Work Text:
Megan’s favorite time of year was when she finally got to go on tour. When the months of training and practicing paid off, and they could finally show off the full show to everyone. They had already been through a couple of stops, so most of her pre-show jitters had mostly subsided around this point. The horror theming of the acts and set used to give her the creeps, but once she got used to it, she loved to lean more into the creepy side whenever she got the chance. Unfortunately, she was chosen to be one of the dancers that leaned more into the sexier and more mature theming of the show. Which, objectively, made sense. She looked good and she knew it. But damn, she really wanted to scare people every now and then!
She put on a headband with horns attached, adjusting it until they sat perfectly on her head, when a knock suddenly rang out through the room. She startled, which messed up the perfect alignment she just had. She sighed and went back to adjusting them before calling out to whoever was on the other end of the door. “Come in!”
Through the mirror she was in front of, she saw her friends Lara and Manon walking in, already in their own outfits. Since they weren’t part of the opening segment, they had a slightly different setup compared to her. Their bra set was black, with metal spikes, compared to Megan’s that was red to more closely match the demon theme. Megan also had some extra flair, with the demon horns and long red boots that nearly went up to her thighs. She would have to change to match their outfits later, for a segment they all do together about halfway through the show, but that wasn’t important. Megan turned around to properly face the girls, who had closed the door.
“Are you excited, Megan?” Manon moved to sit down on the table next to Megan, while Lara stared at herself in the mirror and ran her fingers through her hair to adjust it.
“You know I am.” Megan turned back to the mirror and adjusted the horns for what felt like the fiftieth time. “When am I not excited?”
“Are you excited to have flaming knives flung at your head? Again?” Lara smiled, reaching for Megan’s mascara before her hand got smacked away.
“Bring your own next time!” Megan quickly stole it back and put it in her makeup bag, much to her friends disappointment. “And yes. We’ve practiced enough that it just feels like an average night to me.”
“Ugh, I can’t stand that intro sequence, you know?” Lara dramatically shuddered, pulling up a chair. “I still get nervous for you, even when I’ve seen it like a billion times.”
“Yeah. Like, what if the knives set the board on fire? Scary!” Manon interjected, helping Megan with her horns.
“You know they won’t.”
“I don’t know anything! For all we know, we could burn down the whole tent!”
“And that’s why neither of you are in this intro.” Megan finally felt happy with her horns, smiling and standing up fully. She backed up a bit and spun around, showing off the look. “Does everything look good?”
“Yeah, like always.” Manon confirmed, and Lara nodded alongside her.
“Alright, great, I’m out of here.” Megan walked past the items skewed about on the floor, peeking her head back through the door before she left. “And Manon, make sure she doesn’t touch my makeup.”
Lara whined in protest, but Megan didn’t stick around to hear it, already making her way towards the backstage area. She could see a bunch of the other performers getting ready, as well as non-performers running around and making sure everything was set up perfectly. She saw her partner and good friend, Joshua, finalizing his outfit with some members of the cast and smiled. She quickly snuck past everyone and towards the set piece that separated the backstage area and the seating arrangements. She peeked out, keeping herself mostly hidden while being able to look out at some of the attendants. Her eyes scanned over all the various attendees, although she couldn’t get a really good look at them. They were all too far away for her to get any good look at.
“Boo!”
Megan jumped as she felt someone’s hands tap her on the back, and she whipped around, expecting to start a fight. But it was just Joshua, to which she sighed and fully brought herself back behind the set. He was in his stage outfit, a black leather vest and black leather pants, with a plastic masquerade mask covering his eyes, completing the look with demon horns on his head and a whip in his hand. Despite the mask, she could still see the light in his eyes that he got whenever he managed to scare her. She couldn’t believe she fell for it again.
“Joshua, I swear to god, I’m going to kill you one of these times.”
“You’re so mean to me, like, all the time.” Joshua moved next to Megan, also taking a peek out of the set. “Anyone who looks good out there?”
“I don’t know, I can’t really see that well.” Megan joins him again, taking another glance out while trying to get a good look at any individual crowd member. “Not seeing anybody…”
“That’s a shame. Maybe you’ll find someone you like when you go out into the crowd.”
Megan rolled her eyes, although she didn’t stop searching. “This isn’t a dating event.”
“You never know! The love of your life might be out there, right now, waiting to see a bunch of sexy men and women performing tonight.”
“Shut up.”
