Sav's mood heightened significantly after their big match since one of the businessmen actually came up to him and asked him about his opinion on a professional soccer career, giving him a phone number to call whenever he had properly made up his mind. He was still somewhat starstruck that they had actually won the school's soccer league with him scoring the winning goal. His dad's behavior had been unusually friendly after his achievement and even though he was still hesitant and cautious he couldn't help but feel happy about the fact that he wasn't openly receiving homophobic comments at that point in time.

When he returned to school after the big event, they welcomed him like a hero, even the jocks keeping their mouths shut because there was just nothing to blame Sav for. Joe was overly happy to be able to hold his hand again due to his dad not being around and all of them had an amazing time that whole day, laughing a lot and even partying a bit. But when their day was supposed to end, their math teacher entered their classroom, silencing them in order to be able to properly speak to them.

"So, as you may have noticed already, we're supposed to have a Christmas party before you leave for Christmas break in four weeks."

Several groans and sighs were heard throughout the classroom at those words, Sav's ears perking up though. He couldn't help but love celebrations like that one.

"Even though there are probably going to be some unhappy faces, I need to tell you that there will be a Christmas ball included, which means of course that all of you will be required to dance. In order to not be a disgrace to the whole school, all of you will attend a dancing course after school this following week. Extracurricular activities, including the soccer club, will be on hold for the time being since the season has ended, either way."

When their teacher had ended his little speech, Joe looked over at his lover, the first thought whirling through his mind being if they were allowed to dance together even though they were both males. Sav was still staring at their teacher in some kind of entranced way, his eyes sparkling with obvious happiness. He absolutely loved dancing.

"Hey, Savy? You think they'll let us dance together?", Joe finally asked his boyfriend, gently squeezing his hand encased in his own to get his attention. Sav brushed some wild brown curls away from his eyes before facing the taller teen to his right, his head gently cocked to the side in thoughtfulness.

"I honestly don't know, Joe. But I would definitely love to dance with you", the smaller teen replied after a while, smiling his precious half-smile that always left Joe with a fluttering heart and coloring cheeks. When their teacher wasn't looking, he even leaned closer to give him a short but sweet kiss on his soft lips and Joe couldn't stop himself from smiling afterward.

~~~~

They were all leaving the classroom to go to the sports hall afterward, Joe holding onto his boyfriend's hand all the way and Sav smiling absently in the euphoria of what was to come. When they finally reached the large open space and their teacher divided the class into girls and boys, Joe immediately got a slightly negative feeling in the pit of his belly. And when he paired up the boys and girls one by one the feeling worsened. He thought he could be okay with the situation since it was just gonna be practice either way but when Sav gathered a pretty girl who was obviously making moon eyes at him into his arms and smiled at her, Joe felt like he was going to be sick. The icy shard of jealousy hit him right in the gut and he immediately looked away, only raising his gaze when a slender finger shyly tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey, are you okay with dancing with me?", a shy girly voice addressed him and his gaze snapped back up, encountering a shy girl with curly dark brown hair and a hesitant smile that emphasized the dimples in her cheeks painted onto her beautifully curved rosy lips. Joe forgot to say anything for a second because the girl really was beautiful but then Sav invaded his mind again and he lowered his head shamefully.

"Is everything okay?", the girl tried again when he didn't respond and a shameful blush greeted the tall boy's cheeks immediately. He had to look so stupid like that, blushing in shame because he could not even talk to other people when the jealousy was eating him up inside like that. Meeting the gaze of the girl's green eyes, he forced himself to get some words past his lips to resolve the uncomfortable silence.

"Hey, yeah, I'm fine. I'm Joe, would you spare me this dance?"

The fake smile he put on had to look terrific because the girl didn't even move an inch. Her eyes were still curiously gazing into his and his mask immediately fell. He was a horrible actor.

"My boyfriend is dancing with a girl and I think he's gonna leave me for her", he finally spilled out, his bottom lip quivering and a few lonely tears making their way down his cheeks. The girl's eyes widened in surprise and before he could react in any other way, he found himself in a tight warm hug. Relaxing and closing his eyes for a moment, he leaned into the girl's comforting embrace when he noticed, that he didn't even know her name yet.

"Hey, what's your name? I think I didn't catch it yet", he silently asked into the fabric of her shirt, causing her to break the embrace and take a step back to look into his eyes again. Taking his hands into hers to give them a calming squeeze, she sent him one of the softest smiles he'd ever seen.

"It's Lyla. And don't you dare say my girlfriend is gonna leave me for your boyfriend."

Joe's mouth was agape as soon as the last sentence left her lips, his eyes immediately flying over to the place where Sav and that girl still stood together, laughing and trying out some dance moves even though the class hadn't even started yet. Looking closer, he noticed that the girl had a rainbow-colored bracelet around her wrist that without a doubt represented the LGBTQ colors. But he also saw the moon eyes the blonde girl was making at Sav again. Turning around with concern in his gaze he encountered the relaxed gaze of Lyla again.

"But... but if she's your girlfriend, why is she making moon eyes at Sav?"

"Oh yeah, well, Jules is kind of idolizing him due to his soccer-playing skills. She's been playing ever since she was about four years old and always wanted to get into the school's soccer team, but they never let her do that due to her gender. She watched every game though to support the team from afar and that's why she directly noticed Sav. She absolutely loved the way he played and she also told me that she could see herself in him in a lot of ways because he was not behaving and looking like the other boys. We saw the two of you on the school court quite some times but she was always too shy to go up to him and introduce herself to him. So I guess she's having the time of her life right now", Lyla explained with a chuckle at her last words, fondly gazing over at the laughing pair. Joe followed her gaze and saw the happy sparkle in Jules' eyes, as well as some obvious hesitancy to touch his lover due to the way her hands were nervously clenching around the fabric of his shirt. If she had been into shagging him, she probably would've had her hands under that shirt by that point.

"Students! Since everyone is paired up now, please pay close attention to the teacher's instructions and give it your best try!"

The voice of the math teacher echoing through the room made Joe flinch and turn his attention to Lyla again, gently holding one hand out for her to take.

"Would you allow me this dance?", he asked with a charming grin and smiled triumphantly when she slid her slender hand into his.

"It would be my pleasure, Sir Joseph.", she replied with a totally straight face, just to burst out laughing only seconds later and pull him into another hug. Joe had a feeling the dance practice would be fun after all.

