JESSE McCREE + SYDNEY CLARKE
ABNORMAL TEENAGERS GO TO A TOTALLY NORMAL DANCE
PG | COMPLETE
Jesse McCree had never been to anything even slightly resembling a dance. Heâd quit school at twelve and gotten most of his learning from gun runners and the internet, so there were no homecomings or proms in his past. He was pretty sure he was alright with that, with how hot under the collar this one was making him. His jacket was now slung over the back of his chair and heâd just lazily rolled his sleeves up, hoping the breeze would cool things down.
Whatever was in his glass sadly didnât help much. Tasted good though. And the music was upbeat. Not necessarily what heâd have preferred, but despite the outfit, and the line dancing, Jesse actually had eclectic tastes in music. They got more eclectic the more of this spiked whatsit that he drank.
âWoo doggy,â he murmured under his breath. Leaning over to nudge Sydney, he raised his voice just enough to be heard over the music and gave her a crookedly charming grin. âI reckon whoever made this punch is my new best friend.â
Sydney was still mid-laugh when he ended up next to him. As far as her own first dance experience had gone, it wasnât bad so far. She still felt a little uncomfortable in her dress, but it wasnât the dressâs fault. For someone used to just wearing leggings and oversized hoodies everywhere, it was an adjustment period. The gloves didnât offer her the warmth sheâd hoped for, and more often than not she found herself rubbing her arms.
Dancing helped, a little, but she hadnât learned line dancing from Reinhardtâs School of Dance, and opted for standing off to the side, laughing at how ridiculous it looked. âIâm pretty sure it was Penny or Kady,â Syd gestured to the over-the-top duo across the room. âBut also if it wasnât for the internet, I would be positive you just made that dance up. Like right on the spot.â
âOh? Iâll hafta make their acquaintance.â Jesse followed her gesture with a glance. âPenny and Kadyâ looked like the kinda people who wouldnât be caught dead around a teenage cowboy with honest-to-god spurs, but who even knew around here? He turned a smirking-eyed gaze back to Sydney and lifted his drink, finishing it off in a swig.
âWell, now, a fella might think youâre makinâ fun of him, darlinâ.â He leaned around to peer at the drink table not far away. âLine dancingâs fun! Easy. Like cleaninâ a rifle or dismantling a bomb. Shininâ my boots!â Jesse grinned and lifted a boot for emphasis, but his balance wasnât great. Catching hold of the back of the chair beside him saved his life, honestly.
âI can introduce you,â Syd offered with a little grin. In an instant, she second guessed that idea enough to pull a little face. âIâm kinda friends with them. But theyâre way cooler than everyone, so.â And, no doubt, both of them would take the opportunity to troll her and her date at the dance, at least a little. Sheâd rather learn line dancing on the spot than subject herself to that.
With a laugh, she offered him a full blue drink from the table, and shook her head. She didnât actually know what it was, but it looked refreshing. âOnly making fun in a good way. But Iâm pretty sure you need to hydrate before you do any more boot scootinâ booty? Boogie? Either way, youâre going to fall over and hurt yourself, then Iâd have to find someone new to dance with later.â
As someone whoâd usually stuck out a sore thumb, Jesse knew how valuable a friend could be for an outcast. It had taken a lot of work to become an integral part of Deadlock, and even then heâd still found himself on the outside half the time. Blackwatch had felt different. Like he mighta made something of himself there. But it hardly mattered now. Still, he understood what it was to want to protect the new things in your life that fit for some weird reason.
âNo rush on that introduction,â he offered with an easy smile. âEspecially when youâre clearly tryinâ to get me drunk,â he added with a lift of the glass sheâd handed over. It smelled good, not that he was picky, so he took a big swig and made a satisfied noise. He could generally hold his liquor better than this. He squinted suspiciously at the drink, but it only lasted a second before he was bright-eyed and grinning again. âI can teach you how to do it, if you want. The boot scootinâ boogie.â
Sydâs eyes widened a little when he just drank a big gulp of it, and she tilted her own water glass as a mock toast. âI donât actually have any idea what that is, for the record. So if you sprout a second head or burst into songâŚâ She shrugged. âNot my fault.â People were always doing strange things at these parties, and she really had no idea if anyone would even really realize something was off. At least, usually, they were always themed to the event.
