Dream #3: Of Slow Dancing and Dance Dance Revolution
The first day of school had never been one of my strong points. It was one of those days that I looked forward to during the summer, but when I was actually sitting at a new desk, surrounded by the same classmates I always had but never talked to, glancing up at the clock every five minutes, I couldn't help but wish it was summer again.
What was even worse was the ritual bedlam of students clamoring around the large bulletin boards to see which class they would be in that year. I always started at the B class list – just so I wouldn't get my hopes up – but inevitably I would find myself towards the top of the A class. Not the very top; I had to save myself that embarrassment. But high up there.
The beginning of ninth grade was just that. I had walked to my new school – the high school – feeling more nervous than usual because it was a completely new setting. I could have probably attended a rather prestigious, private high school like Jou-san, but I didn't think it was necessary. I knew that I would most likely do very well on any college entrance exam.
I took a few deep breaths to calm myself. The people in the junior high computer club ensured me that I would be welcomed by the club up there, plus I also had the older Chosen Children to help me. But still, it was a nagging feeling I couldn't shake.
I could see the crowd long before I had even set foot on the school's campus. But I didn't head to my grade's bulletin boards first. I was too curious to see what class Taichi-san had. Sure, I wanted to know because it was Taichi-san, but the year before, I had helped him study for exams an awful lot.
I scanned for his name, and being unusually optimistic, decided to start in the C class. He wasn't there, but Yamato-san was. Then I looked in the D class. My heart was pounding as I didn't see his name. I know how badly he didn't want to be in the E class again... But yes! There it was, the second-to-last name on the list. I beamed. Sure, he wasn't at the top, but he was in!
"Koushirou-kun! What are you doing over here?"
I turned around to find Sora-san approaching, pushing her way by the other students. I smiled and replied, "I was just curious to see the classes of everyone else."
"Oh! Have you found my name?" she asked.
I shook my head no. "No, but Yamato-san is in the C class and Taichi-san is in the D class."
"Aw, Yamato-kun didn't get into the B class?" Sora-san asked sadly. "He had been really hoping for that. I helped him study a lot last year."
"I remember that, Sora-san. I'm sorry," I responded, nodding.
"I'm usually in the B class, and it would have been really great if we could've been in the same class." She paused as she looked up at me. "But wait, Taichi went up a class? That's great!"
"Yeah!" I exclaimed enthusiastically. "He studied so hard last year, and I'm glad it did pay-off somewhat."
She nodded in agreement. "Definitely! Well, I'm going to go look for my name, if you don't mind."
"Of course, go right ahead. Hopefully I'll see you later!"
"See you, Koushirou-kun!" And she disappeared into the mob of students.
Suddenly, from behind me, I heard a female, high-pitched voice I didn't recognize stutter, "H-Hi, Taichi-senpai!"
I glanced over and found a girl, most likely a ninth grader like myself, blushing and giggling as Taichi-san and Yamato-san started pushing their way to the front.
"Hey, what's up?" Taichi-san responded coolly, not paying her too much attention. But I couldn't help but narrow my eyes at her.
Yamato-san had worse luck, though. His band was entering the height of its popularity, and he didn't walk by any student in the school without going unnoticed. That day was no exception, but he passed by all of his admiring fans without a word.
Taichi-san's eyes found me, and I couldn't help but blush a bit. He had been at an overnight soccer camp for the last couple of weeks, so I hadn't seen him in awhile. It was good for my eyes to grace his majesty again.
"Koushirou! Good to see you, man!" he greeted me with a slap on the back. "How was the end of your summer?"
"Rather uneventful, to be honest," I admitted, my stomach going crazy at our closeness. "How was your soccer camp?"
"It was awesome! They had this coach come in who had helped train the Japanese soccer team for the World Cup a few years ago, and he was amazing!"
"And that's all he talked about on the way here," Yamato-san put in.
"Oh, shut up, Yamato, all you talk about is your band and Sora!"
"That's not true!"
"Hey, come on, guys." I tried to calm them down. While they were good friends, they still had the tendency to get into fruitless arguments. "No need to begin the first day of school on a bad foot."
Their shoulders fell and they nodded. "Yeah, alright," Taichi-san said.
"Well, I already looked at the class lists, and Taichi-san, you're-"
"No! Don't ruin the suspense!" Taichi-san exclaimed, suddenly remembering. "I wanna see for myself!"
