I do not own General Hospital or any of the characters in this story,
nor do I own the song "Rise" by Herb Albert.

"Love At The Disco"

"Now, I know that you feel like you're life is falling apart right now. And I'm sorry. But we can help you. Scotty and I are your friends."

"Don't-" Luke had to steel himself. This situation was growing more and more tesne with each passing second. "Don't say that ever again."

He staggered away from her and marched across the dancefloor, slamming some random button on the sound system. As the miriad of emotions continued to build up inside of him-Fear. Hopelessness. Love. Longing (the latter two even stronger now that she was here)-he was dangerously close to reaching his boiling point. He'd hoping the music might serve as a distraction. Instead, it only increased his desire to be with her.

Her Albert's "Rise."

He must've heard this song at least a hundred times since he started working at the disco. And who knew how many times he'd get to play it again. After all, he was going to die. Frank Smith would make sure of that.

Luke Spencer was a lot of thing, most of which weren't the greatest. But a killer? No way. He didn't have it in him, not even with the mob breathing down his neck.

He'd watched a lot of young couples dance to this song. They seemed to enjoy it, as if it were a guilty pleasure to them.

A dance... Of course!

She could still be married to Scott and dance with another man. Kind of like when she danced with Rick Webber on their wedding day. One dance together wouldn't hurt, would it?

"Look, I don't wanna be your friend, Laura," he said firmly. "I don't wanna be your friend! And I can't have you... You don't belong in my world, I don't belong in yours. Look what you've done to me!" The truth was, she'd done absolutely nothing. And that was just it. Laura Webber-Baldwin was too good of a woman to break her marriage vows, despite the subtle attraction lingering between them. She was loyal. Faithful. Too good for Luke Spencer.

Yet there he stood, the music playing, disco lights dancing along the dark walls, feeling completely vulnerable to this innocent angel.

His angel.

"I'm not gonna die without holding you in my arms just one time..." He extended his hand to her. "Dance with me, Laura."

Laura stomach fluttered, and she hoped that Luke didn't notice the redness of her cheeks. How shameful of her to blush at another man-especially when he wasn't her husband. "No, Luke," she replied, shaking her head. Trying to bring herself out of this daze he'd managed to capture her with.

But Luke insisted. "I said... dance with me."

The next few moments were a blur. Luke had taken her hand, pulled her close, held her in his arms. It felt wonderful. Not really in a lustful manner, but just being near him. He wanted her near because he needed her. Unlike Scotty. Her husband didn't appreciate her the way Luke did.

Laura usually felt like another household appliance in their apartment home. She did the dishes, cooked the food, kept the place clean. That was all she was good for. The wife wasn't meant to have a job or buy her husband nice things, like a set of lawbooks. No, that was Scotty's department, not hers.

Flustered, she tried talking her way out of the dance. "Luke, I have to go now," she said quickly. Nervously. "Luke, let me call a taxi, please?"

Suddenly, Luke spun her around. And they were face to face, their lips barely inches apart.

Finally, Luke was at his whit's end. He overtook her lips in a passionate kiss as he wrapped his arms around her.

Laura's eyes widened in shock. But gradually, she began to welcome his embrace and slowly wrapped her arms around his neck-returning the kiss.

They stood there for the longest time, just kissing. Never talking, not really dancing, but swaying to the flow of the music. They were lost in each other. She in Luke's passion, and he in the Heaven of Laura's arms.

In that moment, Frank Smith and Scott Baldwin didn't exist. All that mattered was Luke and Laura. Together. Like this. With everything feeling so right... And he could think of ways to make it feel so much better.

The phone rang, starling Laura and making her jump. And that's when reality came crashing down on her again.

What was she thinking? Scotty was her husband. She loved him! No... No, this wasn't right. She shouldn't have danced with Luke. Shouldn't be kissing Luke.

Oh God, no. She'd kissed him! She'd kissed another man besides her husband!

Luke could see the distress on her face and held up his index finger. "Just a minute," he said. "Hold on just a minute while I get that, okay?"

Laura stood frozen in the middle of the floor while Luke turned off the sound system. Then he answered the phone. "Hello?... Yeah... Laura?" He glanced over his shoulder just in time to see Laura running for the exit.

She must've guessed that it was Scott on the phone. Otherwise, she probably wouldn't have looked so upset when she left. Heartbroken, Luke returned his attention to the phone call. "No, Laura isn't here, Scotty. She's gone."

oOo

Laura ran from the disco, through the trees, and fell at least once before reaching the park. She fell to her knees, sobbing. What just happened had to be the worst thing she'd ever done in her whole life-besides David Hamilton, of course.

She'd cheated on Scotty. Soiled their marriage vows. All because someone else took interest in her.

What did this mean? Was she a tramp now? It was obvious that she shouldn't see Luke again. Should she quit her job at the campus disco? No, or else she wouldn't be able to pay back her dept.

This was wrong. So wrong. She'd violated her marriage. Scotty's trust. Broken her vows to him.

Or... had she?

Wasn't Luke the one who'd started it? He's the one who wante to dance with her. She hadn't even had the chance to say no before he'd swept her up in his arms. It's not like she'd planned to meet him there. To be that close to him...

No, he was the one who'd violated her. Tarneshed her. Ruined her.

Almost like rape.

Yes, that was it. He'd tried to rape her.

No... No, she had been raped. Yes, that's what she'd tell Scotty. Why else would she fail to come home at such a late hour at night? Even though Scotty was supposed to have picked her up an hour ago.

That's what she'd say. She'd been raped-but not by Luke. It wouldn't be fair to get him in that much trouble, especially in his already vulnerable state of mind.

She reached up and ripped her sleeve, then ruffled her hair a bit before deliberately breaking a heal on her shoe. She had to make this look convincing in order to save face.

Her mind was racing. The attacker would be tall. Blonde. But no matter what, it couldn't be Luke.

She cared about him too much to get him into that kind of trouble.

Which made her wonder... Why did she care for him as much ass she did?

oOo

Luke picked up Laura's parka and pressed it to his nose. He was a bit more sober now, enough to realize what just happened... Or rather, what almost happened.

How could he have done that to Laura? How could he ever make it up to her? Would she ever forgive him? She had to, he told himself. She just had to. Odds were he was right. Laura was a very forgiving person. That's one of the things he loved about her. Part of the reason she was the light of his life.

Yes, she'd no doubt forgive him.

But would he be able to forgive himself?

"Oh my God," he wept. "What have I done?"


AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know this probably isn't perfect, but this is my take on the "Night At The Disco" episode of GH. I love Luke and Laura to death, and I wanted to share what I thought might be a nicer start to their relationship. I've also listened to a few Genie Frances (Laura) interviews, and one of the things she said was, "... she cried rape because she couldn't handle the fact that she'd given in to her passion and broke her marriage vows." So that's where I was going with this one. Thanks for reading, and I hope you like it! :-)