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Dane gets a momentary mouse-cornered-by-a-cat look on his face. "I... uh... I've never danced before." His brain starts trying to analyze the situation like a system he’s never debugged — too many variables, unpredictable feedback loops — and his pulse spikes accordingly.

Still, the thought of watching Meg dance pushes the fear back a notch. Part of him hopes they’ll play a slow song so he can be close to her again, though that same thought knots his stomach. Those two sides of him — curiosity and caution — clash like mismatched gears.

"Will you teach me?" he asks at last, the question landing somewhere between hopeful and hesitant.

"Sure!" She laughs as she takes his hands and tries desperately to teach him how to jitterbug, two-step, line dance and just jam, but settles on the easiest, which is just regular slow dancing. She rests her head against his chest as the band switches to something more soft and relaxing. Much of the crowd begins watching. Some are just blankly staring while others seem to cheer Dane on.

She finally looks up, "Dane, kiss me."

Dane does his best to follow Meg’s lead on the dance floor, but it’s pretty clear he has no idea what he’s doing. His timing’s off, his steps don’t match the beat, and he’s sure he’s stepped on her toes at least twice. He lets out a nervous laugh. “Sorry—guess dancing wasn’t part of my research.”

When the music slows and she rests her head against his chest, some of the tension starts to fade. For once, he stops worrying about getting it right. The sound of the crowd fades a little, replaced by the steady rhythm of the music—and her heartbeat against his shirt.

Then she looks up. “Dane, kiss me.”

For a moment, his brain just… stalls. They’ve kissed before, but this is different. It seems like she's expecting something more intimate rather than the quick pecks that they've shared earlier. The crowd, the music, the closeness—it all hits at once. He’s never done this before, but he’s seen enough to have an idea of what he’s supposed to do.

He tilts his head and leans in slowly, just enough to meet her halfway. His stomach flips, his heart’s pounding, and he’s not sure if it’s from nerves or from her.

Dane does his best to follow Meg’s lead on the dance floor, but it’s pretty clear he has no idea what he’s doing. His timing’s off, his steps don’t match the beat, and he’s sure he’s stepped on her toes at least twice. He lets out a nervous laugh. “Sorry—guess dancing wasn’t part of my research.”

When the music slows and she rests her head against his chest, some of the tension starts to fade. For once, he stops worrying about getting it right. The sound of the crowd fades a little, replaced by the steady rhythm of the music—and her heartbeat against his shirt.

Then she looks up. “Dane, kiss me.”

For a moment, his brain just… stalls. They’ve kissed before, but this is different. It seems like she's expecting something more intimate rather than the quick pecks that they've shared earlier. The crowd, the music, the closeness—it all hits at once. He’s never done this before, but he’s seen enough to have an idea of what he’s supposed to do.

He tilts his head and leans in slowly, just enough to meet her halfway. His stomach flips, his heart’s pounding, and he’s not sure if it’s from nerves or from her. As their lips are about to touch, the nerves are too much. Dane feels a wave of nausea wash over him, forcing him to turn away from Meg.

"Dane? What's wrong?" she asks. He isn't sure why he became so nervous.

Dane’s breath comes in short, shallow bursts as he tries to pull himself together. He awkwardly turns back toward Meg, still partly in her arms, and makes a conscious effort to steady his breathing.

"I’m... uh..." He closes his eyes for a moment, forcing himself to take a couple of deep breaths before he hyperventilates. When he finally exhales the last one, he manages to get the words out. "I’m just... nervous, I think."

He blinks a few times to clear his vision and adds quietly, "I’ve never... you know... kissed before. Not—" he gestures vaguely between them, "—not like this."

[OOC: Not sure what roll Dane failed, but hopefully he can recover. ]

Dane’s breath comes in short, shallow bursts as he tries to pull himself together. He awkwardly turns back toward Meg, still partly in her arms, and makes a conscious effort to steady his breathing. "I’m... uh..." He closes his eyes for a moment, forcing himself to take a couple of deep breaths before he hyperventilates. When he finally exhales the last one, he manages to get the words out. "I’m just... nervous, I think." He blinks a few times to clear his vision and adds quietly, "I’ve never... you know... kissed before. Not—" he gestures vaguely between them, "—not like this."

Meg frowns, then takes Dane's hand and leads him towards where the first beer drinking game is about to commence, "Dane, I'm so sorry. I didn't know. We can take it slow if you want," she nods towards the starting line, where a pitcher of beer is set on multiple tables. Ten teams of beer drinkers, must drink an entire pitcher, wait ten minutes, then the race starts. It's basically a relay race where the four runners, per team, must shotgun a beer, then run to the next runner. "Let's watch this for a few minutes. It gets hilarious watching them towards the end." Dane notices that all of them are required to wear a helmet with knee and elbow pads. "Maybe we ate something bad or the excitement of the day might be catching up to you. Cus I'm feeling a bit woozy myself."

"Yeah, maybe." Dane’s glad for the distraction, though part of him can’t help feeling frustrated with himself for messing up what could’ve been a perfect moment. His brain’s already jumping through its usual analytics — running back through every second like he’s trying to debug what went wrong. He still wants to try that kiss again when the timing’s right. He checks in with his stomach, half expecting it to protest. Maybe he can get it in sync with his hormones and his brain.

He wants to tell Meg he’s sorry, but every version that runs through his head just sounds dumb. So instead, he gives her hand a gentle squeeze, catches her eye, and offers an I’m sorry smile. Then he looks away, deciding for now he’ll just focus on enjoying the moment — the music, the laughter, and being here with her.