"Yeah, for me, too!" Yamato agreed.
But I couldn't help but sigh – half in disbelief, half in amusement – as they both immediately went up to the A class list. But I decided to not say anything; they'd figure it out for themselves.
They weren't so terribly disappointed when they didn't see their names, but their faces just looked more and more crestfallen as they went down the lists. Yamato-san sighed when he saw his name on the C class list.
"Man, I was really hoping I'd be with Sora this year," he lamented.
"Aw, it's okay, Yamato-kun," Sora-san said, coming up behind him and wrapping her arms around his neck. "You'll do well in whatever class you're in!" I could almost feel the glares from the surrounding fangirls.
Yamato-san smiled as he turned around and hugged her. "Thanks. I saw you're in the B class again."
"Yeah!" Sora-san replied enthusiastically. "I'm kind of happy I didn't get in the A class. All of those people always seem like they're overloaded with work."
I was going to make a comment about how that was completely ridiculous, but I decided to keep my mouth shut.
I turned to find Taichi-san again, and I saw him looking at the D class list, looking disgruntled. But then his eyes found his name, and he whooped for joy.
"Koushirou! Did you see!? I did it!" He ran over to me, grabbed me, and spun me around in the midst of his excitement. I was caught off-guard and proceeded to turn a bright shade of red. "I can't believe it! I'm actually not in the E class this year!"
"Th-That's great, Taichi-san!" I replied, breathless, feeling all of the stares on us and hearing the chorus of giggles.
Yamato-san laughed. "That's odd, I could've sworn you'd get into the F class..."
"Oh, shut up, Yamato!"
But he and Sora-san continued to chuckle.
Taichi-san turned back to me and said, "I really owe you one. If you want me to do anything for you, just name it!"
A million inappropriate things ran through my mind.
But instead I said, "Don't worry, Taichi-san, you don't have to do anything. Just the satisfaction of knowing that our work paid-off is enough."
"Aww, you're too much, Koushirou-kun!" Sora-san complemented.
"No way, Koushirou. I'm gonna thank you somehow, you hear me?"
I sighed in amusement. "Whatever you say, Taichi-san."
"Oh yeah, Koushirou, what class did you get in?" Yamato-san asked.
"Psht, why would you even ask that? Of course he got in the A class!" Taichi-san exclaimed.
I flushed a little as I replied, "Um...I actually haven't checked yet."
"WHAT!?" was the unison response from all three of my friends.
"Then go check right now!" Taichi-san cried, pushing me towards the ninth grade bulletin boards.
I nodded and walked over, continuing my tradition by starting with the B class. No "Izumi Koushirou." Then I looked at the A class. And once again, there I was, underneath the same four names as the past three years.
"So, did you get into the A class, Koushirou-kun?" Sora asked me as I walked back to them.
I nodded shyly. "Yeah."
"See, what'd I tell ya?" Taichi-san immediately commented, punching my shoulder. "Wouldn't expect anything less!"
I blushed a little. "Thanks, Taichi-san."
"Well, we better get to our classes," Sora-san said, looking at the time.
"Yeah, we probably should. See you guys later," Yamato-san said. And they both walked away, hand-in-hand, towards the tenth grade classes.
I started to feel nervous again. I glanced all around me, not recognizing anyone, starting to the dread the following hours to come.
"Hey, don't sweat it, Koushirou."
I looked up at my Taichi-san. He smiled. "You'll be fine. I'm sure of it. Do you want to hang out after school? We can go to the arcade at the mall or something."
My stomach flipped at the thought, and I smiled, happy that I would be able to look forward to something. "That sounds great, Taichi-san."
~*~
High school wasn't as bad as I expected. The computer club did indeed welcome me with the utmost respect and excitement, and I couldn't help but flush when some of the upperclassmen called me "Izumi-senpai." I had been hoping that the classes would be a bit more challenging, but I was, once again, disappointed and proceeded to work ahead in almost all of them.
I was feeling somewhat optimistic and content...that is, until Taichi-san waved the poster in front of my face.
"This is how I'm gonna repay you, Koushirou!" he had said excitedly.
I raised an eyebrow at the poster. "Back-to-school dance...how is that repaying me?"
"I'm gonna teach you how to dance, duh!"