The lights outside started to dim, as well as a siren began playing over the speakers, which they both knew to be indicators that the show was going to be starting soon. They both quickly dipped back behind the set, moving back to their group like they hadn’t been risking getting caught just a moment prior. Megan knew she was going on in just a couple of minutes, since they were waiting for the few final guests to be seated, as well as the rules to be explained by another one of the performers. Once that was done, it was finally time for the opening act, which Megan was incredibly excited to perform. She watched as the main performer approached the set piece, when one of the staff members lit his whip on fire, before he went out.
Megan did her best to hide her excitement, shifting her weight from one foot to the other and fiddling with the breakable sticks in her hands. She could hear the sound of the whip cracking mixed with the loud blaring music, which only sent more excitement through her veins. Once her cue to walk out played, both her and Joshua walked out alongside the other performers as well. The guys cracked their whips against the ground in sync with beats in the music, while the female performers held out small breakable sticks in their hands and mouths for them to hit with precision. It wasn’t really as hard as it looked, but the audience didn’t really know about all that.
After that small segment, it was finally time for Megan’s favorite part of the intro sequence. Most of the performers vacated the stage, except for herself and Joshua, and one of her other performers brought over a board and stood it up. Megan leaned back against the board, while Joshua pulled out two knives from his pockets. He banged them together, with metal clanking sounds playing over the speakers, as if to prove that they were real knives. Which, of course, they were. Just a bit dull at the end. And then, he lit the knives on fire, which elicited gasps from many members of the audience. He turned back towards Megan, and from across the stage, she could see the small smirk on his face that came with every performance they did together.
The first knife flew past her head, embedding itself into the board next to her. Almost immediately after, the second knife did the same on the other side. Megan raised her hand with a smile, while Joshua turned to the audience with his arms in the air, which caused the audience to applaud and cheer. In reality, the knives were nowhere near her head, because the circus staff didn’t dare take any risks when it came to safety. But to the audience, they looked far closer than they were. Megan and Joshua finally left the stage, letting the rest of the cast bring back the props and set up for the next act. After giving her partner a high-five, she quickly left to go back to her dressing room, wanting to change as quickly as she could.
She burst back into the dressing room, which startled Manon and Lara, who were sitting really close on a couch pushed off into the corner. Megan glanced at them weirdly for a moment, before focusing back on the topic at hand. She tore off the knee high boots and replaced them with her usual heels, and then took off her horns and set them to the side. She reached for her alternate outfit that matched with Manon and Lara’s, before turning to them. “See? Board didn’t catch on fire. Like always.”
“God forbid I’m a little worried about you.” Manon rolled her eyes, before returning to looking back at Lara while Megan changed. “You’re in no rush, Megan. Be calm.”
This time, it was Megan’s turn to roll her eyes, although she didn’t say anything. She just finished changing into the matching performance outfit, before sitting back down in her chair and waiting on her phone. Occasionally they chatted about all sorts of things, until they were cut off by staff telling them to get into their places. The three girls rushed out of the dressing room backstage, going out into the lobby and returning to the main performance area through the entrances to the seating areas. Each of them would go through their own small section, pick a crowd member to do a small performance for, and then join some other performers on stage to do a full number together.
The crowd was separated into three different sections, which were then split in half through the middle, separating each section with a top and bottom half, with lanes going between each section for access. Megan liked picking the center section, because it was usually the most full, as well as more invested guests tended to be there. She liked the attention. While she strutted down the lanes, music blasting in her ears, her eyes scanned over the row of seats in the top section right in front of the middle lanes. They were the easiest to access, giving her plenty of space to do her thing, as well as being seen from pretty much anywhere.
Technically, Megan had rules to follow when it came to picking members of the crowd for performances and interactions, although they were more like suggestions. For the super involved interactions, where the crowd member would have to get up and engage in physical comedy with one of the performers, it was always recommended to choose someone who looked enthusiastic. Someone who looked bored and disinterested wouldn’t likely go along with the comedy. But for less involved demonstrations, such as dances, the performers were allowed to be more open with their choices. Megan usually liked to go for someone in between, not anyone who looked majorly uncomfortable, she wouldn’t want to force that on anyone. But she enjoyed getting people flustered, so anyone who looked shy or awkward always went into consideration.
Finally, she spotted a good target. A young woman, close to Megan’s age, maybe a small while younger than her. She had bleached blonde hair, and was wearing jeans and a simple gray t-shirt. She was surrounded by two of her friends, who were talking to each other over her, while she sat in the middle. She looked a bit awkward and out of place in the crowd that were either wearing masks they had bought in the lobby or were wearing more detailed outfits. Her hair was bleached, and she looked to already be flustered just watching the performers strut down the lanes. She was perfect, in Megan’s mind. Pretty, too, but that was just a bit of an extra bonus. Almost immediately, she made a beeline towards the girl, her eyes locked on her face.
