The beat was saucy, the lights were low, and Imogen’s smile was every bit as racy as the music was. Phil’s was challenging as he grabbed her hand and within a few seconds they’d joined the others on the dance floor in a burst of wild motion and energy. The redhead flew out of his arms and then back again, her dress skirts flaring as she moved her hips. He twirled her, he dipped her low, he smiled as he provided the point around which to gravitate and barked out a breathless sort of laugh the second before she backflipped over his arm…

Why anyone ever went to a nightclub where everyone just wiggled at each other was beyond Imogen. As Phil supported her through an air step, the giddy euphoria she felt was akin to being on a rollercoaster and she was sure her happiness was as obvious as the beat of the music. She felt hot from the exercise of dancing and from the close heat of the packed dance floor. She felt the music somewhere in her breastbone, it was that loud as the crescendo rose and she shouted out the cumulative chorus line with half the dancers with delight.

The excitement of it all made her feel alive.

This place was so familiar she felt safe but the dancing was so energetic and improvised she wasn’t bored. This was an adventure that didn’t involve monsters and senshi and danger. Imo loved this and was with a good partner, amongst others who were likewise well used to all this, so she doubted she’d get injured. This was all just good fun and it wasn’t danger that was making her heart beat so fast. It wasn’t desire either (because Phil was a guy and she wasn’t a guy lovin’ gal) unless you counted a generalised desire to keep swinging and enjoying it.

When Imogen had called her old dance friend Phil two weeks ago, things hadn’t gone well at first, but when he’d got over the shock of having a friend he’d grieved for come back from the dead - !

Well, naturally they’d ended up going dancing again with the old gang.

Imogen hoped she didn’t disappoint them. Oh they’d seemed delighted to see her yeah but Imo hadn’t been dancing in a year by her own admission (her memories of Barren Pines said she had but that place was ]such a lie!). Her pride was at stake here. But for a for a girl who was out of practise as far as anyone knew and with a bloody gravestone she was moving well. If only Skye could see her in the green dress she’d gifted her now! Imo wasn’t sure the Crystal girl would have recognised it as in bunched up around her thighs as she kicked her a legs. Yep, no corpse’d be able to pull off that step outside Thriller and Phil looked both surprised and elated that his old competition partner was back in action just as good as he remembered.

As the music ended, Imo pressed a platonic kiss to the boy’s cheek in thanks before leading him back over the table they were at. Karen just giggled as her boyfriend slid in beside her, kissing Phil on the lips and demanding the next fast dance for herself. Mark, Amy and Stan were arguing over where Charleston or Lindy was better to dance and Sue – not THAT Sue, an actual girl called Sue – passed Imo along her cola and smiled.

Imogen crossed her legs to the side, looked around at the old dance gang then out at the floor as a new swing song started to play, and took a long sip of her drink. Part of her still felt like it was out there dancing, in this club where you had teenagers and older folks just swingin’ as they wanted to. Any style, any level, just having fun. Her heart still raced and she wasn’t thinking of monsters and of girls that swooped out of the shadows to fight them (and especially not Gemini). She was thinking about how she might see if Stan’d join her for a dance if Phil was busy with Karen and not about how she could get home safe. She was getting a lift home and the darkness here was not scary.

It was good to be back where things made sense, where her adrenaline came danger free and where the beat was saucy.

END