GunnzShowboat - Burning Up

>Flash Sentry
>"I'm glad so many of you could make it to this year's Freshmen Dance." Principal Celestia says, a smile on her face. "With this dance, we hope that you'll all have a chance to connect with your fellows students while also having a little fun. So, don't be shy; just get out there and dance."
>Flash tugs at his dark blue dress shirt, his suit suddenly feeling a bit stuffy. The sound of clapping, causes his attention to snap back to Principal Celestia.
>"Enjoy the dance." With that, she signals to the Sophomore band onstage, prompting them to start playing as she made her way offstage.
>Flash sighs, running a hand through his hair. Suddenly, a strong hand grips his shoulder, causing him to nearly jump out of his skin.
>"Yo, Flash!"
"Phew. Hey, Beats."
>Beats cocks an eyebrow. "You okay, man? You look like you owe somebody money."
>Flash rocks on the heels of his feet, glancing away.
"Yeah. I'm cool. Totally fine."
>"Yeah, right. You're usually, like, pretty outgoing. What? You scared to dance?"
"Well... I... it's just..."
>Beats chuckles, patting Flash's back. "Oh, man! Never thought I'd see the day when Flash 'Lady-killer' Sentry passes up a chance to sweet talk some girls. Even Ringo's out on the floor."
"I'm not a-!"
>"Yeah, yeah. I'm just messin' with ya. Look, man, just get out there and ask a girl to dance. You know it's no different than how you're always chatting girls up in the hallways, right?"
>Flash rolls his eyes, but nods in agreement.
>"Good. As for me, I've got my eye on the girl in the cowboy hat." With one last, reassuring pat to his back, Beats steps past Flash and towards a group of girls dancing next to each other. "Wish me luck."
"Good luck."
>Deciding to take his friend's heart to advice, Flash scans the crowd. He couldn't help but agree with Beats finding it strange that he was so nervous. Asking a girl to dance shouldn't-
>Wait. 'Heart to advice?' How'd that happen?

>Anyways.
>Asking a girl to dance shouldn't be any more difficult than just talking to them. Well, there's the chance of being rejected and looking like a fool, where just saying 'Hi' or something may just result in them ignoring him.
>So, there's that.
>Maybe he could just start dancing by himself? It's a party, so maybe some girl would just approach him.
>But, what if he just looks silly dancing by himself? Or bumps somebody by accident? Or-
"Okay, I'm over thinking this. I'll just-
>He spots the refreshments table.
"Get some punch. Maybe a sandwich?"
>Striding over to the table, Flash moves past his fellow students with more deftness than necessary. But when making a temporary retreat, why not make it a bit stylish as well?
>As he reaches for an empty cup, he catches sight of something out of the corner of his eye.
>Red and yellow.
>He turns, setting his sights on a girl sitting at a table nearby. She wore a red dress with golden embroidery, a color scheme that matched her hair. She was staring off into space, a frown on her face; though it looked like she was trying to appear uninterested in the dance.
>Flash stares at her, partly because she's cute, but mostly because he's wracking his brain trying to recall her name.
>Starlight Glimmer? Chicken Dinner?
"...Sunset Shimmer!"
>He freezes, mentally kicking himself for thinking aloud. Her eyes focus and dart around for a few seconds, trying to find whoever said her name, before settling back into an aimless stare.
>It must have been her imagination.
>Flash lets out the breath he'd been subconsciously holding. He combs a hand through his hair, settling his nerves before walking over to her.
>As he approaches, she apparently catches sight of him out of the corner of her eye, because she turns to stare at him for a moment, eyes widening with surprise. Her mouth opens a bit before clenching shut, frown intensifying as she looks away.
>This isn't going to be easy.

>He stops at the edge of the table, steadying himself on it with his left hand while his right was tucked away in his pants pocket.
"Hey."
>She glances at him, indifference painted on her face.
>It's a pretty shoddy painting, too.
"You're Sunset Shimmer, right?"
>The painting cracks as she grimaces at the sound of her name.
>"Yes."
>Okay. Making some progress.
"I'm Flash Sentry."
>Beat.
"The Lady-killer."
>She stares at him, surprised that he'd actually call himself that as a pick-up line.
>He smiles at her.
"That got your attention?"
>She rolls her eyes, mumbling, "Not all attention is good, 'Lady-killer.'"
>More words. Good, good.
>"But, I'll bite. What do you want?"
"To dance."
>She waves her hand towards the crowd of students on the gym floor. "Well, get out there and dance, then."
>He extends his right hand towards her.
"Alright, let's go."
>She looks at his hand, scoffing. "No, no, no. I just... no. I don't want to dance."
"Then, let's talk."
>Before she could protest, he takes a seat in the chair across from her. She stammers, apparently trying to come up with convincing variations of "go away," but eventually lets out an exasperated sigh.
>"Alright, okay. What do you want to talk about, 'Lady-killer?'"
"Let's start with introductions."
>She raises an eyebrow; he extends his right hand.
"Hi, I'm Flash Sentry. And, who might you be?"