I blinked at the poster in disbelief. "Um, thanks for the offer, Taichi-san, but-"
"No way. I am not taking 'no' for an answer." He put down his arm and revealed his face, and that's when I realized that he was completely serious.
"T-Taichi-san, why-?"
"'Cause then you'll actually have fun at the dance, and you won't be so shy to ask a chick to dance with you!" He beamed, giving me one of his flawless grins, confident in his idea.
I shook my head in disbelief. Oh, my Taichi-san. "And what if I have no interest in going to the dance in the first place?"
"Trust me, I'm doing you a favor. You need to loosen up once in awhile!"
I knew he had good intentions, but I couldn't help but remember the last time he had convinced me to go to a school dance. I had just ended up sitting against the wall, disgusted by the way kids dance in our present day. And if I recalled correctly, Taichi-san hadn't been such a great dancer himself...nor had he scored a date. (At least, he hadn't scored anyone he actually would be willing to take; being the soccer team's star player had given him plenty of options.)
But then I couldn't help but think...if he wanted to teach me how to dance, that meant I could spend more time with him...
"Alright, then."
"Aw, come on, Koushirou! Don't you-?" He stopped, and his expression morphed into one of disbelief. "Did...did you actually just agree to this?"
I nodded and shrugged. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt."
"Yes!" Taichi-san cheered, throwing a fist of victory into the air.
"But I'd still rather go to the arcade for right now," I said. I didn't want to sacrifice doing something I actually enjoyed for dancing lessons.
"Okay, that's totally cool." He grinned at me again. "I'm up for some ass-whooping."
"I'm shocked, considering that I'm the expert in that particular field."
"Psht, not this time!"
I laughed. "You say that every time..."
~*~
The sun was starting to teeter on the horizon when we both had decided to take a break from arcade games and rest our fingers. We didn't know how much money we had spent on game tokens, and we weren't about to check. We simply sat on a bench, sipping some soda, watching as the lights flashed around us.
"So," I decided to say, "was I right about the ass-whooping?"
Taichi-san gasped in mockery. "Izumi Koushirou cursing? Someone pinch me; am I dreaming?"
I rolled my eyes, but not without a faint blush. "Avoiding the subject, I see."
"Yeah, well, I let you win 'cause you helped me move up a class."
"Right."
We both just grinned, because we knew how untrue it was.
"So will you be ready for your dance training tomorrow?" Taichi-san asked, the grin still plastered on his face.
But I just sighed. "I suppose."
"Hey, now, no reason to get all down. It'll be awesome."
"I'm just wondering, though... How are you actually going to teach me, Taichi-san? I mean..." I blushed harder at the thought. "I've seen the way a lot of kids dance..." And Taichi-san wasn't innocent of it, either.
"Oh, no, grinding is as lame as hell," Taichi-san replied immediately. "And I knew you wouldn't be up for it. I'm gonna teach you how to dance on your own so you can impress all the ladies!"
I raised an eyebrow again. "Because you're such a premier danseur?"
"Huh?"
I paused, smiling. "You're such a great dancer?"
"Have you seen me dance? Hell yeah, I am!"
I decided not to comment on that.
"Aw, come on, I promise I won't embarrass you or anything..." Suddenly, he trailed off.
I looked at him. "What is it?"
Then suddenly, he grinned – that all-too-familiar grin. "I'VE GOT IT!"
I jumped in my seat as he ran from his, and I watched in extreme curiosity until he stopped at one of the games.
Dance Dance Revolution.
"Taichi-san, that's not going to teach me how to dance," I called as I began to walk over, shaking my head in amusement. "It doesn't actually teach you dance moves."
"I know, but it's a good start, don't you think?" We both looked at the current player, who was easily defeating an extremely difficult level. The sweat on his brow was starting to stream down his face.
"I don't know about this, Taichi-san..."
"Aww, come on, I'll do it with you! Here, hold on a minute."
He quickly ran over to the machine to get more tokens while I just stood there, watching the player. I looked at his feet, which were almost like blurs, and shook my head.
"Here, I just got a crapload more tokens." He jingled them in his hand.
The player finished the level and, acknowledging us, stepped off and walked away.
"Come on, get on!" Taichi-san encouraged me as he stepped onto the player one space. "I've done this a couple times, it's not that hard."
I hesitated as I watched him put in the tokens and select the multiplayer option. Then I stepped onto the player two platform.
