Lacey hears those words every time she looks at Danny. Sees the ghost of his widened eyes and his lips parting just enough for him to breathe out, "I just wish…. I just want…." Her brain loves to fill in her name, or her pronoun, or anything that makes it okay for her to stay with him instead of running in the opposite direction.

She has proof that someone else could've wanted Regina dead. It doesn't have to be Danny. It doesn't have to be Archie, or that guy who used to gawk at Regina at the pool, or their Chemistry teacher who really should object more to teaching in a building dedicated to the girl who made it her life's mission to put gum under every single surface in the Chem lab. Regina actually missed a few benches, not that Lacey's going to do it for her. Lacey couldn't. Shouldn't.

Like you shouldn't be with him?

Lacey suppresses the urge to close her eyes against the voice. If Regina has a room in Phoebe's subconscious, she has a full mansion in Lacey's. The dream made it worse. It basically opened the door for Regina's spirit or whatever. Lacey shouldn't mind; it is an opportunity to have her friend back, but Regina's part of the reason why Lacey can't stop thinking about Danny.

That long hair, the menacing eyes. His voice. The way he seems to take in everything about her before he says anything. Danny studies her, and then he says exactly what she needs to hear. Every time.

Danny understands Lacey in a way that no one else does. No one should blame her for wanting to spend a little time with him. Her whole point in texting Danny was getting him away from Jo. Away from everyone. You wanna hit that, don't you? What? No.

No. Lacey focuses back on Danny. He looks good in his dad's suit. It fits him. Plus, it makes him seem more reliable than jeans and a T-shirt. Good guys wear suits. Murderers wear the blood of their victims. Red really isn't Danny's color.

Danny shakes his head at her. His hands fly up like he's giving in, but his muscles seem too tense for resignation. He asks her, "Why do you wanna meet like this?"

What, is there a correct way to meet about her dead best friend? "How were we supposed to meet?" she wonders. Maybe if he hadn't ditched her for five years, she'd know the perfect way to play teen detective with him.

"You could have texted me. You could have called me. You could have talked to me in the school. Why like this?" he asks. Lacey swallows a little harder, lifts her chin higher. She hasn't done anything wrong. If they meet here, no one will judge her. No one will care if she's talking to the town sociopath. Here, no one else matters. "Unless…." Danny catches her eye head on. "Unless you want to get me alone."

Then she hears it again. His voice, in her head, with parted lips and words so light that she knows she's imagining them. ("I just wish…. I just want….")

But it was different for him to say it then than it is now. She has no one to keep her on track. There's just Danny who keeps giving her this look like all he needs is her permission. Like one word and he'll make all of her pain go away.

He used to make her forget about everything. Can he make her forget about Regina? Or about the five years she spent alone because he had to kill his aunt? No, she can't want him back. He left her, then Jo did, and then her dad. Danny ruined her life. Like hell she's giving him the chance to do it again.

"You know what, screw you." She can figure out what happened to Regina on her own.

Lacey storms around him. Danny's so fucking cocky all the time. Just because she looks at him doesn't mean she wants to screw him. He's no better than Archie if he thinks like that.

She needs to stop comparing them. They're nothing alike. Archie's amazing. But Archie's a ball hog. He proved that during the game, the one where Danny scored a goal and she had to bite her lip to focus.

And Danny wrote her a play so that he could beg for her forgiveness and she could offer it without sacrificing anything. Danny bought her favorite chips and wrapped a blanket around her and didn't even offer her up as his alibi when the whole town thought he killed Regina.

"Lacey, I'm sorry." Danny wants her, and he doesn't care who she is or how she acts. No one else can say that. So why can't she give in, just once? One kiss. Danny reaches out, his hand catching at her elbow. "I shouldn't have said that." Just once.

She turns back towards him, hair flying and hands grasping for him. At first, it's clear. Her left hand cups his cheek. Her lips crash into his. Her mind goes blank. Then it's a blur of tilted necks for leverage and arms pulling her closer and more more, she needs more.

