Dance till you drop (Oriel)

[Hay-lin Mae]

Hay-lin smiled at her students, who were now looking at her, expecting her to end the lesson. She was predictable, she had to be, they had other classes to go to. “Okay, that’s the end of today’s lesson. Have a good. Next lesson will be in the training field. I want to see how you guys fair dancing outside. So wear something that’s somewhat warm and covers most of your body.” Dancing in the grass, in the cold was different than dancing in the warmth on a stage. She wanted to make sure they could dance on grass as much as they could on a stage. There really wasn’t a difference, other than it being cold and the grass being a tad slippery if it was wet. Not to mention they had more room to move around, which meant a lot more room for mistakes.


She ‘watched’ as the students left the auditorium, however one student had stayed behind. She raised her eyebrow and looked at that student. “Are you asking anyone to the Halloween dance?” She was curious, since he stayed behind, it would seem obvious she would ask. She sat at the edge of the stage with a water bottle in hand. She wanted to take a breather before teaching Oriel even more than she already had in the lesson. Oriel stayed behind because there was a lot more for him to learn, he was a little behind than the others, but that was okay, he was picking everything up so easily.

[Deleted]

Oriel had been showing up to club regularly for the past few weeks ever since he and Phen had decided to try being more active in school activities together. Though the dance team was something that Oriel kept up himself. It was awkward the first few times, Penelope had been pleased, and Oriel still wasn't sure he got along with any of the other members but….at least he was trying. And at least he was showing that he was trying…which was a big difference from how he was a few months ago. Oriel's feelings and awkwardness hadn't changed at all, but he was…taking it just a little at a time.

Oriel often stayed behind after the session was over for a few extra lessons. That and he wasn't particularly comfortable with leaving with the crowd. There was still a lot he didn't know, but the world be damned if he let on to the other students that he was actually trying. Nope, he wanted to be perceived as a slacker as much as possible.

Oriel sat on the stage, debating whether or not he wanted to skip out today. "There's a dance?" he pretended to not know. "I ain't been to none of the dances since I came to Hammel, why the hell am I going to go to this one?" Oriel smirked, a flash of his own excitement shining through his facade for a moment. He gnawed on his bottom lip before he finally admitted, "I got…someone in mind."

[Hay-lin Mae]

Hay-lin couldn’t express how proud she was of Oriel, and she hoped Oriel knew how proud she was of him. It took a big person to get out of their comfort zones, especially since he was stepping into a large playing field; where he was the underdog. But she believed he could become the top dog, he just needed to work at it. And it didn’t seem like he was going to give up any time soon.


Chuckling at his obliviousness, “How do I know about the dance, but you don’t?” She shrugged, “And how was I suppose to know that?” How was she really supposed to know this? They weren’t that close, and it’s not like she has been at Hammel long enough to even go to any of the events. She raised an eyebrow at Oriel, with a slight smile. Now they were getting somewhere. “Oh? Do you want to talk about it?”

[Deleted]

Admittedly, Oriel was having a rough time in the club. He enjoyed the physical aspect of the group, but the social. There were more than a few people he had issues with and had butted heads with on a few occasions. Like like cosplayer Ebony or whatever her name was. She kept glaring at him. Penelope was really his only friend in the group, and he loved partnering with her but...he hated that she shared her attentions with that blonde chick(he didn't even know her name). Still, he wasn't about to let that bring him down...much. He at least wasn't going to let on that it bugged the hell out of him.

Oriel scratched his head, looking over at her with a smirk as he sat down on the stage. A short cackle was his only response.

But now he was thinking about Lux and wondering if maybe it really was a dream that he had actually asked her. It didn't seem like him, he had no(at least he thought he had no) interest in going to a crowded school even where people would be constantly bumping each other, getting in his way, and being all up in his personal space at once. "Dunno..." he said with uncertainty. "I never done that kind of thing before." School dances, going out, dating, it was all just too...foreign to him. "What the hell goes on at a "dance" anyway?"

[Hay-lin Mae]

Being in a group of people of strangers, there was always going to be people someone butted heads with. She herself could name a few people in the dance group she didn’t really like, but that didn’t matter. She didn’t have to like them to teach them, and Oriel didn’t have to like them to learn. However, she would encourage Oriel to actually socialize with the other club members, she was sure that he would get along with someone else if he just tried.

Hay-lin gave a small sigh, “I wasn’t the type of person to go to dances either when I was at Hammel, I think I was a year older than you when I finally went to a dance. It was the Halloween dance, and I’m pretty sure I was the only one not in a costume…” She didn’t do costumes, what was the point really? She couldn’t see it, and every costume didn’t feel comfortable, she tried. She chuckled at his next question, “Dancing… Sweetheart… A lot of dancing, slow dancing, fast pace dancing, a lot of dancing.” She took a deep breath, “It really isn’t as bad as you might be thinking. The dance is going to be held in here, so there is going to be a lot of room for everyone. I don’t like people touching me, so it was a relief when I realized I didn’t have to because the dance floor is so big. And you don’t have to dance all night, there’s going to be tables and chairs set up.”

