RP: Just Dance

[rar_dancer]

Date 17 September 1999
Character(s): Danny Wall, Lola Hodson, anyone else who wants to
Location: Terpsichore Studios
Status: Pretty much public
Summary: Lesson 2 is the rumba
Completion: InComplete

Comments

[rar_verity]

Verity wished she had made it to the first lesson; everyone else seemed to understand what the instructors were talking about. And when they demonstrated? She wished she'd worn a skirt, that flippy motion was so cute, but then again, it would be nice to see her feet, and know that she was doing the steps right, so maybe her slim trousers and plain black pumps would work.

She bit her lip, watching the pair of them, moving her feet subtly and trying to match the pattern they made, then sighed. Maybe...

[rar_draco]

Draco was new to this, but it was clear that he wasn't the only one. Verity, whom he knew from his dealings with George, was dancing on her own, or...almost dancing - looking very lost, and since he knew these few basic steps - although the rumba was a long way from being his favourite dance, he went to offer his services as a mirror to reflect from. At least he knew her, at least offhand, and she did not have any particular opinion of him one way or another. She was a safe bet.

"May I?" he asked. "Try like this. If you start with where your hips should be, rather than where your feet should -- let the movement go from your hips and out to your arms, down to your feet..." He showed her. "If you concentrate on getting your hips right, everything should follow -- that's the way all of these latin dances work..."

[rar_verity]

May I? Verity looked up, recognising Draco immediately, and giving him a smile. Oh, someone she knew. At least a bit... She nodded. "Please..."

She watched him move, nodding, then shaking her head. "My hips...tell my feet where to go? Oh, why couldn't they start with the waltz or something?" She gave him a hopeless laugh, then reached one hand out to touch his shirt, moving her hips the same way his moved.

Well, almost... "I suppose a waltz isn't exactly latin dancing though, is it?"

[rar_draco]

Oh - a smile. He couldn't help but be grateful for that. He nodded at her. "It really is that simple," he said. "No - just relax a little...you don't have to get it right straight away, and you'll get it right sooner if you're relaxed and enjoying yourself." He took her hands and guided them into the right place, then stepped closer to return the favour. "Now let's try again. Hips first...that's better already, you see?"

She wasn't bad at all - maybe a bit self-conscious, but he remembered being self-conscious with his own coach. "The waltz isn't at all like latin. In ballroom you have to stay stiff; in this, you need to be fluid, let the rhythm guide you."

[rar_verity]

"Oh, Merlin..." She let him guide her, and the music...oh. There it was. The bit of the music that said...sway... Verity's hips mirrored Draco's and their feet took the next step, and she gasped, then looked up at him, grinning.

"I did it!" She laughed, then looked down at her feet, decidedly awkward now. "Oh, well...once." She tugged at a fold of his shirt excitedly. "Let's do it again!"

[rar_draco]

She managed it, then became self-conscious again, but it didn't matter because now she was enjoying it it would come more easily to her. "Don't look," he said, reaching up briefly to click his fingers above her shoulder. "I don't mind if you step on my feet - just don't look at them, it stiffens your spine." They went through the movement again.

"You're getting it now," he told her.

[rar_verity]

Verity laughed, looking up obediently, amused by the snap of his fingers. "I'm glad you don't mind," she teased. "It's almost a guarantee, now..."

She wiped her hand on her trousers before taking his again, counting the music in her head as her feet moved. Right...left...wriggle...forward...wriggle...

She smiled, then opened her eyes and was pleased to find that she could still move, even if she was looking at something else. "I think I am..."

[rar_draco]

"Only if I jinx it by saying that I expect you to avoid it," he said, amused. It wasn't very challenging, but it felt good to dance, and he was surprised to find that he was actually enjoying it. She certainly wasn't perfect, but as long as he guided her through the dance with one hip and one elbow, it seemed to go quite smoothly, and he didn't mind the lessons pace when he had someone to speak to, if she could concentrate on dancing and speaking at the same time, that was.