>She stares at his hand, looking from him to it in mild confusion.
>With a sigh, she looks him in the eye, grabs his hand and gives it a shake.
>"Hi... I'm..." [sigh] "Sunset Shimmer."
"Nice to meet you, Ms. Shimmer."
>She rolls her eyes. "Charmed, I'm sure."
"So, where are you from?"
>She glances away. "Out of town."
"Hmm. That's pretty vague. Where?"
>She tenses up a bit. "Nowhere."
"Nowhere, huh? Did you live in 'The Middle of' or at "The End of" Nowhere?"
>She stares at him for a moment before raising her hand to her mouth. Despite her best effort to hide it as a cough, Sunset couldn't help but be somewhat amused.
>"Okay, 'Lady-killer,' I can see how you got your reputation."
"My... reputation?"
>Sunset raises an eyebrow. "Yeah? You sort of have a reputation as a player. At least, that's what I guessed from the way some girls talk about you."
"H-how do they talk about me?"
>She chuckles. "Relax. It's nothing bad, really. At worst, I've heard that you're a heart breaker, though. Flirting with every girl will do that."
>Flash buries his face in his hands, groaning.
"Aw, man. I'm not really that bad."
>Sunset smirks at him and shakes her head. "I can see that." With a sigh, she looks away, "But, you have that image and it's going to take a bit of work to get people to see past that. Especially people who don't know you."
"Yeah... So, what about you?"
>"What about me?"
"Your reputation here."
>She grits her teeth. "I'm not... a freak or anything."
>Flash nods. She sighs.
>"I was just getting my bearings, you know? This whole... thing is just new to me."
>He nods again, tugging at his shirt.
"Yeah, puberty's weird. My clothes feel too small and my face feels fuzzy."
>Sunset opens her mouth to speak, but shakes her head and gives him a small smile.
>"Right. Puberty's weird."

>The music dies down, prompting Flash to turn his attention to the stage.
"Hey, for the next song, why don't we go out and dance?"
>Sunset rubs her arm nervously. "I'm not sure that's a good idea."
"It'll be fine."
>She looks at him, a genuine smile on his face as he rises from his seat and makes his way over to her. He extends his hand and gives her a slight bow.
"Ms. Sunset Shimmer, will you do me the honor of being my dance partner?"
>"...Okay." She rolls her eyes and takes his hand as she rises from her seat. "One dance."
>They make their way to the floor and wait a bit for the music to resume.
>"I've never really danced before. Not like this, at least."
"Ah, it's easy. Just do a little sway and do a jig like this. And don't be afraid to move your feet."
>Sunset watches him, taking in the way the other students are dancing as well. "Okay, so, like this?"
>Sway
>Jig
"Not quite. It's-"
>Sway AND Jig and move your feet.
>You must jig WHILE swaying.
>She nods, mimicking his movements to a T.
"See? You're a natural. Just let the music work."
>She chuckles, brushing her hair back. "It's a little embarrassing, but... I kinda like it."
>He nods and the two of them continue to dance as the band cycles through a few more songs.
>Eventually, they play a slow song and a number of students begin to pair up.
>Sunset watches, a bit nervous.
"You want to keep dancing?"
>"Yeah, but, you know. I've never danced in a duet."
"Me neither. But it looks easy enough."
>Sunset rolls her eyes. "I just don't want to end up, I dunno, tripping over myself, or you, and looking silly."
"Don't worry about it. As long as we don't step on each others' toes, we'll be golden.
>He moves in closer, placing his hands around her waist as she places hers on his shoulders.
"Besides, if we mess up, we can look silly together."

>And so they danced, starting out slow as they got used to each others' pace, but falling into a natural rhythm as they inevitably did.
>"You sure you've never done this before?"
"Yeah. I'm actually pretty nervous right now."
>Sunset chuckles. "Could've fooled me."
>They dance in silence for a few moments, Sunset's arms wrapping around his neck as she drew closer to him.
>"So, Lady-killer, why'd you bother asking me?"
"Well, I saw you alone and you looked like you weren't having fun. And I was feeling pretty jittery and stuff."
>Sunset quirks an eyebrow, a smirk on her face. "So, it was pity?"
"I think it was destiny."
>"Ha. You're a pretty cheesy guy."
"Thanks... But, seriously? I dunno. I just wanted to dance with you. I didn't mean anything bad by it."
>"Don't worry. I know what you mean."
>A few more slow songs passed before the band switched back to a faster beat.
>As they did, Sunset Shimmer broke contact, causing Flash to do the same.
"What's wrong?"
>"I'm just tired. I'm gonna head home now."
"Oh. Alright."
>He tucks his hands into his pockets, a little dejected, but gives Sunset a smile.
"I had fun."
>She smiles back. "I did, too. Thanks, Flash. I mean that."
'Thanks, Flash'
'She said my name!'
>She rolls her eyes at his widening smile. "I'll see you around, Lady-killer."
"Yeah, see you later, Sunset."
>With that, she turns to leave. He watches her go until she could no longer be seen past the gym doors.

>The dance was winding down with only a few more songs left to play.
>Maybe he-
>"Ooh! That was so great!"
>Suddenly accosted by a pink-haired girl, Flash was nearly knocked to the ground.
>"That was so nice of you! I saw that Sunset Shimmer looked pretty said, and I wanted to ask her to come dance with me and my bestest friends, but then I saw you and you were talking to her, then you danced with her, and you were having fun, then you stopped dancing with her and she left, and I just wanted to say that was really, super nice of you to do!"
"Um, thanks, Ms...?"
>"Pinkie Pie!"
"Pinkie Pie. Hi-"
>"Hey!"
"Um, well, I'm Flash Sentry."
>He offers her his hand.
>And nearly loses it as she practically shakes the life out of him.
"You've, uh, got a pretty strong grip there, Pinkie Pie."
>"Thanks!"
>Flash looks to the stage, the band finishing up their current song, before looking back to Pinkie Pie.
>Shrugging his (slightly sore) shoulders, he offers Pinkie his hand again.
"Care to dance?"
>She nods her headed enthusiastically, taking his hand with considerably less force than before.
>"I'll lead!"

[Bonus]
Sunset: "Who are you?"
Flash: "I'm your prom date, Sunny-D."
>She stares at him, perplexed.
Flash: "My name's Flash Sentry, but you can call me: Sentry the Lady-killer. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"