Megan stood in front of the girl, looking down at her before doing anything, making sure everything was good to go before she started. She saw the way the girl’s body stiffened at the sight of her, and how her cheeks were already starting to fade into a sweet shade of pink. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw her friends turn to her, excited smiles on their faces. She wondered if they were excited that she was there performing for them, or if they were excited that she was performing for the girl in particular. She couldn’t stop herself from giggling quietly at how obviously flustered the blonde girl beneath her was.
Megan ran her hands down her body, showing it off to the girl in front of her, who she was sure was ten seconds away from her brain short circuiting. Her eyes were locked on to Megan’s face, not daring to move away. She kept her hands clenched tightly at her sides, as if she was afraid that she’d try to reach out and touch her. Megan appreciated the restraint the girl had, it wasn’t like every guest was like her. She was used to seeing the guests flustered by her presence, although she seemed to be far more awkward than anyone she had encountered before. One of the girls next to her, with straight black hair, laughed, although she tried to hide it by covering her mouth with her hand. Her other friend, with curly hair and bleached eyebrows gently jabbed her with her elbow.
“It’s not the end of the world to look, Yoonchae. She’s doing it for you.”
“Yoonchae, is it?” Megan smirked, tilting her head and leaning closer to the girl that she now knew as Yoonchae.
“씨발…(Fuck…)”
“Just relax a little bit, alright?” Megan reached out and ran her hand along Yoonchae’s shoulder, trailing down her arm. “Are you liking the show so far?”
Yoonchae sputtered pitifully, trying to form words in response, to no avail. She eventually gave up, opting to just nod her head in response. Despite Megan telling her to relax, she only seemed to get more tense, although that didn’t really surprise her. She could see the way her eyes flicked down to look at her body, before immediately moving back up to her face, like she was worried about being caught. It was cute. Before Megan could get carried away, she heard the music starting to change, which meant she had to get going soon. She pulled back, still smiling at Yoonchae.
“Well, enjoy the rest of it.” She winked at the girl before turning away, going down to the stage to start their dance number with the other performers. She didn’t look back, but she was hoping Yoonchae was still watching her.
The rest of the show went by in a blur for Yoonchae. She still felt distracted by the performance she had received earlier. All of the other acts were incredible, of course, but she couldn’t stop thinking about that one woman. When the three girls finally made it out into the lobby, Yoonchae sighed heavily. It had ended up so hot and stuffy inside the main performance area that stepping outside it felt like heaven. She clung onto her leftover popcorn, slowly trailing behind Sophia and Daniela, who were talking about their favorite performances. She was lucky to be flying under the radar, because she knew how much her friends would have teased her for her reaction to the lady who performed for her. The trio were almost to one of the exits when both Sophia and Daniela stopped dead in their tracks, almost causing Yoonchae to bump into them.
“Hey, what gives?”
“Yoonchae, look!” Sophia whispered, pulling the youngest of the three forward and pointing in front of them.
Yoonchae’s breath hitched when she saw the same woman as before, still in her performance outfit, thanking other guests for attending the show as they left through the exits. She was surrounded by two other performers, one with black hair and dark skin, the other with long braids flowing down her back. Yoonchae could already feel the way her face was heating up, and she quickly looked back to her friends before she ended up staring somewhere she shouldn’t. Just her luck, Yoonchae would have to pass by the performers before she could leave. Any other girl would be thrilled in her position, she was sure. But not Yoonchae.
“Yoonchae! This is your chance!” Daniela put her hand on Yoonchae’s shoulder, ignoring the other circus goers as they walked around them.
“Wha— No, it’s not!” Yoonchae gestured with her arms wildly, almost spilling the last few pieces of popcorn she had left. “What am I even supposed to say to her? ‘Thanks for performing on me, it was great?’”
“Honestly, yeah, that’d probably work.” Daniela replied simply, and Yoonchae lightly smacked her arm with her free hand. “Really, Yoonchae, you can’t miss this opportunity. She’s literally right there!”
“Not true. I can, and I will.” Yoonchae attempted to walk past them, but Sophia stopped her before she could get far.
“Listen. It was, like, so obvious how into her you were. You clearly want her.” Sophia began, and Yoonchae felt her cheeks getting warmer. “If it doesn’t go well, then I promise we’ll never force you to do something like this again.”
