Before I get on with this, I want to say: thank you xDiamond Rainx for the splash of reviews you gave me! :D I missed you online (even though you're my friend in real life XD) and I'm glad you're back. :)

This, my dancers, would have to be one of the light-heart, but solidly dark chapters I've ever created. This is my favorite chapter with some laughs in there. You'll see~. ;)

DCFan4ever: I'm glad you liked the last chapter. ^_^

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~Chapter Nine: Dance Fever~

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Luce met up at the area where Oblio told her about, known as the Gridlocks. Luckily, Mo drove her here, since Claire was busy with errands Luce's father have given her since he was still away in France for his movie shoot. Before the brunette could get out of the car, she got tapped on the shoulder behind her, that being Glitch.

"Same place after you're done?" he asked with a smirk. Luce smiled back at him, then at Mo.

"Always," she replied. Getting out of the van, she looked back at them before heading towards the area where cars can't go through. "See you two later." Mo revealed his head out the window, reminded of something.

"We'll order your food before you come over," he told her, later rolling up the window and heading off to practice with Glitch. Once the van went off with the small traffic, she found Oblio listening to music with his earbuds, his arms crossed with himself laid back on his motorcycle.

Luce felt relieved, happy that she didn't seem to be late in his head. Another way it's good was that he was wearing his purple shades again. It was a shame that she didn't get to see his clear blue eyes. When she walked up to him, he looked up and took off his earbuds, getting the small boombox out of his bag. Luce stretched before she can get ready to finish the dance they will be doing in DCI's competition. While practicing last night in her den at home, the "Running Jack" took the longest for her to perfect.

She remembered what Oblio told her on how to slowly get it without having to lift her leg at the wrong side. Left goes first, then right, then double for the left. Same thing again, but the opposite for the directions. The arm should be adjacent, from the knee rising, but not too far and not too high.

Luce sighed deeply, getting ready to do the dance routine. "Turn it up, Oblio," she told him, putting her purse down beside the boom box. "I finally understand that move." Noticing the confidence in her eyes, he played "Body Movin," giving Luce the cue to get started on the dance. She started off with "Heel Step," then carried it on with the "Hop Hit."

The bluenette watched her move swiftly to the beat, while at the same time, noticing that she was determined to get the song finished without having him worry about a new choreography later. When the freestyle section appeared, she used her creative moves to make them fit the song and to define her swag. The move she had difficulty with came up, and she did it without having to think back if it was good or not.

Through the purple sunglasses, he raised an eyebrow at how much she was improving in not only the "Running Jack," but the other moves, doing them stronger to show that she really means it. When the finishing move appeared, she wrapped her arms around her, panting from exhaustion and the use of energy in the dance routine.

"Now you're getting it," Oblio stated, nodding in approval. "Powerful moves always earn respect." Luce laughed out her tiredness, unwrapping her arms and smiling at Oblio for his acceptance.

"Thanks! So is that song are we doing for the-" she stopped, her eyes quivering rapidly, resisting to keep them open, placing her hands to her head. "W-Whoa..." she let out, feeling dizzy.

Luce started to lose her vision, starting to fall down to the ground with her eyes closed. Oblio was lucky enough to catch her in his arms, himself surprised at what has happened. He sat them down on the ground to make themselves feel comfortable easier. It was strange because she was feeling fine a few moments ago, but now she's down. The bluenette remained calm, but a different person would be shocked and would beg for someone to help save her. He shook her gently, trying to get her awake.

Oblio sighed, knowing that wouldn't work. He placed her head on his shoulder and noticed that she was burning up, and she only finished one song in rehearsal. Another conflict came to him: he would have to drive with his exhausted and weak dance partner out of where they are, or he would have to hang onto her and get to her house which is the problem. The problem is that he doesn't know where she lives; even if he sneaked through her phone and checked it for the address, he didn't want to ever invade her space, unless she said it's okay for him to.

Maybe I should take her there since it is close- No, I can't let anyone there see us. To make sure the touch was right, he placed his hand on her forehead. He gasped, due to the high temperature of her forehead.

