Open One Step at a Time

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot couldn’t believe how fast the first semester had gone, so many classes and things to learn sometimes he felt like his brain was going to explode. But now it was already December and exams and the Yule Ball were right around the corner. He’d be happy when he and Lily had decided to go together but now, standing in front of one of the floor length mirrors of the art room, Elliot wasn’t so sure anymore.

By his count, the big thing you're supposed to do at balls was dancing, and El had never really danced in his life. So, here he was, in front of the mirror with a pamphlet he’d dug out of one of the shelves, learning to dance. Or, trying to learn to dance. He’d been trying for awhile, but he just couldn’t get the rhythm to match the steps. Or the steps with the right rhythm. He sighed, squinting at the pamphlet again as if re-reading it might suddenly make him get it.
“Okay,” he tried, giving himself another glance in the mirror, “You got this, just… One two three, One-” he stumbled, crossing right when he should have stepped forward and sighed. Maybe he was overthinking this. Maybe no one really danced at these things. Or maybe Lily wouldn’t even want to dance. She’d barely managed being in the hall very long last time anyway.

But what if she did want to dance.

He picked up the pamphlet again, opening and closing it in his hands. “One more time. One two three,”

 

[Alice Holland]

The events at Hogwarts were always wonderful, and Alice found herself looking forward to the yule ball a lot. It would be a little sad for two of her older sisters, as both Diana and Rose had recently been broken up with by their boyfriends, but Alice hoped she could help them have a good time anyway. She thought boys were overrated anyway, and not in the same way Phoebe did. Phoebe was still dating her girlfriend, which Alice was pretty proud of. She had been the one to introduce the two, after all. It was one of her best achievements, and she pointed to it every time one of her sisters told her she meddled too much.

Today she was looking for her friend Ava, as she was curious to hear about her plans for the yule ball. If she remembered correctly, her friend had gone to at least one dance with a boy before, and Alice wondered if it would be the same this year. If not, maybe they could go as friends! She could invite Emily too, and it would be a lot of fun. Ava could usually be found in the arts room, so Alice looked there first. As she poked her head in, she immediately saw that her blond friend wasn't here. Instead, there was just one boy. He was in front of the mirror, and seemed to be trying to dance. Alice was about to back away and leave him be, when she recognized him. Right as she realized who he was, he stumbled. "Hey Elliot, you okay?" She asked, hoping he wouldn't be too embarrassed about her spotting him. Alice stepped into the room and gave him a smile in the mirror as she walked up behind him. "That's so smart, practicing to dance. Are you excited for the ball, then?"

 

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot glanced up with someone spoke, meeting eyes with Alice Holland in the mirror. "Oh, hey, Alice," He smiled sheepishly, trying to run a hand through his hair, forgetting he still hand the pamphlet in his hand and mostly succeeding in hitting himself in the ear with it.
He was relieved to hear Alice seemed to take his awkward fretting about the ball as a good idea, turning and nodding while she spoke. "Excited is.. a word for it," He looked back at the dancing pamphlet and then his feet before returning his gaze to Alice. "Honestly, I'm really nervous about. I've never danced properly before and.. I have no idea what I'm doing." He considered Alice for another moment. She had been nice before, happy to join in when they met back in the gardens, so he felt more confident asking her for help now. "Do you think- Do you know how... Well it's kinda hard to do this by myself, I mean," Elliot sighed, recollecting himself, "Do you think you could help me learn to dance?"

 

[Alice Holland]

Alice was glad Elliot didn't seem to mind the interruption, and she stifled a laugh as Elliot hit himself in the ear with the pamphlet. He seemed a little nervous about something, and once she took a look at the pamphlet and heard him talk about the dance, she was pretty sure she understood what it was. No wonder he was practicing in front of the mirror. "You shouldn't be scared." She said gently, smiling at him as she moved to the side so she could face him instead of looking at him in the mirror. "The parties at Hogwarts are always a lot of fun, and no one will be judging your dancing." She said earnestly. "You don't even have to dance, if you don't want to." But judging by the way he was practicing, it seemed like he did want to. So when he asked her for her help, she was eager to say yes. "I'm not an expert, at all." She clarified, deciding it was best to say so upfront. "But of course I'll help! I've practiced with my sister a few times, also to prepare for the balls at Hogwarts." It was a few years ago now, before Diana had even been sorted. She had been so sure all the boys at Hogwarts would want to dance with her, and had made Alice be her partner to practice on. She moved in front of Elliot and placed her hands on his shoulders. "I don't think you should be making things too complex." She told him, giving him a reassuring smile. "Most couples I see at the dances just sort of do this, and then sway to the music." She gestured with one of her hands to his own. "You can put your hands on my waist, if you want. I think that's what the boy usually does at a dance." She told him.

 

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot shrugged somewhat helplessly as Alice reassured him about the ball. He was always a little (a lot) nervous about newer things. He just didn’t like not knowing what was going to happen. He gave Alice a grateful smile, relieved when she agreed to help. Expert or no, she’d practiced before, which was a step ahead of him at the very least.

“Thanks,” he said, straightening up as Alice stepped forward, placing her hands on his shoulders. Nodding as Alice spoke, Elliot tried to focus on what she was saying rather than the feeling of his ears burning. He let out a little nervous laugh as they started to sway, lightly resting his hands on Alice’s waist as she’d indicated. “I think this is much more my speed,” He still had to glance down a bit, wary of stepping on her toes, but this wasn’t so bad. He could do this, probably.
After they started to get a bit better a rhythm, Elliot could focus on Alice more than watching their feet. “So are you going to go? To the ball, I mean.” He and Lily had already agreed to try to go together, but he thought maybe he could offer Alice a dance while she was there too, to say thanks.

