Movie Night
A/N: Danny and Jo need to have a sleepover of their own to talk about. This is how it should/could happen.
*Jo's POV*
"I brought so many different movies that we won't have time to watch all of them, so I want you to sort through them and pick your top three," I said, opening my bag and emptying the DVDs onto Danny's bed. My dad, thankfully, had been sent to some kind of police conference thing that the city of Green Grove had paid for months ago, so I didn't have to worry about getting angry texts and calls from him for the next several hours. My mom wanted to work on some pottery, she said, and didn't want to be bothered.
"While you're sorting, I will make snacks," I said. Danny grinned and started reading the summary for Inception. I grabbed the box of popcorn I'd bought and went downstairs. I microwaved several bags, put them into big bowls and brought it all back up to Danny's room. He had moved the TV from the upstairs den into his room so that we could sit at the edge of his bed and watch.
"I got some chips, too, your favorite!" Danny teased, waving a bag of Blue Ranch potato chips in my face.
"Ugh! Remember that time I threw up because you and Lacey dared me to eat all the flavors?" Danny laughed.
"Yeah, Mr. Porter was so mad about his rug that he kicked me and you out of the house and we walked all the way home in the rain," Danny said. I shook my head.
"You can probably keep those all to yourself because I'm eating some popcorn," we sat and Danny handed me the first movie he wanted to see, Inception.
"It's pretty long, are you sure you want this to be the first one?" I asked.
"Yeah, it looks really interesting and I want to make sure I see it all," Danny said.
"Okay, but I warn you, this movie messes with your head a lot!" I put the DVD in and Danny hit start.
We were pretty quiet during the movie, and Danny pestered me with questions at various points, none of which I answered. He whined about it and I laughed.
"You're such a baby, Desai!" I hissed and he laughed. We watched the rest of the movie, without very many pauses. The last five minutes of the movie always gave me goose-bumps, especially the very last scene, with the spinning top. When the credits rolled, I turned to look at Danny. His eyes were wide and he turned slowly to look at me.
"You weren't kidding when you said that movie messes with your mind," Danny whispered. I nodded.
"Have you ever had a dream within a dream?" He asked.
"Yes, a couple of times. It's very unnerving, because you wake up directly into another one but you can't always tell right away that, that's what you've done," I said.
"Okay a funny one next," Danny said and picked up Zombieland and Superbad asking, "Which one?"
I shrugged and told him he could pick. Danny chose Superbad. We put it in and after the first scene, Danny was laughing so hard he could barely hold himself up.
"You're okay with watching this? They're talking about… porn and stuff," Danny said. I shrugged.
"It's not like I haven't heard it before Danny." He tilted his head and stared at me. He turned the movie down and asked,
"What's that supposed to mean?" I pressed my lips together, realizing I'd accidentally opened up a can of worms.
"It doesn't mean anything," I said quickly and he paused the movie.
"Yes it does! What are you talking about? More middle school things?" He wondered and I looked away.
"I'm not pressing play until you explain," Danny said, holding the remote out of my reach. I knew I shouldn't have put that movie into the pile! I thought.
"You know, middle school boys are perverted," I said simply.
"And?" Danny wondered.
"Look, when you're the first girl in 6th grade to get, you know…guys notice. They say things to you. Make assumptions," I said quietly. Danny's eyes narrowed.
"Get… what, like puberty?" I felt my face flush.
"Boobs, Danny. The first girl to get boobs," I explained. His eyebrows shot up and he stared at me. I quickly folded my arms across my chest when he inevitably glanced down.
"Oh…" he mumbled, "what did they assume?" I grew tense. Did I really want to tell him this?
"Maybe we should just watch the movie, "I said and Danny shook his head.
"I want to know," he said, "I can give the guy a lesson on manners now." I looked up at him, and even though his tone suggested he was trying to be light-hearted, there was something oddly terrifying in his eyes.
"I was late for class and this boy grabbed me and pulled me into the boy's bathroom, once," I said quickly. Danny was silent and waiting for me to continue, his eyes still dangerous.
"He…he pushed me into the wall and tried to put his hands under my shirt," I said, looking away.
"Who?" Danny demanded and I squeezed my eyes shut.
"No one," I mumbled and Danny suddenly held my shoulders, holding me so that I had to look at him.
"Who?"
"If I tell you, can we go back to watching movies and having fun? I don't like re-hashing middle school sexual harassment stories," I said. Danny nodded, and I could tell he was livid.
"It was Scott," I said quietly. Danny tilted his head, staring at me.
"What did you do?" He asked.
"I punched him in the nuts and ran away," I said and Danny grinned a little.
"Please, can we just watch the movie?" I whispered and Danny let go of me. After watching the movie for another ten minutes, he was laughing again and I was glad to be past the tension.
"McLovin reminds me of Rico, except Rico isn't that awkward," Danny hissed and I giggled a little.
"I can't believe you've seen this movie, these guys are…." Danny said, but couldn't finish because he was laughing again. We watched the entire movie and Danny couldn't stop laughing, which made me happy. When we finished with Superbad I checked the time and noticed it was just past 11pm.
"Which one do you want to see next?"
Danny picked out Zombieland and we started watching it right away, pausing only for short bathroom breaks.
"Hey, that's the same girl from Superbad," Danny noticed as we got farther into the movie. This movie wasn't as funny but Danny seemed to enjoy it. I put the bowl of popcorn away and was sitting under Danny's comforter, watching the movie, when I felt my eyes droop. I drifted off to sleep as they were making it to the amusement park.
*Danny's POV*
When the credits for Zombieland rolled, I turned to say something to Jo, only to see that she'd fallen asleep, her legs curled up and her head resting against the edge of my bed. I grinned and turned off the television. I cleaned up the chip bags, soda cans and popcorn bowls, taking them all down to the kitchen. I went to the bathroom and got ready for bed, deciding I would let Jo sleep there.
I gently moved her to a laying down position. She was so light and I was able to lift her up and put blankets under her, stick a pillow under her head, and put a blanket over her without much effort. She barely stirred, already breathing deeply. I pushed her hair away from her face and neck, and she smiled briefly in her sleep.
"Goodnight, Jo," I whispered to her and she smiled again.
I crawled into my own bed and shut off the lamp. I didn't sleep right away, thinking about Jo's story from middle school. I frowned into the pillow and closed my eyes.
*Several hours later*
Jo was still asleep when I woke up, sun streaming through the windows. I sat up and peered down at her. She was on her back, her hair fanned out around her head like a gold halo, her hand up by her face. I smiled, laying on my stomach and poked her gently on the arm. She stirred and her eyes slowly slid open. She blinked a couple of times and stared up at me, perplexed.
*Jo's POV*
When I woke up, the first thing I saw was Danny Desai's smiling face, his hair messed up and all over the place. I rubbed my eyes and looked around.
"Good morning," I said and Danny laughed.
"What time is it?" I wondered, suddenly nervous.
"Uh..." Danny retreated from the edge of the bed to check, "its 8:30, should you be home?" The covers Danny had covered me with smelled like him, I noticed, as I pushed them off.
"Yes, hopefully my mom hasn't noticed, yet," I said. I put on my shoes and walked downstairs with Danny, who let me sneak out the back door.
"Hey, now we can tell Lacey that you and I had a sleepover," Danny joked and I laughed, running home and hoping that I wasn't going to be grounded for the rest of my life.