Cigarette Smoke


She remembers thinking he looks almost normal in his gym uniform, the silver on his mouth and the died black of his hair the only thing exposing his Dead Boy fashion sense. The guyliner is scrubbed away so he's just a pale lanky boy standing off to the side with that look on his face like he'd rather be anywhere else.

She recognises that look because it matches her own.

Normally she doesn't have a problem with gym, she's fast and has good lungs so even the sports that don't come easy aren't straining or painful. But this...this is some strange form of torture.

Waltz.

Why is this even a lesson? They spend all there time trying to keep the students apart then again perhaps they were of the naïve notion that it would stop all the grinding and skank dancing.

How stupid could they be.

"Waltz." Coach Wisserman tapped his clipboard ,"pair up." He told them with a gruff grunt and went over to set up the music.

She did a quick head count as people paired off with friends and boyfriends. She had the unfortunate luck to be in a different gym block to both Jennifer and Chip.

But they were short a boy, which meant someone born under a bad sign would end up waltzing with Coach W.

Some Dead Girl was moving toward Colin and she knew it was now or never.

"Colin!" She lifted an arm to call him over.

Eyes wide as if pulled out of some sort of daze he nodded and walked over to her.

"Hey Needy." He greets her as if he's surprised to see her and then again she's pretty sure she hasn't seen him in class before.

"Hey Colin, thanks I just really don't want to pair up with Coach W." She tells him as if she wants to make sure that everyone here knows that she's dancing with him out of need not want.

He shrugs and looks over his shoulder, "poor Maddie." he says but there's a smirk on his face like maybe he enjoys her pain a little.

"Let's get this sh-lesson started." Coach hollers over the clatter of a class full of sixteen, seventeen year olds trying to figure out what hand goes where.

The music starts up and Coach demonstrates where the mans hands should go on poor Maddie, she can see Colin take a breath before placing his hand on her back, just below her shoulder blade and takes her hand in his other. She follows suit and puts her free hand on his upper arm so they a small triangle of space between them.

His hands are hot and his closeness pulls at something in her gut.

He smells faintly of cigarette smoke and coffee like he's some sort of french existentialist.

She puts her head down to look at her feet through the small space between them and it brings her body closer to his and she can feel his hand slide down and in, towards the small of her back.

"Stop looking at your feet, I'm suppose to guide you." He tells her softly and with those words drums his fingers on her back.

"I'm worried I'm going to step on your feet." She tells and is pleased that the words don't seem forced or strange in her mouth. Until a short while ago everytime they were in the same room her skin would flush and she couldn't help but imagine him naked.

"I'm tough Needy, I can take it." He tells her and she looks up at him and he's all disarming smile and bright eyes.

She laughs a little as they follow the boxed steps with relative ease.

Dancing with Colin feels natural and easy, and she may or may not be imaging that there's a rhythmic flow to the steps. Her eyes on him she flows across the floor like she's water, the hand at her back is firm and guides her easily through the steps.

Somehow through the course of the lesson the small triangle of space between them dissipates and she's pressed ever so slightly into his chest.

The smell of smoke lingers in his hair and on his skin and she finds that its the most bearable its ever been, almost as if they smelt good on him.

She finds herself taking deeper breaths.

"Hey, don't make me get the ruler Gray! Lesnikki!" Coach Wisserman yells out and she and Colin step apart and it's oddly painful, the loss of body heat and smell, his hot breath on her cheek but her heart is thumping against her chest like its trying to admit to a crime.

His cheeks are coloured and his fingers tighten their grip on her hand but he doesn't say much more than counting softly under his breath for the duration of the class.