Part One - Getting Out

Chapter One:

Half Naked Smileys

Steam accumulates and lingers casually along the ceiling of a fairly nice Romanesque bathroom. It slowly begins to fill the room, creating a misty terrain wherever you step. Amongst the thickening plumes of vapor, the white noise of water splashing against marble flooring fills the area. The shower is running, and our beloved Danny Māhealani is just about finished with his routine nightly shower. Well, actually, this one was a little bit earlier; give or take an hour or two.

He had no idea why, but something was just telling him in the back of his mind that taking a shower earlier tonight would be just as good an idea as any. Maybe it was the fact that he had a paper due in a few days that he'd been procrastinating to finish. Sure, he'd get it done, but he couldn't even remember the last time he was so close to a deadline and still hadn't completed the assignment. Maybe it was just his subconscious making him do it, though. Danny was a lot of things, and- regrettably -being OCD about his cleanliness was one of them. Or, come to think of it, maybe it was just the fact that he hadn't gotten much of any of his routines back on track in quite some time. In all seriousness, he was pretty much swamped with his social life, and the past few weeks had started to take their toll. On what, exactly, was anyone's guess. He was Danny; just about everyone loved the guy. Even the jerks to behind with the mainstream had to swallow their pride- or, maybe, lack thereof - and join the club of all the others who just simply liked being around him. Hey, sometimes peer pressure's a good thing!

But, being the lovable guy that he is, Danny never let any of that stuff get to his head. He still remained humble, as anybody would expect. Although he wasn't as 'at peace' in his mind as you'd think. He seemed so out of sorts when he broke up with his last asshole boyfriend. What was their name, again? Oh, who cares? He was free of that headache now, and what was even better was that he had some new eye candy worth swooning over. It was an unexpected match-up- to Danny, at least. He'd probably tell you he expected to be with Stiles right now if he wasn't...somewhat sure Stilinski was straight... But that was a thought for another time, no?

There were other things to concern himself with right now. That paper definitely wasn't going to write itself, no matter how amazingly convenient that would be for him. So, Danny soaked the last bit of conditioner from his barbered Hawaiian locks and let the suds drain into nothing before turning off the heated water of the shower. Letting out a relieved sigh as his body is left steaming, matching the misty plumes that waft about his bathroom, his naked form begins to chill as he pulls back the shower door and steps outside. It's his house, so he doesn't bother with finding a towel right away until he's walked the length of the bathroom towards the horizontal mirror across the room.

As he steps up to the sink, he takes a moment to observe himself. Boy, does lacrosse do a body good. Not even that, but the formation that his calves were starting to get from cross-country practice almost conceitedly made him check himself out for a while. Danny quickly shook the thought aside as he turned his torso so he could observe the lining of his back and posterior. He had earned this kind of admiration. All those countless hours of after school practices and uphill runs with the team had to amount to something, right? If he didn't take the time to admire himself, then who else would? Yes, he definitely owed it to himself, and he was going to milk every second of it.

Or at least he would have had his phone not started to go off on the counter next to him. His screen lit up as he held it in his hand, observing who the sender of his new text may be. Of course, speak of the devil, he knew exactly who it was. He would always get a text from them around this time of night. Usually it was the normal what are you doing? or a casual what's up?, but either way Danny was sure of who it could be.

There, surrounded by so many cute emoticons that his screen had to use ellipses to gauge them all, was a guy he couldn't quite figure out yet, but had all the time he needed to try...

New Text Message From

...Ethan...

The name gave him butterflies. He still couldn't believe that he had someone like him all to himself. Someone like Ethan. The guy who he fell for during that trip with the cross country team, and took to the hospital when he had shortness of breath...or whatever that was. And, just the other day, the same Ethan that picked him up with such ferocity when he was supposed to be practicing...all because he "missed him". It sent Danny's heart aflutter for all the right reasons as he grabbed a fresh towel off of a folded stack and wrapped it around himself. He laughed at his current position as he looped it in place, wondering what Ethan might say if Danny were to tell him what he just got through doing.

Excited to see exactly what was said, Danny opens up the message with an electronic click.

"Hey babe.

I miss you, wanna get out tonight?"

'Get out'? Danny thought with a raised brow. The last time he'd heard that, his ex decided to take him on a "date" to McDonald's. Needless to say, it wasn't the best day of his life... and certainly not the most romantic date he'd been on either.

Geez, boys can be such asses... he thought. The jerk didn't even let me order anything that wasn't on that cheap Dollar Menu.

With a sorrowful roll of his eyes, Danny gave himself a look in the mirror. His phone had already told Ethan that he'd opened and read the message, but he was so psyched out now that he wasn't really too much into replying...let alone getting out. If anything, he was just going to lie with something vague like he was retiring earlier tonight, so he took his shower earlier to match. It took all he could muster for Danny not to make up some BS excuse about where he had to go in the morning or how he had so much work that needed to be done. Sure, there was the paper, but sleep or none that stupid thing was getting turned in so he really had no scapegoat. An exasperated sigh escaped him as he battled with his subconscious mind.

