InsaneJournal

Who: Mocchi and Blake
What: Awkward run-ins and Dance Lessons
When: March 13th, Early Morning (Backdated because Jesse and I fail)
Where: Gym, Work Out Rooms / Practice Rooms
Rating: SFW



Still red in the face, sweat dotting his brow, and a towel about his neck Blake walked from the weight room of Dalton’s gym. While not the most muscular boy in the collective pack of teens in his year, he’d been continuing the basic strengthening exercises Caleb had taught him a few months ago, and only recently had he begun to notice the slight changes in his build. His shirts had becomes a little tighter around the chest and his backpack wasn’t so heavy these days. Still, the sophomore lacked the great abundance of stamina most of his friends had and after only an hour (with breaks in between) he’d called it a morning.

Bringing a bottle of water to his lips, the boy paused to tag a swig and, bringing the bottle down sighed as the liquid hit his system. Pulling an ear bud from his ear the boy took the moment to wipe part of his face with his shoulders and after doing so continued down the hall.

Blake had found that the time alone helped him think and the use of his muscles distracted him from the more complex issues buzzing about his mind. In short it was a good escape.

Mocchi had left the door to the gymnastics room open on his way in. It was still pretty early, after all, and not that many people were around. Falling was a part of gymnastics but he felt better having the door open, just in case. You could never tell when you'd take a really bad fall.

He took a deep breath and swung up onto the parallel bars, going into a support swing. His elbows wobbled a little but he managed not to fall. He'd really been letting himself slip. Too many distractions. As he came out of his support swing, he switched to a simple basket swing and managed about fifteen seconds before his hands slipped and he fell, back smacking against the pads on the floor. "Damn it."

Blake had been walking back towards Chopp when he passed the practice room Mocchi took a tumble backwards. He’d walked by the door without really noticing at first but heard the curse come from the older boy and retraced his steps without changing his direction. Halting his backwards steps, Blake poked a head into the door with a small frown, and pausing his music on his iPod spoke out in question and curious concern. “You okay there?”

The sophomore asked before taking in the sight of the older boy. He looked okay, looked like he knew what he was doing anyway. Gymnastics were one of the things that just looked painful to Blake and well, he admired anyone who could actually pull off such crazy looking stunts without serious injury. “Looked like it hurt, sorta.”

Mocchi stayed on the floor for a few moments, letting the stinging sensation in his back fade. The mats helped but it hurt regardless. When he finally got up, he waved a dismissive hand at Blake's concern, "That's nothing. You should see what happens when your arms give out on the rings. Hardcore faceplant. POW--right into the mat."

He shook his arms to loosen them up a little, then grabbed one foot and brought it up behind him in a light stretch. "I'm just out of practice, is all. What are you doing here so early?"

With a nod at Mocchi’s dismissal for any reason of concern, the younger boy paused as he had been ready to continue his way until the older boy continued to speak. Not that Blake was trying to be rude, it was that he just didn’t know the older boy really. Sure he’d run across Mocchi a few times meeting up with Caleb after the other boy had Warbler practice but those were far and few in between. And of course, the chats among all of the boys included Mocchi, Blake was sure but they had never really spoken in person. “Yeah,” Blake began with a frown tracing his lips in thought. “Can’t imagine doing any of that. You must be pretty good then.”

Bringing a hand up to scratch the side of his head in thought, Blake answered a second or so later, “Came to work out. Well, the weight room anyway.” He felt the odd need to explain himself to the older boy. “It’s uhhh a good time to think and stuff. First class is study hall anyway.”

"A weight lifter, huh?" Mocchi mused aloud, switching legs and giving Blake a somewhat dubious look, then winking, "Trying to get ripped? Impress someone maybe?"

He shouldn't tease, he knew. Especially the underclassmen--half of them seemed to be the bashful types. But it was too good to pass up, "You should try gymnastics. It's gets easier after the first six times you fall on your face. Plus it's good for flexibility. Helps a lot with dancing, actually, too."

Almost at once Blake’s face turned a shade of red at Mocchi’s questions. Really, he’d only been working on strengthening his body to feel better about himself. Though now that he’d mentioned it perhaps Cal-- no. No, he wasn’t going to go there. Not one bit. Shaking his head shyly after a moment of half gawking at Mocchi’s words Blake found his words a short time after the shake of his head. “No. Just--” He took a breath to steady himself. Why did all of the upperclassmen have this strange power of flustering him so easily? “Just wanted to get stronger...uhh...yeah.”

