Thanks Vergina-spva and MyLadyDay for beta'ing
Chapter 12
Kid felt like he was living his worst nightmare at the moment, as he was demonstrating both the male and female positions of the Viennese waltz. He could feel Law's gaze on him, following every movement he made, no doubt smirking the whole time. Kid didn't care about his other students, they had paid him to teach them how to dance, so they'd better appreciate his effort, dammit. But Law, Law was only here to humiliate him, Kid was sure of it.
Because of this fact, Kid was very aware of his movements, knowing that the tiniest mistake would earn him eternal ridicule. What if Law was a ballroom expert? Kid knew how to dance, as he had had lessons since he could walk, but what if Law was better? What if he was currently chuckling to himself about what a fool Kid was making of himself? Kid gritted his teeth at the thought as he finished demonstrating the steps the ladies should do. How dared that bastard?!
Kid glanced at Law, who had the audacity to smirk at him. Kid had to resist the urge to pound him in the face and instead barked at his students to start practicing. As he was correcting the position of one couple, he glanced over at where Law and Bonney were dancing. A wave of relief washed over him when he saw that Law absolutely sucked – and that was the understatement of the century. Law seemed to be focused on his position, which sucked too, so Kid was fairly sure he wasn't faking it. Law had absolutely no idea what to do, and Bonney's instructions didn't seem to help much. Kid couldn't help but gloat on the inside, revelling in the fact that he was better at something than Law.
However, there was only so long someone could butcher a dance before it started to become boring, so after Kid had helped the other students who needed his help with the step – pointing at Law and Bonney smugly each time as an example how not to do it – he finally went to them. "Everything okay here?" he asked with no little conceitedness.
"We're fine," Law instantly replied, but Bonney rolled her eyes.
"He sucks ass."
Law snorted indignantly, but Kid didn't even try to hide his smirk.
"So I saw."
"Aren't you supposed to teach us?" Law sneered, obviously not amused by his lack of skill. Kid was sure Law had never danced in his life, or he would never have agreed to make a fool of himself in front of Kid.
"It seems like we have a lot of work to do. Fortunately for you, I can teach you," Kid said smugly. "Because you do suck ass."
Law gritted his teeth, but didn't reply, much to Kid's surprise and mild disappointment. He would have liked to have a reason to punch him in the face.
"Start by holding your elbow straight." Kid tapped the elbow of the arm resting on Bonney's back. "Your hand is underneath her arm, not over." He took a step back to admire his work. Law finally seemed to hold the correct position, but he looked awfully uncomfortable doing it. Kid loved it. "Now Bonney steps back while you step forward. Then step sideways–" Kid all but facepalmed when they went in opposite directions. "You'll have to go the same way. Bonney, you have to follow him."
"Why?" She puffed her cheeks indignantly. "He sucks, he shouldn't get to lead."
"He's supposed to be the guy, so he leads."
"Ouch, insulting my gender," Law said mock-dramatically. "However will I go on?"
Kid shot him a dirty look. "Just fucking dance."
Law huffed, but did as he was told – if it could be called dancing, that is. He bumped into Bonney, kicked her shins and stepped on her feet, almost tripping himself.
Kid wasn't sure if he should laugh or feel sorry for Bonney. Probably both. After watching a few failed attempt, he decided he should probably do something. Shoving Law roughly out of the way, he took his former position across from Bonney. "Just watch," he spat at Law, who just huffed. Bonney at least seemed to somewhat remember the steps.
"That's how you fucking do it," he said after demonstrating a few times.
Law rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
Kid snorted and watched in silence how Law did another attempt to dance. "Would you get that stick out of your ass?!" he snapped. "It's a good thing I didn't start with a Latin dance, because you would suck even more at that, if possible. You know you can move your hips, right?"
"Oh, I'm very aware of sticks in asses and hip movements," Law replied with an unsettling grin.
It took Kid aback for a moment. He had been too caught up in gloating at how much better he was at dancing than Law was that he had forgotten how much Law loved to make inappropriate innuendos. Fucking bastard. Kid's eye twitched. "You're disgusting. And how could you get worse after watching me?!"
"Perhaps you're not as amazing as you think," Law said with a smirk.
Something inside Kid snapped. He would show him! "Oh, I'll teach you how to dance alright," Kid said through gritted teeth. He pulled Law towards him, placing his hand on Kid's shoulder to make him stand in the female position. "Now fucking pay attention and try to follow my lead."
Bonney stepped back as they started to dance. Law still sucked of course, almost tripping over Kid's feet when he moved, causing Kid to have to catch him. Their faces came close, and Kid narrowed his eyes. "Fucking. Follow. My. Lead."
Law snorted, but finally seemed to pay attention at his feet. He stepped backwards when Kid moved forward and followed when Kid went to the side. Kid rolled his eyes as he all but dragged Law along. As he repeated the steps over and over, Law finally got the hang of it. Now that Law actually could dance, Kid sped up the pace. Every time Law stepped on his feet, Kid gave him a kick in the shin, which seemed to condition him rather quickly. They kept repeating the same step, dancing in circles around the room. Finally, Kid decided it was enough, and force of habit made him end the dance by dipping Law slightly.
