Chapter Text
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The sun was at its peak in the sky, yet the grey storm clouds that had rolled in darkened the regular light of noon.
It looked like it was going to storm. Or snow.
It was fairly common for Britain to receive such harsh weather in the late fall.
Simon drove Penny to her ‘recreational arts’ studio, that dim, gloomy day.
He was her ride since she refused to get a license, and she asked him to wait for an hour while she did her gymnast stuff.
He decided to sit inside the building.
He didn’t want the car to run the whole time, and it was bloody cold outside.
Simon left the car after Penny did, he didn’t want to go in just yet. The building was…intimidating.
It was too much; Too big. Too clean. Too fancy.
He carefully treaded along the white floored-hallway of the centre that seemed to stretch forever in his scuffed red sneakers, making his way to the gymnastics room.
There were tons of rooms in the building. Simon had only then realized just how massive the place was. He knew it was pretty big, but not ‘how’ big.
Rooms for different kinds of dancing, singing, playing instruments, gymnastics and art.
The rooms for more physical activities were further down the hall, so it took a little while to get there.
Outside each room, there were white painted wooden benches spectators could sit on to watch the class go on through a giant glass wall.
Simon saw a few old ladies, each watching their own kids. There were young children, not paying much attention, mostly staring at their phones. Teenage guys sat there too, who were a mix of slightly uninterested, and completely uninterested.
He sat next to a wizened old woman in a brown coat and black skirt.
“Who are you watching?” She asked him quietly, keeping her eyes on the all-female group of gymnasts.
“Oh, um, that girl in the purple and silver body suit and curly brown hair, Penny,” Simon responded in that same hushed tone.
“Penny? Ah. She’s the girl my little Trixie has as a deskmate in school.” The woman smiled at the mention of ‘her little Trixie’.
But then, she seemed to notice something, and turned to inspect Simon. “I thought my little Trixie said her boyfriend was American…”
“Oh, no, I’m not her boyfriend, just a friend,” He said with a polite smile.
She didn’t look like she believed him, but whatever.
It’s not like he cared what people thought of his relationship with Penny.
Except maybe Shepherd.
It would be bad if he thought they were together.
But he knows they aren’t.
He hopes Shepherd doesn’t think she’s cheating on him with ‘Simon Snow’ of all people.
Simon picked at the holes in his worn black jeans as this woman bore holes into him with her eyes.
He chose not to stick around any longer.
Penny was just doing stretches, and it’s not like he cared too much about what she was doing anyway.
Simon stood from his seat and walked further down the hall.
He passed rooms for ballet, flamenco, tap, and break dancing, pausing at each to see what was going on.
He only knew which dances were being taught in the different studios thanks to the plaques on the doors.
It wasn’t too interesting.
He saw a few guys in the ballet course, so that surprised him slightly, but other than that, he didn’t really care.
Well, that was until he walked past the Waltz dancing class.
When Simon looked through the window of that one, he immediately noticed a particular pair of dancers stepping back and forth to the faint violin music he could hear playing in the room.
They were obviously the best in the class, as they were dancing swifter and with more complicated movements than the others.
He didn’t think he’d ever seen any couple more beautiful than those two.
The girl had long golden hair pinned in a complicated bun.
She wore a light blue bedazzled dress that flowed as she twirled in the guy’s arms.
Her eyes were closed, and she was too far away to see, but he could tell her eyelids were dusted with a silver powder, making them shine like starlight.
The guy was startlingly beautiful too.
His mid-length black hair was tied back in a neat ponytail. He wore a red and black suit and tie that stiffened around his muscles as they moved.
His skin was a strange pale colour that almost seemed to gleam in the bright light of the studio.
Not to say it was strange, that’s not what Simon meant to have thought. No, it was…enchanting.
Their whole dance seemed like a spell, entrancing any who looked for too long.
Simon stumbled getting into a seat to watch the two.
A tall, tanned woman in a leather jacket and combat boots with a streak of silver in her black hair viewed their dance as well.
She was sat next to him, legs and arms crossed, eyebrows furrowed as if deep in thought.
He didn’t pay attention to how much time had passed. All he cared about was watching these two other-worldly people move together perfectly.
When the class was over, Simon had hardly noticed.
He startled from his trance when he heard the door open.
This seemed like the time when all the classes ended, so everyone was pouring out into the halls.
The guy and girl Simon saw earlier walked out.
He expected their aura of perfection to be diminished by the fact that they weren’t dancing anymore, but even then, just walking, they had an air about them that separated them from everyone else.
They looked like they were squabbling. He couldn’t hear anything though.
The guy shot back an inaudible retort, slinging his bag over his shoulder.
The girl smirked at the guy, then flipped around, and walked over to where the entrance was.
The guy frowned, walking towards…him?
Simon quickly stood.
He wasn’t, he actually looked right past him to the woman in the leather jacket.
“Baz, your form-“
“Was terrible! I know, I already got an earful from Agatha.”
So their names were Baz and Agatha. Maybe.
“I was actually going to say it was fine.”
“Sure you were.”
Simon watched as ‘Baz’ grabbed the small towel the woman was holding out, wiping his brow.
He lay the towel down and brushed his hands through his hair, sighing heavily.
He looked tired.
He seemed to have noticed Simon staring.
“What? What are you looking at?” He asked, almost accusingly, quickly regaining his composure.
“Uh, nothing.” Simon turned to go back to Penny, she was probably done too.
”What are you doing here anyway? I’ve never seen you here before…are you planning on joining the group?”
Simon didn’t know what he expected the boy to say, but it wasn’t that. He turned back around.
He imagined that for a moment. Himself in a fancy suit with his hair slicked back, holding a girl in a pretty blue dress and pearls in her hair, the two spinning gracefully.
He laughed at that. Being graceful? Simon wasn’t even sure if his body knew the meaning of the word.
“Haha, hell no. I just came to watch.”
Simon winced at his own words. They sounded a too harsh. He never was good with articulation.
The guy’s brows furrowed, and his already frowning expression deepened.
“You didn’t have to be an arsehole about it, I was just asking.”
“Oh, was I? Didn’t mean it,” Simon mumbled, feeling a little embarrassed.
“That was the least sincere apology I’ve ever heard. What, is dancing below you?” Baz sneered, crossing his arms.
“What- no? I never said that. I think dancing is just fine. I-“
Baz just rolled his eyes and pulled his small bag tighter over his shoulder.
“Simon! What are you doing there?” Penny called from somewhere behind him.
“I was just leaving, seems the dancers are just stuck up pricks who won’t give interested people the time of day. Jumping to conclusions, and all that.”
Baz scoffed, giving Simon a slight glare as he passed him.
Simon snatched up the coat had set down on the bench as Penny began walking down the hallway.
Simon gave Baz’s fleeting frame one last hard look before remembering to follow Penny.
Who did this guy think he was?
Just as the two left the building, rain began hammering down onto the streets of the West End.
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