Hungry Eyes
a Dirty Dancing story
by Hermione Eveningfall
One a particuarily sticky afternoon, baby made her way down the stone path to the dance studio. She wore a pair of tight denim shorts, a sleeveless peach tank top, and her favorite white flip flops. Her curly, dirty blonde hair hung loosely just above her shoulders and bobbed as she jogged. She could hear music playing through the open windows, and took a deep breath when she reached the wooden steps.
Baby climbed them slowly, pushing open the slightly heavy door and peeking inside. She saw Johnny sitting cross-legged on a pillow on the floor, covered with sweat and cheeks flushed. He had his leather jacket draped around his shoulders, and was tapping his feet to the beat of the song.
"I'm sorry I'm late," Baby apologized, noticing Penny who stood facing the mirror, dancing and humming to herself. Penny stopped what she was doing, and walked over to hug Baby gently.
"Hey you," she greeted cheerfully. "Listen...Johnny's sick with a cold today, so I'll be helping you a bit. He's just going to be here as a reference."
Baby looked at him, and then noticed a box of tissues on the floor. She knelt down, reaching out to take his hand, but he moved away. "Do, Baby. The last thing I want to do is to ged you sig." he cleared his throat, cringing in pain.
"You seemed all right yesterday." Baby wrapped an arm around his shoulders, kissing his cheek.
"Woke up feeling like hell this morning. Was gonna cancel practice, but you two need me."
Penny fiddled with the gold bracelet on her thin wrist, narrowing her eyes sympathetically. Baby stood up, watching as Johnny grabbed a tissue, snapping forward with a sneeze. "ETSHHHH! HETSHHHH!" he blew his nose in the midst of the girl's unified "Bless you's," and massaged his throbbing temples afterwards.
"I'b beed sdneezig all day," he croaked. "Peddy, you dow what to do, ride?" he rubbed his nose with the tissue, shivering and folded his arms. She nodded, placing the palms of her hands against Baby's.
"Shoulder's straight, head up, stomach in, chest out, lock your frame, good! Look right at me...like you're looking at your reflection." Penny gave Baby a tiny tap with the tip of her finger, and the two of them began stepping backwards and forwards, side to side, arms moving like a machine. Johnny sniffled, pulling another tissue from the box, nodding his head in approval.
"ESHHHHH! ET-SHHHH!"
Penny glanced over her shoulder as she finished twirling. "Bless you," she announced, turning to Baby, and began performing more steps as examples for her to follow. When the song drew to an end, Johnny broke into a fit of coughing. Baby dashed over, rubbing his back, and Penny fetched a bottle of water for him to drink. She unscrewed the cap, aiding him with taking a sip.
"I feel terrible," he whispered, rubbing his hands over his face. He looked from one girl to the other, blushing a little. "I'm sorry...continue." He gestued to the center of the dance floor, but Penny insisted on resting the palm of her hand agains this forehead.
"You're starting to run a fever...you should be in bed, Johnny."
He shrugged out of her way and stood with his fists clenched. "I'm fine," he snarled. "I'll be...fine...HeTSHHHH!"
Baby stood off to the side, feeling a little awkward. Penny rolled her eyes, giving Baby a look that said `Men.' "Fine. If you're going to act like that, don't come crying to me later."
Johnny said nothing, only gave her a hard stare before collapsing to the pillow again. When a new song began, Baby couldn't seem to keep her concentration on the movmenet. Finally, she went to sit with him for a couple of minutes, and let him lean against her. Penny handed her a water bottle and sat down as well, massaging Johnny's shoulders.
"ET-SHHHH! HuTSHHHH!" he sniffed, finally stretching across both of their laps.
"Baby, there's a blanket in the closet over there...could you get it?" Penny wrapped her arms around Johnny, trying to keep him warm until Baby was able to get what she asked for. Once they wrapped him up, Penny sighed.
"We're going to have to get him into bed."
Johnny lifted his head, attempting to tell them not to bother, that he could care for himself, but his mind soon clouded in darkness. He collapsed in a dead faint, the back of his head connecting with the wooden floor. The girls shrieked, each sliding away. "Johnny! Oh God, I knew he was too sick to be here...he works himself to damn hard...get help, Baby, quick!" Penny sobbed, shaking the young man's shoulder's and calling his name repeatedly, but he didn't wake. Baby hopped to her feet without another thought, and dashed through the dance studio doors towards the road. She felt tears filling her eyes as she ran down the stone pathways, dashing over the tiny wooden bridge so quickly that she feared it would snap in two.
