A/N: It's time for everyone's favorite time of the week again folks. Now that the ALO arc is finished, I will be doing chapters that don't pertain to the anime's story. Some will be simple one chapter stories, like today's chapter. Others will go on for multiple chapters, in some cases into their own arc.

"Alright class, your homework is due on Monday." the teacher spoke as the bell rang out. Ren got out of his seat and exited class, stretching his arms out as he walked through the halls. English had never been one of his better subjects. But when compared with fighting giant monsters for his life, he figured he could deal with it.

As Ren walked out into the courtyard, he saw Alice waiting for him. She sat on a bench near the flowers as her hair blew through the breeze.

"Hey Ren." Alice greeted with a smile.

"Hey Alice." Ren greeted back with a wave of his own. He sat down next to her and Alice leaned her head on his shoulder. With the beautiful scenery the courtyard offered, it had become a popular spot for couples.

Alice let out a sigh. "Man, it's been a really busy week."

"Tell me about it. English has been torture." Ren said with a yawn. He looked over at Alice and noticed her giving him a small glare. "What?"

"You don't even know what I'm talking about, do you?" Alice asked with a pout on her face.

"Um…" Ren couldn't come up with anything, and the look from his girlfriend told him he'd better come up with it soon.

"Ren! The school dance is tomorrow you dummy!" Alice told him. "I've been helping plan it all week with Asuna, Liz, and Silica! I told you about this!"

Ren widened his eyes, realizing Alice was right. Class and homework had been occupying all of his free time for the past few day, so the dance had slipped his mind.

"I'm really sorry." Ren said with his head bowed down.

Alice sighed. "Honestly, it's hard to believe you were one of the top players back in SAO."

"Please don't. I get that line enough from Clair." Ren said.

The couple continued sitting in the courtyard as they talked about school and other things. Eventually the time came for them both to head home. Ren walked Alice back to her house before heading back home as well. Tomorrow night would be big with the upcoming school dance.

-The next day-

"Ok, now smile for the camera."

Ren tried his best to keep smiling as he and Alice stood outside the school. The flashes from his mother's camera were beginning to get annoying on both of them.

Ren was wearing a black suit jacket with a red necktie for the dance. Alice was dressed in a long elegant red dress of her own for the event. But neither of them could get inside the school while Ren's mother continued to take pictures of them.

"Mom, you've taken like twenty pictures. Can we go now?" Ren begged.

"Oh come on. Just a few more."

"Hey mom, something's wrong with the car." Clair said as she walked over. "It's acting kinda funny."

Ren's mother sighed as she told the couple to stay put while she walked over to where she had parked. Ren looked at his sister curiously. "What's wrong with the car?"

"I lied." Clair told him. "Now hurry up or you'll be out here posing all night."

"Thanks sis. I owe you big time." Ren said as he and Alice hurried inside the school before his mother could return.

As the couple walked in, they could see that several others had already arrived. At one table, they saw Kirito and Asuna sitting with Helios and Dagger. Ren and Alice walked over and took a seat with their friends. They talked and ate dinner with the food the school had set up buffet style.

It wasn't long until the dances started. Ren danced with Alice in the school auditorium through a few songs before going back to their table.

When they returned, Alice noticed Dagger sitting alone with a frown on her face. The couple looked at each other curiously before walking over to their friend.

"Dagger? Are you alright?" Alice asked.

The redhead shook her head. "No. When I asked Helios to dance, he said he wanted to go get some punch first. And when I checked the punch bowl just now, he wasn't there."

"Helios? I just saw him head out into the courtyard." Mai said as she walked up to the table.

Alice could see the frown on Dagger's face grow worse. She put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Don't worry Dagger. I'll bring Helios back here, even if I have to drag him here." Not saying another word, Alice walked away and headed toward the courtyard.

"I suppose I better go too." Ren said. "Can't have Alice killing Helios."

"Yeah. Too many witnesses." Mai agreed.

Ren quickly followed after Alice and headed towards the courtyard. When the couple entered it, they saw Helios sitting alone on one of the benches, holding a glass of punch in his hand.

"Ahem." Alice 'coughed' in order to get Helios's attention.

Helios looked over and saw the couple. "Hey guys." he said in a hollow voice.

"Don't you 'hey guys' me you jerk!" Alice told him in a stern voice as she slapped him across the face.

Helios flinched in pain from the slap. "Ow! What's wrong with you?!"

"What's wrong with YOU?!" Alice asked. "Dagger's been sitting around and sulking cause you left her all alone!"

Helios lowered his head to the ground. "Oh…"

"This is low, even for you Helios." Alice said. "What excuse could you possibly have for-"

"I can't dance, ok!" Helios suddenly yelled.

An awkward silence filled the courtyard. Alice shook her head. "Are you kidding me? That's your reason for this? Just cause you can't move in rhythm to music? What's more important to you Helios, your stupid pride or Dagger?"

"Dagger, of course!" Helios yelled back at her. "It's just… I don't want to embarrass myself in front of her."

Alice sighed to herself. "Fine then. I guess we're going to have to do a speed lesson."

