[center][b][h1]Colab [color=green]Uná O’Brian[/color] & [color=red]Nikolai "Demo" Markov[/color][/h1][/b][/center][hr]
[center][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/18d01698-ed1e-4bc4-bc4d-b838036a3be3.jpg[/img][img]https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-NJZVNstDx8/hqdefault.jpg[/img]
[/center][hr][h2][center]Location: Avalon[/center][/h2][hr][center][h3]Interaction: Each other[/h3][/center][hr][center][h3] Mention: Nathan; Elijah; Cleo; Aya; Heidi & Khloe[@KatKook][@webboysurf][@Dezuel][@Silver Carrot][@Damo021][@c3p-0h][/h3][/center][hr][hr]Nik's eyes wide with fear and panic flitted between the other girls before jolting down to her hand as it was grasping at his. He opened his mouth to respond to her... but no words came out at first. He clenched his jaw for a moment as he looked her in the eyes, taking a deep breath. Dancing wasn't exactly the thing he had on his mind at the moment. He was more focused on the voice and making sure Jason was alright. But as he looked her in the eyes, he forced himself to nod his head. [color=red]"Right... dance... I know how to do that. I mean... yes, dance... with me?"[/color] He gave a sort of goofy grin as he mentally high-fived himself on the save.

Uná grinned at Nikolai as he made the connection.[color=green] "I guess I could dance with someone else."[/color] She looked around then raised an eyebrow at Nikolai as if to say 'Really I see no one else...'. She bit her lip maybe he didn't want to dance. She hadn't thought of that.[color=green] "If you don't want to dance...that is."[/color]

Nik gave her hand a slight squeeze as she said that, a sort of unconscious reaction. [color=red]"Wait... I... I do want to dance... But if you want to dance... I have an idea."[/color] He gave a small smile and tilt of his head as if beckoning her to follow as he held her hand and gave her a slight tug to follow him.

Uná smiled back and let him lead her.[color=green] "Okay Nikki show me what you got. Don't hold back cause I'm not gonna either."[/color]

Nik raised an eyebrow while escorting her around the dance floor and towards the side wall. [color=red]"You make it sound like we're about to fight it out."[/color] He led her as he made his way towards the DJ, reaching into his pocket to pull out a $50 bill as he leaned in to whisper something. The DJ raised an eyebrow, looked at the fifty, and sighed as he took it. He didn't seem to be happy about the suggestion. Nik gave a small smile and then brought Una out towards the back of the dance floor, where it was less crowded. He didn't say a word.

Uná laughed softly.[color=green] "Ever heard of a dance battle? Well this might be one of them. Or something else entirely. Depends on you."[/color] Uná relaxed and faced Nikolai. She tilted her head and grinned.

[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpmILPAcRQo]Dirty Dancing - Time of my Life (Final Dance) - High Quality[/url]

Nik took a few steps away as the pulsing rhythms of the EDM song were beginning to fade. He turned away from Una, removing his jacket and tossing it aside. He took the moment to undo the first few buttons of his shirt and roll up his sleeves. His heart was racing. He knew the choreography well and had seen the scene hundreds of times. He just hoped Una could keep up. As if on cue, Nik spun on his heals as the first few words lingered into the air to the groans of some of the fellow club goers. Nik walked towards her slowly, motioning with his finger for her to come closer as he approached. He had the roguish smirk in full display as usual. But as he approached, he wiggled his eyebrows slightly. [color=red]"Not really a dance battle... just making you hold true on a promise. Try to keep up."[/color]

Uná's eyes open wide as the music starts. She loved this dance and had been dying to do it for sometime. She could even sing the song to it as she danced. Grinning she relaxed even more into walking up to Nikolai. Stepping into his arms she said.[color=green] "I'm trusting you on the lift."[/color] She fell into the rhythm of the song as he dipped her and they started. She kissed him lightly on the lips as he grabbed her hand for the spin out.

