Dance

Joey's POV~The next few weeks were the best of my life. Shane was super sweet all of the time, my side was finally starting to heal up, and I was really, truly happy. The dance was coming up quickly, and before I knew it, the night was upon us. I was fixing my hair in the mirror as Shane showered when Sawyer came up from behind me and rested his elbows on my shoulders and chin on top of my head. I looked up at his reflection. "You're sure you don't want to come?" He smirked. "No, no. The last thing I'd want to do is impose on one of your dates." I ignored what he'd said and shifted out of his grip. "I think you'd have a good time. Luke and Meghan are going too.""Nah," he scratched the back of his head. "I'd much rather spend the evening with this li'l fella." He bent down and scooped Hitch up, cradling the pomeranian to his chest. I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair one last time before turning around the face Sawyer. "How do I look?"He looked me up and down, smirking. "Is it bad that the work 'sexy' comes to mind?" I felt my face grow hot and looked away, crossing my legs. "Sawyer!" He laughed. "Sorry, sorry, just tellin' it like it is."I turned my gaze to the floor, my face still crimson. "Well, I can at least hope that Shane likes it as much as you do." I'd never had the need for much dressy wear before, but I did manage to find a nice white dress shirt and tie. As Shane walked out of the bathroom, I hooked my fingers in the pockets of my black skinny jeans and stuck a pose, tilting my head and softly uttering, "Hey, Shane." He grinned and shook his head. "Joey, you remind me of my big toe."As he walked over to the chest of drawers to get out his clothes, I narrowed my eyes. "What? What do you mean?"He glanced back at me over his shoulder. "I mean," he matter-of-factly stated, "That I would bang you on every piece of furniture in the house."It took a moment for what he'd said to dawn on me. I squealed and covered my mouth. "Shane, you are disgusting!"Sawyer was laughing hysterically on the couch, just barely choking out, "You guys are too much!"Shane stood up and kissed my cheek. "I'm just kidding. Now can I get changed?"I stepped out of our bedroom and shook my head, still laughing. Moment later, Shane exited the room, wearing a pale blue dress shirt and a navy vest. He extended his arm to me and said, "Are we all ready to go?"I linked my arm with his and nodded, "Yeah, I think so."We grabbed our jackets and I yelled a quick goodbye to Sawyer and Hitch. I tossed Shane my keys and hopped into the passenger side of Satsuki. "You know where we're going?" I asked, glancing over at him and smiling. "I think so," he shrugged. "I've got directions from Tyler on my phone in case we get lost.""Ok," I flashed my teeth and took his free hand in mine. "As long as you're sure." We drove for a bit and after only two wrong turns, we made it to the church that was holding the concert. As we walked towards the entrance, I spotted Tyler getting out of his car. I grabbed Shane's hand I dragged him along, waving at Tyler. He smiled as Shane and I approached him. "Hey guys! You look great," he complimented. "Thanks," Shane flipped his hair dramatically. "Looks this good don't come naturally for everyone!"I laughed and squeezed his hand. "Thanks for suggesting this, Tyler. I think it's gonna be awesome.""Well, make sure you have an fabulous time," Tyler grinned, eventuating the word in the gayest way humanly possible."We will!" I called as we continued to enter. There were many other couples around the hall, and although most were straight, here and there you saw two women or two men holding hands or dancing. Shane whistled under his breath. "Swanky," he murmured into my neck, kissing the side of my face. "I know!" I whisper-yelled, beaming with excitement. "I didn't think it was going to be this dressed-up! Shoot!""Joey!"I turned in the direction my name had been called and smiled. "Luke, hey!" I hugged my friend as he ran up. "I haven't seen you in forever!" "How are you feeling?" he asked. "Stitches healing well?""I guess so," I shrugged. "They still hurt sometimes, but they're getting better."Meghan walked up, holding two glasses of wine. She handed one glass to Luke, then smiled as she saw me. "Hey Joey!" she happily greeted. "It's good to see you again.""You too," I smiled. "You look awesome."She tilted her head to the side. "Thank you! You do too. As always."Luke took a sip of wine and slyly entwined his fingers with Meghan's. My eyes widened and I felt my smile grow. "Oh my god, are you two together?"Luke smiled sheepishly, glancing over at Meghan. "Well, kind of.""We're just trying this thing out," Meghan elaborated. I nodded. "Awesome. I personally think it would be freaking awesome if you two got together! Shoot!"Shane, who had awkward been standing beside me the entire time, kind of nudged me with his elbow, looking a bit confused. I squeezed his hand. "Guys, you know Shane, right?""Yeah," Meghan softly said, her smile faltering for a moment. Luke's eyes traveled down my arm to our linked hands. "You guys are..." His eyebrows shot up his forehead. I smiled. "Um... surprise?" Luke started laughing. "That is awesome, dude. Seriously. Congratulations." He hugged me (kind of awkwardly, since he was still holding the wine in his hand) and shook Shane's hand. "We'll see you guys later," I waved as Shane pulled me off towards the dance floor. "That was too awkward for me," Shane softly said. "I mean, seriously, I have zero social skills. Why do you know so many people?"I laughed. "They all just love my sparkling personality, I suppose!" As the songs changed, Shane smirked and pulled me along into the crowd of people dancing. He guided one of my hands onto his shoulder and took my free hand in his, stretching it out to the side. Slowly, he rocked me back and forth to the lull of the music, smiling the whole time with his eyes lidded."So, what do you think?" he whispered into my ear after a few moments of silent dancing, stepping closer so his chin was resting on my shoulder. "Having a good time?""The best," I sighed, gently gripped his hand. "You don't know how happy this all makes me. This kind of old-fashioned romance..." I laughed giddily. "It just pleases me so much.""I'm glad," he softly kissed the side of my face. "All I want is for you to be happy. I-I care about you so much Joey... and although I do joke around a lot, I never want you to forget that.""I won't, I promise," I leaned back so I could look him in the eye. "Just as long as you'll never forget that I love you just as much." I moved in and kissed him, softly and sweetly, and although we were surrounded by strangers, I felt no awkwardness. It was just right.We slowly bounced back and forth for the next few songs, only occaisionally speaking. We were connected in a way that didn't need words. I was able to close my eyes and know that Shane would be there for me, no matter what, just by the firm grip of his hand on mine.Before we knew it, most of the other guests had left, and it was late. "Joey," Shane and I split apart and he took both my hands in his own. I sighed, grinning and slumping over a bit. "Shane." He smiled in the way he always does, with his mouth stretching across his face and his eyes crinkling at the corners.Just as I started to lean in to kiss him, the lights above us flickered and went out. There were a few screams from the other side of the hall, and I stepped closer to Shane, grabbing fearfully for him. "W-what's happening?" I yelled, my voice rising with fear. Before Shane had any time to reply, the walls creaked with sharps cracks popping around us. There was a jolt of movement from the floor underneath our feet, and Shane and I (and presumably all the other patrons as well) were sent spilling to the floor. I let out a cry of pain as I landed on my side, contracting my body and hugging my knees to my chest. I had no idea where Shane was. I had no idea what was happening. And I was terrified. ~~~A/N: Oooh... so what do y'all think??? I think I'm evil, personally. Heh heh... anyway, I'm even going to bother saying I'll get the next chapter done really fast because I know I probably won't. Considering this chapter took me, like, eighty weeks. Ahem... but I love you all for sticking with me even when I don't update for AGES and don't you ever forget you're beautiful! :'3 BAII!!!