It was only when people started applauding that he noticed that the rest of the class was watching them in awe, and Kid realised he had been dancing with a man, and worse, with fucking Law. He let go of Law, who inelegantly fell onto the floor. Kid coughed to hide his embarrassment. "And that's how you do it, ya nerds," he bit at his students. "Except for the last part," he added muttering.
Bonney helped Law up, who shot Kid an angry look. Kid ignored him and started to introduce the next step and tried to stay as far away from Law as possible. He didn't know what had come over him to dance with Law like that, but it was undoubtedly that bastard's fault. Kid would need a thorough shower after he was done here. Touching him by punching him in the face was as far as Kid could go, but… Law's hand had been on his shoulder, their hands touching… Kid shuddered and resisted the urge to run to the bathroom to wash his hands. Instead, he snapped directions at his students, who hastily did as they were told. From the corner of his eye, he watched Law and Bonney, who were arguing about the steps. Bonney shot Kid a pleading look, but he pretended he didn't see it and started to help someone else.
When the hour was finally over, Kid all but ran out of the room, following his students, brushing off the ones with questions and once again ignoring Bonney when she called after him. He needed to shower, now.
However, before he could leave the gym, he realised that in his haste, he had forgotten his bag. Cursing under his breath, he returned to the hall, hiding when he saw Bonney and Law were still there. They were sitting on a bench, Law drinking some water and Bonney – of course – eating a slice of pizza. The other students had already left.
"I'm sorry about Kiddo's behaviour today," Bonney suddenly said, after the pizza had disappeared in record time. "I guess he still needs to work on some issues."
"You mean he can act more pleasantly?" Law asked with a snort. "I've never seen him behave anything other than this."
Kid clenched his fists. How dare they gossip about him like that! Especially Law. That bastard needed to shut the hell up. But he couldn't go in there, not without having his ass handed to him by Bonney, and he was kind of curious where their discussion would lead. He could always kill them later. Peering around the doorpost, he listened to what they had to say.
"He can be pretty cool, though." Bonney sighed. "I just wish he didn't have such a problem with me being gay."
Law snorted. "Wouldn't that make the world a better place. But at least he appears to still have some respect for you."
"I hadn't expected him to dance with you like that, though," Bonney added thoughtfully as she produced a candy bar from her bag.
Law shrugged. "I guess he didn't realise it was me before he dropped me."
Bonney hummed, chewing her food. "Still, I think he genuinely dislikes you. Not just because you're gay, I mean."
"It does always seem to come back to that, doesn't it?"
"Sure, but you're an ass to him too." She pointed at him accusingly with her candy bar. "You're trying to rile him up on purpose, aren't you?"
Law smirked his infuriating smirk. "I can't say I don't enjoy making him mad."
"See?" She took a triumphant bite. "You're an ass."
"Guilty as charged."
"I do like your tattoos, though," Bonney continued. "They're awesome."
Law looked at his hands. "Why, thank you. Do you want to see the others?"
Bonney's eyebrows rose. "You have more?"
Law smirked and started pulling the hoodie he was wearing over his head. Kid's eyes widened when more tanned skin became visible. Law was more muscular than he would have expected – not that he had ever given it any thought. His tattoos, all done in black ink, continued on his arms. On his chest was a large heart-like shape with odd protrusions. Kid couldn't help but stare in fascination, wondering if it meant anything.
"Awesome," Bonney breathed. "Can I touch it?"
Law shrugged, and Kid watched with wide eyes how her finger reached out and touched the coloured skin.
"Did it hurt?"
"It wasn't pleasant."
"I'm thinking of getting one. I'm just not sure where," Bonney said as Law picked up his hoodie again. Kid was finally able to tear his eyes away once the skin disappeared beneath the fabric.
"Do you know what you want yet?"
"A slice of pizza," she announced proudly. "Probably."
Law grinned. "You do enjoy food, don't you?"
She shrugged. "What's not to like? Speaking of which, I was gonna grab a bite with my girlfriend. Will you be here next week?"
"I doubt it. As you may have noticed, dancing is not really my thing. I was just here to troll Eustass," Law replied.
She rolled her eyes. "I knew it. Anyway, it's too bad I won't have a partner anymore, but I'll dance with Kiddo again then. At least no one will step on my toes. Catch you later!" With a wave, she hurried out of the hall.
Kid dove away behind some chairs that were stacked up in the hallway so she wouldn't see him. He was relieved they didn't suddenly bond and exchanged phone numbers or something. He wouldn't be able to handle it if they became friends. He had enough problems as it was.
Sitting on the floor next to the chairs, Kid heard footsteps approach, and long legs clad in jeans walked past him. Law was leaving too. He opened the front door, peering outside. The sound of droplets hitting the pavement reached Kid's ears. It had started raining. Law watched outside for a while, before producing an umbrella from his backpack. Somehow, the fact that he had come prepared, that he wouldn't even get wet, made Kid unreasonably angry. That bastard always came out without a scratch somehow. But not today.
Bonney wasn't here to stop him anymore. A grin spread across Kid's face. He would finally do what he should have done a long time ago. Law had ruined his life, and today, he would pay for that.