A/N: Ahh, I love Trez so much! This took me forever to write, because it turned out a lot longer than I had originally planned. In this universe, Trish and Dez have not met Carrie and Jace. I also had to do a lot of research on the jitterbug (don't ask lol) so I give props to Youtube and a couple other websites for all the info, because I hadn't a clue :P
"That guy is incredible!" Trish gushed, watching as Austin and his crew of backup dancers finished their set for the concert. The crowd erupted into deafening cheers as Ally, Trish and Dez made their way backstage.
"I know, Austin is great," Ally agreed, beaming at their aforementioned friend as he made his way over to them.
"Not Austin," Trish said with a roll of her eyes. "That guy." She discretely pointed to one of Austin's backup dancers, who was taking a breather at the side of the stage.
"Awesome concert Austin!" Dez enthused, high-fiving his best friend.
"Thanks, buddy!" Austin and Dez did their trademark handshake, finishing with their simultaneous "What up!"
Ally, meanwhile, was more interested in what Trish had to say. "Oh, he's pretty cute, Trish! Why don't you go over and talk to him?"
Trish balked. "Um, I'm not sure, Ally." Trish was usually very self-confident, but the last time that she'd tried to date one of Austin's backup dancers, it turned out that he had just been using her, which had shaken that self-esteem. She wasn't sure if she wanted to go that route again.
Ally gave her a shove toward him. She wanted her best friend to realize that not all guys were jerks and were going to use her. Just because Trent had been like that, it didn't mean that they all would be.
The cute guy glanced up when he noticed Trish approaching him, and gave her a wide smile. "Hey."
"Hi," Trish said, struggling to think of a reason she could give him for approaching him. She quickly thought of something. "I'm Trish De la Rosa," she added brightly, extending her hand confidently. "Austin's manager."
He shook her hand. "Hey, Trish. I'm Matt Miller."
"I couldn't help but notice that you're a really great dancer," Trish continued. She gave him an appraising look. "I was wondering if you've ever thought about doing it professionally. I think you could really go places, and if you're looking for a manager, well, I can always pick up another client!" Okay, sometimes Trish did have trouble juggling both Austin and Ally, but she was willing to work a little harder if it meant that she could possibly get closer to him.
Matt laughed. "Thanks a lot, Trish, but as much as I love being a backup dancer for Austin, it's more of a hobby than a career. I'm actually more into the jitterbug; it's my favourite kind of dance. That's kind of what I want to focus on right now."
"Oh, I love the jitterbug!" In reality, Trish hadn't ever heard of it, let alone know how to dance it. It sounded so weird. She made a mental note to look up the definition later. "I do it all the time."
Matt brightened considerably. "Really? I didn't know anyone else my age know how to do the jitterbug. That's awesome!"
"That's me!" Trish said with a smile.
"Hey! There's this couples' dance-off tonight at Shredders. I wasn't going to enter because I didn't have a partner. But since you know how to jitterbug too, we should go together." Matt looked positively delighted at the prospect.
Oh, right. Trish knew about the dance-off since it was occurring at her place of work, but she had simply thanked her lucky stars that she wasn't working that shift and completely forgotten about it. "Oh...uh..." She was torn. As much as she would love to go on a date with him, the fact of the matter was that she really didn't have a clue how to dance the ... whatever it was called again. "I really don't – I'm not sure – "
"Maybe we could go for dinner after the dance-off." Matt smiled in a truly adorable way. "I've been wanting to enter this for forever."
She was going to regret this, she just knew it. "Oh, uh, how can I say no to an offer like that?" Trish forced a smile.
"Great. Is six okay? I know we don't have a performance planned or anything, but I can scribble something simple down and we can go over it before we dance."
"Perfect," Trish stressed, attempting not to betray the panic that was now setting in as she finally realized what she had just agreed to do.