~~~~

"Jesus Christ, how am I ever going to memorize all of those steps?", a slightly sweaty and completely distressed Joe finally asked the happy girl next to him who did not even seem slightly out of breath. Lyla just laughed at his miserable state and put an arm around his waist in a friendly way to steer him over to one of the benches on the sides of the sports hall, the boy being more dragged over there than moving on his own.

"Practice, Joseph, practice."

"Stop that, Ly, you sound like my mum", he murmured indignantly and pouted, his eyes immediately brightening though when he saw his boyfriend making his way over to them from across the hall. Both he and Jules looked completely and utterly happy and in a similarly exhausted state Lyla was in. This meant that Joe would have to deal with a hyperactive boyfriend when all he wanted to do was sleep.

"Joe, Love! That was so damn amazing!", Sav immediately squealed out when he launched himself into his taller boyfriend's arms, Joe slightly struggling with the extra weight due to his exhausted state. But he couldn't care less since he finally had the person he loved the most in his arms again.

"Yeah, it sure was quite fun. Why don't you introduce me to your dancing partner?", the taller boy replied as soon as he had managed to steady his breathing, gently letting Sav slide down his body until he finally stood on his own feet again. Sav's eyes immediately started to sparkle in an excited way at that request, his soft rosy lips first pressing themselves against Joe's before they started talking.

"Well, this here is Jules! She's really sweet and funny and we had a lot of fun together. She's also playing soccer, so we have a lot in common to talk about!"

