Totally Not Dancing

[Quinn Wiley]

Quinn couldn’t go to his dorm. Jack was in there. That was enough to explain why it was best not to be in there. Somehow, Quinn always seemed to break one of the boy’s ‘rules’. The fact he couldn’t care less about them and might actually do it on purpose sometimes might explain how that happened. But even if he did not, Quinn decided this was best to stay away from the guy whenever he could.

Normally, he’d be doing his work in his room. Or the library. But he didn’t want to go to the library today. Somehow, the silence was annoying him right now. Problem was, lots of noise also annoyed him. The student lounge and the cafeteria were too crowded. He needed a quiet spot but also with a little of noise. Was that possible? It could with music. He had an old MP3 player, he could listen to it while finding some spot where no one would be. His legs took him to the auditorium, empty at this time of the day. It was perfect. He could throw his bag in the middle of the way, sit comfortably on one of the seat, even put his legs over the one in front of his if he wanted. Not that he wanted, but he could.

He tried to work, the music blaring in his ears but his hands grew restless. He kept playing with his pencil. At some point, his leg also shook. He knew what it was. Lately he’d been trying to quit smoking. Again. It was not going so well and the fact he had no atomizers for his vapor cigarettes didn't help. He could kill for a smoke. But he had none. He smoked them all and his budget was too limited to allow him to get another pack.

He needed to do something. Schoolwork was not interesting enough to keep him focused on this. It was when some catchier song played in his ears. When did he uploaded that in there? As he tried to focus on his math book and the problem at hand, his leg kept beating to the sound of the music. Soon, he found out his fingers did too. He looked around. There was no one. Why not? His head was already doing it anyway as well. He placed his books on the seat next to him and stood up. Right here, in the way. No one was there. He could dance a little. No? It would help take away some of that extra energy he seemed to be having right now. Alright, just once, real quick.

TAG: Ashley Benson

[Ashley Benson]

Ashley now got a couple hours a day in which she was encouraged to venture out of her room and take in the campus that she had been hidden away from for so many years. The biggest problem she found with this was the simple facts that she had no idea where to go, what to do and still feared herself around other people. She'd managed to meet a few people here and there and, for the most part the interactions had gone well enough. At least she thought as much. It wasn't as though she had much experience to compare it all to.

Slowly she wandered her way through the halls of the East wing. It was all so new and alien to her. Rare was the instance in which she even entered into this building, let alone be given free reign to explore as she saw fit. Coming to the large doors that led into the auditorium, Ashley paused and peered inside. It didn't look as though anyone was around, so she tried the handle. Pleasantly surprised, she found the doors unlocked and pushed her way inside. She stopped and let her eyes scan over the entire room. It was huge, compared to what she had expected. It was nothing like her old school from back home that she could scarcely remember by now.

"Oh!" She let out a startled sound as she caught sight of the familiar boy moving about in time to music she couldn't hear. Swallowing hard, she recognized him almost immediately. Her first instinct was to turn tail and run away as fast as she could to avoid having to show her face to him again but something kept her standing. She felt unsettled the moment she saw Quinn. He hadn't deserved to have her freak out on him the way she did. She wished she could explain it all so he would understand and not think she was being mean. Maybe she could at least apologize...

Making her way across the large room, Ashley carefully approached the distracted Quinn. She waved a hand as she drew closer, hoping to catch his attention without startling him. "Um." She frowned, waving nervously again as she spoke. "Hello?"

[Quinn Wiley]

Quinn didn’t dance a lot. He didn’t have a lot of music you can dance on to begin with. But even someone who liked more thoughtful lyrics could enjoy a song like Uptown Funk. And let’s just face it, songs like that made it almost impossible to stay still. Maybe you would not dance but your head was meant to bounce to the music or your feet to beat to the sound of the drum. Quinn was certain he wouldn’t have danced if his body had not been aching for a cigarette so much. He needed to shake it off and not because it was that song playing in his ears right now. He needed to make new friends. Friends who smoke or had enough money they wouldn’t mind lending him some to buy cigarettes. Fuck the fact he said he was quitting because it cost too much. He didn’t even have nicotine patches to get his fix!

