Hold On (Book 1 of It's Not Over)

Dance Dance

A/N: Yeah. Dance Dance by Fallout Boy popped into my head while brainstorming key points for this chapter last night. I spent the entire time singing the song instead of brainstorming. This should be fun.

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"You can't be serious, De."

"What can't he be serious about," I asked as Remus and I approached our friends. I handed Roman a glass of punch and took a sip of mine.

"Patton asked De about our rehearsal tomorrow. Apparently it was his idea, and not Remus'. We seem to have a gig next weekend and De wants to rehearse more frequently so we're ready."

"Okay. First. Why does everyone feel the need to let me know these things last?"

"Because if we don't give you a last minute notice you'll find an excuse to back out of it," Logan stated matter of factly.

"One time! I did that only once! And bold of you to assume I won't find an excuse with last minute notice. Second question. Why is Roman complaining?"

"I'm excited for you guys," he took a sip of his punch and looked away with a blush on his face.

Liar.

"Uh-huh. Sure," I took a sip of my own drink, nearly choking on it when Patton squealed. I looked over to him to fuss about his outburst, only to see him drag Logan towards the dance floor.

"Patton, I do not dance," the nerd protested. But, alas, his protests fell on deaf ears.

I chuckled as I watched my brother try and get the other boy to dance. I would've laughed longer if Roman hadn't pulled me towards him and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Roman," I said in a warning tone as he held me close, pressing his chest to my back and started swaying.

"Yes, my darling emo nightmare?"

"I thought we agreed that I didn't have to dance."

"It's a slow song, Virgil. Come now. Don't be a stick in the mud."

"I don't dance, Princey."

"You're doing a wonderful job of it right now though."

Without even realizing it I had started moving along with him, and I wanted to kill him for it. It wasn't exactly true that I didn't dance. My mother had been a dance instructor, so Patton and I were formally trained in a multitude of dance styles. It was something we did to spend time with her. It was something I stopped doing when she died.

"Please stop, Roman," my body went tense and my voice got quiet. Dancing reminded me of her. I didn't want to remember her.

I felt a hand grab my wrist and pull me out of the gymnasium. Gentle hands cupped my cheeks and my tears were being wiped away. Tears? When had I started crying?

"Talk to me, Virgil. Please."

I looked up to see...Logan. His dark brown eyes were filled with concern. I took a step back and looked around. Roman was near the door to the gymnasium with Patton. They both looked scared and worried. What had happened?

"What happened?" I looked back up at Logan with confusion in my eyes.

"We don't know. You just started crying. I noticed while I was dancing with Patton so I grabbed your wrist and brought you out here. I assumed you didn't want anyone else to see you crying."

I nodded numbly and murmured a thank you.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I think so," I sighed heavily and moved forward, leaning my forehead against my friend's chest. I felt a hand hesitantly pat my head and I chuckled softly. "I'm good, Lo. Thanks."

"Of course. If you want to talk I'm here."

"I haven't danced since my mother died."

"Patton mentioned her. She was a dance instructor, was she not?"

"Yeah. She taught us to dance. When she died I stopped dancing. And dancing reminds me of her. I guess I kinda got caught in a spiral of past thoughts."

"I see."

"I'm okay now, though," I stood up straight and wiped my eyes, giving the other teen a reassuring smile.

"You should let Roman know. He seems very worried."

"I will," I looked over to my brother, and my...boyfriend? Could I call him that? I waved Roman over while Logan went to reassure Patton that I was okay. Taking the jock's hand in mine, I looked up into his eyes and chewed my lip nervously.

"Virgil?"

I held up a hand to keep him from saying anything else and then I spoke. I told him about my mother. About why I didn't dance. About why it upset me that we were dancing. I started crying again. I really hate crying. When I had finished saying everything I could without my voice cracking I looked up at him and waited for the worst.

I waited for Roman to tell me I was being stupid. I waited for him to say that that was more baggage than he wanted to deal with. I waited for him to laugh at me. I waisted for him to say so what. I waited for the responses that didn't come.

What I didn't wait for was the look of pain in his eyes. I didn't wait for the gentle kiss to my forehead. I didn't wait for the warm, bone crushing embrace. I didn't wait for the stream of apologies. I didn't wait for the offer to take me home early. I didn't wait for the promise to never ask me to another dance again. I didn't wait for the "I love you far too much to ever put you through something like that again and I am so sorry I didn't listen when you protested the first time." I didn't wait for these things because I didn't expect them.

"We can go back into the dance if you want, Ro. They still haven't crowned the king and queen yet."

"That doesn't matter. I wanted to come because I wanted to have a good time with you. I can't have a good time with you if you're not having a good time, Virgil. What kind of piece of crap boyfriend would I be if I didn't care about your comfort?"

Boyfriend?

We were boyfriends. That's got to know.

"Let's go back in, Roman. As long as I'm not dancing I'll have a good time. You could always dance with Patton if you really want to dance."

"With Patton?"

"He loves to dance and Logan looked like he was gonna trip and break a leg on the dance floor with him. Give the nerd a break and make the fluff ball happy."

Roman hesitated a moment, a slight frown on his face, but he nodded and smiled all the same. "If you're alright with it."

"I wouldn't have suggested it if I wasn't alright with it."

We walked back into the gymnasium and Roman and Patton danced for a couple of songs while Logan and I made sure the wall stayed standing and blended in with the background, smiling as the other two teens enjoyed themselves. I even bobbed my head a bit while They danced to Dance Dance.