Summary: "Marry me," he breathes onto her lips. It's not his happily ever after, but it's close enough, as long as Amanda - no, Emily, now - will stay with him. Even if it's to take down his own family.
1.
When he sees her again, all dressed in white, his heart stops.
He doesn't know who she really is - not at first, anyway. But she's beautiful and graceful and she looks so much like the little girl from his past that he is inexplicably drawn to her, like a moth to a flame. The clusters of people on his family's yacht mill around and socialize, but she shines more brightly than all of them combined. Her demure smiles are nowhere near as wide, and her polite laugh in conversation is nothing like the boisterous one that still resonates in his dreams (the good ones, at least), but it's an image he cannot relieve from his mind. She is so her that he's still out of it when she "accidentally" spills the drink on his jacket.
She introduces herself as Emily Thorne, but Daniel Grayson will always think of her as Amanda Clarke.
i.
"Hi!" She beams at him, her dazzling smile hitting him in full force. He cannot help but stare at first, so taken with her beauty.
"Hello?" she asks, slightly frowning as she waves her hand in front of his face.
"H-Hi," he manages to splutter out. He desperately wants to hide his face, but he can't tear his eyes away, for some reason or another.
"I'm Amanda!" she exclaims. "What's your name?"
"Danny."
Maybe this is what fate means, he thinks, that word his mother explained to him the other day, the one he didn't quite understand.
2.
Daniel is not stupid. He is at Harvard for a reason other than his last name, contrary to what people think.
He knows Nolan Ross is less harmless than he appears to be, so he knows that if he and Emily (not Amanda, he has to remind himself) are familiar, something is suspicious. Then again, maybe everyone in the Hamptons knows but is just too afraid to voice it out loud, for fear of their reputations.
He knows for a fact that his mother - if he can even call her that, really - senses trouble. So he does his best to praise Emily at every chance he gets, to hopefully throw off suspicion, and maybe hint at something more so that his mother will be preoccupied with other things. After all, she will not have darling boy taken away and turned against her... and she doesn't know that it's already too late.
ii.
Daniel creeps out of his bed and looks out the window, to see his mother figure slipping into the beach house - Amanda's house. Why is she going so late at night? He told her yesterday all about Amanda and how he met her on the beach, so maybe she's going over to visit? But it's past bedtime and he knows Amanda isn't awake either because they were both complaining about their bedtimes today when they talked about looking up at the stars at nighttime.
Dad isn't home as usual, at a business meeting in Tokyo or something like that. Frank the Security Guy has his day off today, too. All the maids have gone home, and the cook has as well.
Grayson Manor is cold and empty. Daniel looks at Amanda's house, much smaller but so much warmer.
It feels like summer.
3.
It's by accident, really, when he blurts out her name on their fourth date, as they walk along the shore.
She freezes, turning to him with wide eyes and a look of horror. He's about to apologize profusely when-
"How did you know?"
The question comes out softly, like wind chimes in the breeze, but Daniel can sense that coldness from miles away. It pierces him, just like her intense gaze, and for a second Daniel is unsure if this really is Amanda, or just an imposter.
"How could I not?"
iii.
Two weeks later, Daniel creeps out of bed to see his mother going to the beach house, again. Even though his mother says he's imagining things, he can't believe her. The moonlight lights slivers of the waves as they crash onto the shore, and it is barely bright enough for him to see his mother's unmistakable figure stealing into the house.
This time, he will learn why.
Daniel slips out just minutes after, closing the door softly behind him as to not wake Frank, and his shoes fill with sand as he heads to Amanda's house, which still has the lights on. He creeps slowly up the porch, careful to make no noise, and through the screen door he can see Amanda's father and his own mother caught in a passionate embrace.
That is the night he no longer considers Victoria his mother.
4.
Amanda - although she insists he call her Emily - asks him to do things that he is only too happy to do. Break up his parents' sham of a marriage (yeah, he knows all about Lydia Davis, considering she propositioned him when he was 18), bring her to all the family and corporate events as his date, and watch as all the things he's despised but put up with over the years go down in flames. He gives her the connections, and Nolan hacks things for her.
There's no difference between them, really, except that she lets him sleep in her bed.
Never close, though. Never close. Amanda (Emily, Emily) faces the opposite wall and does her best to ignore him. He pretends to be asleep when she wakes up, shaking and sweating all over.
They all have their nightmares. Daniel was living his until she came back.
iv.
Daniel is crouched on the balcony, peeking over the railing to watch the beach house in the middle of the night, when he sees it. People come and all he can think is 'serves her right' before he hears the screaming.
Amanda is screaming.
Daniel wishes he could be the brave hero and go save her, but he is frozen with fear as he shrinks and just watches as Amanda is taken away, and then her father is, in handcuffs.
Victoria watches from the porch.
Next time, Daniel thinks, he will save her.
5.
It is the night his grandfather comes for dinner when everything changes.
Papa Grayson is a very good at making his opinions known. Naturally, when Daniel introduces Emily (not Amanda) as his girlfriend since last summer, he is curious to know when they plan on getting engaged and giving him a great-grandson. Emily looks calm and collected, but Daniel is pretty sure Amanda is mildly horrified at the thought.
But as he quietly talks to Emily as they sit side by side at the dinner table, and gently brushes his fingers with her thigh, she seems to shiver. She is tense, much more than their past appearances together.
Daniel wonders if this is Emily, or Amanda.
v.
He asks Victoria about Amanda the next day, careful to keep his face neutral. Victoria looks out the window towards the rolling waves, her expression solemn.
"She had to leave," she says, before turning back to her breakfast.
You made her leave, Daniel wants to scream in her face, his fists clenching around his fork as he shovels more food into his mouth. You're evil.
But he doesn't. Instead, he smiles and nods and pretends to be Mommy's little angel, and then he goes through his "rebellious phase" to break her heart. He drives fast and drinks - a lot - and he pretends to be naive through all of it. Maybe it's just wishful thinking, that he can go back and be the innocent little boy he once was, but it is too late now. He cannot get Amanda Clarke out of his head, and how through her, he found truth in the lies.
6.
They are walking along the beach again, hand in hand, just Daniel and Amanda (not Emily). No Grayson, no Clarke.
She let him hold her last night while she rocked back in forth, her expression haunted. He wanted to stay there forever, with her in his arms and the rest of the world outside that little house.
Abruptly, he stops walking. Amanda turns around, a questioning gaze on her face.
He tugs her closer and presses his lips against hers. The kiss is not beautiful or gentle - it is wild, it is seeking, it is dangerous.
"Marry me," he breathes onto her lips. It's not his happily ever after, but it's close enough, as long as Amanda - no, Emily, now - will stay with him. Even if it's to take down his own family.
vi.
"Daniel!" Victoria exclaims as he enters the house. She pulls him into an embrace, smiling the whole time. "You're finally home."
"I'm glad to be back," Daniel lies, squeezing her before letting go and stepping back. "Anything exciting lately?"
"An art auction tomorrow on the family yacht, sweetie," she tells him, her expression serene - fake. "You will come, of course. I insist."
"Of course," he echoes, letting her lead him up the stairs.
7.
When he sees her again, all dressed in white, his heart stops.
Written for BYF's Daniel Challenge. This was such fun to write. I really love Daniel, and I'm excited for his role this season, although I'm really looking forward to Aiden :) Oh yeah, and this was my first challenge fic ever. It was a great experience!
Review? Oh, and let me know if you'd like a sequel; I have a few things in mind.