Yoonchae hesitated, looking from her friends to the performer, who was now smiling and waving at a couple who were leaving with souvenir cups and masks. “What do I even…say to her?”
“Just ask her for her number. Quick and easy.” Sophia took the popcorn from Yoonchae’s hands, popping a handful into her mouth before she finished her thought. “And if she says no, that’s fine, cause you probably won’t see her again.”
“Okay…okay. I can do this.” Yoonchae took a deep breath, before pulling out her phone and slowly walking towards the performer.
She could hear the sounds of her friends cheering her on amidst the loud music playing and the sound of countless other attendees chatting as they left. Even though she was just going to have a conversation, it felt like she was walking towards her execution. She stared at the floor, slowly shuffling towards the three performers, muttering reassurances and affirmations under her breath. She tried to stop her hands from shaking, but she was sure anyone could tell she was freaking out. Before she even knew it, she looked up and saw that the performer with braids was already staring at her. She smiled, before turning her head to the other two.
“Hey, Megan? Isn’t this the chick you were talking about?”
“Huh?” The two other performers looked over, and the one who danced for her earlier, who she assumed was Megan, smiled at her. “Oh, hey Yoonchae. You came to see me?”
“She knows her name?” The dark skinned performer whispered, although Yoonchae could just barely hear her.
“I, uhm…I…”
Yoonchae felt like she might pass out if she wasn’t careful. She felt warm all over, and her hands were shaking so much that she could barely keep a hold of her phone. She had planned how this conversation would go in her head on the walk over, but all of the words she had prepared were suddenly gone from her mind. She had never even tried to talk to girls she was interested in, let alone trying to get any of their numbers. It was new, and terrifying, and she was sure everyone could tell she was struggling. She tried to keep her eyes on Megan’s face, but she couldn’t stop her gaze from traveling down the revealing outfit she still wore. The other two performers that were with her glanced at each other, smirking.
Yoonchae shook her head to rid herself of her thoughts before finally finding her words. “I, uh…I know that this sort of thing is, like, your job. And, uh, that you probably do it for like, all sorts of people, but…”
“But?” Megan raised an eyebrow, seemingly amused by how nervous the girl in front of her was.
“But, I— I was wondering…” Yoonchae hesitated before barely managing to force the words out of her mouth. “C—Could I get your, uh, number?”
Megan’s friends both snickered behind their hands, while Megan herself seemed to not react at all. When she didn’t immediately decline or offer it, Yoonchae’s nerves skyrocketed. She could handle rejection, even if it would be mortifying to endure. But waiting to know was just unbearable. The longer Megan went without giving her an answer, the more Yoonchae started to doubt herself. She should never have asked. She shouldn’t have thought, for even a moment, that she even had a chance. Before even a couple seconds passed, her mind had been filled with so much doubt that she felt like she might explode.
“God, uhm, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have…Sorry.” Yoonchae was about to turn away and leave before she was stopped.
“Sure.” The other two performers looked at Megan like she was crazy, like they were surprised that she would even consider giving her number to someone she didn’t even know. “Give me your phone, I’ll put it in for you, sweetheart.”
Yoonchae stared dumbly at Megan for a moment, her face surely entirely red after being called sweetheart. When her thoughts finally started moving again, she quickly held out her phone, using all of her willpower to keep her hands from shaking violently. Yoonchae’s heart fluttered when Megan’s long fingers brushed against her hand as she took her phone, typing in her number. After a couple seconds, Megan offered Yoonchae’s phone back, which she quickly took and held tightly in her hands.
“There you go, sweetheart.” Yoonchae could see the way Megan’s performer friends were glancing at each other, like they were trying to figure out why she would do something like this. “I hope you enjoyed our show, have a good night.”
“I, uhm, I will. Uh…bye.” Yoonchae fumbled through her words, quickly turning around with her phone in hand. Before she got out of earshot, she could hear Megan’s friends talking behind her.
“Literally why did you do that?” Yoonchae tried her best not to eavesdrop, but she couldn’t help it. “You said you weren’t dating again after your ex.”
“Lara, I don’t think she even has the capacity to be like him.” Megan replied back. “She couldn’t even look me in the eye!”
“Yeah, cause she was too busy looking elsewhere…”
The three performers behind her laughed, and Yoonchae quickly rushed back over to where she had come from. She stared down at the string of numbers currently waiting in her notes app. Was it really that easy? Was talking to girls so much easier than she had ever imagined? Both Sophia and Daniela surrounded her, with bright smiles on their faces.
