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The girls stayed in their circles, leaning in close, whispering, and keeping their distance from me. The boys walked past me as if I weren’t even there. Everyone was taking pictures, laughing, dancing, and no one seemed to notice me.
I didn’t belong in the middle of it.
After a while, I moved to the corner of the room.
No one said anything rude.
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I just stared at the dance floor, thinking maybe I’d leave early.
“Hey, Lisa.”
We had a few classes together. He wasn’t someone I talked to much, but I knew who he was. Everyone did. He was easygoing and funny. It also helped that he was tall and handsome.
Someone stepped into my line of sight.
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“Hey,” I said.
I gave a small shrug. “Something like that.”
He studied me for a second, then asked me to dance, “Come dance with me.”
“I don’t think that’s going to work.”
I gestured to my chair. “Kind of limits things.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
Before I could respond, he stepped behind me and gently took hold of the wheelchair handles.
“Come dance with me.”
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“Daniel—”
“Trust me.”
And then he wheeled me right out onto the dance floor.
At first, I felt eyes staring at us. My shoulders tightened. I almost told him to stop.
But he didn’t rush it.
Daniel moved with the music, slow and steady, turning the chair as if it were part of the rhythm. He didn’t make a big deal out of it or try to draw attention; he just danced.
And somehow… that made everything else fade.
I almost told him to stop.
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I found myself laughing, actually laughing, as he spun me gently in a circle.
For the first time that night, I didn’t feel out of place.
I felt seen!
We stayed out there longer than I expected. Several songs were played, and we just enjoyed ourselves.
When we finally moved off the floor, my cheeks hurt from smiling.
I didn’t feel out of place.
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