"How is work?" he asked. "You seemed to be making yourself quite comfortable at the shop last time I saw you."

[rar_verity]

Verity smiled, relaxing a bit more. Draco made it easy, guiding her twists just a little, and she glanced over at the instructors. Lifted her heels a bit more, and gave her hips just a bit of an actual swivel.

Oooh...

She smiled, then nodded as he spoke of her work. "Oh, I am. I love it at the Wheezes. George is fab fun to work with. He's even teaching me to make some things." She loosened the death-grip she realised she had on his hand, biting her lip. "And I do the owl orders. It's my writing on your parcels..."

[rar_draco]

"You're taking to it very well," he said. "Of course, these are just basic steps. The rumba is really a sensual dance, symmetry and passion... It's not my usual style." He smiled and went through the simple movements again, this time still holding one hand and lifting his other arm up into the air beside him. He held his elbow at an angle, his hand open and slightly upturned, and then when they moved he let the movement travel from his hips all the way up through his shoulder and along his arm. "Once you know the basic steps, you can embellish them."

"Oh, really? It looked like a woman's handwriting, but I couldn't be sure." His smile did not quite reach his eyes. "Do you know what's in the parcels, or do you just address them?"

[rar_verity]

Verity laughed as he 'embellished' the dance, not nearly brave enough to try that, quite... She did let her foot twist just a bit, giving her hip an extra flip at the turn, and once again, rather wished she'd worn a skirt. That would look pretty...

She met his gaze, his odd smile, then nodded. "I fill the orders. Even the private transactions. George knows I don't talk to anyone about the things people order."

[rar_draco]

"That's it," he said, raising his voice in congratulation. "Wonderful," he said. "You're much more confident now. Maybe we should add an extra step?"

"I see," he said, and he forcefully let his mask drop for a moment, his expression something between concern and disappointment. "So long as you're discreet." It felt like a dirty secret, and he knew it shouldn't be. He certainly wasn't the only person in Britain to have nightmares. "George really is quite exceptional."

"Here...this time step forward and to the right, then step back and start the pattern again, so that we exchange places. One, two, three..." and they turned, Draco stepping into Verity just as she stepped into him, and consequently avoiding each other, turning, left foot, swivel to right foot. It went quite smoothly.

[rar_verity]

Her triumphant smile faded just a bit, and she met his eyes again. "I take George's confidence in me very seriously," she said evenly. "And yes...he is. Exceptional..."

She let him lead her into the new bit, just a sidestep and turn, really, and now they were facing opposite of where they'd begun. She smiled again, looking out over this new section of the room. "Was that right?"

[rar_draco]

"I'm sorry," he apologised. "I didn't mean it to sound like that. I just...don't particularly like admitting that there is anything wrong with me. The nightmares are...not pleasant." He looked away, then dropped their hands down, guiding her hand onto his hip, mirroring that movement with his own right hand, concentrating on the dance while he recovered his expression.

"Why don't you add an embellishment," he suggested, forcing himself to look up and smile. "I'll copy you."

[rar_verity]

"Having nightmares doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you," Verity said gently, letting him reposition her hand.

The steps were easy, now that her feet knew how to do them, and she ducked her head a bit, catching his eye. "I'd think there was something wrong with you, if you said you didn't have any at all," she added with a smile.

Add something...hm. She bit her lip, then looked up at him. "I like the turn thing," she said, counting the steps until the spot that they'd do the little side-step again, but lost count. Her foot landed squarely on his and she giggled, hand clasped at his hip as she recovered her footing.

"Oh, Merlin. I knew it would happen sooner or later. Is it hopelessly squashed?"

[rar_draco]

"Oh," he said, and almost blushed. He supposed she was right - normal people who had gone through what he had ought to have nightmares... He was thinking about that when he saw her shoulder move to turn, and wasn't quite quick enough to respond to it. One step too soon