This is for the Village Square contest, with the theme Dance! (Guess who picked it...:P)

This is ALSO a gift for floridapanther28! I wanted to use this genius pairing, so I thought I'd gift this to her!

I really hope you like it.

Enjoy!

Dance With Me

Luke, the super-hyper carpenter from Harmonica Town came strolling down the Forget-Me-Not-Valley hill. This feels like home, Luke thought. He looked around as he walked down the steep slope, seeing a beautiful little village. There was a crop farm to his right, a dirt road across from it, and a bit of raised ground that had a small, blue house on it to his left. There was a grave next to it, and wild yellow flowers grew and flourished the landscape surrounding the little plot of land. Beyond that was a crisp, translucent river, and after you crossed the rickety wooden bridge, there was another farm on the right, an Inn on the opposite side of the dirt road, and a yurt behind the hotel. There were more buildings, but those aren't very relevant to the story right now.

After snapping back to reality, Luke continued the trek down the hill that seemed to take foreeeeever in his mind. He continued to walk with his usual rhythm, swaying slightly back and forth as he belted out his favorite tune to pass the time.

"Tonight, tonight! There's a party on the rooftop-top of the world, tonight, tonight! And we're dancin' on the edge of the Hollywood sign! I don't know if I'll make it, but watch how good I'll fake it. It's all right, all right! Tonight, tonight!"

His thoughts were taken off the most EXTREME song in the world when his best friend ran up to him as he neared the bottom.

"Luke!" Celia shouted, waving delicately. Celia's long, dark brown locks flowed in the wind, partially tamed by a burnt yellow bandanna. Luke smiled as he noticed her hair looked particularly nice today; or maybe it was just because he hadn't seen her in so long.

He finally made it to the bottom of the hill and wrapped his best friend in a hug. "Celia! Where did you get that bandanna? It's SO extreme!" he exclaimed, pulling away from the hug and looking her over from an arm's length.

"You got it for me, silly! I wear it every day," she said, gently running her fingers over it. Her deep brown eyes looked into his cat-like hazel ones, and she smiled her sweet, innocent smile after a few seconds. "I heard you singing, so I knew you were here. I've been excited all week; I think I'm picking up on your impatience, Luke!"

Luke grinned his confident-without-the-cocky grin and exclaimed, "Just another awesome trait you'll pick up from yours truly!"

Celia laughed and then invited Luke inside. She sat him down at the kitchen table and got him a glass of water before sitting down across from him.

"So, Celia. What's on the agenda this time around?" Luke asked.

"Well, the Valley is having a dance this Saturday, hosted by Lumina, Romana, and Sebastian. I thought it'd be fun to go, but…"

"But what?"

Celia's face flushed a delicate shade of peach. "B-but, um….I don't have an escort."

Luke appeared puzzled "Escort? Girls don't use escorts!"

"S-sure they do! Almost every girl gets an escort to some sort of event!"

Luke scratched his head. "Weird, I thought that was a guy thing…"

"Wait, are we talking about the same thing?" Celia asked.

"I think so, you're talking about those neck tie things, right?"

Celia thought for a moment, then laughed. "Luke! No, not an ASCOT, an ESCORT!"

"…Snails? You need to bring SNAILS to a dance?"

Celia facepalmed. "Luke. Not escargots. ESCORT. Like someone to accompany you to the dance, to walk you there, to dance with you, to walk you home, etcetera!"

Luke processed this information. "Oh. Well, why don't you have Jill take you?"

This is going to be a long week, Celia thought.

"The escort is usually male, Luke."

Realization dawned on him. "Oh. Well, I'll take you! That's not against the escorting rules, is it?"

Celia laughed. "Of course not! Are you sure?"

Luke fist-pumped. "Heck yeah! I get to take a purdy lady to a dance and show off my EXTREME dancing skills!"

A prediction of the dance popped into Celia's mind.

"WOO!" Luke yells, doing the Jerk in the middle of the floor, whacking Rock straight in the nose and not even noticing. Rock stumbles off the dance floor with a bloody nose as Luke continues to whoop and holler and dance like a maniac.

"Hey Celia! Check THIS out!" he shouts over to her.

Jill leans into Celia and whispers, "Are you sure this will be a good idea?"

Celia shakes her head with a worried expression. "No."

Luke attempts to spin on his head, but ends up kicking Marlin in his lower regions, tripping Muffy, and whacking Sebastian, who was trying to serve hors d'oeuvres to the guests, sending mini-sausages flying clear across the Romana Mansion. Romana, watching from a distance, has a shocking dance-induced heart attack, collapses to the floor, and the party ends.

Celia's eyes widened in horror as she stared at Luke, who was singing into his half-full water glass. "L-Luke, you do know how to dance, right?" she asked shakily.

"Of course! I know all the hip moves," Luke grinned.

"Oh! How…lovely… Um, do you happen to know how to Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango, or Swing dance? This isn't going to be a typical dance party; it's being held by Romana, you know, and we have a spotlight dance, since we're going together."

"Sure I do! I know all those fancy-schmancy dances."

