A/N: yes, part of the title is from the Taylor Swift song "Shake It Off". also, don't think too much about the timeline. it's sort of in the future.
I want to dedicate this to my two favorite Madney shippers, maddiebuckleys on twitter, for sitting through all of my headcanons and also, for helping me pick out the song, and someone who writes the greatest Madney fanfics ever, Meowser Clancy. You can find all of her works on this website.
Maddie stepped off the elevator and made her way down the hallway to Chimney's apartment. She had originally told him that she was going to be there by eight, but she was actually there an hour early; her boss had let her leave an hour earlier.
Of course Maddie didn't bother to tell Chimney about the fact she was arriving early because she was sure he wouldn't mind, and he didn't have any other plans besides what they were going to be doing: watching a movie.
Maddie was a few feet away from Chimney's door and she heard music coming from his apartment. She froze for a second because the music was so loud, it sounded like a party was going on in there.
She thought about knocking, but Chimney had already told her about ten times in the past just to go in instead of wasting time knocking.
And this time, she was actually going to listen to what he had told her. She was positive that he wouldn't even hear if she knocked anyway.
Maddie put her hand on the door knob and as soon as she turned it, another song had started playing.
She walked in and Chimney didn't even hear her. His back faced her and he was standing in front of the tv.
She let out a small sigh. That was actually dangerous. Anyone could walk in there and he wouldn't have a clue.
She was going to give him a lecture about it too.
But for now, she was much more interested in watching Chimney.
Maddie quietly closed the door and watched him. She shook her head and smiled as she realized that he was listening to Shake It Off by Taylor Swift.
The music video was on Chimney's tv and he wasn't exactly dancing like the people were in the video. He was doing his own thing, but it was just as entertaining to watch.
At first, he slowly strut his way to the tv and snapped his fingers.
Maddie was sure that he was going to turn around and see her, but he moonwalked back to the couch instead.
And then, the chorus began.
Maddie noticed that Chimney had a comb in his right hand and he raised it up to his mouth and began to sing along as he snapped with his other hand. He moved his body in a way that he looked like he was shimmying.
Maddie had to stifle a laugh when Chimney stopped dancing for a few seconds to actually run the comb through his hair. He had obviously just gotten out of the shower because his hair looked like a wild mess.
Before he even finished combing his hair, he began to dance again. He "dusted" off both shoulders before he began to sway side to side.
Of course those were just simple dances and all, but he really wasn't too bad.
By the time the chorus came around again, Chimney was really into it.
The dancers were shaking their asses on screen, and Chimney began to do the same.
Now, Maddie was beginning to get really embarrassed… not because of his dancing, but because of herself. She couldn't stop glancing at his ass.
"This is wrong," the little voice inside her head said.
She knew she shouldn't have been staring at him like that.
God, she knew it.
"But his ass does look good," the little voice repeated.
Maddie shook her head quickly as if every thought would disappear.
She shouldn't have been thinking thoughts like that.
But then again, was it so wrong that she thought he was attractive?
Maddie finally decided it wasn't.
She wasn't harming anyone by finding her best friend attractive.
Maddie started to pay close attention to Chimney again, and a thought popped into her head.
She realized that she could let him know she was there any time she wanted to. Hell, she could've done that as soon as she walked in, but the truth was, she loved seeing Chimney like this. It made her happy.
He was almost always happy and in a good mood, but seeing him that carefree really warmed Maddie's heart.
Chimney turned around to face her, but he still didn't know she was there. He was looking at the floor.
Maddie looked down and noticed that his black shirt wasn't buttoned. At all…
Her eyes followed from his chest to his stomach and Maddie would've been lying if she would've said she didn't like the sight of him.
Chimney jumped up on the couch and his back faced Maddie once again. She was thankful that she couldn't see the front of him anymore.
But she was also stunned that Chimney still hadn't noticed she was there.
"And to the fella over there with the hella good hair, won't you come on over baby, we can shake, shake shake…"
Chimney not only sang this whole line, but he also ran the comb through his hair.
He stopped for a second and put the comb in his pocket before he began to dance to the chorus once again.
Maddie wasn't prepared for the next thing that Chimney did. He raised both of his hands and grabbed his shirt and slid it down his shoulders.
Maddie could see over half of his back.
And his smooth skin...
She let out a gasp.
She had never seen this much of Chimney before.
Maddie found herself in a daze and confused; she could've sworn that she heard Taylor Swift sing "take, take, I take it off," and she knew those weren't the lyrics at all.
No. She definitely didn't want Chimney to take his shirt all the way off.
Well, that's what she was trying to tell herself.
Her brain and her ears were obviously working against her.
"Shake shake shake shake shake. I shake it off…"
At least Maddie heard the correct lyrics this time.
But the dance move that Chimney decided to do throughout that line had Maddie's whole body heating up.
He put one hand on his head and the other on his stomach as he thrust his hips forward a few times.
Maddie felt her heart stop for a few seconds as her tongue darted out to lick her lower lip.
The only things that ran through her head were the kind of thoughts she only allowed to seep into her mind on those long, lonely nights when she was alone in her bed and wanted someone(Chimney) to be there with her… pleasuring her…
And now certainly wasn't the time to be thinking those thoughts because she was standing in the middle of Chimney's apartment and she was starting to get wet.
Chimney quickly pulled his shirt back up on his shoulders and raised his left foot so he could rest it on the armrest as he danced.
He raised both of his hands in the air and waved.
A few seconds later, the song finally went off.
And Maddie was slightly disappointed because it meant that she would have to make her presence known.
It also meant that she wouldn't get to see Chimney dance anymore.
"Hi," Maddie said loudly, but she immediately regretted even talking.
