Chapter 14

When the bell rang, Danny crammed his chemistry book and notes, sighing in memory of last night. He barely managed to escape his mother after they returned home from the Draken house. His mother gushed over the idea of Danny getting a girlfriend while his father grumbled in disapproval, making Danny believe that his father probably didn't buy that little act and probably didn't like Danny pretending to be something he wasn't. But Jack kept silent about that suspicion, knowing Maddie would never let it go if he told her that Danny and Dora were faking a relationship. Danny was happy that at least his father wasn't trying to force him to be not gay.

Danny stood to leave the classroom when he noticed the leisurely pace of the chemistry partner packing up his things. "Hey, Abner, do you have first lunch?"

Head jerking up, Abner blinked his pale hazel eyes at Danny. "Oh, uh, yeah." His brow furrowed as he tilted his head in confusion. "Why?"

"Come to the theater at lunch," Danny suggested as he grinned, once again wondering if Dash and Paulina would be upset to have their numbers increase. "You can eat with me and my friends."

"Oh, I don't know." Abner frowned with uncertainty in his eyes.

"We've got real food, not that sludge they serve in the cafeteria," Danny tempted because he couldn't anyone actually enjoying what they served in the cafeteria.

"Hey, you're in the way."

Danny jumped at the new voice and darted out of the other student's way. As the man wearing a biker's jacket passed, Danny thought he vaguely recognized the shoulder length blond hair. But he shook the flitting memory from his mind then focused his attention back on Abner. He didn't have much time to make it to history without being late, leaving him little chance to give a lengthy argument to convince Abner to join them at lunch.

"Remember. Lunch. Theater. See ya then." Danny waved before he hurried off for his next class.

He pushed his way through the throng of students all hurrying to make their way to their classes. A woman with long hair dyed a strange shade of blue and weird black markings around her eyes bumped shoulders with him and muttered "watch it, dipstick" as she glared at him. Danny tried to apologize, but the crowd quickly swept him along down the hallway away from the woman. Almost making it to the classroom, Danny slammed into another woman in his rush. They both fell to the ground, some of the woman's books spilling to the ground.

"So sorry!" Danny grabbed at the books to help the woman with dark skin.

"Not accepted," the woman snapped as she snatched the books out of his hand, her green eyes narrowing angrily. She stood up, smoothing out her yellow tank top with her free hand. "Why do the losers never have any manners?"

"I said I was sorry. It was an accident," Danny argued, growing frustrated with the woman's attitude. He agreed he should have watched where he was going a little more carefully, but he was in a hurry and didn't see her until it was too late. She didn't have to act so rudely to him when he apologized for bumping into her. But before either of them could continue speaking, the late bell rang. "Shoot!" Danny dodged around the woman, not having the time to finish this argument with her, and rushed into his history class.

"Late again, Fenton," Cogsworth noted without looking at Danny, who quickly took his seat next to Wulf.

"Sorry, Sir," Danny mumbled, hunching over his desk and trying to focus on class. He noticed Wulf kept sneaking peeks toward Kwan and Skulker throughout the class, and he realized he too was checking on what transpired between the jocks. Nothing much happened during class, and Danny guessed that maybe Skulker wouldn't act while under the watch of a teacher, and perhaps the rest of the class. Skulker's best opportunity to actually do something to Kwan would be between classes, maybe lunch if they shared it. Danny chewed on his thumbnail as class neared the end, wishing Kwan told them more about what Skulker wanted from him. Yesterday after school, Kwan refused to tell them anything, if he even knew what Skulker planned, which Danny suspected the Asian man did have some clue. Kwan agreed to accept their help, but apparently that didn't mean he was going to them the truth about the situation.

Deep in thought, Danny jumped when the bell rang. He sighed out heavily, trying to calm his racing heart. As he packed up his things, an idea popped into his head. While the rest of the students left, Skulker throwing an arm over Kwan's tense shoulders to keep close to his teammate much to Wulf's growling disapproval, Danny lingered behind and waited until everyone else left.

"You want to discuss something," Cogsworth said once they were alone. He didn't look up from making notes as he sat at his desk.

Danny swallowed nervously, walking up to the front of the room. "I was wondering," he started hesitantly, wiping his hands on his jeans, "would it be possible to change seats?"

