dance with me - willard hewitt
summary: as willard's best friend, you hear all about his drama with rusty and how he refuses to dance for her. but when he hears your desires to dance with him, it changes everything.
warnings: none
word count: 3.1k
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you absolutely loved country dancing. you'd grown up learning it from your older brothers and cousins, being able to do the wildest of flips and dips with the right partner. it was the most exhilarating and enjoyable experience to be had in salt lake city, so when you moved to small town bomont you brought it with you. it was all fine until your 8th grade year when five seniors were killed after a dance and it was banned altogether. the only dancing to be had was in your bedroom or garage with your friends - it was a real downer.
your friends woody and wendy jo would have dances in woody's uncle's lot on friday nights and it was easily the highlight of your week. you'd drag your best friend willard with you, who would only ever watch as you got your howdy on, swinging and dipping with various guys around town.
there was a girl who had a certain liking for willard, always getting excited when she saw you drag him outside to the empty parking lot.
"dance for me," rusty said excitedly. "come on, willard, you never dance!"
"i'm not a dancer," he insisted, waving her off. "go have fun."
but she was persistent, pulling at his arms and trying to drag him out.
"you're no fun," she whined as he waved her off again. you caught sight of the situation, dancing casually up to rusty and taking her by the hands.
"you're right, but hey, i am so much fun," you said with a grin. you spun her around, willard giving you a grateful smile as you winked at him. "come on, rusty. there's some guys out here looking for partners."
you bumped into ren, who you'd met earlier thanks to willard and had spent every day with since. he definitely had some moves and you bounced off each other's energies easily, dancing around with loud laughs.
after another song, you found your way back to where willard was letting his legs hang off the edge of the brick border. you stood between them, patting his knees.
"you alright, will?" you asked.
"yeah," he insisted. "you mind if i come over after this inevitably gets shut down."
"you always do," you laughed.
"right," he nodded with a chuckle. "now go on. i don't want to ruin your fun."
"you're not ruining my fun," you told him with a smile. "you make it fun, willard hewitt. i drag you to these things with me because i enjoy spending time with you, if i thought you killed the vibe i'd just leave you at home."
he was sorta stumped for a moment before he pushed you off again, nodding towards ren. "well, go keep him away from ariel then. chuck's giving the poor kid the evil eye."
"you got it," you laughed, sliding over to where ren was dancing all in ariel's business.
afterwards, as expected, you and willard were sat on your back porch, dumping the information of the night.
"willard hewitt," you laughed, poking towards him. "you calm down."
"what for?" he asked, shrugging his shoulders. "i'm cool as a cucumber, y/n. ain't nothing about me needs to calm down."
"why's this dancing thing got you all worked up?" you asked, crossing your legs underneath you on the bench swing. "every night you spend with rusty leads you home to me complaining. why is that?"
he laid back in the hammock opposite you the wrong way, using it as a chair and not for its intended use. his eyes were on the overhang above as he pondered your words.
"i guess i just hate that anytime we're together all she wants me to do is dance for her," he sighed. "and i can't dance! i'm embarrassed to dance, so i want her to quit asking."
"you ever think about telling her that?" you asked with a soft smile.
"no," he huffed. "'cause that's more embarrassing than just dancing."
"look will," you said, leaning forward to rest your forearms on your knees. "if you don't want to dance, then don't. but if you want to, i'd be happy to help. it'd be my dream to finally dance with willard hewitt." you giggled at the end of your sentence as he considered your offer.
"you won't judge me?" he asked.
"i will, but i won't tell anyone else," you promised with a teasing grin. "this information is for us two and us two only."
he debated for a few more moments before sitting up and sliding out of the hammock.
"alright, come on," he said, holding a hand out to you. you stood up excitedly.
"okay, i don't know how to teach individual dancing, maybe we'll get ren to help with that, but i can teach swing dances. just take my hands, keep your arms loose, and step forward with your right foot, and off to the side," you instructed carefully, holding his hands in yours as you did as you told him to. "now the other side. good!"
you continued to pull on his arms in and out, helping him get the feel for the basic two-step.
"okay, now let go of one hand, and i'm gonna spin outwards, tehn inwards, and when i do you catch my hand again, alright?" you said. he nodded, watching you with an intensity you weren't used to.
you followed your own instructions and when your back was against his chest you reached for his hand again.
"when rusty gets here, you'll probably want to hold her for a second. just rock back and forth," you instructed softly. you weren't a stranger to hugging willard, but this was a bit different and you kind of really enjoyed it. "okay, then let me spin out. perfect!"
you did this until probably 2 in the morning, your grins wide by the end.
"you think you can dance with her now?" you asked as you both fell into the hammock, head on his shoulder resisting the urge to just fall asleep.
"nah," he mumbled.
"what? why not?" you asked, turning to look at him more intently.
"dancing with you is easy, natural. and hey, i barely had to do anything, you just made me look good. with rusty it'll be... i don't know. awkward," he admitted.
