The Ripple Effect [Stein x Reader]

Step to the Beat of my Off-Beat Dance

"Oh man I am snockered" Exclaimed yet another very familiar voice.

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Keeping you lodged into his abdomen was the human being that was none-other than Professor Franken Stein, in the flesh. In all honesty, you should have seen it coming. He always had this knack of being in the right place at the right time. Be it somehow getting himself to Italy in a matter of moments when Soul and Maka were attacked by Crona Gorgon and another mysterious being {Who he, of course, pinpointed quickly as Medusa. She wasn't exactly well-hidden}, or simply listening into the right conversation at the right time.

"Is it really appropriate for a teacher to get intoxicated at a school function?" You questioned. The weight of him over your shoulders weighed you down slightly, but within this captivity you to the chance to take note of your surroundings- And even the man who shamelessly thrown his arms over your shoulder. Inhaling slightly, you noted that there wasn't a heavy waft of alcohol at all- The only alcohol that you could smell was the red wine that was being held right in front of your face.

You could feel the man shrug slightly at the question, feel a grin spread across his face thinly.

"You know, I don't mind this song!" He exclaimed, "Lets dance!"

How uncharacteristic of the Professor to act in such a manner- But alcohol did things to a person, anyways. Though, you were quite sure that he wasn't exactly 'intoxicated'. This happened to be a school function, so alcohol wouldn't be part of the beverages that they would have and you were sure that teachers were told to keep an eye out for those who did try to 'spike the punch'. Of course, you had missed that meeting- But another teacher that you seldom talked to had made sure that you knew of this.

His massive hand curled around your wrist as he pulled, well- more or less dragged, you onto the dance floor. Dancing was not your thing- You were still recovering yourself form that dance with Kid that you had earlier. Music dulled down from that quick-paced jazz that had been playing to slow-moving.

"This is the same song that played when you danced with the school nurse" You stated, bleakly, "Are you attempting to be this thing that the students call 'a player'?" You questioned, a bleak looking wearing on your face.

A loud, rather obnoxious, and short-cut 'ha!' came from his lips.

"You're intriguing, (name)!"

Your heels still dug into the floor as he dragged you to a rather isolated spot. Your eyes skimmed around. It wasn't something that he did because he was interested in you, you had figured that out, though gossipy students were eyeing the scene- Just ready to figure out which teacher kissed who and why was the same teacher pulling two different teachers into the same places? But you were smart- That's how you knew that this was a big set up on the end of the highly-intelligent professor Stein. Not only that, the school didn't serve alcoholic beverages during school-funded events due to the fact that everyone around the adults happened to be under the legal drinking age.

"What makes you think that?" You questioned tartly.

Instead of receiving an answer, you simply felt one large hand rest on the bare skin of your back and the other hand take your significantly smaller one into its own. Your hands weren't 'meshing together perfectly', like all of the students fantasized when it came to slow-dancing with another person. His grip was suffocating your hand- But it was a good strategy, because it was a grip that could keep you from slinking off anywhere else.

Professor Franken Stein was clearly an intelligent man.

You watched as his feet seemed to move off-beat to the song, hit in between the beat counts rather than on them. A wave of irritation crossed over you as you attempted to move with this dance. It was difficult- The music in your ear was pounding one beat but this man was moving to a completely different one.

"You could at least move to the beat" You sighed, breaking moments of pure unnerving silence.

"I am moving to the beat" The Professor replied dryly.

"No you're not"

"Not to the beat that you're hearing and that everyone else is moving to, but I am most certainly moving to the beat. My own beat. Human beings have a tendency to want to follow a set beat without question- They want to dance simultaneously because it naturally makes them feel more secure. Of course, that's how all humans are. They feel justified when they see other people doing the same things. I move to my own beat, and it doesn't bother me. Because I'm an independent variable in the experiment- The one thing that always changes drastically. Not to say that other human beings don't change, they do. But other human beings change, yet still dance to the same beat. I've always moved just a little bit faster than everyone else- I've always been half of a count ahead of the rest of the beat. Which is a half of a count more intelligent than the rest of the world" He spoke, that façade of a drunk grin still splayed across his face.

"What well-formed words for someone who is 'snockered'" You spoke, starring dully at him- No expression wearing on your face.

"Maybe I gain intelligence whenever I drink" He spoke.

"There wasn't any alcohol at this dance, sir" You spoke, dully.

"I could have brought my own"

"Lord Death mandated that there was to be no alcohol at this dance, you wouldn't have broken a simple mandate like that. The only rule you would break is one that was severe" You retorted, "A rule that you know must be broken in order to receive the results that you need. I think that you might even break rules to save your students"

"Interesting hypothesis"

You fell silent.

His feet moved offbeat, still dancing along to a song that was just a half-beat ahead of everyone else. That half-beat, though, meant the world. A half-beat was a second between being alive and being dead. Perhaps that's why he's been around comfortably so long- Because he knows how to move faster than the rest.

His hips shifted against your own slightly, hitching the fabric of your, already too short, dress just a bit further up your leg. You would have flushed if you had the emotional capacity of it, but you merely kept your flustered thoughts to yourself, trying to think of a way to push the fabric back down to it's original place of occupancy. As you did such, the man's lips dropped close to your ears- Resting the side of his head against your own. To any bypassing gossip, it would seem as though he were whispering sweet-nothings into the ear of someone he might care for. But that much was a lie. He didn't have the capacity to be romantic with someone in that sense, nor did he have the capacity to love. So he claimed- But he had been proving his proclamation of himself pretty well.

"I believe I know what you are" He whispered, his voice sounding scarily smooth and calm. "It's just a matter of-"

"Witch!" Shrieked a girl.

Professor Franken Stein made the mistake of releasing you and turning towards the shriek- Seeing Medusa throw herself, rather skillfully, out of the window.

And, with that window of opportunity opened for you, you threw off the black high-heels you were wearing, and darted out of the room- feet banging quickly against the ground.

"Damn" Breathed the Professor.