Whichever Way the Beats Drop {Toby}

[FRANCESCA ODETTE MORELLI]

Yes, she even made her sister fancy her up a little. Nelly was always really sweet about that kind of thing. She knew just how inept Frankie could be with the girlier things. That’s why her nails were actually pretty, and her hair was straightened out and looked all kinds of soft and touchable, why her eyes were framed by large, mascara-enhanced lashes. Frankie wouldn’t really admit that she kinda liked that part of it. She liked the little girly things, but not the whole shebang. Nah, she was much happier in her jeans and sneakers than she would ever be in a skirt. Give her clothes with holes in ‘em, with no expectation to keep ‘em clean and pretty. That was much better than a shirt she had to iron, or a top she couldn’t really touch. But, for dancing, the were would bow to some peer pressure. Looking like a hobo in the club meant that people generally stayed away from you, and the wolf- believe it or not- really did like people. And dancing. Yes, dancing. Don’t laugh, okay? It was fun. And it was exercise. Dancers didn’t get enough credit for how many calories they burned working their asses off. Just ‘cause they made it look easy didn’t mean that it was. Only the best could make the difficult stuff look easy. And Frankie… she had a knack for it.

Okay, okay, truth be told, the first time her friends had suggested she go out dancing with them, she’d huffed, wrinkling her nose in disdain. But she was of the ‘try anything once’ mindset. Because how could you know you wouldn’t like something if you hadn’t tried it? There were limits, of course, but any activity within reason- and oftentimes quite a bit out of reason- and Frankie would try it. Dancing just got added under that heading. So she’d gone, after much fussing with her attire by said friends, and actually had a really fantastic time. She could live with the ‘I told you sos’ after the fact, because they’d intro-d her to something she enjoyed. It had sort of become a standing gig for them, after that, and the group of them- whoever could make it- went about once or twice a week, at least. There were only the five of them this particular evening, but that didn’t mean much. They’d still make their own fun, and the club was always packed with people that they could interact with.

And what do you know? It was again crammed with masses of bodies, thumping to the music that was pouring from the massive speakers. The very sight of the front door made her grin as she exited the car, making her way to the entrance. The group of them had become such regulars that the bouncer just… let them in, no questions. Frankie grinned and hi-fived him on the way in, already half-dancing to the music. She couldn’t decide where to start for a minute… Whether or not to dive right in or head to the bar and get a drink. Decisions, decisions. But then a song she loved came on, and the decision was made for her. Frankie’s little gang moved to the bar while she made her way further into the crowd, losing herself to music a bit. It was fabulous. And for a moment, she was having one of those ‘dancing with myself’ experiences, bouncing and shaking to the music. A familiar face popped up in a few seconds, though, and she took to dancing with the guy she recognized, but whose name she didn’t know. It was like a long-standing arrangement for them, established… well, a while ago. He was a good dancer, she was a good dancer, and they read each other pretty well, which made it way more fun. She was also pretty sure he was gay. Not that it mattered. But that may have explained why he passed her off with a wicked grin when some cute little blonde thing appeared on the floor next to him. They obviously knew each other.

Unlike Frankie and the… good lord. Tall-ass hottie she ended up with. She didn’t recognize him at all. Okay, yeah, that didn’t say much, ‘cause her memory wasn’t always fantastic, and the club cycled through bodies like she did water bottles, but she knew, beyond a doubt, that if she’d ever seen him before, she would’ve remembered. He was that pretty. Like, ‘wet yourself in shock’ pretty. ‘Fan yourself to try and stave off the heat wave caused by his existence,’ kind of guy. Dude. That wasn’t fair… How was she supposed ta-? Aw, f it. She liked dancing, and she could do it with anybody. Even glaringly attractive men who made her throat dry out a little. Oh, again with that look. Gosh, Frankie was familiar with that look. Believe it or not, the werewolf likes guys. Yes, romantically speaking, she was male-inclined. Why nobody can believe that… Sigh. Just ‘cause she has issues being ‘intimate’ with men… Whatever. She could still dance with him. Especially because his hands were on her in just the perfect way, encouraging and leading at the same time. Damn, but the man could dance… Her odd eyes met his violet ones, and she grinned. Well, hello warlock. And, oddly enough, that made her more comfortable, made it easier for her to just relax back into him and the music, swiveling and swirling and dancing.

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clicketh for clothes!