"That's the spirit! You know how to play, right?"
"Trust me, Taichi-san, it's pretty self-explanatory." Ah, I didn't mean to say it like that...
"Well, good, then. Any particular song requests?"
I looked at the screen and glanced at the song names. "You really think I'd recognize any of these songs?" Why am I being so bitter today?
"Skeptical, I see. Well, I'll just pick a random one, then. You're on the 'beginner' level, right?"
"I sure hope so." Luckily, I was.
"Alright, let's do this!" Taichi-san exclaimed, almost reminiscent of going into a battle in the Digital World.
The first song was easy enough. Since I, surprisingly, had a sense of rhythm, it wasn't difficult to just tap whichever button was necessary when the corresponding arrow reached the top of the screen. In fact, I felt that it was so easy that when the screen for the next song came up, I decided to go up to the next level.
Taichi-san was surprised. "Are you sure?"
I nodded, focused on the screen. "Of course."
He chuckled. "Someone's getting into it."
"No, I just found that level to be too easy." I looked over at him and smirked. "I got an A, and you got a C, which actually astounds me because I couldn't imagine anyone doing poorly on that level unless they had an extreme lack of rhythm."
Taichi-san looked insulted at first, but then he appropriately decided to take that as a challenge. "Give me one more song, then I'll be able to move on."
"Fine." I turned back to the screen and waited as he chose the next song.
I only got a B that time, but I felt as though it wouldn't be hard to master that level.
Turns out I was right. By the time Taichi-san's mother called, demanding that he come home, I was doing rather well on the level after that, Taichi-san not far behind me.
"How long were we playing that?" Taichi-san asked as he wiped the sweat off his forehead.
"Not sure," I admitted, almost feeling as though I was back in the Digital World, for I wasn't used to being that out-of-breath and sweaty. "I'd say probably two hours."
"Dang. Thank goodness that was money my parents gave me."
I looked over at him. "All of that was your parents' money?"
"Yeah." He looked back at me as though it was no big deal. "What about it?"
"It's just..." I hesitated, fidgeting a bit. Then I murmured, "I don't want you spending your parents' money on me."
"Hey, don't worry about it!" Taichi-san said enthusiastically. "I had fun playing it, too! I mean, they did give me the money to spend it, and what else am I gonna spend it on?"
"I dunno, isn't there a cool video game you've really wanted or something?"
"Not really. Nothing good has come out..." He trailed off, and suddenly, he got that look again.
I sighed. "What is it now, Taichi-san?"
But without a word, he grabbed my wrist and dragged me to the video game store.
~*~
For the next two weeks, I went over to Taichi-san's apartment after school when possible, practicing Dance Dance Revolution using his new mats and game. Even Hikari-san got into it, but neither of them could ever beat me, though Taichi-san would get close.
"Why do you have to be kickass at, like, every video game you play?" Taichi-san would lament after several futile rounds of trying to defeat me.
At first, I had been skeptical as to how good I could get within those two weeks, but by the night before the dance, I was able to play some of the songs on the highest level. I knew that it wasn't going to make me a better dancer, but I had to admit...it was fun. Especially since I was spending time with Taichi-san.
"You know, Taichi-san," I pointed out to him that night while we were taking a break, "that you haven't taught me a single real dance move, right?"
"Psht, you and I both know that this is a lot more fun," he said before taking a long swig of water. "Besides, I have plans."
"Oh? And those plans are?"
"I'm gonna get the TV that's in the gym storage closet – you know, the one we use for the lame workout videos and stuff? – and hook it up to my game system. I'll bring everything, and then everyone will be amazed at our DDR skills!" He beamed.
My stomach churned at the thought of a large amount of people watching me. "You...you sure you won't get in trouble?"
"Psht, nah, why would I?"
I sighed and shook my head. "Well, I admit that if I am going to attend this function, I'd rather play Dance Dance Revolution than embarrass myself actually trying to dance."
"Now wait just one second. You don't think you're getting away with not actually dancing, are you?" He gave me a sly smile.
Well, this can't be good. "Oh?"
"Yeah." He put down his glass of water and grinned at me. "I at least have to teach you how to slow dance."
I immediately blushed a bright red. "You're...you're kidding, right?"
"Of course not."