Because of the music, he didn’t hear the door opening and because he was not looking at the door anymore, Quinn didn’t see someone walking inside. Maybe he should have kept an eye on the door. That would have prevented him from this humiliation. Because, to him, it sure was one. It was even more considering the girl was someone he knew. Well, maybe not knew, he never even bothered to find out what her name was although he probably heard it a few times during that horrible week, but she was familiar to him. The fact they did not leave that good of an impression, at least she did not, only made it worse.

No need to say he startled when he finally spotted her. By that time, she came a lot closer to him. He was not sure if he let out some yelp but he sure froze. Quickly, he removed the ear plugs. The music could be heard from them until he turned it down. Somehow, he believed she said something. Sounded like hello but he was not sure. “What are you doing here?” he inquired. She just saw him dance. Oh, the humiliation!

[Ashley Benson]

Ashley winced the moment Quinn's eyes settled upon her. She seemed to shrink under his gaze, looking very much like a spooked deer unsure if it had just happened upon a predator. "I-" She started before taking a breath and swallowing. The normal feelings and anxiety that usually came with meeting someone new and expecting the looks of contempt and scorn from them began to well up within her. While she knew Quinn already, or, at least recognized him, she couldn't remember if she'd gotten his name back on the camping trip, she was well aware that the reason he had spurned her had been her fault. Just being in his presence again was embarrassing and awkward.

"I was just... exploring." She admitted after clearing her throat and making a point to stand a little straighter. Every interaction she was going to have moving forward would end like her first meeting with Quinn if she didn't start taking over control of herself. She was determined to see that through. "I'd never been in here and I..." Her eyes then drifted out over the auditorium around them. "I wanted to see it. I didn't know you were in here, I swear."

[Quinn Wiley]

This girl... He didn’t think she would tell everyone she watched him dance on his own but that didn’t change the fact he was embarrassed she saw him. He never considered himself a good dancer. Of course, he didn’t really know what made someone a good dancer and never danced with someone so maybe he did not suck as much as he believed but he still considered that it was not something he would do in public. Then again, a lot of things you did n public he did not.

He was staring at her, waiting for an answer. Why was she here? He was not paranoid enough to think it was just so she could laugh at him but he was still expecting her to do it now that he served her this on a silver platter. He had no idea she could be as embarrassed to be around him as he was being caught like this. He could however see how she was not at ease here. He did not really care though if his stare made her uncomfortable. It served her right for bursting here while he was doing something human-like.

Exploring. Right. She could have come up with a worst excuse. “I believe you on that. No one did. Kind of the point,” he let out as she tried to convince him she had no idea he would be in there. He doubted anyone saw him and even if they did, Quinn was not interesting enough of a person for them to care where he was. Then again, they did name him the prom prince. The joke! They also named Lucy so obviously they were all high when they voted or they wanted to play some silly prank. No one fit less to be prince and princess of prom than the two of them.

No need to say Quinn was not interested in listening to music anymore. Not with her around. He’d rather watch over her from the corner of his eyes as she explored the place, if she still felt like exploring it. He grabbed his school books and stuffed them in his bag. “I came here to study a little.” It was obvious. Only to study. She could not say anything otherwise.

[Ashley Benson]

Ashley nodded a little, not quite sure if Quinn actually did believe her or not, though that wasn't the point. Her eyes narrowed as he continued his rigid, anti-social way of dealing with people. She expected it, given how their previous encounter had ended. She was here for a reason, though, and she was determined to see that goal through.

"Look, I don't want to bug you and, I'm sure I'm probably the last person you wanted to see..." Ashley started abruptly. The longer she waited the more her mind would pick apart everything she wanted to say and why. She hadn't expected to happen upon the boy but she'd already though long and hard about what she would do on the occasion they crossed paths again. She had to at least try and make things right. Whatever that would mean for the boy who so obviously didn't put much value in personal relationships. "But I wanted to apologize for... the camping trip." She cringed a little at the mere thought of the near meltdown Quinn had witnessed. Her hands came together as she fidgeted nervously. "You didn't deserve that after you went out of your way to help me. I really am grateful for what you did, and I am sorry for freaking out on you."

