spamalot } of dance bootcamp and meeting the BFF

[babybeta]

Liam: [okay, it had been a week of bootcamp. It was Saturday, and Liam had missed not having a boyfriend to wake up to on a Saturday morning. Not to say he expected Landon there, but with his home situation, he usually was. And because of that, Liam was lonely. And bored. Both being the biggest factors to why he's driving to the studio that Landon's been holed up in for the last few days until he's run ragged. He can smell his scent outside, so he knows he's at the right place. There are a lot of rooms in the studio, some with classes going on, some with local dancers practicing alone with small groups. He just keeps following his nose though until the finds the right one and stands there, peering in the window of the door and seeing what was going on.]

Mariana: Ow ... ow ... Landon I am flexible but my leg does not bend that way. [they're stuck in what looks like an incredibly uncomfortable position where Mariana has one leg up against his shoulder and the other against his hip, while Landon is sort of crouched for the moment and trying to stand but not really getting very far]

Landon: I'm aware of that - you're the one working in super acrobatic lifts here.

Liam: [he can hear them and bites his lip, amused. But he probably shouldn't walk in at this exact second - he doesn't want Landon to drop her]

Mariana: [that's okay, Liam, Mariana's two steps ahead of you because she catches the scent of unfamiliar wolf and drops her head back so that she could see into the mirror to the doorway behind her, and frowns] This is a private rehearsal! [which is very effective when you're yelling at someone upside down]

Landon: [blinks] What? [turns his attention to the mirror and ...] Liam!

Liam: [whoops. He just smiles and waves. Oh, he knows it's private. But he's 16 and what does that word mean when not related to him?]

Landon: [ smiles back before glancing down at Mariana] Take a break?

Mariana: We just started. I am not here to enable your hormones.

Landon: Five minutes.

Mariana: [sighs before delicately extracting herself from the tangle they have gotten themselves into and elegantly backflipping back onto her feet again] Five minutes. [and then there's a very feline glare that indicates she's watching you wolf boy, before going to grab a drink from her water bottle]

Liam: [so he can come in, right? He didn't just burst into the room, so give him some credit. He's totally slipping in now] Hey, that was a very interesting position going on there.

Landon: [makes a face as he shakes his head] That was not the position we were supposed to be in.

Liam: It was still interesting. [smirks a bit] Is she going to let you free at a decent hour at all this weekend? I miss you. [puppy eyes]

Landon: [the look on his face says Landon agrees with that assessment, but he's not hopeful] She's not pleased with my progress as of yet.

Mariana: He's rusty and slow and if we're going to start doing the competition circuit next weekend he needs to be up to speed.

Liam: Yeah, but working him until he breaks means he's broken and then he can't dance at all. [just saying]

Mariana: We are nowhere near that threshold.

Liam: Maybe not, but you guys both look like you could use a bit of a break. Even just for lunch?

Landon: [looks over at Mariana with a wide eyed pleading smile]

Mariana: [SIGH] Fine. Lunch.

Liam: [bright grin. He's a puppy, Mariana, and you made the puppy happy. He has no tail to wag but it would be if he had one] I can sit quietly and wait in the corner until then.

Mariana: Very quietly. [she would have been much friendlier if this was a social setting, but this is her career here]

Liam: I'll be so quiet, you'll have to check my heart to know I'm there.

Mariana: Good. [and with that, she'll put down her water bottle and move back to the center of the room] Ready?

Landon: [sigh] Yeah, let's do this. [and with that they will go back into choreographing as well as figuring out a way to make that lift work to their advantage]

Liam: [and he's going to sit in the corner by the mirrors with his head in his hands, watching silently. Because no really, Landon in tights is always a good thing to watch.]

Landon: [they're not as tight as they could have been, but they're definitely not baggy either. as they go and get back into their rhythm again, it's clear he's getting better, even if he is getting tired.]

Liam: [after seeing the routine a few times, he bites his lip as he keeps seeing that something is just off on one part. But he doesn't know dance so nope, not speaking up. Doesn't want his throat clawed out]

Landon: [finishes the last run of the routine and drops his hands down to his thighs for a moment, before glancing to his watch] Lunch?

Mariana: [reaching for her water bottle again before nodding] Yeah, sure.

Liam: Awesome. [jumps up] Diner? It's not that far from here so we can walk.

Landon: [shrugs before glancing to Mariana. She shrugs in return before moving back to her stuff]

Mariana: Let me just grab my sweatshirt. [because she can't go to a diner in her sports bra.]

Liam: [walks over and leans in to give him a quick kiss while her back is turned.] Hi.

Landon: [smiles a bit as he does] Hi. Let me change my shoes.