Blake found his eyes had gone from the other boy’s face, to his own feet in a matter of seconds really, and only at the suggestion of trying gymnastics did the younger boy’s gaze rise once more. Licking his lips as memories of falling face first into the ground from various things rising up, the younger boy shook his head slower this time in response. “Nah, not a coordinated kind of guy. Can’t dance to save my life so....staying away from flips and stuff like that would...probably be best.” He admitted with a nervous chuckle of amusement.

"Oh ho," Mocchi crowed in minor victory, a grin lighting up his face, "You are such a liar. And a bad one, too. You're trying to impress someone. But don't worry, don't worry. Your secret is safe with me."

He moved away from the parallel bars, going into a handstand while still continuing the conversation, "I wasn't coordinated when I started. You learn. Or you get a skull fracture," then he scoffed, "Plus, you mean there's actually a boy at Dalton who can't dance? Our fabulously sparkly gay club-bunny alumni would be appalled."

“But--” Blake began, his face darkening at the older boy’s accusations. Was he really that bad of liar? “Oh...okay.” He murmured as Mocchi’s finished, the sophomore suddenly glad he wouldn’t have to go any further with the line of questions. Instead though, he found his head tilted as he watched the taller boy move into a handstand and speak. He wasn’t human, was he?

“Uhhh,” He began, unsure if Mocchi was joking or very serious about gymnastics improving his coordination. “No joke, man.” Blake answered a moment later. His cheeks still red from the previous subject matter. “Can’t dance. But it’s cool, right? Someone has to tape all the pros throw out their moves and stuff...”

"I'm not sure which part of me is more offended about that---the sparkly gay part, the club bunny part or the Warbler part. Can't dance? It's a damn shame, dude. How are you gonna get any tail like that?" Mocchi slowly lifted one hand from the ground, wobbling in a one-handed handstand for a few seconds before toppling over to the side with a dull thud.

He sat up, pulling his knees to his chest, "Seriously. Nobody wants a loser who can't even do a two-step. How are you gonna impress your boy if you don't have any moves like Jagger?"

In all honesty Blake hadn’t thought about that at all and the look on his face, the sudden flash of terror, showed that much as the truth quickly dampened his mood considerably. Really, Mocchi had a point. Who would want to dance a dork who couldn’t dance. It was bad enough how awkward he was but really, what was his redeeming quality? Biting his bottom lip a moment he spoke softly. “Oh...”

Of course, Blake wasn’t one for drama and shook his head a moment later. “Then could you teach me?” He paused a minute then, blinking at his own words before choosing another approach. “If you-- what it be possible if you--- if you had the time could you teach me to dance?”

"Say whaaaat?" Mocchi closed his eyes and clicked his tongue softly, rubbing his pinky in his ear. He opened one eye just a sliver, then shrugged, "Yeah, sure, why not. It's dancing, not rocket science."

He hopped to his feet, fishing his iPod from his pocket and jogging to the small dock he'd set up when he'd first come in. He set it up to loop his play list, unable to resist the slightly mad cackle that escaped him when the Black Eyed Peas' "My Humps" started to play.

"OK are you ready?"

“Really?” Blake smiled, his face lighting up a little at the positive response from the older boy. He moved into the room, dropping his towel and water in a neat pile as he approached and as the song began to play he couldn’t help but chuckle a little nervously. Fergie. He knew her music pretty well considering she was part of the Black Eyed Peas and while he could jam just fine to it alone wasn’t so sure about moving to it in any sort of lesson, at least not yet. Gulping nervously, the sophomore boy nodded and after taking a few more steps towards an appropriate closeness paused in wait for what the older boy might begin with. “Yeah.”

Mocchi bounced in place excitedly, reaching out and pulling Blake by the shirt so he was a little closer. "C'mon, I don't bite unless you ask nicely. Chill out. Personal space issues aren’t allowed to exist on the dance floor.”

"So the first thing you need to know is the beat--it's in the bass. You can hear it right? Dun, dun, dun, dun? One, two, one, two?"

