Chapter 6
Missed Step
Gourry had finished his desert and gone back for seconds when he spotted Xellos at the buffet ahead of him. He had several full plates of desert and was loading another, which Gourry found odd though he couldn't put his finger on why. Shrugging it off he was going to go say hi when Xellos made his way to a pillar behind the table, curious Gourry started to follow but Xellos reappeared almost at once with a bottle and two glasses. Gourry stopped in surprise, and by the time he was moving again Xellos was making his way through the sea of tables. Gourry shrugged, he could say hi to Xellos later, right now the desert was calling his name. He carefully got the piece of cake Sylphiel had asked for, then loaded a little of everything up for himself. He made his way back to the table and gave Sylphiel her cake, before digging in once more.
As he was finishing his seconds he happened to look up, and froze. There on the dance floor, was Lina, and she was dancing with Xellos. He was stunned, he hadn't known that Lina knew how to dance, but there she was. She and Xellos were not only dancing, but dancing with grace and skill. They twirled out of sight of his table but he still couldn't move, couldn't blink, couldn't process the fact that Lina was dancing. She'd been so unhappy about the ball...
"Gourry-dear? Are you alright?" Sylphiel was looking up at him, worry clear in her expression.
Gourry tried to speak, then simply nodded. Standing he looked towards the dance floor, searching for Lina. What he saw rendered him completely motionless, Lina was no longer floating along like something from a dream, she was pressed so close to Xellos it was hard to tell where she ended and he began. They were still dancing, still dancing beautifully, but it was no longer the sort of dance that occurred between people who were just friends. Something in Gourry's chest tightened in pain. His eyes following as they moved like one person instead of two. He wanted to look away, but his eyes noticed everything. The way Xellos' hand was splayed across her back, how closely they were pressed together, and the way their eyes never left each others. Even from halfway across the ballroom Gourry could tell they were looking straight at each other, he could almost feel the warmth of their gaze and it made him feel strangely sick. He was vaguely aware that Sylphiel was talking to him, trying to get him to sit down, but he couldn't take his eyes off of them.
The song ended and Lina and Xellos stayed pressed together for a moment, then parted slowly as the next song began. As they parted he felt the pressure on his chest ease, and he watched as Xellos bowed to Lina, who curtseyed back. It was odd to see her curtsey, in fact he could have sworn he'd never seen her do it before. Xellos held out his arms to Lina and she stepped into them without the slightest hesitation. The weight came crashing back, and Gourry was surprised that he felt angry. He wanted to go pull Xellos away from Lina, and then hide Lina somewhere where Xellos would never find her again, where no one would ever look at her like that again. He took only moderate comfort that they were no longer dancing as close as they had been, they were still dancing closer together than most people on the dance floor. He watched as Xellos spun Lina in a circle, and part of his mind whispered that it should be him out there. He recognized the glint in Lina's eyes and watched as she began to dance in a complicated pattern, one that Xellos seemed to know since he matched her perfectly. He wanted to hit something every time Xellos swung her through the air. The dance finally ended. Gourry made a decision, he didn't know what he was going to do, but he was going to get her away from Xellos. He'd figure out everything else later he knew that if he could just talk to Lina she would help him figure out everything, Lina always knew what to do, but before he could even move they were leaving arm in arm for the balcony. He started forward, then paused in confusion as he felt resistance. Looking down he saw Sylphiel, who was nearly in tears.
"What's wrong?" she gasped out trembling and teary-eyed, "just tell me what's wrong!"
Gourry's anger retreated in an instant, though he felt it smoldering in the background. Gourry managed to smile at her, though it was not his usual smile. He sat down and tried to convince her he was alright, but he couldn't blame her for doubting that when he didn't believe it himself.