Come on, Danny. He said to himself. Maybe he's not like the other guys...? Not everyone eats McDonald's at ten o'clock at night, right?

With that in mind, Danny had his response:

"I miss you too :)

He stopped there, not yet pressing "Send". At least that wasn't a lie. In truth, yes, he did miss him. How could you not miss your significant other when you've already been through so much together in such a short time? He looked back down to his phone as he thought this, reading over the text once more.

...Hmm... Danny thought. 'I miss you' and a smiley face... He watched his expression change to worry in the mirror in front of him. Is that too much? It was technically still early in the relationship. Were they at hearts and smileys yet? Ethan's text didn't even have a wink after the "I miss you", so should he take that as a sign? He quickly shook his head back into focus before he drifted off any further. Whatever... He thought, leaving the first part of the message as is. With an ever savvy swiftness on his keypad, he completed the text.

Sure, I can meet you. Where at?"

Another sigh left him as he put his cellphone back on the counter. He let his arms rest on it as he met his gaze in the mirror with a nervous anguish. Danny's mind started to swamp over with all these thoughts at once. Just what in the world was he so upset for? Even if a heart or smiley was in the text, Ethan would think it was cute, right? It wouldn't make or break the entire conversation... right? In the amount of time it took for Ethan to reply, Danny had already dried and started blow-drying his curling hair. It wasn't a long wait though, since drying off doesn't take that long for anyone... or at least it shouldn't...

"Can you come to my place?

I rented a movie and I just ordered pizza, lol."

Danny was apprehensive to reply...

Well at least it's not McDonald's... He thought. He doubted he could stomach any more of that stuff anyways. Danny wanted to say yes, but a somewhat bigger part of him also wanted to say no. Sure, there was pizza, but there was also the fact that that paper was due on Monday, and what excuse would he really have if he told his teacher he spent the night at his boyfriends' and never got around to it? Would that even constitute as a reason for an extended deadline? He held his phone tight in his hands, thinking about what he originally wanted to say, but not letting it physically form in front of him.

He rented a movie, Danny! He could've slapped himself if it weren't for his subconscious making it so impossible for him. We have to at least give him a chance here... And plus there's pizza!

Sometimes he wishes his subconscious would shut the hell up. He read Ethan's text again... just what was it about Ethan's name that did that to his stomach. He liked the feeling, a lot. That alone was reason enough to indulge him. There still was the one thing about Ethan's request that still left Danny a little uncertain though.

"Your place? :S

What about your brother?"

He held his phone in his hand as he waited for the reply. Ethan was obviously near his phone, so the replies would come in fairly quickly-

"Don't worry, Danny.

I gave him 20 bucks to make him split.

It's just us, I promise ;)"

"You really got him out of the house

for 20 dollars? :/"

"Okay, you got me... :P

I gave him 50..."

"Set you back much? lol"

"Only if you count the 20 extra I gave him for his friend... _,,"

"Aww, Ethan...

This made Danny feel guilty. Forget the paper- it was a grade he could make up -a worse feeling would be standing Ethan up after he went to all this trouble for him. But, still...

"You really didn't have

to go to all that trouble just to see me..."

"Yea, I know...

But you're worth it :)"

"I'm 'worth it'?" Danny said, aloud this time. The butterflies felt like they were having a field day in his stomach now, and he couldn't help but crack a goofy smile as he read over the text again. He must've been doing this for a good minute though, seeing as another text flew in from Ethan not too long after.

"So can you pleeease come over, babe?

PLZ!? D:"

Oh my god, Danny. He's so damn cute... He laughed to himself. He did go to all this trouble... We'll breaking his heart if we don't show up. That is what that emoji means, right?

Danny had his mind made up. As he stared at his half-naked body once more, he saw the only true thing holding him back and promptly gave his confirmation. The conversation went pretty smoothly after that.

"Well I still need to get dressed first, Ethan.

Do I get time to do that lol"

"Nope. Just come naked ;)

JKJK, but don't make me wait too long, okay?

:("

"Wouldn't dream of it :)

I'll be over soon."

"Perfect.

See you soon :)"

Danny held his cellphone close in his hand with a grip tightened from excitement. Or was this fear? With everything going on in his mind- scenarios, what-if's and the like -he couldn't very well place the emotion he was feeling. In actuality, he was feeling a mix of a lot of things. Technically it was going to be their first uninterrupted date since they started seeing each other, and the thought flew Danny into a panic.

What does he wear? How should he smell? Should he head back in the shower and make sure his body is truly ready for whatever might go down? What kind of movie were they watching? Is there really a movie? What if it's a horror? Was he up for a horror movie tonight?

As he headed into his room and haphazardly swung his closet doors open, he couldn't help but let his mind race. It was a sadistic way of keeping his sanity as he mentally prepared himself for whatever the night might throw at him. Even if the worse case scenario was to occur, Danny would be ready...more or less.

Now if only he could actually decide on what to wear...