Liam: Sure. [and he will just enjoy the view]

Landon: [and five minutes later Mariana is even shorter than she was previously, now that she's sans her heels and is wearing a zip up sweatshirt for a dance club, while Landon is in sneakers and sweats and not bothered by it at all] Let's go.

Liam: [and he will just take Landon's hand because no, he is that bold. And maybe just a bit of a wolf in him making sure she knows that Landon is his. Totally territorial, okay? But they will walk] So how are you liking the west coast so far?

Mariana: [isn't even bothered by it and just slides her hands in her pockets as they walk] I like it. It's got an interesting vibe. And it's cooler than I thought it'd be.

Liam: Well, you're up in the hills so that helps. If you were down in LA, it'd be a bit worse. Not horrible, but hotter for sure.

Mariana: So long as we don't get any desert weather I think I'll be fine.

Liam: Nah, you have to be in Lake Los Angeles for that. Other side of the mountain heading to Vegas.

Mariana: Good to know. [there's a beat and she glances back to him] So what do you do, Liam? [and here comes the time honored grilling by the best friend]

Liam: Well, outside of school I play on the lacrosse team. I was on first line last year.

Mariana: Lacrosse is like male field hockey, right?

Liam: Kinda. We have sticks with nets on them, and we have girls on our team. Some schools have it as a boy’s team and a girl’s team, but we just have one and if the girls want to play, they just have a different locker room to get ready in.

Mariana: [nods with a "huh" face] Cool.

Liam: And in the off season, I'm slave labor to my parents as a babysitter.

Mariana: How many siblings do you have?

Liam: Two now. Lucy's almost 20 months, and Jacob's two months now.

Mariana: So ... really little siblings.

Liam: Yeah. Lucy and I are adopted. Jacob was an oops slash miracle baby.

Mariana: Ah. [she nods again] Doesn't sound like you mind the slave labor much?

Liam: It gives me free use of the car and the gas card, so it works out.

Mariana: [laughs] There's always perks somewhere.

Liam: Yeah, I'd say I'm pretty spoiled all considered, but I'm just lucky really.

Mariana: [nods] Sounds like it. Landon indicated you have a pretty great family.

Liam: Yeah, but like I said, I got lucky. I could be in a lot worse of a situation right now if it wasn't for my mom.

Mariana: [nods in agreement] I'm supposed to meet them, right? I was warned in advance for that.

Liam: Well, Landon's supposed to come meet my family so that he doesn't have to take them in all at once at my aunt's wedding. He wanted a second wingman, and my grandmother said it was fine.

Mariana: [nods with a smile] I don't mind. I'm not all anti-people dance slave driver all the time.

Liam: So I heard. Landon speaks highly of you, and not just in the slave driver way.

Mariana: Well, we haven't been best friends since we were six for nothing.

Liam: So tell me what six year old Landon was like. [smirks]

Landon: [groans]

Mariana: [laughs] Moody with the attention span of a gnat.

Liam: So nothing's really changed then. [laughing]

Landon: Hey!

Mariana: Nope. Not even a little.

Liam: Good thing I like him the way he is. [smiles. That make it better, boyfriend?]

Landon: [a little]

Mariana: Trying to change him would only result in tears.

Liam: But then he wouldn't be the Landon I love, so nope, i guess we're stuck with him like this.

Mariana: Afraid so.

Liam: [and look, there's the diner. They go and get a booth]

Mariana: [grabs a menu and starts flipping through] Is the food here good?

Liam: Depends - are you on a special diet for the summer?

Mariana: Nope, my metabolism is pretty much like yours. I go at super speed.

Liam: Awesome. Then the bacon burger with the curly fries.

Mariana: [wrinkles her nose] I'm not a fan of bacon. But I'd be good with a regular burger.

Liam: [gasps] Not a fan of bacon? I don't know if I can be friends with you. [mocking]

Mariana: [she gives a "what are you gonna do" shrug] It's just not my thing.

Liam: Well, I guess it just means more for us. [nudges Landon]

Landon: I consider myself fortunate that my biology does not mean I am picky about my protein.

Liam: I like meat. That pretty much explains me. [nods]

Mariana: I guess it's the feline in me. I'm pickier.

Liam: Hey, each their own. [leans into Landon a bit] You're being too quiet...

Landon: [glances up and frowns a bit] I'm letting you two get to know each other.

Liam: Okay, as long as you're not planning revenge against me. [takes his hand under the table]

Landon: [lets him do that before giving it a gentle squeeze] Not at all.

Liam: [and the waitress comes over for their orders and they give them before she wanders back off] So…do we want to play twenty questions or...?

Mariana: [considers before shrugging] Sure. It'd be an easy way to get through things.

Liam: Alright. Ladies first.

Mariana: How long have you been living with your adoptive parents?

