fortunetellings: (concerned surprise)
toujou nozomi ☾☆☆ ([personal profile] fortunetellings) wrote in [community profile] ladieskissing2014-08-20 10:01 pm

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With a live show coming up in just a little over a month, rehearsals have begun in full swing. Some of the songs in this concert they've never performed on stage before, so Eli had had to create new dances for them. Now that they've all had time to commit them to memory, all nine of them have gathered up to do a run-through of the choreography. They're not worried about singing for now -- instead, they let the recording play in the background as they focus on the dancing alone. Eli watches all the way throughout, commenting on each girl's performance and pointing out unsatisfactory areas. ("Rin, don't swing your arm up that high!" "Nico, your turn is too slow!") Nozomi smiles a little to herself as she listens to her voice, even when Eli calls for her to stand up straighter, and not fall behind. Eli's very good at being authoritative.

They get through the group dances first, then move on to the units, and finally, pairs. The very last song on the list is Glass Garden, and Eli resigns from her position in the peanut gallery, and joins Nozomi in the center of the roof. Nozomi offers her a grin. From her spot near the CD player, Rin announces "Okay, ready!", and when they respond in kind, hits play.

They've practiced it well, Nozomi thinks. There's a bit of tension to the choreography, like a fear of coming too close for too long -- but then, it might very well be all in her imagination. Regardless, Eli is as graceful and poised as ever, and at the end of it, Nozomi feels they did a pretty good job.

Honoka applauds. The others, though, don't appear as enthusiastic.

"Mmm... somehow, it's a little..." Kotori begins, but doesn't quite have the heart to finish the sentence. Thankfully, Umi picks it back up for her: "Wrong! Totally wrong! It doesn't capture the feeling of the song at all!"

"Right?" Nico chimes in. "The choreography blew! Eli, you were stiff as a pole! A song like that's gotta have appeal, you know? It needs on-stage chemistry! Without it, there's no point at all!"

Nozomi looks to Eli with a sheepishly raised brow. Maybe it wasn't just her imagination, then.
horosho: (surprise)

[personal profile] horosho 2014-08-20 11:49 pm (UTC)(link)
The last couple of weeks Eli had been grateful to be busy. Between school, the council and practice, there was barely any time to do anything else. Or even think about anything else.

Eli went into automatic work mode, keeping up with practice and rehearsal and homework. Everything seemed to be moving along just fine. She taught the girls the choreography and kept them in line, then she'd meet up with the individual groups and go over their steps more closely. The days when it was just her and Nozomi, things seemed to slow down and she was aware of every ticking moment. When it was just the two of them, she could feel herself get wound up so tight her muscles ached, and she was glad to get a moment alone when she did.

She hadn't come over to Nozomi's place on her own since that day, but it seemed like they'd both just been busy so she didn't say anything about it. And neither did Nozomi.

Eli barely thinks about any of that at all during their first "everyone and everything" big rehearsal. She's focused on catching any little thing that needs work in each performance that she's surprised when it's her and Nozomi's turn to perform their duet. A strange tension takes her over and she feels a pinch under her shoulder blades. The dance is not her best, she already knows it, but to hear the other girls agree just makes her face hot and muscles tense.

"I was, um--" she's out of breath (even though the simple dance was not all that strenuous.) She swallows and rests a hand on her hip as she brushes at the strands of hair sticking to her face. "Trying to convey the, um... separation? In the song? By, um" she motions between her and Nozomi. "Showing the space." She's not really confrontational, the way she can be when her steps are questioned. She doesn't look at Nozomi.
horosho: (pouty)

[personal profile] horosho 2014-08-21 12:30 am (UTC)(link)
"Sexy?" Eli's reaction is perhaps a little more taken aback than the situation calls for. "We're teenagers! School idols, we shouldn't get sexy. I mean, our outfits a little, yeah, but--"

"Eli!" Nico interrupts. "Get real, this sort of thing has a high appeal amongst fans! That's why we have this song in the first place!" She grabs the closest girl next to her -- Hanayo, who can't help but tuck her arms in and squeak -- and pulls her close. "You have to bring in that tension and chemistry." She lets Hanayo go and dramatically touches her hand to her own forehead. "The pain of forbidden love!" Then grabs Hanayo again and rubs her cheek against hers. "Staying together against all odds!" Hanayo's eyes water and she lets out a wake little "help."

Nico turns back to Eli. "You barely looked like you liked each other up there!"

At that Eli's eyebrows raise and she clenches her teeth. That hit a nerve more than she cares to admit. Eli crosses her arms across her chest. "I interpreted the song the way I thought best. You wanna give it a try?"
horosho: (sad cute no)

[personal profile] horosho 2014-08-21 01:50 am (UTC)(link)
Eli remains silent as the team, two by two, step in to present their own interpretations on a dance about forbidden lovers. Each one embarrasses her more than the next, and by the end she's covering half her face in second- and first-hand embarrassment.

On one hand, she agrees that the choreography she came up with didn't match the song. On the other, the idea of performing any of the motions the group is suggesting with Nozomi... She feels that strange knot in her throat and twist in her stomach. It would just be strange now. Nozomi must be just as uncomfortable about it as she is.

