Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or the characters. I dedicate this story to my friend. I apologize for blaming you for things when they are not your fault. And I apologize for not being a good friend...

Thank you.

Shall we try to dance to the music called 'friendship' once more?

I'll be waiting.

---

I was not expecting your call. But really, I had stopped expecting your calls for a while now. Over the weeks, you had grown busier and busier, and I was never one that made phone calls myself. Also, if you already hadn't called, then there wouldn't be much of a chance of you picking up the phone for me. And even though you did call every once in a while, and I was glad that I was able to hear your voice once more, those calls became less and less frequent. And during those times, I would just sit and wait in the living room where the phone was, pretending that I was not waiting for you.

But I was.

Sometimes hours would go by without you calling me, and even though I would rather sit in the room and wait for it, I needed to leave the house for one reason or another, most likely it would be to help my mother grocery shop or if Fuji or Ooishi stopped by to take me away from the house. My heart always sank whenever I came home. It's not that I didn't have fun with them or anyone else, but I saw them every day at school. I hardly saw you at all. And I could not know whether you called or not unless someone tells me. I did not like not knowing for sure, though I never called you back to check because I did not want you knowing that I had been waiting.

So in order to try and distract my thoughts, I sat in my room at my work table, book in hand. I was quite engrossed in the plot line and the characters, but even though I was able to hear the phone ring from the living room, I willed myself not to put my book down and reach the phone. With family that was closer to it than I was, my behavior would have been quite odd, and really, I did not want to be asked any prying questions about the caller I was waiting for if I really did commit those actions. Besides, it might not have been you anyway. But it was the fact that it might have been you that kept me hoping. Though with a shake of my head, I tried distracting myself once more by trying to read my book.

I tried.

I could hear the muffled sounds of my mother speaking into the phone. She sounded delighted, so I assumed that maybe it was one of her friends that called. Thus, when I heard footsteps and a soft knock on my door, along with her calling out to me that I had a phone call from Atobe Keigo, my eyes widened slightly and I almost dropped my book. If my mother came in-- No... If anyone that I knew came in, they would be surprised at my change in facial expression. Also, I wasn't one careless enough to drop things... or almost drop things. At least I hoped so.

"Coming, Mother."

I quickly recomposed myself. Putting on my usual neutral expression, standing up, placing my bookmark where I was leaving off, and closing the book and putting it down on my desk, I walked out of my room and where my mother was holding the phone. She handed me the phone.

"Thank you."

Holding up the phone to my ear, I heard you speak, though my eyes were still on my mother that did not leave the room yet. Actually, she seemed to stay in the room just to watch me, and though it unnerved me a little, I did not let it show. I believe she was just curious to know who would be calling me, but it seemed like she could see right through me; the hope that I had been wanting this 'Atobe Keigo' to call, the slow, yet gradual quickening of my heart beat that he actually called and that I was able to hear his voice again.

My mother was distracting me. I know she did not mean to, but she was standing there staring at me with an intense gaze. I could hear the words that were coming out of Atobe's mouth, but they couldn't process correctly because I did not want my mother watching me. She did not do anything wrong, but... it was just the fact that she was watching me that was slightly disturbing.

"I'm sorry, can you hold...?"

I received an annoyed affirmative in response, but afterward, I placed my hand on the mouthpiece and moved the phone away from my ear. My mother and I gazed at each other the entire time I was on the phone. I do not know how much time passed, but I knew that without saying anything, my mother would get the message and leave me alone. I was just hoping that it would be soon. I did not want to have Atobe wait too long and have to hang up. I felt a little bit of anxiety at that, and I believe my mother noticed it. I would not be having a phone conversation with her watching. With a sigh, a shake of her head, and a kind smile, she left the room. I sighed in relief as I uncovered the mouth piece and put the phone back to my ear.

"Ah, sorry about that."

"It's fine. Anyways, can you come?"