"Awesome. See ya then. 'Bye! 'Bye, Austin!" He waved in their direction and headed away from the backstage area, leaving an anxious Trish in his wake.
"Trish, did you just get a date?" Ally squealed once Matt was out of earshot.
"Yeah ... kind of ... except he thinks I know how to jitter ... something. Some kind of dance."
The boys tilted their heads in confusion at her, while Ally screwed up her face. "Uh, do you mean jitterbug? Since when do you know how to do that?"
"Since never." Trish groaned and threw her hands in the air in frustration. "Except apparently tonight we're going to a dance-off to do just that. What am I going to do, you guys?"
"Tell the truth?" Ally suggested, her tone of voice indicating that this seemed to be the only logical course of action.
"Ugh, yeah, no." Trish dismissed Ally's suggestion with a wave of her hand.
"Of course not. Why do that when you could just dig yourself into a deeper hole and lie more, right?" Ally sighed. She often had qualms with her best friend's propensity for stretching the truth.
"Wait, wait, I've got it!" Austin supplied with a snap of his fingers. "We can look up the dance on MyTewb. Maybe you can learn it by tonight!"
"Perfect!" Trish grinned at Austin. "Austin, you're a genius! Will you help me practice it? You're the best dancer I know."
"I would love to." Austin's smile faded, however, when he glanced at the watch on his wrist. "Except ... I can't. I have a meeting with Jimmy Starr in half an hour, remember?"
"Oh, yeah." Trish felt the panic begin to set in. Why did she always do this? Why had she ever thought this was a good idea?
"I wish I could help, Trish, but I have to work this afternoon," Ally apologized. She began to flail her arms and legs, dancing in her traditional 'Ally way.' "I've got the rhythm, I just need to learn the moves."
Trish placed her hand on Ally's shoulder comfortingly. "It's fine. I think I would do better dancing with a mop," she said earnestly. "Thanks though."
"No problem ... hey! What do you mean by that?" Ally demanded, affecting a pout.
Trish ignored her. With Austin and Ally out of the question, that meant her only option was ...
"I can help you learn the dance, Trish!" Dez beamed down at her. He began to demonstrate his tap-dancing, which Trish would admit was good if it wasn't so dorky and he wasn't so ... Dez. He finished up with a flourish, gesturing wildly with his hands.
Trish rolled her eyes. "Okay, Freckles, I guess you'll have to do."
Dez let out a little cheer. "Don't worry, you'll soon be dancing as fabulously as I do," he promised, spinning on his heel and bowing grandly.
Trish sighed. It was going to be a long day.
A&A&A&A&A&A&A&A&A
"Okay, so there's this video that shows open and closed steps, whatever they are. We have to learn both. And then we have to learn how to do the open and closed spins, too." Back in the practice room at Sonic Boom, Trish and Dez were watching videos on the myTAB. The couple in the video were demonstrating how exactly to move one's feet while doing the jitterbug.
"Slow, slow, quick, quick," Trish repeated after the man on the video. She watched for another second, and then stood. "Okay, Dez, let's try this out." This would be the one time in her life that she would voluntarily hold Dez's hand, Trish decided.
"This will be a piece of cake," Dez declared confidently, jumping up next to her and grabbing her hands.
They began to practice the steps, playing and replaying the video until Trish thought she would scream if she had to watch it one more time. She was loath to admit it, but Dez was fairly natural at the dance, picking up the movements relatively quickly. She, however, ended up stepping on his toes more often than not.
After a particularly painful stomp that made Trish double over with giggles, Dez suggested that it was time to take a break. Trish agreed and sat down also, pausing the cursed video.
"Why did I agree to this? Seriously, what possessed me to tell this guy that I know how to jitterbug?" She crossed her arms in frustration.
"Well, it is kind of your thing. You do it all the time," Dez supplied cheerfully, earning himself a glare.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Well, remember the time you wrote to Cheetah Beatand said that Austin could do all those crazy things? And the time you told Austin that the crowd was there to see him, and not the kangaroo that they were actually there to see? Oh, and the time – " Dez seemed like he could go on forever.