 

[Alice Holland]

Alice was glad Elliot didn't seem to mind her lack of expertise in dancing. She felt like he just needed some reassurance and positivity to feel more confident, and she hoped she would be able to offer him that. He placed his hands on her waist and swayed to imaginary music with her. As he told her this was more his speed, Alice nodded with a slight laugh. "I think this is what most people do, honestly. Anyone you're likely to dance with probably won't know any complicated steps themselves, you know?" She said, smiling gently. "Are you hoping to dance with anyone in particular?" She asked him, unable to hide her curiosity. "Yep! I'm definitely going. I love all the events at Hogwarts. The hall is always decorated beautifully, and everyone is wearing nice clothes..." She shrugged, smiling. "I'm going on my own, but I'm sure I'll run into some friends there. Maybe we'll see each other there too?" She asked, as she considered Elliot a friend. It was nice to be able to help someone a little younger than her sometimes, but they weren't that far apart in age. Elliot was a nice boy, and Alice thought the two of them could be good friends.

 

[Elliot Briar]

The practice was definitely helping Elliot's nerves about the dance. He was relieved Alice had come along, nodding as she reassured him about the general level of the other students at the dance. He still hated going into situations blind and eagerly listened as she described the ball more. "I'm going with my friend, Lily," he said softly. "She's sweet, but she gets so nervous with stuff like this," He tried to gesture to their dancing as best he could without his hands free, "That's why I wanted to kinda know what I was doing before the ball. I think it helps her calm down.." He didn't really think Lily would want to dance, but the idea of being asked to and not knowing how still irked him.

"If we do run into each other, maybe we could try dancing for real. Wouldn't want to waste all our practice," he said, trying to keep his voice as casual as possible. He wasn't sure if there were any rules to asking girls to dance, but it felt like something you had to be careful with. He just knew Alice was nice and he wanted to return the favour if he could.

 

[Alice Holland]

Alice listened curiously as Elliot told her he was going with his friend Lily. So his friend was a girl, and he thought it likely the two of them would dance. The gears in Alice's head started spinning, and she had to stop herself. Elliot was younger than she was, the idea that he would be dating anyone was a little ridiculous. But if she could somehow help the two of them find each other, she would have something else to brag about like how she had gotten her sister a girlfriend by forcing an introduction between her and Emily's sister. Of course, this was a different situation entirely, and Alice decided to let those thoughts rest for at least a few years. It was sweet enough that he was willing to go with a girl as a friend, and was working so hard to reassure her. Alice knew many guys his age would rather laugh and tell stupid jokes at events instead of dancing or even talking to a girl. "I think that's very sweet of you. Do you think you'll dance together? That's cool! Not many guys your age would do that, I think." She said with a smile. "They're all too scared." She teased, and then she grinned as he offered to dance with her if they ran into each other. "It's a deal! I'd love to dance with you at the ball." She said happily. "You're the first boy to have asked me, so if we run into each other I definitely want to." She smiled at him. "Do you know what you're going to wear yet?"

 

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot tried to duck his head as much as he could while they were dancing, trying to hide the small blush when Alice called him sweet. "I don't think we'll dance, she's pretty shy around crowds.. But we might. We probably won't... But we might," He shook his head to make himself stop rambling. The thought of dancing still made him really nervous. "I'd hate to not be able to if she asked," He said finally.
He laughed a little nervously as Alice teased about the other boys his age, "Honestly, I'm pretty scared too" The more Alice spoke about the ball, the more El wondered if dancing was really that uncommon. Wasn't that the whole point of a ball in the first place? Still, he was glad Alice said, he figured someone should dance with her since she was being so nice.

Elliot felt his stomach drop when she asked about what he was wearing. "I hadn't thought about it," he said, pausing their swaying to stare a little wide eyed at her. "What am I supposed to wear? Do people dress up really nice?" He'd thought about his halloween costume, but he'd never given the ball itself much thought. He'd seen the fancy dress parties his mom catered sometimes and balked at the thought of being under dressed if it was anything like that.

 

[Alice Holland]

Alice smiled as Elliot ducked his head and blushed. He really was a nice boy, and she was glad he was her friend. "But you're preparing just in case?" She said, smiling as he told her they probably wouldn't dance. "That's very nice of you. This Lily is lucky to have a thoughtful friend like you." She told him honestly. It was only more sweet when he admitted he was pretty scared himself, and she gave him an encouraging smile. "You'll be fine. I don't think anyone else is as prepared as you are." She said with a nod at the pamphlet he had been holding. "And remember it's about having fun, not about being the best at dancing." She said softly. "Don't worry about other people. I guarantee they're too busy worrying about themselves or their dates to pay any attention to anyone else." She said, and she believed it. Everyone got insecure sometimes, especially when they were doing things out of their comfort zone like dancing. And if anyone did give Elliot a hard time, Alice would have a few things to say to them.

Her question about what Elliot was going to wear had been a casual one, but she could see it had made him nervous. "Don't worry." She said immediately, trying to reassure him again. "People just wear... nice clothes. Some guys wear a suit, but a nice shirt is just as good!" She told him. "I'm just going to wear a pretty simple dress. There's people who go all out in ballgowns, but It's definitely not necessary." She let go of him and stepped back, grinning. "You're ready, I can tell." She declared.