Hey, everyone! Another Jack x Lacie story! It was inspired by the song Shut Up And Dance by WALK THE MOON. Anyway, enjoy!
Jack smiled as he saw Lacie's tower that was nestled in the woods come into his view. He had received a note from Lacie that afternoon telling him to come see her as soon as possible. He quickly got ready, and now he was hurrying through the woods following the map drawn by Levi. While he was curious about what was so important, it didn't really matter. He was just glad to get to see her.
When he reached the giant wooden door, he pushed it open and walked up the stairs that led to another wooden door. He knocked on it and said, "Lacie?"
"Come in, Jack!" She shouted. He walked in and looked around. Lacie was nowhere in sight. He sat down on the long red couch and waited for her. When he heard a door close, he looked over in the direction of the noise. Lacie walked out of the bathroom, and he stared at her.
Instead of her usual purple dress, she was wearing a long, dark red one that matched her eyes. It had a strapless, sweetheart neckline, and the back was cut out in a v-shape. Jack blushed as he noticed her smooth, flawless skin. Gray ruffles trimmed around it. He watched as she slid dark red sleeves onto her arms to match it. They had gray ruffles that circled the tops of them and that fanned out near her wrist. She then wrapped a dark red choker with a rose pinned to it around her neck. Finally, she brushed her long, black hair behind her, and he saw her earring swing around. He touched his that matched it.
"It's rude to stare, you know." Lacie stated, a slight smile on her face. She strolled over to where he was sitting. She had such fluid movements.
Jack quickly looked away embarrassed. "S-sorry, Lacie." He apologized. It was hard not to look at her, though. She was even more radiant than usual.
"It's fine." She replied as she sat down in a chair across from him. "Just don't let it happen again." She teased.
Jack laughed, but then a worried look appeared on his face. "Is everything alright? Your note seemed urgent." He said.
Lacie looked away from him. She seemed embarrassed to say what was going on. "Promise you won't laugh." She commanded.
"I promise." Jack replied. Now, his curiosity was peaked. What was going on?
"I need you to teach me how to dance." She mumbled. He couldn't hear her, so he asked her to say it again. "I need you to teach me how to dance." He still couldn't hear her though. "I need you to teach me how to dance!" She yelled.
"To dance?" He asked. The only time he had seen Lacie dance was when she danced under the bloody rain. It looked so natural to her then. He thought of how gracefully she moved, and it shocked him that she needed help dancing.
Lacie sighed and leaned her cheek into the palm of her hand. "Levi is taking me to a party tonight. He needed a date and wanted me to go. I said I would, but we're going to have to dance together, and I don't know how to dance." She stated. "I can dance by myself, but I'm not good at dancing with a partner. So I need your help."
"I'd love to help." He replied as he smiled softly at her. He felt upset that Lacie was going on a date, but he did't say anything. Whatever other feelings he had were irrelevant. He just needed to keep her by his side because only then could he feel alive. That's why he couldn't cross the line he had drawn. If he did, he would lose her.
Lacie grinned and walked over to him. She grabbed his arm and dragged him over to a record player. She put the needle down on it, and a melodious sound came out. She then pulled him over to the center of the room. She let go of his arm then and stood there in front of him.
"Let's go." She said. Her eyes looked up at him and seemed to be asking him what to do next.
"Um, okay." He said. He stood there and looked down at her. He reached out to grab her hand, but then he pulled back.
She knew that he wouldn't touch her without her permission. He did when they were reunited after eight years but not once after that. "Jack, it's okay." She said.
He nodded. Then he grabbed her hand and put it on his shoulder. Next, he took her other hand and intertwined it with his own gloved one. Finally he placed his other hand tenderly on her back. He felt her shiver under the cold fabric of his glove. They stared into each other's eyes.
"So this is the position you want to start in." He explained.
He listened to the music and then stepped to the left. Lacie followed, but she stepped on his foot. He winced.
"I'm sorry." Lacie said. Jack just smiled even though it still hurt. He then moved to the right and back. Lacie followed. Next, he stepped to the right and then up and then left and then right again. Lacie tried her best, but she kept stepping on his foot.
"I'm sorry." Lacie stated, defeated. "I'll never get the hang of this."
"It's fine. Let's just keep practicing." Jack reassured her.
Lacie looked at the space between them and said, "Don't people dance close together?" She then moved forward and pressed her body up against his. He blushed and backed away from her.
"Y-you and your partner can be as close as you want, but-." Jack said nervously.
Lacie grinned at him, mischievously. "You're my partner now." She said as she moved back up against him. "I want to be close to you." She whispered in his ear.
He hated when she tantalized him. He had drawn a boundary that he promised himself he would never cross. He couldn't get too close to her. She would just disappear again. However, whenever she did things like this, she brought him close to crossing that boundary, and it scared him.
"O-okay." He said as he held her. He took a deep breath and regained his composure. "Now, let's try again."
They moved carefully and slowly at first, but soon they were twirling all around the room. They danced so gracefully, and Jack couldn't believe how much of a difference being close made. As the music happily picked up so did their dancing. A giant, energetic smile appeared on his face, and a small, sweet smile appeared on her's. He closed his eyes and moved with the music. When he heard the record stop, he opened his eyes and was greeted by Lacie's red ones. The giant smile was still plastered on his face.
"That was amazing. You were amazing!" He praised her.
She smiled back. "It was only because I had such a good partner." She stroked his cheek. "Would you dance with me again?"
"Well, um, I have to-" Jack stuttered, but Lacie put a finger over his lips. It silenced him, and the next thing he knew, they were twirling around again to nothing but the sound of the wind whistling outside.
They didn't stop until a knock at the door interrupted them. They broke apart as Levi walked in. He was dressed in a black tuxedo with a red bow tie. His white hair was put up in a ponytail, and bandages were wrapped around his arms and neck.
"Why hello there!" He greeted as he walked into the room. "Nice to see you again, Jack." He said as he took his hand and shook it. He turned to Lacie and grinned. "Ready to go, or would you prefer to stay here?" He asked as he looked back over at Jack.
Lacie glared at him and replied, "I'm ready to go." She walked over and grabbed a long, black cape coat. She slid it on and then walked over to Levi. He put his arm around her shoulder. Jack felt a wave of jealously wash over him as he saw them standing there. When they said goodbye and turned to leave, Jack reached his hand out and said, "Lacie..."
She turned and waited for him to say something else. He stared into her eyes, totally forgetting that Levy was there. He wanted to ask her to stay. He wanted to dance with her. He wanted to hold her close again. He wanted to say that he loved her. He wanted to tell her he needed her. All that though would be crossing the boundary, so instead he just smiled that giant smile at her.
She smiled back at him and said, "When I get back, you better be ready to dance with me."
Thanks for reading!