I was starting to shake in nervousness. This was not going to end well. "A-And how are you going to go about doing this? H-Hikari-san isn't here, and-"
"You'll just dance with me! Oh, come on, don't look so mortified, it'll be fine!"
But how could I not be mortified? "B-But Taichi-san, I'm so much shorter than you, and it'll just be awkward!"
"Aw, come on, we're both comfortable enough with our own straightness to be cool with this."
YEAH, OKAY.
"Besides, it's really not that hard. I just wanna make sure you don't completely screw-up the first time you do it. Now come on."
He headed towards his room, but I could only stand there, frozen, perspiring not from the game, but from the fear. I didn't know what could potentially result from this! What if I did something impulsive and stupid?
And then, a completely unfathomable idea struck me: What if he's so eager to do this because...?
No. Of course not. I accepted long ago that such a thing would never happen.
But...the idea of slow dancing with Taichi-san...
At least I could pretend.
So I followed him into his room.
He was in the closet rummaging through some CDs, and some of which clearly hadn't been touched in years. "I know Hikari has some of that slow crap in here somewhere..." he was muttering to himself, and I blushed again. He was actually going to get music and everything?
"Ah, here we go!"
He emerged with a CD in his hand; I didn't recognize the artist. He walked over to his stereo and popped it in, and then he studied the CD case for a moment, trying to pick a song.
Attempting to lighten up the mood, I joked, "You're actually familiar with the songs on that CD?"
"Hey, now, there was a period of time when Hikari would play this thing constantly! Luckily that's long over with. There's a song on here I remember that would be good... Ah, here we go!"
He set down the CD case and turned it to that song, and suddenly the sound of violins, a piano, and some wind instruments filled the room.
"Don't be shy, Koushirou. That's the first thing! When you ask a girl to dance with you, you have to be confident."
"Wait a minute, Taichi-san," I interrupted. "There isn't a girl I want to ask."
"Mhmm, that's what they all say." So he thought that I had a crush on a girl again. Well, maybe it was better that way. I could always come up with excuses not to ask anyone; it's not like he could force me.
"Okay, so the guy puts his arms on the girl's shoulders. No wait, that's not right...you put your hands on her waist!" He paused and looked at me. "Right?"
"I thought you were supposed to be teaching me," I teased him.
"Yeah, you put your hands on her waist." He took a step towards me. "So go ahead."
I swallowed. Then, hands shaking, I reached out and placed my hands very lightly around Taichi-san's waist, my arms fully extended.
"Aw, don't be so junior high!" He suddenly took hold of my shoulders and pulled me closer. I about lost my breath, and my cheeks were incredibly and uncontrollably hot.
"There. So the girl puts her hands on your shoulders." He did so. "Now, all you have to do is listen to the music and kind of sway back and forth to the beat."
So that's what we did, and it couldn't have been stranger, nor more nerve-wracking. I was so afraid he would feel how hard and how fast my heart was beating – that's how petrified I was. I tried my hardest to savor the moment, for I doubted that another one would come along, but I was too anxious, too breathless.
Then suddenly he said, "Hey...can we switch roles for a bit?"
My heart almost jumped out of its chest. "O-Okay..."
My hands shifted to his shoulders, and then I felt his hands curl around my waist. Ten billion questions ran through my mind.
Why is he doing this?
Is he practicing, too?
What if he's pretending...like I'm pretending...?
Then he pulled me closer, and my head inexplicably rested on his chest. And for a few moments – I savored him.
Then the song ended, and he pulled away.
I looked up at him, my face red, my breath gone, my heart not beating. "T-Taichi-san...?"
"Did I lead okay?"
"Y-Yes, Taichi-san, but why-?"
"Do you think Sora would've liked it?"
Then everything came crashing down.
I felt like crying. Of course it's for Sora-san! It's always for Sora-san! How could you think it was for you, stupid Koushirou! I wanted to scream at him, scream as loud as I could for teasing me like that, but instead: "I-I don't know. I wouldn't advise asking her, though."
"Yeah, I know." He sighed. "I was just wondering."
"A-Are you going to ask anyone else?" I at least wanted to prepare myself for that jealousy.
"I don't know yet. We'll see." He walked over to the stereo and turned it off. "Want to go practice DDR one last time?"
"N-No, that's okay. I think I'll retire for the night."
"Ah, okay."