I almost groaned out loud, but I stopped myself before I did. I tried thinking back on what the other said while my mother and I were having a staring contest. The words that popped into my mind were 'party', 'today', 'now', 'my mansion', and 'refreshments'. Those words were enough to tell me what I needed to know in order to answer the question.

"Yes."

I stiffened. I did not even think about whether I was free that day or not, if I had anything acceptable to wear, and my mode of transportation. What if I was not allowed? I did not even think about if I really wanted to go or not either, but I suppose the reason why I answered Atobe's question so quickly was because I knew that I would be able to see him, and apparently before thinking things over, I already knew my answer. I held in a sigh. It appeared that it would have been better to think things over before answering straight away, but what was done was done. I was not one to go back on my word. And then while in the midst of my thoughts, I realized that Atobe was still speaking. I was only able to catch the last of it.

"--fifteen minutes."

I opened my mouth to speak, but then I closed it again, realizing that from that, I had no idea how I was supposed to answer. If I asked, I knew that he would realize that I had not been paying attention, but if I wanted to see him... I suppose that I would ask. And even though I knew he would get annoyed, I figured that he would not have called me if he did not want to see me either.

"I'm sorry... I was a little distracted. What was that?"

I heard an exasperated sigh come from the other end of the line, and I felt a small beat of guilt for not paying attention to him earlier. The person that I had waited so long to call me was inviting me over to see him, so why wasn't I able to pay attention enough for him to inform me of the details? Perhaps there was something wrong with me, or maybe I was just nervous. Thinking things over, it had not been too long since we last talked on the phone, but perhaps it was because seeing him face to face was a lot different than just a phone call. Though, phone calls were just as important to me.

"Tezuka, were you not listening? Anyways, a black limousine will be picking you up in fifteen minutes. You better be ready by then--"

I heard a small muffled noise, and I figured that Atobe had placed his hand over the mouth piece of his phone like I had done just a short while ago. Though, I could still hear him speaking, and even though I knew it was impolite to listen in on the conversation, I could not help my curiosity...

"Shut up, Oshitari! Can't you see I'm having a very important conversation here?!"

I... was quite shocked to say the least. Shocked... though it was pleasant shock. After the words processed, I think my hands had started to tremble from the thought that... Atobe also thought our conversations to be important. But then again, what was I thinking? Of course he'd think that, right...? Well anyways, I knew now, and it made me feel somewhat... warm inside. I heard him uncover the phone, and I hoped he did not know that I had been listening. Though, I do not believe he did.

"Sorry about that. One of my early guests was being idiotic. So fifteen minutes. I'll see you in around thirty minutes then."

And before I was able to say anything, he hung up and I heard the dial tone. I sighed and placed the phone back on the receiver, and I was startled when my mom immediately came from around the corner, a wide smile on her face, and a strange twinkle in her eyes. If there was one person that I feared, it was my mother. But then before she said anything, I told her what my relationship with the caller was, asked for her permission to the party, and after receiving positive responses, I excused myself to go get ready.

I reached my room, but after closing the door behind there, I just stood there. I had no idea what kind of party I was going to be attending, and I did not know how well I should dress up, if I needed to dress up at all. Should I dress up formally? Or was what I was wearing at the moment acceptable? I thought this over for a few minutes. I did not even know who would be at the party... but... Atobe was there. Oshitari was there. Though those were the only two I knew would be there besides myself, and even though it was not her fault, I should have said something earlier to my mother to make her leave instead of having that staring contest with her while the party host was talking.

I sighed once more and shook my head. It already happened, and I was facing the consequences now for not listening well. I needed to deal with it, and time was wasting away. If I had known what I was supposed to do, fifteen minutes would be too much time to get ready, but with being almost close to clueless, my mind was telling me that I couldn't waste time. And so snapping out of my frozen state, I walked over toward my drawer and opened it up, my mind still reeling about how I should dress. I repeated the facts in my head. Atobe and Oshitari are there. Atobe and Oshitari or there. Things they had in common. They both came from wealthy families. That didn't match with me because I did not come from one. They both go to Hyoutei Gakuen. I did not. They both play tennis. That must have been it.

