Chapter Text
Even after years of training, the Paris Opera Ballet School was still everything Lucas had dreamed it would be. Sure, there were days where he wondered if all his training had amounted to absolutely nothing, but then there were days were one of his instructors would compliment his posture, or use him as an example in class, and he would remember why he had worked so hard to get to this point. Dancing had always been like breathing to Lucas, came more naturally to him than anything else he’d ever tried.
Arriving back at the school for a new year Lucas felt like he could exhale in relief. The months away from the school during the summer holidays were always difficult for him, given his tense family situation. Luckily, that summer, one of his best friends from school, Manon, had invited him to stay in a flatshare she had in the city with her cousin and another friend. It had been nice, actually, to live that summer of bliss, training whenever possible with Manon and not having to worry about his parents.
They were starting their final year before they would try to enter the company, one of the most defining years of the rest of their lives. It was a bit intimidating, if Lucas was honest with himself. Whoever scored the lead roles in whatever show they performed that year were shoo ins for the company, so the pressure was higher than ever. He wondered what show they would be doing, hoping there would be a great lead male role that he could try for. He wanted a real challenge.
“It’s weird, isn’t it?” Manon said to him as they walked in together, finding their room assignments. “Only one more year? In some ways I’m glad, but in others I wish we never had to leave.”
Lucas rolled his eyes at her, even though he knew exactly what she was saying, felt the same way. “You’re never going to have to leave, you’ll be in the company before the year’s out, principal in the company before you’re twenty.”
“Oh shut up.” She nudged his side, but her eyes sparkled with possibility. Manon was easily the best dancer in their year, in the whole school now that Lucille and Charles had graduated. No one could do ballet like Manon Demissy, and everyone knew it but her.
“When’s Yann getting here?” she changed the topic as they ascended the staircase to the residence wing.
Lucas shrugged. “I don’t know, actually. Maybe he’ll be in the room when I get there.”
Normally there were three students to a room, but Lucas and his best friend Yann had gotten lucky the past few years, due to the uneven number of students, and had a room to themselves. It was always weird, getting used to one space for the whole year and then having to move into another one the next year, but Lucas was excited this year. The students in their final year generally got the best rooms. “Which number are you?” he asked Manon once they started to make their way down the hallway.
“412. You?”
“416.”
She pouted. “I’ll miss living with you. Are you sure Yann doesn’t want to switch?”
Lucas choked on a laugh. “And what if you end up rooming with Emma?”
Emma was Yann’s ex-girlfriend, and even though the two of them were friendly with one another, they still had a bit of lingering awkwardness around each other. Manon shivered, then laughed, “Ok, you have a point.”
Manon reached her room and was accosted by a loud squeal as someone jumped and gave her a huge hug. Daphné. “Come in, come in! Imane’s already here! I feel so bad for Emma, she has to room with Ingrid . And Chloé, but she’s fine. Hi Lucas! Are you with Yann again?” Daphné always spoke a mile a minute and while he’d like to say he hadn’t missed her, he had. He did feel bad for Emma, though. She and Ingrid had been really close once upon a time, but then she’d sort of stolen Yann from Ingrid and their relationship soured. It had gotten better over time, but it was still awkward.
“What about Alexia?” he asked.
Daphne’s grin turned sad. “She left the program. Apparently ballet wasn’t her ‘thing’. She’s at the same school as your friend Basile and Imane’s brother now.”
“Oh.” That was unfortunate, he’d really liked Alexia. Not that they would never see each other again, especially if she now went to the same school as Basile.
“Still up for that swap?” Manon whispered to Lucas.
He laughed and backed away, leaving her to move in. “In your dreams!” he mouthed back, causing her to flip him off before he made his way to his own room. He smiled once he got to the door. Not only did he now know for certain that it was a two person suite, but it was also a corner suite, one of the largest. Manon would be pissed when she found out.
There was already a bag on the floor when he entered, so he assumed Yann must be there already. He made his way to the bedroom off to the left of the living area, he always took the left and Yann always took the right, and halted in the doorway. A jacket was draped over the bed, suitcases yet unpacked by the door. Ok, apparently they were switching things up this year.
Someone knocked on the door one before barging in, and Lucas was surprised to see both Yann and Arthur, yelling in excitement as they laid eyes on him.
“Lulu! Holidays treat you well?” Arthur grinned, pulling Lucas into a hug.
He pulled away after a moment, turning to Yann and giving him a quick hug as well. “As well as expected,” he shrugged, “How about you?”