“O-oh, okay.” Blake stuttered, his face reddened a little by the brashness of the other boy’s words. Was he that tense already? He couldn’t tell but watched the taller boy with a determined look that overtook his embarrassment and shyness. “The beat--”

Blake muttered, closing his eyes for only a moment and listening. With a nod he looked back towards the older boy then, a small smile cracking his lips as he was able to do that much without much effort. This was the kind of music he listened to all the time, he’d simply had to put numbers to the beat and even Blake could do that. Nodding his head along with the beat of the bass and ignoring the lyrics best he could, though he soon noticed Fergie’s words followed along with the same beat. “One, two, one two.”

Mocchi nodded, bouncing on his heels to the beat while Blake counted, "Alright. So you want to move on the beat. Or well, you could do the offbeat, especially if the song is syncopated---" but wait, that might be too complicated. Mocchi waved a hand dismissively, "Never mind. Move on the beat. We can get complicated later."

He started with the heel of his right foot, going into a simple two-step and clapping his hand on the beat. "OK so, something easy. Warbler basic move number one: the two step. You start from your heel. Just like this, going with the beat. One, two, one, two.." He continued to demonstrate, waiting for Blake to join in.

With a frown of confusion as Mocchi went on to explain, Blake only nodded at the dismissal and, when the older boy began his demonstration he watched a moment before looking down at his own feet and then back to the other boy’s. Taking in a small breath he attempted to mimic Mocchi’s movements and after a little foot fumbling managed the basic moves with a small smile. “This--,” Blake began, his eyes still on Mocchi’s feet as he continued the basics. “Is a two step?”

"This is a two step," Mocchi confirmed with a smile and a shrug, "Simple, right? You can get a little fancier with it--" Instead of simply stepping, Mocchi made his moves more like little hops, "But there's not too many ways to dress up a two step. You will, however, notice that Warblers as a whole love the two step."

He changed again, swinging his hips between each step, "We did something like this last year at Sectionals. It was lots of two step variation. Mostly because I had a brain injury."

Not that Blake needed a history lesson but Mocchi was a naturally chatty person. He didn't need much focus to be able to do this, anyway, and it was important to get Blake comfortable. A simple two-step should be like second nature in dancing.

Blake didn’t attempt to improve upon the move then, focusing more on the feel of the action and how his hips and feet reacted to the beat. “Yeah,” He added, clearly distracted by the basic two-step. “It’s pretty fun too.” Not that Blake did much dancing outside of the bathroom or alone in his room anyway.

“Brain injury?” The younger boy frowned, looking up for the first time since the lesson had begun, and while his attention diverted he failed to notice his movements remain the same. Perhaps he was a bit more coordinated than he thought originally but only failed to notice.

Mocchi laughed, still going through the numerous variations of the two step he'd learned as a Warbler, "Dancing is fun in general. That's why people do it."

He noticed Blake sort of staring but only shrugged in response, "Yeah. I had a cerebral contusion from the impact of my head hitting the auditorium floor. My skull almost cracked open like a coconut. Technically I still have brain damage--my right hand is pretty weak compared to the left and I get killer headaches. But my spatial awareness came back nicely." He spun in a sudden circle, rolling his hips, "And the dizziness went away too. So it's not all that bad. Protip: don't get into a fight with someone who went to military school."

Blake stopped moving then, his brow coming together at Mocchi’s words. “Wait...what?” The younger boy murmured as confusion and mild concern washed over his features then. “Huh...ne-nevermind.” It was clear Mocchi didn’t think too much of it now however, and soon the sophomore began to once again return to the two step, even experimenting with a few of the flashier moves Mocchi had done before.

Suddenly, the sophomore wished all dances were that simple, but then he guessed they wouldn’t be that fun if they were. His gaze shifting from his feet to the other boy once again, Blake tilted his head as he once again paused. “Can all the Warbelrs can move like Jagger then?”

"It was traumatizing. I believe it mentally scarred over half of the students here at school, including a disproportionate amount of Warblers," Mocchi's tone was blase--but he didn't know how else to talk about it. To Blake, at least, because he definitely wouldn't have the same tone or attitude if it was someone who'd actually been there-----but that wasn't really important. Best to get off the subject, "But that's neither here nor there. And yes all the Warblers have the moves like Jagger. Even the really serious ones like Ron. I'd take off my shirt and really show you but I'm not supposed to seduce the underclassmen."