"Okay, thanks for the reminder, doofus!" she snapped, preventing him from continuing. "I get it. Is this supposed to make me feel better?"
"The point is, things always work out in the end," Dez continued, laying a hand on her crossed leg. "Right? We did all those crazy things that Megan wanted us to do and she ended up thinking Austin was cool, anyway. And those people who were here to see the kangaroo ended up really liking Austin's performance, too. I'm sure it will go fine. You always manage to pull it off somehow."
"Hey, you're right!" Trish agreed. She suddenly felt more determined than ever to master this dumb dance. She had to wonder about Dez. Sometimes he was a complete and utter whackadoodle who didn't seem to know what was going on. Other times he displayed some kind of crazy wisdom or something. Trish wondered for a moment how his brain worked. Who knew Dez could be so motivational? She hopped up and extended her arm to him. "Let's do this! Attempt two?"
"Attempt two," he echoed with a nod.
About a half an hour later, Trish had managed to learn the open and closed steps (for the most part). She was never going to be a jitterbugging champion, but she hoped that she could do it passably well.
"Okay. Now for the spins." She watched the demonstration of the first type of spin, then glanced at Dez. "Ready?"
"Ooh, can you spin me first?" Dez's voice rose an octave in excitement as he looked down at her with wide, innocent eyes.
Trish exhaled sharply, trying not to lose her cool. "We're doing this so that I know how to react when Matt spins me," she said in an exaggeratedly slow voice. "You don't need to learn how to spin."
"Oh." Dez pouted and watched as the man on the screen swung the woman around. Both onscreen partners then did the steps they had practiced before spinning again. Rinse, repeat.
Their first attempt at a spin went awry. Dez spun Trish so hard that she went careening into the walls of the practice room. Trish thought it a wonder that she hadn't broken through with the force he had flung her.
"Do that again and I will break your arms," Trish threatened. Good thing she needed him to help her practice, or she would kill him for that. "Seriously. Little easier on the spin?"
On the second spin Dez was careful not to swing her as hard, but Trish turned the wrong way and ended up tangling herself in his arms as they stared at each other.
A million thoughts seemed to race through Trish's mind simultaneously. The one that took precedence was the recollection of a conversation she had had with Ally a long time ago. Ally had said that she and Austin had been planning the perfect date for him and Kira to go on, and suddenly Ally had felt as though she were on that date with Austin. It was the moment she had realized that she liked Austin as more than just a friend.
Trish, for one iota of a millisecond, thought that she knew how Ally had felt right then. Because this moment felt really ... right.
And then Trish came back to her senses. She wasn't Ally, and this wasn't Austin. She was Trish, ad this was Dez, of all people. They were not two halves of the same whole, or whatever corny way it was Austin and Ally described themselves. This was completely different.
And because she was Trish, she would not turn into a simpering little girl. Her immediate reaction was anger, which she could feel approaching like a rushing wave, one which would consume her. That was how she dealt with emotion – or non-emotion in this case, because why would she be feeling anything for Dez, of all people? That would be absurd. He wasn't even her friend.
Okay. That was a lie. He was her friend – perhaps her closest friend, after Ally – but that was it. He was a goofball, and a ditz, and okay, spending time with him wasn't the worst thing in the world, but he was just her friend.
He was her friend who was staring down at her with this odd, fond little smile on his lips. Trish could feel panic writhe its way into her belly. It was all too intimate or something, like he thought that he could read her mind – and perhaps he could. And that was the scariest thing she could imagine right now.
Trish extricated herself from Dez's grasp, wrenching out of his reach. "Get away from me, idiot. You screwed it up! That's not the way it was supposed to go at all." The words came out harsher than she had intended.