“You did it! I’m so proud!” Sophia immediately threw her arms around Yoonchae, nearly squishing her. “I feel like a proud mother, I can’t believe it.”
“Is it really that surprising I talked to a girl?”
“Yes.” Daniela responded rather bluntly, and she was lucky Yoonchae was still wrapped up in Sophia’s embrace.
“So, Yoonchae…” Sophia finally let go of the younger girl, still smiling widely. “What are you gonna say to her?”
“I don’t know.” Yoonchae felt like she was finally calming down now that the conversation was over, but now she had to think about what to say. “I haven’t done this before.”
“Obviously.” Daniela earned a sharp jab in the side from Sophia, who gave her a glare before turning back to Yoonchae.
“Texting first can always be pretty difficult.” Sophia was more sympathetic now, and despite the residual pain in her side, Daniela nodded along. “Why don’t you wait to think about it until we get you home?”
“Mm…okay.” Yoonchae reluctantly stuffed her phone back in her purse, following the other girls as they walked out.
It took a while for the three to remember where Daniela had parked, but eventually they all piled into her car, finally getting a moment of silence to themselves. Almost immediately though, Sophia turned on some music, which the three of them sang along to the whole drive home. It helped ease Yoonchae’s anxieties, forgetting about the idea of texting first that loomed over her. When Daniela finally pulled up in front of her apartment complex, she reached for the door and began to get out.
“Excuse me!” Yoonchae turned back around to see Daniela, who was holding her arms out for a hug.
“You’re exhausting.” Yoonchae rolled her eyes but turned back to hug Daniela, smiling slightly. “Thanks for forcing me to talk to her.”
“You’re welcome. Now go text her.” Daniela let go of Yoonchae, and Sophia reached from the backseat to pat Yoonchae’s shoulder.
“We love you Yoonchae!”
Yoonchae smiled at the two before shutting the car door, dragging herself back up to her apartment. The seats had been incredibly uncomfortable throughout the night, and even though she had a good time, her head was pounding. She collapsed into her bed, dreading the idea of having to get back up to get ready for bed. She would have to shower, and take off her makeup, and then change. But for now, she had much more pressing matters to attend to. She pulled her phone out of her purse and opened up her notes app, copying the string of digits into her messaging app.
And for a while, she didn’t know how to start with the message. How was she supposed to sound? Bold? Flirtatious? That wasn’t her style. Was she supposed to introduce herself, in case Megan forgot she had given away her number to a complete stranger? Or would that just make her look stupid? She must have typed out and deleted hundreds of iterations of her starting text before she finally settled on just being simple and plain.
hey megan, it’s yoonchae <
For a moment, Yoonchae wasn’t too worried about Megan not responding. It was late, so it would totally make sense if she was busy talking to someone else and wasn’t checking her phone every single second. But the longer she waited, the more anxious she got. She checked to make sure she had typed the number in correctly, to which she did. She continued to wait, nervously tapping foot and adjusting her hair every few seconds. After a couple of minutes, she figured that she must have been pranked. That Megan had given her some random number, and that she had totally just texted some random person that wasn’t her. Just as she started typing out an apology, her heart stopped when she saw that the other person was typing.
> Hi yoonchae!!!!
> Srry, i was busy. Nice to see your text!!!
The amount of relief Yoonchae felt in that moment could not be put into words. She sighed, staring at the two messages Megan had sent. She quickly saved her contact information in her phone before going back to the conversation. What was she supposed to say now? Before she could even start typing again, Megan sent another text.
> Did you enjoy the show????
yeah, i did!! <
it was awesome <
> And what would you say was your fav act??
Yoonchae rolled her eyes, scoffing at the message on her screen. Megan knew what her favorite part of the show was, she didn’t have to ask. She was just playing with her, and she knew that.
well, i loved your performance <
> You did??
> I’d love to perform for you again ;)
> If you’re interested, ofc
👀👀👀👀👀👀 <
i mean <
i’d love to <
Yoonchae groaned, slamming her face into her pillow. She was such an idiot, saying dumb things that she shouldn’t. The eye emojis were stupid! She was stupid! She was sure Megan would end up finding her weird. But at the same time, the thought of getting to see Megan performing for her a second time made her heart beat even quicker. Her head immediately perked up when she felt her phone buzz in her hand.
> LMAOOOO
> We’re still cleaning up back here, so i’ve gotta go
> I’d love to talk to you some more after we’re done tho :)
that’s alright!!! <
i’ll be waiting <