Nik's eyes widened as as her lips met his. They tasted vaguely of tequila and lime. His mind wanted to stop and take a moment to process that, but she went for the spin and his body took over. He felt it was just better to let his body take over for now, and his expression nearly froze into a slight smile with a fierce gaze. He was hitting his marks perfectly... clearly a sign that he had rehearsed as much of this as possible on his own. Having a partner just helped make things simpler. And it felt right.

The dance was so iconic that everyone in the club knew bits and pieces of it. Nikolai knew this dance Uná could tell and it really meant something to the two of them. Unthinkingly it was very apparent that there was something between them. Uná knew the motions were fluid and sharing this with someone, no sharing it with Nikolai made the words of the song sink in and hit harder. Passion made her cheeks heat and her eyes sparkle as she mouthed the words. He was really good. His timing was fluid and the turns were textbook perfect. His footwork as she spun him then the two turns and she was ready for the fancier stuff. They nailed the spin moving right into the next one then the twist. Uná  wondered what he was planning on doing at the pause.

Nik kept himself focused on the dance. His mind was nearly blank as he followed the moves. Una knew the dance by hear too it seemed. She was following step for step and turn for turn. He had to admit it was sort of tiring, and the pause coming up was a good time to get in a moment of calm. He took the moment before to scan the audience before his sight narrowed in on two individuals standing next to each other: Nathan and Elijah. The former was scowling and looked like he wanted to stare laser beams through Nik's skull. Elijah, on the other hand, was smiling up a storm and raised his glass as he noticed the young man on the dance floor looking up at them. Nik gave a small nod towards Elijah before looking back at Una, pulling her in for a slight moment of respite. They were uncomfortably close... but Nik felt on top of the world. So he did what he felt was right. He lifted his right hand and tapped her nose with the tip of his index finger, letting out a small [color=red]"Boop"[/color] to try and ease the tension in such a passionate dance.

Uná laughed then spun out for the turns and the side lift. The crowd clapped and she looked for a place for Nikolai to show off. She knew that she could get away with mirroring him across the floor and thankfully people had actually gotten out of the way of the dance. She had to stay far enough away for him to get the leverage for the lift. It was a bit nerve racking but Uná pushed down the uncertainty.

Nik decided to change up one move, since they didn't exactly have a stage. He slid on his knees along the floor slightly before hopping back up to do his slight solo routine in the open aisle the people had cleared. He knew that he could pull off the next part... at least, he hoped he could. They did it on the first take in the film. He could certainly do it now. He prepared himself for the most crucial part of the dance as he performed the slight solo routine.

Uná matched him move for move but across an open space as Nikolai did the step crosses. She put enough of her style into it cutting of the last step cross to get ready for the lift. Uná looked over at Nikolai and nodded waiting for his nod back. She planned as soon as he nodded to do the lift. After all they did it in one take in the movie and she trusted Nikolai to get it right.

Nik was in the midst of a deep breath as he turned his head to Una, noticing her nod. He adjusted his feet slightly before giving a nod and a smile to his dancing partner. They certainly had this. He faced her squarely and kept his hands at his sides and at the ready. Now was the moment of truth.

Uná did a run then the slight hop and she felt Nikolai lift her. Contracting her abdominal muscles, arms out for balance, chest and head up, and legs out straight.[color=green][i] Think pretty.[/i][/color] That always got her though any dance routine. She grinned they nailed it.

Nik held her as still as he could in the air before slowly lowering her down in front of him. Once on the ground, he moved his hands to her back to pull her in close for a hug. This wasn't what he was expecting to do tonight. He whispered in her ear as he held her close. [color=red]"Well... that was better than I could have imagined."[/color]

Uná hugged Nikolai and buried her face in his neck laughing breathlessly whispering to him.[color=green] "That was amazing!! If you tell me that was my birthday gift just a week or so early I couldn't be happier!! Thank you Nikki!!"[/color]

Nik gave a small smile as they embraced. [color=red]"Happy early Birthday!"[/color] He breathed a sigh of relief, given he had forgotten to order anything else. He moved his hands off her back and onto her sides to push her slightly away so they could face each other. [color=red]"Not to ruin the high of this... but could we talk briefly? In private?"[/color] The words had escaped his lips before he even realized what he had said, and had to hold himself back from widening his eyes in shock at him saying that much.

