A/N: In trying to stay with an upbeat mood, this one takes place in my Lukeverse. Luke Blake is growing up and going to his first dance.
Luke was excited. His first school dance, with girls! The catch, though, was that his parents were among those who had volunteered to act as chaperones for the affair. As much as he loved his parents, he wasn't quite sure how he felt about them bearing witness to his first attempts at attracting the attentions of the opposite sex.
He imagined they were at least a little aware it might be a bit awkward for him, but they both seemed to be looking forward to the evening ahead. His mother made certain he could dance, the traditional kinds like the waltz and box step as well as more modern ones. She was an avid viewer of Countdown on Sunday evenings, having told Luke how his father had introduced her to rock-and-roll when working on a murder investigation, so she seemed to know all the latest dances.
His father was a musician, of course, and he'd taught Luke to play the drums. He'd also told Luke it had proved a great way to meet girls, but so far the band Luke played in hadn't managed to get any gigs where girls might see him.
He glanced over to his left where Janet Farnham was chatting with her friends. Janet was the most beautiful girl in the whole school, as far as Luke was concerned. He just wished he was brave enough to ask her to dance. He figured most of the other boys had the same fears, since very few people were actually dancing.
While his father was making the rounds, checking that no one had sneaked outside, his mother wandered past the group of girls and then toward him.
"Why aren't you dancing?" she asked him quietly. "There must be a girl you'd like to dance with."
He glanced quickly toward Janet, hoping his mother didn't notice, then shrugged his shoulders.
But his mother noticed everything. She looked over at Janet and raised an eyebrow. She leaned closer to Luke. "She's very pretty. Why not ask her to dance?"
Luke shook his head. "She could dance with anybody she wants. She's one of the most popular girls here."
"But she's not dancing with anyone, is she?"
Luke glanced over at Janet. She met his eyes for just a moment, then looked down at the floor. Luke looked back at his mother and shrugged again. "Maybe later."
The band began to play a slow song, Joe Cocker's "You Are So Beautiful" at just the moment Luke's father reappeared.
He nodded toward the dance floor and held out a hand to his wife. "May I, my dear?"
"Lucien, in front of these children?" she hissed.
"And why not?" he replied. "It is a dance after all. We should be setting an example, shouldn't we?"
"Oh, very well." She put her hand in his and he kissed it before leading her onto the dance floor, where they fell into perfect step together, swaying together gracefully.
Luke had the feeling he should be embarrassed, but he found himself watching them with a touch of envy, and he noticed most everyone else was, as well.
He was so engrossed in watching them that he didn't see Janet approach until she was standing right beside him.
"Those are your parents, right? They're so romantic." She sighed. "Are you that romantic, too?"
Luke knew at once that she was offering him an opening, and he wasn't going to miss his chance. "Maybe you'd like to dance with me and see for yourself?" he suggested.
She smiled and nodded at him. Luke held out his hand to her just as he'd watched his father do, then led her out onto the floor. When he took her in his arms, he decided maybe having his parents chaperone the dance wasn't such a bad thing after all. He might just have to ask his father for some more tips on impressing girls.
Come dancing
Come on, sister, have yourself a ball
Don't be afraid to come dancing
It's only natural
