Disclaimer: I don't own, I RENT. (I don't own Dancing Through Life from Wicked either)
A/N: Oh my god, I am SO SORRY for the long wait guys! I had total writer's block for the past week or so, and it just wouldn't come to me! But I got it finally! Here it is! THE BIG ONE! THE DATE!!!
Collins stood nervously in front of the Life Café, doing his best not to pace back and forth. His hands fiddled with the hem of his shirt absently as he watched for his date, Angel.
But the only person in view was a petite girl with long black hair and the most amazing legs he'd ever seen, walking gracefully towards the Life. A girl who looked increasingly familiar as she got closer and closer, so by the time she stopped in front of Collins…
"Angel?" he asked, amazed.
She blushed, nodding. When he just stared at her without saying anything more, she started to panic. "Oh my god, was this too much?"
"No! I mean… oh, wow… You look amazing." Collins breathed, gazing at her as though hypnotized.
She grinned and fixed a strand of hair that had fallen in her face. "You're looking pretty handsome yourself. Shall we go inside, then?" Collins smiled back and took her hand, walking alongside her into the Life.
A rather enthusiastic waiter soon had them seated in a small booth off to one side. Once he'd gotten Collins's root beer and Angel's sprite, he took their food orders and then left them alone to talk, only popping up every once in a while to refill their glasses.
They talked for a long, long time, about anything and everything, both of their eyes fixed on the other. They barely even noticed that the food was taking an oddly long time to come, or that some kids from their school were on the other side of the restaurant, pointing at the two and whispering.
But the two were too wrapped in each other to care. The only thing that managed to get through to either of them was when a familiar tune started to play in Angel's ear. Until then, the music in the background had been mostly ignored (radio station playing through the restaurant, it's pretty common). She instantly snapped upright, having been leaning forwards to hear Collins talking, and squealed. "Ooh! I love this song!"
Collins sat up as well and listened for a moment. "Oh yeah, I remember this… it's from that musical…" he trailed off, trying to remember the name.
"Wicked!" Angel exclaimed. She paused for a moment, looking around the café. Then she grabbed Collins's hand. "Come on!" Flashing him an excited grin, she pulled him towards the small, empty dance floor off to one side of the room. "Let's dance!"
How long has that been there? I've never seen it before… Collins wondered vaguely, before tossing the thought aside as they came onto the little patch of wooden floor. He was uncomfortable at first, doing a couple of halfhearted steps as he watched Angel dance around, admiring the way her hair swung back and forth as she twirled.
Soon, though, they were both dancing around, moving together like they'd rehearsed it a thousand times and laughing out of sheer happiness. People at nearby tables quit talking and watched them with grins on their faces, seeing only a couple of teens just having fun. Angel sang along a little, but she was too out of breath by the end to sing any more. She just danced, twirling and stepping neatly along with Collins, feeling like they were the only ones there. Throughout the entire dance, their eyes never left each other.
As the last notes trailed off, Angel spun and threw herself into Collins's open arms, and they just stood in a tight hug, oblivious to the scattered applause from a few of the closer tables. Finally, they reluctantly parted and walked back to their table, still holding hands and blushing furiously. Rather than sitting on opposite sides of the table like they had before, Angel now slid onto the bench right next to Collins. It looked a little funny, with the other side completely empty, but neither of them particularly cared right then. They just wanted to stay close to each other.
The waiter finally plopped their plates in front of them, leaning over and winking conspiratorially. "Nice dancing." Then he trotted off to deal with his other customers as Collins flushed again, smiling goofily at Angel.
She leaned her head on his shoulder for a moment, and he breathed deeply, noting the sweet smell of some sort of natural perfume coming from her. He didn't know what it was, but it smelled gooood. Angel giggled lightly, sitting back up and taking a bite of her food. Collins followed her example, digging into his own dinner. They ate in comfortable silence, neither of them feeling the need to speak, just reveling in the other's presence.
Angel sighed in content and sat back, setting her fork down onto her empty plate. Collins finished a moment later, smiling as Angel settled her head on his shoulder again. He snaked an arm around her waist, pulling her a little closer so they were snuggled together.
They sat like this for a long while, talking quietly from time to time, but mostly just enjoying the other's company. Finally, Collins glanced at the clock and groaned quietly. "Wow, it's late… my dad's gonna be some kind of pissed…"
Angel sat up and glanced at the clock herself, wincing. She looked down at her lap, "I'm sorry…"
Collins quickly reassured her, "Don't be! This was definitely one of the… no, the best night of my life." He kissed the top of her head tentatively, regaining his goofy smile.
Angel smiled as well, though hers was more shy than goofy. "Mine too," she said quietly.
They slid out of the booth, Collins tossing a twenty onto the table for the bill and tip. Angel took Collins's hand, squeezing it lightly, and they headed out the door into the night.
Collins walked Angel back to her house, reluctantly releasing her hand as they came onto the steps under the porch light. Without either of them saying a word, their lips met, gently and chastely at first. However, it soon deepened, both of their lips parting slightly to allow the other's tongue access to their mouth. Collins placed one hand behind Angel's back, his other cupping her cheek, and drew her closer, deepening the liplock further.
Finally, Angel slowly pulled back, drawing her fingers in a caress down his cheek. They stood there, bodies pressed against each other, for another few minutes, just enjoying the moment and the amazing, warm, tingly feeling running through both of their bodies. They were both on Cloud Nine, barely aware of anything but each other.
After a few more minutes, she drew away reluctantly. "You need to get home, Tom, and my mom's probably wondering what we're doing out here." She giggled, then continued as she opened the door slowly. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Collins nodded, still feeling like he was floating. Angel did her cute little pinky wave at him and shut the door gently.
"Hi, honey, did you have fun?" Ms. Schunard asked, coming out of the living room looking like she'd just woken from a nap.
Angel just nodded, a dreamy look on her face, and bid her mother goodnight before dashing upstairs and grabbing the phone. Her fingers flew over the familiar numbers, and she tapped her foot impatiently as it rang several times.
"Hey, this is Mimi!"
"Mimi-chica!"
"OH MY GOD! Angel! How'd it go, how'd it go??"
Their conversation turned to rapidly spoken Spanish interspersed with giggling as they talked long into the night.
Collins, meanwhile, practically skipped back to his house, feeling a high like no drug could match. He unlocked the front door, walking into the front room and kicking his shoes off with a sigh of contentment.
"Where have you been?" A loud, ominously familiar voice demanded, bringing Collins down to earth so fast it was almost painful.
"Oh… hi Dad…"
OOOOOHHHHH CLIFFY! I'm so mean, especially after all this time you had to wait for this one. But I SWEAR, the next one will be up faster!