this is like- a thing i was working on at school for ballet foliage au (because i had to get the idea out) and it took me WAY TOO LONG- and the oneshot got too long as well-

     anyways, enjoy

~

     5:32 read the clock when Foliage was woken up by his emergency alarm, telling him to get ready for the day. He hated that alarm with every living cell in his body- that is, until he remembered that he'd essentially changed career paths.

     He'd literally changed career paths, and as he hurriedly pulled his tights and t-shirt over himself and a loose collared-sweater and pair of sweatpants over those, an unusual sense of hurriedness rushed through his body as he fumbled for a hair tie. Finally fixing himself up and getting somewhat ready for the day, Foliage was about to rush out of the door when he realized that he'd forgotten his keys.

     This apartment is so damn cluttered, he thought, somewhat irritated at it even though it was completely his fault. Every time Sunday rolled around, he resolved to use the free day to clear up the mess- but he'd just spent his time lying around and eventually going back to the dance studio anyways.

     Which reminded Foliage- he was going to miss the bus if he was waiting around any longer, damn it!

     He somehow found his keys thrown into the corner of his backpack, slamming the door and hurriedly locked it right before he ran down the hallway. "Sorry!" Foliage yelled down the hallway as his ever-so-grumpy neighbor creaked open the door to give him a stare. He raced down the stairs, flinging open the door to the apartment building, weaving through the crowded city streets, narrowly avoiding opening shop doors and getting a few beeps from lazily traveling cars until he finally reached the bus stop, almost out of breath and staring as the bus rolled through the traffic. It eventually made its way over, a little too slow for Foliage's liking- he paid the usual ticket fees, stepping onto the surprisingly empty bus and clinging onto a handrail.

     As the bus started up again, Foliage could feel eyes boring into the back of his neck, like someone was staring at him. But that happened a lot- it wasn't so often that you'd see someone with their hair up in a ponytail, especially someone with vines growing out of their heads.

     The bus passed a stop, slowing down and allowing a delighted looking couple on. The doors closed, the bus wheels rumbled up again, and the feeling that someone was staring at him still didn't disappear.

     He figured it was just his imagination, but it wasn't going away- so, finally, he turned around to look. Just a quick glance across the area. He saw the couple that had come on earlier, an older woman sitting in one of the seats, and this redhead with three streaks of purple in the bangs that just somehow looked natural.

     Foliage shrugged mentally, not thinking of anything he could remember. It'd been about 7 years since he'd been in his homeland, and over the crowded streets and the surprisingly energy-draining dance company he'd joined, he'd forgotten most of it. The few things he'd remembered were the lush forest where he'd spent most of his free time, some wild card from an uno game or another, and this pair of redheaded twins that... actually, that was it. Just the twins, nothing else.

     Redheaded twins, like the purple-streaked hair dude who'd met his eye earlier- how did he not notice they'd made eye contact?!

     But there wasn't much to do now, since his stop was here. He'd just hopped off the bus, somehow managing to be 10 minutes earlier than the usual 6:00 he was supposed to be in the building- but he still needed to warm up and get everything settled- dammit, that single alarm ruined everything!

     He'd forgotten all about the redhead with the three purple hair streaks as he pushed open the door to the studio. A warm, yellow glow radiated from the main hallway as the receptionist muttered a "you've got 8 minutes, hurry up."

     Well, crud, he thought as he rushed over to the elevator. He hit the button that said 3, and to his relief the doors immediately opened. Sooner or later, he'd gotten to the dressing room and- with 2 minutes left till 6:00, found a spot at the barre next to someone he thankfully knew somewhat well.

     "I thought you'd never get here," Iris muttered while she stretched herself out, warming up for the day. "Aren't you usually earlier than anyone else here? I mean, except for the lead roles, but still."

     "The alarm didn't work so well- or, strictly speaking, by ears stopped functioning," he grumbled in return, somewhat annoyed at how stiff he had to start warmups with. The entrance to the studio opened, and the instructor came in- the already minuscule amount of chatter fell to a pin-drop silence, and all movement ceased as he clapped his hands.

     "We'll be focusing on leaps today, but other that..."

     Wow. Leaps. Perfect for his late entry today- just perfect.

     "Alright, settle down. Let's start off with our usual pliés- four demis, two grands, we'll repeat that..."

~

     "Agh," Foliage groaned after they'd finished the morning portion around three hours later. "I hate warmups if I don't get to stretch first."

     "You're looking at it like the actual professional block of the day," Iris replied lightly. "It's not. Most of us start out just standing around. Relax, Foliage- I know it's like- what, only your 6th year here, right?"

     The two were sitting in the hallways, never really preferring the locker rooms as it always seemed humid and stuffy in there- at least, it felt that way to the two plant heads. Like Foliage, Iris had a plant growing out of her head- instead of a series of vines, though, it was a single white iris flower that sprouted out of the center of her head. There was no stem- it was just the flower, and while it did make brushing her hair harder it often looked very nice and matched her pale skin quite nicely.

     "Foliage?" Iris looked over, as Foliage was silent and lost in thought. "Why the long face?"

     Foliage grumbled something under his breath, wishing he had a larger vocabulary on profanity more than anything else. Iris just gave a small, motherly smile.

     "You'll be fine," she said. "It's not like you've just screwed your entire life over, is it?"

     "Yeah," he mumbled halfheartedly, still somewhat down that his morning had been somewhat ruined.

     An alarm sounded on Foliage's phone, reminding him to head back to the studio and try to recall the choreography from yesterday.

     "Chill out," Iris said as she pulled out a water bottle.