But Danny pulls back. Danny's chased her since the second he came to town and he's the one who stops their kiss. He's the one to stare and ask what the fuck is going on. She can't answer that. Can't explain this. She needed this. She got it though, so she's done.

She tries to turn away, but Danny's right behind her, reaching at air with this chant of "Lacey, wait, wait, wait." She's been waiting, for five years. What's one more?

Then they're back at it. More more. His fingers trace her jaw in a silent plea. She sinks into the touch, into him, into this. More. He stumbles a step forward, but there's nothing to catch her but his arms. She laughs. She tries to bite it down and capture his lips again, but Danny laughs too. It's this deep chuckle that goes straight from his chest through to hers.

She wonders what someone would say if they saw her now. Cracking up in Danny's arms, looking thoroughly kissed and probably too blissful for a girl with a threatening note in her clutch purse. Somehow that makes it harder to stop.

Her eyes start to tear up, and she blinks a few times to clear them away. Danny's watching her when she stops. He glances away. Clears his throat. Slowly, the laughter bubbles down to just a smile in the corner of her lips.

He straightens them back up so her feet carry her own weight again. She knows what comes next. He has to let go after this. She has to walk away. Eventually.

She rests her forehead on his. His hair ruffles in the wind. Every few seconds, a strand brushes against the side of her face. His fingers flex against her shoulders. He almost looks better now, so close that she can almost see the part of him that makes her whole again.

She spent five years feeling alone. With Danny, she doesn't have to feel that anymore. She doesn't have to worry about what will push him away. The only thing that can ruin them is him. If he goes to jail again, or chooses Jo over her, or goes to a different college — can he even get into a good college one day?

"Lace." She freezes. Her eyes rush up to meet his. Somewhere on her back, one of his fingers starts drawing circles. "Please don't run away," he says, "Don't hide from me."

There are times when it hits her that he lost everything too. He lost his family, his home, and her. Not only that, but he goes through it all over again every single day. She knows he does because she sees him in the hallways, ducking his head and swallowing down screams at everyone around him. She remembers doing the same thing after he left.

The other kids used to say that one kid couldn't kill a grown up by himself. Danny had to have had help. If anyone would've helped him, it would've been Lacey. It's always Lacey. And, if that kiss is anything to go by, it always will be.

So, what the hell, she whispers back, "I won't."

He smiles at her. "I, uh, don't know if you want to talk about… what just happened?"

She shakes her head. Not now. She lifts a hand to check for stray hairs. Thankfully Danny's hands stayed on her and not in her hair. She'd had to teach Archie not to do that.

Shit. Archie. Shit. Fuck. Damnit!

Danny must notice her tense up because he lets her go. His arms unwind and drop to his sides. She takes a step back from him.

What if someone saw? What if someone tells Archie? Oh, God, she needs to focus on something else. The letter. Focus on the letter.

She asks, "When are we telling Jo about the note?"

Danny rolls pretty easily with the topic change. He shrugs. "Whenever you want. She's meeting me at the diner pretty soon. You can come with."

Lacey gets this image of Danny and Jo alone at the diner in her head. It's almost like the scene she walked in on yesterday, only this time Jo's smiling in her gorgeous dress and Danny's leaning down to get closer to Jo.

Lacey blinks the thought away. It's stupid. Danny's not even into Jo. He can't kiss Lacey like he just did and want someone else. Still, Lacey wonders, how does Danny feel about her? She could probably ask him. He seemed pretty willing to tell her anything she wanted at their sleepover.

The word 'sleepover' fills her head with new scenes and sounds. She definitely wouldn't sleep on the floor if they had another night together. Regina would be proud.

Lacey almost grins. Regina's probably already proud. She's smiling down from heaven, mumbling about the stud off she always wanted. Danny wins, by the way. Maybe Lacey will win this little battle for Danny's attention. It's not like Jo's ever been much competition.

Lacey focuses back on Danny. "I'll come with, if you buy me a slice of pie. Someone knocked over all of the mathlete pies before I could get one."

Danny chuckles. "Nice. Sure. I'm buying."