[TOBIAS ANTHONY WARREN]

[style=width:400px; height:15px; font-family:oleo script; font-size:30px; line-height:85%; color:#876363; border-bottom: 5px solid #c1a2a2; letter-spacing:-1px; text-decoration:italic; text-align:right;]you could be an animal like me,

i wish i could give you,

Anyone that knew Toby knew that the first thing he’d probably go and seek out into the new town was the clubs. Having a- what he called- lady friend did make things a little more restricting on his part, but he learned that it was okay to have some fun. Besides, he was celebrating many things. With the successful move-in and the new job that he gained at the Nirvana Day Spa (with a rather sexy boss), he felt good. Which was… well good, for Toby’s lack of better words. He felt better that day in Manuka than he had in a while. He was afraid the last engagement was mostly spent sulking around and wanting Daisy back. Daisy had to be in the past and remain in the past. Toby was pretty sure he finally got the point where he could walk around without a frown on his face. Be the old guy that everyone knew and hopefully liked. Like anyone else, Toby liked to be adored. He was a bit of a show off in that sense, but he really didn’t mean much harm by it.

By all the talk around the place, he heard that this was the number one club in Manuka. There was a couple of them listed off, but this one was most frequent, and honestly, when he approached the building, it was the one with the biggest line. There were so many rumors in this city, and he had only been here one other time. This place he was too young for at the time, but now, he almost felt anxious to go inside. A good kind. If there was a good kind. Was there a good kind? Toby didn’t know. He didn’t look into those things nor care much about them. All he knew was that he looked at himself in the mirror and thought that he looked like he fit the part he was supposed to play during all of this. While the man dreamed of being something more than his looks, he did have to appreciate them in some manner, now didn’t he? It was his entire job. He knew that he was good-looking. Or he wouldn’t have made it this far.

With a confident stride, he went up to the bouncer, trying to look as confident as possible. Toby was going in alone since he really didn’t know anyone in this city yet. The man looked over him, asking him if he wanted in, pretty boy. If Toby could count how many times he had been called pretty boy… wait, he didn’t know if he could count that high. He paused and thought about it, counting the number of times. He supposed he would be able to count to such a number if he took out the number of times his hockey coach and team said it to him. Shortly after the team, it had become his nickname. It was now just a name he was called regularly now. It didn’t bother him as much as people might have thought. He liked to be known as at least something that actually sounded positive. He didn’t know that it was supposed to be an insult, but hey, ignorance is bliss. Or something like that. It went like that, right?

The bouncer let him in seeing that there were already some women who had their eye on him. He would be a good addition to the place, apparently. When he walked in, some of the people who went there practically every night came and talked to him. The bartender looking at him curiously and asking what he wanted. After Toby ordered his drink and drank enough to make him ease up and feel a little bit looser than walking, he brought himself to the dance floor. When he was younger, he had indeed taken some dance lessons, but mainly on curiosity. The dancing didn’t last long when his parents found out about what type it was. Hockey was more of his thing anyway. The whole scholarship thing would have paid off for it in the end. If only he hadn’t failed out. The man wasn’t sure at first. Not awkward, but almost as if he were at a foreign floor and was asking permission from everyone around him to move the way he usually did. It didn’t take him very long to get into his usual rhythm though.

Suddenly, he spotted a rather striking woman on the dance floor. Most of the women there looked around the same. The same clear faced, smiley, in style, girl just wanted to have fun type of look. This one was so different. He wasn’t sure if it was because she was nearly the only one there wearing jeans (Lord, she must have been bloody hot), or if it was her vibe she was giving out, but whatever it was, Toby was drawn to her. Now, he was meeting his lady friend soon, but he could look, right? It was now or never. He usually didn’t think things through, so might as well. Very casually, he smiled and moved towards her. At once, the pair matched perfectly. The way they moved. It was something not uncommon, but certainly not something he expected the first night. Dancing partners that clicked were harder to find than one might have thought. Finally, after a while, he decided he’d take a bite and be social. He leaned and said in her ear over the loud booming noise, ”You’re good at this. Glad you came here on my first night.” He grinned un-shamefully, making sure his hips moved the way they should. Nothing was more of a turn-off (in uh, dancing of course) than a strange experimented move.

[style=width:400px; font-family:courier; font-size:10px; text-align:center;]THANKS TO MAC !

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[FRANCESCA ODETTE MORELLI]

She didn’t know him from Adam, and it didn’t matter. They were in a club, surrounded by loud people, louder music and flowing alcohol. The press of bodies entrapping and encouraging. If she’d been claustrophobic, she’da been terrified. As it stood, well, she was just excited. Dancing gave her a special kind of rush, much like sky-diving or kickboxing or fencing did. The only difference here was, well, she had a partner. Not an opponent, not someone to work against, nope. A partner, a companion, someone she had to work with. It’d taken her a minute, when she was first learning the ropes of dancing, to realize that it was okay to let the guy lead. He wasn’t making advances or stealing her thunder or anything. And while yeah, she could solo dance with the best of ‘em, the most thrilling variety was done with somebody beside you. The subtle hints he gave her, the way his body moved with hers around the floor, was some of the best she’d ever had the pleasure of participating in. Hot and a good dancer. Shit wasn’t fair… Good thing she didn’t have to talk, right? ‘Cept not.