If Dez was surprised or hurt by her sudden abrasiveness, he didn't let on. "Sorry, Trish. Let's try again." Perhaps the fact that he didn't blink an eye at her uncalled-for comeback was the saddest part of all.
She couldn't look him in the eye for the remainder of their practice.
A&A&A&A&A&A&A&A&A
"Do you really think this is going to work?" Ally fluffed Trish's hair and tucked a stray curl behind her friend's ear. "I mean, you look great, but are you sure that you know the moves well enough to do this dance-off? I still think you should just tell him the truth."
Trish shook her head. They were at the entrance to Shredders, and she had asked Ally to give her a final once-over to make sure that she looked her best. "I'm telling you, Ally, this is going to work out," she said dismissively, waving one hand. "Dez even said that I always get myself into these things but they always work out, too." She puckered her lips. "Is my lip gloss okay?"
"It looks fine," Ally said, digging into her purse. "Here." She produced a compact mirror, which Trish accepted. "And since when do you accept Dez's advice?" Ally raised an eyebrow.
"Hey, even a stopped clock is right twice a day," Trish said with a shrug, examining her face in the mirror before snapping the compact shut and passing it back to Ally. "He does have a point. I kind of have a tendency to, uh..."
"Lie?" Ally supplied, shaking her head.
"I prefer to say that I slightly deceive people. Besides, I know the dance now, so technically it's not a lie," Trish rationalized.
Ally rolled her eyes. "Whatever you want to call it, Trish, you're not being honest with him! But good luck, anyway." She gave her friend a quick hug. "Dez is probably right. It will probably all work out."
"I'll see you in a little while," Trish promised, starting to descend the stairs to the beach. "I'll let you know how it goes!"
She glanced around the beach for a few moments before finally spying Matt near the stage, talking to a boisterous looking Hazel.
"Hey!" she greeted Matt.
"Hey! There's my dance partner now!"
"Hi Trish!" Hazel's voice, as always, was so loud and obnoxious that it made Trish wince. Hazel grinned down at her employee. "I didn't know you could dance! Lucky thing you were off tonight, huh?"
"There are a lot of things you don't know about me, Hazel," Trish said sweetly, gritting her teeth. God, she was so not in the mood for the woman's enthusiasm right now.
"I got here early so that I could sign us up first." Matt craned his neck to try and read the list of names on Hazel's clipboard. "But I think someone beat us for first. And then I think there are, uh... six more teams after us? Is that right?"
Hazel nodded. "Yup! So far there are eight teams altogether." An older couple began to stride toward them with purpose, and Hazel began waving dramatically. "Ooh, make that nine. It's Mr. and Mrs. Garcia! They're the ballroom champions of Miami!"
Trish could barely suppress rolling her eyes. Ballroom champions, what a prestigious honour! To her surprise, though, Matt suddenly looked both nervous and awestruck. "They're impossible to beat," he whispered to Trish. He led her to a table where they still had a good view of the stage. Matt couldn't stop staring at the Garcias.
"Well ... do you still want to compete?" Trish asked, unable to stop herself from sounding slightly hopeful at the thought that he might want to back out of the competition. Maybe they could just have dinner, instead!
Matt nodded solemnly. "Oh, yeah. I'm tired of being beaten by them. It's time to show them what I'm made of."
Great. Trish plastered a smile on her face. "Well, uh, let's get to looking at what you planned for this evening." There was no way she wanted to go into this blind. For the thousandth time that day, Trish cast doubt on her own sanity for agreeing to this.
"Okay!" Matt hauled a sheet of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it carefully, laying it in the middle of the table between them. "It's nothing too strenuous. I figured we would just do the open steps routine, throw in a couple of spins, and then turn it into a cuddle step, if that's okay with you."
"A ... cuddle step?" Trish repeated, frantically recalling the videos she'd watched that day. Nope, nothing about any cuddle steps.