[Deleted]

Oriel shrugged. He didn't mind costumes, he liked them in fact. Kind of made him feel like a different person completely. But he hadn't had much experience with them, especially not at Halloween. Though he did have a plan for a costume, which made him glad that he actually had a couple of girls in his life that could help him with it.

"Weelllll, I figured that much," Oriel rolled his eyes. If it was called a dance of course there'd be dancing. It was just….a new environment. A new kind of dancing, stuff that he didn't do much of. Sure they did some partner stuff on the team, but it's not like this was a dance to showcase or perform. So it was…weird. "So like, what? People gonna go in there and do the freaking tango or charleston or something?"

The way she described the "roominess" did almost nothing to calm his anxiety about it. He could either go in the crowd and end up freaking out and elbowing someone in the face, or he could sit all awkward at the tables and watch someone. It was going to be loud, wasn't it? Which meant there was no fucking way he'd be able to converse with anyone either, not that he planned on doing that with anyone but Lux anyway.

"Think I'd be more comfortable sitting outside and avoiding the whole thing altogether…." He grunted and grumpily held his chin in his palm.

[Hay-lin Mae]

If Oriel needed a costume he could always borrow one from the theater, not that Hay-lin would condone ‘stealing’. That would if he asked, Hay-lin knew a little girl from the drama club that was making free costumes for people for Halloween, and boy did that girl have fun making things.

“Well, what more did you want to know? You should have been more specific.” Like what kind of dancing happens at a dance? Gosh, he was so touchy. “No, but if you really wanted to learn the tango I could teach you?” She chuckled, she was pretty sure he didn’t want to learn how to tango. “There’s club style music, where you just free lance dance, with your partner. And there’s when slow music, where you do traditional slow dancing with your partner.”


Would it help him to know she was also going to be there? “It’s really not as bad as you think. I’ll be there, that actually probably doesn’t make you feel better. But if you don’t like dances, than imagine how I feel..” Noises were ten times louder to her, and being in a large crowd of people was not her thing. “If it will help you, imagine everyone in their underwear or naked. Except me, and the rest of Hammel staff..” That was probably not a good thing to tell a student…

“Then do that? Invite whoever you wanted to go with, to walk along the pond, or dance in your room.”

[Deleted]

"More specific? How am I supposed to ask the specifics about something I know next to nothing about anyway?" Oriel growled, looking away with a grunt. If he didn't know something, then he just didn't know. And if he'd never been to a school dance before, then how was he supposed to know enough about it to even begin to ask questions?

"Traditional slow dancing? Is that like the stuff they show in movies where all you do is stand in front of each other and rotate while staring deeply into each other's eyes?" Oriel had clasped his hands together dramatically to emphasize his corny idea of slow dancing.

This was getting annoying... again, how could he know how she felt about dances if he'd never been to one? The lack of experience made it hard for him to empathize(or even try to). "I don't think that's going to help, not unless you want me nervous and turned on all night." Oriel never really wondered before what exactly it was about crowds that made him nervous. And he didn't think it was just plain nervousness either. It was anxiety, it was crowd claustrophobia, it was not being able to move or escape without shoving people out of the way if he needed to run....oh. Well, that made sense, he realized. He was always so nervous and high strung when he was about to pull off some stunt back in NYC, that he had the habit of making sure he had a clear escape route before hand...and crowds always got in the way. Hmmm....funny how things stick with you like that.

Oriel was silent for a bit as he pondered this epiphany. He snapped his head up when he realized that Hay-lin spoke again, startled away from his train of thought. "Huh? Well, yeah. Guess I could do that. Though, I don't think she'd like my room much." It was chock full of toys that Lux probably never even knew existed...and probably should never know about as well.

[Hay-lin Mae]

“I don’t know, make something up! You’ve watched movies haven’t you? You should know something about them..” Unlike her where she really did not know what to except because she didn’t watch movies. Nor was she even smart enough to go to anyone and ask.

“Yes, just like that. Though for me, and my date, we did like ball room dancing style..” Because, her dancing in a circle was not fun, cause she couldn’t stare into her date’s eyes. “You should try it before you knock it.” From the tone of his voice she could tell he wasn’t super into the idea.


That was one thing though, she didn’t want his sympathy, she had been fine, the dance had been fine, she actually kind of had fun. Hay-lin laughed, “Yeah not such a great idea with the more sexually active generation. And depending on your date they might not like that..” Having crowd claustrophobia wasn’t a bad thing, it really was fine, unless you wanted to go to a concert, but everyone had their weaknesses.