"well, how about we just wait and see how you're feeling," you said, leaning back into his side. "maybe a few lessons with ren will get you loosened up."
"i'm not learning how to dance."
"you just did, willard."
"i'm not learning to dance by myself. that's too out in the open, too much room for embarrassment. like i said before, you make me look good."
"whatever. i'll get ren to convince you."
"you promised you wouldn't tell anyone."
"will, everyone knows you don't dance. i'm sure he'll try anyways."
"whatever."
ren invited you out with him, ariel, and willard, but since rusty is ariel's best friend she got pulled along too. it was a bit cramped in his little bug, you spending two hours snug between a very quiet willard and a very talkative rusty. the girl was sweet and all, but she was being very obvious about how she wished she had my spot.
after some time, you finally just told her to unbuckle and switch you - at least then you'd have the window and could effectively tune out the talking. you just wanted to get out of town and get to dancing already.
willard sighed as rusty kicked him in the knee and then the side trying to climb over you as you slid underneath her.
"what are y'all doing?" ariel asked with a laugh.
"rusty wanted the middle seat," you answered.
"guys, we're literally here," ren chuckled, pulling up to the massive venue. you whooped as he parked, throwing your door open and bounding out.
willard was a lot happier outside the car, his eyes lighting up at the establishment.
ariel grabbed rusty as they neared the doors, you grabbing willard with a smile and pulling him into the room.
"come on loser," you said with a smile. "let's get you a drink."
"you're not gonna dance y/n?" ren asked as they neared the dance floor. the other girls left onto the floor, leaving you with the boys.
"i'll be out in a second, just keeping willard company as we grab drinks," you said.
"you shouldn't need to, willard's coming out to dance too, right?" the boy asked with a pointed look at his friend.
"look, ren i don't dance. i... i can't dance," he whispered.
"go upstairs, there are some nice ladies teaching the four-step," ren answered with a grin.
"hey, no, you can't drop me off at daycare while you go and dance with the girls!" willard said.
"he's fine, come on," ren told you, laughing. he grabbed your arm and pulled you onto the dance floor just as a song was starting - and you knew this song. you loved this song and you loved to dance to it.
and willard knew it too.
he laughed, giving you two thumbs up as you all fell into line, beginning the footwork as the music to 'fake id' kicked up. he loved watching you dance, the look on your face was always so bright and joyous.
unbeknownst to you, he had actually tried to learn to dance before as to join you, but he never really got the hang of it. too long of legs, he believed.
he grabbed a drink and watched y'all more, smiling. rusty broke out of the group, running over to him.
"willard, come on," she begged, pulling on his arm. "dance with me."
for some reason, her words caused him to look at where y/n was dancing in a circle with ren, ariel, and a few other people. he smiled lightly before returning his attention to the girl below him.
"sorry, but i don't dance," he said.
"so you're just gonna stand over here like a dork the whole night?" she asked teasingly.
"rather that than a dancing dork," he retorted with a sheepish smile. she looked like she was heavily debating something before reaching up, but before she could grab him and likely kiss him he took a swig of his drink, leaning back. she settled on resting her hands on his before stepping away. she swayed her hips in what was supposed to be a sexy manner, but it just wasn't working for willard. and as she ran off, ending up in the arms of another dude with his hands on her bottom, he didn't care as much as he thought he would. as the song changed to a swing song, his eyes travelled to you, hoping he wouldn't see you in the same situation.
luckily for him, you was making your way towards him. you leaned on the railing in front of him, looking up with a curious smile.
"you didn't want to show her your moves?" you asked. he shrugged.
"no, i don't mind showing her. i just don't wanna dance with her," he answered.
"what do you mean?" you asked with a quirked brow. "that's literally what all this was for."
"i don't think so," he said, stepping to the side and around the railing until he was in front of you, holding his hands out. "wanna dance?"
you grinned widely, taking his hands and pulling him in the middle of the swing dancing mess. ren and ariel were basically just sexy dancing at this point, but you were intent on dancing with willard.
you did the two step a few times before letting go of one hand and spinning out like you showed him. just before you went to spin back in, however, your other hand was grabbed and you got pulled into someone else's chest.
it was a man you were sure was at least five years older than you and his hands were far lower than you would ever be comfortable with. you pushed away, hitting someone behind you.
willard stepped in front of you, effectively pissed off at whoever this guy was.
"what the hell do you think you're doing grabbing my girl like that?" he asked, eyebrows furrowed in anger.
"your girl has been dancing around all night without you, she needs someone who gives her some attention," the guy argued. he looked at you. "ain't that right, baby?"
willard was pissed. downright pissed. he threw a punch but so did the man and after two more attempts, willard was on the floor.