"Yeah, maybe." Dane’s glad for the distraction, though part of him can’t help feeling frustrated with himself for messing up what could’ve been a perfect moment. His brain’s already jumping through its usual analytics — running back through every second like he’s trying to debug what went wrong. He still wants to try that kiss again when the timing’s right. He checks in with his stomach, half expecting it to protest. Maybe he can get it in sync with his hormones and his brain.

He wants to tell Meg he’s sorry, but every version that runs through his head just sounds dumb. So instead, he gives her hand a gentle squeeze, catches her eye, and offers an I’m sorry smile. Then he looks away, deciding for now he’ll just focus on enjoying the moment — the music, the laughter, and being here with her.

Both Meg and Dane become distracted by the first round of drunken relay racers. Nine men and one woman run along, holding their stomachs, trying not to vomit their full bellies of beer. Only one of the overweight men burps up half of his pitcher. Rules state, that if anyone vomits, then they must either concede or run back, shotgun a beer, and then start over.

The first of the racers reach their teammate, who quickly shotguns their beers and continue on, now stumbling and falling over each other. The crowd begins laughing as do the racers. It feels like watching toddlers race, tripping around trying to keep their drunken balance.

Dane feels Meg lean against his shoulder. She slightly laughs as one racers stands up, only to vomit on another fallen racer, "Oh no! Hahaha! I'm so glad that I don't drink like that." She rubs his arm, then says, "Although, a few drinks could loosen you up a little." She lifts her head to see his reaction.

Dane laughs, shaking his head as one of the racers stumbles into another and they both go down in a heap. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone look that proud to fall over,” he says, grinning.

Meg's leaning against his shoulder starts to feel more natural — familiar, even. He tilts his head slightly toward her without thinking, enjoying the warmth and the easy rhythm of the moment. When she rubs his arm and teases him, he chuckles softly.

“Do I need loosening up?” He glances her way, the corner of his mouth tugging into a crooked smile. “Yeah... probably.” .oO Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Oo. “I’ve never really tried drinking before, but... I suppose one probably wouldn’t hurt. Long as you promise not to let me end up like that guy.” He nods toward one of the racers now collapsed across the finish line and chuckles.

.oO Baby steps. Preferably ones that don’t end in faceplants. Oo.

Knowing that he's a novice on what a good drink is, let alone what Meg likes, he'll take her lead.

Dane laughs, shaking his head as one of the racers stumbles into another and they both go down in a heap. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone look that proud to fall over,” he says, grinning.

Dane feels Meg lean against his shoulder. She slightly laughs as one racers stands up, only to vomit on another fallen racer, "Oh no! Hahaha! I'm so glad that I don't drink like that." She rubs his arm, then says, "Although, a few drinks could loosen you up a little." She lifts her head to see his reaction.

Meg's leaning against his shoulder starts to feel more natural — familiar, even. He tilts his head slightly toward her without thinking, enjoying the warmth and the easy rhythm of the moment. When she rubs his arm and teases him, he chuckles softly. “Do I need loosening up?” He glances her way, the corner of his mouth tugging into a crooked smile. “Yeah... probably.” .oO Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Oo. “I’ve never really tried drinking before, but... I suppose one probably wouldn’t hurt. Long as you promise not to let me end up like that guy.” He nods toward one of the racers now collapsed across the finish line and chuckles.

oO(Baby steps. Preferably ones that don’t end in faceplants)Oo

Knowing that he's a novice on what a good drink is, let alone what Meg likes, he'll take her lead. She swiftly takes his hand and half jogs towards Bottoms Up. She has him wait as she runs inside. Several minutes pass, leaving Dane to observe everyone having fun, enjoying the festivities. Children enjoying the sights, rides, games and treats. Adults partaking in more adult fun and games.

Eventually, Meg returns holding two plastic cups, containing an odd orange liquid, decorated with a wedge of some fruit with a green rind. "It's apple lemon with a splash of ginger ale and... vodka." She leans in close, "For now, this is your only one. I shouldn't even be giving you this, but I feel like it'll help, and it doesn't taste horrible." She takes a sip of hers, makes a slight bitter face, then nods to Dane's cup, "Go ahead, it might be an acquired taste," which is usually said when it's usually not a popular drink.

OOC: Dat liquid courage though! A failed save vs non-lethal poison means that Dane's usual personality, desires and thoughts will be more evident. A successful save will just mean he's feeling loose and warm, but still has his wits about him. If he drinks that is.

Dane gingerly takes a sip, and his face immediately scrunches as the lemon hits first — sharp and unexpected. He gives a small twitch of his head, like he’s trying to reset his taste buds, then takes a moment to evaluate the rest. The sweetness from the apple and ginger ale cuts through nicely, though the vodka still leaves a bit of a bite to his inexperienced taste buds. Not great, but not terrible either.

“Good... I think,” he says to Meg, giving a small, uncertain grin. “Let me try it again.”

He takes another sip, considers it, then goes in for a third. This time, it’s not so bad — the flavors start to blend, the alcohol edge dulling under the sweetness. “Actually, I kinda like it,” he admits. “Took me a second to get used to the alcohol taste, but now it’s mostly just the other stuff — and that’s pretty good together.”

[OOC: These were sips, mind you. Plenty of drink left before any effects start to hit. Also took some liberties with the flavor profile, but if you had something different in mind, feel free to update accordingly.]