"Luce," he said softly, knowing that bitterness won't work to get her up. Being careful about where he will put his hand, he placed it on her pulse at her neck, where it would have evidence of life. He felt her pulse running, himself relieved in silence. Luce had little strength left, tugging Oblio's black tank top at his back shoulder.

"O-Oblio?" she asked weakly, opening her eyes slowly.

He looked shocked to hear her say his name weakly, but she responded, which was the best outcome. Luce tilted her head to look at him, Oblio placing his hand on the back of her head for support. His blue eyes from his sunglasses focused on her brown eyes.

"Luce?" Hearing her name being called by him like that made Luce feel remorse. She frowned and looked down.

"I'm sorry... for letting this happen. At times like this, I feel so weak... Will you call Claire and tell her of my condition...? And please let me... sleep for a bit..." Luce closed her eyes, immediately falling asleep. For the sake of emergency, he saw that her phone is in her small purse and took it, no hesitation in using it to call Claire.

He searched through the contacts and found Claire's number, touching the number to make the call. Pressing it gently to his ear, he looked at Luce, who is still not moving, despite having warmth and a pulse. He wondered how Claire is going to react when this situation is occurring. "Hey, Luce, dance practice over so-"

"It's actually me," Oblio assured Claire. "Right after she rehearsed a song, she fainted with heat rising all over her face and hadn't made a move since, but her heart is still beating. Not too long after, she told me that she felt tired." Oblio can hear the blonde gasp in shock, which made him a bit worried.

"Oh God, not again..." Claire said, her voice filled with fear. Oblio's eyes narrowed in concern, especially when the word 'again' was in her voice. "I'm not down with my errands completely, but I'll be there in five minutes. Stay where you are, and please don't let her go." Once she hung up, Oblio put Luce's phone back where it was in her purse, and moved his hand up to her hair.

The Asian noticed that her hair was so soft that it was like touching a silky robe. His left hand slowly traced down to her cheek, gasping lightly due to the temperature again. It was either the weather or her warm, optimistic personality that gave her that. This was different; having her cheek be as hot as a fever's. If Luce woke up by now, would she be bothered by Oblio's gentle touch?

He noticed the red Ferrari from the corner of his eye. A few seconds later, Claire came out and ran to Luce, checking her forehead and cheeks carefully by feeling them. She shook her head in disbelief, picking her up and taking her to the car. "This is not good at all," Claire referred to Luce's condition. Oblio watched the older woman, seeing her put the unconscious Luce in the back seat of the car, close the door, and look back at him, shaking her head sadly. "She told me that she was feeling funny when she got home after she was at Groovy Smoothie. She maybe capable of dancing or whatever she wants to do, but sometimes when she gets sick, it can take almost a week for her to heal up completely. Usually, she gets the common cold around this time of the year."

The bluenette's eyes focused on the car where Luce is in, never thinking that she would have to go through that at this time of the year. She's stubborn, but she has a good heart. Oblio sighed, looking back at Claire. "Her soul is gentle and kind. Who would ever think that she would get sick like that?" he said, closing his eyes for a moment. Claire's phone vibrated and she checked it, which made her feel guilty about what she was about to say.

Would it be okay with him? Claire thought before speaking. "I have an errand from her father I have to take care of, Oblio," Claire proclaimed, looking up at him before heading to her red Ferrari. She opened the door, looking at him before entering. "Can you please take care of her after I drive her back home? Just follow my Ferrari until we stop there."

Oblio nodded, taking off his sunglasses and putting on his helmet to start the engine. Once Claire's vehicle headed off, so did he. The traffic wasn't as bad as it was earlier, so it made the two of them feel relieved for Luce's sake. A few minutes later, they made it to Luce's mansion. The bluenette put his motorcycle in park mode, took off his helmet, and went to the passenger's seat where the resting girl is.

"Where's her room?" Oblio asked, picking up Luce while Claire was unlocking the door to the house.

"Upstairs and then go left until you find a door past the attic. After I finished her father's errand, I'm going to get her a treat for her cold. Is there something you want?"

"If there's some, can you get Blazin' Blue Raspberry Ice Cream?" Oblio asked calmly, trying to not get excited since that flavored ice cream is his guilty pleasure. Claire gave him a smile, starting the engine of her Ferrari.

