A/N: Hello readers! So, this is a tad outside of my normal story parameters... But, in case I hadn't already said so, I'm a huge nerd. Because of this I know what Team Starkid is, and I'm a huge fan of theirs. Now, I was at LeakyCon 2014, in Orlando, and I went to the Ester Ball. It was fun, and I did get to see a couple of the special guests. While there, I was witness to one of the girls trying to ask one of the special guests to dance, and being intercepted by another special guest.
The poor thing was super mortified, and tried to play it off by continuing to walk across the dance floor, but we all knew what was happening. So, I had this super crazy idea of what would happen if instead of the poor thing being mortified, she was saved by someone else! AHA! You now see my train of thought, right? ...Well if not, read on and you will. Anyway, this short story includes an OC I made based on an accumulation of people I saw at the Con, and google searches. I'm pairing her with Nick Lang because he's a-freaking-dorable and also I got to have an awesome conversation with him at the Con and he seems like the kind of person to do what happens in this story.
So, I don't own Starkid, their media, or anything about LeakyCon- obviously -but I do own my OC, RJ, and this plot! So, enjoy!
Tell Me, Tell Me, Please?
Chapter One: I Double Dog Dare You!
RYAN'S POV:
Just for the record, this wasn't my fault. Technically speaking, yes I was the one who took the dare and walked towards Brian Holden and made a complete fool of myself; but I wasn't the one who made the dare in the first place! I also wasn't Meredith Stepien- who totally saw me walking over to Brian -and I didn't decide to mortify a poor fangirl by intercepting her halfway towards Brian, leaving said fangirl standing alone for a good two minutes before she managed to recover and try to walk away. In retrospect, this is all Lacey's fault.
"Ryan, there's like five members from Team Starkid standing right there!" Lacey cried. I glanced up at my friend. I had been staring at the DJ, hoping my telepathy would kick in and he would play some decent music- spoiler: no such luck on either aspect. Now I faced my taller friend, her bright blonde hair was pulled back in a braid, so that her big blue eyes were on display. She had opted for a short silver sundress with embroidered stars all along the hem, and it showed off her long legs- legs I would never match since I was so short -and set off her pale skin.
"What's your point?" I asked, turning back towards the DJ, this time with a disgruntled glare. Lacey sighed, rolling her eyes and giving me one of those looks; the kind of look that always ends in trouble for me.
"The point , dear Ryan, is that we could totally ask one of them to dance!" Lacey said, her blue eyes alight with glee and mischief.
"You can't just do that, Lace," I said grabbing for my drink and taking a swig before continuing," They may not be like real life celebrities, but they're nerd royalty... Fangirls like us don't just walk up and ask one of them to dance!"
"I bet you're just scared," Lacey said stubbornly. I gave a snort at this, nearly choking on the drink I was in the middle of taking. Lacey raised an eyebrow at me and grinned." Fine, I double dog dare you to go ask Brian Holden to dance."
"We're not ten, Lacey, we don't do Dares..."
"Scared, told ya!"
"I'm scared because I won't give into your immature Dare?"
"Scared because you won't walk twenty feet and ask him to dance!"
"If I do this and embarrass myself will you leave me alone?"
"Probably."
"Fine!" I said. I slammed myself up from the table, and headed towards the designated dance area. Brian Holden was, indeed, standing at the sidelines, near Meredith, Brian Rosenthal, Dylan, and Nick Lang. I took a deep breath, then started towards Brian, making the mistake of catching his eye and blushing furiously. But, before I was halfway across the distance, Meredith saw me and grabbed his arm. She dragged him past me onto the dance floor, and I felt my heart leap up towards my throat." Shit."
I stood there for a moment before trying to shrug it off and walk past the remaining members of Team Starkid- with at least some of my dignity still intact. But someone caught my arm and stopped me before I could do just that.
"Hey, dance with me?" I turned my eyes upward and found that none other than Nick Lang was grasping my wrist in a gentle hold, smiling around his own blush. Dylan and Brian R were giving him shocked looks, but grinning to themselves all the same.
" M-me?" I stuttered out stupidly.
NICK'S POV
So, the girl walking towards us was kind of gorgeous. She was shorter than me by about four inches, and the first thing I noticed were her eyes. She had these almond shaped eyes that literally sparkled, even in the dim dance-party lights, and they were the kind of brown that verged on gold instead of being a muddy color. She was wearing this grey sundress that showed off the amount of ink she had down her arms and shoulders, and a pair of bright pink low-top converse of all things. Her hair was a silky black color that fell around her shoulder effortlessly, but the affect was marred slightly by the bright rainbow streaks she had all over. Somehow this worked for her, and the entire package was seriously gorgeous. Added to the fact that she was walking towards him like a dancer, her hips moving like a grandfather clock pendulum- gods he could write songs about those hips that led up towards a thin waist and the subtle curve of her breasts...