Her body was already doing some talkin’ for her. It moved where and when it was supposed to, easily guided by the gentle- and sometimes not, yum- press of him against her. The rhythms thumped through her system, another hint as to how she was supposed to be doing this. Not that she needed more hints than whatever-the-hell-his-name-was’ movements. And then there were words to go with it, and Frankie’s voice died in her throat. Hellll. Fuck it. She looked away from him for a second, which is what it would take to remind herself that she was just one of the guys, friendzoned and unappealing and she had no reason to be awkward, ‘cause it wasn’t like he was hitting on her (obviously) , despite the fact that he’d complimented her. Woot. He thought she had skittles. So she grinned, taking the compliment with a smile and a grain of salt- ‘cause really, he was prolly just being nice- and nodded, hooking an arm up around his shoulders so she could talk back, a sweet and casual tone to her voice.

’Thanks, man! I appreciate that. Glad I can keep up with you, actually, ‘cause you’re really good at this. Take lessons or something?’ Her smile was bright, infectious, as they danced a little more, before a spin and a shimmy had her back to his chest, and she could lean up to address the other part of his comment, placing her face closer to his ear so that he could actually hear her, her corded forearms resting on his shoulders behind her, high up as they were. ’First night in the club? Or first night in town?’ That was a polite question, right? And she didn’t sound too dang nosy. The man might need someone to be interested in his life in a friendly way if he’d just gotten there. Moving was a pain in the ass. And Frankie was an awesome friend. She had lots of them, to boot. Maybe she could get him some other buddies too… Just where is your head at, dude? Trying to intro some guy you don’t even know to your friends. Chill out. Take it down some notches. Probably won’t even see his ass after tonight. Cheesh. Her brow scrunched some when she realized where her brain had been taking her. But she was just such a nice person, and she cared about people, and just wanted to help and- yada yada yada.

Frankie got spun away from him then, the music swirling her through the crowd, just long enough for some other chick to insert herself where the werewolf had just been. Huh. Well, that was rude… right? She wasn’t really sure of dancefloor etiquette sometimes. Was it okay to come in and take somebody else’s partner? Even though it wasn’t like Frankie really even knew the guy, she had been dancing with him… The werewolf bit her lip, considering. It was a rare thing, for the woman to think before she leapt, but here she was, thinkin’ about it. Maybe the warlock would be happier with the other lady? She was dressed in a much more normal- for the club, anyway- fashion, and she could dance, and well. Frankie spun and tangled her hands in her long hair, still debating going back over to him. They’d only come together by accident anyways. But, she really had been having a good time… She’d finally decided to go, maybe politely- was there a way to do that?- squiggle her way back in, cut into the dance, when the decision was taken from her, as he was magically-mystically back in her bubble, causing a chuckle that she couldn’t suppress. ’I was just gonna go find you! Welcome back. Have a fun trip?’ What the hell else was she gonna say? ‘Miss me?’ Pft. As if. Wasn’t her style, for one thing, and he had no reason to miss her, for another. Still, she was glad they’d reconnected, whatever the cause was, and resumed the easy- well, they were actually complex, but with him, they were easy to accomplish, and looked easy- motions they’d been doing before, and threw in some new ones, just for kicks, smiling like a star as she bounced, swiveled, gyrated, rotated and rocked with and against him, depending on how her partner- she really needed something else to call him in her head.

’I’m Frankie, by the way,’ she said loudly, making sure he heard her over the music, as she gently slipped her hand into his with a small squeeze, a less-formal version of the typical handshake, but still kinda introductory. And the man had good hands...

[TOBIAS ANTHONY WARREN]

[style=width:400px; height:15px; font-family:oleo script; font-size:30px; line-height:85%; color:#876363; border-bottom: 5px solid #c1a2a2; letter-spacing:-1px; text-decoration:italic; text-align:right;]you could be an animal like me,

i wish i could give you,

Although he had been in Manuka before in his life, he felt like he was brand new to this city all over again. He didn’t recognize anyone here, and the few that he had met already were brand new. Did this place really change that much over the past couple of years? It wasn’t like he had been a child, moved away to college and came back. The time had only been two years ago, and it had been the shortest time ever despite being engaged to two other women at that time. Separately, of course. He was a one woman man. Something that wasn’t thought of especially in arranged marriages, but if he was going to have one job in that family, he was determined not to let his entire family down. First of the line had sort of been thrown upon him at a young age after his cousins of higher end had died. Nights like these were all he had to keep himself sane sometimes. At least he had plenty of distractions as he settled in.