"Huh? What do you-" Helios was cut off as Alice took her arms and hooked them around the back of his neck.

"Put your arms around my waist." Alice said.

"Wh-What?!"

"Just do it! I'm not exactly a fan of being this close to you either." Alice told him.

A red blush appeared on Helios's face as he slowly moved his arms and put them around Alice's waist. "Alright… now what?"

"Just slowly step side to side." Alice told him as she took the lead while the two of them danced. Both of them could feel the awkwardness in the air, as neither of them were exactly keen on being so close to each other.

A few minutes passed as Alice took Helios through the basic steps of slow dancing. Once they were finished, Alice shoved him back inside. "Alright. Now go make Dagger's night."

"Okay, okay! No need to push!" Helios told her. Right before he walked back inside, he turned back to Alice. "And Alice… thanks."

Alice nodded her head and Helios went back inside. Ren walked up next to his girlfriend. "Well this was an interesting development. Never thought Helios would be nervous about anything." He grabbed Alice's hand. "Well then, shall we go back inside?"

"Just a moment." Alice told him. "We're all alone, with flowers everywhere, and the stars are shining. You wanna dance?"

Ren smiled at his girlfriend. "I thought you'd never ask." He wrapped his arms around her waist and Alice brought her arms around behind his neck. The two of them danced together silently under the night sky.

"You're a lot lighter on your feet than Helios." Alice said with a smile. "Where'd you learn how to dance?"

"... You have to promise not to laugh, ok?"

Alice raised a brow in interest. "Alright then. What's the Crimson Flash's big secret to dancing?"

"... Clair and I danced like this a lot when we were younger." Ren told her. "She'd always want to play princess and well… I ended up being the prince charming." He could see Alice nearly breaking out into laughter, trying everything she could to suppress the urge. "I told you not to laugh, remember."

"Sorry, sorry." Alice said as she let out a few giggles. She smiled at him. "You're quite the caring older brother."

"Yeah well… I'm just glad she was able to get by without me for the two years I was in SAO. I always worried about her while I was in there. But she's really grown up."

"Well maybe you can show me more of what you've learned." Alice said with a smile as she leaned in and kissed him as they continued to dance under the moonlight.

Helios slowly made his way over to the table where Dagger was sitting. He was starting to sweat nervously. Even with the speed lesson Alice had given him, he still was afraid of embarrassing himself. Come to think of it, he had never been this afraid of embarrassing himself in front of anyone.

Finally Helios arrived at the table. As Dagger saw him, she turned her head away from him, clearly not happy with him. "Dagger… I uh…"

"What? Am I suddenly worth your time now?" Dagger asked.

"No, I mean yes, it's just… I…" Helios could see Kirito, Asuna, and Mai all sitting at the table waiting to hear what Helios would say. "Can we talk in private?"

"No." Dagger told him sternly. "If you have something to say, then say it right here, right now."

Helios gulped, knowing he was going to have to swallow his pride for this. "Dagger… I'm sorry I left before. But the reason was… I'm really bad at dancing, ok! Like I mean REALLY bad! There, I said it!"

Dagger glanced over at her boyfriend, while the others all narrowed their eyes in interest to see where this went. "And…?"

"Well… a little someone reminded me of the one person that I put before my pride." Helios said. "You."

"Awwwww!" Asuna and Mai squealed together.

"Shut up!" Helios told them before turning his attention back to his girlfriend. "So Dagger… would you do me the honor of a dance?"

Several moments of silence passed as Dagger gave no answer. Finally she stood up and looked directly at her boyfriend. Helios's eyes widened as she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "Of course. Let's go, you big klutz."

Helios held Dagger's hand as the two of them walked over to the dance floor. He held her just as Alice had shown him and slowly danced with her. It was clear that his dancing was sloppy as he was doing everything he could to avoid stepping on Dagger's feet.

"You know, you don't always have to be the big bad Helios around me." Dagger told him as they danced. "It's alright for you to not be perfect. Just… be you. Be the guy I fell in love with."

"I'll try." Helios told her as he leaned in and kissed her on the lips.

The night went on as dances came and went one after another. Eventually the night came to a close as the students began to go home. Ren and his friends all waved goodbye to each other as he went home with Alice.

Alice had already gotten permission from her parents to spend the night at Ren's. Once they were home, Alice went for the shower. Ren was getting a glass of water before bed as his mother came downstairs. He could instantly tell from the teasing grin on her face that she wasn't up to anything good.

"Are you sure the two of you will be alright in the same bed together?" she asked.

"We'll be fine mom. We're not little kids anymore." Ren told her.

"Alright, just use protection."

Ren's face quickly went red from his mother's comment. "M-Mom! I didn't mean it like that!"

"I'm just joking dear." she giggled.

"Mom, what's protection." Clair asked, the two of them suddenly realizing she was in the room.

Ren could feel the huge awkward tension in the room. He quickly went for the stairs. "You can take this one, mom."

"What?! Dan, you can't leave me all alone like this!" his mother begged.

"You got yourself into this mess. You can dig yourself out." Ren told her as he left her to clean up her mistake.

A/N: Like I said, hope you enjoyed this chapter.