I halted my thoughts when I looked into my drawer and noticed that it was empty. I blinked for a moment in confusion before looking to the side, realizing that I had automatically been taking them out but was too busy thinking to actually look them over to see if they would be good to wear or not. At least they were still folded neatly. That would save me the trouble of picking them off the floor and placing them back in the drawer. But for now, I spread them out, matching what pairs of pants and socks I usually wore with this shirt or that sweater. I sighed yet again. Nothing seemed to catch my attention, and I wanted to wear something that would impress Atobe... Wait, when did I want to impress him? I shook my head and placed the clothes back neatly in the drawer. How much time did I have left before the limousine would be here...?

Right when I placed the last of my clothes away, my mother knocked and I gave her the okay to come in. What she held in her arms surprised me, and my eyes widened slightly once more. I realized what I did, and I knew she had seen me, but instead of fussing about it, I was glad that she ignored it and handed me the folded black suit. I knew that she would not stop talking about my face when I got home later that night, though. But now was not the time to dread. I gave her a slight nod and a thank you, and she left with a smile and a wink that left me thinking for a brief moment before I realized that time was still wasting. I could think about it later. Now was just not the time.

After changing into the suit that my mother handed me, I looked down at myself and over my shoulders, and seeing how that did not help my in a look over of myself, I walked out of my room to the bathroom next door to look into the mirror. My tie was loose. I untied it and redid it, but no matter how hard I tried, I received the same result. I had left the bathroom door open since I was not using it for any real private purposes, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw the blurry figure of my mom peek in. I turned towards her, and spotting the problem quickly, she fixed my tie for me. I nodded lightly, and when she commented on how well I looked, I thanked her again. She then told me that she had come up to tell me that there was a black limousine waiting outside for me.

She led me to the front door, told me to be safe, gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and shooed me out. As I approached the limousine, I looked back and lifted my hand a bit as a small wave to my mother that was still watching from the doorway. She smiled and waved back, and I stepped in, nodding to the chauffeur in thanks for holding the vehicle door open for me. The door closed, and as I looked out the window, my mother had just closed the house door as well. I put on my seatbelt and thought. I hoped that I would not make a complete fool of myself in front of Atobe. But then I wondered why it was just him that I did not want to see me like that...

Tezuka's mother closed the door and smiled as she walked over to her husband who had almost just entered the room. "My little Kunimitsu is growing up!" she exclaimed happily, clapping her hands together and resting them against her cheek.

"I suppose..." the male said hesitantly as he rubbed the back of his head, not quite sure what she was talking about. He was able to see his son in the uniform though, and it did look quite good on the boy. He frowned lightly. "He looks good in that suit," he started. "But why does it look familiar........." He then understood, and looked over to his wife that had moved next to him. "Don't tell me that you..." The question died on his lips, for he already knew the answer.

She just smiled and patted him lightly on the shoulder before heading into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

I sat up straight, leaning against the back of my seat and noting how comfortable and roomy the inside of a limousine actually was. It was not the first time I had ridden in one, especially knowing Atobe Keigo, but those other times I was in one, I was too busy focusing on the silver haired male to notice. And speaking of the boy... I wondered who else he invited to the party. The tennis teams in the area was a thought, but the more I thought about it... It was New Years Eve, was it not? So I could not be so sure if only tennis players would be there or maybe others. Who those others I was referring to were, I did not know, but there was still a chance.

I placed a hand to my forehead and massaged my temples, sighing for the third or fourth time that day. Thinking so much about Atobe was starting to make my head hurt, but I knew that not thinking about the Hyoutei tennis captain would worry me or perhaps even make my head ache more. How those thoughts came to pass, I was not sure. Perhaps I was just tired and frustrated with how things had turned out. Though with knowing that the mansion would come into sight soon enough, I thought about how seeing Atobe would be worth the stress. Letting my hand fall to my lap, I closed my eyes, accidentally letting myself fall asleep.

