Save The Last Dance :: A Liberty's Kids Fanfiction

Midsummer Ball

To be held at the estate of

Richard Lawrence

On the third of June.

Open to public attendance.

James read the poster that lay plastered across the brick wall, baking in the searing heat of the Philadelphia sun. A ball? Sounded too English for him. He opened his mouth to comment.

Henri beat him to it. " A ball? Très magnifique! Think of all zee lovely ladies!"

" Think of yourself, sitting at home alone." The blonde youth sneered at his friend in a snide fashion. " You're too young for something like this. Besides, you'd need a girl to go with you."

The French boy pouted, but then his mood turned light. " Et toi? What about you?"

" Well…" James pondered the possibilities. There were several girls who he could ask… five of which would say 'no'… two who would die for the opportunity (and he would rather die than ask them)… one that would slap him at the mere notion of it… " I'm not going. There's too much work to do at the shop."

" Like what? There has not been a story in weeks…" Henri chuckled. " You just aren't going because you cannot find a girl!" He dodged James's blow, still grinning widely. " I can't think of any girl who would go with someone as mean as you!"

James frowned angrily. " Well, I can think of plenty!" But Henri was already racing down the street.

00000

It was midday when James returned to the print shop. He threw his notebook down onto a desk and sighed in frustration. So much for finding a story today… of course, it was still three days until the ball. There was still time. Henri didn't need to find out that he couldn't get a woman to go with him!

Why was he thinking about it, anyways? It wasn't as if he had wanted to go. But if Henri saw that he didn't, he'd be insolently mocked for weeks.

Well, he could always ask that Bethany girl who, according to her giggly friends, was oh-so-fond of him. He only knew this because Beth had sent her horde of tittering, blushing minions to inform him of such. Of course, he had been as rude and abrupt with them as he could. It was just stupid, the way that women acted when they were in love! Laughing at the most idiotic things, and always twisting around like they had ants up their skirts…

" You're back quite early."

He acknowledged the girl with a short nod. " Hey Sarah. By any chance… have you found a story around town?"

She gave him a look that seemed to shout 'like I have enough time to go story-hunting!', but luckily, she didn't say such out loud. " No. I've been busy going to the market for Moses. Why?"

From behind her came another voice. " Because he's afraid of dancing!"

James lunged forward, almost catching Henri. However, the child was slippery, and thus got away. Sarah smiled. " Ah, yes. The Midsummer's ball. I think it's a marvelous idea."

" And I think it's for Tories!" James leaned over the printing press, trying to pretend as though it's emptiness was wholeheartedly agreeing. " They have these sort of things in England all the time!"

Sarah rolled her eyes. " Yes, yes. And they also eat in England, and breathe in England, so of course those must be acts of treason, too!"

Henri raised his eyebrows to James in a victorious gesture, even though he hadn't really won anything. James glared at his back as the boy left the room, heading towards the kitchen. " That little rat…"

" Come on, James. Why don't you want to go?"

" Didn't I say? It's a Tory ball."

With a secretive smirk, Sarah came to stand beside him. " You know that's not true. And I know that's not the reason. Come now, you must tell me."

He frowned at her. " Oh, I must, must I?"

She shrugged. " Alright then, be stubborn. I was going to help you find a girl to bring. But if I'm not welcome…"

" I can too find a girl!" James stomped past her and grabbed his notebook, flipping through the pages. Sarah smiled, for even the bulky papers couldn't hide his blushing. She shook her head.

" Then… what is it?"

He paused for a moment, wondering why Sarah was so terribly nosy. Then, as though it were a lighting bolt from Heaven, the perfect excuse hit him.

" I can't dance."

Sarah looked as though she was struggling not to laugh. " That's it?" she finally exclaimed. " That's your reason? Nonsense! Come, I'll teach you to dance!"

Feeling that she was inevitably plotting against him, he took a step backwards. " No… that's alright… you see, I have so many stories to cover…!" However, he couldn't escape. She grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him from the main room.

" Come! We'll use my room. I'll teach you the waltz, the foxtrot…"

Doomed, he thought frantically. I'm doomed. I really can't dance!

00000

Author's Notes: I've noticed that no-one is writing Liberty's Kids Fanfictions anymore, which is sad because I've recently discovered them! So I've decided to conquer this problem by writing a lot of my own. Hope I can do such! Anyways, this one will only be about 3-4 chapters long. Please review!!! Oh, and… I'm surprised to find that so many people say that they don't play Liberty's Kids anymore! They still play it on my local channel… I guess I'm just lucky :) Thanks for reading this, too!

– decemberbliss