"I'll be back at around seven. For medicine and the thermometer, it's inside the cabinet when you walk in the kitchen," she told him before backing up and heading to whatever Luce's father wanted her to take care of. Heading to her house and up to her room, Oblio can hear Luce panting heavily, feeling uneasy from her rest.

I'm sorry, Oblio thought, reflecting on her condition while doing his best to open her bedroom door while not trying to make Luce fall out of his arms. Getting that out of the way, he used his arm to open the door wider so the two of them can fit through. He placed her gently on her bed, feeling her forehead to make sure checking the temperature would matter. It burned more than it did last time, so he went downstairs quickly to find the thermometer.

Heading back upstairs to get settled on taking care of Luce, he used the electronic thermometer to place it on her forehead and carefully slid it across to her temple. The results showed up with a beep, a loud one exactly. Luce woke up after Oblio checked her temperature, making her shoot up and bump her forehead into something really hard, that being Oblio's own forehead. She winced in slight pain, while Oblio used his free hand to rub where her head rammed his. "Geez! That hurt like hell!" she complained as she put her hand on her scorching forehead, but frowned when she noticed that it affected Oblio as well. "I'm sorry Oblio..." she apologized.

"It's fine, Luce," Oblio replied calmly with a chuckle, looking at the temperature slowly so that he wouldn't give himself a headache after the little incident. He frowned before he could continue speaking. "You're at 102.4, so just rest up, and let me give you something to drink with some medicine." He stood up, heading down the stairs, but stopped for a moment. "While I'm down there, change into something light so you won't have to worry about feeling overheated." Once he closed the door, that gave Luce the opportunity to change into a light tank top and athletic shorts.

When she stumbled to her closet, she noticed how numb and cold she felt, despite getting out of bed. Luce hated that feeling more than anything. With her gut, she hurried to get a pink and black tank top, and aqua shorts with white trimming. She sat down on her bed and hurried to change into the tank top and shorts before Oblio can come in. She put her short-sleeved shirt, skirt, and stockings in her dirty clothes basket, and carefully went back to her bed, feeling tired as hell.

Her phone started to play a ringtone, resulting in a call from someone. Luce groaned, but she looked at the contact calling her number. It made her happy and displeased, but whatever emotion would conquer, she accepted the call. "Hey there," she said weakly.

"Whoa, girl, you are not feeling well!" Mo said through the phone. "We were wondering why you haven't come over to Groovy Smoothie." Luce frowned and rolled to her side with a deep sigh.

"I'm sorry..." she trailed. "It has come again," she told him, mentioning her cold. Even though it's through communication on a device, she can tell that Mo would be feeling bad for her.

"It's okay, Luce. Tell you what, the rest of us are still here at the restaurant, and your food is with us as well. I'll come over and put it in the fridge for you. Is Claire at home with you?" Somehow, Luce feels excited to hear his reaction to her upcoming sentence. With a small chuckle and light smile, she began to speak.

"No, but Oblio is." Mo didn't have a grudge against him, but he would have to keep an eye on him due to what happened when he was at the roofless club that night.

"Is that so?" he asked simply. "I'll just bring your food over and when you feel better, you can have it. That okay?"

"It's fine. Oblio should get it when you come over. Bye," she replied, hanging up right after Mo said it as well. She put her phone on the charger and sat up, taking off her glasses to rub her eyes from feeling heavy. Putting on her glasses, she sat up and stretched carefully even with the numbness dwelling within her.

The bluenette knocked on the door, which almost gave the brunette a panic attack, but she told him to come in, so he opened the door, holding a bottle of aspirin and a glass of iced tea. Before he could make her get her medicine taken care of, his shoe stepped on something, which stopped his moving. He put the glass and aspirin bottle on her dresser and got down on one knee and picked up the item, revealing a blue and black striped bra. Luce froze in embarrassment, not knowing that she left it there when she was putting her clothes in her laundry basket. Mentally, she slapped herself, dropping the bomb of showing off an undergarment to a dance partner. Looking at him staring at her bra made her feel uncomfortable.

