Maximilian let out a long whistle. “That’s a crazy costume. How did she do the hair?”
“Foam, I think.” Eva’s smile felt very plastered on. “She wanted to dance with me, and teach me to dance first.”
“Teach you to dance before dancing? Have you ever danced before?” Jordan asked.
“Never once.”
“We should get some popcorn.”
Eva allowed her fake smile to slip into a frown. “You do that. I’ll be back later, I think.”
“Good luck,” Juliana called even as Eva stepped straight to the bathroom door.
She opened the door and waked into the bathroom.
Like everything else in The Vertex, the bathroom was lit by several neon lights. Also like the rest of the place, it wasn’t very clean.
Arachne waited in the narrow area between the stalls and the sinks. A smile spread across her face as Eva wandered in.
“Come on, we have a full half hour before its time.”
“Time for what,” Eva asked.
“I had a
Arachne stepped forwards and grabbed each of Eva’s hands with her own. She placed one on her own shoulder and kept the other in her claw.
“Now,” Arachne said, “step with me.”
“I–”
Arachne jerked her forward. “No saying you can’t. To the side now.”
Eva stepped to the side before Arachne had a chance to pull her. She almost got her own foot stepped on for her efforts. Eva took a quick step back to avoid Arachne’s clawed feet.
“Too quick,” Arachne chided. “You have to allow me to finish before you move on.”
They continued dancing and fell into a rhythm. It was actually kind of fun, though Eva doubted she would be winning any awards anytime soon. Dancing around in a small box didn’t look very impressive.
“Now,” Arachne’s sudden voice nearly caused Eva’s foot to slip under the claw, “we rotate with each step.”
Taking care to avoid being trod upon, Eva followed Arachne’s lead. They continued for another ten minutes until Arachne added another element.
“Spins are probably too much for our short lesson. If I lean to one side, just follow that lean.”
Eva nodded and tried to follow. Some steps Arachne would pause and lean while others were mid-step. Still, those wound up with patterns as well. She wondered if it wouldn’t be easier with proper music than the thudding bass that reverberated throughout the bathroom.
“That will have to do,” Arachne finally concluded. “Perhaps I’ll teach you how to properly dance in the future. I thought about teaching you before tonight but worried that it would ruin the surprise.”
Eva almost wished she had taught her earlier, surprise or no. She wasn’t the type to get embarrassed easily. That require caring about what other people thought. Not something she’d ever had a problem with in the past.
Now she might care, at least a little, what the group she’d come here with thought. What her friends thought.
None of that even compared to the disaster that might happen if Arachne stepped on her feet. She probably had enough control over her body to not injure Eva. Looking at the deep claw marks on the floor of the bathroom made Eva not want to take that chance.
Still, Eva didn’t want to take away the smile on Arachne’s face. Arachne never smiled. It was always a grin. This was nice. A side of Arachne that rarely showed.
So she allowed the woman to lead her out of the bathroom.
None of her friends were at the table. A quick peek over the railing showed Juliana talking to someone out of sight. Probably the others.
Arachne brought her down the stairs by her hand.
The moment her clawed foot touched the dance floor, the heavy sounds of an organ crashed over the room. Eva glanced up at the DJ who was looking very nervously at Arachne. He was completely ignored in return.
Arachne separated from Eva at the center of the dance floor. She turned and gave a deep bow.
Eva gripped the edges of her lab coat and curtsied.
Arachne offered her hand and Eva took it. They pulled together and began their waltz.
Just like the practice, they began stepping in a small square. As the organ raged on, Arachne started rotating and eventually added the leaning.
Eva was sure it didn’t look very impressive. They had done nothing especially fancy. Eva kept her eyes on her feet more than half the time and, more than once, broke the rhythm in her haste to escape being crushed by Arachne’s feet.
But it was fun. Arachne’s smile never left her face, even when Eva half kicked her foot.
They danced around. Eva had no idea how long the song was, but it eventually ended. It couldn’t have lasted more than five minutes.
Arachne drew back to arm’s length, holding Eva’s hands until they slipped out from the distance. She gave another bow which Eva returned. She stepped forwards once more and pulled Eva into a tight embrace.
