Alice and Danny meeting up soon became a weekly thing, they'd sit on the bench that was quickly christened as theirs, or in the summer they'd go to the field and they'd eat a McDonalds. That tapered off to other foods such as crisps or ice cream anything they fancied. At first the only thing they spoke about was support, what was bothering the other person, or school. As the weeks and months flew over they found themselves laughing and joking, sharing more personal information about girlfriends and boyfriends, anything really they had become friends...
(X)
Danny held a boy against a wall at school. "I'm warning you Jase, touch Alice in any way and I'll find you, hurt her..." he asked in a colder voice. "...and I'll make you wish you hadn't met me!" Danny had been to America with his parents on holdiay and he came back and found out Alice was dating this prick, he had hit the roof. The end of school was the first time Danny had managed to get him alone.
Jase glared. "She wants me!" he growled. "And you know what I'm gonna do to her!"
"What?" Danny put more pressure on his neck. Jase's eyes bulged and his face started to go red. "I didn't quite hear you, repeat that!"
There was a struggle, Danny held him, face determined.
"I'll leave her alone." Jase finally croaked.
Danny released him rolling his shoulders. "See not too hard was it?"
Jase gulped in air and straightened his shirt.
"And by the way hurting includes what I heard you tell your friends you wanted to do!" Danny hissed.
Jase coughed then walked off.
Danny rolled his shoulders. Why did Alice pick the worst boys to go out with? Every boy she had said she liked had been trouble. Some were blatant bad boys, some were weird and some wanted one thing... like Jase. He was in Danny's year and noticed that Alice used to smile at him when he walked by. Jase decided he wanted Alice, for that one thing. Apparently younger girls were hot for it, Danny would kill someone before they used Alice in that way! Yeah she was gonna go mad at him when she found out, he was only looking out for her.
He had only managed to do that to Jase because he shot up a few months ago and was far taller then Jase, he had used the extra height as an advantage. Jase would be back with friends but Danny wasn't worried, if anything did happen it would be a small price to pay as long as Alice was left alone. He saw Alice approach she smiled widely and waved, jogged to him and hugged him.
"How was your holiday?"
He nodded. "Good, they talk funny."
She laughed. "Y'all ain't from those parts." she put on an American accent.
He made a face as they walked.
"No?" she asked.
"No." he agreed and chuckled.
"Guess you know about me and Jase?" she asked as they walked through th gates.
"Yeah." he answered dryly.
She exhaled.
"I scared him off." he told her.
She glared. "Why?"
"Coz he only wants one thing Alice and as soon as you said no he'd drop you and I don't want you hurt."
She crossed her arms. "You're our of order!"
"Me? I did you a favour!"
"How? My boyfriend is gonna dump me coz of you!"
"He would have dumped you anyway I just pre emepted it!"
"You don't know that!"
He stopped and stood in front of her. "So you were going to sleep with him coz that is the only reason he would have stayed with you!"
"No I wasn't but….."
"No buts! He's fifteen Alice and you are just a kid!"
She straightened her spine. "I am NOT a kid!"
He raised his eyebrows.
"You're a fifteen year old boy! She challenged indignantly. "And you stay with me, talk to me!"
"I don't want that from you, I never would, you're too young!"
She bristled. "I think I'll phone Jase tonight to prove to him and you how grown up I am!"
"You dare!" he warned coldly.
She smiled cockily. "Bye Danny!"
"Alice!" he warned.
She walked away.
He clenched his fists and ground his teeth together, this girl was driving him crazy!
Later
Alice sat in her garden.
Danny walked in. "Hey."
"Hey." she replied.
"I came to….." he started.
She waved him off to silence him. "Don't say it, you were right." she exhaled. "Jase left a message, why would he want to go out with a stupid kid like me."
Danny put his hands in his pocket. "Sorry."
She looked at him. "No your not!"
He grinned. "Ok I'm not, he isn't worth it Alice."
"I know I just…..I liked having a boyfriend."
He sat beside her on the picnic bench. "Plenty of boys out there who would kill to have you and they won't make you do stuff you don't want to. They'll wait and worship you."
She exhaled. "I think my guy is lost, if you find him give him directions yeah?"
He smiled and nodded.
"How's you and Laura going?"
"She isn't my type, high maintenance and she fluffed her hair every five minutes. It got annoying talking around her mirror."
She giggled. "Guess both of us should steer clear of a relationship huh?"
"I will if you will." he promised.