Flirting always worked to change the topic of conversation, didn't it? "So after your two step we go to the basic box step. So step out with the right first," He demonstrated, "And then cross with the left. Step back with the right, then left, repeat."

“Oh,” Blake muttered, a frown of confusion returning as Mocchi explained. Really, the other boy’s nonchalant attitude toward the subject was almost disturbing-- rather it was disturbing. Maybe he’d simply moved on after having so many people worry or cringe over it but for Blake it seemed more worrisome than the actual topic itself. “Sorry to hear that, man.” He found himself saying, pausing from his dancing another moment, Blake meant to say more of course --until Mocchi had begun to flirt once more. His cheeks reddening at a quick pace, he shook his head in an attempt to lose the coloring.

It hadn’t been the idea of the other boy removing his shirt so much as the act of seduction. Was Blake worthy of such a thing? He doubted it but the idea had flustered him none the less. “Uhh--” He stuttered once more, his gaze falling from Mocchi’s face to his feet as the Warbler boy demonstrated the action. Licking his lips in concentration then, Blake watched a moment before once again attempting to mimic Mocchi’s moves and, after a half dozen missteps and false starts, the younger boy got a shaky version of the moves down. “Like this?” He asked, brow narrowing in effort then.

Mocchi laughed in genuine amusement at how quickly Blake's face reddened and he reached out to pinch the other boy's cheek gently, "You're blushing. Cute."

He fell back into step with the music, still smiling widely. If he could keep getting Blake to blush like that all the time, this was going to be so much fun.

"Don't be so tense. You're a little shaky and stilted. If you mess up, shake it off. It's just us here so it doesn't matter."

At the touch of the other boy’s fingers, Blake cheeks heated to a new degree and, in truth the younger boy wasn’t so sure why. True, Mocchi was attractive but he’d never really looked at the other boy like that. Perhaps it was the minor flirting that caused his face to light like the fourth of July? “S-sorry?”

He managed, taking a moment to himself to breathe and attempt to calm himself before attempting once more. Was he tense? He hadn’t noticed really. Sighing, Blake shook his head. “Don’t know how you guys make it look so easy.”

He grumbled, his face slowly changing from it’s once deep red to a more controllable pink color. “Ugh,” the younger boy griped in minor annoyance as his feet tangled in opposite directions a moment. “Like this?” He asked once more, mindful of his limbs and their rigidness. He was nervous really, dancing wasn’t his strong suit and looking like a fool in front of an upper classmen was never a bright idea really.

Laughing again probably wasn't the best thing to do but Mocchi couldn't suppress his outburst of giggles. It wasn't that Blake was bad, just new and probably nervous. It was obvious from the way his feet kept getting tangled. "Wait, wait. OK, stop. You need a rhythm intervention."

He jogged over the iPod dock, scrolling through his play list. Once he found the song he was looking for, he set it to play and jogged back to the other boy, facing him and intentionally crowding into his personal space.

"This is sorry in advance. But I'm not molesting you or anything, promise." Mocchi warned briefly and cheerfully before grabbing Blake's hips and pulling the younger boy close. "So the principle here is kind of like the two step. Just moving side to side." At least if they were dancing together like this, he could sort of help control the rhythm until Blake wasn't as nervous or got a better handle on it.

Biting his bottom lip and stopping at the sound of the older boy’s laughter, Blake could feel his stomach drop and his face heat in regret. He knew dancing was a bad idea. At the sound of Mocchi’s words however, the younger boy simply watched the Warbler move over to his iPod dock and after changing the song returned, perhaps a little too close for comfort. The younger boy’s face darkening in color as Mocchi’s hands rested upon his hips the sophomore gave a small squeak of surprise before gulping nervously. “Wha-wha--”

He stammered, in his flustered state. Gulping he soon found himself in a waltz like position though the voice in the back of Blake’s head told him they weren’t about to Waltz at all. At the directions Mocchi gave, Blake nodded slowly, looking down at his feet and attempting to follow the older boy’s directions once more. “Uhhh okay.” He really wasn’t uncoordinated, just terrible nervous, and the fact that a popular, attractive older boy was a little flirtatious towards him didn’t help matters at all. No, not one bit.