"With Mr. Long, I suppose?" Cogsworth lifted his head.

For a moment Danny thought they looked different, flashing red for the briefest instance, but decided it must be a trick of the lights. His teacher's question surprised him, and Danny blinked wide blue eyes. "Uh, yeah," he answered, brow knitting as he wondered how his teacher knew what he planned.

A thoughtful but distant look passed over the man's face, making him seem aged beyond his years. "I suppose that would be acceptable. Tomorrow, take his seat."

Danny stared, still in shock that Cogsworth agreed so easily. "Thank you, Sir!" He bobbed his head in a small bow as he backed toward the door.

"Fenton," Cogsworth called before Danny could make it out the door. "I suggest you be cautious around Skulker."

Danny felt a chill run down his spine as the teacher stared at him with that piercing gaze he had. "Do you," his brow creased, "know something, Sir?"

"Just a warning." Cogsworth turned back to his papers, giving no more attention to his student.

Danny opened his mouth to speak, but lacking any idea of what to say, he snapped it shut again. He stared at his teacher, pondering over the warning before he remembered he needed to get to his next class before he was late. Hurrying out of the classroom, he hoped Kwan wouldn't be too angry with him for asking to have them switch seats, but he thought things would be better this way. Skulker wouldn't be able to leer over him all during class now.

His last two classes before lunch felt like an eternity passed before they finally finished. His leg shook impatiently, and his eyes darted far too often to the clocks hanging on the walls of both classes. He wanted to get to the bottom of what Abner hid beneath his bandages, though he wasn't sure yet how could do that discreetly with everyone else around during lunch. He also hoped that maybe they could pry a little more information out of Kwan about Skulker.

As soon as the bell rang after fourth period, Danny shot out of his desk, scooping up his books as he headed out the door. After a quick trip to his locker, he made his way toward the theater. His stomach was already growling in hunger, and he hoped Dash brought a lot of food today. When he arrived at the theater, he found Paulina and Dash already present with a spread of food laid out before them. Grinning widely, Danny plopped down between his two friends and grabbed one of the sandwiches in the pile.

"I hope you guys don't mind that I invited a few people to join us." Danny winced when they stared at him like he grew a second head.

"Who did you invite?" Dash leaned toward him, dark blue eyes narrowing as they pierced into Danny's eyes.

"Uh, just Wulf, Kwan, and Abner." Danny laughed weakly as he shied away from Dash, almost worried the other man would be upset with him.

"Kwan!" Paulina jumped to her feet, drawing Danny and Dash's attentions around as Paulina rushed over to hug the jock that appeared silently behind them.

"Hey, Paulina," Kwan greeted quietly, hugging her with one arm. When she released her hold on him, Kwan gave a nod to Danny, who smiled at him. Then he glanced nervously at Dash.

"I guess it's a good thing I bring a big lunch," Dash said, pretending to sound put out by the fact that they had to entertain more people during their lunch. "And dude, seriously, how do you do that silent creeper thing? You're always disappearing without a sound whenever I try to stop Skulker from harassing you."

"That's my secret." A sly smirk slipped onto Kwan's face as he walked around the group to take a seat next to Paulina. He sat awkwardly with his gaze lowered.

"Ah! Put me down!" The shout caused the four of them to look toward the pair walking out onto the stage. Wulf carried a much smaller man over one shoulder. He didn't release the other man until he reached the group then set the man down upon his feet. Abner stumbled a step or two before he managed to steady himself again.

"You were loitering outside the door," Wulf grumbled lowly as he took a seat next to Kwan. "I made your decision for you." He didn't sound at all sorry about dragging the hazel eyed man into the theater.

"You didn't have to carry me." Abner sighed, filling up the space between Wulf and Dash. His eyes swept around the gathering, and his brows lifted. "Quite the group we have here." It was a splattering of popular and unpopular, but Danny couldn't find any sign of hate or resentment toward anyone else present.

"I'm glad you all decided to come," Danny said happily as part of him did worry that the other three would decide to ignore his invitation to join them. His blue eyes darted between Abner and Kwan, wondering which one to start prying information from, or at least trying to. Abner eagerly grabbed at one of the turkey sandwiches while Wulf and Kwan were a little more hesitant about digging into the food before them. Before Danny could think of how to break the silence, someone else appeared, and he almost forgot that she was even here during lunch.