"Danny your fifteen, if you see a girl you like you'll break it straight away."
"You should know by now if I promise something I stick to it."
She shrugged. "Fine." they shook gently.
(X)
More and more days passed, and they both stuck to their agreement. Looking back, she now knew that the only reason she hated dated Jase was to get a reaction from him. She knew he would put a stop to it. And the reason she made that agreement was because she wanted him to herself. She hadn't even been aware that her feelings had grown, I mean she was only eleven when they started talking, she wasn't even interested in boys and the older she got she just saw him as a buddy she had fun with. Plus he was interested in girls his own age. To her though Danny was her hero, he was always there when school got hard, when she was missing Peter or just someone to talk to. Everything changed on her thirteenth birthday…..
(X)
Danny and Alice met up at his front door. He grinned at her. "Happy birthday!" He hugged her impulsively.
"I told you I don't have birthdays!" she reminded wrapping her arms around him.
He pulled back and made a face. "You tried this last year!"
"You're a pain!" she moaned.
"Hey I told you not to get me a card or present on my birthday and you still did!" he protested.
She did a talk talk talk gesture with her hand.
"And using an acronym of Alice didn't work I knew it was you all along Lacie!"
She laughed and they headed into his back yard.
"You're taller…..again!" she muttered.
"I know, mum has had to buy me all new clothes."
"I sometimes wonder if Peter would have been as tall as you."
He smiled sadly. "Me too." he motioned to the tree. "You go climb our tree and I'll bring your present out."
"Danny!"
"Go on!" he urged then went inside.
She walked to their tree and climbed it easily. As she sat here she usually thought of Peter but right now it was Danny who dominated her thoughts. Danny who made her smile, Danny who protected her. Danny who wouldn't let her forget she had a birthday. She heard his back door open and he appeared. Used the rope he had tied to a high branch to help them up.
"I don't need to use that." she gloated.
"Nor do I!" he puffed. "I just didn't want you to feel bad." he settled beside her.
"You're green eyes are lying to me Danny!"
"Speaking of eyes." he murmured. "Close yours."
"C'mon Danny."
"Close them!" he whispered.
His voice hynotised her and she closed them obediently.
He placed a small wrapped box in her hand.
She opened her eyes and saw the box was wrapped.
"Now what was the point, its wrapped!"
"I know." he giggled "i did it coz I can."
"Ha ha!" she breathed then tore the paper off, she was looking at a jewellery box. She opened it and saw a necklace. It was thick and oval shaped. He took the box from her hands and removed the necklace. He opened a tiny catch on oval then handed it to her. She opened the oval and was looking at a tiny picture of her and Peter.
"You bought me a locket?" she whispered choked up.
He nodded. He had saved his money for weeks.
She put her hand over her mouth stunned. Her eyes filled.
"Oh no Alice don't cry please." he asked. "I thought you'd like it."
She sniffed "I do like it but…."
More tears fell and she covered her face.
He moved in closer and moved her hands. "Don't cover your face." he wiped away a tear he could see glistening on her cheek.
She lifted her head quickly and without warning their faces were inches apart. They seemed to stare, unable to even blink. He moved….or maybe she did who knows but soon Alice's lips were pressed against his softly.
She felt his surprise but he didn't jump away as she expected him to, she felt the beginning of a response…..then he tensed up and pulled back. It had been a closed mouth kiss but he was still breathing heavily.
"I can't do this." he told her unable to look at her.
"What kiss me?" she asked.
"I'm fifteen and you are thirteen! You are too young!" and he felt so much guilt for actually enjoying kissing her, and for the fact she was Peter's best friend!
She nodded. "Sorry."
He exhaled thankful she was agreeing and not arguing. "It's ok, we'll just forget this ever happened.
(X)
Alice went up and dressed for work. She and Danny had promised to forget but she hadn't been able to. She had fallen for him, massively. It was an innocent love, all she wanted was to be with him. She hadn't really been aware of sexual chemisty yet. She knew the mechanics of sex but hadn't really understood it as an expression of love. They had carried on as normal, well as normal as they could with this unknown energy bubbling below the surface. How were they to know what that energy was? One night changed it all, they sat under the stars and her world was blasted into fragments….
(X)
Danny and Alice sat in her back yard. It was winter and their breath was visble with every exhale. Danny was looking at Alice as the moon shined on her, her black hair blended in with the darkness. Her skin glowed and her eyes….she was so beautiful and only thirteen. Sometimes when she looked at him she took his breath away and it was all he could do to pretend to be her friend! This was wrong, he was fifteen, he shouldn't be feeling like this!