She moved well. Sometimes it was just a pretty face who faked it and was able to get away with it because they had such a pretty face. It seemed these two clicked. In dancing, Toby had learned that even sometimes two good dancers didn’t connect. There had to be that same rhythm and feel between a pair. Without it, dancing was rather impossible, no matter the skill between the two. This was perfect. It was as if the magic drawing him to her when first walking in knew what it was doing. Of course, he wasn’t sure if it was a magic thing or if it was just a she’s-really-hot-and-I-want-her-thing. Either way, it didn’t make a difference to him. Long as it worked. Toby didn’t need to look at her to know she was getting into it too. She could feel it. Any other time, if he didn’t have his lady friend to meet the next day… the temptation was high, but so was his control. There was nothing wrong with just having fun dancing. Not having to hookup.

As much as he liked to try to remain humble, he knew he was good at dancing. He had a strange knack for it. So when she said it, he smiled widely. Wonderful. There were some dance partners he had who didn’t even want friendly small conversation. Which was great, but he was a social animal. Talking and getting small responses always made him feel stupid. So her response was what he had been expecting and wanting. ”Just a few, but truth be told, I dance much better when I have a good partner.” Giving her a small wink before gripping her hips a little harder. Not meaning to come off too strong or anything, but he enjoyed it. Just the small little brisk moments like that. Ah, good she kept going on with the conversation. He hoped that this wasn’t going to be the last time he met her, as she seemed like the type of person he would really get along. By first impressions alone of course. ”Both. Thought this was a good place to have a first night. Turns out, I was right.” A sideways grin escaping his lips when suddenly, a chance of pace suddenly stepped in. Very swiftly and before Toby could even open his mouth to say anything else, he had a new dancing partner.

This woman was more of the typical one he might have seen in all the other clubs he had ever been to. Not wearing very much and she moved around quite a lot. He was sure the intention was to make it seem appealing. Like he was getting a lap dance on the floor, but it was too much for him to match up with. It completely threw him off and a strange expression appeared on his face as if he didn’t know what to do with her. In all reality, he really didn’t have a sort of a clue. Gently, he tried to guide her, but it was clear she wanted to take the lead. Ah, whatever. Toby stayed there for a couple of moments before he glanced up and saw that his previous partner was off in the distance, looking equally confused. Or deep in thought, he was never good at facial expressions. Toby wasn’t generally a rude guy, so was trying to figure out a clever way to switch back over to her without hurting the other’s feelings and smoothly showing that it was just meant to be the other way. Once he thought of a million scenarios and didn’t think any of them worked, he saw the way this had to go. Toby was a lot of things, but weak he didn’t consider himself. With a swift motion as swift as she had taken his past partner’s place, he moved back over to the dark haired pick. He didn’t glance back to see the expression on the other chick’s, nor did he want to see it. Still, he supposed she brought it on herself.

Was that her version of saying ‘miss me?’ Toby grinned at her, still keeping his back to where he left the other, no doubt that she already moved on but just to make sure. ”Trip was okay. Too much movement for my liking.” The girl had really been flailing all over the place. Toby liked movement of course, but purposeful motions. Sometimes the small moves were better and the big moves taken in small doses ended up being the best. He wasn’t sure. As much as he danced, he supposed that others had their different preferences and likings. He heard her introduce herself loudly over the music. ”Frankie?” He repeated, making sure he got it right, as he didn’t recall ever knowing a female Frankie. Or a male, he supposed. He liked it. It was different. ”Toby.” Taking her hand and trying his best to give her a million dollar smile. As any gentleman in the club should, he also offered, ”Do you want a drink?” Which might have been giving the wrong kind of vibe on his intentions, but it only seemed polite. Once this song was over, of course. Seemed somehow wrong to leave hot like this.

[style=width:400px; font-family:courier; font-size:10px; text-align:center;]THANKS TO MAC !

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[FRANCESCA ODETTE MORELLI]

Yeah, Frankie had actually taken dancing lessons too. When she discovered a flair and a like of dancing, she’d signed herself up for a string of hip-hop classes, and some more… traditional ones. She’d even done a little interpretive, thinkin’ it’d be more like exercise, and was just weirded out instead. That one had been summarily dropped. The others though, she’d stuck with for a while. Hadn’t been to a class in a while, getting her info from it and letting it go, since she had plenty of other activities to do, and she could go dance at the club whenever she wanted. A big chunk of her sure wasn’t surprised that her new acquaintance had ‘a few’ under his belt too. Though he laced that with a pretty compliment that earned him a wry grin.

