Dance This way: An Avi Kaplan fan fiction

The Morning After

The next morning was complete and utter mayhem. I was bombarded with questions and party invitations from people I didn't even know. I tried my best to avoid them on my way to class but was cornered many times. All I wanted was to get to class and I was being poked and prodded as I made attempts to push and pull my way past mobs of people.

"So are you two dating" one girl asked.

"Wow Erica, you sure aim high" a guy asked obnoxiously. I ignored them all not wanting to say the wrong thing, or get angry and react the wrong way. Despite all the chaos going on, I had to consider that if I said the wrong thing, it could come back on Avi. I eventually managed to get to class. I shut the door behind me and stood in my usual spot.

"There she is " Lena exclaimed.

"We Didn't think you'd make it" Alex said nudging me.

"So what happened after I left" Lena asked. I explained what happened. I gave them a play-by-play of everything that happened between me and Avi.

"So you're going out with him again, right" Lena asked. "He's obviously into you". I paused for a second.

"I can't" I admitted.

"I don't see why not" Alex told me. "It would be nice to see you with someone Instead of you tagging along with me and Lisa all the time" he finished jokingly.

"Yeah, but think about it guys" I told them. "Can you really see me putting up with all of this all of the time" I asked. Neither of them could answer. "Plus, I would just be setting myself up for disappointment. This little daydream was nice, but that's all it is." I said and it was quiet. "It's been fun, but he and I can never be more than friends. I won't put myself through it if I know I can avoid getting hurt" I finished. I looked ahead as Jack took the empty space behind me.

"You look pretty tense" he pointed out. "You want a massage" he asked. I rolled my eyes and said nothing. "Erica, when are you going to give in to this unspoken bond we have" he asked, but I kept ignoring his advances.

Class was almost over and everyone was cooling down. The door opened and the room fell silent fell so you could hear a needle drop to the floor. Avi had slowly entered the room head first and my face went hot.

"He could be here for anything" I reasoned with myself. I tried to act like I wasn't paying attention "There's no need to jump to conclusions" I breathed. I looked over at Alex as if he had an answer for why he was there. "Just breath".

"Sorry to interrupt, but I'm looking for one of your students" Avi said casually like he did this every day. His voice echoed through the room and it fell on my ears. I could feel the hairs on the back of neck start to stand. I looked over at Lena who was absolutely beaming at me.

"Traitor" I thought.

"Do you have an Erica in your class" Avi asked a very flustered Collére. She then lifted her hand and she motioned it towards me.

"She picks today to not be a dream killer!?" I thought to myself. I couldn't avoid it anymore. Avi approached me and my peers could do nothing but stare and whisper to one another.

"Hey" he said quietly.

"Hey" I said a little nervously.

"It's been fun hanging out with you" he said as the whispers became more audible. He didn't seem to notice. "I thought that you might want to catch a movie or something later" he asked. I could feel Lena's eyes burning a hole in the side of my head in her excitement.

"You could have just texted me. You didn't have to come all this way." I said tried to keep quiet, but in a huge room with wooden floors, sound carried in all the wrong ways.

"Yeah, but I figured, you'd be me a little more frazzled if I did it this way and it's just too cute to pass up" he said back and a jolt of electricity went up and back down my spine. Why did he have to be this amazing? This was it though. This was my chance. This was when I told him that we couldn't go any further. It was the moment that I looked into those crystal green eyes and told him that I wasn't interested in any of the chaos.

"I would love to" I said with a smile. "Crap" I thought and gave myself a mental facepalm. He smiled at me "text me later" I asked.

"Okay" he agreed with a smirk. He placed a finger under my chin and tilted my head more upward so he could give me a peck on the forehead before he headed for the door. When he left the room's whispers had grown in volume and I could feel their white hot gazes all over me. Despite these things, I was happy. I was excited and I thought my heart would leap from my chest.

"No more than friends right, Lena" Alex said

"The daydream was nice" Lena told Alex.

"Shut up you two" I said.

I had to admit, Avi and I were having fun. The two of us were inseparable. We texted when we weren't together and acted like we hadn't seen each other in years when we were. I liked him. To say it after such a short time is new for me. I'm usually really careful with my heart, but Avi made me want to scribble his name all over my notebooks and smile it all the stupid text we would send.

Avi saw fit that I meet his friends. We decided to go to one of my favorite pizza places. The night was filled with good times and amazing people. His friends Scott and Mitch were so close they would even speak in harmony. Watching Kevin and Avi together was, by far, one of the cutest things ever. It was as if those two were little kids in a candy store. Kirstie was so sweet and I could tell it was a little bit of a relief having another girl around for once.

"Erica, I am obsessed with those ankle high heeled boots" Mitch told me. I smiled. "It's so nice to know that Avi has a girlfriend that can slay when it comes to fashion" he continued. everyone laughed except Avi and I. We looked at each other nervously and with uneasy eyes. We hadn't even kissed, let alone put a label on what we were. Yeah, I liked him and I was pretty sure he liked me too, but there's always that little shadow of doubt. It was that existing Little speck that made me question my judgment.

We had finished and were standing outside of the restaurant

"I had fun" I said. Thinking the night was over.

"Ummm, the night is still young" Scott said.

"There's got to be another place for us to go" Mitch begged. I thought for a minute.

"Well..." I said. "There's one place I know" I finished.

The six of us had entered a place called "The Hall" it was my favorite dance spot. Luckily, it was Latin night. The Hall was a huge dance club that was perfect because it was the type of dancing where people could come to dance and just be cool with each other. Everyone there respected the boundaries and it never got too graphic. Scott and Mitch were with me on the dance floor while the others were by our table. The song was over and a slow song started. I walked up to Avi and grabbed his hand.

"Dance with me" I pleaded.

"I don't dance Erica" he told me.

"Then it's a good thing you have a good teacher" I said winking at him. Avi followed me to the dance floor and pulled me close to his torso. My heart jumped a little. "I thought you said you couldn't dance" I said

"I said I don't. I never said that I couldn't" he smirked deviously before slowly dipping me. When he pulled me upright, he lead me like I had never been before. Guiding me through steps, he never once took his eyes off me. He was like a dragon with burning eyes of desire. It was as if he could take me at any given moment. Avi pulled me back into his body and I looked up into his eyes.

"Avi Kaplan, you never cease to amaze me". I said smiling. Another slow song came on, but started to head back to the others. Avi then pulled me back and we began to dance in place

"About what Mitch said at dinner..." He started and my heart started pounding. "I'm sorry if you got embarrassed or felt awkward" he apologized.

"It's okay" I said a little uneasy. "I wasn't embarrassed" I said into his chest. "It does make me wonder" I paused. "It makes me think..." I trailed off.

"Erica" Avi said as I looked up into his eyes.

"Yo, Erica" I heard a voice say behind me.