If Love Could Be The Cure We Need - A MakoHaru Medical AU

Chapter 11: Footloose

Haruka Nanase

When we get to the gymnasium the music is already blaring through the speakers and people are already dancing. There aren't many people here, but the ones that are dancing are good at it.

Just before we walk through the big double doors and into the large hall one of the nurses I don't recognize hands me a cowboy hat. Makoto and Rin, who are walking in front of me, have already put their hats on their head. I put my hat on as well, but it's way too big, so it immediately sacks down on one side.

When Makoto turns around he smiles wide. His olive brown hair peeks from underneath the oversized hat. The cowboy hat in combination with his red and black plaid shirt he looks like some kind of farmer.

"You ready?" Makoto asks.

Rin turns around as well, joining Makoto in waiting for my answer. Rin's also wearing a plaid shirt, but he has his knotted around his waist because he didn't what to get overheated. Makoto told me it was this tradition when they were line dancing, he also got me to wear one of his plaid shirt to keep this tradition going.

Eventually, I shrug, because when I see how smoothly the, already dancing, people move I think I would just ruin it all. They're all dancing the same dance in a few rows of three. I'll definitely fall out of line.

"So, have you ever done this before?" Rin asks when we're a little further into the hall where we found an empty spot to lay down our stuff.

I shake my head while I throw my water bottle onto the floor where Rin is busy trying to fit his oxygen tank in a smaller bag.

"Maybe it's better if we practice a little," Makoto suggests. "Don't you think?"

Rin nods, I nod even more because I don't have the rhythm to start right away.

When Rin has finally pressed his tank in the bag he can wear around his shoulder, he gets up and smiles at us with some kind of naughty grin. "So, which song?"

I swallow, probably audible, because I don't know any line dance songs. In the seventeen years that I've been on this earth I've never showed interest in dancing.

"What about the song that's playing anyway?" Makoto asks, glancing at the kids who are dancing to some sort of busy song.

They're doing quick steps and I can barely keep up with the movements of their feet.

Rin chuckles and when he says, "What? Fake ID. Sorry, but I think that's too hard for you." It sounds almost insulting. Rin thinks for a moment and then takes out his MP3-player and start scrolling through the music. I can't believe he actually brought one in case we had to practice something new because everyone else is doing something "too hard".

"What about Footloose?" he asks, Makoto agrees without hesitation making me think he's already done this one before. "You also okay with that, Haruka?"

I nod as well and not much later Makoto and I are standing beside each other while Rin shows us how it's done.

He starts by putting on the music and he just starts dancing. He clearly knows the moves and he doesn't only dance with his feet but also holds his hat with one hand and the other hand hidden is the pocket of his sweatpants while he moves his upper body to the music.

After a little while of us just standing there, watching his feet, confused, he stops. The music stops and Rin takes a few deep breaths, coughing while he tries to catch his breath.

"So, you can't keep up." He takes another wheezing breath, his hands are leaning onto his knees while he looks at us. "Shall I do it a little slower then?"

Makoto and I glance at each other and both of us nod.

Rin catches his breath before he stands with his back to us. "Just repeat what I do, okay?" he tells us, Makoto answers for the both of us.

Before I'm even actually paying attention to what Rin is doing he starts moving. He takes a wide step to the right, only to place his left foot behind his right one. When he's to taking the second step to the right with his right foot, I'm struggling to not trip over my own feet. And when Rin smoothly lets his left foot join his right, I bump into Makoto who's also not getting the whole stepping thing.

Rin does the same to the other side, flawlessly and smooth. But Makoto and I keep stepping on each other's feet and bumping into each other. Rin tells us to just keep trying this without even turning around to see how it's going, I think he has more faith is us than he should have.

It goes wrong, because my feet get tangled up and I fall over, tumbling into Makoto and before I know it we're both on the ground. Makoto's chuckling loudly and when I look up I see that other teenagers are glaring at us, pointing and laughing.

It's very embarrassing, and it doesn't get any better when Rin notices what happened. He rolls his big red eyes at us and groans. "You are both really incompetent, aren't you?" he annoyed tells us, slamming his hand into his face.

"We're just not as good in dancing as you are," Makoto replies. "Can't you do it any slower?"

"Slower?" Rin shoots back at Makoto. "This is as slow as I can get, you're just..." He groans loudly and then his brow furrows. "I don't have much faith in you two, but, okay, we'll just slowly continue with practicing."

We both get up and start practicing again, step by step.

At the end of the afternoon we're not much further when it comes to knowing how to dance, and Rin has actually gotten mad with us when we were trying to do it with a little more speed and Makoto and I just kept bumping into each other.

He eventually just gave up and sat down on the floor in disappointment.

I might've not done a lot today, but by the time a flop onto my bed I'm still exhausted. With a content smile I remember every time Makoto bumped into me and how it actually felt pretty nice.

My cheeks get warmer when I hug my pillow and realize that I've laughed more today than I've done in my entire life. Maybe it was because both Makoto and I sucked at dancing, or maybe it was because Rin constantly got mad at us, but today was fun.

I close my eyes and the image of Makoto bending forward, reaching for me, shoots to mind. A chill moves down my spine as I remember how he smiled at me every time he helped me back on my feet after tripping over my own feet again.

The way he looked at me, the way my heart skipped a beat; that has never happened to me before. Never, with no one.

My eyes shoot open when the thought comes to mind; what if I feel more for Makoto than "just friends".

I feel how my face gets completely warm, but I shake the thought away. I can't, I tell myself, because Makoto's going to forget me some day. I don't want to hurt so much as Rin does about his boyfriend, but if I feel more for Makoto that'll happen... so I just can't.

I breathe into my pillow and tell my mind to shut off; today was just a fun day with some friends, nothing more or less. And tomorrow... tomorrow will be a fun day with friends as well.

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Hey there!

Okay, so this chapter is actually based on something my friends and I love to do; Line dancing :)

We basically follow the example of my best (male) friend, who's been on dancing lessons for a while when he was younger. I have another friend whom also is very good at dancing and picks up the steps very quickly. But me? I suck! I'm basically Haru when it comes to this scene.

I'd been doing that often in the time I wrote this, when I still had the energy to dance and get myself exhausted with friends, and I just had to use my expierence in a story, hahaha.

I'm sorry if you thought this was a boring chapter, it's kind of a filler and some character development, I guess. There'll be about three more of these chapters in the story, because I just sometimes need something cute and funny and just to let the friendships develop. I hope you get that and I hope you like it anyway.

Love, Noa <3