Pirouette

17: Moves Like Jagger

• You might scream at me for this one if you're an OG, lmao •

When Fiona left school that afternoon and headed for the DanceDec, she was a bit of a nervous wreck, but that was nothing new at this point.

After the talk with her mom yesterday, she had promised to send the invite onwards to Adam and his grams about the dinner offer. She had never asked anyone over for dinner before, much less with family included, but if this was what it took for her mom to trust her with him, then dinner it was.

... But wasn't it truly just a polite opportunity for her mom to grill Adam some more and ask him the same questions she had asked Fiona yesterday?

So with slightly sweaty palms, Fiona jumped off the bus and walked towards the DanceDec, only to come to a slow halt outside of it when she spotted something unusual.

Adam was standing on the curb in front of the building, still in his school uniform, backpack slung over his shoulder, and was talking to... some guy?

Fiona frowned a little and watched as Adam appeared to be caught in a deep conversation with the man standing in front of him, a guy who appeared to be somewhat mid- to late twenties. He was reasonably tall and had black hair and olive skin. He looked friendly from the looks of his calm demeanor, but there was just something about him that made Fiona feel slightly anxious. He looked... official.

Who was this man, and how did Adam know him?

Carefully walking up to the two of them, Fiona hesitantly cleared her throat when she paused up right behind Adam. He turned around at the sound and then immediately grinned when he saw her standing there.

"And when speaking of the sun!" He laughed and wrapped his arm around her. He tenderly pecked her head. "This is her. Fiona, this is Matteo Jackson, my parole officer."

"Oh," Fiona's eyes widened when Matteo Jackson smiled her way. "It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too," Mr Jackson extended his hand, and Fiona politely shook it. "Adam's talked a lot about you."

Fiona looked surprised up at Adam who smiled sheepishly. "He has?"

"I told him you're the one keeping me out of trouble," Adam replied and tugged her closer to him. "And also promised not to get you into any either."

"If only all parolees were as well-behaved as you," Mr Jackson shook his head, but grinned. Fiona couldn't help but notice he spoke with a slight accent, but she couldn't quite pin it down. "Anyway. I just dropped by to say my goodbye. You'll get a call from your new parole officer sometime later this week."

"He's transferring to the west," Adam filled in when Fiona frowned confused. "He's leaving tomorrow, but I was his first assigned case, so I'm actually surprised he hasn't brought me a goodbye gift. Like a bag of coke to reminisce the good ole' days."

"Watch it," Mr Jackson pointed a reprimanding finger at him, but did so with a crooked smile. "Alright, I gotta get going. You two take care."

"Whoa, whoa," Adam held up his hands and stepped in Mr Jackson's way when he tried to leave. "It's dance circle Monday. Don't tell me you're trying to leave without a proper goodbye."

"Well, actually, I—"

"Unless you didn't bring it, of course," Adam challenged and looked him up and down with a teasing grin. "I bet old age took it from you and that's why you never show up anymore."

"Oh, so that's how it is?" Mr Jackson replied, chuckling with a shake of his head. "Old man, huh?"

"You know where the circle is," Adam gestured towards the doors and wagged his eyebrows. "Prove me wrong, grandpa. You know, my gram's still single. I could give you her number—"