Hay-lin shrugged, “Then go to hers, just tell her beforehand that you’re not looking to sleep with her, unless she wants to then you know, have at it.” That was the thing about saying anything that might involve someone’s room…

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Yeah, Oriel's watched movies before, but most of those with dancing had been…choreographed. Even the ones where people just danced in mobs and crowds, it mostly looked like they were just jumping up and down without purpose, and then the "cool" kid gets on the dance floor and pops out some smooth moves or something like a pro. Yeah, Oriel didn't think that would fly in real life(even if he had the moves) nor did he want to just jump around like an idiot.

Or just spin around in a circle.

And besides that, he was certain that Lux, being as ill-coordinated as she was, would probably trip and fall after one step unless he practically held her up and spun her around like a child, feet flailing in the air behind her.

Oriel snickered at that imagery.

Which only got worse as he now imagined him swinging the clueless Lux around while he held a pitch in his slacks. In fact, it was so funny Oriel had to fall over in utter amusement as he trembled with stifled laughter. "No…she would…not….hee hee hee…."

“Then go to hers, just tell her beforehand that you’re not looking to sleep with her, unless she wants to then you know, have at it.”

Somehow Oriel knew that that wouldn't go over well either. Aside from the fact that the mere mention of sex would probably embarrass Lux so much that she would explode, there was also the matter of her roommates who were sure to either interfere or kick him out. They didn't like him for some reason(gee, wonder why?), and it was likely they wouldn't take kindly to Oriel being around(assuming they weren't at the dance themselves).

Oriel growled. "I think I'll just suck it up and go to the dance after all…."

[Hay-lin Mae]

Hay-lin rolled her eyes, “Yes, yes very amusing…” He could be as childish as he wanted, for as long as he wanted. That she never wanted to escape him, it was good to be childish sometimes, or most of the time. There really was nothing wrong with that. As long as he learned skills, and knew how to take responsibility for well everything.



Lux didn’t seem like the type of person Oriel would fall for deep down, on the outside sure maybe. But being Oriel it would be obvious he would fall for someone more like himself.. Not someone as innocent as Lux seemed to be. It was a nice contrast to say the least, and balance if she knew anything about it.


“Oh good! The question is now, are you ready to look like a fool while dancing?” Yes that was a general question; anyone going to a dance had to be ready to look like a fool while doing non-slow dances. If he wasn’t prepared to, then he wasn’t going to have fun, at all even if he wanted to.

[Deleted]

It really was amusing, so much that he almost wanted to go ahead and do it. And how much more awesome would it be if he popped one while in his halloween costume? Especially for the one he was planning, it would have been epic, he could probably get someone to take pictures, and then chase Lux around the room making her blush and squeal like the innocent girl she was.

He'd never do that, at least not so explicitly and definitely not to her.

Even if she was adorable to tease like that.

Oriel groaned. No he didn't want to look like a fool, but his usual solution for that was to play it up even worse. If he didn't know how to dance like a normal person, then he'd probably just be silly to the extreme to hide it. "Can't I just, you know, do what I normally do and do the Thriller dance?"

[Hay-lin Mae]

Hay-lin smiled at Oriel, “Well if the Thriller song comes on, by all means do the dance. Though I don’t think the dance will fit any other song.” She could just imagine him doing that dance throughout the whole night. “Though, if you want to learn I can teach you. I am your dance teach you know.” It was wonder why he hadn’t just asked to begin with. “Even if you don’t go to this dance, you’re going to need to learn sooner or later.” Better sooner than later if you asked Hay-lin. She always felt it was better to learn something while you can instead of waiting for the time where you would need to learn it where there could be a chance you couldn’t. Then you would be out of luck.

[Deleted]

"Aw, didn't you know? You can dance the Thriller to anything." Which was true. Didn't necessarily mean you looked cool, but everyone knew Thriller.

Of course he wanted to learn. But when had Oriel ever asked for anything directly ever? He was more the kind to go about it in the most round about way possible. Oriel really had a bad habit of making things more difficult for himself. He sighed, rolling his eyes like it was some sort of inconvenience. "You wanna teach, then teach!" He smirked as he climbed to his feet. "I can keep up." A short snicker escaped his lips.

[Hay-lin Mae]

“I guess you could.. But for me I would need to know the beats to the song and the moves to do it right. I would feel uncomfortable doing the dance to anything other than Thriller, and I’m pretty sure others would too.” Anyone would just lose their ability to know when to do what moves.

Hay-lin stood up, and walked to the center of the stage again. “Alright, alright. Calm down.” She turned to where she knew, or thought she knew where Oriel was still at and held her hands out. “If anyone catches us doing this, I will get fired, so you better be grateful.” She said followed by a smirk. She would do anything for her students, especially for her favorite ones. Well not everything… “Come on, give me your hands, and trust me.” She was also trusting him to not do anything stupid or inappropriate. Then again, she doubted he was that stupid, or insensitive.