’Don’t we all? I mean, come on, crappy partners can kill the flow right quick.’ She made a little hand gesture across her throat, ya know, the ‘decapitation’ move. Quick flick of the wrist. It kinda looked like a karate chop… ‘Judo chop,’ like Austin Powers and… she’d been going somewhere with that, honestly. Oh! Right right. Dead mojo. Wow. With that movie. Back on track, shall we? ’You just might have enough to balance that out, though. Only a few lessons, seriously?’ She raised an eyebrow as she was spun in his embrace, breath huffing out with a quickness as she grinned, having a blast. Part of her kinda wondered if he did the traditional, like, ballroom dancing too… He had good enough footwork and posture for it, she could tell, semi-pressed against him as she was. Her dark head tilted, wide brown/violet eyes looking up at him as he professed that it was both his first night in town and in the club. Well, let Frankie be the welcome committee, huh? ’Good a place as any. What in the world brought you here, of all places? I mean, Maine, really?’

Actually, there were a lot of transplants in Manuka, recently. Frankie had her theories about why that was, like most of the natives and the supers around, because everyone was wondering at it, but nothing was confirmed. Honestly, in any other case, who would think, ‘hey, let’s move to Maine!’ when they were considering a move? Not Frankie, that was fer sure. If she hadn’t been raised there, she wouldn’t have given it a second thought. Not much happened here… well, kinda. She was saying shit and contradicting herself and getting her brain twisted up. Now really wasn’t the time for such a complex choo-choo train of thought. Yes, ‘choo-choo.’ Deal. Nobody said Frankie was the most mature being on the planet. Perhaps that was why she was naïve enough to let her very good partner slip through her fingers, in a manner of speaking. And why she scrambled and wobbled for a minute as to what to do about that. Some odd little petulant part of her missed him. How weird was that? Maybe she just had an appreciation for a good partner, like he did. Yeah, prolly.

And that was why her joy was almost glaringly obvious when she was suddenly back in his embrace, beat moving through them both as she teased him about his absence. Not ‘cause she was usually a lone wolf in the club, and was genuinely happy he had seen fit to grace her again with his presence. She knew it was his choice, in a few moments, as the blonde he’d left glared at her, making Frankie blink with surprise. What? She hadn’t done anything to the woman… But because Toby was pointedly ignoring her, obviously trying to get his point across, Frankie did the same, paying him attention once more, rather than meeting the eyes of the girl. Whoever she was. Francesca made sure to tune back into his words, chuckling at his response. ’But it’s dancing, dude. How can there be too much movement?’ Her head tilted, and then she shook her head, picturing a spastic, shaking craziness, and laughed out loud, realizing her error, waving her hand. ’Oh crap, nevermind. Just having a slow moment. At least it wasn’t a ‘toss your cookies,’ ride, huh?’ ‘Cause he certainly didn’t look sicker. It was actually weird how pretty his eyes were under the low lights of the club. Usually, the bright and flashing didn’t do much for the appeal of the people on the floor. It obscured reality, in her opinion. But when you were dancing, how much did reality really matter? Enough, at least, for her to give him her real name. Nickname, whatever. It’s not like she ever went by ‘Francesca’ anyways. Her name, repeated back to her, made her grin, nodding semi-emphatically. ’Yep. That’s me. Fits, right?’ His eyes looked a little confused, but he said it right, and it felt right, so she rolled with it. His fit too, actually. ‘Toby.’ Felt like another nickname to her. She wondered, just for a second, what his real name was, and before her mouth could shut up, out came the question. ’Is that short for something?’ The little hand gesture and that killer smile felt almost more… intimate than the dancing, like it was turning them into real people, rather than random strangers. Rather than happenstance and dream. Melted her knees, a little. And dancing after that was even more fun.

A song she loved came on, and she squealed a little, energy kicking into high gear as her body took over, swiveling and swaying and rolling into him. Finally, she looked up into his face, grinning like a fool, and he asked her if she wanted a drink, and she nodded. ’Absolutely! I can check in with my friends while we’re at it.’ Her smile was bliss on wheels as the song changed, and she snagged his hand, pulling him away from the crowd and over to the bar, ordering herself a beer and looking back and up at him over her shoulder, waiting to see what he’d get, somehow completely comfortable in his bubble already.