"Here's your script," Dora announced with a pleasant smile as she handed one stack of papers to Paulina.

With a gleeful gleam in her emerald eyes, Paulina took the script, but after one quick glance at the title page, her expression fell. "The wicked witch?" She sighed heavily as she hung head, her shoulders sagging in depression.

"But you'll be the most beautiful wicked witch there ever was," Kwan said, which gained him a tight hug around the neck from Paulina.

"And for you, sweetie," Dora said with a playful wink as she held out the second script to Danny.

"Wait. What?" Danny blinked in surprised at the papers being proffered to him. He tried to put the pieces together, but he couldn't understand why Dora would be giving him a script as well.

"Sweetie?" Dash demanded, his voice straining with anger. Cringing as he twisted around, Danny shrank back from the fury in Dash's eyes that made them look shades darker.

"Oh, it's nothing to worry about, Dash." The smile remained on Dora's face despite the glare being turned on her. "We're just pretending for the sake of our mothers. We're not in any way romantically interested in each other, especially since Danny's gay and I already have a boyfriend. We're just trying to get our mothers to stop pestering us."

"You agreed to this?" Dash raised an eyebrow at Danny, who couldn't tell how angry Dash was at this news.

"We really won't be doing anything other than telling our mothers that we're dating or, you know, getting to know each other in potential relationship building way." Danny scratched at the back of his head, frowning. "My mother's been pestering me about dating a girl ever since I came out. It would be nice to have her finally shut up for a while and leave me alone about it." An impish grin spread on his face as he leaned toward Dash. "You still fill all my thoughts."

"So you two are together?" Abner questioned, pointing between Dash and Danny.

"No," the two men answered together.

"I'm not ready for that yet." Danny shook his head, ignoring the look the man beside him was giving him. Deciding a change in subjected was needed, he then turned back to Dora, who still held the script for him to take. "Why am I getting a script? I never even tried out for the play."

"I know. I thought you would be good for the role of the prince." Dora glanced over her shoulder at Paulina. "The boys that tried out were abysmal." Paulina winced like she might know exactly what Dora meant.

"Uh, okay," Danny mumbled awkwardly as he took the script. He frowned down at the big bold font reading Daniel Fenton as Prince Charming on the title page. Acting was never something he ever considered, and the thought of getting up on stage before an entire audience already scared him. He was fairly certain this could only turn out badly. By the time Danny realized the conversation continued, Dora already disappeared to somewhere else in the theater.

"Of course, Desiree gets the lead character," Paulina complained, pouting as she read over the full cast listing. "Every play! Just once I'd like to be the lead."

"You know how it goes by now, Paulina," Dash said as he leaned back on his hands. "The queen bitch gets whatever she wants, even if she doesn't deserve it."

"Desiree isn't a bitch," Paulina argued, glaring at Dash with such ferocity that it actually surprised everyone in the group.

"Since when do you actually defend her?" Dash frowned, brow drawing together as his dark blue eyes tried to figure out when this sudden change occurred.

"Since," Paulina started heatedly, but after a quick glance around at everyone present, she sighed. "Since my party. Dash-" She hesitated again, glancing at Kwan and Abner as she frowned. "Maybe we should discuss this thing with Desiree later."

"I already know all about her," Kwan put in with his attention a little too focused on the sandwich he was eating. "And everyone else present here." His aqua green eyes flicked toward Danny. "Well, almost everyone." The smirk that crossed his face sent a shiver through Danny, who swallowed his food nervously.

"So that leaves Abner," Dash said, turning to the hazel eyed man beside him.

Abner gulped under everyone's gaze and shrank into himself, looking even smaller. "Oh, all right," he said in exasperation. "I might as well get this over with since a certain somebody," he glared at Danny, "won't leave alone the idea that I'm cutting myself." Pulling up the sleeves of his shirt, Abner removed the bandages from his arms then held them out for the group to see. The flesh along his forearms was scarred like he suffered repeated burnings. Paulina gasped at the sight, her hands over her mouth in surprise. "I can make things explode by touching them."

"Wait. So when our experiment exploded?" Danny questioned as the pieces started falling into place.