Uná didn't like that sound of that. She swallowed audibly.[color=green] "Of course." [/color]She looked around and she saw the bartender point to two margaritas and Uná pulled Nikolai over grabbing both drinks and handing one to him. She scanned the room and saw a dark corner that was unoccupied. Uná gulped the frozen drink and pulled Nikolai over to the dark corner.[color=green] "What's up? Are you okay?"[/color] Her concern poured off her and she hoped that it wasn't something she did that was bad. Her mind flashed back to the kiss and sipped the margarita that was over half gone.

Nik tasted the margarita, his face scrunching up as it became clear he wasn’t a huge fan of the flavor. He shook his head. [color=red]”It’s not about me. Though we should talk about the fact that some freak just spoke into our heads. I got a little side tracked cause you wanted to dance...”[/color] Nik shook his head again, as if trying to clear his mind physically by shaking away the clutter. [color=red]”That’s not the point, though. I want to talk about Nathan.”[/color] His expression was unnervingly serious, and he waited to see how she reacted to that before he started saying more.

Uná looked confused.[color=green] "Nathan? You want to talk about Nathan?"[/color] Nikolai had thrown her with that sentence. She sipped the margarita the sucking sound acknowledging that the drink was empty. She set her empty drink down on an empty counter by them. Then she eyed the drink in Nikolai's hand, then looked at him pointedly, then the drink, then him. She rolled her eyes grinning. He wasn't catching on quick enough.[color=green] "Alright. What about Nathan?"[/color] She leaned in and moved closer looking up at him sipping the drink from the straw.

Nik rolled his eyes and handed the drink over. [color=red]”I know I’m not his biggest fan... and I’m saying this as your friend... I don’t think he’s the right fit for you.”[/color] He physically recoiled at saying that, throwing his hands in the air to emphasize his next point. [color=red]”I’m not saying you can’t choose who you date or care for or whatever... I’m just saying that he seems to get a bit... controlling. And I had a friend at my old school in a relationship like that. And the guy started off all sweet and stuff before he became a control freak. And I don’t want to see that happen to you. Because I really care about you.”[/color]

Uná's eyes widened.[color=green] "Well that was unexpected. Something has changed and I wondered if I was the only one who saw it."[/color] Uná pulled a face and looked away as she realized that she was reading way too much into all this. He was just worried about her...as a friend. She shouldn't have kissed him. Looking back at Nikolai she smiled but it didn't reach her eyes.[color=green] "Thanks for looking after me Nikki. I'm sorry if I was to forward earlier...I am just glad that I didn't throw you off."[/color]

Nik looked confused for a moment... before his eyes widened as he remembered that she kissed him. He gave a nervous laugh that was a bit too loud to be normal before clearing his throat. [color=red]”No... no, not at all. It was fi-errr-good. Great. Fantastic... I mean... you know, keeping with the movie. Cause there’s the... the kiss there... uhhh... yeah...”[/color] He knee for a fact there wasn’t an actual kiss there. He had that scene memorized. He just hoped she hadn’t exactly caught on that he knew. But regardless, he needed to shift the topic.

[color=red]”You should... get back to the others. I’m gonna go check in with Elijah and hope that Nathan doesn’t try to throttle me.”[/color] He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

Uná raised an eyebrow as she set aside the empty drink. She knew that Johnny kissed Baby on the nose sweetly but there was no actual kiss in that part of the movie. She was stuck on that part. He didn't realize that she went off script.[color=green] "I should go back to the others? Throttle you? He's here?!? Oh I bet he does want to throttle you. Oh and by the way there isn't a kiss in that part...well not really. But that scene ends with one."[/color] Uná leaned up and kissed Nikolai waiting for his reaction.

Nik closed his eyes as her lips touched his. He slid his right hand onto her cheek to hold her in place while his left hand placed itself on her waist to pull her in close. He wasn’t as off-guard this time. He ended the kiss quickly, giving a quick smirk. [color=red]”I knew they didn’t kiss there.”[/color]