When I woke, I thought that I just had the strangest dream that Atobe had called me and that I was on my way to his mansion in a black limousine... But when my vision had cleared after blinking myself awake, I nearly jumped when I realized that what I thought was a dream... really was not a dream. The limousine's seat belts kept me from jumping up anyway. And instead of being on the way to the mansion, I had already arrived. Unbuckling my seat belt calmly although I was undergoing a wave of panic on the inside, I stepped out of the vehicle and nodded to the chauffeur once more in thanks. Walking to the doors of the large mansion, I gave a small, inaudible gulp before grasping one of the handles and opening it enough so I could maybe slip through without anyone noticing. No chance.

The room that I had entered was well decorated all around. A red carpet was on the floor, large pillars on the sides. I was not sure if they were to hold up the building or if they were just used for decoration. The carpet led from the door and continued up a set of stairs parallel from where I was standing. Even though this room was well decorated, it seemed as if this was just the greeting room, for there was hardly a soul around except for myself and... the one I had both been wanting to see, yet dreading to see at the same time. He was standing with his arms folded over his chest, looking down at me from the spot where the stairwell split off left and right, though continued to rise to create a sort of rectangular like shape in order to reach the double doors on the next level. Music played all around me, and I was not sure if the source was here or in the room above, or if it was just anywhere, but I was too busy focusing on the only other person in the room to care.

I did not realize when I had started walking, but by the time I did, I was standing in front of Atobe. He had a smirk on his face, and I was not sure if it was because I was acting out of the ordinary or because he almost always had that smirk on whenever he was around people. Though for some reason, the glint in his eyes seemed to be different, but why I was looking there or how and why I had noticed, I was not sure, so I diverted my attention to the doors which were another few flight of stairs upward. Though, my attention was drawn back to him when he spoke.

"You're late."

"Ah. There was traffic."

"You're lying."

I almost winced but prevented myself from doing so. The tone in his voice held true confidence, and I knew that he was sure of his claim.

"They told me you fell asleep on the way here."

His smirk seemed to widen a little bit, and I was not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, or if he was annoyed or amused with that fact.

"I'm sorry."

"It doesn't matter. You're here, after all. Welcome."

I could not be sure, but his eyes seemed to soften a little as he said that last part.

"Besides, you had a lot of things on your mind. Just relax."

He patted me on the shoulder, and I felt myself stiffen. I know he felt it, too, for he pulled his hand away a bit more quickly than I thought he would, and for a brief moment, I thought I saw guilt flash in his eyes before disappearing completely. I think it was just a coincidence that he patted my left shoulder, but I only stiffened because for some reason, I had an unsettling feeling. I knew it was a kind gesture, and I wished that I had been able to respond more kindly to it as well. I suppose my nerves did not show in my facial expressions but they had learned to show in other ways. Atobe placed his hands in his pockets and faced the stairway to my left. He continued speaking as if nothing had happened.

"Anyways, you're looking quite nice all dressed up, Tezuka. I'm surprised that you have something such as that among your wardrobe."

I was not sure if that was meant as a compliment or not, but I supposed that that was what it was supposed to be.

"Thank you. You look..."

Beautiful. No, I think the term was handsome...? Wait, was that something proper for a male to say to another male in a friendly setting? Amazing? He always looked like that. Stunning? ...He always looked like that. I realized that I was taking too long to finish that statement, and I did not want him to think I was insulting him.

"...quite nice as well."

It was not what I had wanted to say, but all the other describing words I could think of might sound odd coming from someone such as myself. It would have to do.

"Why, thank you, Tezuka. I know I do."

I felt the corners of my mouth twitch upward, and I believe he noticed since he laughed out loud. It was not like any of the mocking laughter I heard from him before, but it had a nice ringing sound to it, like a grand bell. It was not the first time I had heard it, but listening to it was something that I would look forward to.

"Anyways, you're our last arriver. And well..."