     Foliage said something close to a "fine" as he got up and made his way to the main studio. Pushing open the doors, the motion-sensing lights flickered on as he started moving again. He was the first one there- the main roles had a special thing to go to, so it was only the side roles that were there today. Usually, he'd be the 4th or 5th compared to how early the others came, but it seemed to be different today. The wooden floors covered with marley had a satisfying echo as Foliage walked across, stretching himself out again for a short while before marking the choreography with shorter movements like usual.

     To be honest, ballet had always felt somewhat therapeutic to Foliage. Sure, it wasn't a very common choice of career- especially for someone like him. He remembered trying to teach one of his friends a small portion of choreography but ended up employing grappling hooks just so that they could balance properly- he thought it was one of the redheaded twins...

     A rush of panic spread through his nerves before it faded almost as fast as it had appeared- an image of the redhead with purple stripes came back into his head, and all the choreography he'd just recalled flickered out of his head in an instant.

     Damn it, he thought, trying to get his mind back on track and starting over. B-plus, grand jete en tournaut, uh... I forgot.

     Crud.

     The studio doors opened, and the choreographer came in. He waved- Foliage waved back before trying to remember what had been happening before.

     He didn't realize the choreographer had asked him something until he whistled. "Rough day?"

     "I woke up late," Foliage replied. "My head's been fuzzy the entire day and I almost missed the bus."

     "You always wake up early, I'm sure it'll end out just fine," he replied.

     Foliage, still feeling somewhat downcast, just shrugged. "Maybe."

     The studio doors opened again as the choreographer finished setting up, and a few of the other dancers came in. They were side roles with Foliage- each of them gave the other a short greeting before separating off to warm up for themselves. There were about five minutes left until the block officially started, and as the minutes ticked on the studio slowly filled up like usual.

     Eventually, the choreographer clapped his hands and got everyone's attention. "Alright, let's add on to yesterday's choreography, as it was cut short..."

     Foliage remembered the last thing they did just in time to get into position, then the music played.

~

     The day always passed by too quickly, yet it tired him out to even think of what happened. They had three blocks a day- The first two had a 15-minute break in between, and the second and third had a 45-minute lunch break. Foliage was the type of idiot to forget to bring lunch almost half the days he went- as was today, when he had left in such a hurry.

     It wasn't like he was ever that hungry anyways. The studio that he went in had plenty of natural light, and for a plant-head like him that was all he needed. Photosynthesis was something he was often asked about, and he responded "no" every time- but that was a lie. What else would those leaves be there for, aesthetic purposes?

     He didn't know why Iris had a flower on her head, but she was often surrounded with bees and loved every single one of them, so he figured that had something to do with it.

     For now, though, Foliage had changed into a t-shirt and jeans (and his usual loose-collared sweater over everything) and was walking back to the bus stop, passing by all the usual shops and trying his best not to bump into people. He'd reached the familiar blue sign, knocking on the metal pole like always and standing around until the bus arrived. The doors opened with a creak, and he climbed on.

     The first thing that met his eye was the redhead with purple stripes in his hair- it brought his attention back to the small reminiscing he'd done in the morning. After a few seconds of awkward staring, eye contact boring into Foliage's head, he looked away- but the moment he turned around he felt a tap on his shoulder.

     He turned around, and the redhead was suddenly in his vision. "I'm going to break it to you straight- I feel like I know you," he said.

     "Oh," Foliage replied after a second. "Yeah, me too- wait, no, like- vice versa, dammit-"

     Social anxiety filled his head, something that he wasn't used to. He thought the redhead would just leave, or something, but the only thing he did was laugh. It wasn't a mean one- Foliage couldn't get it over his head how friendly it sounded, given the situation.

     "I got your point," the redhead snickered, waving a hand. "But- hey, what've you been up to?"

     It sounded so casual, like they already knew each other- and it felt like they knew each other as well. Foliage slowly started telling this stranger about how his day had been going downhill, but soon they'd struck up a conversation. Foliage almost missed his stop- but right before the bus reached the stop, the redhead tugged on his shoulder.

     "Hey- can I get your number?" he said.

     Foliage stared for a second, before muttering a "sure." Quickly jotting down his number on a scrap of a receipt, he handed it over to the redhead before he got off the bus. He could swear he heard a "bye!" but by then, he'd already walked down to the apartment complex that was thankfully close to where the bus stop was.

     As he entered his tiny apartment, a ping came from his phone. He pulled it out of his pocket as he dropped his bag off, and the lock screen lit up.

     'Call me Purple,' said the text from the unknown number, and Foliage's instincts told him that it was from the stranger on the bus. He ignored it for now, though, putting everything up and plopping down onto his bed with an opened bag of chips- that is, until he realized that he should probably reply.

     He sent a simple 'hi' and closed it- only to get a ping immediately afterwards.

     'What do I set your contact to?' was the reply he got. He stared at it for a few seconds before replying again.

     'Foliage' read the text box when he pressed send.

     After a while, there was another ping.

     'ok' showed up in a white text box, and Foliage didn't bother to reply. Grabbing a random book from the shelf, he flipped open to the first page- it seemed to be some sort of wild fantasy, and Foliage couldn't recall when he'd gotten it. It was short, though- he didn't have anything else to do for the rest of the day, and as he finished it he threw away the now empty bag of chips and got up.

     Foliage figured that if he didn't have anything to do, he might as well check out early- but as he climbed into the covers twenty minutes later, a sudden thought struck his head. Why had "Purple" sounded so familiar? But as awake as he felt, sleep tugged at the back of his head and the question was left untouched.

     9:04 read the clock as Foliage finally drifted off to sleep.

~

     I FINALLY FINISHED OMGGG- damn this took way too long