Disclaimer: If you don't know by now that I don't own anything, you've been living under a rock.
The sounds of Latin music filled the air and the lights were low. Bright lights flashed across the dance floor as Adam scanned the room. He'd sent the other five on ahead while he parked the car. He spotted Grace and Luke at a table across the room and made his way through the crowd towards them. He was almost at the table when a pair of hands covered his eyes.
"Dance with me," came a warm whisper in his ear. Adam reached up and took her hand off his eyes and grasped it over his shoulder, leading her out to the dance floor. He spun Joan around so she was now in front of him and pulled her in close. A smile spread across her face as she placed in hand in Adams's offered one. As they danced, Joan became lost in Adam. He was pulling her in and she was letting him take her away, they were alone in their own world. The clear sound of the Spanish guitar rang through the air, mixing with the sweet sound of Joan's laughter.
"Where'd you learn to dance like this?" she asked.
"My mom was a big fan of Latin music and dancing. It was a crime in my house if you didn't learn how!"
Adam spun her out and watched her skirt swirl around her like a black wave. She raised her arms over her head and began to step, spin and shake to the rhythm of the Latin harmony. He joined her again, running his hands up her arms and grasping her hands and slowly bringing them back down. He placed his hand on the small of her back and felt her shiver as he touched the exposed skin there. His eyes met hers and Adam felt himself drowning in them. His hand cupped her face and they rested their foreheads against each other. Adam placed a tender kiss on her lips and Joan could feel the emotion he put into it. It was soft and sweet and yet still loving and passionate in it's own way. The heat was felt none the same. Adam was feeling so many things that he wished he could tell her. He'd suddenly lost the ability though, she did that to him. He always could talk to Jane about anything, but at the same time, he couldn't.
"You're beautiful," his voice was no louder than a whisper and choked with emotion. Joan smiled at him softly.
"You make me feel beautiful."
He kissed her again and let her lead him back to the table as a new song came on. Jane could take him anywhere, he didn't care.
"You guys are getting worse then the pac man twins over there. I'm worried that eventually they may just swallow each other whole," Grace sighed.
"And you think I enjoy seeing you suck face with my brother! We are SO even!" Joan stated, looking disgusted by the very thought. Grace smirked.
"Well, in that case…"
"Common team! Look alive!" Miss Lishek attempted to put some excitement into the lifeless teens sitting at the hotel breakfast table. The only one who seemed awake and chatty was Glynis, who had already had five cups of coffee.
"Someone shut her up or I may have to kill her in about three seconds," Grace muttered.
"Ok," their teacher was pacing endlessly in front of the table.
"This is it guys. If you win this, you will be THE national REACH champions!"
"This is just so exciting!" Glynis squealed loudly, which made Friedman jolt awake, causing him to hit his head on the table where it had been lying.
"Hey muffin, could you not do that," Freidman winced as he rubbed the bump that was already forming on his forehead.
"Oh I'm sorry monkey!" she threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. Friedman grinned and gave Luke and Adam a thumbs up as he rubbed Glynis's back.
"I think Pig would be a better nickname," Grace smirked.
"Now cupcake," Luke laughed. She stared at him in disbelief.
"You did not just call me that."
"Prepare to be slaughtered dude," Adam took a swig of his orange juice. He tried not to move to much as Joan was asleep, her head resting on his chest. Grace's face had clouded and she had just opened her mouth to say something when Miss Lishek interrupted them.
"Ok team it's time! Now, just remember, relax and let's try and win!"
They began to get up from the table and Grace began to walk away from Luke. But he quickly grabbed her hand and pulled Grace back to him. His arms encircled her waist and he kissed her before she could do anything about it. When Luke finally released her, he looked at her worriedly, hoping he'd done the right thing. Surprisingly, Grace slipped her hand into his and smirked.
"Let's go kick some ass."
Adam smiled to himself as he watched them go. He looked down at Joan sleeping peacefully and was almost upset that he had to wake her up. He ran a hand over the top of her head, feeling her silky hair against his skin. He closed his eyes and softly kissed her forehead. Joan stirred slightly and finally opened her eyes, sitting up.
"It's time," he told her. Joan sighed and ran a hand through her hair. They sat there in silence for a few minutes before Joan turned to Adam and smiled at him.
"What?"
"Nothing, I'm just glad that we decided to do this."
"Me too."
The silence was then broken by a frantic plea.
"Just breathe into the bag Glynis! In, out, in, out!"
Both Joan and Adam broke out in laughter and hand in hand followed the sound Friedman's desperate voice.
"Hydrogen!" Glynis blurted out as her buzzer sounded.
"…Correct!" the adjudicator announced.
"And of this is the shoot out to end the round. This has been a very, VERY close game, so let's finish it off. Final question…"
Everyone's hands were poised, hovering up above their buzzers.
"Name the group whom these gentlemen belong to: Arthur Lismer, J.E.H-" he was stopped as Adam's hand came down on his buzzer.
"The Group of Seven," Adam smiled excitedly as he answered.
"Correct," the adjudicator said unsurely as the entire Arcadia High team began to laugh. The laughter subsided as he commenced counting up the scores. Joan glanced nervously into the crowd. Two hundred faces stared back at her and she felt her stomach take a plunge. Miss Lishek caught her eye and smiled, making Joan relax a little. But the moment the adjudicator spoke, the tension returned.
"A wonderfully played game today, so congratulations to both teams," the comment initiated polite applause from the audience. The room fell silent and the adjudicator held up the paper and adjusted his glasses.
"My, my, what a close score! Only a few points between you! And the winner with 569 points is…" everyone leaned forward on the edge of their seats as if straining to hear.
"Arcadia High School!"
The auditorium erupted into cheers and applause as the team celebrated. Miss Lishek ran up on the stage screaming and pulled the whole team into a group hug. The adjudicator presented the trophy to them and handed it to Grace. She stared at it for a moment, as if in disbelief before handing it to Miss Lishek.
"We couldn't have done it without you."
"We're a team Miss Polk remember. I couldn't have done it without all of you." Grace's face broke into a smile and she placed her hand on the trophy as well. One by one, they all put their hand on the trophy. Joan was the last one.
"To the team," she said.
"To the team," Miss Lishek nodded and they all raised the trophy for all to see. The audience broke out into applause again and that was when Joan saw him, the young God who had first come to her. Joan smiled and gave him a small wave. God smiled back and raised his hand in his signature wave. Joan watched him turn and open the doors, letting sunshine pour into the room as he walked through it. She felt Adam's hand slip into hers and she squeezed it reassuringly. She looked around at her teammates and teacher. Together they'd won the trophy…and each other.
Author's Note:
Ok, for those of you who requested it, there it is. I know many of you are probably wondering where I've been for the last, oh I dunno, month or two. I've been really busy and had some really unpleasant things to deal with. There was no desire to write whatsoever. Anywaz, I'm back now and hopefully for good. I dunno if I should put an epilogue on this one; let me know what you think. I hope you all enjoyed it! I enjoyed writing it; I like to expand my genres. I'm not sure what my next one will be, I dunno if will be Joan of Arcadia, but I hope you'll all read it anyways. For those of you who enjoyed my other fic, I'm sooooooooo glad! I love it when people tell me that they don't usually like Draco/Hermione, but enjoyed my story none the less. Well, I'm talking too much now. Thank you thank you thank you for all of the support, encouragement and criticism! It is very much appreciated! Keep reading and checking in to see what I come up with next! Thanks again to everyone!
Arwen5 aKa SkEtChY jAne