Arthur launched into a wild explanation of his summer, from going on vacation to hooking up with a thirty-four year old woman-- something Lucas was fairly certain was illegal-- Arthur’s tale was full of so many wild twists and turns that Lucas would have thought his friend was making everything up if he didn’t know him so well. Arthur was the type of person to take everything and nothing seriously, which is why, while he was easily one of the most talented dancers there, he would never get any of the lead roles. He never even seemed to care either. Sometimes Lucas envied him for not caring, sometimes he wanted to yell at him. Lucas would have given anything to be born with the kind of talent that Arthur had.
Yann, on the other hand, was on a pretty even playing field with Lucas. They hadn’t known each other before starting at the school, and they hadn’t talked much the first year or so because Lucas had a different best friend going in, but they had started to grow apart as Lucas’ friend became the star pupil and Lucas had begun to resent this new rivalry forming between them. Every year Lucas hoped his ex-friend wouldn’t come back, but he always did.
“Yo, dude, why’d you take the lefthand room?” Lucas teased once Arthur had finished recounting his summertime escapades.
Yann furrowed his brows. “What are you talking about?”
Lucas gestured vaguely to the room behind him and Yann’s eyes widened in comprehension. “Oh… you don’t know yet?”
“Don’t know what?” He wasn’t one for surprises on a good day, and this was turning out to be not as good a day as he would have hoped, based on Yann’s expression. Before Yann could speak the door opened again, revealing just the person Lucas would rather have jumped into a pit of lava than see again.
“Oh. Hi. I didn’t expect you all to be in here,” Eliott Demaury said, running a hand through his unruly hair.
“We were just leaving,” Yann said, and, finally, Lucas realized what was going on. No, no, no, no, no. This couldn’t be happening to him. Anyone but Eliott fucking Demaury. Maybe he was there to help Sofiane move in? Maybe Sofiane was Lucas’ roommate?
“No, no need, I can just go to my room and unpack,” Eliott said, glancing once at Lucas before stepping around them to what Lucas had assumed was Yann’s bedroom. Lucas turned to look at Yann with murder in his eyes.
“Tell me you’re joking,” he said with false calmness.
Yann bit his lip and looked to Arthur for help. “I don’t know why they changed it up this year, man. Sofiane’s with us, me and Arthur, and Eliott’s with you.”
Lucas looked over his shoulder into Eliott’s room, meeting Eliott’s eyes for a brief moment before grabbing Yann and Arthur and pulling them into the hallway, shutting the door behind him. “Can I switch with Sofiane? You know he’ll be fine with it he’s like, the nicest guy in the world.”
Arthur rolled his eyes. “Come on, Lucas. Eliott’s not that bad. You forget I’ve been living with him since we all started here.”
“I’m not rooming with him,” Lucas stated adamantly. Eliott wasn’t that bad his ass. None of them knew Eliott like he did. They’d vowed when they were five to be best friends forever, but Eliott had forgotten all about that promise when the instructors started favoring him in classes, giving him all the best solos, roles, and compliments. Eliott hadn’t seen why Lucas was upset, told him he’d just have to work harder, as if he wasn’t already working five times harder than Eliott to even try to be on the same level as him.
Over the past year Lucas had started to get more attention from their instructors and choreographers, proof that all his hard work was paying off. He wasn’t about to let Eliott flounce back into his life and ruin it all for him.
Yann braced his hands on Lucas’ shoulders. “Lucas. Seriously. You need to put this whole rivalry with Eliott behind you. All it’s going to do is hold you back, and I know that’s the last thing you want.”
Lucas shrugged out of Yann’s grip, folding his arms across his chest. “You don’t understand. Eliott and I… we were never meant to be anything other than ‘rivals’, if that’s what you want to call it. I’ve made the mistake of being his friend in the past and I’m in no hurry to do it again.”
“I’m not saying to be his friend, I’m just saying why make a shitty situation worse? You know damn well that if any of the teachers catch wind of you switching rooms they’ll make your life hell,” Yann tried to reason with him.
Lucas still wasn’t having it. “My life will already be hell.”
Arthur let out an exasperated sound and raised his voice slightly, quieting after a moment so he wouldn’t draw attention. “Lucas! You always talk about is how hard you have to work to be seen the way people like Eliott and Manon are naturally, and now you are . The teachers love you. Would you really throw that away over the prospect of sharing a kitchen and bathroom with Eliott? You don’t even have to share a bedroom for Christ’s sake! If you’re going to be in hell either way, stick with the hell you know.”
As much as Lucas hated to admit it, Arthur had a point. He didn’t want to have to share anything with Eliott, but if the alternative ruined his chances of getting a lead role in whatever show they put on this year or a chance at entering the company, he would never forgive himself.
“Fine,” he agreed grudgingly.
Yann raised his eyebrows. “Yeah?”