Shit, she wasn't walking towards him, she was walking towards Brian... Wait, now Brian was being dragged away by Meredith- oh. The girl was probably coming over to ask Brian to dance but Mere intercepted here. Go figure, Meredith was always a bit possessive at these conventions. The fangirls made her a bit antsy around her boyfriend. The girl was looking a bit mortified now, and Nick felt his heart leap at the panicked look in her golden eyes. She composed herself faster than most, and determinedly headed in the same direction as before, but now past their group. Nick felt the chivalrous guy inside of him crying out and he acted before his brain caught up. He reached out and grasped her wrist gently- gods above her skin was soft under his writer's calluses.
"Hey, dance with me?" I felt the words slip past my lips, but my brain had finally caught up and I knew I was blushing bright red now. The girl glanced up at me and her tan cheeks matched my red ones, as her eyes met mine. Shit, those eyes, man...
"M-me?" She asked, her mind obviously lagging like mine had been. At that moment, the DJ started up "Everything Has Changed" by Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran. I swallowed thickly- mentally feeling Dylan and Brian R chuckling behind me -and tugged her to the dance floor. She followed, obviously not against the idea, and I put my hands on her hips in what I thought was a generic dance pose. I was wrong, the moment my hands found the gentle and subtle curve of her hips, my mind went reeling into song lyric mode, and I felt a tug low in my gut. She put her hands against my chest, her fingertips trembling against my skin."You're Nick Lang, and you asked me to dance?"
"What's wrong with you?" I asked, again before I could stop myself. She glanced up at me, one dark eyebrow lifting in surprise, and then glanced down as she shifted her body closer and allowed him to lead her in the dance.
"I'm just a fangirl, you're like royalty around here," She said, her golden eyes tracing the Twisted Logo on his tshirt," And you don't even know my name."
"That's because you haven't told me, yet," Nick said, smiling softly. He led her in a slow circle, couples around them dancing in similar poses." And as for being Nerd Royalty, it's not all it's cracked up to be. I'd prefer to be a guy who could ask a gorgeous girl like you to dance without needing a reason."
"My name is RJ," She said," And you just called me gorgeous... That's a new one. Generally the special guests just say 'thank you' and 'that's so nice, we appreciate you guys'..."
"What does RJ stand for?" Nick said, ignoring the end statement. He was determined to continue on as if they were both normal people, and not a nerd with "Nerd Royalty".
"Ryan Joanna," RJ said without blinking." My dad wanted a boy, mom wanted a unique name. So, I got a boy's name. Technically I guess it can be for both genders, but it's predominantly male, and because of that I tend to shorten it to RJ. Brings less questions and I feel less embarrassed... Sort of like I feel now for giving you my life's story..."
"Nah, I like stories," Nick grinned, his hands curling around her waist more, touching her lower back. RJ smiled up at him, in return, and Nick decided he like that so much he wanted to see it again." I like unique things, of course what can you expect from someone who writes Parody plays?"
"You're talking to a fan of those Parody plays," RJ smiled back at him. Her lips were full and pink, and when she smiled, it emphasized this. Nick tried to ignore the sudden thought of what they must taste like, and glanced back up at her sparkling eyes.
"So, why rainbow?" Nick asked gesturing at her hair.
"Oh, this," RJ lifted a hand from his chest to tug at a bright blue streak of hair," My friend Lacey is gay, and we went to a gay rights rally last week. This was to support the cause, but I sort of liked it... So I kept it."
" So, are you?"
"Gay? Nah, boring and straight," RJ blushed and glanced up at him shyly." I just believe that everyone loves who they want so why shouldn't that be a right?"
"Good standpoint," Nick murmured, his eyes lost in hers. The song was coming to a close and he glanced back towards Dylan and Brian R." I'm sort of sick of the dance scene, want to go grab some midnight breakfast?"
"There's a Waffle House by my hotel," RJ offered.
"Perfect."
RYAN'S POV:
Lacey was nowhere to be found when I walked out with Nick Freak Lang- at least that was how my brain kept referring to him as -and stopped to grab my purse and hoodie. She was, no doubt, off posting pictures of me on her blog- What Fangirls Love and Why: A Guide Through Nerdom -but I would get onto her about that later.