I went back into the living room, gathered up my things, slipped on my shoes, and started heading out the door.
"Meet me here at 19 o' clock, alright?" said Taichi-san.
"Sounds good. See you tomorrow."
And with that, still shaking, I left.
~*~
I decided to dress in a nice, but short-sleeved, shirt and one of my only pairs of jeans. The last time I had been dragged to a dance, Taichi-san had sent me marching back to my apartment to change out of my khakis (which were apparently "too nice" for a school dance) into jeans. I wasn't going to make that mistake this time.
I rang the doorbell, and Hikari-san was the one to open it.
"You look great, Koushirou-san!" she exclaimed as she saw me. "Onii-chan is getting all of the video game stuff together."
"Thanks, Hikari-san." I walked past her, took off my shoes, and met Taichi-san in the living room, where I found him trying to stuff the mats and video game system all into one backpack.
"That can't be good for the mats," I comment.
"Ugh, forget it," he huffed, sitting back in frustration.
"A gym bag might be more convenient?" I suggest.
"Ah! Good idea!" He quickly jumped up from his spot and ran towards his room, and I just watched him, shaking my head.
He lacks such common sense sometimes...
And he further proved that by dumping all of his soccer gear into the middle of the living room to make space for the video game equipment.
His mom was in the kitchen, and she looked over disapprovingly. "You know you're cleaning that up when you get back, right, Yagami Taichi?"
"Yeah, yeah," came Taichi-san's half-hearted response as he put the stuff in the bag and zipped it up. "Looks like that's everything! Ready to go, Koushirou?"
I nodded. "I'm ready."
"Good luck, you guys!" Hikari-san piped as we started walking towards the door.
"Taichi, you better be careful with that stuff!" his mom called.
"Don't worry," I called back, "I'll make sure he will."
"See ya!" Taichi-san waved back to them, quickly slipping on his opening the door. And I followed suit.
He rambled on about how excited he was on the way there, although when he started making conjectures as to who was going to ask whom to dance, I just listened. I didn't know the majority of the names anyway.
When we arrived at the school lobby, we handed in our tickets, Taichi-san getting a bit of a suspicious look from the chaperone.
"Don't worry! I'm just dropping off my soccer stuff while I'm at it!" Taichi-san said, most likely answering the question that was running through the chaperone's head. The chaperone nodded and waved us on.
"I'm going to go find the TV. You go on ahead and find Yamato and Sora." And before I could acknowledge his statement, he was off.
They hadn't opened the doors to the gym yet, where the dancing would be taking place, so I found Yamato-san by the snacks in an adjacent hallway. Sora-san was already there with him. He was chatting with some of his other friends, but Sora-san didn't seem to be partaking in their conversation. She spotted me as I walked over and smiled.
"Hey, Koushirou-kun!"
"Hi, Sora-san," I greeted her.
"Where's Taichi? Don't tell me he copped out on the 'big surprise' you guys had planned!"
"No," I assured her, feeling some of Taichi-san's slyness slip onto my lips. "He's just setting it up."
"'Setting it up,' huh? Well, now I'm definitely curious." She returned my smile. "No laptop involved? That's surprising."
I laughed. "No, not this time. In fact, you might think it's a bit out-of-character for me."
"Really now? Why's that?"
"Ah, well, if Taichi-san hadn't convinced me, it wouldn't be an activity in which I would usually participate."
It was Sora-san's turn to laugh. "What kind of bribe did he offer you?"
"None, actually," I admitted.
"Wow, I'm surprised you gave in so easily." She raised an eyebrow.
I blushed a little. "It's not completely ridiculous, I can assure you," I said nervously.
"Well, of course it's not. You're smarter than that, Mr. A Class," she teased. She glanced towards Yamato-san. "Now if only my date will start paying attention to me..." she mused out loud.
I had to laugh. "I know he will, Sora-san."
She giggled. "I know he will, too." And with a wink, she walked back over to Yamato-san.
I stood there and sighed, hoping Taichi-san would get there soon. I knew I was going to be stuck standing alone until he did. But luckily only a few minutes later, he reappeared rolling the TV against a wall which had an outlet.
I ran over to him to set-up the system as quickly as possible. Luckily, it didn't take too long to figure everything out, and within minutes we had the game up and running.
A curious crowd had already started to form, and Sora-san was leading Yamato-san over. There were murmurs of excitement when the Dance Dance Revolution screen came up, and one student walked over to us.