Matt nodded. "Is that okay? I wish we'd had time to prepare and everything – too bad I didn't meet you last week sometime! We would have had plenty of time to get a routine down pat! I know this isn't going to be perfect, but I'm just glad that I finally got the opportunity to participate in one of these things."
Oh, boy. As bad as Trish felt about it, she was beginning to think that Ally had to be right. She should really tell him the truth now, instead of getting up there and making an absolute fool of herself – and him, too.
"Matt, I don't know – what I mean to say is –" Trish was interrupted by Hazel's exuberant voice. Trish's boss was standing on the stage with a microphone in her hand.
"Welcome to the first annual Shredders Beach Club Dance-Off!" Hazel yelled into the crowd, causing them to cheer and applaud. Matt just looked at Trish and shrugged apologetically, gesturing with his hands to his ears to indicate that he couldn't hear her. "This is our first time holding this event, but I'm sure it won't be our last! We're so excited to have gotten so many talented people out here this –" Hazel droned on as Trish turned down the volume on her phone and loaded MyTewb to determine what exactly a "cuddle step" was. Apparently it was a more advanced jitterbug step, which Trish hadn't thought of looking up. What she gathered from her brief research was that, predictably, it was a move that was almost like a cuddle between the two dancers. Evidently the partners walked forward together rather than side by side, having what was almost like a "sideways hug" in the middle.
It was official. Trish De la Rosa had no idea what she was doing.
When she looked up from her cell phone, Hazel had finally finished her spiel and was announcing who the first pair would be. "And now, without further adieu, we will begin our dance-off with Amy Jackson and Kenneth Greene doing the tango!"
They were amazing. Trish watched in awe as the pair spun around so quickly it made her dizzy. We have no chance, Trish thought glumly. Well, I have no chance. Not that she really cared about winning the dance-off, anyway, but she did care about getting to know Matt. From what she'd seen so far, he seemed like a really great guy, and she really wanted to get to know him better. But if she humiliated him in front of everyone, then that didn't really bode well on how he'd think of her.
She was beginning to fret, something that was uncharacteristic for her. Still, if any time was a good one to be freaking out, Trish thought this one was it.
As she stared at the couple as they danced, a familiar redhead caught her eye from behind them, on the other side of the stage. Dez was sitting there, waving his hand to get her attention. When he caught her eye he grinned and gave her a thumbs up. Trish had to smile, despite herself. Oh, Dez. At least he was optimistic. Not that she expected anything different from him; he was always so cheerful and happy.
Too soon, the tango was over, and the couple walked offstage to many cheers and claps from the audience.
"Next up is Trish De la Rosa and Matt Miller doing the jitterbug!" Hazel crowed, winking at Trish dramatically.
Ugh, that woman. Trish stood and Matt did the same, grabbing her arm as they walked to the stage. "Don't worry," he whispered to her as they made their way over to the stage, as if he could read her thoughts. "If you forget what part we're at, just follow me." Oh, she had a feeling she would be doing a lot of following this evening.
The music started up, some old-timey tune that Trish was sure even her grandparents would find too old-fashioned. For a split second, Trish stood frozen, unable to remember anything that she'd learned that day. She blinked fiercely and tried to think. She glanced over at Dez and he smiled encouragingly at her. Somehow, seeing Dez made her remember the dance moves; she supposed it was because she had learned them with him.
Okay, Trish thought, breathing deeply, as they began their dance. Just remember the steps we learned. Slow, slow, quick, quick. Forget about that cuddle step thing until he starts doing it, and just move with him. I've got this.
Matt was, of course, a great dancer, but Trish couldn't help but feel that there was something off, somehow. His hands were rough and strong, not soft and tender. He was only a couple of inches taller than her, not towering above. His hair was brown and cropped short, not red and – oh, for crying out loud! Trish hadn't realized before now how much a person's own brain could betray them.
So the guy was nothing like Dez! That was exactly why she liked him! She wouldn't want to date anyone who bore any resemblance to that doofus. Matt was everything Dez was not, and that was why she was attracted to him.
