2.

"Lyra! Are you ready?" My sister, Virgo, called out from her room down the hall from mine. I didn't answer right away, petrified at the girl who stood in front of me. In the mirror stood a girl clad in a loose fitting maroon dress which fell to her heel clad ankles. Eyes lined with black liner, her irises looked dark and uninviting, like she had one too many secrets. Her usually wild locks were neatly sprayed into curls atop her head, falling to her shoulders. She looked mature; like a strong young woman, not me.

Tonight was the annual school showcase performance and I was the closing act. I uttered and a deep sigh and heaved my breast. An unnecessary influx of nerves would do my voice box no good; what I needed was to be calm and collected. It wasn't the performance that scared me. What scared me was that this year I would be the closing act, not Lucas. I knew I could not outshine his final performance and I didn't want to, but it was not me who chose my song; it was Virgo.

"Yeah! You can come in now!" I called out over my shoulder, breaking eye contact with the form in the mirror. Almost as soon as the words left my mouth, a ball of dark hair and a mess of limbs tumbled into my room. Although her long dark hair covered most of her face, she couldn't hide the look of shock coming off her face in waves.

"Ly... you look...?"

"Different?" I finished, flicking a lock of hair out of my eye. She grinned at me and for a moment I saw a flash of my younger self. Apart, no one could tell we were sisters with the total differences in our personality, but up close we looked like twins, only one was born seven years after the first.

"I was going to say down right gorgeous!" She squealed and enveloped my waist in a breath-taking hug. I laughed through my blush, unable to hide the effect of the compliment. I combed my fingers through her mess of hair, impressed at the clothes she had picked out. Although I could not escape her obsession with the stars, a big moon in the centre of her black shirt, it was less abstract than her usual pink galaxy tops and star tights that made her look like a walking green screen.

"Before I forget! I made you something!" She exclaimed, running out of my room and into hers before I could protest. She was a very hand's on creator, and was going through a jewellery-making phase. Although they were all beautiful, she had made me many before and I didn't want her wasting her money on me. I was already wearing the moonstone ring she had given me for my birthday the day before, and had already picked up the habit of twisting it when I was nervous.

I waited for her in the hallway, wobbling slightly in my new heels.

"Here!" She ran out of her room with more energy than a wolf and handed me a rope necklace. It was beautiful. The thick black rope was twisted and long with a perfect round stone on the end. I looped it around my neck, the stone falling in the centre of my chest.

"It's a bloodstone," Virgo said softly, "It's supposed to enhance purification, courage and vitality... I thought it might, you know, help you get through tonight."

My eyes stung as I clutched the necklace. She was always so thoughtful, so unlike anyone else in the town. Although I had not said anything, she knew I was suffering and had made me something to help me through. I grasped her arms and pulled her to me, kissing her head as she nestled into my chest.

"Let go of me!" She laughed, pulling back after a silent minute of us standing in the hallway. "Mum and Dad are waiting. They said there about five acts off of yours, so we got to go."

I nodded and headed into the kitchen to grab the keys off the counter. Our parents had gone ahead of us to see the whole show, but my sister and I would be arriving late with only just enough time for me to warm up my vocals for the act. I was too nervous to see everyone else perform before me.

Virgo's cat twirled around my legs, leaving hair on my new dress. I hissed at her, but she only glared at me and ran down the hall, probably to go to sleep on Virgo's bed.

"Alright lets go!" I called out to my sister, waiting at the door with my keys in hand. She came out of the bathroom and walked ahead of me out onto the streets. Locking the door behind me, I had to walk briskly to catch up to her.

Virgo flashed her bright teeth at me before skipping ahead, throwing one of her stones above her head before catching it once again. I smiled as I watched her; I wished I could go back to those carefree and peaceful days of my childhood. For that reason, I wished Virgo would also never grow old, or at least, never grow up.

"Hey, how did you make this necklace anyways?" I asked, twisting the stone in-between my fingers. It seemed awfully real, like a proper jeweller had crafted the rope into the stone for a pretty penny.

"Well, I went to the crystal shop and bought a few stones I felt you needed, like the moonstone, for patience." She winked and laughed when I huffed, "And then I got the rope from Mum's and Dad's study to-"

"Oh my god Virgo! You know you're not allowed in there!" I exclaimed, quite shocked. We had reached the gates of the school now, the institution only a few streets from home.

She glared at me, as if to tell me to let her finish, so I shut up and gestured for her to finish.

"And then I crafted it outside under the moonlight on your birthday. It seemed only fitting." She continued to throw her own stone up and catch it as we walked around the back of the hall, which was vibrating with sound waves.

"Crafted it?" I asked, raising a questioning brow.

"You know I can't tell you all my secrets, Ly." Virgo winked and slipped into the back door of the hall, laughing at my frown. She never once told me just how she made her beautiful creations. It was almost like she used magic; they were always so seamless, so perfect; not typical for a ten year old.

I let go of the stone around my neck and sighed, trying to calm myself. I decided to stay outside to do my vocal warm ups, knowing there were still two long acts before mine. I was in my second round when I heard something snap in the distance, almost like a firecracker. I stood still, the sound making the hair on my arms stand on end. But moments past in silence and I decided to continue, wanting to perform my absolute best.

