AN – Everybody relax – Dacey is not on the outs… not too bad anyway. They just both have volatile personalities, so things get a little heated with them sometimes. They'll be making up soon, though.

Also, I'm lol-ing about you guys wanting Regina dead. She'll be taken care of all in good time, my pretties.

Here's your next chap, and then I'm not updating again until I come up with something for Save Tonight, which should be by tonight. Enjoy!

Liar, Liar

Lacey spent the next few days wallowing in her feelings. She was upset with Danny for his callous reaction to her, but more than that she was overwhelmed by the idea that she might have been pregnant. She'd visited the doctor after waiting anxiously for two weeks for her period to appear. She'd endured an uncomfortable exam and an even more uncomfortable conversation with her gynecologist about whether or not she and Danny consistently used protection and whether she took her pills as directed. Her doctor concluded that her missing period was simply a fluke, and that there wasn't anything wrong with her, but she also suggested that they switch Lacey from the pill to depo-provera shots which would be more reliable in avoiding future pregnancy scares.

As Lacey processed what had happened, she allowed herself to imagine briefly what it would be like to actually be pregnant. She knew rationally that Danny would be there for her, and she tried to imagine what it would be like to have a child with him. She saw a little boy with curly black hair and cinnamon skin and a smile just like his dad's toddling around the apartment, amazed as he shuffled between them. She saw his toothy little grin and his chubby fingers and she was instantly in love with this apparition in her head. Although she was relieved that she wasn't becoming a mommy any time soon, she realized that motherhood might actually be something she wanted at some point… maybe.

Her phone buzzed, indicating that she had received yet another text from Danny.

"Just wanted to tell you I love you."

She smiled to herself, amused at his transparent attempt to get back in her good graces. Deciding that she missed him more than she was mad at him, she texted him back "I love you, too – come see me?"

Almost instantly he responded, "In the middle of something – sorry. Have dinner with me tonight?"

Slightly disappointed, she texted him back that she would and he followed up with details. Since she'd already made the executive decision that she wasn't going to bother with school today, she reached out to another friend she'd been giving the cold shoulder to this week.

Jo arrived at Lacey's about twenty minutes later, and the girls spent the rest of the afternoon watching cheesy B movies on the couch in her living room. Lacey hadn't had a lot of bonding time with a girlfriend since she and Danny had started dating. Regina had all but stopped talking to her after she lost out on their "competition" and Phoebe, ever the follower, had sided with Regina. Sarita was the only one that remained friends with Lacey, but lately she seemed to be dealing with some things of her own that she didn't want to share. Lacey just did her best to give Sarita her space, making sure that the girl knew she was there for her if/when she felt like talking about it.

"So are you and Danny through with the fighting this week?" Jo said, stuffing a handful of popcorn in her mouth as Lacey changed out the movies.

"Yeah, I'm tired of being mad at him, so I guess we're going out tonight." Lacey said, hitting play and watching as the beginning credits for "She's All That" came on screen.

"Good – Danny is no fun when you're not around. He turns into some sort of emo dope that, I have to tell you, does absolutely nothing for his badass persona."

Lacey laughed, imagining an emo Danny. "Yeah well, I'm not that great without him either, so I get what you mean. We'll be fine – but what about you, Jo? When are you going to get a girlfriend so I can rag you the way you rag me about him?"

Jo blushed, looking down, "I don't know – I guess whenever I find someone I'm into like that."

"Oh whatever, Jo," Lacey said, "there are tons of hot girls around here – yourself included. I'm sure you wouldn't have any trouble snagging one or two or a few – what are you waiting on?"

"I talk to a few different people," Jo said, slightly defensive, "it's just… I don't know. There's one girl in particular that I'm interested in, but the vibes I get from her kinda make me feel like she's waiting on someone else."

"Well then you need to do whatever it takes to get her mind off that 'someone else' and onto you. Do you even realize what a prize you are? You're Jo mf'n Masterson, woman! Any girl would be crazy not to be into you."

After Jo left, Lacey got ready for her date with Danny. He hadn't told her what he had planned for the evening, he'd just said that she would enjoy it. She stood at her closet, going back and forth on what she should wear. She wanted to be sexy for him, but she also wanted to be practical. In the end she decided on a skater-style LBD that gathered high around her neck and had large cutouts in the back. She wore her hair in a messy high bun, with tendrils escaping here and there, and chose a pair of high-heeled tuxedo pumps to complete the look.

She went to his apartment to meet him at 8:00 pm, just as he'd asked. When she arrived, she knocked on the door before letting herself in. She was confused to find that the apartment was empty, though. She saw a large vase sitting on the coffee table, full of beautiful red tiger roses and a card with her name on it. She opened the card, smiling at the inscription inside.

"All the stars in the sky cannot compare to the beauty of your smile."

She looked around again, noticing this time the parade of arrows on the floor, pointing her in the direction of the stairs that she knew led to the roof. She climbed them slowly, relishing with anticipation what she would find once she reached the top.

Lacey walked out onto the roof of Danny's building and immediately felt her breath catch as she saw the surprise he'd planned for her. The entire roof was alight with tiny clear fairy lights, so much that it appeared they were standing in the middle of the stars themselves. She saw him standing on the far end of the area, and immediately made her way over to him, smiling the entire way.

"Hi," she said timidly, unable to control the grin that spread across her face.

"Hey beautiful," he said, pulling her in for a hug and kiss. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too," she replied, nuzzling into his chest and relishing the feel of him for a few more minutes. "This is beautiful, Danny. How in the world did you come up with this?"

He smiled and shrugged noncommittally. "Well, you know – I've had a few days to myself to think about things, and I figured I should put them to good use. Lace, I'm sorry for how I reacted to what you said the other day," he said, his voice suddenly serious, "I don't ever want you to think that you aren't important to me or that I don't care about your feelings. I was just afraid that something else was going on when you weren't talking to me… I'm sorry."

