Johnny asks Max to a middle school dance, but neither of them know how to dance in even a roughly formal fashion. Johnny sorta panics at this realization, especially when the Jang proves to not be very helpful, because Ollie and Stephen have four left feet between them and RJ has zero experience in dancing in any way that doesnt involve headbanging.
Meanwhile, Max decides after brief discussion of equal cluelessness with Izzy and Ed, Max decides to go to Collin. Collin is understandably confused.
“We’re barely friends, and also, what makes you think i dance?”
“I dont know, you wear bow ties to school and do taxes for fun? It seemed up your alley.”
“Thats typecasting, but true. Ill teach you, if you can make it worth my while somehow.”
“It’ll give you an excuse to avoid Suzy.”
“Atleast two Starchman Stars a lesson. I owe Lisa.”
“Fine fine, deal.”
And so, Collin starts teaching him. Hes a startlingly harsh, perfectionist teacher. Max’s pretty sure he’s slightly mad with power since hes the one bossing someone else around for once. He teaches Max to lead… Albeit with the thought in mind that the reason Max is looking for lessons in the first place is because he wants to impress somebody who already knows how to dance. But eventually when, in post practice conversation, he mentions that his date is Johnny Jhonny of all people, Collin storms out and, much to Johnny’s confusion about this shrimp tugging him wordlessly by the sleeve, Collin drags him into the dance hall before giving the both of them a melodramatic cynical lecture about how he desperately hopes he can prevent them from murdering the art of dance itself next week, and that he appears to be their only hope, unfortunately. Johnny is not exactly fond of being ordered around by an irish munchkin and both of them fumble a whole lot now that theyre learning to dance together “all romantic-like” as johnny says, though johnny is a pinch relieved that somebody is teaching him. He is annoyed he doesnt get to lead though, Colin both doesnt want and doesnt have time to reteach Max how to follow. When the dance rolls around, Collin treats it like theyre going out for The Big Game and touches them up, fixing Johnny’s tie and fixing Max’s hat hair, pats ‘em on the back and tells them he’s proud, get out there.
Johnny trips almost immediately and any semblance of class is lost very quickly as they do what most middle school kids do at dances, go to the corners near the food table and talk with eachother and their friends for 80% of the time, only really going out to dance once or twice all night.