Confound it all, Elliot was happy. He was genuinely happy and he wasn't sure why. Sure, there was drama going on, but he'd spent some time to just relax. And to him, relaxing meant a good book, a cup of tea, and before that: dance.
Elliot had gone from the least rhythmic engineering student in the world to 'squad of superhero dancers' at a rate of... Well, however long it took for him to lace the damn pumas known as X7. Though for all the grief the shoes gave him, they also made him happy.
It was weird, thinking the only thing that made him happy in his life was scientifically engineered mumbo-jumbo the LXD had lost and somehow was compatible with Elliot and blahblahblah--there. That right there was what he was working on stopping. The rambling in his head.
The Academy was teaching him to just go with the ebb and flow and feelings of his shoes and that's what Elliot had done--after a few chapters he had set his book down, changed into a t-shirt and some track pants (which was rare for him but he didn't have his LXD gym uniform) and headed towards the gym.
Once he let his mind quieten, his feet could do what they want. And, even though he'd never admit it to anyone in Lawrence, Kansas, he had fun. The shoes took over and Elliot was dancing up a storm, letting his hands and feet go wherever they pleased. He didn't need music, he just needed a little trust and a lot of fun.
The fact that has shoes had decided to wander while dancing was not new to him, and at that moment he simply didn't care: there were only so many mopey diner get-togethers with Allana he could have before facing the fact that his Evil Twin would forever be mad at him and he had accidentally kissed his girlfriend. No, dammit, today was just him and X7 and who cared about anything else?
He danced on by a girl dressed in black, before either him or the X7s decided enough was enough. Elliot had a theory that whatever minute passing thought he had his shoes picked up on, but he didn't mind this time--he stopped in his tracks, extended a hand to the girl in the lobby, and offered a small smile.
His shoes, however, grew impatient--because with startled eyes Elliot wound up grabbing her hand, pulling her up, and placing his other hand around her waist.
Apprently he was dead set on tangoing with this random stranger.