Story: Take the Last Dance
Rating: K+
Disclaimer: All characters are not mine and belong to their respective owners.
A/N: A short one shot of Denzel and Marlene. I wrote this while listening to the acoustic version of "Only One" by Yellowcard. I hope you enjoy it.
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Take the Last Dance
They were dancing.
It was a sort of slow and formal dance. The girls in their white gowns looked like flashes of light as the boys twirled them effortlessly in the evening night. Their feet moved like water to the sound of music as laughter escaped their lips. It was the last dance of the junior high school days, and all the students had come to celebrate.
The girls looked like angels in their pure white dresses, and the boys, although some disliked it, were handsome in their black suits. Since the beginning of the year that led to its end, everyone had eagerly waited just for one event that would be held only tonight: The last dance.
"C'mon, Denzel. Aren't you going to dance?" asked a boy to another as he straightened the bow tie at his neck.
"No. You go ahead," replied another boy, Denzel.
"What?" the boy laughed. "Don't be such a killjoy, let's go!"
"Hmm…" Denzel's hair wavered slightly as he turned his head. "I don't know."
"It's not like you're going to step on anyone's shoes or something."
"You said that last time."
His friend rolled his eyes. "All right, fine. I'll go have fun and you can sit here and drink my share of the fruit punch. How about that?"
"Sounds great," Denzel humored.
"See you then," the boy said, leaving. "Oh, and tell Marlene I said hi when you see her!"
"Mmm," Denzel mumbled, taking a sip of the fruit punch that his friend mentioned. He licked his lips as the cup parted from his mouth. It definitely tasted like fruit, but it was nothing like the fruit drinks that Tifa, his "mom", served him and Marlene on nights when they stayed up together when they were kids.
He drank some more, shoving his free hand into his pocket. A group of girls nearby giggled as they stared at an opposite group of boys standing just a few tables down from them. Denzel couldn't help overhearing their conversation.
"Oh, just talk to him—he's looking this way!"
"You're hopeless, I'm going for the guy he's standing next to."
"Don't be ridiculous!"
"But I wonder who he's dancing with last?"
"I'm saving my last dance for someone special!"
The last dance? Denzel thought, not that he forgot or didn't know. It had constantly been on his mind since that morning, and even now he worried about it. When he voiced his feelings to his friends, they thought he meant that he wouldn't be able to get a dance partner for the last dance.
"No," Denzel had said with a sigh. "I meant what if the person I want to dance with is already dancing with someone else?"
"Ohhh…" his friends all rubbed their chins in sync and looked at one another. After a moment, one of them placed his hands on Denzel's shoulders, looked him in the eyes and told him, "Then you're screwed, my friend."
His friends didn't seem very supportive at first, but they did offer to let him dance with their dates at least once. Denzel declined.
"Ask Marlene," one of them said. "You've been friends since forever."
"Hmm…" Denzel mused.
In the end he was the only one who was sure to be dateless.
On an evening like this though, he didn't mind—much.
"Denzel!"
The back of his hair jolted at the sound of a familiar sweet voice. He turned and surely there was Marlene in her white, billowy dress. Her brown hair was not braided like usual; instead she let it flow past her shoulders and fall besides her round face. Topping it off was a single ribbon that she had tied in her hair (with Tifa's help, no doubt).
"Hey, Marlene," Denzel said, his stomach suddenly feeling light and giddy. He tried to ignore it.
"I've been looking all over for you," Marlene said.
"Your ribbon… it's white," Denzel noticed. She usually wore a pink one.
She looked surprised at the sudden change of topic, but said, "Oh, do I look strange?"
Denzel smiled. "You look fine." And you look like an angel, he thought.
"That's good," Marlene beamed. "I had Tifa help me. It was hard to make it look right."
"Hmm, yeah. I can't even straighten my bow tie right."
"Hmm? Where is your bow tie?"
"My pocket."
She laughed. "You can't expect to dance like that, do you?"
"Ahh… but bow ties make it hard to breathe…"
"I think Cloud would wear one."
Denzel thought about it. "I don't think Tifa would mind."