Dez might be a doof, but that didn't stop Trish from keeping her eye on him at all times. He was smiling serenely at her, like he had all the faith in the world that she was going to do okay, and it was his expression that gave her the confidence to keep dancing.
They began to incorporate spins into the routine, and this caused Trish to remember the unfortunate incident from today's practice. It had all been a misunderstanding, she thought, refusing to entertain any other possibility. She'd spun herself into Whackadoodle's arms, and had lost herself in the moment for a second; that was it. There could be nothing else to it but that.
Finally they began to do the cuddle step. Matt wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in close, and Trish promptly stepped on his foot.
"Ouch!" he groaned, shooting her a strange look.
"Sorry, Dez," she said carelessly, the words leaving her mouth before she realized what she was saying. Weird, because she never apologized to him, ever – but evidently it was easy enough to do when she was not actually talking to him. Her cheeks flushed red in embarrassment. This was totally a low moment for her. Stupid brain!
"Who?" Matt asked, scrunching up his face in confusion.
"Sorry!" she apologized quickly. "No one. Nothing."
She couldn't help but shoot eye-daggers at Dez, who had the audacity to invade her mind, like some creep or something! It was his fault, somehow, that he was the main occupant of her thoughts. How dare he!
They continued to attempt to do the cuddle step, with Trish stepping on Matt's foot every time he drew her near. It was a disaster.
And still, she kept her eyes on Dez, who never once wavered his gaze from her.
A&A&A&A&A&A&A&A&A
Ashamed, they had slunk off stage – or, in Matt's case, limped – at the end of the song. He'd gotten quite a few stomps on the feet during their dance. Contrarily to when she'd done it to Dez, Trish felt bad about doing it to Matt. Way to make a great impression on the poor guy. They had watched the rest of the dancers in relative silence.
To the surprise of absolutely no one, they hadn't won. At least they hadn't come in dead last – one couple had tripped up while doing their salsa dance, and had fallen hard onto the floor of the stage. Small miracles.
They were now seated at a table in the dining part of the beach club, having already placed their orders, and were waiting for their meals.
Matt had apologized for 'his' blunders onstage. This made Trish feel guilty, since she knew that the mistakes were all her fault. She had just confessed that she hadn't known how to jitterbug before today.
"So you pretended to know how to jitterbug?" Matt questioned, raising an eyebrow. "And you basically tried to cram years of practice into one day to convince me that you'd known it all along?"
Trish nodded, knowing how dumb it must sound to someone who didn't know her. "Yeah. I know, it was totally stupid. I'm sorry, Matt."
"But why did you do it?" Matt pressed. "I mean, why not just say that you hadn't heard of the jitterbug and leave it at that?"
"I just wanted to have a chance to get to know you," she said, trying not to sound defensive. She stared at him for a long moment, gauging his reaction. If he was going to make fun of her, she was going to dump a glass of water over his head and leave.
Matt was silent for a long moment, before laughing. "Wow. That's – that's – "
"A really stupid idea? Really lame?"
"Well, it probably wasn't the smartest idea you ever had. I do wish that we hadn't gotten onstage and made complete fools of ourselves. If you hadn't lied, then we could have avoided all that."
Trish nodded; he did have a point, but she still found herself wondering if she should use her glass or his.
"But it was kind of sweet."
Wait ... what? "Really?"
"Well, yeah," he said, smiling at her. "I mean, it just shows that you must like me. But you know, you could have just asked. Maybe we could have ... you know ... avoided the whole jitterbug thing altogether and just went out to dinner."
Trish laughed, too. "Yeah. I guess you're right. That probably would have been a better option. My best friend told me to tell the truth, but I didn't listen."
"Yeah, telling the truth is always the best option," Matt said sagely, and Trish had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. Was he some kind of goody-two-shoes, or what? He was acting like he was imparting some wisdom on her that she hadn't ever heard before.