"That one is Peter!" she pointed up at the sky. She showed him which star was Peter often, every time they sat on the picnic table actually. The star she pointed at was blinking at them.
"I talk to him sometimes." looked at Danny. "Think I'd have a heart attack if he answered."
He smiled. "I talk to him too." Mostly about his growing feelings for Alice and begging his brothers forgiveness. It had started with that kiss. He'd been fine until she kissed him and now he couldn't stop thinking about it, or her. He closed his eyes.
"This summer has been hard without him." she admitted. "The first one was hard but we expected it to be, this one was worse, I think what made it worse was that I thought it might be easier if you get me."
He nodded. "How are your friends at school?"
"Fine, yours?"
"Jackson is trying to talk to me again, he can get stuffed!"
"He had the gall to ask me out you know!" she laughed.
He spun his head quickly. "And?"
She leaned in and batted her eyes. "Told him I was all yours."
He looked away she didn't notice his exasperation as she snuggled into her coat.
"You're mum will be home soon, can't believe you forgot your keys."
"I'm a scatter brain." she conceded.
"We could go to mine." he suggested.
She shook her head. The evils from his mum she could live without. "It's fine." she visibly shivered.
Danny couldn't see her like that, he moved so he was sat behind her and put his arms around her. She rested back into him and closed her eyes.
"Better?" he asked.
"Mmm hmmm." she managed to reply, butterflies taking flight in her stomach.
"Hopefully this will warm you a little."
She felt his chest rumbling against the back of her head. "Danny..." she whispered.
"What?"
she turned her head a little. "You make me feel funny."
He frowned. "What do you mean?"
She shook her head. "Nothing." she couldn't explain it to herself never mind him!
He moved his head so he was face to face with her. "Tell me!"
They were so close and Danny was hynotised by her blue eyes, they were so clear he couldn't look away. They seemed to move together and shared a second kiss. Everything within him was telling him to pull away, and he was going to until she parted her lips hesitantly. He felt her breath fill him and she tasted so sweet, he began to respond fully. She turned so she was sat facing him her arms around his neck pulling him closer. He put his hand on her cheek, closed his eyes tightly and pulled away quickly. Alice responded by resting her forehead against his.
"That's what I mean..." she breathed. "You make me feel funny."
O he knew what she meant now, that funny feeling was sexual attraction, he had never felt it this strong before, yeah he'd felt a pull to girls his own age but nothing that...explosive, mind consuming! O boy was he feeling it too, painfully! He moved away from her trying to create some distance. "I...you...we can't do this."
Alice was confused. "Why? You're not that much older than me."
"But I am still older... and then there is our connection to Peter."
Her eyes darkened. "Don't do that, don't make him the reason we can't be together. I know you like me too Danny!"
"Be together? Is that what you think is going to happen?"
"Eventually, this is the second time we have kissed Danny, it will happen again!"
"No it won't because like it or not Peter is my little brother and you're best friend and you aren't going to magically grow up a few years overnight!"
"You're my best friend!" she retorted "I miss him like crazy but when I think of my best friend it's you I see!" she stood up and crossed her arms, cold infiltrating her coat.
He stood up. "We need to spend time with our other friends, this is getting well out of hand."
Her jaw dropped slowly. "This is you saying you're not my friend anymore then?"
"No Alice, you are..."
"I don't care!" she spat tone like ice.
"Just give it a week or two and we'll go back to normal!"
"I don't want to go back to normal, I like feeling this way about you."
"Well I don't like feeling like this!" he answered instinctively.
It wasn't what Alice wanted to hear, she gasped hurt and stepped back a hand on her chest, a second later she scowled. "Well go then! Go find a girl your own age!"
"Alice I didn't mean that the way..."
"GO! All you were is a replacement for Peter and obviously a poor one!" she yelled needing some space.
He felt pain fill his chest and spun quickly.
"Delete my number!" she ordered.
He looked back. "Get rid of mine too!" he told her stiffly pulling out his phone as he walked away.
"Already done!" she spat at the back of his head...
And then Danny disappeared...literally...Because from that night she never saw him again.
A/N full chapter, Alice falling completely for Danny, he liking her back bt being too old for her, she wants to be together, he can't end, they end up saying stuff they dnt mean Danny leaves and Danny...gone. Wonder what happened to make him disappear!
And now u know y Alice is so cynical...everyone she loves leaves her :(