Liam: A little over two years now. I was just about to turn fourteen.

Mariana: [she nods as she processes that] Cool.

Liam: So what got you into wanting to be a professional dancer?

Mariana: When I first started to get into ballroom my dad took me to a professional competition and I just ... fell in love.

Liam: I know the feeling. Kinda why I love lacrosse.

Mariana: Did you get taken to a game or something?

Liam: My dad played. My dad dad. He used to play in the yard with me and my brother. My brother played and he helped teach me.

Mariana: [which answers the question of whether he knew his actual parents or was in foster care or something] Cool.

Liam: So tell me about your family.

Mariana: [smirk] That's not a question.

Liam: Fine. Can you describe your family unit to me?

Mariana: Pretty normal. Mom, Dad, two older brothers and a baby sister, plus my Grandmother lives with us on and off.

Liam: Nice.

Mariana: Yep. Great big family.

Liam: Aunts and uncles?

Mariana: Yeah, but they live out of state. We don't live in great big packs the way wolves do.

Liam: Technically, I'm in two. Well, I'm a Hale, but also a Kirsanov because my mom's sister is married to their alpha.

Mariana: Oh, I know the Kirsanovs. Not ... personally, but I know of them?

Liam: Yup. Uncle Victor has a house down in Malibu at the beach. Aunt Nadia is mated to my Uncle Peter and lives here. And my Uncle Nik is in Vegas when he's not with Uncle Victor.

Mariana: Spread out.

Liam: Yeah. It was weird going from a very small pack to this huge one.

Mariana: That's good though. Lots of family means lots of people watching your back.

Liam: Yeah. That helped a lot when I first got here.

Mariana: Good.

Liam: I should probably explain I guess... my um... my real parents and brother... and the rest of the pack... they were taken out by hunters.

Mariana: [her face falls and she shakes her head] You don't have to ... explain. I get it.

Landon: And she's very good at inferring context clues.

Liam: [nods] Thanks. It still sucks to talk about.

Mariana: I can imagine. Hunters, man. They're ... insane.

Liam: Yeah, except the Argents. The argents managed to evolve past that.

Mariana: Are you sure? Because there's one named Kate who've I've heard is a psychopath.

Liam: Well, seeing that one of my packmates is married to one and they have two kids... the Beacon Hills set is good.

Mariana: Huh. Good to know.

Liam: it's mostly safe here. We only have to worry about evil druids mostly.

Mariana: See, I know a few witches too. That's not comforting.

Liam: I know a few too, in New Orleans. It's the evil ones that suck. Oh, and nogitsunes. Nogitsunes really, really suck.

Mariana: What's a nogitsune?

Liam: A trickster kitsune. Fox. Evil spirt. Very bad.

Mariana: ... Right.

Liam: [just rubbed the back of his neck because yeaaaaah] So, um, your turn I think.

Mariana: [makes a face as she leans back to think] So other than lacrosse, what do you like to do?

Liam: Video Games. I've spent years building up this amazing black ops character on a military based online game.

Mariana: Nice.

Liam: I wasn't really good at making friends when I first got here.

Mariana: Kids can suck.

Landon: They so suck here.

Liam: It's a small town.

Mariana: That's why I love New York. Great big city.

Liam: I'm originally from San Francisco. It was perfect for me.

Mariana: I love San Francisco.

Liam: Some nights we would take our skateboards and try to ride down Lombard street like we were in a bobsled team.

Mariana: [laughs] We're doing a competition there later in the summer. You should come.

Liam: I probably could. As long as I clear it with my folks.

Mariana: My dad chaperones, so he'll be happy to talk to them if they need him to.

Liam: Chaperones. [he wrinkled his nose]

Mariana: He's a cool chaperone. He generally lets us do our own thing so long as we don't get arrested.

Liam: Okay, no getting arrested. I can handle that.

Mariana: Yep. He's a good dad. He's pretty much learned that he needs to balance giving us room to breathe with being an authority figure.

Liam: [look, food!] Yeah, mine's pretty good at giving me space. And I think we're pretty much adopted Landon.

Mariana: Good.

Landon: Don't.

Mariana: I wasn't gonna. [picks up her burger] But good.

Liam: [looks at Landon, confused]

Landon: [glances back to him and shakes her head] She doesn't like my mom.

Mariana: I kind of want to claw her face off.

Liam: You see, we're so going to be good friends.

Mariana: His brother is a piece of work to, and is still hitting on me, despite the fact that what he actually wants to do with me is both skeevy and against the law.

Liam: Well, while I'm sure his family has ideas on what we're doing... we don't tend to do anything around them to confirm it.

Mariana: That's a good plan.

Liam: Which is kinda why you coming to meet my family too helps take off some pressure too.