"I guess so," Trish agreed.
"Even if it's hard." Was he ever going to stop? "Lying gets you nowhere in life. And it always ends up making a bad situation worse. It never works out for the better."
"Not always," Trish countered, remembering what Dez had told her earlier that day. Emboldened by the thought, she continued. "Sometimes you have to tell a lie to help someone out. Maybe if you tell them the truth, they'll be hurt. But then the lie helps make them feel better."
Matt looked scandalized, as though this were the most ludicrous idea he had ever heard in his life. "No way. There's never any getting out of a lie like that. As we saw today, and and all attempts to evade the truth will definitely backfire."
Trish opened her mouth to let loose on Matt, but was interrupted by the waitress bringing them their food – a burger and fries for Trish, and ribs for Matt.
"Anyway, let's move away from this topic," Matt suggested, already digging into his ribs.
Trish nodded. That was fine with her – any more of this talk and Matt's face would probably end up being dunked into his ribs. She tried to relax. Okay, so they had differing views of some things. That didn't mean that they would disagree about everything on this date. "What's your favourite movie?" she asked. There. That was a nice, safe topic of discussion.
"I love Gone with the Wind," Matt said with a big grin. "It's my all-time favourite. I could watch it over and over again. What's yours?"
Trish blinked several times. "Um, the Zaliens movies." She didn't know why she was surprised – the guy did like to jitterbug, after all. He probably learned how to dance it with his great-grandma or someone while watching Gone with the Wind and reruns of I Love Lucy, or something.
"I've never seen the Zaliens movies," Matt said. Shocker. "I've never really been into the sci-fi or horror film thing."
"Well, I've never seen Gone with the Wind," Trish countered. I've never been into lame old movies, she felt like adding, but stopped herself at the last moment from saying something rude.
Matt's eyes widened. "But it's a classic!"
"So are the Zaliens movies!" Okay, so they probably weren't real classics, but they were one of the most popular sci-fi movie franchises. Trish would defend Zaliens to her death.
Matt scoffed. "Hardly. I'm sorry Trish, I don't mean to be rude, but you can hardly compare Gone with the Wind to the Zaliens series. One is a groundbreaking epic tale for its time. The other is about zombies who are also aliens."
"One is probably completely boring and the other has tons of awesome Zalien guts covering the screen!" Trish narrowed her eyes. The audacity of this guy!
Matt pursed his lips, but said nothing else. A beat of silence passed, and Trish desperately wished that she was here with someone else.
"Hey, Trish!"
Trish looked up from where she'd been pretending to be very interested in her burger and fries, so as not to catch Matt's eye. Trish couldn't remember ever being as grateful to see Dez as she was at this very second.
"Dez!" Trish enthused. He raised an eyebrow at her, obviously surprised to hear the gratitude in her voice, but didn't say anything. "Dez, this is Matt, you remember? Austin's backup dancer? Matt, this is Dez, Austin's best friend."
"Hello," Matt greeted him. "Hey, you must be the guy who Trish called me earlier, right?"
Dez looked at Trish, surprised, and she felt the colour rising in her cheeks. "Just an accident," she assured them both. Matt and Trish watched as Dez grabbed an empty chair from an adjacent table and planked it right between the two of them.
Normally, Trish would be mortified. Right now, however, she leaned back in her chair and grinned wickedly. "Hey, Dez, we were just having a conversation about the Zaliens movies. Matt hasn't seen them. He doesn't agree that they're classics."
Dez's mouth dropped open in consternation. "What?! The Zaliens movies are totally classics. They were some of the first modern sci-fi films created, and they helped pave the way for many other sci-fi filmmakers. Did you know that the first Zaliens film actually did not use any CGI? The filmmakers had to make thousands and thousands of Zaliens bodies just so that they could be blown up. They had to be filled with a specially made Zalien blood mixture, as well. And if, in one scene, there was one Zalien that didn't explode properly the director made them cut and start the whole scene over again!" Dez was totally in his element.