He makes it sound like a date. To make matters worse — better? — Danny offers his hand out towards her. Lacey stares at it for a second. She's not about to hold his hand. She has a boyfriend, and everyone hates him. She can't. He gets that, doesn't he?

Her eyes dart to his. He smirks at her. His hand swoops through the air, motioning in the direction of the diner. "After you," he says.

Oh. Her cheeks start to flush. Right. He's beckoning her forward, not trying to hold her hand. She probably looks like an idiot.

She starts walking, and Danny lowers his hand. For a second, his fingers graze her blazer, right above the free space on her back. The gasp that spills from her lips sounds a little too much like a moan for her liking. He smirks again.

He says, "I like the jacket. Keeps you warm. Keeps me from offering."

She almost says that it's Archie's. It's not, but don't girls normally mention their boyfriends at a time like this? Girls who cheat on their boyfriends. Girls like her. Lacey rolls her shoulders under her jacket. "I couldn't accept if you offered."

"Pretty sure no one would fault you for taking my jacket if it meant you didn't freeze."

To death, she tacks on mentally. Freeze to death. She wonders how cold Regina was when the maid found her. Heating in Regina's place always sucked. Reg liked it cold. Like my heart… and your relationship with Archie.

Lacey pushes at her hair again. "So, the diner."

"Yeah. Why don't we walk?"

…

They should've walked a different way. The path she leads them down crosses with this side street they took all the time as kids. The gravel road's the fastest way to get from the park to the diner, but that's not what Danny and Lacey used it for.

Danny stops the second he recognizes it. He glances between her and the road with a smile growing on his face. "Didn't we used to hide here? When we were in trouble?"

They used to hide more often than that. Lacey spots the clump of trees they hid behind the most.

"You used to say no one would see if we stood close enough together." She pauses. Her eyes narrow at him. "Was that a line?"

He starts walking backwards towards the trees. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I actually think it's science." He wets his lips. "You know, we could test it now."

That's definitely a line. He even wiggles his eyebrows before continuing his walk down the road. He can't honestly think that will work on her.

"We have to go," she says.

He waves her off. "Jo'll be there whenever we show up. Come on."

If there was ever a time for him to kill her, it would be now. She reminds herself of that as she follows him down the road. He could kill her and hide her body between those trees. No one would find her until Monday when Mr. Calvert took his dogs for their usual walk.

Danny grins back at her. When Danny killed me, he was smiling. Lacey keeps walking. It was creepy at the time. Her heels crunch against leaves on the ground. Between those and the mud on the grass, she'll have to get rid of these shoes. But now…. Danny stops in front of their favorite clump of trees to wait for her. Hot.

Lacey needs a second to get Regina's voice out of her head. Danny notices. His eyes darken, and he probably knows what she's thinking about. She doesn't want to think about him killing anyone right now. There's evidence that works in his favor. This is their old spot. She refuses to think about that here.

"I, uh, can't duck under the trees without help," she says. He holds his hand out for her again.

They take the last few steps together, with Danny ducking backwards under the arch the branches make and Lacey walking through like his princess. The three trees work together to form a little triangle of damp grass and quiet. The little part is what Lacey notices when she stands up to her full height. She practically has to hold onto him to keep from brushing against one of the trees. He doesn't let go of her hand.

She breathes, jokes, "Now who's trying to get who alone."

He chuckles, low in his throat. "Lacey, Lacey, Lacey," he murmurs with the slightest of tugs on their clasped hands. She moves with the pull. Her heels sink a bit into the mud. His head leans down in an attempt to keep them level. Every word he says goes straight from his mouth to hers. He admits, "I'm always trying to get you alone."

The mud must be stronger than she thinks 'cause she rocks back and her heels get caught even more. She has to put her hand on his shoulder to stay steady. She has to. And, if she watches his lips as she does it, it's just to make sure she can still see them. See him.

Her words come out as fumbling as her thoughts. "Y-you're good at that."

She can almost hear the response Danny'll 'll ask for clarification since he's good at a lot of things. He'll ham it up because he knows that he gets under her skin, knows that tonight she's actually letting him. She can almost taste him again.

