Danny looked down at her phone and rolled her eyes. Laura again.
Are you gonna be alright?
Laura caring so much was getting annoying. She used to bask in Laura fretting over her, but after a certain vampire came into the picture, her time with Laura was becoming bittersweet.
She was the only one of their friends left at Silas during the break for Christmas, and Laura wouldn't shut up about it. Danny realized that she couldn't flat out say 'my parents don't want me to come home,' because it would break Laura's fragile heart.
Maybe she shouldn't say that. But Laura viewed the world a certain way, and in light of recent events, Danny didn't want to push it.
After everyone had left, she found herself standing on the basketball court. This sport wasn't exactly her forte, but the entire school was practically empty and she decided to walk around and explore. She had briefly played basketball in high school- she was really good at it- but she found that she enjoyed other activities more.
She shoved her phone in her pocket and fruitlessly threw a basketball towards the net, the ball hitting the wall behind it and going at least five feet below where it was aimed.
"I never knew you were such a bad shot summer psycho!"
Danny jolts when she hears the voice come from behind her so much that her glasses fall off and crash down onto the court. She quickly kneels down to collect them but manages to think of a rude remark.
"The entire school is empty, and you pick the only occupied place to get some practice in?"
Kirsch laughs as he picks a ball off of the rack. He starts dribbling towards Danny and continues, "I dabble. Are your glasses okay?"
He stops dribbling when he meets her and watches as she pushes the right lens back into its frame, not meeting her eyes.
"Whatever, it's not like you care."
Kirsch is a bit surprised by that, but doesn't falter. He takes a few steps back and shoots the ball straight into the net. Danny can't help it when her mouth drops open and Kirsch basks in the satisfaction, "Like I said, I dabble."
Danny narrows her eyes and runs after the ball, dribbling it towards Kirsch, only to turn around and shoot it into the net. Kirsch rolls his eyes and purses his lips. Danny sarcastically shrugged her shoulders, "What can I say?"
Kirsch retrieves the ball and playfully dribbles it between two hands, keeping it away from Danny. His trick backfires, and she steals it and starts to run down the court. Kirsch ran after her and attempted to take the ball.
"Travelling! I see travelling!"
Danny can't help her laugh but quickly panics when she sees an arm on each side of her. Without thinking she brings the ball to her chest. Her plan doesn't go well; because suddenly Kirsch has his arms wrapped around her and is lifting her off the ground. Danny feels her cheeks grow hot as she is spun around and the ball falls from her grasp.
She expects Kirsch to set her down immediately but he takes her for a few extra spins before setting her down. When her feet touch the ground she pools her hair around her face in an attempt to hide her blush. They both open their mouth to say something- perhaps an explanation for the strange exchange between them- when Danny's loud ringtone starts playing. She gets it out and answers it.
"No, I know. Studying. The Summer Society is on vacation. Of course I am! I've got to go."
Kirsch raised an eyebrow. Danny sighs and returns her phone to its spot in her back pocket, "My mom. She's insane."
Kirsch only nods and Danny is honestly surprised. No sarcastic remark? No 'somethin' wrong hottie?' This was not the Kirsch she knew and loved.
Not loved. She barely knew him, but she respected his silence and decided to continue.
"My mom doesn't really get how school works. She thinks it should be all studying and no extracurriculars. I guess she doesn't understand that most of those extracurriculars are what I most enjoy doing."
Kirsch sheepishly smiles and shrugs, "That sucks, bro." For some reason the word doesn't feel right. He used to regularly use the term when talking to her, throwing around 'Hand me that bro' or 'Bro, what's your problem?' As of now, calling Danny any of the usual nicknames didn't exactly work- bro, hottie, or even sexy lady.
Danny rolled her eyes. Kirsch quickly backtracks, "Not that you're a bro. I mean, I know that you're not cool with the hottie thing, so..."
She lightly brushed his arm to get his attention and he turned towards her, "Danny is fine."
"Okay, Danny. Do you want to know why I'm here during this very boring and alone winter break?" Danny pretended to ponder it before turning back to him.
"What brings you here today?" That makes him laugh. He wasn't sure about telling her, but seeing how bad her day was going already, he made the decision to disclose his embarrassing tale.
"The morning I was supposed to get on a plane back to my hometown, I had a massive hangover. None of the Zeta bros bothered to wake me up, and when my mom called to see why I wasn't there, I just decided to make an excuse about needing time to catch up on my classes."
Danny doesn't even pretend to stifle a laugh and she has to hold her stomach to avoid falling over. Kirsch laughs a bit himself, but it's mostly at the position he's seeing Danny in right now.
They both absentmindedly sit down in the middle of the court and start talking. Danny starts off with about her mom and her expectations, which Kirsch can't exactly identify with. She goes on and on, occasionally running her hand through her hair or pushing her glasses up on the bridge of her nose.
"Why don't you ever wear your glasses?" Danny gives him an annoyed look, "Are you even listening?"
"Of course." They sit in silence for a moment before Danny says something about her eyes looking weird. Kirsch smiles at her throughout her entire monologue and she isn't sure whether to feel flattered or creeped out. Any other day, she would've thrown something at him by now, yelling at him for whatever lame Zeta thing he was pulling that day. But for some reason, she was putting up with his puppy dog face today.
Ew. Not a puppy dog. Actually, yes. He did occasionally resemble a small dog, but it wasn't exactly a compliment. Being alone was clouding her judgment. It felt that they were the only two people that existed.
Ew. That was cliché. They may be the only two at school, but that was as far as that cliché extended. She realized that she's been staring more than listening, and tunes in for the end of his speech.
"So I guess it doesn't really matter whether you where glasses or not, because you look fine without them. Or with them. Not fine, but fine as in nice, or okay. I mean, you obviously look more than okay..."
Was he seriously still talking about this? Danny rolls her eyes and surprises herself with her next sentence, "For a Zeta, you're not too bad."
Kirsch pretends to be taken aback by her comment, "Danny Lawrence, was that a compliment, for me?"
"Don't look so surprised."
"You look more surprised than me." He noticed. Danny thinks quickly, but finds herself talking quickly too. When has she ever done this? Why could she not keep her mouth shut?
"I kind of am. I never expected to-" For once she stops herself and quickly scrambles up. She closes her eyes and internally scolds herself. She needs to get out of here and forget this happened.
Unfortunately, Kirsch stands up with her, and blocks her from leaving, "Oh no, Danny. You're not getting out of this one. What were you saying?"
They're both looking each other straight on now, eye to eye. Danny fidgets and mumbles "It doesn't matter."
When she looks back up they both just look at each other for a moment before Kirsch makes one swift move to grab the back of her neck and brings her lips to his. Her eyes flutter shut and she holds onto his arms, which never move from her neck. She sighs into the kiss and pulls her lips away, resting her forehead on his.
Okay, maybe she won't completely forget.