"Are you going to eat that?" Jackson Whittemore, one of the first high school friends that Danny had made looked at the pudding that Danny was currently jabbing at rather casually with his spoon.
"Huh?" Danny looked up, completely caught off guard, the spoon falling to the ground with a loud clatter as he did so.
"You alright?" Jackson asked, changing the question when he realized that there was something off about his friend. "You seem a little jumpy."
"Oh, yeah I'm fine, I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night, you know, Lacrosse try out jitters…you know how it goes." Danny shrugged, trying not to look up in the direction of Stiles and Scott, who were eating a few tables away, and having a great time by the looks of things. Stiles seemed like a funny kid – at least Scott seemed to think so, but because he looked away too soon, he missed Stiles turn and eye him for a few seconds, despite Scott's disapproving eye rolls.
"Oh, yeah, that makes sense." Jackson shrugged. "So can I have your pudding then?"
"Yeah, sure." Danny nodded and handed the dessert cup to his friend, too deep in thought to care much what happened to his pudding anyways.
"Thanks." Jackson tilted his head to the side as he ate, wondering what was going on with Danny. As far as he knew, no high school athlete would give up their desert that easily, especially not a delicious chocolate pudding cup.
As Jackson scarfed down the superfluous dessert, Danny stared off into space, looking at the wall on the opposite side of the room from Stiles and Scott, willing himself NOT to look at the hilariously shorter boy.
Get yourself into gear, Danny, he told himself. You're just really nervous about Lacrosse try outs, that feeling in your stomach is just butterflies from that, they have nothing, I repeat nothing to do with Stiles. You're just worried that you'll fuck up, that you won't make the team or something like that, there's no reason to fret over this, it's just nerves, just normal high school athletic try out nerves. Jackson is feeling them too, he has to be, everyone feels nervous before try outs and you are no different from anyone else at this school…or at least you're no different from anyone else at this table, you-
"Skittish much?" Jackson laughed as the bell rang, pulling Danny from his thoughts and forcing him to jump a couple of inches out of his seat.
"Shut up." Danny shoved Jackson with his shoulder as they moved towards the front of the cafeteria, throwing out their trash before heading back into the sea of students milling towards their classes. After school would be the beginning of try outs, and maybe then Danny would be able to find something that made sense rather than deal with the sneaking suspicion that these were about to be the most confusing years of his life.
"Hey, it's Danny, right?" Stiles jogged up to Danny in the hallway after the second week of classes, a goofy grin in place on his face as Danny was starting to think there always was…not that he was paying attention to the other boy, or at least not that he was intending to.
"Yeah." Danny turned around, nodding, gym bag complete with protruding lacrosse stick slung over his right shoulder.
"I'm having a few people over tonight to watch Ghost Busters, like…a marathon, or double feature, I guess. I mean, at least I'm trying to have people over. Right now it's just me and Scott, but do you want to come? You could bring a friend or five." It hadn't gone unnoticed with Stiles that Danny seemed popular, sitting not only with the cooler freshmen, but even some sophomores and a smattering of upper classmen.
"I'm sorry…" Danny shook his head. "I can't, I have a lacrosse game…" he gestured at the gym bag.
"But that's over by like six, right?" Stiles didn't know much about school sports, but he was certain that they were over at the end of the day, weren't they?
"The game starts at six…"
"Wait, are you on first line?" Stiles looked at Danny, eyes wide and Danny just nodded, trying not to flush. "What does that make you…like the ONLY freshman on first line?"
"No, Jackson Whittemore made first line too, but yeah, we're the only Freshmen."
"Do you get any playing time?" Stiles asked, suddenly more excited about Lacrosse than he was about the pending Ghost Busters double feature.
"Yeah, I do – I mean less than some of the older guys, but I see enough game time." Danny shrugged awkwardly, not sure of how else to go about answering that question.
"Okay, well good to you, man!" Stiles walked away, not sure what his next move in attempting to friend Danny Rodriguez would be. Danny turned around as Stiles left, thinking of asking him to come to the game, but by the time that he had managed to work up the courage to call after the other boy, Stiles was out of earshot.
Of course, Stiles went to the game anyways, dragging Scott with him; he didn't have to be asked. Danny, however, trying to focus on the game, didn't notice him, he was too wrapped up in the hype of the game and, by the time the high from the victory had worn off, Stiles was long gone.
The rest of the Lacrosse season carried out, Stiles attending each one of the home games, unbeknownst to Danny, who always kept his eye on the prize: the game at hand.
"Danny?" Stiles walked up to Danny in the hallway again on a Wednesday afternoon. Danny turned around, but said nothing. "Do you want to go grab some pizza? Celebrate the winning lacrosse season or whatever?"
"I'd like to, but I'm sorry, I can't." Danny shook his head apologetically. "Basketball…you know…" He didn't say anything else, he just walked away, leaving Stiles alone in the hallway.
With the knowledge that Danny played that sport as well, Stiles went to all of the basketball games, but unlike lacrosse, Danny noticed his presence this time. It was the third home game of the season, and Danny was just going in for a layup when he saw Stiles, goofy smile and all, watching the game intently. He managed to sink the layup, but it was the last basket that Danny made all night.
At the next game, Danny looked for Stiles before tip-off and the second he saw the boy, looked away. Unlike the third game, the fourth was the first of many games where Danny exceeded expectations greatly, playing better just because he knew someone was there…well, someone besides his mother who always managed to come to the games and sometimes even dragged his father along with her.
"Hey." The guys on the team sat around a table eating pizza one night after yet another winning game. "Danny, I saw you talking to that Sheriff's kid awhile back in the hallway or whatever," Jackson stated.
"Yeah?" Danny shrugged. "So what?"
"I heard he's a queer, you know, he's always hanging out with that other kid, you know, the weird one with asthma? So what's the word on that?" Jackson, as well as the rest of the team, looked at Danny expectantly.
"I don't know," Danny answered truthfully.
"I mean, didn't you get a gay vibe from him or something?" One of the other guys on his team pushed the question. "Come on…he didn't seem even a little queer to you?"
"Well maybe a little," Danny admitted with a shrug, not sure if he was just saying that because of the pressure or because he actually felt it to be true.
"I KNEW IT!" The guy who had forced the question smirked. "Freshman Stilinski's a faggot!" He pumped his first in the air, smiling, knowing that he had his latest torture victim.
The next day, the rumor was all over school. Danny felt awful, but it was made even worse a few weeks into the spring term when Stiles, seemingly un-phased by the undying rumor, came up to him yet again in the hallways.
"Hey, I know that you're doing spring Baseball, but if you wanted to do something this weekend-"
Danny cut Stiles off by pushing past him, not even letting him finish. He couldn't be seen socializing with the "gay" boy, even if he had been the one to start the rumor.
This time, Stiles didn't go to any of the baseball games, and Danny noticed, but he loved baseball, so he did his best not to let the difference impact his game, even though he missed the goofy grin in the stands.
A/N I know...that was a lot less spastic fun than the last chapter, but this story has ups and downs! :)
I hope you enjoyed it!