Even without a drink, Syd found herself putting down her water and turning to him with open, gloved hands. âAlright. Show me. Iâll probably suck, but whatever. Iâve got moves.â
Jesse wrinkled his nose and eyed the contents of his glass again before giving her a shrug. âAs long as itâs a handsome head, I âspose Iâll just get used to it.â He smirked and took another swig pushing up out of his chair. The alcohol was definitely catching up to him, but not just in ways he was used to working around. The balance issue was easy, at least. He grabbed her hand and pulled her close to help him stay upright.
âKinda part of what I love about line dancinâ. With everyone facinâ the same way--â Hooking a hand around her waist, he moved her gently face in the direction he was facing. â--Ainât nobody really able to judge if youâre gettinâ everythinâ down perfect.â Before he could dig into what was bound to be an amusing attempt at tutoring, Jesse smiled lazily down at her and appreciated the way the lights caressed her skin. His own skin started turning blue without his knowledge.
Syd let herself be guided without too much of an issue, suddenly glad she went with booted heels rather than something pointed and uncomfortable. They still gave her the few extra inches of height that she always loved and she didnât trip or fall when she let herself be lined up. She even squared her shoulders and straightened her back in an effort to look like she was taking this seriously.
âI donât have a belt buckle to hook onto,â she pointed out teasingly, referencing his own massive and ridiculous one. As she glanced down, his hands started going blue, and Syd faltered before looking up again at his face. She blinked a few times, thinking it might have been the lighting, but when the realization dawned that it was his skin, she made a noise of amusement. âI guess we know what the drink does now. Hopefully itâs not permanent.â
âI mean, you can borrow mine if ya wantâŚâ Jesse jokingly made a gesture like he meant to remove his belt and hand it over, but Sydneyâs topic change snapped his attention to his hands on his belt. He had the same momentary âmaybe itâs a trick of the lightâ thought, but holding his hands out and moving them around proved that one wasnât true.
âWell...shit,â he sighed. âWonder if thisâll make that tic in Gabeâs jaw act up.â The longer Jesse stared at his hands, the more the color faded back to normal, though. He started to breathe a sigh of relief, but when he glanced at Sydney, the process started up all over again.
Sydney gave her own relieved sigh as it faded away, and when it came right back, she snorted in amusement again. She was beginning to think it was her fault, that her water was spiked with something that was turning people she looked at blue? Who ever knew with Atlantis. Sydney tried looking at a random person nearby, and nothing happened, so she was back to looking at Jesse and shrugging.
âAt least the Adult Killjoys arenât here to twitch at us anyway, so hopefully itâll be gone by the time the dance is over? The campfire stuff mostly only lasted there.â Sydney flashed a toothy grin. âMaybe the blue is trying to tell you to dance something else.â
âAw well.â Jesse huffed a laugh and shrugged. Blue skin didnât bother him none one way or the other. Still feeling stupid hot in his clothes was more distracting, all told. He tugged at his collar and unbutton the top two buttons to give himself some more air.
âThis is a normal thing around here then? The Alice in Wonderland drink me, end up the size of a building kind of thing?â He gave his glass another squint then set it aside. Blue might not be a bother, but if it lasted until training, he might end up running extra laps with evidence heâd been drinking painted across his face. âI mean, if I gotta do a different dance to get back to normal, youâre gonna get stuck with me donât somethinâ stupid likeââ He started doing a lazy manâs version of the cabbage patch and grinned at her.
âItâs pretty normal. At the bonfire, I ate something that made me dance with a stranger. It was weird.â She set her own glass of water down at a nearby table and grabbed his hand, pulling a face only a teenager could make at his stupid dance. âI thought you were from the future.â Tugging gently, Syd had no issues dragging him onto the dance floor a few feet away as a slower song started up.
Even if he was about to protest, one of her hands draped across his shoulder, directing one of his hands to her waist. Sheâd learned the basics at Reinhardtâs dance lessons, along with the million and one movies sheâd seen, and Sydâs confidence sat firmly in the middle of all of this. It put them close enough that she had to stare at a wrinkle on his shirt rather than right in his face. âAll you have to do is like, shuffle your feet slowly. Sway some. If this is too awkward or doesnât help, I could teach you how to do the floss dance.â
Jesse laughed shamelessly as he was pulled out onto the dance floor. He didnât get embarrassed much, at least not over anything like this. Still, he didnât have the faintest clue how to dance for real, so Sydney was definitely leading whether she realized it or not. On the plus side, just swaying along to her rhythm meant Jesse could focus on smirking down at her.