[Quinn Wiley]

It was true that Quinn was anti-social. It was not against her. Alright, it was partially her fault. She was insane. At least she had him believe so last time they meant with how she lost her temper over nothing at all when he, for once, only wanted to help. Somewhat. So of course he was not all about smiles and hugs and ‘how are you doing, feeling better’ kind of crap people do when they are being social. The fact she also caught him doing something he was almost never doing played against her. Even if she had no one to tell it to, she was not supposed to see this. No one was. He didn’t like that she did.

Last person he wanted to see? Maybe not but he supposed she was not very high on the list. Then again, if he had to write a list of people he didn’t want to see, he might as well write down ‘the world’. It was a lot easier to name those he could tolerate their presence as opposed to those he didn't want near him. If he was making a list like that instead, she would be near the bottom. Meaning he might actually tolerate her presence around him.

He straightened up as he kept staring at her. She apologized. Wow. He didn’t see that one coming. She was also thanking him, in some way. Double wow. “You didn’t freak me out.” No, she did. She absolutely did. He thought she was mental and kept staring at her for the remainder of the trip, certain she would have another meltdown, almost hoping for it so they could get back earlier. “And I wouldn’t say you are the last person I want to see. But thank you for that and apology accepted.” Like he would not accept them and have her stick around! For all he knew, she might be as clingy as Erin. Which got him thinking... “You don’t think you owe me a life debt, do you?” One was enough.

[Ashley Benson]

A small smile emerged as Quinn accepted Ashley's apology in a much more gracious manner than she had expected or felt she deserved. She was hardly thinking she'd walk up to him, apologize and then they'd run off into the sunset to be best friends. Quinn didn't come off as the type who went out of his way to befriend people and that was just fine with Ashley. She was in no position to judge. Regardless, the idea of their first and last interaction being marred by what equated to a near breakdown left her unsettled.

Ashley's brow furrowed, though, at Quinn's response question. Her head tilted as she peered curiously at him with her brilliant, blue eyes. "Life debt?" She repeated softly, the words feeling strange and alien as they passed through her lips. "Uh... no." Her head shook then as she couldn't help but wonder why he would ask such a thing. Perhaps one day she'd be able to ask and learn the story behind that. "No, no life debt." Her gaze softened though as she looked to him with a trace of hopefulness in her eyes. "I was thinking maybe a coffee, or something would be a nice start?"

[Quinn Wiley]

Now that the girl apologized, he figured she would be on her way. What more was there to say, really? She cleared her conscience, he was not going to spread rumours about her being crazy and he was fine not holding a grudge if that meant they were done. That simple. Only life was never simple.

Sure, he thought she was crazy. She had a breakdown right in front of him and even verbally attacked him in some way just after he saved her ass. So yeah, crazy was an understatement. But, to choose, Quinn could have found a dozen other reasons why he wouldn’t want to be around her, starting with the fact he generally kept his distance with other people. He didn't see why people might want to do any different with him. He never thought he had the kind of personality that attracted people. He was pretty sure he’d be a ghost to everybody until the end.

“Yes, life debt. Because, you know, I helped you out. It’s totally not necessary, a thank you is enough,” he assured her. He wondered if it was his destiny to pull up weird girls before they fell to what might be their deaths. Luckily for him, this one didn’t feel like she owed him to the point it required more than a thank you. He nodded, actually glad to hear this. She was, however, interested in having a coffee with him and it surprised him. “Why?” he asked as he stared at her. He didn’t want to sound impolite but he thought she was done with him and now she wanted them to have coffee. He didn’t get it.

[Ashley Benson]

Ashley listened to Quinn's response. Life debt? She'd heard of such things but had hardly given it much thought, especially in this situation. It brought up a host of questions she would love to ask, though felt focusing on something that obviously wasn't on Quinn's list of things he wanted to deal with was probably not the best idea. "No, I appreciate what you did but..." Her eyes narrowed a bit as she tried to register all of it. "I don't know... that sounds weird." It made her wonder what sort of people Quinn hung around.

The blunt question that followed was met with a curious tilt of Ashley's head. She wasn't ignorant or stupid when it came to the knowledge that everyone was different in how they handled other people. She hadn't mistaken Quinn for a social butterfly by any means, though she wondered if the question was more directed toward her motives or her perception of him. "I figure it's the least I can do to try and make up for freaking out on you." She offered a sheepish, almost embarrassed shrug. "You don't have to, if you don't want to." The last thing she wanted to do was pressure someone into something they were opposed to. "I just wanted to be nice and maybe... get to know you a bit better?" Which sounded horrible. Ashley issued a resigned sigh and shook her head. A hand came up to run through her hair, shaking out the brown tendrils in the process. "I'm sorry, I'm really bad at this."