Only he doesn't play coy this time. He tilts his head to the side, same angle from when he kissed her. "I wouldn't mind showing you how good. If you'll let me."

"Danny…" And she's not sure if she wants his name to stop him or egg him on. He doesn't move though. He keeps watching her. Waiting on her. If he wants to show her so damn badly, why won't he take her? Why won't he kiss her again?

"You have to say it, Lace. Tell me to kiss you again. Please."

She shouldn't. She really shouldn't. I don't blame you. I'd do it if I had the chance. If he hadn't killed m— Lacey growls to block out Regina. Danny raises a brow, and Lacey practically hisses at him. "Just kiss me already."

So he does.

He knocks her back with how quickly he pounces. She should reach out for the tree, but her free hand goes straight for his hair. She gasps when her back hits the wood. The coolness seeps through her blazer, and she pushes closer to him to evade it.

Not that she doesn't like trees. She loves them. Loves the sound Danny's nails make against them when he pushes their clasped hands out of the way. Loves the grooves she rolls her head into when he pulls her bottom lip between his teeth. Loves the stability it offers as one of her legs rides higher and higher up one of his.

He talks between kisses. In gasps of air that she feels against her eyelids. "You." His lips barely brush hers now. "Are." Her fingers tighten in his hair. Where's he going? "Amazing." A moan rips from her throat as he makes contact with her neck.

At the same time, though, his phone vibrates against her leg. Her eyes flutter shut at the motion, another moan halfway through her throat. But it buzzes again. She wills it to stop. Danny doesn't seem to mind. He pushes his leg further between hers. One more buzz and it'll be at her thigh. God, yes.

It's like he planned it so the buzz could rile her up even more than his touch already does. He teases her with nibbles at her collarbone and barely there gushes of breath through the lace of her dress. He doesn't even try to mark her, just taste her.

"Danny."

He hums in time to the ringing of his phone. And it feels good, but shouldn't he check to see who it is? It's probably Jo. Of course Jo would find a way to ruin their moment without even knowing it's happening.

Lacey tries to focus again on him. She really does. Only the buzzing won't stop. Her voice gets stronger. "Danny."

He groans. "Can't we just ignore it?"

She shakes her head. "Answer your phone."

He lets go of the hand in hers to fish his phone out of his pocket. It only takes one look to confirm what Lacey thought. He sighs then answers. "Hey, Jo. Yeah, I'm on the way. No, I wasn't attacked again."

Not physically at least. Lacey rolls her eyes. Jo needs better timing. If every time Lacey and Danny — wait, no, there can't be another time. Lacey's already done too much. She's making out with him in public places and down dark roads. She can't justify this to anyone. She can't do this again.

Lacey pulls her hand out of his hair. Danny lowers his hand to her hip. His eyes meet hers, and his furrowed brows ask if she's okay. She shakes him off. Danny steps back without another word.

Lacey fixes her collar while he talks.

"Look, I'll be there soon. I can't talk right this second, Jo. I'm walking."

His conversation sounds like one she should be having with Archie. Archie's probably hammered. Otherwise he would have called to make sure Danny wasn't talking to her. Though, Danny hasn't exactly been chatting it up over the last hour or so.

Well, this is the end. They had part of a night, and now the night's ending. She'll tell him to forget about it. He'll agree. Everything will go back to normal.

Danny crosses his eyes at something Jo says. Lacey smiles instinctively. Maybe next to normal.

"Yeah. See you soon. Bye." Danny waves his phone with a sigh. He fidgets slightly into this apologetic stance. He shouldn't be sorry about that. She should be. This should never have happened, either time. He tells Lacey, "I should've put it on silent."

She tells him, "We should get walking."

…

She almost wishes they took a car. She wouldn't have made out with him in a car. No distractions because she would've been driving. No leaves or twigs to pick out of her hair. No mud to clean off her shoes. No Regina in her mind.

Were Regina alive right now, she wouldn't be jealous of Lacey. She'd just want details — What was it like to kiss him? Could you feel the stubble on his face? He looks like he has stubble. God, those muscles — tell me about the muscles. Did juvie do him well? Did you? Regina wouldn't judge. Everyone else will.