Celia gave Luke a questioning look. "Are you sure? How and when did you learn them?"

Luke smiled reminiscently. "Well, years ago, when Mom was still alive, she taught me."

Celia felt terrible for making him bring up his mom; especially since she died only two years ago.

"Oh! Well, I'm sure you'll be great, then. I just have one question, Luke."

"Sure! Anything for you!"

She blushed. "C-can you teach me how to dance before this Saturday?"

"So I put my hand…there?" Celia asked, her hand on Luke's bicep.

"Yep! Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight there." Luke put his arm around Celia's left shoulder blade and pulled her close, grabbing her right hand with his left.

"W-we're awfully close, don't you think?"

"Naw, you ain't seen nothin' yet!"

"Oh. S-so, left foot back first?"

"Exactly! Let me lead and see if you can follow. Remember, it's left foot back, right foot right, shift, right foot back, left foot left, shift, and it starts over! Ready?"

"I… I guess…"

Luke stepped forward, initiating the first step. Celia stepped backwards in perfect sync, then right, then back, then left, then back, then right, then back. Soon, they were slowly waltzing in her living room.

Luke stopped. "Awesome, Celia! After I teach you some epic moves, we'll work on your posture and walk."

After she got the basic progression steps down, Luke taught Celia how to do a reverse turn, a natural turn, a whisk, a recover, flip-flops, and a few dips over the course of the few days they had to practice for the spotlight dance. They worked on her posture, ensuring her neck was turned and arched correctly, that her shoulders were back, her chest was up and out, her knees just slightly bent, and that she always collected her feet.

Always.

Celia was expected to maintain this posture the entire dance, and she actually picked it up fairly quickly. It wasn't anything close to professional, of course, since she was just a beginner and had been dancing for only a few days.

It was the day of the dance, and Celia was as nervous as ever.

Luke?

Let's just say he was excited. "We're goin' at it tonight, tonight! There's a party on the rooftop-top of the world, tonight, tonight! And we're dancin' on the edge of the rich people's floor!" he sang as he tied his blue bowtie.

Luke smoothed down his jacket and winked at himself in the mirror, clicking his tongue and pointing his fingers at his reflection. "You…are a smooth man, Luke," he said to the mirror. "You are going to win Celia over tonight! You'll tell her how you feel! And then you'll dance the night away!"

Luke continued to pep-talk himself as he pulled on some tuxedo pants and slicked back his wild blue hair.

This is the first time I've gone anywhere without my bandanna, Luke thought.

He again looked at his reflection, searching for a use for his bandanna.

"I've got it!" he shouted. After yanking his pocket square out if its rightful place, he folded and stuffed his blue flame bandanna into the vacant spot. "There we go!" he exclaimed, proud of himself for finding a good use for his favorite accessory.

Luke looked at the clock and noticed he had to be at Celia's in a mere five minutes.

"Luckily everything here is just a quick jog away!" he exclaimed, taking off towards the young farmer's small home.

When he approached the little cottage, he knocked on the door loudly.

Marlin opened the door, greeting Luke with a menacing glare.

"Hey there Presley!" Luke exclaimed, clapping Marlin on the shoulder as he let himself in.

"Don't call me that," Marlin growled through his gritted teeth, shutting the door a little too loudly.

"Now, Marlin, be nice," Vesta scolded. "Luke! You look so nice. Let me get Celia for you." She turned around and faced the ladder that led to the loft. "CELIA!" she boomed, making Luke jump. "YOUR DATE IS HERE!"

Celia appeared at the top of the ladder moments later. "Oh! Hi Luke! Gimme a sec, I gotta navigate down here in this dress…"

"Don't you do that every day?" Luke joked.

"Ha-ha, now help me!"

Luke chuckled and approached the side of the ladder and put his hand up for her to grab, which she gladly accepted. He fought a blush as Celia's hand lingered in his after she had already gotten down the ladder, but then she let go before he could have a panic attack.

Luke turned to face Celia, and he took in her beautiful outfit. It was a gorgeous, dark blue silk dress that went all the way to the floor. The different colored blues swirled in an abstract pattern, and it had one thick strap that went across her shoulder. She had taken her bandanna out and curled all her long, brown hair into medium sized spirals, and she was wearing her mother's diamond earrings and necklace.

"Wow…you look amazing," Luke whistled.

Celia giggled. "Thank you. You look great, too!"

"Yeah, but not like that!"

"Hehe, thanks, Luke. Well, we should get going," Celia said, turning to Vesta and Marlin.

"Okay, see you later tonight. Luke, look after my niece," Vesta said.

"No problem, Vesta! I'll be sure to bring her home safe n' sound. See you guys!" Luke hollered over his shoulder as he led her out the door and onto the dirt pathway towards the mansion.

The duo small-talked the whole way, with Luke being nervous about confessing to Celia, while Celia's worries were on their upcoming spotlight dance.

As soon as they walked in, they were greeted by Hugh, who was in a tuxedo with his flaming orange locks slicked back. "Welcome to the Third Annual Romana Family Dance," Hugh said monotonously, sighing and frowning. "Please allow me to take your coats."

