Dreams of an Absolution

Lonely Dance (Episode 40)

Shortly afterwards, Skyler made his way over to the snack table with the $5 the kind girl gave to him. "You know, that's the type of girl I dream of. A girl too nice for a world like this. You're a lucky man", said the person behind the table to Skyler, wearing a smug look.

"You're looking way too deep into things," Skyler responded with an unamused expression. "And you're a crybaby over some food," replied the person behind the table with a snarky expression. "Shut the hell up," replied Skyler, rolling his eyes in annoyance. Looking around at the food, Skyler's mind couldn't decide on what to get. Not because there were many options, but the fact that he couldn't get that random girl off his mind.

With a soft sigh, Skyler handed the person his $5 and said, "Give me two slices of the pizza." The pizza was $2.50 a slice, so he had exactly enough for that amount. After paying and being handed the paper plate with the two large slices, Skyler put his right hand in his pocket, walking off with the pizza.

The person behind the table watched as Skyler walked away, until, he stopped for a split second. Instead of walking out the doors, Skyler took a deep breath, and walked into the ballroom with the plate of pizza. The person behind the counter smirked and said to themself, "Love at first sight, heh."

Once inside of the loud, crowded dance floor, Skyler's social anxiety began to trigger. With determination to find the girl, Skyler scanned the crowd, squinting his eyes because of the flashing purple lights. He saw a DJ in the rafters, a punch bowl table to the far side of the gym, and a beautiful spotlight in the center. He continued scanning until *Bump* somebody had blindly bumped into Skyler, causing the plate to fly out of his hands. "OH NO NO NO NO!!!", quickly raced through Skyler's thoughts as he made a miraculous dive to save the pizza slices before touching the ground.

When he caught the pizza plate, he didn't notice that he slid several feet across the ballroom, nearly in the center of the dance. Skyler quickly stood up to avoid embarrassment for the second time tonight, nearly slipping from how fast he got up while awkwardly holding the plate of pizzas.

But then, he saw her. She was right in the center of the ballroom, grooving and dancing with a large, open smile across her face. "Seems she's having a good time," Skyler said to himself with a small smile on his face. "ECHO VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL!!!! I HOPE YOU'RE ALL HAVING A BLAST TONIGHT!!!!", announced the DJ from up in the rafter of the gym. "Aww shit, a big song's about to come on huh? Fuck it, the pizza's mine, I gotta get out of h-" before Skyler could finish his thoughts, the next song began........

"One step forward.. One step backwards.." the lyrics sounded from the speakers. Skyler's eyes widened, as he said to himself, "Oh, this song." Skyler smiled slightly, and began bobbing his head to the tune unknowingly. He was in his own world, jamming out with his eyes closed for a split second.

"Woahhhh, look at her go!", yelled someone from the crowd of students, who were now surrounding the center of the dance floor. Despite the gasps and the feeling of all the students crowding around the center of the dance floor, Skyler didn't care, as he was getting into the groove of song, not even realizing he dropped the plate of pizza.

In the center of the crowd, danced the girl. The same girl who had showed Skyler kindness earlier. She was dancing so smoothly and elegantly to the rhythm of the song. It was as if she had been waiting for this moment her entire life, all whilst retaining the same cheerful smile she kept across her face. She moved with such precision in correlation with the beat and lyrics. Not even overly concentrating, but simply having fun with her dance.

In the same instance, still unknowing of his current surroundings, Skyler gripped onto his fedora with two fingers. Then, wearing a confident smirk across his face, Skyler smoothly moonwalked at a slow, yet eye-catching pace. Everyone in the ballroom began to cheer.

"WOAH HO HO, WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT YOUNG LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!!!", excitedly announced the DJ once more. Hearing this, Skyler quickly opened his eyes with zero hesitation. He instantly realized that he was directly in the center of the ballroom with all eyes on him.

"Uhhhhhhhh," sounded from Skyler's mouth, as didn't know how to react. Swiftly, he turned around to get out of sight as soon as possible. But, as he turned, he met face to face with the girl he was searching for in the center of the ballroom. They were so close that from some angles, it appeared as if they were kissing.

There she was, directly in his face. Her face was so red that Skyler could physically feel how flustered she was. But, Skyler didn't run away. With everybody watching, he knew deep down, that he couldn't run away. He didn't want himself to be seen as a fool, embarrassing himself by running from a girl in the middle of a song. Especially during senior prom.

"Damn it. I only came to the ball for some food. Ah well," thought Skyler, as he hesitantly reached out his hand to the girl, sweating intensely. The girl's expression instantly went from overwhelmed to a sense of calmness, as she took his hand and smiled.

Seconds after, the lights in the ballroom had begun to dim, as the ceiling of the gym began to open automatically, revealing the glass roof above. All of the night stars were now visible, creating a beautiful visual setting. It looked like a scene from out of a movie.

Conveniently, the moonlight became the gym's only source of light. And it solely focused on Skyler and the girl. Both smiling and now holding hands under the cool-toned blue light, Skyler smoothly brought her closer to himself. He held her hand with his left hand, and held her lower back with his right. He then took a step forward, as she took a step backwards. They then repeated this step, but this time, with the roles reversed. Before they knew it, they were performing an elegant and synchronized dance that went along with the flow and pace of the music. As the crowd of students cheered in amazement, the beat dropped........

In a heart stopping gesture, Skyler grabbed the girl by the hand once more and twirled her around, as he released her and they begun to freely dance and party to the chorus. Confetti popped out and rained from the ceiling as all the other students cheered and danced wildly, having the time of their lives.

Cheers were echoing throughout the school and reaching the outside. Nearby people outside the school gazed in awe due to the flashing lights going off and the loud cheers. It was as if a small concert was occurring.

Even as the song was reaching its end, a fan girl threw a rose into the center of the dance, which Skyler seductively caught with his teeth, glaring at the fan with his sharp eyes.

Just as the song reached its final beat, Skyler pulled the girl in close as the spotlight shined brightly on just them in the final second of the song. They locked eyes unlike they have ever before. For a moment, everything had gone mute, until the immediate sound cheers and loud clapping filled the ballroom. The DJ, just as hyped and stunned as everyone else, excitedly announced, "NOW THAT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IS WHAT I CALL A MOTHER FUCKING DANCE!!!! YEAH!!!!!"