He paused and stopped, and I stopped as well, breaking my gaze from from to look forward. We had arrived at the next level where all the guests were. I remembered my brain having registered the music when I first entered the door into the mansion. What I did not realize that the music was the kind that one could dance to. Or two, actually, for what I was seeing now, many people I recognized from the junior high school tennis teams in our area were spread throughout the room, either mingling, eating, or dancing...

But what I soon come to realize and fear that this party was mostly based on the activity I did not quite know how to do...

I did not know how to dance.

The nervousness started to creep within me, and I felt my left arm twitch lightly. I do not believe Atobe noticed that small action, but I wondered if he could feel my discomfort or not. But after he asked me that one question, I knew that he did not.

"Tezuka."

He turned to me and gracefully held out his hand. I felt my heart sink. I could not dance. I could not dance with him. But I really wanted to. But since I did not know how... if I told him, I did not believe that he would want to dance with me. But I did not know what I was supposed to do. And if I danced with him, I would just make a fool of myself in front of him.

"May I have this dance?"

He asked. I knew he was going to, but I still did not know what to do. What was I supposed to do in a situation like this?

"I'm... sorry."

I shook my head a little bit with the apology, and even though Atobe put his hand down, he frowned, and I felt horrible for having to turn him down. But right then, I decided that I would make it up to him somehow. And that I would dance with him when I learned how... But then came the question. How will I learn before the end of the party? The answer came quickly to my mind, but I had to think it over before making a final decision on it. Perhaps I could learn by dancing with others first...? And then when I believed I was experienced enough, I could then ask Atobe for a dance? I was taken out of my thoughts when he spoke.

"That's fine. I wasn't expecting you to accept."

He smirked confidently once more, but it seemed a bit forced. His words stung and I was not sure if it was because of the words themselves or a hidden coldness in his tone of voice, but I refused to let it show. He placed his hands in his pockets and turned away from me, starting to walk off.

"Anyways, enjoy the party. There are other things you could do besides dancing. I need to check up on everyone else and make sure they're not causing any trouble."

And with that, he left, and I was still standing there at the entrance staring at his back until he disappeared from my sight from the other bodies occupying the room. I took a deep breath and let it out. I really did need to make it up to him. But then I needed to find someone willing to teach me how to dance. Or perhaps I could just go around and dance with different individuals so I would not be bothering one person for the entire time?

I sighed, closing my eyes for a moment. When I opened them, I was a bit surprised to see familiar brown hair, a fair face with closed eyes of their own, and a smile which never seemed to leave their expression. I looked down at the male and realized how close our bodies were, and I took a small step backward, just so I could have my personal space.

"Fuji."

I said this with a small nod, regarding the other's presence. How he was able to sneak up on me without my noticing was unnerving in a way, but I decided to wave the feeling off. There were more important things to think about, and with the one in front of me being quite experienced in reading peoples' feelings, even though I was one of the hardest ones to read, at that moment, I knew he could tell that something was wrong.

"What were you thinking about, Tezuka?"

He said this smoothly, tilting his head a bit in curiosity. Though his eyes were closed and his usual smile was on his face, there seemed to be something in it. I could not tell what he was thinking, and I wondered if maybe if I should tell him my situation and ask for his help or not. On one hand, Fuji could be great at giving advice, but on the other, he could give horrible advice just to torture the person he was supposed to be helping. You could never really tell what the tensai would do.

"Some things."

For some reason, whenever I thought deeply, others would be able to tell. I could not answer that I had not been thinking about anything, because if I did, Fuji would most likely say other things to make me admit that I had indeed been thinking about something. The boy was always one to pry into other peoples' businesses. What was odd is that sometimes, I was not sure if that was a good thing or not.

"Saa, like what?"

It was now or never. Either tell him my problem and ask for help or just tell him that it was none of his business. Five, four, three, two, one...

"...I can't dance."