She breathes a sigh of relief when Nozomi steps in, but finds herself gasping it right back in whens he turns to her to ask. "Hmm? Oh. Yes. I guess we have a lot more to think about and work on..." She wonders what Nozomi is thinking.
horosho: (Default)

[personal profile] horosho 2014-08-21 02:12 am (UTC)(link)
"Oh, improvise?" Eli's never been very good with improvisation. She's usually the kind of person that has to plan everything and think it through several times before acting. But Nozomi's smiling and she trusts her more than anyone else.

So Eli nods. "Okay. If you have an idea just lead me through it."
horosho: (peasant)

[personal profile] horosho 2014-08-21 06:36 pm (UTC)(link)
They start the dance over and Eli already feels her heart beat faster, not from the dancing but from the expectation of what might be coming.

And she felt oddly calmed, when it was simply moving around each other and singing to each other. Nozomi's steps were easy to follow, almost as if they'd planned them before. They felt natural to the song and to them.

And she feels herself relax. She feels something similar to how their friendship used to feel, the closeness and ease. She's following the motions without hesitation until her hand is on Nozomi's cheek and Nozomi sings that line and Eli feels even her fingers tense and she can't help but think of that warm afternoon behind the school. Nozomi's eyes as she told her...

The moment feels all too long and also short when Nozomi lets go of her hand as the song continues. She follows along, though not as well as before, that strange tension returning to her joints. At one point Nozomi grabs her hand again and she's not sure if she's holding onto her hand too tightly or if her fingers are just incredibly stiff.

The song winds down and Eli feels Nozomi tug at her arm again. They end the song face to face and all Eli can think is that Nozomi is too close and leaning even closer. Before the song has finished fading out, Eli takes a step back and pulls her hand from Nozomi's. She takes a moment before deciding head for her water bottle as if that was why.
Edited 2014-08-21 18:40 (UTC)
horosho: (pleased)

[personal profile] horosho 2014-08-21 07:08 pm (UTC)(link)
Eli has her back turned to the girls, chugging from her water bottle as they offer their excited approval. Even with their screaming, Eli's ears ring for another reason entirely.

She turns to Nozomi, a smile forced on her lips. "Yeah! Good job, Nozomi. Thank you for taking the lead on that one. She turns to everyone else. She's out of breath and her words come out all too quickly. "Alright, I'm glad we're all happy with it now. We'll work on perfecting it this week. Good practice everyone! Excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom."

Eli walks back into the stairwell and feels like she can breathe again.
Edited 2014-08-21 19:10 (UTC)
horosho: (sad cute no)

[personal profile] horosho 2014-08-21 07:46 pm (UTC)(link)
Eli finishes splashing water on her face. She braces herself against the sink, eyes closed, and just lets the water drip down. She doesn't know what to do.

The last few weeks of ignoring it haven't made it disappear. That unease she feels when she wants to know what Nozomi is thinking. If her touches have any sort of meaning behind them or Eli's just making it up. If Eli's supposed to discourage it. She sometimes wonders if anything in her own actions or words ever lead Nozomi on and that worries her even more; she doesn't want to hurt Nozomi any more than she already has.

Her rejection hadn't been clear, but she thought Nozomi had understood. But that doesn't mean she can stop those looks or those touches, or reading into them.

There's a knock at the door and she hears Nozomi's voice on the other side.

Eli takes a breath and grabs a paper towel to wipe at her face. "Sorry, I'm almost done."
horosho: (a little sad)

[personal profile] horosho 2014-08-21 08:11 pm (UTC)(link)
"No, go ahead," Eli responds quietly, muffled by the paper towel as she finishes drying her face. "Sorry, did I take that long?"
horosho: (Default)

[personal profile] horosho 2014-08-21 08:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Eli nods. "Right. I'll do them later."
horosho: (sad smile)

[personal profile] horosho 2014-08-21 08:33 pm (UTC)(link)
"Ah, that's fine," Eli responds. Nozomi usually does help her during cool-offs, but today she's not sure she'd be able to breathe. "I'll just do them myself."
horosho: (pensive)

[personal profile] horosho 2014-08-21 08:56 pm (UTC)(link)
Eli stands rigid in the silence after Nozomi's question. She could've sworn hours went by.

Ah, of course Nozomi's felt it too. She's never been as good as Nozoomi at hiding how she felt. And apparently she'd been doing an even worse job than she thought.

"I didn't... hate it..." She starts quietly, eyes cast downward. "But I was... uncomfortable. That song, and what happened... aren't you uncomfortable too?"
horosho: (but but)

[personal profile] horosho 2014-08-21 09:08 pm (UTC)(link)
Eli doesn't have to look at Nozomi to know she's lying but she looks up anyway. "But it's not, is it? You told Umi to write that before you told me that you..." She's writing the paper towel in her hands. "I can tell when you're lying, Nozomi."
horosho: (sad angry)

[personal profile] horosho 2014-08-22 12:35 am (UTC)(link)
Eli wrings her hand in front of her to stop herself from going to Nozomi. "I'm not scared. Or maybe a little. But not scared that you'll do something or anything I mean..." Now she's frustrated and she rubs at her eyes with one hand. "I--I don't know what I'm feeling. Mostly confused and worried... weird. I feel weird."

She closes her eyes against her hand and leans back, against the sink. Her voice is very quiet. "I'm sorry."
Edited 2014-08-22 00:45 (UTC)

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