âYouâre not too bad at this, darlinâ.â Jesse adjusted his grip to get a little closer, but not so close as to be presumptuous. "Think any stranger would count himself lucky to dance with ya, weird or not,â he teased.
With Jesse radiating heat, it actually made her welcome the closer move. She even had to struggle to not lean in a little further, just to capture some of it. With her own body running cold all the time, grabbing warmth where she could get it was in low supply, and she didnât exactly know many huggers. It was easy to get a little lost in a person that felt like a warm electric blanket, and also amped up her own level of embarrassment.
Cheeks a little flushed now, Syd breathed out a little laugh. âYour friend Reinhardt taught me one that actually requires steps, but I canât remember most of them. This is a lot easier.â
âDamn, girl, you really do run cold,â Jesse murmured, his face caught somewhere between a frown and smirk. His skin was rapidly going blue again, but he ignored it. Sheâd moved closer so he took that as an okay to wrap his arms around her shoulders and pulling her in close. Like a dancing hug.
âI know this ainât no fancy German dance moves but goddamn. I feel like a Molotov cocktail burninâ up from the inside and this is like standinâ in front of an open fridge.â He paused and pulled back to peek down at her. âCourse, if you ainât feelinâ this, just say so. Or give my boot a stomp.â
Sydney huffed out a laugh and ended up with her head resting lightly on his shoulder, wrestling with the idea of being too close (really, what was too close anyway, as long as they had clothes on in public?) and just enjoying the warmth. He mightâve felt hot, but to her it was just like a gentle warming sensation.
âNo, this is okay. Iâd leech all of your heat if I could.â She winced and laughed again, realizing how creepy that could potentially sound. âOkay not all, but you know what I mean.â The music was still going in the background, but at this point she was mostly just there for the warmth. Syd tilted her head back to look up at him. âI donât exactly hug many people, but you are running hotter than the average human. You have a fever?â Her voice dropped down to a mock whisper. âIs it a smurf thing?â
Jesseâs hell fell back as he laughed. âHell if I know,â he said. That mightâve annoyed him if he wasnât well on his way to being too drunk to care about much. But as it was, a little ignorance didnât hurt none. He was enjoying himself and cooling down a little more by the second.
He was tempted to grab onto that bit about her not hugging many people, but it felt like something for somebody who knew her better. If Jesse McCree had learned anything about running with a gang, it was that sometimes you should leave well enough alone.
He hugged her just a little tighter instead, and beamed a cocky smile down at her. âMaybe I just run hot, sugar, you think about that?â
The music was starting to pick up pace again, which left Sydney with less of an excuse to stay cuddled up. She regretfully pulled away a little but still grabbed onto his hand so he could be lead off the dance floor, in case he wasnât interested in a little more fast paced dancing. âI think youâre full of shit.â She followed it with a shit eating grin and a nod towards the crowd.
âBut I think we should figure out what this drink is that made you blue, and how long itâs going to last. Youâre hot and blue, and thereâs so many jokes for those two things.â Jokes she figured heâd be more than happy to supply, if given the chance. But she also didnât want him to get in trouble if his dad-person saw him blue the next morning. âWe can dance again later if you donât lose all of your clothes before then.â
It had been a decade probably since anyone had held Jesseâs hand and here Syd had done it twice in the last ten minutes. It was a weird sensation - nice, of course, but startling too. Normal. He didnât know normal any better than she did. It was half the reason he was even at this dance. Still, it made him anxious in a âteenage ex-criminal donât care for feeling vulnerable muchâ kind of way, so he wiggled his hand free and wrapped his arm around her shoulder instead.
âI donât get naked unless everyone involved is one hundred percent on board, darlinâ, donât you worry.â Squeezing her shoulder, he pointed finger guns at the drinks table and then headed that way. âBut hey, Mission: Investigate the Drinks Table works for me. And if I find some more of the cool friends punch, then itâll just be in my best interest to double check it ainât the culprit. Come on!â