Fuji straightened and put a hand to his lips to stifle his light chuckles. I frowned. It could not have been that funny, could it? Or perhaps it was just because it was me telling him this that somehow made it that way. I crossed my arms over my chest and just gave him an a look which clearly said "I am not amused." Or at least, that was the look I thought I had given the Seigaku tennis tensai, but apparently, it just caused the boy to chuckle slightly louder. I felt my left arm twitch lightly in annoyance, and seeing how the other did not seem to be stopping any time soon, I decided to go ask someone else for help. Turning away, I took a step but felt a hand on my sleeve, and I heard the chuckles simmering down. I turned back to look at Fuji and waited until he had composed himself enough to talk.

"You want to dance with him, don't you, Tezuka."

I blinked behind my glasses, my eyes widening slightly. Had the boy seen me talking with Atobe before? Or maybe I was just that obvious to him? I stopped myself from letting out a slight shudder at the thought. I kept a straight face on, but I nodded slightly in response. I then noticed that the tensai's hand had yet to leave my sleeve, and noticing me look, Fuji pulled back with a small apology, though his face continued to smile. I could see a glint in his eyes, which was quite scary in its own accord since the boy had his eyes closed. I felt myself take an unconscious step back, and I believe that made Fuji give a light chuckle once more.

"Here, I'll teach you, then."

He held out a hand to me, palm up. I knew that he was expecting me to accept. With another sigh, I hesitantly held out my own hand, slowly inching it closer towards his. But he suddenly reached out and grabbed my wrist and somehow gently yet forcefully pulled me towards him so that our bodies pressed against each other. I felt my face grow hot with embarrassment as he wrapped his arms around my waist, keeping me in place. Even though the tensai was smaller than me, he was still quite strong, preventing me from being able to pull away. If I could see myself in the mirror, I think I would have seen myself blushing.

"Wrap your arms around my neck."

When the other had wrapped his arms around my waist, my hands had immediately flew to grasp his shoulders in order to push him away. And now, there they still lay. Fuji looked up at me, and it was then that the boy opened his eyes, though his smile on his face. There was something in those eyes which commanded me to obey, and even though I did not wish to, I did so anyway. I do not think I would have been able to pull away from that position until my dancing lesson was finished anyway... So I hesitantly did as I was told. I then realized why we were in the position we were in. The music, which was once upbeat, had changed and was now slow. I then realized that I would need to learn to dance to the different types of music which would play... unless I waited for the kind of song that I knew how to dance to. But there was no telling if it would come up again, so I need to learn most of them...

I had not realized that the two of us had been moving and swaying gently to the music, but I slightly snapped out of my thoughts when I felt something under my foot, which was most likely Fuji's foot. He tripped lightly but since the two of us were so close and he had his arms wrapped around my waist, he was quick to regain his balance. I muttered a small apology and instead of thinking things over, I decided to pay attention to how we moved and to the tensai's advice every once in a while. I stepped on his foot every so often which were met with small apologies and reassurances to those apologies, and it felt like forever until the next song came on. The song was a bit more upbeat, and I wondered why songs like these were at a kind of party like this... but I could not think about it that much. What surprised me was when Fuji unwrapped his arms around my waist and pulled back. I let my hands slip from his shoulders and fall to my sides, waiting for him to explain. He had his eyes closed once more.

"Saa, I'm not that good at Waltz."

Oh. I looked around the room after that statement. There was not many people really dancing anymore, but I supposed they were all somewhat tired or just did not feel like dancing. Though, there was one blue haired individual that was trying to get his hyper active doubles partner to get onto the dance floor with him and leave the punch drinking contest with Seigaku's own acrobatic player before getting sick. Oshitari Yuushi.

"You should try asking him. I'm sure he'll be happy to teach you."

I looked towards Fuji quickly, and I am sure that if I was not able to keep back my expressions from showing on my face, I probably would have expressed an incredulous look. Though, I just frowned at him as he continued to watch his fellow tensai, and I set my gaze back towards the blue haired male. There seemed to be unknown danger, going over to him, and it was only too late when I realized that Fuji had walked over and started talking to him, most likely explaining my predicament. Then the two of them looked my way. I did not like the smile on the blue haired tensai's face, and I gave an inaudible gulp as I started heading over towards them.

