The Partner She Didn't Pick

When Tegan's gym teacher announced the folk dance unit, she assumed she would end up paired with one of her friends. That was usually how partners worked out in that class. Instead, the list went up alphabetically, and she found her name next to Ronan's. He was a boy she had exchanged maybe ten words with in three years of school.

体育老师宣布要上民间舞单元时，蒂根以为自己会和某个朋友搭档。那个班上，搭档通常都是这样定下来的。然而，名单是按字母顺序贴出来的，她发现自己的名字旁边是罗南。三年的学校生活里，她和这个男生说过的话大概不超过十句。

"This is going to be painful," she muttered to her friend Hazel, not quietly enough.

“这会很痛苦的，”她对朋友黑泽尔嘀咕道，声音压得不够低。

"For both of you, probably," Hazel said, not even looking up from her phone.

“多半对你们俩都是，”黑泽尔说，连头都没从手机上抬起来。

Ronan turned out to be a surprisingly patient partner, which annoyed Tegan slightly, since she had already decided to dislike the whole arrangement. He counted the steps under his breath, correcting his own footwork more often than hers, and never once complained when she stepped on him.

事实证明，罗南是个出乎意料地有耐心的搭档，这让蒂根有点恼火，因为她早就打定主意要讨厌这整个安排。他小声数着舞步，纠正自己脚步的次数比纠正她的还多，而且她踩到他的时候，他一次也没有抱怨过。

"You don't have to be nice about this," she told him after the third rehearsal, half joking.

“你不用对我这么客气，”第三次排练之后，她对他说，半开玩笑。

"I'm not being nice," Ronan said. "I actually don't mind the class. My sister's a dancer. I grew up with this music playing constantly at home."

“我不是在客气，”罗南说。“我其实不讨厌这门课。我姐姐是舞者。我从小就在家里一直听着这种音乐长大。”

That explained the ease with which he moved, something Tegan hadn't expected and found herself watching more than the steps required.

这就解释了他为什么动作那么轻松自如，这是蒂根没有料到的，她发现自己看他的时间，比看舞步所需要的还要多。

By the second week, their conversations had started to wander beyond counting beats. She learned he was applying to an art program out of state, something he hadn't told most people yet. He worried it would sound like he was trying to impress someone.

到了第二周，他们的交谈已经不再局限于数拍子。她得知，他正在申请外州的一个艺术项目，这件事他还没告诉大多数人。他担心说出来会显得像是想给什么人留下好印象。

"I wasn't trying to impress you," he added quickly, then looked instantly embarrassed by how that sounded.

“我不是想给你留下好印象，”他连忙补充，随即又对这话听起来的样子感到窘迫不已。

"I know," Tegan said, smiling despite herself. "But it worked anyway."

“我知道，”蒂根说，忍不住笑了。“不过还是起作用了。”

The unit ended with a small showcase for parents. Afterward, waiting for rides in the school parking lot, Ronan asked if she wanted to get something to eat, not as partners, just as themselves.

这个单元以一场面向家长的小型展演结束。之后，在学校停车场等着接人的时候，罗南问她想不想去吃点东西，不是作为舞伴，只是作为他们自己。

Tegan had spent three years barely noticing he existed. She still wasn't sure how that had changed so quickly, but she said yes before she could talk herself into overthinking it.

蒂根花了三年的时间，几乎没有留意过他的存在。她仍然不确定这一切是怎么变得这么快的，但在她来得及说服自己胡思乱想之前，她就答应了。