What now, Luce? Trying to be a slut in front of him on top of being messy? she thought with a mental glare. "Sorry about that..." Luce admitted, blushing in the process while she covered her face with her hands. "J-just put it where my clothes basket is. Or don't, if this is awkward for you..." Oblio did what he's been told and discarded her bra into the basket. He went back to give her the medicine she needs. Opening the cap and taking out two pills, Oblio used his free hand to gently move away her hands from her embarrassed and hot face. She took the two pills and put one of them in her mouth, taking a sip from the cold yet soothing tea, repeating it one more time for the second pill.

"Is there anything you need me to do?" Oblio asked after she swallowed her last pill. She cleared her throat, putting down her glass on her nightstand.

"Yes, actually. One of my friends Mo, the one who I danced along with his crew partner, is bringing my food from Groovy Smoothie over here. I already told him that you will take it and put it in the fridge, so no harm done." She smiled shyly at him, hoping that he wouldn't mind doing that. The bluenette looked into her brown eyes, nodding understandingly. Her eyes reminded him of someone, but that someone wasn't like Luce. Luce is supportive and never gives up, even when she's sick. He moved her hair away from her eyes so that she can see better.

"You still smile, even if you feel vulnerable?" Oblio asked, noticing that he was staring at her eyes for a long time, looking away with his eyes lowering a bit. Luce chuckled.

"Pretty much," she answered. "I don't want to feel negative when something bad happens to me. Ever since I lost my mom, it gave me enough time to realize that there's still time to smile and have fun, even if I miss her so much." Bringing up her mother made him feel more cautious, making him place his hand on her forehead.

"You still feel warm..." Oblio brought up, just before a doorbell buzzed. Knowing who it is, he went down the stairs to see Mo holding a paper bag with a food chain logo on there. Opening the door, he noticed that Mo wasn't smiling, but wasn't unsatisfied.

"Is she okay?" he asked the bluenette. Oblio nodded, taking the bag from Mo gently. "All right then. Tell her that I hope she gets better." Before Mo went in his van, Oblio wanted to say something.

"Hang on," he spoke up, making Mo turn around with his eyes glistening with curiosity. "I just want to say thanks... for being there for Luce when needed, along with her other friends." Mo brought up a smile to the bluenette, giving him a thumbs up before leaving. Oblio went back to the house and put Luce's food in the fridge, heading back up to see how Luce is doing.

Opening the door, he noticed that she is under her covers, appearing asleep. Just to make sure, he went to her and sat down on his knees, seeing that she has her eyes closed, but she isn't asleep exactly. "You awake?" Oblio asked quietly. Luce opened her eyes, seeing Oblio's blue eyes up close.

"I've made it obvious," she replied. Her eyes stared at his hands placed on the bed. I just want to feel it more... she thought after speaking. She took Oblio's hand, gripping it softly so she wouldn't feel like she would bruise it. "Just... trust me on this." Luce closed her eyes and let his large hand cover up her small forehead. At that moment, she felt a gentle bliss soothing her for a bit.

"Hmm? Mind if I ask what you are doing?" Oblio asked her. He was confused; even though they'd known each other for at least a few weeks, it feels like he's known her for quite a while, especially since their dance battle made him think that she was different from his previous opponents. Luce later placed his hand on her cheek, closing her eyes to make herself feel at ease.

"Your hand feels so cold," she replied with a quiet tone. She smiled under her comforter. "But... it feels so refreshing to the touch, especially to my overheated forehead and cheek." The Asian looked at Luce, taking in her compliment about his hand. In fact, he can feel his cheeks warming up a bit. Was Oblio actually blushing?

"Thank you," he replied coolly, trying to hide his true emotion from Luce's kind words. There was nothing else for him to say, but all he could do was just let Luce feel satisfied and content so that her sickness can leave earlier. She is completely different from the people he encountered, and he's a loner. Poetry and motorcycles are his favorites, along with dancing.

Of course, she's considered a dance partner to him, but would he call her... his "peer?"

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~Chapter Ten coming soon...~

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I hope that it wasn't too soon for her to get sick, but if it was, I'll fix it. :) A follow-up to this chapter will be up by next week! ^_^ I believe this chapter is the start of where things are going to get better in this story, so be sure to stay alert!

Luce will feel better if you review! :) It's her medicine, along with Oblio helping her. ^_^