"Dude! I didn't hear there was going to be DDR here! Can I play?"
"Uh...maybe later?" I didn't know what to say. We had forgotten to consider that other students may have wanted to play as well.
"Koushirou, just tell them no," Taichi-san muttered to me.
"No, it's okay, Taichi-san. Maybe some people can play while we take a break. I'm not playing DDR for two and a half hours straight without resting."
"Alright, alright." He set-up versus mode. "Ready?" My Taichi-san grinned at me, the TV screen casting a light onto his face.
I smiled back and nodded. I was actually…excited. I could feel my stomach churn in a sort of pleasant anxiety, like before a big fight in the Digital World. However, those fights were necessary, yet not exactly desired. This was different. I had something to prove.
Taichi-san went to the songs and scrolled down to our best song.
"You sure you want to start with that?" I asked him. "Maybe we should save it for later, like a finale or something."
"Nah, we should give 'em a good show while we have their attention." Taichi-san grinned again. "Besides, if we do it at the end, we might be too tired to do our best."
"You have a point." I set it to the hardest level, as did he. He wasn't as great as I was on that level, but he still performed well.
"Dude, are you guys seriously telling me that you're as good as those crazy kids at the mall?" Yamato-san called to us, incredulous, yet mocking at the same time. "You've got to be kidding me."
"Aw, come on, Yamato-kun," Sora-san said. "That's not an easy thing to accomplish."
"My point exactly." Yamato-san was rolling his eyes when I looked back at him. "What inspired you to do this?"
"I'll explain later," Taichi-san snapped, flashing Yamato a mischievous grin. "Just shut up and watch."
And he selected the song.
~*~
I was catching my breath as I wiped sweat off my brow, watching Taichi-san compete against a fellow soccer teammate. I had no idea how long it had been, nor had I been aware of anything that was going on in the gym. Taichi-san and I had just been focused on the game, taking breaks every so often. We played against other people, too, and almost always came out victorious.
We had a pretty consistent crowd. Of course, many people had gone back into the gym to dance themselves. But Taichi-san was good at riling them up, and he would often bow and encourage me to do so as well. I'd give a little timid head bob, but no more. I mostly shrunk back, muttering thank yous.
"Dude, get off the mat, Yagami," one kid suddenly yelled. "The other kid is better than you."
"I know," Taichi-san replied, somewhat stern, not keeping his eyes off the screen. "And his name isn't 'other kid.' It's Izumi Koushirou."
I was thankful for my flushed cheeks to hide my true blush.
"Alright, I'm exhausted," Taichi-san announced as he finished the round, again the winner. Yamato-san and Sora-san had just emerged from the gym and were watching. "So what'd ya think?"
"That you're insane." Yamato-san shook his head. "But that's nothing new."
"Hey!"
"But I have to say," he began as he turned towards me, "that I had no idea Koushirou could move like that."
I didn't know how to respond to that, so I just laughed sheepishly in flattery. Sora-san giggled at this, and I flushed red again in embarrassment.
"Psht, you're surprised?" Taichi-san responded. "I was telling him the other day that he has to stop being so good at like, every video game on the planet."
Yamato-san laughed. "Then I can't say I'm surprised."
"You guys wanna try?" he asked them, motioning towards the game.
"Nah, that's okay," Yamato-san replied. "The dance is gonna end in like fifteen minutes anyway."
"Whoa, seriously!?" Taichi-san's mouth dropped open in shock. "Koushirou, what time is it?"
"Let me check." I went over to Taichi-san's gym bag to search for my cell phone. I looked at the time and my eyes widened.
He wasn't kidding…
"21:44, Taichi-san."
"Wow." Taichi-san wiped his own sweat-coated forehead on the sleeve of his shirt. "That went by fast."
"Yeah." I looked at the snack vendors and saw that they were starting to clean up, and everyone had walked away from the game, probably to dance one more time before they headed home.
"Well, we're probably gonna head out soon," Yamato-san said.
"Yeah," agreed Sora-san, nodding.
"Alright, go ahead then. Just remember to use protection." Taichi-san started laughing.
Yamato-san and Sora-san both rolled their eyes, but they still turned red. "Well, see ya," said Yamato-san.
"Bye, guys!" echoed Sora-san, and she took his arm and walked with him around the corner.
