You and Joshua have always been competitive, pushing each other to excel in everything from sports to board games to school events. The rivalry has always fueled your friendship, making every victory a little sweeter and every loss a little more motivating. But when the two of you are unexpectedly paired up for the school’s ballroom dance contest, things start to change in ways neither of you anticipated.

At first, it’s the usual banter. You argue over which dance style is best - Joshua insists that the cha-cha is the most fun, while you’re all about the elegance of the waltz. You struggle to agree on every move, each of you trying to perfect your side of the dance. The awkwardness of being so close while trying to master the steps only adds to the tension, but neither of you backs down. You joke about how out of sync you are, laughing off the mistakes, but there’s always that undercurrent of competition, the drive to outdo each other.

But as the days pass, something shifts. The sharpness in your interactions begins to soften. You notice the way Joshua’s eyes light up when he gets a move just right, that spark of pride that’s a little more genuine than his usual smirk. There’s a gentleness in the way he guides you through a particularly tricky spin, his hands steady and warm against your waist. You can feel his focus, the way he’s fully in the moment, and it makes you want to do the same.