Dance Until the Night Ends (Lark)

[Jacelynn Heron]

It was just a date, a casual meaningless date between two people that had just met. There was no reason to blow it out of proportion or even think it would turn into something that involved a commitment that she couldn't commit to. Casual dates were typical when dealing with one-night stands, and Jacelynn was very experienced with those things. If this turned out to be just another one nighter, well, it wouldn't be anything new to her and she could handle it. But what if he asked her out on another date? And another? What would she do then if it became a regular thing? It was thoughts like that, that really scared her.

Jace had no problem with having fun, she was really good at being carefree and wild. It was when things got deeper and more heartfelt that she ran for the hills. Funny how everyone always said it was guys that had the commitment problems, when in reality, she was the one who couldn't find it in her to try anything new on the dating front. Sam had been the first experiment with commitment and look at how that turned out. She had no hope for a lasting relationship, and so she decided tonight wasn't going to be any different. They were friends, whether it turned into something more physical like she was used to or not would just depend on how things turned out.

Once she finished getting ready in her salsa attire, she waited at the dorms for him to pick her up. She had told him exactly where the dorms were for girls and her room number and luckily it hadn't taken him long to find it. He picked her up and the nerves disappeared. Jace was determined to treat this the same as every other time. She complimented his attire as they walked to the car and drove off to the club.

Pulling up to the club, her face brightened and she couldn't help but be excited. She had always loved dancing, it was a good way to showcase just how hot her body was. Jace took advantage of things that made her look better any chance she got because of her self-esteem problems, not that anyone had ever seen through her charade. She happened to be good at hiding things. Jacelynn wrapped her arms around his and walked into the club with him, "Are you excited?" She asked loud enough over the music as they stepped in.

[Larkein Blackhawk]

Larkein was shaking. Dancing? Of all the places she had to pick, it was dancing? He had never stepped foot in the salsa club for a reason and that was, because he sucked at dancing. Yes, he had lessons when he was younger, but that was only three or four of them, not enough to actually imprint an impression on his dancing soul. He had two left feet, and he knew it. Lark pulled his tie tighter around his neck. He swallowed thickly. What the hell was he thinking? Go dancing! Ha. What a riot.

He pulled his 2008 Kia in front of the college. With Jace's instructions, he turned at the right landmarks. There Jace stood, looking hot. He whistled at her, took her arm in his and led her back to his car. "Why thank you," he said to her compliment.

Lark parked in the parking lot, his hands shaking and jitters doing hell to his stomach. While they walked up to the club, he could hear music pounding from outside the door. It made him want to go and hide in the closet. As they stepped inside, she wrapped her arms into his. Lark shook some more as they finally found a place to sit down. "...Yes!" he said after much hesitation. He didn't want her to think he wasn't going to have fun. The only reason he agreed to go dancing was because it was Jace. She was attractive, funny, smart and sweet. You'd be surprised what he would do for women.

[Jacelynn Heron]

Jacelynn was ecstatic to be going dancing and to actually have a dance partner. She had dealt with some bad dance partners in the past, and she was capable of making them into great dancers by the end of the night. It wasn't because she was any bad ass dancer or anything, but her father had taught her several dances that came in handy. Salsa happened to be one of them. She couldn't wait to show off for the younger boy because if anything it would calm her own nerves.

When they walked inside, she looked around at everyone spinning and dipping, twirling and laughing. The energy was amazing, but unfortunately it was a little loud. Her head would be hurting by the end of the night, but it was worth it. Clubbing was one thing that despite the headache it caused, was just fun. It gave her a way to release stress and let go of all of her worries. It made her forget about her mother and how everyone called her names. Over all, dancing was her favorite kind of date.

They found a spot in the little club to sit and Jacelynn found herself watching Lark. She could sense his nerves, but she didn't quite understand what he had to be nervous about. Giving his arm a tight, reassuring squeeze she looked up at him when he hesitated. "You know if this turns out to be a bust, we can go somewhere else or something," She said in his ear. Part of her was worried that it wasn't the venue, but rather the person he was with that made him so uncomfortable.

[Larkein Blackhawk]

Lark hated to give anything up, especially for a beautiful girl. Steeling himself, he took her hand and twirled her out onto the dance floor. She came close to hitting another couple, who turned to glare at him. He gave them a sheepish smile in return. The boy couldn't dance to save his life, much less spin his date out on the dance floor. Maybe this was a bad idea, but they were both dressed for a club and there was no way he was going to end the night in some dinky cafe.

