"CanIHaveThisDance?"

❊

Last year, I met this boy in the dance class.

He has a quiet demeanor, though his looks are mysteriously captivating. He’s a new recruit; I heard his parents are of the rich and famous. Well, he never really intended any conversations in class unless necessary. Even his self-introductions were short and straightforward.

“I’m Joshua Hong. 16. From today on, I’ll be joining this dance class.”

I clearly remembered what he said word by word. His voice has a kind of mantra that chanted me. Basically, he was highly expected by the class at first. Girls were quietly swooning over his looks; boys were eyeing him from head to toe.

He slightly coughed, and started by simple techniques even amateurs can do blindly. His moves weren’t exactly perfection, the class was hoping for more. And then, he was to show a pirouette to the audience. It’s a tradition, a must for us dancers.

From his eyes, I spotted a faint hesitation. Hopefully it was just me, but I never really doubted my guts. He stopped for a second, and then jumped to form a spiral.

Bam.

That’s what I heard right after. The new recruit, Joshua Hong, fell flat on the wooden floorboards of the dance class. Everyone was shocked upon the sight of him falling; soon I heard snickers and whispers from my classmates. The teacher quickly responded by helping him out, surprisingly he only bowed in apology afterwards. Then he resumed to the corner of the class, where all his belongings are located.

As the classes resumed, Joshua was quiet all along. I can spot him cautiously listening to the teacher, sitting alone on the corner. When the students were tasked to free-practice, the others would showcase their best movements to the class, earning awes and claps from the student body. But he would stay seated, occasionally crack-opening his laptop quietly listening to some music in his earphones.

I can’t help but felt sorry towards him; the next days were just the same exact thing.

❊

One afternoon, when there was no class assigned for the day. I decided to come and practice by myself. Upon opening the classroom door, I was greeted by a soft music jamming from inside. “What was it? I-I thought there were no class today, what if the teacher got mad at me for intruding class…”

I decided to take a peek inside, and then it caught me.

Joshua was practicing dances alone himself. I can observe his falls and misses from the mirrored dance rooms. Every time he fell, he would stand up, clean himself, and repeat everything all over again. I decided to stay quiet behind, observing his every move. Amazing how he didn’t spot me standing from the mirrors.

Once he finished a full routine, I clapped proudly catching his attention. He was panting as he turned back, “What are you doing here?” Those are the words that greeted me, “Can’t I come to practice alone?” I strictly replied, “You were here so I decided to wait for you to finish.”

“I-I was about to finish, anyway-”

“No, please continue,” I cut him off, “You actually danced pretty well.” I gave Joshua a thumb up.

He only stared back, before answering, “It’s not well enough.”

“Why? Aren’t you proud that you finally finished a full routine? It’s not an easy one.”

“It’s nothing compared to class, I’m not-”

“But you’ve improved!” I shouted back, “From those days when you barely succeed a pirouette, until now you finished a full routine. It’s not ‘nothing’, Joshua.”

“Josh. You can call me Josh.”

“Sure, Josh.” I flailed both of my hands, then stared back at him.

“If only,” I slowly stood up, carrying my practice bag behind, “If only you would believe in yourself that you can. I’m sure you would be a great dancer someday.” I looked straight to his dark brown eyes, telling him those words I have been urging to say ever since.

“Just, believe in me.”

Josh stood quiet before me; all I could hear was a faint sound of his exhausted breathing. He then closed his eyes, took a deep breath and softly whispered to my ears,

“Can I have this dance?”

The intro started playing from his mac, I took his extended hands before me, and felt his breath on my ears. He pulled me closer, took a step forward towards me. Now his beautiful eyes were locked on mine, the music was the only sound I can hear that moment.

We danced and danced around the room, occasionally falling down because of a wrong step taken or a missed timing. But none of us felt hurt, we ended up laughing every fall we had. Every step we took leads us into a better dancer; every turn I took I won’t feel afraid, I knew Josh will be there to catch me when I fall.

That time I knew; I knew that my dance was complete.

❊

Two years later, the exact same day, today.

I am facing my one and only dance partner, Joshua Hong.

Before the red curtains will be rose, he gave me his signature smile he only gave to me, squeezed my hands and walked off to the starting point. I stared back at him as he whispered,

“Can I have this dance?”

WORD COUNT: 888

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hello! So I've swiftly finished my first ever onsehot.

I still have a lot to write but I'm afraid it'll be too long.

Hope you liked it, please do comment and tell me how you think of it!

I'm opened to critics and suggestions, do help me improve my writing skills.

Thank you for reading my story!