Peter steeled himself as they approached the student center. He could feel the music thudding out of the building into the surrounding night. He proffered his crooked elbow, and Tandy gracefully threaded her arm through his. For a moment, that was distracting. Her arm had womanshapes and she was covered in womansmell, and his senses wound up a little tighter.

Been awhile.

Shut up, Peter thought. "Social occasions," he muttered to himself.

"Pardon?" Tandy said.

"Social occasions," Peter said to her with a smile. "I was just thinking it's been awhile."

"There's our party," Tandy said, and Peter looked to see Harry getting his horns straightened by the angelic Mary Jane, Gwen dressed in a toga with a plastic bow and a quiver of dowel rods and Flash, Hercules, smoking a cigarette outside the door to the dance.

"Mary Jane," Tandy said, gliding over to her, "You look marvelous tonight."

"Boy are you glad you showed up," Harry said under his breath with half a smile at Peter. "Well, with Parker and Bowen here, the party can start, right?"

"Oh yeah," Flash said. "I just felt the velocity of this entertainment experience zoom out of control."

"Hey Flash," Peter said, "You're sucking on the wrong end of that cigarette."

"God you look like you want to be flat," Flash said without even trying to be funny.

"Can we just go inside?" Gwen said, a little exasperated but obviously pleased that the whole party made it.

A minute later they were inside on the balcony, standing a bit awkwardly looking at each other and around the room. Too many social circles were overlapping at once; the group struggled to divide. Gwen threw a desperate look at Mary Jane, who rolled her eyes. "Dance!" she said. "Let's go dance!" Peter opened his mouth and Mary Jane glared at him. "Dance!" she said.

"Better dance," grinned Harry as he took Mary Jane's arm and hit the dance floor.

Peter looked at Tandy, who grinned mischievously at him. "Do you know how to dance?" she asked him.

"I figure it's like riding a bike," Peter said. "All the moves I mastered from the eighties should stand me in good stead. I can walk like an Egyptian, ya know."

"Then come on," she said, grabbing his arm and heading for the floor. "Show me what you've got."

It was early yet, and there weren't many on the wooden dance floor of the student center. Most of the partiers were still around the refreshment table or sitting on the couches on the balcony or in the wings. Peter glanced at the DJ, who was wearing a funky felt hat and a bathrobe and Lenin glasses.

"What are we listening to?" he bawled over the music.

Tandy shrugged. "Some techno funk hip hop," she yelled back. "Just let it do its thing."

Peter shrugged, and settled opposite her. She took a step and went from walking to dancing, stepping side to side, moving all the things that a woman should move in the directions they should move. Peter grinned in spite of himself.

Now, can't we agree to woo this creature into a cocoon?

"Bad me," Peter grinned softly to himself, words lost in the noise. "No biskit."

Please?

Just dance for her, Peter thought to himself. Because he knew he was way too white and geeky to make this look good.

So he didn't even try.

His body was moving, moving to the beat, and he felt his pulse rise and his blood quicken. His joints loosened, his smile grew and his eyes become darker. I'm so excited, he thought to himself. And I just can't hide it.

Geez. Get us out of the eighties already. But it was too late and Peter found his groove.

He spun once, and then he was in a sinuous motion curve that he couldn't begin to predict. It had a lot to do with copying those around him who did know how to dance and more to do with his spider ghost moving like it wanted something. Tandy was grinning, clearly impressed.

Peter was distantly aware of Harry doing his thing, strutting his stuff, and Mary Jane opposite him not moving a whole lot but moving everything just right. Gwen was swinging, and Flash… well, Flash was pretty sure he was a hot dancer. Peter vaguely wondered if that wild splay of swinging limbs was supposed to be the Charleston.

Then he caught himself showboating. He did the splits and twirled up, effortless. Tandy was laughing. Peter felt himself relaxing, felt himself unwinding. His senses shifted uncomfortably as he relaxed his ever vigilant control, and just this once he ignored them.

Peter was on a date. Peter was having fun.

That song wrapped up, then another interminable techno song kicked in and he showed them his moves, moves he didn't know he had, and Tandy was keeping up. They were both sweating; Flash and Gwen retired to the tables, Harry was hooting with laughter and cheering Peter on, and Mary Jane was somewhere laughing in the background when the DJ dumped the hat, tugged on a skeleton mask, and a red leather jacket covered with buckles and zippers.

"How could we not," he intoned into the microphone, "play Thriller?!"

The opening chords, and Peter found himself grinning like a madman.

Baby, I am the thriller, he thought. He was too busy laughing at himself to stop.

Halfway through the song he started moonwalking, moving with an impossibly fluid grace, seeming to drift backwards across the floor.

When it was over, Harry and Mary Jane dragged him off the dance floor.

"I told you I learned how to dance in the eighties," Peter laughed.

"Dude, that was incredible," Harry gasped as they collapsed in their chairs while the other partiers on the dance floor hooted and cheered their performance. "You've been holding out on me, you madman."

"Who would have guessed nerdy Peter Parker had mad skills," Mary Jane mused, narrowing her eyes at him. He ignored her and turned to Tandy.

"You're a mean dancer yourself," he said. "I bet you took ballet."

"And gymnastics," she shrugged. "And jazz dance. And jazz piano. There was no end to the lessons." She grinned. "And still I get showed up by the wallflower." Her smile was dazzling, and Peter gripped the table.

"That wasn't a competition," he smiled at her. "Just blowing off some steam."

"Boy did you have some worked up then," Gwen said with a winning smile. "Glad you could make it tonight, Peter."

"Seig Heil," he muttered under his breath, glancing at Harry, who desperately tried not to let his composure dissolve into laughter. Naturally, he failed.

xXx

Voorhees leaned against a pillar, halfway down the balcony, watching the happy group. He flicked his lighter and touched it to his cigarette. He inhaled, then hissed the smoke out, watching Parker through the shifting haze, eyes narrowed.

"Excuse me, sir," said a chubby college student walking up to Voorhees. "No smoking in the student center."

"Leave if you want to keep both your eyes," Voorhees said absently. The student blinked, unsure of what to do next.

Voorhees slid a knife out of his jacket sleeve with an effortless twitch. "Now, tubs."

The student turned and blundered through the crowd.

Peter hesitated, sniffed, and his eyes started roving the crowd.

That's right, Voorhees nodded to himself. See me.

Peter saw him.

They recognized something about each other. Something unnatural.

Voorhees was smiling as Peter excused himself.

xXx

"Be right back," Peter said. He moved away from the table, and Gwen put her head down. Mary Jane scowled, and looked at Harry. He shrugged elaborately and studied his drink, no longer laughing.

"Looks like I have to do all things Parker around here," she gritted out. "He's not leaving this party, not tonight." She threw her napkin down on the table and stood, walking stiffly as she followed Peter into the crowd.

Tandy cleared her throat. "Anyone else want a drink?"