Page 19 of Malice in e minor

Harlowe Lopez would probably just laugh and walk out and I’d love to see that. I’d also really love for Topher to get the fuck out of our room. I hated him and I also hated the fact that I was still attracted to him.

“Why are you here?” Misha demanded.

Misha could be fragile, but he was also a fighter. He just didn’t do well with crowds. When it was just us? Misha was fierce. And Topher fucked Misha over too. Misha wasn’t a big man. He was short and compact. He came at about five foot four, but he was also insanely strong.

Misha was gearing up to physically throw Topher out of our dorm room and I didn’t blame him. Topher just held up his hands.

“I’m here on business. I was also listening in. You’re all curious about the new girl and you want to make art with her. So do it. You have permission however you’d like to make that happen.”

Oh, fuck no. Orion was glowering and Misha was two seconds away from throwing a punch.

“You want us to manipulate her like you did to us?”

Because that was exactly what Topher did to all of us. He was a friend, then a lover. When he had our trust, he offered us the world. And then he betrayed us twice. Once when he disappeared and again when we realized the strings that came with his help.

“Hey, you got over it. You met, bonded over it, and made beautiful art together. If it makes you feel better, I cared about the three of you as much as I’m able to, but commitment isn’t exactly in my nature. And no manipulation needed. Get Immortal Nightmare back together and add a violin player. You’ll put on one show here at the end of every year and if it’s impressive enough, all the string you hate disappear and you’re free.”

That was exactly what we wanted. We didn’t know we wanted a violin player in Immortal Nightmare until we heard her play her composition, but being free from all this? That was all we wanted for years. To do that, we’d have to fuck over an innocent girl the same way Topher did to us.

We were raging arseholes, but we had limits and we only hurt people who deserved it.

“It’s an order or your strings are going to get yanked in a way you hate. You don’t have to do anything except make art with her. Why are you making it dirty like you’re being asked to fuck her? Perverts.”

Because that was exactly what Topher did to us. He seemed to have a crisis of conscious after he came to Blackvale and swore off relationships. That didn’t change our history.

The problem is that the three of us were slaves to our passions and it was a beautiful thing to mesh with another artist. Shit happened when everyone got together and started creating. Feelings started brewing and eventually bodies smashed together. It was how it started with the three of us.

I didn’t think we could bring her into Immortal Nightmare without eventually hurting her and the three of us in the process.

We also weren’t being given the choice.

The only music student I’d met so far were Orion and Isobel. I’d learned a little about the school, though. It was nothing surprising. Everything was by audition, so if I was in orchestra next year, it would be because I earned it.

I practiced my violin for a bit and did a tour of the campus. A very phallic centered artist had done graffiti and sculptures all over campus. I liked their style.

I didn’t do the dining hall for lunch. I had the makings for grilled cheese sandwiches, so I did that. I usually made my grilled cheese the cheap way, but bougie grilled cheese was nice too. Luca got me truffle butter, and I was a big fan.

Dr Faustus had also given me a debit card while I was in his office. Apparently, I had a stipend in addition to the large tip that was left for my performance in the subway. I wasn’t planning on being greedy. My dorm room was stocked. I placed an online order for some snacks I liked and I saw a cat colony behind one of the buildings. I bought food for them too.

I found the same group of dancers stretching in the common room again. It was Cullen, and about three people I didn’t really know yet. I stopped to say hi because they’d been nice to me.

“Hey, why do you warm up here instead of with the other dancers?”

They all exchanged looks, but it was Cullen who spoke. I liked him. He’d always tell me what was on his mind.

“We’re the outcasts. We got good parts in The Nutcracker and we haven’t been here as long as some of the other students. Rue is the Sugar Plum Fairy and I’m her Cavalier. Alexa is Clara because just look at her. Of course, she’s Clara. Paige is dancing one of the Harlequin Dolls and Mia got Arabian because her extension is insane. Some of the seniors didn’t even get a solo and are stuck in the corps. And some of them got really shit parts.”

“It’s not unheard of for important people in the ballet world to come see our shows. It’s actually a given. If they notice you, it can lead to guest solos or even spots in companies,” Mia said.

“The seniors who didn’t get any solos didn’t get them because they showed up to auditions like they were guaranteed them. Casting isn’t done by seniority. If you slack ass in auditions, you don’t get the part you want. You get back row in the corps.”

Ah. So these dancers were nice to me because they kind of got it. It wasn’t just because I wasn’t a threat. I was here because I impressed someone. They were weird, seemed to have a fuck ton of money, and I wanted their brother as far away from me as possible, but I knew better than anyone every time I picked up my violin, it was a possible audition. Anyone could walk by, hear me, and offer me an audition or job. Someone noticed them at an actual audition.

“So, I got loads of tips on managing Klaus. Anything else I need to know?”

“Have you met Azriel Ivy yet?” Alexa asked.

“No, but I know who he is.”