"Chill out," Mocchi said, smirking and reaching up to tweak the end of Blake's nose, "I promise I'm not going to make any attacks toward your innocence. You'll just get the rhythm better if I do it with you, OK?"

Well that sounded...but Mocchi's brain went that way automatically and he hadn't intended it to sound quite as much like a come on as it did. Oh well.

"So you're not just moving your feet, y'know? You gotta feel the beat pretty much everywhere, especially in your hips." He started rolling his hips, using his hold on Blake's hips to try and guide the other boy through the same movement, commenting off-hand, "This is easier than all that other fancier stuff. It's basically just kind of like fucking with clothes on."

A pout growing from the tweak to his nose, a reaction ingrained in him from a young age, Blake frowned a moment before nodding in response. He hadn’t quite found his voice again and his face still burned like a hot iron fresh from the fire but he moved. Hands resting lightly on Mocchi’s shoulders and biting his lip the whole while as he attempted to mimic the older boy’s moves. “O-” Blake began, his tongue darting out to wet his dry lips in concentration and, listening to the music felt his hips move in an oddly new fashion.

A smile curling his lips as the motion continued, the younger boy found himself rolling his hips, although a little mechanically at first they soon began to move more fluidly under Mocchi’s guidance that is, until the he mentioned it was like sex. “What?” Blake gaped, his eyes wide a little at the information, his hips and body stopping to gawk at the older boy before him. Was that really what moving during sex was like? Blake had a moment attempting to process this and soon found his face hiding behind a hand, his cheeks glowing red hot as a few not so innocent thoughts floated across his mind then.

“Sorry,” Blake muttered, shaking it off, or at least attempting to a moment later. “Uhhh so...what’s this called?”

"This?" Mocchi blinked at Blake, then shrugged, "I guess it would be grinding if we were doing it right. But we're not exactly in full contact." He nodded his head down to the few inches of space between their hips. He wasn't trying to embarrass Blake to death, after all.

And part of him really wanted to quip that maybe not everyone rolled their hips during sex--just the ones who knew what they were doing. It would be worth it just to see the other boy's face flame bright pink again.

"Or did you mean the song?"

“Th-he song.” Blake managed, trying too calm his sentence in hopes Mocchi wouldn’t want to display what proper grinding looked or felt like. He didn’t want to know. At least, not with someone he barely knew. But then, who would he even want to dance like that with. The thought brought heat back to his face slowly.

“It’s uhh--” Blake licked his lips then out of habit as he thought. “Different. Like the beat though. It’s cool.”

It was strangely endearing to see Blake blushing and stumbling over his sentences. But Mocchi decided not to torment the younger boy any more, so he just nodded.

"Yeah it's by a Japanese singer. Akanishi Jin. He's releasing some stuff in English now." Not that he would claim the song was entirely understandable to someone who wasn't familiar with what a heavy Japanese accent sounded like. "It's called Lovejuice."

“Like the beat,” He admitted with a smile unguarded by anything more than the simple admission of liking the song soon after. He listened to the beat and moved as Mocchi commanded, the smile slowly curling into a grin and eventually to a point where Blake’s body almost felt comfortable moving in the span of the song really.

“Lovejuice though,” He began a moment later, a thoughtful expression claiming his features.

“That like...beetlejuice, or like a love potion thing or is he uhhh...talking about...stuff?”

"Well," Mocchi tilted his head, an equally contemplative expression crossing his face, "Going strictly by the lyrics, I think he means saliva, actually. That luscious drink your lips produce--yeah, saliva. Basically singing about kissing. Not nearly half as dirty as it sounds."

He was dancing pretty much automatically now, more focused on his conversation with Blake than anything else. Mocchi liked being able to talk about his JPOP. "Now, 'Haha'--the English lyrics in that were..way more sexual. But that's not generally how his songs are."

“Oh,” Blake began with a somewhat nervous chuckle then. Kissing? Something else he had no experience in. Still, the song was catchy and the artist, while difficult to understand at times, had a good voice to Blake’s ears. “He’s pretty good.”

The younger boy offered in return, not paying as much attention to his movements then as he listened to the music Mocchi had put on. It was then he caught himself, his feet, from just one lesson, seeming to move without much effort and that sort of improvement, more than anything, was worth any dance lesson Mocchi was willing to give.