Rowan eventually headed out of his room and went into the kitchen to start fixing dinner. After rooting through the fridge full of ingredients he'd bought, he decided to make a big batch of chicken fried rice with enough food to feed the both of them. Once it was done, he left a note for Eve that read "Help yourself" before he returned to his room to eat.
Eve returned from the dance studio around 4 hours later. Her session had lasted longer than she'd wanted it to, mainly because as she was about to leave, her father showed up and made her run through everything she'd just practiced. She was completely exhausted, and she was about to figure out anything she could conjure up for food when she read Rowan's note. For a moment, she shook her head, but then her stomach growled so loudly that she quickly fixed herself a portion to eat. "Thanks," she muttered quietly before retreating back to her room as well.
Rowan was still in his room when Eve returned, having finished his dinner long before she got back. His bowl was already in the sink, and he was reading something alone in his room until he deemed it a reasonable time to go to sleep. He heard Eve return to the apartment, but didn't go out to greet her.
Eve ate quietly, watching videos of elite dancers, then videos of herself. Slowly, her mind became sucked into the comparison trap, and she stopped eating her dinner halfway through. She sighed quietly, then went to the bathroom to prepare a shower for herself.
Rowan glanced up when he heard the water turn on, but just shrugged and returned to what he was doing. He could shower later if he really needed to, but he'd showered the previous night, so it wasn't absolutely necessary.
(How should we have them interact again?)
(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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?"
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?
"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…
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.
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.