[Quinn Wiley]

He saved Erin and she kept going after him ever since, so it made sense to Quinn that he feared this one felt the same need to repay him until he could no longer take her presence by his side. Luckily for him, she was fine with just telling him thanks for what he did. It was exactly what he wanted people to do, thank him if he did something good and then be on their way. Except she wanted a coffee. It was not a heavy price, for sure, but Quinn still couldn’t help asking her why she’d want that. From the way they both acted during that stupid camping trip, he thought it was clear they were not very good with fitting in society. Having coffee might be simple but that was weird to Quinn. He almost expected her to have something in mind. Not something romantic, of course, Quinn never thought that one might want that. More something along the lines of walking away the moment he started to care if not just humiliate him on the spot before being on her way. He just never could trust someone.

When she explained why she wanted to pay him a coffee however, Quinn paused. It made sense. She just wanted to apologize, act like the others, more sociable than they were, would before they’d both go on their way and forget about it. “No, it’s...” he let out to stop her from talking as she tried to convince him he didn't have to agree if he didn't want to. Wasn’t this what people wanted them to do, be more social? It was still weird for him but at least it was not like he didn’t know she can freak out on him. He probably saw some of her worse and got over it. She was so weird, he probably will be the one walking away, not the other way around. “Okay, a coffee,” he finally agreed with a brief nod. He can do this. As for the ‘getting to know you’, he was not so sure but he’ll see once they got here.

He looked at his stuff for a moment, remembering why he chose to come here in the first place. He then looked back at Ashley who was waiting for an answer from him, no doubt. “Now?”

[Ashley Benson]

It was, in a strange sort of way, almost comforting to see Quinn struggling with what seemed to be a similar distrust of humanity as a whole. While her doubts and fears were directed inward more than anything, Ashley still had difficulty forming any sort of constructive relationships with others. While she hardly relished the idea of someone else being uncomfortable, especially around her, the knowledge that she wasn't the only one around with issues surrounding social interaction carried with it a certain hope of kinship with the boy. Which, even Ashley understood, was painfully ironic.

"Oh no!" She exclaimed, possibly too quickly in response to Quinn's question. her eyes widened as she felt mortified at the possibility Quinn might think she was being pushy and demanding. Ashley's hands then raised to wave off her sudden reply. "I mean, any time that's good for you is okay." She offered a weak, yet hopeful smile as she brushed a stray strand of her dark hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. It wasn't as if she was in any hurry to get this out of the way. The difficult part had been bringing up what had transpired during the camping trip and apologizing. The rest, while still a struggle, was coming relatively easier.

"We can do it later." She said with a nod, even as she slowly started to back away. It wasn't difficult to know when she'd intruded and her presence unwanted. "I just, um, saw you-" She stumbled a little as she bumped into one of the rows of seats. She steadied herself, paused, glanced down, then turned her bright, blue eyes back up to Quinn. "I just wanted to make things right." She admitted with a helpless shrug.

[Quinn Wiley]

Quinn did not feel the same comfort knowing this girl was as socially awkward as he was. Sure, there was something close to a mutual understanding about this, or more like a mutual non-understanding of all things social, but that did not comfort him. All he could think of was that for a time she was the crazy girl who nearly threw herself off to recover her life-important pills. He could have excused her for this, if they were as vital as she implied them to be. He could have tolerated then. Might even have considered her amongst the only ones worth hanging around during that camping trip where they met. But she then had to freak out on him, as she said, and now... now he was glad he didn’t put too much effort in knowing her.

Except she wanted to know him more. Now that she didn't look too crazy, he could even call her normal. Had it not been for this incident in the woods, he might not even be as careful. But it happened and he feared another fit at some point. He could not promise her he wouldn’t push her like he did last time. He was like that, even if he’d like not to, he would be. This was just how he was and he could not change that. He figured she asked so that they could have one now. After all, a coffee, it was not like something that needed lots of planning ahead. They just had to head to the cafeteria. Yet now she was saying any time he felt right would be fine with her. Yeah. People said things like that to be polite, Quinn never really understood. If he came to someone and said he wanted to talk with them, he didn’t mean next week, he meant now. If he could understand he had to wait if he came while they were doing something, she caught him dancing. She couldn’t believe he was all that busy, or at least too busy for a coffee.