"You sure you want to leave with me?" I asked Nick after the third gaggle of fans stared at us with wide eyes and open mouths. Nick glanced up at the current group of gawkers, and then back down at me. " You might be twitter famous before we get to the restaurant. Hash tag Mystery Girl!"
"Hah! Yeah, well I'm a bit tired of my every move becoming social media famous," Nick laughed. His hazel eyes crinkled in at the sides when he laughed, and it made my breath catch a little to know I was the one who did that. I smiled back, all the same, but my breath caught again when he reached down and laced our hands together." Might as well give them a big scoop, right?"
"I know I'm not as crazy as some fans, but this is a little Twilight Zone," I admitted. Nick gave me a soft smile in return and led me on, his palm warm against mine." I'm pretty sure I'm not dreaming... But I could wake up any minute, hugging a pillow and still in my Dinosaur pajams."
"Dinosaurs huh?" Nick asked, his eyes twinkling at my babbling.
"Oh yeah, not real ones, mind you," I babbled on," Cartoon ones. No Raptors or anything cool... And they're like super soft!"
"You'll have to show me sometime," Nick smiled. He quickly blushed at these words, and I gave him a curious look." That is, if you happen to want a second date 'Mystery Girl'."
I snorted out a laugh at this, covering my mouth, at once, at the embarrassing sound. Nick, however, was grinning again and I felt mortified. Which reminded me..
"Nick?" I asked softly. He nodded as we crossed the street and headed towards North International Way." Why did you save me out on the dance floor?"
NICK'S POV
RJ and I were just crossing the street when she asked the question I was hoping she wouldn't ask me. Like ever.
"Nick?" God I hated how good she made my name sound. That made it hard to not imagine her saying my name in different ways." Why did you save me out on the dance floor?"
"Because you looked too beautiful not to have a knight in shining armor..." I said softly. RJ stared up at me with those golden hued eyes and seemed to accept this answer- even if she still looked rather dumbstruck that any of this was happening. We found the Waffle House relatively quickly after that- RJ pointing up at the modest but nice hotel behind the restaurant -and found a back corner booth." Order whatever you want, it's on me."
"You don't have to treat this like a real date, you know," RJ said blushing into her menu. I glanced up from my breakfast options to stare at the girl. Did she really not think that someone like me could be into a girl as beautiful and- now that I had actually spoken to her -quirky as her?
"I thought this was a real date," I said back, just as softly. RJ's golden gaze flashed up towards mine in an instant." I mean... Don't get me wrong I've had flashier first dates, but I think the Con to Waffle House date is seriously underappreciated!"
"Nick."
"Not to mention that it's a better way to get to know one another-"
"Nick."
"And I've always been a sucker for a good omelet, so-"
"Nick!"
"What? Was I babbling?" I asked. RJ was smiling again, and I decided that was definitely one of my favorite things to see.
"Okay," She said reaching over to take his hand, her menu dropping on one side.
"Okay?"
"Don't go all Gus and Hazel on me Nick," RJ said," It's only the first date."
I didn't speak after that, until the waitress came by and poured coffee before taking our orders. We held happy conversation through the entire meal, even going as far as to swap plates and share food before leaving. She let me pay- thankfully because it made it actually feel like a real date, one where I felt like a normal person for once.
"How long is your team staying in Orlando?" RJ asked thoughtfully." I know you guys normally leave like right after the Convention ends.
"We're not leaving until Monday morning," I said glancing up at the clear sky.
"Really?" RJ asked glancing up hopefully. I nodded and smiled at her, urging her to continue on the train of thought I could see behind her eyes." Well... I work for this dance troupe... Small stuff in Orlando, but a dance troupe all the same. Anyways, we've got a performance tomorrow night, at eight. It's in this rinky-dink theatre just at the end of downtown, but I'm dancing a pretty intricate part in the routine our leader choreographed... And I have some extra tickets if you wanted to come... Maybe I could entice you to dinner again; of course that would make two dates and that may be just a tad much for Nerd Royalty to give to such a nerd pauper, like myself."
"Eight you said, right?"
"Yeah, at the Clam Hall Theatre..."
"And dinner with you after?"
"If that's what you want..."
"Oh, that is very much what I want, Ryan Joanna," I said in a voice that held laughter and eager tones all in one.
"Then it's a date," RJ said. She handed me a handful of tickets from her bag, before rushing off towards her hotel, leaving me with a grin and a feeling in my gut I hadn't had in years.
()()()()()()()()()()()
A/N: So, I don't normally do POV stories, or chapters or like anything... I like to stay to third person. But this was sort of calling to me to be in two different POVs so I gave into the artistic muse. Next chapter is "date number two". Hope you enjoyed!