David loved watching them dance. After all, they came here to dance for him, to his music. He figured that meant he was entitled to watch, to critique. It gave him a little bit of a high when they followed every change in tempo or style he threw at them (honestly, who wouldn't feel like that?) but mostly he simply liked watching to see who actually could dance and who had no talent what-so-ever. Tonight was going to be more fun than usual for him, for the past month David had been working on his most recent mix and tonight he planned to debut it.
Though he didn't expect anyone to get the real point—the essence of it, that little bit of his soul he put into all of his music. This new piece had been inspired by one of his favorite stories as a kid, Alice in Wonderland, and the music mixed together haphazardly.
Rhythms changed unexpectedly, songs blended into the next when it didn't seem logical. It was chaos. Yet if one paid the utmost attention the whole mix went together perfectly.
David pulled up his playlist on his laptop and selected his brand-new work. He pushed play and watched as everyone started dancing anew to the strange pattern. Here we go. Let's see what happens. He chuckled to himself as the crowd started to get more and more confused, each person following a different beat—no one able to follow the one in the music. They were still enjoying themselves but it was obvious that they would much rather have the usual music back. With the exception of one girl, David's eyes fixed on her as she floated in the middle of the dance floor. Who's this, now?
Encompassed on all sides by the crowd she kept her movements small until they started to back up and watch her as well. Her eyes were closed, the tiniest smile pulled up the corners of her mouth giving her a look of contentment. She was the epitome of grace, each of her movements flowed into the next effortlessly. It was fascinating for everyone; every move she made was subtle but alluded to something far rawer—almost sexual but without going so far into the obscene gestures David usually saw.
What really caught David's attention, though, was that she followed the beat, she practically was the beat of his music. She twirled and her dark hair around her slight frame the exact second the song grew to a crescendo. Perfect, he thought, enraptured with watching her. Nothing else mattered until his "Wonderland" mix came to an end and she walked off the floor towards the bar. Maybe I can catch her. He hoped he'd get lucky enough to find her in the massive crowd, who knows we might hit it off. He wanted to know if someone who danced like that could talk the same way, something small meaning much more.
"Thanks to you all for listening to that!" he cried into his mike. "I'm afraid that's all for The Hatter tonight. I'll hand you over now to our friend The Ace of the Club!"
He turned the music back up and darted out of the DJ booth, barely pausing to salute at Ace like he normally did. David rushed to the bar praying that beyond all reason he would find her. No, that girl's too tall and that one's hair doesn't go past her chin. Why did all these girls look alike? He gave up and called out to the brutish looking bartender, "Mr. March, a double. Thanks."
As he moved to rest against the back wall David bumped into someone walking the opposite direction. They both shout over the music, "Sorry!"
"S'my fault." David looked her over to make sure she was alright, it's her! He grinned wildly at her as he continued, "Don't worry 'bout it. No damage done, you ok?"
She nodded, smiling a little. "You sure it's not a problem? You're fine too, right?"
"Yeah, want to talk outside?" He led her to the back door and she followed him confidently, seemingly unafraid of anything. It's rather appealing.
"You're the DJ right?" She pointed at his signature top hat. The calling card that had led to his stage name, a tribute to the Wonderland saga. She took a sip out of the water bottle in her hands, still looking full of energy despite the dancing she just did.
"Yup." The 'p' popped rather loudly, just like it always does when he got excited. "You were spectacular out there. If you don't mind my saying so."
"You saw that? I don't usually dance at clubs. Never have actually, I'm just the designated driver for my friends." A blush smeared on her cheeks as her eyes meet his brown ones for the first time.
Such a gorgeous shade of blue. "Not a fan of drinking then?"
"No," her voice is soft. "It messed up my dad for a long time."
Her face transformed into a frown, still beautiful but despairing. David changed the subject to lighten the mood a bit.
"What did you think of the mix? It's new."
"It was fantastic. I mean, I didn't even realize I'd walked to the dance floor until I was in the middle of it moving to the music as it switched back and forth between songs. It was just somehow seemed familiar, almost perfectly like a memory."
Like the way you feel to me, he thought in amazement. "S'called 'Ravens and Writing Desks'."
She laughs, sounding exactly like rain on a windowpane—not loud enough to be in your face but not quiet enough to be unnoticeable. "Like from that story? Alice in Wonderland?"
"Yup" There was that stupid pop on the 'p' again.
"No wonder it seemed familiar! That's my favorite story. My mom used to read it to me all the time."
"You too?" He laughed; his own mother had done that. They chit-chatted for a while longer about their common interest, revealing more shared opinions and favorite things, until her group of friends came looking for her ready to leave.
"Guess that's my cue to go." She seemed disappointed to be needed elsewhere.
"Guess so. Maybe you could come back and visit? Dance again, yeah?"
"Yeah," she replied. "Or we could go out and do pizza."
"And lots of other things." He pulled out his phone as they grinned broadly at each other. "Here, lemme get your number. So we can make plans."
"That sounds good." She fished hers out of her bag and stuck out a hand when they were done exchanging their numbers. "So, am I just supposed to call you 'The Hatter' then?"
"I'm David." He laughed, sticking out his own hand.
"Alice."
"Coincidence, eh?"
"Maybe." One of her friends walked back over, calling out her name. "I got to go."
She spared him a glance over her shoulder as she dashed off to rejoin her friends. David decides that he's going to call her bright and early tomorrow morning, hang that stupid rule 'bout not calling for two days, she's worth it. He knows he found someone worthwhile; funny, intelligent, and she got music—hell, it seemed like she got the whole world—just like he did. Finally.