“Yeah, can we forget the part where you’ve seen me... you know...” And a few awkward gestures to mean the past and then perhaps what must be his dancing steps was done. He might not think she had anyone to say it to nor that anyone would care, he’d prefer for no one to know. She was being awkward again. He studied her as she tried to make her getaway. Sadly, she would not leave with her dignity intact as she hit the seats and nearly fell over.

Quinn sighed heavily before stuffing his things in his bag. He said nothing to her until he reached her. Then, he stopped and looked at her, his green staring straight at her blue ones. “I don’t promise you anything,” he told her. He walked towards the door leading out of the auditorium and stopped to turn back at her. “You coming?”

[Ashley Benson]

"Oh!" Ashley smiled and let out a little laugh before running two fingers across her lips in a gesture that confirmed she wouldn't let slip anything she had seen of Quinn moments before. She wasn't about to violate the already shaky trust of someone she's barely managed to work up the courage to approach again after having subjected him to such a terrible display. She nodded a little, pleased at how quickly the mood had shifted. While Quinn was still obviously reluctant, there was, at least, promise that he may not hate her after all was said and done. At this point, that was about all Ashley could hope for.

As she was prone to doing, Ashley had gotten a little lost in her mind and had to be brought back to the present by the sound of Quinn's voice. "I don't expect you to." She said, shaking her head a bit to clear the cobwebs. She paused the moment Quinn's eyes met hers. She studied his features, almost stunned by the weight of his emerald gaze. Slowly she nodded, even though he'd already turned and started for the door. "Yeah." She said softly, mostly to herself, as she shifted to follow suit and head out of the auditorium.

"Are you studying music?" Ashley asked after trotting to catch up to Quinn. Her hands instinctively tucked into the pockets of her jeans as she cast a glance toward Quinn. It felt like a cliche'd, boring question to ask but she didn't know any better. That was something kids their age talked about, right? It was safe to ask what someone was studying in an effort to get to know them without going to personal too soon, wasn't it? The uncertainty ran through her mind even as she'd spoken the words. She had no idea where all this was going, but she figured she had to start somewhere.

[Quinn Wiley]

He shouldn’t worry. After all, who would care what she had to say about someone who probably mattered to the other students even less than her? And even if she said it, who would care? He would. That was the answer, he would care and he’ll feel embarrassed because she caught him in a moment where he thought he was alone. It might not be something shameful, everyone had the right to listen to music and dance to it but it was still embarrassing to him that she caught him like that and he didn’t want it to come out.

He didn’t hate Ashley. He didn’t know her. He did think she was crazy though, bipolar or something. Or he caught her during some particularly strong PMS. He didn’t know, but as long as that Ashley was not here, he would consider it a good thing. He was not very good at socializing, he didn’t see why people would want to do it with them and for that reason chose he’d be the one acting like he didn’t know why he would bother. It was better to push people rather than being pushed. Ashley wanted a coffee though, to erase the bad impression she left on him. He could argue it was not necessary, that he would forget and leave it at that but she looked as though she wanted to do more than apologize. He was only half surprised she chose him to socialise with. They both sucked at it, obviously. They had that in common. It was still weird though. And since Quinn preferred to do that sort of things now to get rid of it, thank you Erin for that, he was ready to do it now. Not expecting anything to happen from it.

He looked at her as she finally joined him out of the auditorium. He was walking towards the cafeteria, not thinking she wanted it to be in a more private environment. It was just coffee after all. She could still stop him but he assumed it was where she wanted them to head to. He stopped only when she asked him something. “No,” he answered then, thinking it might be a little too harsh to just say that, he stopped again to provide a better answer. “I came there only to avoid people. I’m into photography. But I’m still in high school, so...” And a little shrug to end this sentence. He was ready to resume his walking but he once again wondered if it was not impolite to just answer and not ask something in return. He was so terrible at this. “You study music?”