"Well…I'd say that was pretty successful," I commented after they had gone.
"They loved us!" He slapped me on the back happily. "What'd I tell ya!?"
I smiled as I looked up at him. "I had fun, Taichi-san."
"Same here. Now I don't know about you, but I really need a drink." He turned towards the snack vendors. "Hey! Make sure no one takes this stuff!" He pointed to the game and they nodded in acknowledgement.
We walked over to a water fountain and he took a long sip. "Ah! I needed that."
I took my turn as well, and when I straightened back up, I saw that he was lost in thought.
"Taichi-san?"
"I just realized something…"
"Hmm?"
Then suddenly, he turned to me and gave that sly smile once more. "We missed all of the slow songs."
Thank Kami-sama! "Ah…yes, I suppose we did."
"Too bad you didn't get to ask anyone to dance with you. That means I slow danced with you for nothing!"
I blushed as I thought of it. "Well, that wasn't necessarily my fault. I told you I wasn't planning on asking anyone."
Taichi-san just shook his head. "Come on, there had to be someone."
"Sorry to disappoint you." I was playing along more than anything. "And before you ask, no. I don't like Mimi-san."
Taichi-san burst into laughter. "I figured that out awhile ago."
"Took you look enough!" I huffed in frustration.
"You guys would have been a weird-ass couple anyway."
"You're telling me this?"
He laughed again. "Sorry about that, man. Now that I think about it, you liking Mimi-chan would be pretty weird."
"Again: You're telling me this?"
"Yeah, guess you're right." He just chuckled. I was just thankful he was finally over that.
"So what about you, Taichi-san? Were you planning on asking anyone?" I had to ask.
"Nah, I don't think so."
"Oh, why not?"
"No one to ask."
"Ah."
"Yeah."
He paused for a moment, and we just exhaled slowly, finally realizing that our heart rates were back to normal.
"We should pack up."
"Yeah."
We headed back to the game and shut everything down, then placing it into Taichi-san's bag. Taichi-san went to put the TV away while I waited.
I decided to look around the corner to the hallway where people were leaving. Not too many were, but I did spot Sora-san and Yamato-san, who just seemed to be enjoying themselves by talking before going their separate ways. I smiled, although I couldn't help but sigh as I pictured Taichi-san and I standing in their places. But I didn't feel like getting caught-up in my fruitless dreams.
"Hey, you ready to go?"
"Yeah." I turned around to Taichi-san. "Are you?"
"Yeah…" Then suddenly, I caught him staring at something. I frowned in confusion at first, but when I followed his eyes, that was when I realized…
He was staring at Sora-san.
And before I could even begin to get annoyed, he said, "Let's go."
I blinked a few times. Maybe he truly did still have feelings for Sora-san. He hadn't discussed them with me at all for a very long time, but after the slow dance incident and this… I didn't know. I didn't want to think about it.
Besides, he had spent his whole night with me, not Sora-san.
And that's when it hit me: I had spent the whole dance with Taichi-san. Sure, maybe we hadn't gone…together, but…
I looked over at him and he was swinging the gym bag over his shoulder.
I could feel the heat rising to my face. All night, it had been me and Taichi-san. It had gone by so fast, like a blur, and it had been just me and him, laughing and grinning at each other as we impressed the crowd. And nervousness? After we had started playing, I had barely thought about everyone else except when Taichi-san decided to encourage them to cheer. I had just thought about how great it was that Taichi-san and I had bonded over something.
But this whole slow dancing business... If only, right? Maybe that night had not included that, but it almost felt...ephemerally romantic, in a strange kind of way. But it was too late even to pretend it was a date…
Well…
"Hey…Taichi-san?"
"Yeah?" He looked at me.
Trying to contain my nerves as much as possible, I managed to stutter, "I-I think this is the last song… Do you want to try actual dancing?" It took all the power in the world not to add "with me?"
He broke into a smile and replied, "Definitely!"
So there we both ended up, in the middle of the dance floor, failing miserably at dancing, but just laughing, laughing, laughing.
And all I could do was be thankful for our friendship.
A/N: I promise you that this will be the most crack-filled chapter of the entire story, haha. Basically, it was a one-shot plotbunny that turned into this. And I think it turned out alright.
And I admit it: Reviews make me happy. Let it be known. Haha. e He