His hands went straight to her waist and they spun, subtly. "I'm sorry Jace. I should've told you before, I can't dance to save my life. I mean, I had two or three lessons when I was younger, but I was more in focused on the ladies and getting my body toned before high school. My mother stopped paying for the dances cause I never went and didn't really like paying attention." His face turned bright red at the fact. Even poor boys knew how to dance better than he did and get toned for high school and still have time for the ladies. He just didn't manage his time well at all. Lark blew out his nose violently as he watched the graceful dancers glide along the floor as if it were water and not stone.

[Jacelynn Heron]

Once his hands rested on her hips, she slipped her arms up around his neck. Upon hearing him apologize she scrunched her nose and shrugged it off, "It's no problem. I've taught even the worst dancers how to move at least a little." Gosh she could just think of a few guys who had at least been decent one night stands, but they couldn't dance a step. By the end of their little date though, she had them twirling and dipping her with a sort of grace that hadn't been there before. All props went to her dad.

"Besides, you can focus on the girl you're dancing with while toning up your abdomen muscles tonight and it won't even feel like work." Jacelynn looked at him and thought for a moment, before pulling him over to a more secluded corner of the dancefloor where less couples were dancing their hearts out. "Alright, now stop looking at all of them, and look here. All you have to do is move your hips in time with mine," She said as she placed her hands on his shoulders. One would think guys would understand dancing better than they did, but it usually took a little coaxing to get their bodies moving in sync.

Jace was surprisingly good at moving her hips, and with each beat, her hips swayed. "Do you think you can do that?" She asked pulling him a little closer. After all, salsa was one of those dances that was extremely intimate and closeness was sort of a key.

[Larkein Blackhawk]

Lark's heart thumped in his chest. Why were they so close? He felt sweat pouring down his forehead. Dancing. What kind of idiot was he? An idiot who was trying to stupidly still try and impress Jace. His hang-man skills hadn't been something to really impress her. Tried as he might, he couldn't get his hips to do that smooth swaying she was. It was definitely...distracting.

"I can't," he said, giving up. There was a table behind him, secluded and in the corner. He sat in one of the chairs, shadows falling over his sad face. Again, what was he thinking? Dancing. It was only dancing, but he would trip over his own feet before he could move like she could. Two left feet, that's what his mother used to say before she finally cancelled the dancing lessons. "I'm sorry Jace. I really want to try, but I'm worried that I might step on your feet, or scruff up your shoes or do something that would ruin hat sexy outfit of yours."

Confidence was key. What happened to the confidence that he usually reserved for stuff like this? He had done the impossible before. Once, he had brought a girl out of her shell and now, she was popular and dating a really great guy. That had taken him two years to accomplish, so, how was dancing any different? Oh yeah, he moved his body in vertical and horizontal lines, not sqiuggly.

[Jacelynn Heron]

Jacelynn pouted when he gave up and pulled away. She stood on the dance floor a few seconds longer, before rubbing her arm and heading towards the table behind him. She was sort of glad that it was secluded and away from everyone else, but the darkness covered his face and it caused her to frown. If she couldn't even get her date to smile, then clearly she didn't deserve to be on this date with him. The whole situation was causing her to doubt things and she wondered why she was even there. She didn't date and this was part of the reason why.

Standing in front of him, she listened to him talk. He was worried about hurting her and messing her up? Well that was a dumb thing to worry about because she was a master at fixing scuff marks and she'd experienced plenty of guys stepping on her toes. It didn't matter to her, all she wanted to do was have a reason to get close to him because he was just so cute. This was not going at all how she had hoped.

Jace took a deep breath and put her bold antics to work. She was so glad that she was light and that the chairs were rather sturdy because she sat on his lap and tilted his chin up. "Would you stop worrying so much about messing up? I'm fairly sure there have been worse dancers than you. And you don't have to be sorry, this was a dumb idea on my part anyway I guess. We can go do something else..." She kissed his cheek, hoping to keep him at least a little interested.

[Larkein Blackhawk]

Lark hit the urge on the head. He wanted to stand up abruptly, which would've sent her to the floor. The days in the gym and what not had him not completely understanding his strength. "Uh...I....uh..." he added lamely, trying to shy away from her lips. It was any kind of affection that had him running. Like before, he wanted nothing more than to just stay tiger for a couple of hours. Slowly, he got up, making sure she was on her feet before fleeing to the bathroom.

