ZERO! the umbrella academy

six

I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY

I DIDN'T LIKE VINYL, unlike Luther. Growing up, I had a silver stereo that sat on top of my dresser and a whole shelf full of cassette tapes. Music was the only other thing besides reading that I had occupied my free time with, and I could listen to songs in my room for hours on end.

When I was eleven, I had been obsessed with the song "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" by Whitney Houston. I remembered one time, I had been blasting it in my room at full volume and dancing around like a madwoman, waving my arms in the air. I was so into it that I didn't notice Five teleport in behind me.

"Zero, what are you up to? Oh..."

I whirled around to see him standing behind me, his hands shoved in his pockets with a mix of bewilderment and fascination in his eyes as he watched me. I froze mid-dance, my jaw nearly dropping to the floor. Then, I shook myself out of the trance I was in and frantically slammed the pause button on the stereo, nearly breaking it in the process.

"Five, I thought we agreed you wouldn't sneak up on me like that!"

"I'm sorry. I was too lazy to knock and—"

"Leave," I cut him off.

He furrowed his thick brows. "What?"

"You heard me. Leave!" I repeated. My cheeks were burning, and I couldn't look him in the eye.

"Zero, I said I'm sorry—"

"I don't care. Just... please leave." I turned around and sat in the corner of my room, hugging my knees to my chest. I shrank in on myself, squeezing my eyes shut so the tears wouldn't fall.

I almost thought he'd left when his voice cut through the silence that had settled over the room. "Turn the music back on."

I lifted my head. "What?"

"Come on, Zero. Turn back on the music." I spun back around to face him and saw that he was kneeling in front of me. "Please?"

I searched his face for any sign that this was some sort of joke, but I found none. Regardless of where he was going with this, I pressed my hands against the hardwood floor and slowly rose to my feet. I hesitantly pushed the play button, and Whitney's voice once again filled the air.

Five extended a hand out to me, a bright smile on his face. I quirked a brow, but took his hand anyway. Next thing I knew, he spun me around to the music, and I would've fallen over if it weren't for his hand on my waist.

The smile on his face was contagious, and I found myself laughing as we danced around the room to the rhythm. I was clumsy on my feet and relied a little too much on his hands to guide me as we moved, but he didn't seem to mind. Five was a surprisingly good dancer, smooth and effortless, and I grew suspicious of him as time wore on.