The couple blinked at Hugh, as they weren't wearing coats.

"…You may now escort your date to the dance floor. Enjoy your evening," he finished, rolling his eyes and walking away.

"That was…," Celia began.

"Weird," Luke finished, guiding Celia to the center of the dance floor. There was a pop song playing, so they danced separately, chatting the whole time, occasionally bumping into random couples.

"It looks like tons of people came," Luke shouted over the blaring music.

"I know! I've never even seen these people before," Celia replied, struggling to get her small voice above the music.

"Who all do you know that's here?"

"Well, it looks like Jill, Gustafa, and their son, Lennon are here, Carter and Flora, Rock and Muffy, Griffin and Nami, Lumina and Skye, and it looks like Kate is dancing with Lennon! A few of the older residents are here, too, like Chris and Wally and Ruby and Tim. There's a bunch of people I don't reckognize, like that girl over there with the brown hair with that really tall cowboy, or that blonde girl with the curly haired guy, or that beautiful girl with the black hair and the blonde guy with her…there's so many people I don't know here!"

"Wow. Well, all I know is that you look fantastic," Luke blushed.

Celia's eyes bugged momentarily as she blushed. "O-oh! Well, Luke, you look great, too." She poked the bandanna that was peeking out of his jacket pocket. "Nice pocket square."

"Thank you! I couldn't bear to part with my bandanna, so I swapped out the blue shiny cloth with this!"

Celia shook her head and laughed, right as the song ended, and everyone cleared the floor.

Sebastian's voice came through the speakers. "Now it is time to begin the spotlight dances! First up, Jill and Gustafa!"

Everyone clapped as the happily married couple slowly danced to Something by the Beatles.

"They're so cute," Celia mumbled to Luke, who was watching the couple intently.

"They are. But they aren't as good of dancers as we are," Luke said as he nudged Celia's shoulder.

She giggled, but then quickly stopped as Sebastian announced, "Great job, guys! Next is…Celia and Luke!"

"Oh no…I'm going to mess up!" she exclaimed.

"Don't worry. You know this! Just follow my lead," Luke assured her as he led her onto the dance floor.

"This should be good," Jill muttered to her husband, worried about how Luke was going to make Celia look.

The music started, which was A Thousand Years by Christina Perri. Luke began to lead Celia around the floor, the blue spotlights adding beautiful effects to the dance. They were rising and falling at the perfect times, adding hesitates, twinkles, several turns, various lifts, Waltz poses, and ending with a beautiful lift.

Right as the spotlight was off of them, Luke surprised Celia by planting a kiss on her lips. She was unable to pay attention to the ecstatic crowd around them, cheering and clapping with all their might; she was in shock.

"L-Luke, I…," she stuttered, unable to find the right words.

"Shh, we have to get off the dance floor. Then we'll talk." He held his arm out for Celia to take, which she accepted as they walked out to the fountain in the dimly lit courtyard.

"Luke…w-why did you kiss me?" Celia asked timidly, fumbling around with her fingers.

He took a deep breath. "Because…Celia, I love you. I've loved you for a long time; we've known each other since we were kids! I love your smile, your laugh, your disposition, your love for plants, this valley, and the simple things in life. You're the most amazing thing that's ever happened to me; for proof, look at me!" Luke motioned towards his clothes. "I'm dressed like a waiter! And…you actually made me be serious for a few seconds there."

Celia's eyes watered up from happiness, flattery, and pure, whole-hearted love.

"Luke…I love you, too," she smiled.

Luke's eyes bugged out and a giant grin plastered itself on his face. "Y-you do? Really?"

Celia nodded vigorously. "Yes!"

Luke scooped his love up into his arms, spinning around as he did so. "You love me! Celia, you love me! Whoa…she loves me," he said quietly as he set her down.

Celia tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she nodded. "I really do, Luke."

Luke grinned again and placed a kiss on her lips yet again, and Celia returned it happily.

"Hey!" a voice called out.

The new couple turned around to discover Marlin standing a distance away. "What are you two doing?"

"Kissing!" Luke called out.

"Well, stop! It's not cool!"

"Marlin!" Celia scolded, her arms wrapped around Luke's neck.

"It's all right, babe. I got this," Luke mumbled to her. "HEY EVERYBODY!" Luke yelled as the music coming from the mansion stopped.

A few heads poked out of the front door in response. "What?" someone asked.

"THE ELIVS IMPERSONATOR IS HERE!"

A few people from the group gasped and ran up to Marlin, dragging him inside the mansion, begging him to sing some Elivs songs.

"That takes care of that," Luke said, turning back to his new girlfriend.

Celia shook her head. "You…are insane," she said with a smile, and then she planted a kiss on his lips.

When they broke away, Luke asked, "Celia, will you please do me a great honor…and dance with me?"

She grinned. "I'd love to."

The End

Sooooo! I hope you liked it, and I especially hope you liked it, Panther!

If you did like it, please drop me a review and vote for me on the Village Square contest poll!

Thanks,

Lyric