She couldn't get to her parent's cabin fast enough, and she practically fell through the door, startling her mother, father and sister Lisa, who were playing a game of cards. "Dad..." Baby took a deep breath, trying to act as calm as possible. "I need help..."
Mr. Houseman's eyes raised at his daughter's high-pitched voice, and he got up from his chair. "Baby, honey, what is it?" he took her hands and gave her a good once-over. "Are you hurt?"
"No..." Baby whispered. "But...I was passing by the dance studio on the way to the main house, and...you know that woman who is from the Rocketts we danced with the first night we were here? She was practicing with her dance instructor and he just passed out...she said he's been sick most of the day too. She asked me to get help, and... please can you come?" she spoke a million miles a minute.
Lisa and Mrs. Houseman glanced at each other, startled by the news, and Mr. Houseman nodded. "Let me fetch my bag, and you can lead the way, Baby. Being sick mixed with this heat probably caused the fainting." Baby waited for him to gather his things, and hurried out onto the porch to hold the door. The two of them hurried back towards the studio, and Baby had to stop and clutch at a stitch forming in her side twice.
"There it is," she announced, pointing to the two story building not twenty feet ahead. After dashing up the steps, Dr. Houseman rushed in, noticing Penny on the ground beside the unconscious Johnny, and brought his bag over to the patient. He first felt Johnny's sweat-soaked forehead and then held his wrist to check his pulse. He went to pour a bit of the water from the bottle onto a rag and had just barely placed it on Johnny's forehead when he woke up with a horrible gasping, gulping noise.
"Shhhshhhshhh. It's all right, son, it's all right."
Penny took Baby's arm and squeezed it tightly, urging her to come out onto the porch while he was being taken care of. Baby leaned against the rail, staring down the hill at the people bustling back and forth to their daily routines. She noticed a game of shuffle board, tables set up for the chess tournament, could hear water splashing as campers swum in the crystal blue lake. She glanced over her shoulder as she listened to Penny's shoes tapping against the ground while she paced, biting her lip nervously. Johnny's harsh coughing from inside caught both of their attention, and Baby felt a couple of tears slip down her cheeks. "I hope he's going to be all right," she prayed out loud. "Please let him be all right."
Penny nodded. "Johnny's tough, sweetie, he'll be just fine." She led Baby over to the bench and the two of them sat down, waiting until Dr. Houseman came out again. When he did, Johnny was with him, deathly pale with an arm around the older man's shoulders.
"God..." Penny gasped. "Is he going to be okay, Daddy?" Baby whimpered as Johnny looked at her through fever-bright eyes, struggling to walk down the steps.
"He'll be fine after a few full days of rest. He just has a cold and a bit of a sinus infection."
Baby practically fainted herself, but smiled, nodding. "Good."
"I know where his cabin is, Doctor Houseman," Penny insisted. "I'll bring you there."
"Thank you. Baby, go on back to our cabin for now, all right?"
Baby nodded, hesitating to leave, but Johnny managed a weak smile and she returned it, resisting the urge to hug him again. "Thank you so much, Doctor." Johnny croaked, coughing again, and with Penny's help, the three of them headed down the road and disappeared around the bend. Baby stood watching them, lowered her head, and turned to make her way back as well.
Just as her father had promised, Johnny felt much better after a couple of days, and was back at the dance studio practicing with Baby until the night of the performance. They took his old black car and blew the audience away, despite a very few flaws.
On the way home, Johnny watched through the mirror as Baby struggled to change out of her bright red dress and into her capris and tank top. He drummed his fingertips against the leather wheel, and cleared his throat. "You did real good," he complimented, truly proud that she'd accomplished so much in such a short span of time.
She grunted a bit as she climbed back over the seat, joining him in the front. "I didn't do the lifts though," she admitted, a little embarassed. She ducked her head and let the breeze ruffle her hair-spray tinted curls. He looked at her real quickly before they pulled down the main road leading into Kellerman's.
"You did real good."
Billy's idea had been a good one after all.
The character's names and places do not belong to me (though I wish they did! Mmm Johnny! <33333's)...I am only borrowing them and promise to give them back unharmed for the most part. XD