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(I was thinking they end up going to the dance studio at the same time and then potentially have an argument about something there.)
Eve let the water refresh her by washing her sweat off. No matter how many sweaty, tiring sessions she had with her father, she always felt better after a long hot shower. She sighed and allowed herself to truly relax for the first time in days.
(Aight)
Eventually, Rowan went to bed as well. In the morning, he made a quick breakfast, leaving some for Eve like before, and headed out to the dance studio to practice his routine.
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Eve woke the next morning hungry and craving caffeine. She stumbled to the kitchen to make the strongest cup of coffee possible, and it took her a solid ten minutes before she even noticed Rowan's new note. She grumbled and poured her coffee. "I'm not some charity case," she muttered, dressing in a similar outfit to yesterdays and making her way down the stairs and over to the studio as well. Seeing Rowan, she rolled her eyes and whispered, "Of course."
Rowan didn't seem to notice Eve when she came in. He was too wrapped up in getting his routine right. He stumbled a bit after one movement and grumbled, shaking his head as he started over. His parents would be furious if he screwed up this competition; he needed to have all of the details perfect, if only to get them off his back.
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She glanced at the clock. It was currently 9:27, and Practice Room #2 wasn't hers for another 3 minutes. As she waited impatiently for a group of teenage ballerinas to finish up, she crossed her arms over her chest and resigned to watching Rowan practice.
Rowan shook his head and groaned again, punching his thighs with one fist. Why can't my body just do what I want it to do?! He seemed frustrated and stressed, and he kept shaking his head and running his fingers through his hair at every little imperfection in his routine before starting again. He had a water bottle in the room with him, but it was untouched. He was too enveloped in what he was doing to bother to take breaks or drink anything. Now, he was struggling to do his routine more out of fatigue than anything else, and his breathing was pretty shallow and heavy. Why can't I just get it right? Stupid… he'll be furious if I can't nail this… He still hadn't noticed Eve, although he didn't seem to notice much of anything around him at this point.
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Eve's eyes followed him around as he repeatedly attempted his performance, only to mess up something and have to start over. She glanced over at the girls in Practice Room #2, and they didn't look like they were going to be leaving any time soon.
Rowan leaned against the wall, exhaustion and dehydration starting to catch up to him now. He was breathing heavily and looked a bit pale, but just shook his head a bit, took a few seconds to catch his breath, and restarted his routine yet again.
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Eve banged her fist on the door of Practice Room #2, and the girls inside jumped.
"Let's go," Eve called, motioning with her hand for them to hurry up. The girls rolled their eyes, but they slowly began to collect their things and vacate the room. "Thank you," Eve muttered sarcastically as they filed out.
Rowan jumped when Eve banged on the door of the room adjacent to his, coming to his senses a bit. He shook his head and picked up his water bottle with trembling hands, only now noticing that black was creeping in at the corners of his vision. He stumbled and fell to his knees, fumbling with the cap of his water bottle.
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Eve's eyes cut to Rowan as he sunk to his knees. She shook her head, debating what to do before the compassion deep inside her took over. "Damn it," she muttered, pushing the door open and stalking over to him. "What the hell do you think you're doing? You can't work that hard without pauses to hydrate. You'll kill yourself," she snapped.
"Ah…?" Rowan looked up at Eve weakly, feeling very dizzy by now. "I-I know, I know, I just… got really wrapped up in what I was doing… focused…" He mumbled, managing to get his water bottle open and chug half of it within a few seconds. "I'm fine…" He insisted. "Just gotta get this perfect and everyone will be happy, right?"
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Eve sighed and rolled her eyes. She couldn't believe she was doing this. Slowly, she knelt down to his level and looked him fiercely in the eye. "Will you be happy?"
Rowan flushed lightly, clearly taken aback and surprised. He definitely hadn't expected the question. "Will… will I be happy?" He repeated, still dazed. "Well… I dunno. I never really thought about it. I'm happy when they're happy, right? I like when they're pleased with me." He replied simply, although he shrugged and still seemed to be thinking. It seems stupid, but I guess I didn't really consider it before… when I get things right, they're happy, and then I'm… happy, right?
