Let's Dance (Lucah)

[Belle Harrington]

Belle ran around her room as she got ready for Lucah to pick her up. She slipped on a dress that she knew she could twirl in, as Lucah requested, and she attempted to do her make-up and her longer blonde hair nicely.

Time went by so slowly as she got ready. She wanted the 30 minutes to just fly by so she could see Lucah again. But as she got ready it seemed like the clock was going backwards rather than forwards.

By the time Belle was ready she still had 10 minutes to spare. How, she did not know, but she needed to find something to help her kill the time, so she turned to her best friend, her bird, Amelia.

Belle loved to sing with Amelia, and she knew that doing so would not only keep her cheerful but it may also calm her nerves down. So she began with a very common Disney song;

"I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream. I know you, the gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam. And I know it's true that visions are seldom what they seem. But if I know you, I know you'd do, you'd love me at once, the way you did once, upon a dream."

Belle sang gaily as she twirled around her room, Amelia tweeting and chiming along. The poor girl in her happiness forgetting that she had left her door open for an audience to watch.

[Lucah Ivaskov]

For Lucah, time had the opposite effect. Instead of dragging on, he found himself rushing around making sure he wouldn’t be late. He’d gotten dressed pretty quickly, styling his hair in his new short style and was tripping over himself trying to get out the door. He never acted this frantic by any means, not even when he’d been dating her.

Finally, he found himself leaving the dorm and heading to her floor. Same dorm, the one he’d visited so many times before. The familiarity of the walk to her dorm struck him hard and he had to stop briefly before making his way down the hall. Why did this have to be so hard? It wasn’t fair!

As he walked down the hallway, he could have sworn that he heard singing or a radio playing. Something. The closer he came to her door, the louder it got, until he was standing in the doorway watching her and Amelia. A smile lit his face and he rubbed the back of his neck. He’d missed her a lot more than he thought and just seeing her was like a slap in the face, but no matter, he kept the smile on his lips and kept quiet until she finished.

Once the song ended he tapped on the door frame, “Knock knock.” Luc’s voice was soft, calm and a little hesitant. It was nothing like what it had been the past few times she’d talked to him. He wasn’t angry, he was just hurt and even that wouldn’t show. Not now. He’d wait for that to come until he was alone or at least when he wasn’t with her. The pain it was causing him just looking at her…it was almost unbearable.

[Belle Harrington]

Belle spun around when she heard the knock on her door, her green eyes looking like a deer in headlights. Her face flushed a bright red, as she fumbled to fix herself. "H-h-hi, L-Lucah," she stuttered as she put Amelia back into her cage.

The blonde turned around and turned her focus back to Lucah, "Y-y-you look v-very h-handsome," Belle spoke softly, she was so flustered and nervous, it was like this was her first time going out with Lucah. She felt like a little school girl around her first crush.

Looking Lucah up and down, Belle felt her heart flutter. She loved him. Hell, she knew at that moment that she loved him more than ever before.

Finally Belle caught her composure, "S-so, wh-where are w-we going?" she said softly, picking up her purse and walking over to Lucah.

[Lucah Ivaskov]

Getting a good look at her, Luc could feel his stomach twist in knots. He’d forgotten how painfully beautiful she was. Green eyes, long blond hair and the stutter to top it off. Damn he’d missed her. He couldn’t speak for a few moments, just taking it all in. Her voice was just as he remembered, if not a little stronger than before. He could see a difference in her and was happy that despite her strength, she was still that flustered girl he’d fallen in love with.

“Nah, I don’t look any different than usual. You however…you look amazing,” It was hard getting the words out. Not because he didn’t believe it, but because he felt a little guilty. Technically he was dating someone already, but that didn’t mean friends couldn’t call friends beautiful or handsome…right? It wasn’t like he’d just walked up and kissed her like he was wanting to.

Guilt could kill a man. If not physically, than mentally and emotionally for sure. He had to push thoughts of Kiara from his mind because, well if he didn’t, he’d probably have a stress meltdown of guilt. So in order to stop thinking about Ki, he just appraised Belle more. His Belle. His little bird, the one he’d patched up and tried to protect so many times before. Lucah knew he loved her and yet, he couldn’t bring himself to do anything about it yet.

“We are going dancing as I said, but this won’t be the usual bump and grind, sex on the dance floor kind,” He smirked and offered her his arm, as a friend of course. “C’mon. You’ll like it, I promise!”

[Belle Harrington]

Belle giggled and blushed again when Lucah told her how amazing she looked. Her eyes glancing to the ground like a shy child and she thanked him quietly as she tucked her hair timidly behind her ear.

What was wrong with her? Belle thought to herself. She used to spend every waking moment with Lucah and now she felt ridiculous. Why was she so shy? It was Lucah, the one person who knew her better than she knew herself.

When Lucah described the type of club they wouldn't be going to, Belle turned red at the thought of pumping and grinding. It was overwhelming to imagine such a place, and to go with Lucah. She was happy to hear that that wouldn't be where they were going.

"I-I wouldn't kn-know any b-better I've n-never been dancing b-b-before," she said with a shrug as she took Lucah's arm and allowed him to lead the way. He was so cold. She could feel the coolness of his skin through his shirt. Oh how she had missed his touch. She could never describe in words how much she had longed to feel the chill from his skin again.

"W-w-will you t-teach me how to d-dance L-Lucah?" she asked, almost flirtatiously, as she glanced into his blue eyes.

[Lucah Ivaskov]

His smile widened when she blushed. It was funny how small things such as her giggle and the blush on her cheeks made him realize just how much he missed her. She thanked him and he shrugged it off. Luckily, it seemed he wasn’t the only one who was nervous. He remembered her back when he’d first met her, the same shyness she displayed now had been routine back then. It was part of the reason he had fallen so hard for her.