Once I had arrived, the other bespectacled male gave me a look over, and if possible, that smile stretched a bit more. It was uncomfortable knowing that I was getting a lot of attention tonight and that it would probably continue as long as I wanted to learn how to dance... I somewhat wished that I had agreed when my mother asked me if I wanted dancing listens. It would have been less embarrassing than this, and I would not have had to be in this situation in the first place. Though, it was already too late to reconsider anything. Folding my arms across my chest, I waited until the blue haired tensai finished examining me, which was taking quite a bit more time than I expected or wanted. I cleared my throat loudly, and Oshitari seemed to snap out of his thoughts... whatever they were. I did not need or want to know. He opened his mouth to speak but knowing that it would either be a remark on my outfit or about wanting to learn how to dance, I cut him off.

Quickly closing the distance between us, I grabbed his hand and pulled/dragged him to the dance floor with a small, "Let's go." I wanted to get things over with. Listening to how fast the beat of Waltz was and calculating how long it had been playing, it did not seem as if it would be playing any longer, either. And I did not want to wait to see if there would be another opportunity to learn how to dance to this type of music. Once we reached a good spot where there was a lot of space, the blue haired tensai regained his composure after practically being dragged and adjusted his round glasses which I knew to be fake. He chuckled, and the sound almost made me shudder. Almost.

"My, my, Tezuka. A bit in a hurry now, aren't we~?"

I stared at him with a hard look, refusing to lose my calm. Him and Fuji were alike in a few ways that I did not wish to name.

"The song may end soon."

He chuckled once more.

"We should get started then, shouldn't we~"

With that said, he took one of my hands in his and placed his other hand on my hip. He instructed me to place my free and on his shoulder, and I did so. We danced. At least, he did, while I tried to follow. We took it a bit slowly at first so I could get used to the steps even though that got us off beat at times, but by the end of it, we were able to get up to tempo. Despite feeling awkward, it went alright. The only problems, besides my usual mistakes, were whenever the hand on my waist seemed to slip a bit more downward than I knew was supposed to. Whenever that happened, I took my hand off his shoulder and moved his hand back upward. At first, I thought it was just an accident since he apologized, so I did not pay any attention to it. I only noticed when it constantly started happening, and I suppose I let my guard down at one point for the blue haired male was able to slip his hand under my shirt a little. Our dance ended right then and there as I pushed his hands away and stomped off to a secluded corner to try to calm down. I think I blushed. Damn Oshitari.

After a few moments and I had been able to calm down, the music changed to something upbeat. More people were now getting on the dance floor, and deciding to just ask on my own, I chose a different person after each song played. For the upbeat song, I had somehow gotten the miraculously awake Jirou to help me, but I do not think I really learned anything. It felt like he was either glomping me or asking me questions about Fuji the whole time. Afterwards, the a somewhat slow song had started playing, and Ootori was kind enough to offer to teach me. It was awkward... not because the junior was taller than me but because it felt like someone was glaring daggers at me the whole time.

After a while of going through the songs and the tennis players in the room, I felt I finally gained enough experience and confidence in my dancing skills to ask Atobe. With that thought in mind, it was almost as if my heard skipped a beat, but I pushed the nervousness aside with a slight shake of my head. Spotting the silver haired male near the refreshments, I started making my way over towards him. I thought I was able to catch his eye, but halfway over to him, he starting moving away. I frowned lightly and quickened my pace. I was slowly catching up to him.

"Atobe."

I knew I had called his name loud enough for him to hear me, but he did not seem to pay me any mind. He kept on walking. I was slightly annoyed, but I believe my worry outweighed that feeling. I was practically right behind him now.

"Atobe."