What the hell was wrong with him? He was definitely aroused as he had noticed. But, there was a sexy woman who wanted to make out with him in the dark corner of a dance club and he left her out there standing, looking like some kind of idiot. Wasn't he interested in her? No? Yes? Maybe? His hands flew straight for his face. Why did this have to be so confusing?

Unbelievably, Willow entered his mind. No... Was he interested in Willow? No, he was only comparing the two girls together. While Willow was timid and shy, Jace was bold and adventurous. Why else would she want to make out with him on the first date? Okay... Deep breaths. Deeeep breaths. One. Two. Three. With his nerves frazzled at the ends and his heart beat racing, he slowly, calmly exited the bathroom.

[Jacelynn Heron]

Well damn. What was the point of this? Why ask her out if he was just going to keep rejecting all of her attempts at having fun with him? She wasn't even asking for a commitment and he was shying away from her! Automatically she put it all on herself. Maybe he was starting so just how much of a freak she was? He said she was sexy and all that, but did he mean it? No, there was no way he could with the way he was acting.

Jace wasn't used to being rejected so many times in a row by just one person. By now, if it was anyone else, she would have given up and moved on without much thought. So why hadn't she done that yet? It was a date, something she didn't do so what was the point in her sticking around and being miserable while he kept ditching her? It wasn't fair to her and she wasn't about to let him treat her so horribly. She was going to have fun whether it was with him or not.

And yet, she couldn't move. Her confidence had abruptly disappeared as soon as he went off to the bathroom and she was left standing there awkwardly, hugging her torso. Jacelynn could feel the eyes on her, it was only a matter of time before she heard the cruel remarks that followed the stares. Her lower lip trembled and the area right below her eyes began to sting. She didn't cry in public. Taking a shaky breath, she turned to leave because clearly he'd made his escape out the bathroom window. Just as she turned, she bumped into him as he was coming back.

[Larkein Blackhawk]

Lark took a step back, surprised to have bumped into her. "Oh, were you leaving?" he asked. Did she think he left? The bathroom didn't have a window large enough for him to do that, and he may have been a ladies man, but he most definitely wasn't a deserter. It didn't matter how disastrous the date was, he usually tried to stick it through til the end.

Unfortunately, he didn't believe this was a date he could possibly just stick around for. First of all, it was dancing and he hated dancing. He should've gone somewhere else, maybe it would've taken his mind of off...well....someone. Second of all, it seemed like she was a good person, sweet and sexy, but it also seemed like she was the only personality type he usually attracted. Lark didn't think Jace went out with him because he was rich or popular, no, it was far from that, she went out with him because she liked him and he asked her.

Why didn't he just keep his mouth shut? He took another step back, trying to think before he spoke. That was the smart thing to do right? Maybe. Damnit! Shaking his head to clear it he said, "I...I need to go. I can give you a lift back to the college if you'd like."

[Jacelynn Heron]

Jacelynn had her reasons for wanting to leave. The date was a bust and it didn't take a genius to see that it wasn't going to be much fun even if he did come back. She was better off going to a club alone. At least then she'd be available for any schlub to pick her up. It wasn't that she wanted to end up with the same type of guy that just used her like she used them, but it was one of the few consistent things she had in her love life. Sure, to some (like her mother) it made her out to be a whore, but they didn't know her story. They didn't know the problems she had with opening up to anything that involved commitment. Who were they to judge her?

Looking at her former date, she had composed her face well enough to keep her reaction to being rejected from seeping through. By now she was a master at composure because she never showed anyone exactly how she felt. To wear her heart on her sleeve would be a death sentence because even when she kept it locked up nice and tight people stomped on it. "Figured you were gone anyway, what's the point in staying anyway since we're both miserable?" One mask to another just like that. Prior to him walking to the bathroom and denying her once more, she'd been bubbly and fun. Now she was cool, calm and collected. Jace put up the barriers that had slowly been falling down and now it would be a miracle if he ever really got to know her.

Being friends was possible at this point, but it would take her a while before she could really be herself with him. He'd see what everyone else saw, a facade that she wore to keep from getting hurt constantly. "I can walk, don't worry about it," She said quietly before stepping around him to continue in the direction she'd originally been headed. Jace paused briefly, "I hope she's worth it you know, and that she deserves you..." Any girl with as much experience as her could tell when a guy's mind was on someone else. "See ya around Lark."

With that, she turned back and strutted out of the club, head held high...until she rounded the corner of the building and her mask crumbled.