Maybe it was the fact that the last few times they’d been around each other had been so different that they were both acting so strange now. It was possible after all because all that screaming and fighting had affected Lucah a lot, and it wouldn’t have surprised him if it affected her as well. How anyone could go through something like that and act like nothing happened was a mystery to him.

Plenty of clubs had shown Lucah the distasteful ‘dancing’ that teenagers did. Often he’d go out to drink and wouldn’t be able to look at the dance floor without gagging. No one should have to watch two people dry hump each other on a dance floor. Ever. That was what hotel rooms were for. He personally had no intention of every embarrassing himself that way. It didn’t matter who he was with, he’d most likely never do it.

Feeling her latch onto his arm, his heart began racing frantically and he had to slow his breathing so that she wouldn’t notice much of a difference. She’d never gone dancing before? Well, there was a first for everything and Luc was happy to be the one to take her. “Well, then it’s a good thing you’re with me because I am a brilliant dancer if I may say so myself,” He smirked down at her. Just looking down at her had him wanting to lean down, but he couldn’t. Instead, he refocused himself back in front of them as they made their way to his car.

At her question, his eyebrows pulled together and he looked down at her. She’d just flirted. Ah hell. He smiled almost hesitantly and nodded, “Of course. It’s not too hard, I promise.”

[Belle Harrington]

Belle smiled when Lucah smirked and boasted over his dancing capabilities. She had missed this guy; the warm, happy guy that she had known was still in Lucah, even when they had been screaming at each other those months ago, she knew he would come back. And she was more than happy to be right about this situation, she didn't want this wonderful Lucah to disappear behind the cold, emotionless Lucah. She loved him, and she knew that this was who he truly was when he was happy and all she ever wanted was for him to be happy.

As Lucah lead the way to his car, Belle took notice of his breathing, it was picking up and then slowing down as if he was trying to control it. Was he just as nervous as she was? She wondered to herself, as Lucah continued to talk, "you promise?" she asked when he said he'd teach her, and when he responded with an "I promise," Belle tried her best to hold in her excitement.

Arriving to the car, she knew Lucah would open her door as was the gentlemanly thing to do, and after he did, the petite blonde placed herself daintly into the car. "I-I'm so excited!" Belle said happily as Lucah got into the car and the two drove off to their destination.

During the ride Belle offered some awkward small talk,
"H-have y-you decided wh-what you're g-going to m-major in?"
"W-will you b-be living on c-campus?"

One of the reasons they were out to celebrate was Lucah staying in Vermont so Belle kept her questions around that, she wasn't sure if she should bring up his family or anything personal. In her mind, the two were simply acquaintances trying to get to know each other more.

Finally, they arrived and Belle let out a small sigh of relief, she wasn't one for small talk but she hadn't wanted the situation to be awkward or quiet. "S-S-Salsa?" she asked as Lucah helped her out of the car, this time she slipped her arm around his and leaned her head against him as they walked towards the club.

"Hmm... Th-this should b-be fun!" She said excitedly as she tried hurrying the two up. Letting her hand slide down Lucah's arm, she gently clasped his hand as she broke into a small jog towards the club. The little bird was no longer able to contain her excitement, she just wanted to go in and see this new world.

"L-L-Let's go L-Lucah!" Belle called to him and she pulled him behind him.

[Lucah Ivaskov]

It was still a rare occurrence that Lucah was ever his happy, warm self. Of course with the time he’d been spending with Ki, he kept getting more glimpses of that part of him. It was nice being able to open up a little with someone he barely knew. She just always made him feel lighter and brighter. Strange, but true. Still, she didn’t have the same affect on him as Belle. When he was with Belle, his whole personality shifted into a happier one. He joked and messed around because it was easy.

He hadn’t noticed that she’d caught onto his breathing pattern. If he had, he’d forcibly be trying to keep it even, though it wasn’t working so well as it was. He’d do anything for Belle. Be it, teaching her how to dance, or dying for her, he’d do it either way. The last one was a little morbid to think about, but it was true. He loved her enough to die for her if it came to it.

Luc stepped in front of her and opened the door as he usually did and she slid in. Her excitement was contagious and he smiled wider. He hopped into his side of the car and gripped the steering wheel with both hands. Usually he only drove with one, while his other was outstretched towards her, but they weren’t dating. This wasn’t them back together and in order to keep from being so tempted, he kept both hands at ten and two, all the way towards the club.

Her offering the small talk was surprising and glanced towards her, “Not sure about the majoring debacle, but I’m going to stay on campus, at least until Jezebel comes back to Hammel. Then I’ll be hoping to get an apartment and I’ll just drive her to school. That is…if she does come back.” And the conversation was now a dark topic, one that he’d been waiting to talk to someone about. But this wasn’t the time and he didn’t know if he should be telling her all of this.

She wouldn’t have to worry about bringing up his family because he couldn’t help but stray to the topic. He missed his sister more than anything at this point and his father was still refusing to send her back. All in all, the past few months had been even more of a hell than he’d thought.

When they arrived, Lucah tried his best to get back to his happy warmth. He put the car in park and smiled wider at her, “Salsa, one of the best kinds of dancing. Now I’m from Romania of course, but my mother and our maid taught me how to dance all sorts of Latin dances and this was one of my favorites.” He offered her his hand to help her out and she leaned into him. It was just like it had been before, and yet, there was something different about it.

The excitement started to get to her, and his own fed off of that as she took his hand and jogged up to the club entrance. He followed behind her willingly, all the while smiling more than he had in a while. He’d missed this, her happiness. “I’m coming, I’m coming!”