When you're a high school girl, especially a high-standard high school girl, everyone expects a pattern: good grades, good looks, popularity, cute boyfriend, homecoming queen, all that jazz. But that pattern was far from what Danielle "Dani" Silvers wanted. However, it was expected of her, since she was the most well-off student in Springwood High School; reason being her father, James Silvers, was the mayor of the town. To her dismay, her pattern seemed to be the same: good looks, good grades, popularity even though it was unwanted, and a cute boyfriend, who only dated her because he liked the popularity and the title of Mayor's daughter's boyfriend. Dani hated her life, and being a senior in high school seemed to make it a little brighter, but not that much. Sitting in medical science class didn't help the fact, either; her sapphire eyes stared lazily at the clock, time ticking away as slowly as possible. She tapped her pen on her notebook, which instead of notes, was filled with ideas for a story she had been writing. Her three favorite things to do were write, sing, and dance: she was the head of the school dance team, she was in the choir, she was apart of the school newspaper, and she also belonged to a troupe, something her parents didn't know about.
She had been writing this story for four years, the book probably over nine hundred pages long, filling up four single-subject college rule notebooks, and she wasn't done. It was about how a person's worst fears can come to haunt them and make them go insane. Her friends found it creepy, yet they also found it incredibly written, her Literature teacher suggested publishing it with the town library, while her friends said to wait until college applications and use it to get a scholarship. Dani was going to do just that: after school that day she had a meeting with the dean of her dream college, Millstone University, a place where the greatest creative minds are discovered. She had a long way to go, of course, since it was only the beginning of October, but applications had to be finished by the end of November, so she was ahead of the game.
Her teacher droned on about useless medical information while Dani continued writing, her mind drifting off into the psychotic area of her brain, digging up things she'd found on the Internet to create different sociopath instances for her characters.
"Miss Silvers?" her teacher called on her.
Dani looked up suddenly, "Yes Mrs. Pritchard?"
The woman sighed, "What is the medical term for bleeding out?"
Luckily, Dani knew this from her studies, "Exangunation," she looked back down to her note book and continued writing. She then remembered she had work, too: Dani was a teacher's aide at the Badham Preschool, and today was their field trip to the zoo. She smiled, her little brother went to the preschool, and whenever she was there he would cling to her like glue; but she was also happy that aside from the teacher, she wasn't going to be alone: the gardener, Fred Krueger, was going with them. Dani smiled to herself, she and Freddy were good friends, he was always there when she needed someone to talk to or just someone to listen to her rant. She also had to be honest, she found quite handsome: high cheekbones, piercing blue eyes, brown hair; he also had a much better personality than her dumb-as-dirt, lacrosse captain boyfriend, Christopher. Freddy was sweet, kind, funny, and understanding, and that was something she liked about him. The two of them would spend hours while the kids were in class just talking about random things; movies, music, flowers, school. The bell finally rang, and Dani sprung out of her seat, rushing to her locker to get her car keys and the other four notebooks of her story.
"Dani," her friend Sarah appeared behind her. Sarah had fire red hair and green eyes, her pale skin made her look like a leprechaun, but her curvy figure made all of the guys in the school want her.
The girl looked at her friend, sapphire locking with peridot, "Sarah, what's up?"
She smiled, "You comin' to the party tonight?"
Dani shook her head, a curly, blonde lock falling out from behind her ear, "Have too much stuff to do, sorry."
Sarah rolled her eyes, "Oh, come on! You're gonna miss out on the biggest senior party to write your creep story?"
Dani twinged, that was Sarah's way of calling her a freak, but Dani didn't give a shit, "No, I have stuff to do for my dad. I'm gonna be late for my interview," she walked past her friend and headed out of the school into the parking lot, unlocking her black Mercedes convertible and jumping into the car, turning the key in the ignition and her music blasting immediately. Dani backed up out of the lot and drove down the road, getting on the highway and heading towards Millstone University. She smiled, the top down and the wind blowing through her hair, her music blasting in her ears as she passed several cars, her sunglasses protecting her eyes from the autumn sun. One thing about Dani, she didn't get cold easily, so even in the fall she kept the top of her car down. Pulling into the guest entrance of the University she showed her appointment letter to the guard, who allowed her to pass through with no problem. Just as she was getting out of her car her cellphone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hey Dani," Freddy's voice came through the phone.
She smiled, "What did I tell you about calling me?"
He chuckled, "Sorry, I just wanted to wish you good luck."
Dani sighed, pushing her sunglasses up into her hair, "Thank you, Freddy. I'll see you later."
"OK, you're brother says hi by the way," he laughed, obviously with the kids.
She chuckled, walking up the steps, "Tell him I say hi, now I gotta go I'll be at the school in an hour," she hung up, opening the door and heading inside with a deep breath.
Freddy hung up the phone, a smile on his face. He always enjoyed talking to Dani, just the sound of her voice made him smile. She was the sweetest girl he'd ever met, she didn't act 18, and that was something he found very attractive. God he shouldn't have been thinking about her in that way, yet he couldn't help it; she was mesmerizing. Her eyes, her gold curls, her smile, her laugh, everything about her was angelic. Dani was brilliant, talented, and clever, she was great with the kids and she was a joy to spend time with. He felt one of the kids pull on the leg of his pants, it was Dani's little brother, Bradley.
"Was that Dani?" he asked, his wide, blue eyes staring up at Freddy.
The gardener smiled and nodded, "Yup, she's going to talk to the principal of her new school."