“Yeah,” Lucas grumbled, leaning his head back against the door. This was going to be a long year.
“Well in that case,” Arthur spun on his heel, pivoting to walk down the hallway, “We have unpacking of our own to do. Try not to murder Eliott while we’re away. Please. I need some food or something before I can cover up a murder.”
Lucas rolled his eyes and flipped off his friends as they made their way back to their own room. He hesitated in front of the door for a moment, not quite ready to enter back into the room he’d have to share with someone he hated for a full year. Hopefully he could just lock himself in his room most of the time and just avoid Eliott at all costs. He got up earlier than everyone to start training, so there was a minimal chance he’d ever see Eliott in the mornings anyway.
He should really go back into the room.
He should really go back into the room, but he couldn’t. His hand hovered over the door handle still, and he knew that he would look like an idiot if anyone walked down the hall and saw him standing there staring at the door.
Fuck it, it was his room too. Eliott couldn’t monopolize that as well. The door opened easier than he had expected, or maybe he’d used a little bit too much force on it, because he stumbled back into the room much less gracefully than he’d intended to. Eliott was standing by the small counter they had in their kitchenette, unloading a box of mugs and dishes. He looked up at Lucas in surprise.
“I didn’t think you’d be coming back in here.” It was hard to tell if Eliott was trying to make a joke or not. His tone said he was teasing, but his face was serious. Lucas tried not to remember how it used to light up every room he walked into. Maybe it still did, but Lucas had stopped noticing.
“Well, it is my room too,” Lucas said, just as ambiguously. Eliott nodded but said nothing further, turning his attention back to the items he was unpacking. Lucas walked past him and into his own bedroom, slamming the door shut and flopping down on his yet to be made bed. This was going to be a long year.
The best he could do for the time being was make his room as him as possible so that he would enjoy spending as much time in there as he planned to. With any luck, he’d be able to hang out in Yann and Arthur’s room a lot as well, especially because Sofiane would probably want to hang out with Eliott. Lucas actually liked Sofiane, and he couldn’t for the life of him figure out why someone as nice and talented as Sofiane would waste his time on someone like Eliott.
As far as Lucas was concerned, there were two type of people in the world: those who preferred petite allegro, and those who preferred grand allegro. Lucas himself was the former, as was Sofiane. Petite allegro required precision, sharpness, focus . It was one of the most difficult exercises of a ballet class, but, if you pulled it off, the satisfaction was worth the struggle. You couldn’t get by on natural talent in petite allegro, it was one of the only exercises that actually put everyone on an even playing field, at least at first. If you succeeded it was because you deserved it.
People like Eliott preferred grand allegro. Grand allegro was all about showing off. Yes, there was still precision and focus required, but it also required absolute perfection of the sort that you were either born with or weren’t. That wasn’t to say that someone couldn’t be good at grand allegro if they weren’t born with the same natural ability as someone else, but their chances of securing the roles and positions granted to those who flourished during grand allegro were far lower. The petite allegros were the underdogs and the grand allegros were the stars .
Of course, there were always exceptions. Manon was like him, but she was also a star. She was the only person in their class that ever topped Eliott in the eyes of their instructors, but Lucas didn’t resent her for it. He knew how hard she worked for everything she got, and it was clear from the moment that she’d walked into their first class that she was destined for a career that most of them would only ever dream of.
It was partially due to being partnered with her the previous year that their instructors had begun to take notice of him. A star was only as good as their partner allowed them to be, so Lucas had worked even harder than normal the entire year prior to make certain that neither he nor Manon would be overlooked. It was actually how they’d come to be so close in the first place, not really interacting much beforehand. Lucas had mostly steered clear of Emma and her friends after all of her relationship drama with Yann, but had really enjoyed becoming so close with Manon over the past year. If they hadn’t, he wouldn’t have lived with her over the holidays, and his life would have been hell.
Of course, he would take that living situation any day over what he was forced to deal with now, for the entire year . He had to pick his battles, he knew this, but also-- what was the issue in picking all of them, really?
There was a knock on his bedroom door and Lucas poked his head up, wondering if Yann had come back to talk to him or if Eliott was really trying to come into his room. A few steps and an open door later, he realized it was the latter, wishing he would have just stayed on his bed and ignored the knocking.
“What do you want?” he asked curtly, not even bothering to pretend to be polite. Eliott knew Lucas didn’t like him, and Lucas was more than certain Eliott didn’t like him either. That much had been made clear the minute Eliott had been hailed as a prodigy and hadn’t spoken a word to Lucas for nearly the entire year following. Lucas nearly scoffed to himself, wondering how they’d ever been best friends to begin with.