Lacey doesn't want to think about everyone else. The alternative isn't much better though. She either thinks about the consequences, Regina, or the fact that her hand keeps drifting towards Danny's with every step they take side by side.

Danny pretends not to notice. He keeps his hands swinging, waiting and tempting her with his strong — murderous — hands. Lacey stiffens. She swallows down the thickness that builds in her throat.

His hands aren't murderous. They're soft, yet firm when they land on her hips, or when they're on her wrist to pull her back to him. If he pulled her that easily, he probably did the same to Regina.

No. Danny didn't kill Regina.

Did he?

"You're doing it again," Danny says. His tone comes out casually enough that her defenses don't shoot up. She wonders if she said anything aloud. Danny shakes his head. "I can almost read your thoughts they're so loud, Lace."

She hopes not. She goes for a simple response. "What am I thinking then?" And the question comes out lighter, childish. It's weird to think of her voice — of her — reacting that way. They're not kids anymore. Kids don't wear designer suits and dresses like they do. Kids don't kiss the way that they did. Kids don't kill. Well, unless they're like Danny.

"Well," Danny clears his throat and rolls his shoulders a bit in her direction, "judging by the frown on your face, you're thinking about me. About what I did." He glances down, and their eyes brush for the briefest second before Lacey remembers to look away. "What you think I could've done."

She almost feels like she should apologize. She's not sure for what. The mixed signals, the lack of help, the fact that she still doesn't know what to think about him, there's a lot she could apologize for.

Instead, she says, "I don't think… I don't think you killed Regina."

He laughs. "Want to say it again convincingly?"

She's not convinced enough for that. Lacey lifts her arms to come around her waist. He stops, turning as he does so. She won't meet his eye. "I don't know what to think, Danny, and kissing y—" wow, that doesn't sound right when she says it. Or it sounds too right. She doesn't know. She clears her throat. "Doing what we did didn't help that. I shouldn't have even considered it."

He takes a step in. "You can't mean that." Lacey doesn't need him telling her what she does and doesn't mean. She has enough voices in her head. He goes on before she can object. "I get wanting to make things less complicated, but that… moment between us wasn't something I'd ever wish away. That wasn't nothing, Lace."

Damnit. She has a boyfriend. She has a life that Danny cannot fit into. Her heart can't speed up at his confessions. Her body can't yearn for his. She's pathetic if she stays with a murderer because he makes her feel wanted. She's reckless and idiotic, and she's not going to wind up dead or heartbroken or shattered at the hands of Danny Desai.

"It's not anything either. It can't be." Danny's eyes darken. She pulls her blazer tighter against the chill that causes.

"Fine." He turns and steps away. Takes a few more before whirling back. "I got to ask, though." He pauses, eyes seeking hers out. Please don't ask her how she feels about him. "I don't have lipstick on my lips, do I?"

She laughs in relief. A hand comes up to cover her mouth, but he heard her. He motions to his own mouth. She lowers her hand, moves in so that the nearby streetlight shines perfectly on his face. It gets harder to breathe when she does that.

She has to gulp to answer. "You have as much as I do."

"Your lips look pretty red, there, Lace."

She socks him in the shoulder. "Yeah, and whose fault is that?" He looks smug.

Lacey rolls her eyes. She does it too dramatically. She actually spots something, the diner in the distance. That sobers her up real quick. Him too.

Danny gives her a look that reeks of 'are you ready?' Lacey holds her clutch a little tighter and holds out her hand. He glances down at it, eyes swimming. She takes a second to enjoy the confusion before pulling his own line on him. "After you."

He grins. Offering, "Same time?" And that might be an offer for more than just walking through the door but she can't process that just yet.

"Not tonight."

He gets that look on his face again, the one that fills her head with his broken sentences. ("I just wish…. I just want….") Danny finally finishes them, "Another night like tonight."

Maybe without the secrecy, after the murder's solved when she feels stable again. When she can love him again without hating herself for it.

Lacey nods. "Someday."