"I wanted to say hi!" he whined.
Freddy laughed, "I told her hi for ya, bud, now c'mon, let's go play with the other kids."
Dani sighed, walking out of the University a half hour later, smiling confidently. The dean had loved her notebooks, he loved her creativity and accuracy. He'd given her a letter of notice for her father to sign, and for the next four years of her life she was going to be a student at Millstone University. Dani turned her music up three notches louder as she drove to Badham Preschool, the smile on her face was wide and joyous. She pulled into the small parking spaces provided, turning off her music when she saw the kids lined up by the small van.
"Mrs. Jones," Dani walked up, her purse slung over her arm.
She smiled, "Dani! How was your interview?"
The teenager smirked widely, "Well it looks like I'm going to Millstone!"
"Congratulations!" Mrs. Jones hugged her, "We're just waiting for Freddy to get some water bottles for the kids."
Dani nodded, "I'll go help," she put her purse on the passenger's seat in the van and went inside, finding Freddy in the storage room, his head stuck into the closet. She smirked evily, taking his hat from his head and putting on her own.
Freddy turned around quickly, stopping with a smile when he saw it was Dani, "Well look at you, all spiffy."
She laughed, "You need help?"
He nodded with a chuckle, "Sure," he held his arms out, awaiting his usual hug.
Dani walked forward and embraced him, she was only 5'4 3/4" and he was 5'5 1/2" so there wasn't much strain on either of them, "I got it."
Freddy looked at her, smiling wider, "You got in?"
She nodded, "Yep! My dad just has to sign the letter of notice and next September I'm off to Millstone."
He laughed, "That's great!" he hugged her again, "I'm happy for you, Dani!"
Dani sighed, hugging him tighter, "I couldn't have done it without you, Freddy," it was true; he was the one who'd convinced her to try, she hadn't thought she could do it, she didn't believe in her talents. Freddy had been the one to tell her otherwise.
"Anytime, angel," he smiled, his nickname for her only used when they were alone.
She looked at him, "You haven't called me that in a while," in truth she liked it when he called her that, it made her feel cared about. Christopher's nicknames for her were common: bitch, whore, slut, ya know, nice boyfriend nicknames.
Freddy smirked, rubbing the back of his neck, "I know, I haven't gotten the chance."
Dani looked at her watch, "We gotta go," she got a case of water from the storage closet and propped it on her shoulder, smiling at him, "After you."
The two of them walked out to the parking lot, the kids getting impatient.
"I wanna sit with Dani!"
"No I wanna sit with Dani!"
"No I do!"
Dani laughed, all of the kids were arguing who was sitting with her, "OK guys how about this: Freddy and I will both sit in the back with you guys."
They cheered, Bradley running to his big sister and jumping into her arms, "Dani!"
She smiled, "Hey buddy, c'mon let's get in the van guys! Leave the back seat empty for Freddy and me!" she put him down, looking at Freddy with a laugh, "What?"
He shook his head, "Nothin', it's just crazy how much they love you."
Dani laughed, running her fingers through her hair, "They love you, too."
Freddy took the case of water and put it on the floor in front of the passenger's seat, taking Dani's purse from the seat as Mrs. Jones got into the driver's seat. Dani got in the van first, Freddy after her and shutting the door behind him, the two of them walking to the back seat, Dani sitting by the window.
The man smiled, handing her the bag, "Your purse."
She looked at him and sighed, "Thank you," she pulled out a package of gum and ate a piece, offering it to him, "Want some?"
Freddy shrugged, "Why not?" he took a piece of the gum and ate it, the fruity taste of watermelon filling his mouth.
Dani leaned her head back, closing her eyes, "I got no sleep last night."
"Why?" he asked, looking at her, obviously concerned.
She looked at him, her eyes showing him he should already know, "Three guesses who and the first two don't count."
Freddy stiffened, "Chris?"
Dani nodded in dismay, "He's getting worse."
"With what?" the man asked, his piercing eyes seemed to grow angrier.
"The drinking, the drugs...the wanting to have, ya know," she didn't want to say 'sex' in front of the kids.
Freddy went stiff, his jaw jumping to say something, "And what have you done?"
Dani looked at him, shocked that he was so concerned, "I tell him no, and he gets angry. Because he's so high and drunk he...he gets a temper."
Now Freddy was angry, "Has he hit you?"
She didn't answer him, looking out the window.
"Dani, has he hit you?" Freddy asked again.
What Dani hadn't realized was turning away from him gave him a perfect view of the large bruise on her shoulder, one of many on her body. She winced when she felt his fingers lightly touch the discolored skin, "Dani..." he sighed, sadness in his voice.
Her eyes looked back at him, brimming with tears, "Please don't say anything, don't do anything."
Freddy merely put his arm gently around her shoulders, allowing her to rest her head under the crook of his neck; it wasn't something she'd done before, nor was she expecting it, but for some reason, to her it felt right. Dani closed her eyes, breathing in the soft scent of autumn leaves and marigolds off of his shirt, the ride to the zoo was going to be another hour, so making a quick decision, she dozed off.
The gardener looked down to see she'd fallen asleep, that one stubborn curl hanging in her face. He smiled, tucking it behind her ear; how could such a wonderful person be put through so much pain? He knew there were more bruises, just by the way she carried herself he knew something was wrong, but he hadn't wanted to say anything. Freddy put his head back, tipping his hat over his eyes and drifting off to sleep for the rest of the trip.
AN: Please review and let me know what you think!