Friday morning and I'm wide awake. Gerard still has a few things to finish up with work so that means he'll be in his office. That gives me more time to practice today's gift since I didn't get much yesterday. The surprise I've decided on this time is dancing.
I know I need a lot practice because let's just say, I'm known for going a bit “wild” when music starts playing around me. This time however, I want to do something a little less hardcore. What I mean in this case is that instead of my usual mosh-pit style, I'm doing something gentle.
The original plan was to just do a small dance floor in the living room but then I had a better idea. Slow dancing in the moonlight. Romantic, right? I already set up little lights around the backyard and I'm going to play some nice slow songs. I'm even planning on wearing my favorite black suit and purple tie to go with it. Before this happens though, I still need practice, which is why I'm going to need some help.
I get dressed quickly and go downstairs to Gerard's office. I tell him I'm leaving and give him a kiss before leaving the house. I drive to my destination, almost getting lost on the way. Eventually, I make it to the familiar building and head inside.
The walls are littered with posters of upcoming events and pictures of the students with trophies. As I walk down the hallway, one catches my eye and I stop to examine it. I chuckle to myself, immediately recognizing the dark hair, dark eyes, and awkward grin that belongs to the one and only: Jamia Nestor.
Jamia is one of my best friends and runs a dance academy; the one I'm standing in right now, to be specific. She's always wanted to teach dance so that's what she did, and she's actually good at it. Although I have most of the steps down, I want to make sure I get it as close to perfect as possible. I haven't had much practice with someone else so who else would I go to for this?
I walk a little further to the classrooms with glass walls and find the one with Jamia in it. There are kids in there with her so I just wait until she moves from the front of the class. I go inside, immediately capturing the attention of the students that were previously practicing their own routines.
A little girl dressed in white and pink comes over to me and stares up at me for a bit. Then she announces, “Ms. Nestor, there's a strange man in here.”
With that, she goes back to her group of friends and I feel someone tap me on the shoulder. I turn around to see a confused look on Jamia’s face that soon turns to a surprised one. She pulls me in for a tight hug and I have to pry her off of me. I would have at least hoped that since she's about the same size as me, she couldn't suffocate me with her hugs the way our taller friends do. Guess I thought wrong.
“Frank,” she begins, “about time you came back, how have you been?”
I catch my breath before answering, “Now that I can breathe again, I'm fine, you?”
She shrugs, “Same old, same old…. Why exactly are you here?”
“I… want to dance. I mean, I need someone to practice with.”
She raises a questioning eyebrow, “Don't you have a boyfriend for that?”
“It's a surprise for him, you know full well I wouldn't be here if it wasn't important.”
I don't know why, I just really don't like being here, it was just weird to me. When we were still in high school, Jamia worked here part time and dragged me along with her. I don't know what was with this place, I just didn't like it. That is why I avoided it as much as possible, until now of course.
She grins, “Awesome; I have to finish up with this class and then we can get started. Just hang out in the back.”
I do as requested and make my way to the corner of the room, noting that some of the kids are still staring at me. I shift my attention to my feet and soon, Jamia gets them to focus again, continuing whatever lesson they were doing.
When the class is officially over, the students grab their belongings and leave, either to be picked up by their parents, or walk home. After they all file out, Jamia makes her way back over to me, an expectant look on her face.
I ask, confused, “What?”
She rolls her eyes, pulling me off my seat and stepping back to watch me. She demands, “Show me what you got!”
I suddenly remember why I'm here in the first place. I hold out my hand to her, “I kinda need someone to dance with.”
“Okay, but you're leading.” She smirks, taking my hand and stepping closer this time.
I count us off as best as I can and begin a small waltz-like dance. I move to the slow rhythm in my mind and watch my feet, making sure I stay in time with the silent beat. I accidentally step on Jamia's feet a few times but continue anyway. When I've run out of moves, I just stand there awkwardly, waiting for her criticism.
She thinks over her decision before nodding to herself. “That was terrible.”
You could always count on Jamia to give her honest opinion. “Thanks, Jams,” I say sarcastically, crossing my arms over my chest. “Now can you tell me something that's actually useful? I kinda have to do this tonight.”
“Besides the fact that that's really dumb, you obviously aren't used to whatever song you playing in your head and you are way too stiff, that throws off your entire movement. If you want to dance properly, for starters, you have to actually like the music you're dancing to.” She sighs, “We have a lot of work to do.”
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I stand in front of the mirror, adjusting my tie and fixing any stray hairs. It's finally time to put my plan in motion and thanks to Jamia, it might actually go better than expected. It took a bit, but I surprisingly got a hang of what she taught me.
Since I'm dressed for tonight, I head downstairs to turn the lights on outside while I wait for Gerard to get ready. The backyard now shines with small white lights and I'm quite proud of myself. I go back inside and wait at the foot of the stairs, not having to wait long because I soon hear footsteps.
I look up to see Gerard making his way to me. He comes down the stairs with a crooked grin, dressed in a black suit with his favorite red tie. He has his hair parted to the left, but it still covers some of his face. I put out my hand, giving him a toothy grin as he takes it and laces our fingers together.
“You look great,” Gerard compliments, following me as I lead him to the backyard.
“You don't look too bad yourself,” I return, winking at him.
He admires the decoration of lights, “So what's on tonight's agenda?”
“Dancing.”
“Dancing?”
I nod confidently, turning on some Frank Sinatra to play on my speaker. According to Jamia, I'm way better at dancing to something familiar like this, rather than a random slow song that didn't pique my interest. We practiced a while to both types and she concluded that jazz would be better anyway. What can we say, she does have her fair share in good taste.
I bow a bit, offering my hand once again. “Mr. Way, may I have this dance.”
Gerard smiles shyly, taking my hand, “Of course Mr. Iero, it'd be my pleasure.”
We move towards the middle of the backyard and I place my free hand on Gerard's shoulder while he puts his arm around my waist. We step in time with the beat and I stare at my feet again, trying to avoid Gerard's. I definitely got better with my practice from today but I'm still cautious about my footwork.
We dance to a few songs but eventually end up swaying to the next ones. I hook my arms around his neck while we wraps his around my waist, resting his forehead against my own. The moment is so calm and full of warmth and I can't get enough of it.
“I love you, Gerard Way,” I whisper, pulling him closer to me.
He plants a kiss on my head and holds me tighter, “I love you too, Frank Iero.”