Mariana: Hey, whatever I can do to help. I'll cover with that bi ... [there's a look from Landon and she sobers] ... woman, in whatever way I can.

Liam: I also don't want his mom to break my dad.

Mariana: [blinks, confused, and glances to Landon to fill in the blanks]

Landon: His dad is hot and Mom has no impulse control.

Mariana: Oh. Yeah, that's a good idea.

Liam: And she's already kinda threatened him once.

Mariana: You should tell him to use camphor oil when she's around.

Liam: What's camphor oil?

Mariana: It's an essential oil that decreases sex drive. They hate the way it smells.

Landon: [makes a bleh face like he's gagging] Because it smells like roadkill. At least, to us.

Liam: Good to know. I'll tell my dad.

Mariana: [nods] I learned a few tricks over the years. My dad used to douse me in it when Landon was first learning to control his phermones.

Liam: That must have really made rehearsals suck.

Landon: You have no idea. But it kept me from making her jump me, so it was a struggle I was willing to endure.

Liam: ... Your Mom wouldn't try to go after me, would she?

Landon: [glances up, eyes wide, before shaking his head] No. No. Your dad, your uncles, yeah, but not you. She knows her audience.

Liam: Okay. So warn Dad and Uncle Peter.

Landon: Yep. Definitely warn Peter, so Nadia doesn't kill my mother with extreme prejudice.

Liam: Yeah, though Mom isn't really that much better. You haven't met her not pregnant and recovered yet.

Landon: Are all the women in your family really violent?

Liam: [thinks for a moment. No, Allison is a hunter. Cora and Laura could be scary when they had to... Malia was Peter's daughter...] I think the jury is still out on Dina.

Landon: [a beat] Dina is five.

Liam: Four, actually, and like I said, the jury is still out on her.

Landon: [sighs and shakes his head]

Liam: At least you're on their good side?

Landon: At least there's that.

Liam: [grins and goes back to his burger, inhaling it because MEAT]

Landon: [will do the same and so will Mariana]

Liam: [and when they're done] So um, Mariana... I was actually wondering if maybe you could help me. My aunt is getting married and I... I could use a few dance lessons.

Mariana: ... Sure. Yeah. You're an athlete so it shouldn't be too hard.

Liam: My uncle was going to ask Landon to help choreograph some opening dance number he wants to do as well.

Mariana: I love flashy dance numbers.

Liam: We had a meeting about it the other day when we were getting our tux fitting. He's a total geek, and he wants to make their wedding special.

Mariana: Well, that’s good. It should be special. It's a wedding.

Liam: From what I heard from Uncle Scott, his last one sucked.

Mariana: He's been married before? I thought you guys were wolves.

Liam: Stiles isn't. Human as they come. I don't know what happened because it was years ago, long before I got here. I just know he came back into town a few weeks after Mom got custody of me from the state and brought me here.

Mariana: Huh.

Liam: Mom's human too. And so are her brothers.

Mariana: I didn't realize wolf packs had so many humans in them.

Liam: Well, not all kids from wolves become wolves. You don't know until they're like, eight or nine

Mariana: We don't either. But still, we don't keep a lot of humans around. It's mostly just ... us.

Liam: Well, from what I see from everyone else - the Hales don't need you to be a wolf to be in the pack. We also have three Tanukis and a banshee.

Mariana: What's a banshee?

Liam: Wailing woman. Predicts death.

Mariana: Fun.

Liam: Yeah. She's still learning how to control it.

Mariana: I guess that's the one thing we all have in common.

Liam: Learning control?

Mariana: [nods]

Liam: I have it kinda mostly down.

Mariana: So do I. But I'm just saying. No matter what we are we all have to learn.

Liam: True that.

Mariana: [leans back after she finishes her burger, hands on her stomach] Well, as delicious as this has been, we should probably get back to work.

Liam: I'll walk you back, and then leave you guys to work. But can I have my boyfriend tonight or are you going to be working late again?

Mariana: [pauses before shaking her head] No, he should probably sleep.

Liam: I will make sure he gets good sleep.

Mariana: Yeah, I doubt that but I appreciate you trying.

Liam: [pouty face]

Mariana: It's not you I doubt, it's him. [points to Landon]

Liam: Well, you do have a point.

Landon: I plead the fifth.

Liam: But I actually spent like yesterday trying to learn how to do massages to be able to help muscles.

Mariana: Yeah, he will take that massage and turn it into something dirty. It's what he does.

Liam: I will make sure he doesn't and just lull him to sleep.

Mariana: Good.

Liam: So can I have him? Dad will even get him a good high protein breakfast before I send him back.

Mariana: Yeah, I said okay.

Liam: You are the best.