Danny sighed, staring at the computer screen in front of him. As he scrolled, images flashed past his eyes, but he didn't absorb their contents. It had been a week. Sam and Tucker were on vacation with Sam's family for another few weeks, the week of their return coincidentally being the last week of summer, although Danny was sure that was planned, and not merely coincidental. He had taken Tucker's quote, unquote advice and tried to make some friends with mutual interests over the internet, but so far he wasn't having any success. He did manage to stumble over a blog dedicated to his ghostly alter ego, with dozens of members who drew pictures of themselves making out with him. Needless to say, he was completely disturbed, mildly disgusted, and ultimately done with the internet for a while. With a frustrated exhale of breath, he powered the computer down and pushed himself away from the desk, getting out of the chair and standing in the middle of his room, facing the door.

Dash stared at the television screen in front of him. The current program was some ridiculous reality show, with a cast of annoying orange people living on the East Coast. He narrowed his eyes and tapped the channel button. A young girl, portly and blonde, and her redneck family are preparing for a beauty pageant. Dash's face contorted in disgust and he slammed the remote, changing the channel frantically. A cartoon, featuring a pair of twins sent away for the summer to live with their uncle, is currently playing. The strangely captivating theme song, a mixture of music and whistles, fills the room. Dash looks on, skeptical. After 20 minutes, the boy and his sister have managed to dispatch an army of gnomes with a gold cart and a leaf blower, but not before one of the gnomes vomits up a rainbow. Dash inhales sharply and switches the TV off. He sets the remote down as he exhales, and stands up.

"I watch way too much television." Dash finally says to no one in particular. He slips his shoes on and makes his way outside, desperate for some fresh air and less modern television programming.

Danny had wandered aimlessly, ending up in the park. The place was packed, not surprisingly. It was a partly cloudy August afternoon, not too humid and not swelteringly hot, so families were making the most of it. Danny stood in the shade, leaning against the trunk of a tree. The breeze swirled through the branches, making the leaves appear as if they were dancing. Danny took in his surroundings, there were kites soaring high above the surface, a boy and his friend tossing a Frisbee to his dog, the four legged creature bursting into a sprint to catch the plastic disc, a family sitting on a checkered blanket, basket of food in the center, a mom pushing her daughter on the swing, and a group of grade-schoolers goofing around, pushing each other and laughing. Danny sighed, crossing his arms. He closed his eyes and rested his head against the tree. Seeing all this people having fun with their friends made him long for Sam and Tucker, but at the same time he was glad that they were able to spend time as a couple together. Danny chuckled, the idea of Sam's parents butting in on their time together popping into his head. Danny let out a yawn, the breeze caressing his face. He let his mind settle, trying to relax a little. He took his weight off of the tree and began walking through the park once again.

Dash had found his way into the park as well. Much like the Nasty Burger, the park was a prime place during the summer. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and hummed to a tune that was stuck in his head. Not quite sure of the lyrics, he was content with the various noises he could produce as a substitute. He closed his eyes as he walked, which would prove to be a mistake. One minute he was walking, then he collided with something, and then he made contact with the ground. He tried to make sense of what just happened, but his thought process was interrupted by a familiar voice that he couldn't make out. The voice was asking if he was alright, but Dash only managed an indiscernible groan. He slowly opened his eyes, taking in the very basics, raven black hair and blue eyes. A hand was held out in front of him. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head.

"Dash, you alright?" The voice asked again. Dash rubbed his eyes and opened them, looking face to face at Danny, hand extended in front of him. Dash grabbed the hand and Danny helped pull the larger male to his feet.

"Yeah, I'm alright."

"Didn't know I'd bump into you here, literally AND figuratively." Danny laughed. Dash responded with a smile, letting a small chuckle escape his closed lips.

"It's kind of my fault for walking with my eyes closed."

"Can't say I haven't been there before."

"So, uh, where are the other two musketeers?" Dash questioned, acknowledging the absence of Danny's friends.

"Sam went on vacation with her family, and Tucker went with them."

"Bummer, man."

"Yeah. Speaking of missing friends, where's Kwan?"

"He's visiting relatives with his family overseas." Dash griped.

"Looks like we're in the same boat then." Danny stated.

"Yep."

The two teens stared at each other, neither sure what to say next. Their eyes met, blue on blue, and the silence became all consuming, unbearable, and uncomfortable. Finally Danny managed to form a sentence from the jumbled mess in the back of his throat.

"Since we're both standing around, we might as well hang out here in the park with each other."

"I guess. Beats walking around by yourself."

Having reached an agreement, more or less, the two males found an acceptable spot, in the form of a weathered bench, to sit. Danny crossed his legs and Dash sat arched over, elbows resting on his knees. The only real problem now was striking up a conversation.

"So," Danny began, trying to think of something to work with, "How's…it… going?"

Dash was equally inept when it came to thinking of something to say.

"It's going… well?"

"That's great… yeah."

The pair sat in silence for a few more minutes, put off by that embarrassing display of epic socially awkward proportions. Danny looked up at the sky, trying to suppress the urge to kiss Dash and then run, and Dash stared at his feet, the usually boisterous male at a loss of words.

"So I got my report card last week." Dash managed to throw out. He mentally crossed his fingers, hoping for something.

"Oh?" Danny picked his head up and turned to face Dash.

"Yeah. Thanks to your help I managed to average a 'C'."

"That's great."

"Yeah. I owe you because of it."

"You don't owe me anything, all I did was help you understand it, you're the one who knew what to do with it."

"Yeah but if it wasn't for you I wouldn't have even known where to start."

"Dash," Danny began, placing a hand on the other male's shoulder, giving him a sincere look, "You're a smart guy, you just need to try. You'd get things a lot quicker and you wouldn't need my help."

Dash smiled, no one ever told him that he was smart and meant it. Ice blue eyes were swallowed by oceanic blue ones as they made eye contact again. Danny unconsciously felt himself inch closer to Dash, the other aware of the movements of the smaller teen. The world began to crumble away, leaving only the two boys and the bench they were seated on. It was almost like a bubble had swallowed them up, blocking out everything. Danny was now leaning up, head tilting ever so slightly to the side. Dash moved his own head towards Danny's and the distance was closed within seconds. Their lips were centimeters apart when the metaphorical bubble was shattered by a frenetic voice screaming "LOOK OUT!" The two teens pulled away in time for a Frisbee to sail between their faces. The kid Danny had seen with his dog earlier ran over and apologized before going to retrieve his toy, leaving them as they were. The realization of what had almost occurred caught up with both teens and their eyes went wide, faces tinted a bright red. Danny stood up, scratching the back of his head.

"I, um, I…" He stuttered. Dash tugged at the collar of his shirt, trying to stop his mind from screaming unclear thoughts.

"Oh, gee, uh, look at the time. It's been nice, but, uh, I gotta help my, uh, mom with dinner." Dash stammered out as he stood up.

"Yeah, I gotta help Jazz, do, some…something? Yeah, she needs help with the, uh, thing." Danny rambled, trying to make sense.

Dash looked around, grabbed Danny by the shoulders and placed a kiss of his forehead before turning and jogging off in the other direction. Danny, now weak in the knees, lifted his shaking arm up and gave a barely identifiable wave before turning to go home.