Yatta! I'm on holiday at last and intend to spend a good part of it finishing up some of my stories. This is one of them. ^_^

Warning: This chapter contains scenes of teenage angst, bad fashion and gratuitous punning.

DANCING LESSONS PART 8 TWO BOYS

"Wallace, it was so cool of you to rent a limo," Miyako sighed happily, stretching her legs out in front of her. Beside her, Takeru rolled his eyes. He was staring moodily out of the window, his chin propped up on one hand. He had hardly spoken a word since Wallace had arrived, and the little that he had said had been monosyllabic. Hikari wondered what was wrong with him. It wasn't like Takeru to be quiet and withdrawn.

"It's an American tradition. Besides, my beautiful date deserves the best," he winked at her and put his hand on her knee. Hikari gave him a slightly strained smile and removed it again. When she had invited Wallace to the dance, she had tried to make it clear to him that they were just going as friends, but something had obviously gotten lost in translation. He was treating her as if they had been dating for months. It was probably because he was American.

"I don't mind walking. The school's pretty close to Miyako-chan's apartment, anyway."

"But I mind if you do," he smiled at her, revealing even, white teeth, "Every princess deserves her chariot."

Hikari felt her heart give a little hop in her chest. She had forgotten how sweet and charming Wallace could be, just as she had forgotten how handsome he was. If anything, the three years had only made him more good-looking, but he still had the same clear eyes and mischievous smile that she remembered so well from her trip to America . . . Stop it right there, she told herself firmly, you aren't in love with him. You're in love with Takeru. That's why you invited Wallace to do this dance in the first place.

Takeru snorted.

"Don't you agree, Takeru-kun?" Wallace asked mildly.

"Yeah, sure," he replied, still staring out of the window. He reminded Hikari of Yamato in one of his lone-wolf moods. She wished that she had the right to put her arms around him and ask him what was wrong. If they had been alone, she might have done so. She had always been the one in whom he had confided. When he had failed an algebra test, when he wasn't sure if he would make the cut for the basketball team, when Yamato had started hanging out with the wrong crowd, when Catherine had proved less interesting that he had thought, she had been the one to whom he had come. Knowing that he trusted her with his secrets was the best part of being his best friend, even if she hadn't done much to prove herself worthy of them in the last few weeks.

With a sigh, Hikari settled back into the white leather seats. They might have been expensive, but they certainly weren't comfortable. They stuck to the back of her thighs and made strange noises every time that she moved. She shifted in her chair.

"Is everything okay, beautiful?" he slid his arm around her shoulder and she shrugged it off again. Wallace was nothing if not persistent.

"It's fine, Wallace-kun," she replied with a little laugh, "This leather is just a bit . . . sticky."

"It's to stop you from falling out your chariot, Princess Hikari," Takeru said, smiling at her for the first time since Wallace had arrived. It wasn't his usual sweet, open smile, but sardonic and completely humourless. She had never seen this side of him before, and she didn't think she liked it.

"Snap out if it, Takeru," Miyako shook her head, "You're starting to remind me of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and I've had enough of him to last me a lifetime."

"Voldemort?" Wallace asked in confusion.

"Even worse, my ex," she made a face, "I can't believe I wasted a year with him."

Hikari smiled politely, as Wallace laughed. There were times when she wasn't sure precisely who Miyako was anymore. In moment of disgust, Yamato had once described her as a social chameleon, saying that she changed her colours depending on the situation. She had defended her friend at time, of course, but she was forced to admit that the older boy might have been right. Just the other day, Miyako had been telling her that she hadn't regretted a moment she spent with Ken.

"Sorry," Takeru muttered, not sounding at all repentant. He returned to staring out of the window. If anything, his expression was bleaker than it had been before.

"There's our school, Wallace," Hikari said in relief, as she saw the familiar, white building rising ahead of them. The decorating committee had obviously been busy. A deep-blue carpet flowed out from the door and spilled down the steps, like a river running into a waterfall. Fragrant rose bushes in pots turned the concrete slab outside the school into a garden, while fairy lights flickered and glimmered dimly in the trees. A few people were scattered among them, elegant in their gowns and suits. It was like stepping into a fairytale kingdom where no sadness or pain could exist.

"Wow!" she breathed, "It's beautiful!"

"It sure is, beautiful," Wallace agreed with a wink.

The limo purred to a halt right in front of the stairs, and the chauffeur stepped out to open the doors for them.

"This is so cool!" Miyako gleefully clapped her hands together, "Everyone's staring at us! I bet they've never seen a limo before!"

