turtle neck. White-blonde hair was pulled up into space buns and dark green lipstick was shaped perfectly to her small lips. Freckles peaked through her foundation, specked across her ivory features and down the slope of her round nose. With one hand, she idly picked at her cuticle and from her other hand hung her warm up jacket. As if she sensed she was being stared at, she looked up directly at Lapis, making eye contact. Taking a note of the girl's bright green eyes, she widened her own, a scared expression displayed upon her face. The girl smirked, winking before turning to look at the stage.
Lapis stiffened, eyes so wide that they were practically popping out of her head. Stumbling over her own feet, she walked to her dance teacher by one of the front wings, taking of her warm up jacket for it had suddenly gotten really hot in there.
A number later, now two until her, the girl walked on stage, the announcer calling that it was called "Fineshrine" and was in the contemporary category. An electronic type song began that she found vaguely familiar, yet it wasn't a typical contemporary song. With the hit of a beat, the girl started dancing. Her style was like nothing Lapis had ever seen, popping and hitting hard at points then moving fluidly through a string of beats. She had amazing extension, holding a tilt then rolling out of it like it was nothing. There was so much power packed into the tiny body, captivating everyone within a few eight counts. The girl not only danced, but she performed, telling a story with every little movement.
By the time it ended, Lapis didn't even realize she was tapping her fingers along to the music, unable to tear her eyes away.
'Wow' Lapis thought.
Grabbing a program and scanning it, she found "Fineshrine", reading the little name underneath it:
Peridot.
She whispered the name, a soft smiling creeping upon her lips before being ushered into the wings by her teacher.