Chimney let out a scream and desperately tried to keep his balance, but he couldn't. He fell backwards, but at least it was on the couch and not the floor.
Maddie rushed over to him to make sure he was okay. "Oh my god, Chim. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, you just scared me," he answered as he got up. "What are you doing here? I thought you weren't coming until later?"
"They let me go early," she explained. "I didn't want to just sit at home, so I hope it was okay that I went ahead and came over."
"Of course it's okay."
Maddie glanced down at Chimney's chest and stomach before looking at his face.
Chimney looked down at his open shirt and glanced back at Maddie before he quickly began to button it up.
"Sorry," Chimney muttered.
Maddie shrugged and gave him a smile.
"Don't be."
She couldn't lie and say she wasn't thankful that he had buttoned up his shirt; if he hadn't, Maddie knew she would've ended up staring the whole time and that would've been… bad for her. Chimney might've even started to ask questions, and she wasn't about to tell him just how much he affected her just by standing there with an unbuttoned shirt.
Chimney and Maddie stared at each other until Maddie remembered that she still had to lecture him about keeping his door unlocked.
"You know, it's dangerous to leave your door unlocked like that. Anyone could walk in," Maddie said to break the silence.
She sat down on the couch and looked up at him.
"Like you did?" Chimney said, smiling.
"I'm serious, Chimney. Can you please just lock your door? I already worry about you enough because of your job, I don't wanna have to start worrying about whether you're safe in your own apartment or not."
Chimney let out a sigh. "Maddie, you don't have to worry about me."
"You do realize that I'm still going to worry about you no matter how many times you tell me not to, right?" Maddie asked.
Chimney looked up at her. "I know, and I love that."
Maddie began to smile, but stopped when Chimney's eyes widened.
"Chim? What is it?"
"Wait… how long were you standing there while I was dancing?" He asked.
Maddie shrugged. "Long enough to see you pull some dance moves that I'd never imagine you doing" she said quietly as her mind went back to the few dances that drove her crazy.
"How much did you see? Oh no… were you here for Single Ladies?"
Maddie's brows raised. "Single Ladies?"
"You know… 'Cause if you liked it, then you should have put a ring in it. The song by Beyoncé?"
Maddie laughed. "I know the song, Chim, but no. I wasn't here during that."
Chimney breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God. I didn't have my pants on during most of it."
Maddie laughed. "Awee it's too bad I missed that."
"Maddie Buckley… are you saying that you want to see me without pants? He asked, a grin forming on his face.
The answer was actually yes, but was Maddie going to tell him that?
Hell, no.
Maddie tried to laugh it off, and she waved her hand at him like he was funny for even suggesting such a thing.
"Wait… no I didn't mean it like that. I meant that it's too bad that I didn't get to see you dance to the song."
"So, you can go home and laugh about it later, right?" Chimney joked.
Maddie immediately shook her head. "Of course not, Chim. You're actually good at dancing… really really good. You looked…" Maddie trailed off.
She was about to tell him that he looked good while he was dancing.
Maddie cleared her throat. "You were just really good."
Chimney smiled. "I don't know about all of that, but dancing like an idiot in the middle of my living room helps."
Maddie tilted her head to the side in confusion. She really wasn't sure what Chimney was talking about.
"My job can, uh, get really rough sometimes, you know? Sometimes I see things that make me lose sleep at night, and with that kind of job, you have to find a way to help you get by, so you can get up the next day and do it all over again. Some people drink, some people pray, but I just really like to listen to the most upbeat songs and dance."
Maddie gave him a half smile. When she had been a nurse, there were days where she wasn't sure if she'd even make it.
She knew exactly how she felt.
"And Shake It Off is actually my favorite. While she's singing the chorus, I literally shake off every horrible thing I've seen for that day… or shake off the stress or all the negativity… just everything, really," Chimney explained.
"Maybe I should pick up dancing. Whenever I have bad days. I usually just go home and cry and watch The Golden Girls."
Chimney smiled. "Hey, it's okay to cry. There's nothing wrong with that. If it helps, then that's great… and we'll have to start watching The Golden Girls together."
Maddie laughed. "You like that show?"
"Uh yeah. It's only one of the greatest shows of all time."
Maddie smiled. "It is."
"And speaking of watching stuff, look what I got for us to watch," Chimney said as he walked over to his tv stand.
He picked up a case and handed it over to Maddie.
She smiled when she saw that it was Jurassic Park.
"You like dinosaurs, right?" Chimney asked.
Maddie smiled. "I don't know. I've never met one."
Chimney laughed. "Very funny."
"Dinosaur movies are great though. I've actually seen this one, but not in a really long time."
Maddie put down the case and she started to think about something else… something that didn't have anything to do with watching movies.
It was probably the dumbest thing ever; she knew that.
She also knew that she could possibly end up getting herself into trouble.
"How about we save this for later and do something else?"
"Like what?" Chimney asked.
"Can we listen to some of the other music you like to listen to, and maybe you can dance for me? I mean, teach me how to dance…" she said.
Chimney smiled. "Maddie, I really don't think I'm good enough to teach you."
"So?"
"So… then, you probably don't want me to be your teacher?"
"I do," Maddie said.
Chimney shook his head and smiled. "If that's what you want, then I'll do it for you."
Chimney made his way to the tv and picked up his remote. He went to the search section of Youtube.
"I'm just gonna let you know right now that I'm not a very good teacher. This lesson won't be pretty."
Maddie stared at his back.
"Yes, it will," she murmured.
Truthfully, she wasn't that interested in learning. She just really wanted to see Chimney dance again.
He finally turned around to face her, and he smiled.
"Are you ready?" He asked.
Maddie smiled and nodded as she made her way over to him.
She could never let Chimney know just how much his dancing affected her.
That would have to be her dirty little secret.