Love and dances - Joel Dawson

Can I go where you go?

Dear Joel,

In my opinion, you're actually getting a lot better with your dancing, but is it selfish of me to wish you weren't?

Maple and Joel had taken a break from their dancing lessons and were now sitting in Maple's living room couch, drinking some water. Maple watched with a small smile as Minnow giggled, loudly, sitting on the floor while Boy jumped around her and licked her face every once in a while, his tail wagging excitedly everytime Minnow ran a hand over his fur.

"Maple! I want a dog!" Minnow practically begged, laying down on the floor with a laugh as Boy jumped around her, barking excitedly.

"We can't have a dog in this apartment." Maple chuckled back at her sister, chucking back the rest of her water as Joel turned around to look at her with a smile.

"Why not?" Minnow practically whined as Maple rolled her eyes fondly.

"Because our landlord doesn't like it."

"Then we need a new landlord." Minnow said, causing Maple to scoff.

"Yeah, it would actually be kind of nice..." She mumbled, as Joel smiled a little at her.

"That bad?" He asked, as Maple shrugged.

"Not really." She admitted with a smile. "Just... Annoying."

At that, Joel hummed in agreement, his eyes leaving Maple to fall on Minnow and Boy, instead, a smile tugging on his lips as he watched the energetic little girl playing around with the very energetic dog, running off from the living room and toward the girls' bedroom instead. As he kept on hearing her giggles and Boy's barks, he realized there was something really nice about spending his time like this and, the more Minnow laughed, the more Maple smiled - that sweet, fond smile that Joel thought was reserved for Minnow but that the girl constantly sent his way as well even if he never really noticed it - and, the more Maple smiled, the more Joel realized he actually enjoyed coming over and being with Minnow and Maple. He realized that, somewhere along the few weeks he had been coming over practically everyday whenever Maple wasn't in college or working, he started to come over less for the dance lessons and more so just because he actually wanted to.

That wasn't to say Joel didn't need the dancing lessons anymore. He did. He really did. But, now, it seemed, Joel wasn't just taking those classes thinking about the benefit and how he hoped he'd impress Aimee with his moves. Instead, he was taking those classes because Maple usually made any time they spent together very worth it. She would help him out with his moves and correct his posture, of course, but she'd also make fun of him lightly whenever he missed a step or got completely lost in the beat of the song. She'd make fun of herself too, whenever she messed up - and, even though Joel was sure she made those mistakes on purpose just so he wouldn't feel as bad, he couldn't deny he enjoyed hearing Maple's laugh anyway. Whenever Joel managed to fall a little more on beat and managed to sway around the room softly with Maple, she'd try to make small-talk. She'd tell him about her day at college or some bitchy person that came through the library or another. She'd ask him about his day too - if he managed to find himself a good job already, if the people in his Colony were nice, if Boy was being a good boy for him. And Joel would entertain her. Once again, he realized, he'd continue his conversation with Maple not because it would be rude to leave her talking alone, but because, as he found out, he really enjoyed talking to her. He enjoyed hearing her opinion on things and he liked to make her laugh. He loved the way she always seemed so interested in anything he had to say and, even though Joel never thought he was actually an interesting person, Maple never once made him feel boring.

Joel really liked having Maple around, he realized, and he was pretty sure that, if he hadn't met with her by chance in the streets of New York all those weeks ago, he would've given up on his plan of staying in the city for Aimee a long time ago. And, that early night on that Thursday, as the two of them swayed softly to a Taylor Swift song in the background, Joel told her as much.