She smiled wistfully, placing a small kiss on his lips before responding, "It's okay baby - I'm over it. I overreacted and should have given you a chance to explain, but I was too high strung and caught up in my feelings. Besides, it isn't like I wanted to be pregnant – not now anyway. I kind of like having you to myself…" Her words trailed off and Danny could feel himself stirring at the suggestive tone in her voice. He hadn't touched or kissed her in almost a week and it was driving him crazy. He realized with satisfaction that she must've been thinking the same thing as he watched the familiar warmth spread across her face as he leaned in to kiss her again, this time more gingerly, before leading her over to show her the rest of the surprise he'd come up with for her.

Behind them was a picnic arranged around a fire pit. The fire had already been lit, and the heat from the flames was just enough to keep them warm without being overwhelming on this cool spring night. They spread out on the blanket, laughing and talking about any and everything, occasionally feeding themselves (and each other) from the wide variety of gourmet foods Danny'd selected for the evening.

When it was time for dessert, Danny brought out a special selection of champagne soaked strawberries, feeding them to her one by one. His eyes became heavily lidded as he took in the sight of her plump lips closing around each berry, occasionally grazing them with the tips of his fingers. Finally his excitement for the best of him and he pulled the last strawberry away from her, throwing it to the side and replacing it with his lips on her mouth instead. He laid her back slowly, kissing down her neck as he unzipped her dress. He reached beneath the skirt of the garment, satisfied with the wetness he found there.

"Someone missed me a lot, huh?" he whispered huskily, teasing at her folds and enjoying the way her thighs squeezed against him in response. He kissed her again, exploring her mouth with his tongue and getting lost in the feeling. They were so caught up in each other that they didn't notice the footsteps that approached them from across the roof.

"Danny Desai?" the officer said, shining his flashlight into the flustered faces of the teens. "Step away from the girl, son. I need you to come with me."

Danny sat up immediately, squinting into the light from the officer, a confused look on his face. He stood, helping Lacey up as well, both righting their clothes in an effort to preserve some modesty. He was confused and irritated about being interrupted, but he figured it was best to keep a cool head as he addressed the officer.

"What is this about, sir?" he said, stepping in front of Lacey slightly as he noticed that additional officers had convened on the roof as well.

"I've got a warrant for your arrest, so please just cooperate. I'm going to need you to step away from the girl, okay?" The officer looked over Danny's shoulder at the now terrified Lacey. "Miss, you can go stand with the other officers. I promise we won't let him hurt you."

"Hurt me?" Lacey said, her voice cracking in confusion as one of the other officers approached, gently pulling her away from Danny. "He wasn't hurting me, he would never hurt me. He's my boyfriend. What's going on here?"

"Danny Desai, you're under arrest for the rape of Regina Crane," the officer said, pulling Danny's hands together into handcuffs behind him. "You have the right to remain silent…"

Lacey felt her blood run cold as she listened to what the officer was saying. "Rape?" she thought, "Regina? Danny would never… what the fuck is going on here?" She could tell by the stricken look on his face that Danny also had no idea what was going on, but he put up no resistance as the officers carried him away.

"Danny!" she screamed, breaking away from the policeman that was "guarding" her and standing in front of him.

"Lace, Lace, listen to me," Danny said in a calm voice. "Don't say anything to anyone. Call Jo and tell her what happened – she will know what to do." It killed him to see the tears that streamed down Lacey's face as he took in her terrified expression. "Baby, it's going to be okay – you know I didn't do this. Just go back to the apartment and call Jo – I love you."

Lacey looked on heartbroken as she watched the officers carry him away. She followed them down the stairs and out of the building, trying in vain to get someone to stop this madness. It wasn't until she saw them put him in the back of the cruiser and drive away that she finally went back to the apartment. Her hands were shaking as she tried to wrap her mind around what had just happened. She called Jo as Danny had instructed, briefly telling her the situation. As she waited for the other girl to get to the apartment, she looked again at the beautiful vase of flowers in front of her, and she saw red. She picked up the crystal vase, smashing it into the wall ahead of her as she allowed the rage she was feeling to course through her. She had a sudden inexplicable need to break things, and she went around the apartment doing just that as she tried desperately to get some of the pain and anger coursing through her to dissipate.

When Jo walked through the apartment door twenty minutes later, she found Lacey in the kitchen, piles of broken dishes at her feet. Jo expected her to still be upset, but instead she was unnerved by Lacey's eerily calm demeanor.

"Hey," Lacey said as the other girl came into view.

"Umm… hey," Jo said, walking toward Lacey with slow, deliberate steps, not wanting to make any sudden movements around her.

"They came and got Danny," Lacey said, her voice monotone. "Regina's accused him of rape, so we need to figure out how to get him out of jail."

"Yeah, okay," Jo said, concerned for the friend in front of her. "I know where he keeps his emergency stash, there should be more than enough money there to bail him out. Hey Lacey, are you okay?"

Lacey nodded her head, staring off into space in Jo's general direction, "Yeah, I'm good. I should probably clean up this mess, huh?" she said, looking at Jo for the first time.

"Yeah, we can do that – I'll help you," Jo said, turning to grab the broom. When she turned back around, Lacey was still standing in the same spot, but her eyes were no longer unfocused. A chill went down Jo's spine as Lacey finally looked right at her, and she could see that her pupils were entirely dilated, giving them a scary quality as the blackness of her pupils complete swallowed the warm chocolate brown of her irises. As the girls worked together to clear away all the broken glass in the apartment, Jo couldn't shake the feeling that this wasn't the mess Lacey had been referring to at all.