Joe couldn't help but feel slightly jealous, as if he wasn't enough, again, but couldn't let that build further because Sav was once again seeking warmth and shelter in his arms. The shy blonde girl that had stood beside him waved at him hesitantly and then slipped her hand into Lyla's. A grin spread on Joe's lips as he saw how Lyla sweetly kissed the tip of Jules' nose, and he unconsciously tightened his grip around the beautiful human being in his arms. Sav only answered with a content sigh against his chest that made his heartbeat stutter and Joe knew at that exact moment, that Sav would never leave him for anyone if he wasn't physically forced to do so.

~~~~

Later that week during music class Joe and Sav were hit by another surprise.

"Well, students, we have been working a lot with the songs you're in the process of creating, and the upcoming Christmas ball is a wonderful opportunity to finally present them to an actual audience. In other words, I'd love for all of you to finish your songs before the ball arrives to be able to play them live."

That was the way their teacher opened that day's lesson and immediately a massive grin spread on Joe's lips that refused to fade in any way. Sav's eyes lit up at the words that reached his ears while Steve paled a little bit in obvious nervousness.

"So please, go to work again, I won't stand in your way. If you should've any questions, just ask, as always!"

Turning to his two enamored friends to get their attention, Steve tried to give voice to his concerns.

"I don't wanna pressure you, mates, but we still have a lot to work on and also, I think we might need to add a bass to make everything sound cooler. Drums might be a good idea, too."

Joe cocked his head to the side in thought while Sav leaned against his shoulder with a thoughtful pout on his face. Steve was right, so far they were miles away from being finished and the concert would take place in only a few weeks. Sav suddenly seemed to have an idea.

"What about asking Pete to play guitar instead of me? He's really good, at least he told me that, and then I could take over the bass part. I guess it can't be too hard to play on just four strings", he shared his thoughts and received a nod and a grin from Steve that turned into a wide smile after thinking a bit longer about Sav's idea. He had to admit that it was quite brilliant. But still, they were lacking a drummer and all of them seemed to have no idea, who would be able to take over that job.

"I think Sav's idea is great, and concerning the drummer: We don't necessarily need one. We can just play a slow and more emotional version of it", Joe finally said and gazed back and forth between his best friend and his lover. The two of them took some time to think about the oldest one's suggestion, but eventually nodded in agreement. So at least that topic was settled in some way.

The rest of the lesson was spent practicing and Sav used the time to try out his bass skills. It was actually harder than he had expected it to be and at some point, he let out an exasperated sigh of frustration. Not even five seconds later there was a warm gentle hand on his shoulder and the worried voice of his boyfriend filtering through the shield of his hair that he had unconsciously created by leaning over the instrument's body.

"Hey love, is everything alright? Can I help you in any way?", Joe asked, carefully pushing some of the long curls back to tuck them behind the younger man's ear and be able to see his handsome face. Right in that moment said face was filled with disappointment and slight pain.

"No, everything's fine."

Joe didn't even need to see his face to know that that was a complete lie. Gently he took his lover's hands into his own and noticed him flinch in pain in the process. Worriedly, he took a closer look at the elegant slender fingers and almost directly encountered the blisters on their tips. Sav just sniffled in a silent answer.

"Now tell me the complete reason why you're feeling bad. The blisters aren't the only cause. Please, Savy."

"I just... I thought it was gonna be easy but it's horrible. I hate bass. All it is is a guitar with four thick stupid strings that are created for the sole reason of hurting your fingers", he finally complained and glared at the instrument in his lap with hate in his eyes.

"Hey, look at me. It will probably be the same way again as it was when you started playing guitar and the blisters will fade really soon. I know that you'll master this soon but it's totally fine that it's not directly working because that's never the way it goes. You can stop for a bit now and help me a little with the rest of the lyrics if you'd like that better", Joe proposed after hearing the disappointment and misery in his boyfriend's words. The young man in front of him directly snapped his head up to look at him at that request and nodded happily, placing the bass back onto its stand before walking over to cuddle into his boyfriend's side and read what he had created so far. That definitely was a way better place to be.

Steve meanwhile perfectionated the melody he had created already on the day they had started the project and noted down what he would have to teach Pete. He could finally see everything coming together and the increasing happiness couldn't be kept in at any cost, so he ended up smiling stupidly while he noodled around on the guitar with closed eyes.

The day was finished by a dance class again and Joe found himself having more and more fun each time. Lyla was the best partner he could've wished for, except for Sav of course, since she made him laugh more than he ever thought he would in a dance class. But while she was exceptionally funny, she was also an amazing teacher who had enough patience to deal with his various failed tries and clumsiness when it came to dancing. She helped him so much that he could actually proudly say that he nailed some of the dance moves at that point. He still had a long way to go but after all the effort he had put in he could finally see some progress and it made him overly happy.

"No, Joseph, you're still doing it wrong. Watch me."

Joe rolled his eyes in frustration, which was also partly triggered by the sensation of Lyla calling him by his full name like only his mum did to piss him off, but nevertheless, he watched the smaller bundle of energy next to him, trying to figure out which part of the step he needed to improve. When she was done and grinned at him expectantly from beneath her curly bangs, all he could do was chuckle helplessly because he was still completely clueless about how to do the move right. She just sighed softly and pulled him into the right dance position, cocking her head to the side when he just began to randomly twirl her around the dance floor instead of moving the way he was supposed to.

"Joe! What are you doing?", Lyla asked breathlessly between the giggles leaving her lips, tightly clinging onto Joe's shoulders while he mercilessly spun her around.

"Having fun, of course, what else does it look like?"

"You're a goofball, Joseph!"

Joe finally stopped spinning the laughing girl in his arms, the young woman squeezing her eyes shut to stop her surroundings from spinning before she met his cheeky gaze again.

"Can we continue practicing now? I'm sure you wouldn't like to disappoint Sav with your dancing skills at the ball, would you?"

"Of course not, Mum", was Joe's chuckling answer, which was accompanied by an innocent smile. The woman in front of him couldn't help but chuckle, too, before she led him into the right position again and helped him with his struggles once more. 

Joe started to love these stupid dance lessons. 

He couldn't wait to finally dance with his beloved boyfriend in his arms.