Eliott was just staring at Lucas, hadn’t said a word, hand finally falling to his side from where it had been poised to knock on the door. Lucas raised his eyebrows. “Hello? What do you want?”
Eliott blinked and looked away, gaze falling to the floor. “Sorry, um, I was just wondering how you’d like to decorate the living room?”
“Seriously?” Lucas crossed his arms over his chest. Decorating the living room was really the least of their worries, in his humble opinion. Had he and Yann ever even decorated their living room?
Eliott bit his lip and shrugged. “It could be nice.”
“Nice,” Lucas repeated slowly. He opened his mouth again to speak before closing it and furrowing his brows, unsure of how to respond. “I don’t really give a shit, I guess. I’m here for ballet and ballet only, I don’t care what pictures are hanging on our walls.”
“Just ballet? That will be unfortunate when we have to take our modern, hip hop, jazz…” Eliott trailed off, gleam in his eye. Lucas used to know that gleam, used to smile when he saw it. Now it mocked him, shining with the light of everything Eliott knew that he was and Lucas wasn’t.
Lucas didn’t even want to give in to Eliott’s attempts to rile him, so he just rolled his eyes and moved to close the door once more, stopped by Eliott’s hand right before it closed. “ What? ” he hissed through his teeth.
Eliott pushed the door back open tentatively and flicked his gaze to Lucas’ eyes once before averting them again. “I was also wondering what you’d like for dinner?”
Lucas scoffed aloud and slammed the door in Eliott’s face, leaning against the back of it once the door closed. He slowly slid down until he was sitting on the floor with his back still pressed to the door. There was a dull thud on the other side of the door that Lucas might have thought was Eliott doing the same if he didn’t know better.
Knees pulled up to his chest, Lucas folded his arms on top of them and buried his face. Since it seemed Eliott would be occupying the kitchen, Lucas would not be venturing out into their shared living space for the night. Whatever. He would have to be up at quarter to five the following morning anyway to get his pre-class warm ups in, so it was probably best that he unpacked and tried to get rest as soon as possible. If it was even possible, given his awful sleeping habits. It wasn’t his fault that he averaged about three hours of sleep a night, it really wasn’t.
He popped his head up at the sound of something clanging before he realized it must be Eliott making himself something to eat. Unable and unwilling to acknowledge the boy in the room over, Lucas put in his earbuds, cranking the volume as high as it would go without bursting his eardrums and got to work, opening up one of his suitcases and searching for his sheets.
He fell into a steady rhythm, sometimes dancing along to the beat of his music as he worked, finding the monotony of unpacking to be rather calming. He nearly forgot about the fact that he was hiding from his roommate, that his roommate was Eliott, and that he didn’t know how he’d survive the year like this. Nearly.
There was a sound at one point that may have been another knock, but this time Lucas ignored it, chalking it up to the drums in the song he was listening to. If it had been a knock, he supposed he didn’t much care if the door went unanswered.
Finally, after who knew how long, everything was in its proper place and Lucas could lie back on his fully made bed, sinking into the warmth of his comforter. He checked the time and realized it was almost midnight, giving him a total of maybe five hours of sleep if he fell asleep right that moment, which, given his history, wasn’t going to happen. Wonderful.
He still had to move his toiletries to the bathroom, something he’d been avoiding doing because it involved leaving his room. There hadn’t been noise from outside since he’d taken our his earbuds, which was promising enough that he rallied himself enough to open up his door.
As he stepped out into the darkness of the living area he almost tripped on something resting by the foot of his door. Bending down to inspect, he realized that it was a bowl with a note in it.
I made pasta, the leftovers are in the fridge whenever you’re done unpacking. Sorry if you don’t like pasta, you slammed the door on me before you could tell me what you wanted for dinner. -Eliott
Great, now Eliott was probably trying to poison him. He made a point of throwing the note away, leaving it on top of all the other garbage, and returning the unused bowl to the cupboard instead of washing it under the guise of use.
Standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom a moment later, Lucas took in his reflection, from his nearly untameable hair to his wide eyes to the stern set of his jaw. This year he wasn’t going down without a fight. When they announced the production the school would be putting on tomorrow, he would fight tooth and nail to secure the lead role, leaving Eliott in the dust behind him.
It was probably hard for Eliott to imagine what the bottom was like from all the way up on his high horse, but Lucas would make sure that he knew. It was one thing to start at the bottom and work your way up, but there was no coming back from falling when you were at the top.
Tomorrow was the start of a new day, a new year, and a new Lucas. The ballet world was one of see or be seen, and Lucas was finally ready to be seen. He was not about to let Eliott ruin things for him ever again.