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Jeremy Heere was...rhythmically challenged. It was a fact known to very few, not because he hid it well, but because very few knew him well enough to learn it. Michael, who had the rhythmic stats of two average people, was the only person at the school who knew that Jeremy kind of sucked at dancing and keeping the beat. The squip used him like a puppet and made him actually good at dancing when it was necessary, yet most of the skills had faded from non necessity. He hadn't been to a party since Halloween and that was an experience he didn't mind missing out on, thank you very much.So the fact that Michael, his player two...okay, player one, his Favorite Pewson would betray him like this! It was...just blarg!"Dance Dance Revolution?" Christine asked at Michael's offer"Yup. We haven't played it in a while, but I think it would be perfect for you.""I can play on a controller! It's really cool. You don't have to set up...""Are you kidding!? That is no way to play this signature arcade classic! What would be the point of having the mats if we DON'T use them?"Michael was smiling, no, grinning. It was the "I have a plan to take down this boss," or "I just found a cheat code and you won't believe it" grin. In other words, Michael grinning meant he was about to exact revenge and wreak havoc. Shoot! He was friends with Rich and Jenna now. That grin would be used way more."Okay, but DDR is a two player game, and there are three of us..." Jeremy pointed out desperately"We can take turns. Besides, we have been pretty Flexible with Two Player games lately."Ouch. Okay, point taken. Jeremy sat on a beanbag and resigned himself to his fate.Dates with Christine were great and fun, but he wanted to just hang out with her and having a video game session on top of the friday one reserved for Michael seemed like a good idea at the time. Man, his instincts sucked so much."Jeremy? You aren't going to play first? I don't have much experience with this game." Christine, you don't know what you are asking."Well, I figured since this was your first time playing you would want to go first." Jeremy hoped she would agree. He then got an idea, "Oh, I get it. You're a virgin!" He snapped his fingers, "Now I'm kind of jealous.""How???" Michael sputtered, and if that didn't make the oncoming torture worth it, nothing would."You got me," Christine laughed sheepishly."Well you never forget your first...video game experience." He winked.Michael stared at him incredulously as he finished plugging everything in."Don't worry, Christine, you aren't going to be as bad a Jeremy was his first time. He was so sweaty and nervous and...""Oh! Do you still have Waka Laka, or did you lose your memory card?" Jeremy interrupted"Got it." Michael confirmed. "Do you want to play first, if you're making requests?"Jeremy slumped in his seat. "Aww! Mymy! If you want to go first you just have to ask."Whether it was from the sudden new nickname or from Michael's teasing, Jeremy was getting hotter and redder by the second."Yeah," he relented, "I guess I can go first." He stood up and used the playmat to scroll to the aforementioned song. Before he selected it, he leaned to his best friend and whispered, "Don't worry. If I stopped being a virgin, you would be the first to know."Michael was quiet for a while, so Jeremy selected medium difficulty and pressed start while Michael was distracted. It didn't stop him from hitting the first arrow.When the song was over, he looked behind him to assess the damage. Christine was bouncing on the balls of her feet and clapping. "That looks like so much fun! Can I try next?""Of course," Michael said. He stepped off the mat and offered her his spot. Oh no. Now Christine would have a measure of how much more embarrassingly off beat he was than her. She would definitely break up with him.She did not break up with him. She enjoyed herself and did okay at the game. "Those arrows come up so fast! It's hard to get it right, but freestyling is fun!"Christine added a lot of steps. Jeremy still had a fairly low score, but he didn't feel like comparing."Sorry," he apologized."For what?""I'm...not a good dancer. At all. And my rhythm is terrible. "I know it is important to be able to dance on the stage sometimes and my squip is the reason I could dance at the pa...at all. It feels like I've been lying to you for...I don't know...""Jeremiah Cutieface Heere," Christine started, "If you are apologizing for being yourself, then stop!" She grabbed his hands. "I love you, quirks and flaws and all."She smiled with the light of all the stars and Jeremy couldn't help reflecting that smile like the tiniest moon."Dude, I play this game when I need a break from homework, and you know I've never hated you for not meeting my beat.""But you-""Legitimately thought this game would be fun for you, Christine, and I. Who cares how well you keep up? Just dance!""Why didn't we play that instead?""Because you spent your pool of our Playstation 4 money on an evil tic tac.""Fair enough." He looked at his two supportive friends that he didn't deserve. Both had a smile that seemed to say, "You're a dork, but we love you."Maybe he could love himself too. It would be a shock if he could, but he would try. And in the meantime, it might be time to try dancing to his own beat.