There was applause, the act before me ended, and it was time for me to go on. I shut my eyelids and clutched at my new necklace.

"Please, let this go well." I whispered into my palms, believing for some reason that the stone was listening. I swallowed my pride and entered the chaos.

Behind the curtains, people were going crazy with excitement. The people in the act before me laughed and jumped on one another in victory, proud of themselves for not making any large errors. I shifted on my feet, uneasy, waiting for them to leave the stage so I could set up. Once they saw me, they stopped laughing, turning to each other in whispers before scuttling of the stage. Ever since Lucas, I didn't associate with others my age. Unfortunately, my antisocial behaviour and the constant bruises from my boxing classes gave me an unwanted reputation. I didn't mind too much; it kept the people away from me.

I hurried to set up my microphone and the small loop pedal at my feet as the presenter introduced my act from the other side of the curtain. I had worked on this for a long time now; I wasn't about to mess it up. The blue curtain drew back and revealed me to the crowd. Unlike the other acts, I was met with a hushed silence, not a round of applause. I frowned slightly, thrown off by the lack of encouragement. But when my sister whooped from the crowd and I saw my beautiful parents beaming at me, already proud, I couldn't help but feel proud of myself for having the courage to sing on a day like today.

But today wasn't about me. It was about Lucas.

"Uh, hi everyone." I cleared my throat uneasily as the blank faces of the crowd blinked at me from behind my microphone. There had to be at least two hundred town's people attending. My hands felt clammy. "I would like to dedicate this song to my late friend Lucas Young-"

Now it was a rumbling whisper that cut me off from finishing my sentence. I raised my voice and continued, displeased at the towns relenting disrespect. They probably thought I was going to end up exactly like him, with all the gang rumours about me circulating, but I did not care. It was time they listened.

"Who was so talented, and who is missed dearly." I sighed and the people calmed down, ready to watch me perform and then leave. Amber Rose met my eyes in the crowd and gave me a thumbs up. I nodded at her and smiled, putting myself in performance mode. "Before I begin I need to take some recordings of my voice so I can build the track later. I'm not very good at explaining, but I guess you will all just see."

I stepped back from my microphone and positioned myself in front of the loop mike. I cleared my throat and began the vocals I would need later in the song. Taking a deep breath, I began.

When the song was over, there was no applause. My breathing laboured, my body exhausted, a looked around the room to see the frozen faces of the people, gaping at my form on the stage. I scanned the crowd and my eyes landed on two men. Standing in the back of the hall, they smiled up at me. I could not make out their faces, only the brightness of their teeth as they began to clap. Soon the whole hall was clapping, cheering on my performance, but I could not take my eyes off the men. Clad in long white attire, steam seemed to be pealing off their form, as if their clothes were slowly burning from the inside out.

I blinked and turned back to the crowd, allowing a smile to find its way onto my cheeks. I bent at the waist and bowed, my necklace warm on my chest, absorbing the energy that flowed off the crowd. I stood up and collected my loop pedal, still smiling, until I realised the men had disappeared, a puff of white smoke in the place they had stood, as if they were never there.

Suddenly, I felt it; the guilt. The applause, the praise, should have been Lucas'. I had taken a moment from him, a moment that was rightfully his. It no longer felt good to smile. Indeed, I felt sick.

I fled the stage and crashed through the back door, empting my stomach into the bushes outside. Up came the leftover birthday cake I had ate that morning and the orange juice I had downed before getting ready for the performance. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and spat the leftover gunk in my mouth. Straightening my dress, I returned inside to greet my family and drown my guilt in maternal love.

Virgo crashed into me, squeezing my waist tightly as my Mum patted my head and my Dad rubbed my back.

"Exquisite performance, love!" Dad spoke proudly, water sparkling in his blue eyes. His stomach round and cheeks puffed, he had begun to gain a few extra kilograms at the beginning of the year. It was a deceiving appearance. I knew well enough he could still lift a heavy weight and run for miles without a sweat; a product of spending a lifetime chasing aliens.

"More than that! It was AWESOME!" Virgo yelled, jumping up and down, "I've never heard 'Breath of Life' performed so well! I could quite literally feel the energy pouring off of you in waves, Ly!" I laughed and nudged her side, causing her to squirm. With the stones and crystals came her beliefs in energy and spiritual forms, another quirk that drew people to her.

"Are you alright, sweetie?" Mum asked, stroking my hair. Her eyes, dark and concerned and curls tied atop her head, she had a motherly seriousness in her expression, demanding answers. I sighed and nodded, sweeping the large room with my eyes once more, searching for the men who had begun the applause.

"Come on. Lets go get pizza." Dad suggested, pulling our mother to his side to chat while we walked behind them.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Virgo asked, bumping my side with her elbow. I scratched my chin and nodded, keeping my eyes in the direction of where I had saw the men.

"Yeah... just, uh, who started the applause?" I asked, finally breaking my gaze from the back of the hall to my sister, who grinned at me.

"I did, of course! Who else do you think screamed your name like a maniac?" She giggled and poked my side. I laughed uneasily and clutched the necklace around my neck.

I'm fine... Just fine. 

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