Careful not to wrinkle her skirt, Hikari stepped out of the limousine and onto the pavement. The others climbed out behind her, Wallace giving Miyako his hand to help her and Takeru making an annoyed sound in response. She hoped things would be less tense once they got into the hall and started dancing. At least, they would be able to keep the two boys apart from one another there.

Daisuke had said that he would wait outside for them, so that they could go inside together. She looked around for him and found him talking to a pretty, pink-haired girl whom she recognised as Iwakura Aiko, the class- president. He was dressed with his usual disregard for convention. His suit had once been a classic, dark pinstripe, but someone had scribbled writing down the back of the jacket that she couldn't read from the distance. Together with it, he wore a black Cowboy Bebop shirt with schematics of a spaceship on it and chunky boots. His old goggles were perched defiantly on the top of his head.

When he saw them, he said something to his date before running to meet them. His hands were clenched into fists at his side, "Wallace! I'm so going to kick your ass!"

"What?" Wallace took a step backwards, startled.

"Remember what I said about leaving Hikari-chan alone if you came to Japan?"

"I. . . I . . . I . . . She asked me to the dance . . . ."

Daisuke laughed and threw an arm around Wallace's shoulder, "I'm messing with you, dude. I'm glad you're here with Hikari. You really have to meet my date too."

"Is she hot?" Wallace waggled his eyebrows.

"Oh yeah."

"So, why is she going with you? Is she blind too?"

"Hey! Try lucky!" Daisuke punched him, "Come on, I'll introduce you to her."

"I'll go say hi too," Miyako said, "I haven't seen Iwakura-san for aaaages."

"Sure," Daisuke replied easily, "You two coming?"

"In a minute," Hikari said, thinking that this was a perfect opportunity to ask Takeru what was wrong with him. She glanced across to where he was still standing by the limousine, kicking listlessly at the loose end of the carpet. He looked so miserable and alone that she felt her own chest tighten in sympathy.

"Okay," Daisuke smiled reassuringly at her, then turned back to Wallace and Miyako, "So, you do realise that you've screwed it up for all of us who can't afford limos . . . ."

As the others walked away from them, Hikari slowly turned towards Takeru and took a deep breath to steady herself, "What's the matter? You've been acting strangely since Wallace arrived."

"It's nothing," he shrugged, "Let's go and join the others."

"No way," Hikari folded her arms across her chest, "We're not going anywhere until you tell me what your problem is. You're my best friend and I hate seeing you so unhappy."

"And I hate seeing him feel you up!" Anger flashed in his voice. Hikari stared at him, as colour rushed into his face and he dropped his eyes to his shoes. She wished she knew whether he was jealous of Wallace or whether he was simply being overprotective of her. Either way, she didn't know what to say to him in return.

"I'm sorry," Takeru mumbled, "It's none of my business what you two do."

"I don't like it either," she confessed at last, "He's . . . Well, I sort of wish I hadn't invited him. I didn't have anyone else to ask, and I didn't want to go to my first dance alone."

"Yeah, I should have asked you," he said, lifting his head to meet her eyes.

Looking at him, Hikari felt warmth spread through her. She remembered what Taichi had said to her on that morning when she had been so depressed. I've seen how his expression changes when he looks at you. He gets this really amazed look in his eyes, like he can't quite believe what he is seeing, like there's this incredible person in front of him and she's somehow in his life. He still might not realise it, he still might think he likes another girl, but it's really you he loves. Standing with him in the middle of this fairytale kingdom, she could almost believe that was true.

He continued, "I actually . . . ."

"Hey, you two! The dance is about to start!" Daisuke called from the steps.

"Uh, we better go," Takeru said with an apologetic smile, "I've probably been rude enough to everyone this evening."

"It's okay," she gave him as a mischievous smile, as they headed towards the school, "I don't think Wallace has noticed. He's been too busy trying to look down the front of my dress."

"If he tries anything . . . ." he said warningly.

"I'll get my personal champion to 'kick his ass', as Daisuke put it," she laughed, "Well, that's if I don't do it myself."

"Hikari," he paused in the middle of the path and turned to look at her, an unreadable expression on his face, "Umm, save a dance for me? I can't promise I won't step on your toes, but I'll try not to."

"I was *hoping* you'd ask me," she smiled at him.

"So, you'd be de*light*ed to accept?" he laughed.

Hikari groaned. There were some puns that didn't deserve any other reply.

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TO BE CONTINUED

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