"you dick!" you cried, grabbing an empty bottle off a nearby table and smashing it over his head. you fell to your knees by willard's head as the man hit the floor. "will, are you okay?"
he groaned, sitting up. "i think it's time to go."
you weren't surprised when ren and willard informed you of ren's desire to change the law of bomont to allow teens to dance to their hearts' content. but what you were surprised, and overjoyed, about was that he began the mission to teach willard to dance.
"i already taught him the two step," you informed the boy with a smile. "so, don't worry about that."
"sweet," ren laughed, you following him and willard to the back of his uncle's shop where his little cousins and their friends were waiting. "willard, your teachers."
"oh no, i'm not doing this."
"they know this stuff and you know... nothing."
you, woody, and ren sat on the hood of his car, watching willard reluctantly begin to dance with the little girls to 'here comes the boy'. your heart was exploding with happiness at seeing willard hewitt dancing. you whooped and cheered as he dance, laughing as woody and ren offered their less-than-helpful insights.
over the course of the next week and a half, willard wasn't seen without his earbuds. he was constantly listening to music and dancing by himself. his dramatized shimmies were your favorite to watch, but his moonwalk was pretty impressive too.
when you all finally figured out that you could have a prom in beamis' warehouse, you were stoked to see willard's new moves. you just weren't expecting him to ask you to the dance.
he was at your doorstep with a bouquet of tulips and baby's breath, foot tapping quickly.
"willard?" you asked as you opened the door. "what's happening?"
"well, i was wondering if you wanted to go to the dance with me," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck with a sheepish smile. "i mean, you're the only girl i can competently dance with, and you're my best friend, and well... y/n i like you. a lot. will you go with me?"
he held out the flowers and you smiled, accepting them gratefully and setting them on the table beside your door.
"of course i'll go with you, willard," you said, stepping toward him and wrapping your hands around his neck. "i like you a lot too."
"really?" he asked excitedly.
"definitely," you said, pressing your lips to his. he reciprocated immediately, hands on your waist pulling you closer to him. as you pulled away, you grinned.
"i'm excited to see your new moves."
"oh, i'll blow your socks off," he told you.
"i'm holding you to that, loverboy."
"you know, when you said you were gonna wear a hat, i didn't know how to feel," you told him, arm hooked through his as you approached the dance in your matching outfits. all black and blue, your favorite color.
"but, now that you've seen it..?" he asked.
you turned to him with a grin. "you're sexier than socks on a rooster."
"that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me," he said, a hand over his heart.
"i mean it stud," you said, smiling as you pressed a kiss to his lips. "i'm so glad i'm able to do that now."
he smiled down at you, pulling you along next to him as he gazed at you. "you're cute."
then chuck and his friends pulled up, yelling for ren and jumping straight into business with willard, grabbing him by the arms. one grabbed you from behind, dragging you away as you kicked at the dirt.
"hey will?" you called.
"yes, darlin'?"
"you look really hot when you're punching another guy in the mouth."
"on it, baby."
he threw his head back, breaking a dude's nose, and punched the other square in the jaw. it was all a flurry after that, you escaping the guy holding you down and chasing him away with ariel, ren wrestling down chuck and beating him to crap, willard taking down no less than four of his lackeys, and beamis saving ren last minute from a boy with a brick.
"now, how about a little less boxing and more boogie, it looks like a morgue in there," he said to ren.
"on it!"
you ran to the steps, meeting willard there with a hug. he lifted you off the floor.
"you okay?" you asked.
"yeah, you?" you nodded and he grinned widely. "my little fighter."
"thank you, i kicked his ass!" you exclaimed excitedly as he pulled you up the stairs and into the dance finally. willard and ren load up some sort of shoot with confetti, the glittery stuff flying everywhere as ren yelled, "let's dance!"
'footloose' began playing and you were more than excited to hit the dance floor, watching ren pull people out onto it. you pulled on willard's hands, doing a little two-step action before he pulled you to the side again.
"what?" you asked.
"i'm gonna need you to hold my jacket," he said, stripping the piece of clothing off and dropping it in your arms with a wide grin.
"what? what's going on?" you asked.
"back up sweetheart, cause i don't know how big this is gon' get," he said before dropping into a crouch and snapping his fingers, dancing towards ren as ren did the same. you grinned from ear to ear, not expecting quite a show, but a show is what you got.
they did some fancy footwork, high-fiving and doing the classic foot cross routine, before suddenly dropping to the floor and doing some cool footwork there.
"wooh!" you cheered loudly with the widest smile you'd smiled in a long time. "go willard!"
ariel giggled next to you as you watched your boys continue, standing up and shimmying to the side. you grabbed the boy's arms with a wide smile.
"you didn't tell me about that," you exclaimed.
"it was a surprise," he laughed. "surprise!"
you wrapped him in a tight hug, laughing form joy. "i loved it!"
you two joined the rest of the group in dancing to footloose and danced the entire rest of the night away. it was perfect, swingdancing with your favorite person with all your friends. you couldn't have asked for a better senior prom.