Marlene giggled and Denzel smiled. He liked to watch her laugh. She looked so happy.
"You're not going to dance?" Marlene asked, pouring herself some juice.
"Um," he scratched the side of his head. "I might…"
"You should soon or everyone's going to have fun with you."
"What about you?"
"Of course I am," Marlene said. "And if not, I'll have fun anyway."
They stood there together at the edge of the table, talking and laughing. She almost seemed to glow in her white dress that Denzel swore he'd be blind by the time it was over. That is, until her friends came by and whisked her away to go dance.
"Are you sure you'll be okay by yourself?" Marlene had asked as if he needed supervising.
"Yeah, I'm not a kid," Denzel laughed and urged her to go. He was a little lonely though, and at times like that he wanted to hit himself for not being forward enough. A few girls he had seen earlier asked him to dance but he awkwardly declined and was glad that they didn't pour juice on his head when they walked away. He saw glimpses of Marlene as she slow danced with friends and some guy friends of hers; and she'd even stay with Denzel for a while before her friends would usher her to join them again.
It seemed it would be a long night.
"Danced yet?" Denzel's friend asked when he had returned from the commotion.
"No… not yet," Denzel answered, sipping the last of his juice.
"Marlene didn't take the hint?"
"I didn't even ask her."
"You better, or she'll be taken."
A speaker in the distance screeched out of tune, and everyone clamped their hands shut over their ears. It seemed they were testing the microphone because they were going to make an announcement: They were at five minutes before the last dance.
His friend bid him good luck and took off to find his date. Denzel felt almost lost as he stared at a sea of faces. He had not seen Marlene for the past half hour and had no idea where she was. He knew who her friends were, so as long as he found them he'd at least be able to find Marlene. Probably.
"Have you seen Marlene?" Denzel asked when he came across one of her friends.
"She's looking for you actually," they told him.
She's looking for me? Denzel wondered as the girls walked off. He was prompt to find her. The girls were all in white dresses but he would be able to tell if it was Marlene even if he was staring at her back, but he didn't see her at all.
Four minutes… three minutes…
He returned to the tables. She wasn't there. The area wasn't very big but it was so difficult to track her down. Did he just miss her? He hoped his mind wasn't running in circles.
In a daze he collapsed on a chair. If he was lucky she'd run by.
"There you are!" called Marlene. Denzel felt his heart nearly jump out of his chest, but he was too mentally exhausted to do anything.
She pulled a chair over and quietly sat next to him. He almost half expected her to say something to him, but when nothing came he felt a bit disappointed and stupid. He had put in too much effort into finding her when in the end she was the one who found him.
"I heard you were looking for me?" Denzel said finally.
"Yeah, I thought I'd keep you company for a while," she answered simply.
"Oh…" his exasperation left him completely.
"It's a nice night," Marlene said as if to keep it from being silent. "On the nights when everyone turns off their lights, you can see more stars in the sky. Did you know?"
Denzel looked up at the sky with her and agreed. It was very beautiful.
"Tifa said that Cloud once took her to see the stars outside of the city," Marlene continued, her voice in awe. "I want to see it someday too."
"…I'll take you there."
"Mm?" she looked at him with curious eyes.
Denzel tried to meet her gaze but felt it impossible. "I'll take you to see the stars someday… outside the city."
He could feel her smiling.
A song began. A slow one, a mellow one. The melody of each acoustic string that was plucked in the song filled Denzel's ears to his heart.
His body almost seemed to move on its own as he stood and walked over to Marlene. She stared at him, confused. He felt his face flush at the words, "Would you dance the last dance with me?" and held out his hand. He strangely expected her to slap it away or to say no, but she didn't.
"Of course."
That was all she said. Into the crowd they went as their arms were at each other's shoulders and waists, moving to the motion of the last song. Denzel nearly felt her breath at his chest, and he wanted to keep her close forever.
"You're still not wearing your bow tie," Marlene laughed.
"It's hard to breathe with them on."
She giggled. "Maybe it is."
Denzel smiled. "I don't think you'd mind though."
"No… no, I wouldn't."
Although he didn't see her face as she spoke, he knew that she was smiling.