He stopped right in his tracks, and I almost bumped into him but was able to stop myself in time. I was glad for my tennis experience for a moment, but the thought was immediately put out of my mind as I caught a glimpse at his expression. His eyes... They... held a look of hurt...? But I only saw it for a glimpse for it was soon covered up by the usual grin. Though, that glimpse was all that I needed.

"Ah, Tezuka. Did you have a pleasant time dancing?"

There seemed to be a hint of coldness in his tone. I got straight to the point.

"Atobe. What's wrong."

"Ahn? There is nothing wrong with Ore-sama--"

"You're lying."

He let down his facade. And he frowned. No... he scowled at me. I had to stop myself from taking a step back from the look. But what I had seen in his eyes earlier were clear now. He was hurt. But it was mixed with a great deal of anger as well.

"Who are you to say whether Ore-sama is lying or not? Aahn?!"

He spun on his heel and was about to walk away. I reached out with my left hand and place it on his shoulder, firmly yet gently, to prevent him from leaving.

"Wait, Atobe--"

"Just leave it!"

My eyes widened as he spun around, and I felt a sharp sting on my hand as he swiped it aside. I winced, and this time, I really did take a step back, not because I was scared or because it hurt, but because I was just really taken by surprise. My lips were parted slightly; I wanted to say something, but could not find what words to say. My hand lay suspended in air, and I stared at him with an incredulous look. He looked angry one second, but he took one glance at my hand and a flash of guilt and regret washed over his face, but it quickly turned back into one of anger.

"Ato--"

"What is it."

I frowned. I hated being cut off, though I did occasionally cut off other people when speaking, but I did not see why the silver haired boy was so mad at me... What did I do...?

"I... Why are you mad at me...?"

His expression changed once more, and he laughed, though it was different than his mocking laughter and it definitely was not a genuine one. He placed his hands on his hips and he frowned, eyes gazing straight into mine.

"Tezuka."

I stared right back. I wanted to break the gaze, but at the same time I did not want to. I could not. He crossed his arms over his chest. I nearly sighed in relief as he was the one to break his gaze and look off to the side somewhere.

"...Did you have fun dancing...?"

His tone was a lot softer than the ones he had used before. I thought over the question. Did I have fun dancing? No, of course not. But then... since he asked that question, he probably saw me dance. I blinked. Was he mad because he saw me and figured out that I could not dance? No, that did not seem like the case... Wait... He saw me dance with... Who did he see me dance with? From the looks of it, it seemed like he saw me dance with everyone... but then...

...

My eyes widened in realization. He was not mad because I did not know how to dance.

It was because I had danced with everyone else except him... even though he had been the first to offer. Oh no. It was a misunderstanding!

"Atobe, I can explain--"

"Explain what? I can see perfectly fine, Tezuka."

He looked me in the eye once more.

"If you didn't want to dance with me, you could have just said so in the first place. But then you had to show me by dancing with everyone else?! I'm not blind, Tezuka. Far from it. I'm not an idiot either. And if this is what you think of me, then..."

He shook his head.

"...then maybe I was wrong about you."

He looked at me. I felt my hands clenching and unclenching at my sides, my whole body tense. He was angry at me. And well, with the things he was telling me, I was started to feel just as--

I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down. If I did not calm down... if I did not explain my side, then... then nothing would be cleared up. And this whole situation was my fault in the first place. He had the right to get mad at me. There were a few tense moments of silence before I decided to speak up.

"...Are you finished...?"

"Ah."

A pause.

"Now, explain yourself."

I took in a deep breath, let it out, and then explained. By the end of it, Atobe's mouth was slightly agape, and I held in a chuckle, though I could not prevent a small smile from forming.

"Hmph... you should have just told me in the first place, Tezuka."

Atobe looked annoyed, but I could tell that even though he was wrong in assuming, he was relieved... maybe even happy about being wrong.

"Atobe."

"Ahn? What is it? Do you have more to say?"

I gave a slight bow and, with a grace I never knew I possessed, held out my hand, palm up. I could not stop smiling, though small a smile it was.

"Odorimasenka?"