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"If you're not happy, not everyone will be happy. You need to learn that." Eve reached out to offer a comforting touch, but she changed her mind halfway and withdrew her hand awkwardly. "Um… just… keep drinking water. I don't want to have to carry you back because you passed out." With that, she stood up and strode out of the practice room.
"Um… r-right…" Rowan replied awkwardly, not entirely sure what to say. "Thanks…" He said softly as she left, finishing off his water. He stayed where he was on the floor for a bit, giving himself a few minutes to take a break and replenish his mind and energy. Seems almost like she cares about me. Not sure why, but…
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With the girls gone, Eve claimed her rightful practice room. She set her bottle and bag down in the corner before connecting her phone to the speaker and selecting a warm-up song. Through her warm-up, her thoughts kept retreating back to Rowan, and each time they did, she lost her focus. Eventually, she stormed back over to her phone to pick a different song, shaking her head as she did so.
Rowan shook his head a bit and refilled his water bottle before he continued to practice his routine. He managed to return his focus to what he was doing due to his practiced skill of compartmentalizing. His routine was pretty difficult, to be honest, but he did manage to get at least one good run-through before his time in the room was up.
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Eve practiced her routine furiously, spinning and leaping grandly through the air like she was a woman possessed. She had to shake this feeling of compassion for Rowan. He was her enemy, albeit her roommate, but still her biggest competition. She had to beat him in their next event. She had to. Wiping the sweat off her brow, she glanced at the clock. The time had seemed to fly by.
When Rowan's time was up, he brushed the sweat from his forehead with one hand, lightly flushed and panting from exhaustion. He seemed to be doing a bit better now that he was hydrated, but he was still pretty tired. He waved to Eve on his way out, planning to take a quick shower when he got back to the apartment.
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Eve was in the middle of her routine when Rowan waved, and she didn't see the motion. Even if she did, she most likely wouldn't have waved back. It wouldn't have mattered if the President of the United States walked through the door; when Eve Springett was practicing, it was the only thing she was honed in on.
Rowan headed out without expecting a wave in return. After all, he'd been so into his own routine that he forgot to drink anything, so he couldn't blame her for being focused. He headed back to the apartment and showered before changing into fresh clothes.
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Eve finally finished with her practice session. Sweating profusely, she grabbed her belongings and made her way back to their apartment. Halfway up the stairs, she received a text, and she stormed the rest of the way up the stairs, through the apartment, into her room – nearly in tears – and shut the door behind her with an unintentional and forceful bang.
Rowan was in the kitchen when Eve returned and looked up, noticing how upset she looked. His stomach fell and he looked a bit uneasy and uncomfortable. Oh god… uh… it's not really my problem, but… I'd feel bad if I didn't try, especially after she helped me earlier. He sighed and got to his feet, tentatively knocking on Eve's door. "Uhh… Eve? You alright?" He asked warily. He definitely didn't want her anger turned onto him.
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"I'm fine," came the muffled response.
Inside, Eve was anything but. She trembled like a leaf and sank to the floor, overcome with emotion. Why can't he just leave me alone? she wondered, but the person behind that thought wasn't Rowan.
"Um… alright… I'll be out in the kitchen if you need anything, though. Okay?" Rowan stood there awkwardly for another few seconds before heading back to the kitchen. She's obviously lying, but… I doubt I'm the person she wants to vent to. She hates me.
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"Okay," Eve replied before covering her mouth with her hand to keep in her cries. After a few moments, she reemerged from her bedroom and made a beeline for the bathroom, shower supplies in hand. Once inside, it only took a few seconds for the shower to start running so her tear tracks would be indistinguishable among the rushing water from the showerhead.
Rowan looked up when he heard Eve leave her room, but she was already gone before he could actually see her. He sighed and cleaned his dishes before heading off to his own room. He planned to go to the gym to go some exercise other than dancing later that day.
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"You are being ridiculous," Eve whispered to herself as she stepped out and dried her hair. "Just forget." When she reemerged from the bathroom, she looked again like her normal self. She tossed her old clothes into her hamper and went to the kitchen to get a meal.
Rowan poked his head out of his bedroom door when he heard Eve come out from the bathroom and watched her walk by. He still wasn't entirely sure what to do, to be honest, but he still felt a bit bad and uncomfortable. "You alright?" He called out again after a few seconds.