She watched in awe as Matt was completely and utterly steamrolled by Dez and his endless fountain of knowledge about the production and filmmaking process of the Zaliens movies. And Trish didn't feel one bit bad for Matt.
A&A&A&A&A&A&A&A&A
"Thanks for saving me earlier, doofus." Trish shot Dez a small smile across the table. She had been immensely grateful that he'd appeared at just the right time. Matt hadn't been long leaving, practically before he'd swallowed his last bite of ribs. It certainly wasn't the best date Trish had gone on in her life, but the appearance of Dez had helped salvage it a little.
Dez laughed. "Well, you looked really angry. I thought you were gonna rip that guy's head off."
"So you were actually coming over to save Matt's life?" she asked. She didn't know why that left her feeling slightly disappointed, but it did.
"Nah, he doesn't understand the amazing-ness that is the Zaliens series. I just thought you needed a friend." He put his hand on hers on the table.
Trish suddenly envisioned a night much like this one, but better. There would still be dancing and dinner, but the date would be someone completely different from Matt, who she clearly hadn't known a thing about, anyway. He would be funny, and he would love the Zaliens series just as much as she did, and he would have red hair that flopped over one of his eyes.
What was it about his touch that made her think these things?
She slowly drew her hand away, although not as quickly as she might have before. "Yeah, that guy sucked," she said aloud. "I guess that's what I get for going on a date with some guy I barely knew. I mean, he was nice enough, just ..."
"Not your type," Dez offered.
She nodded her agreement. "I don't know if I really have a type," she mused.
"Sure you do," Dez said immediately, causing Trish to tilt her head and look at him.
"What's my type then, Freckles?" she asked, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms.
Dez seemed to think for a second. "Well, I think he'd have to be funny, because you like to laugh. You like to boss people around, so he'd have to let you make most of the decisions. But he'd have to be able to get one over on you sometimes, too, to keep you in check. Most importantly, he'd have to like Zaliens! That would be the perfect guy for you." Dez, obviously pleased with himself, beamed at her and waited for her approval.
"So he'd have to be a funny pushover who likes Zaliens?" Trish asked, raising one eyebrow."That sounds like ..." She couldn't finish the sentence. Oh my God, did he just describe himself? "That's – that's crazy," she scoffed. "That's not my type at all!"
Dez seemed to come to the same conclusion that she had, as he quickly shut his mouth and began to flush red. He cast his eyes downward at the ground, seemingly not able to look at her anymore. "Yeah, you're right. Maybe you'd never like anyone like that," he said quietly, urgently. He shook his head. "I've – uh, I've gotta go." He stood, pushed his chair in, and began speed-walking out of Shredders.
Watching him rush away, Trish felt suddenly bereft, as though she'd lost something precious. She didn't know what to make of the feelings that were suddenly swarming her brain, but one was standing out – don't let him walk away; not like this, not without you.
Standing, she jogged as quickly as she could until she reached him. "Dez!" she gasped out, grabbing him by the arm to stop him from going any further.
He flinched, like he thought she was going to hit him – and it certainly wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility for her to do so, so she couldn't blame him in that regard.
"Um, do you want to walk home together?" Trish asked, her heart beating crazily in her chest. She took in another gasp of air, though whether it was from her run or from the situation, she wasn't sure. Her hand was still resting on his arm.
He paused for a moment, before smiling brightly at her. "Sure. Let's walk together."
Trish had no idea how to categorize all the emotions that she was feeling. She didn't know if she would ever admit to Ally or Austin about the feelings she'd experienced over a certain redhead on her date with a dud. She wasn't even sure if she would be ever able to tell Dez. All she could say with certainty was that right now she was walking home with one of her best friends, who was holding her hand lightly, and she didn't even have the desire to hit him. And right now, that was enough for her.