"Yeah," Abner replied, rubbing awkwardly at his neck. "I kind of made the beaker explode. Then you started trying to get me to talk about whether I was cutting or not, and I almost didn't get you out of the way before it went off." Chewing on his lip, he shifted uncomfortably while everyone's attention remained on him. "See. I can sort of time out when the explosion will take place after I touch it. But I don't have a whole lot of control over it, and sometimes," he looked away, one hand running over the scarred flesh of his other arm, "I get caught in the blast by accident. I know I could always just stop and act like I don't even have this ability, but I want to get control over it. I don't want to pretend I'm normal then accidentally make something explode and maybe end up hurting someone , or worse." He lowered his gaze with a sad look. No one noticed the pained expression that crossed Dash's face as he leaned back to stare at the ceiling.

"So you purposely made the experiment go wrong so that you could stay behind and spend time with Miss Johnson?" Danny grinned widely as Abner blinked and blushed at the question.

"Oh, you better not let Technus hear you're crushing on her," Paulina said teasingly. "Everyone knows he's always had a crush on her."

"What? No!" Abner waved his hands in front of him, blushing even darker. "I don't have a crush on Miss Johnson."

Danny's brow creased in confusion at this news. "But you're always staying behind in her class."

Abner bowed his head, his blush nearly reaching his ears by this point. "That's because Johnny is in the next period. It's the only time I really ever see him around school."

"Wasn't Johnny dating Kitty?" Dash asked, returning to the conversation.

"No, they broke up. Well," Paulina cringed lightly, "Kitty dumped Johnny." Danny could only sit in confusion at this point, not knowing who either Johnny or Kitty was.

Frowning as something turned in his head, Dash pinned his gaze on Danny. "Why did you think Abner was cutting?"

Danny tensed, forcing his eyes away from Dash as he kept his brain blank in an attempt to keep Dash from picking up any of his thoughts. "The -The bandages." When he swallowed, it felt like something was lodged in his throat. His gaze darted toward Abner, who blinked owlishly at him. Dread washed over Danny as he realized Abner might not know to shield his thoughts from Dash. Dark blue eyes flicked toward Abner as well, and a moment later, Dash grabbed for Danny's arm, who quickly jerked away from him.

"Let me see it," Dash ordered in a commanding voice while the others watched in stunned silence.

"It's not a big deal." Panic fluttered in Danny's chest as he tried to dodge every grab from Dash. They struggled with each other for a while, Wulf growling in the background. When Dash suddenly caught him around the waist and yanked him into his lap, Danny nearly screamed, but it got lost somewhere inside him under the crushing pressure of his panic. It squeezed around him, choking the air out of him until he couldn't breathe. He didn't want to reveal this part of him to Dash. His only reason for telling Abner was because he worried for the other man and thought if the Abner saw that Danny shared the experience of cutting, that it would make the blond man willing to open up about it.

"Dash, I think you should let him talk at his own pace," Kwan said in a strangely stern voice, casting a glance at the werewolf beside, who looked about two seconds away from launching across the stage to rip the two men away from each other.

"Well, Danny," Dash said in a strained voice. He held Danny's arm up with the sleeve tugged down enough to catch sight of the wrinkled white scars crisscrossing over the pale wrist. "Are you going to tell us why you cut yourself?"

Danny bowed his head, no longer attempting to fight Dash. By now, everyone saw his scars, and Danny couldn't see a way to escape the truth coming out. "I was in a really bad place," he mumbled, refusing to look at any of them. "I couldn't deal with something that happened to me. I woke up having nightmares, and the panic attacks were horrible. Cutting myself seemed like the only relief." His jaw clenched as he closed his eyes. "But as you can see, the scars are old, months old. I stopped cutting months ago after my friends realized what I was doing. I promised I would stop, and I did, so it's really not a big deal. I only showed Abner because I feared he was doing what I did and talking about it with someone might help him." When Dash's grip loosened, Danny yanked his arm free, hiding both of them well within the sleeves of his shirt.

"You need to take your own advice," Dash said, sighing so that his warm breath washed over the exposed flesh at the back of Danny's neck.

Shivering at the feel of it, Danny tried to crawl away, but Dash held him firmly in place with one arm around the waist. With a sigh, he resigned himself to his new seat in Dash lap. It was too much physical contact all at once though, and Danny needed a distraction before his panic kicked in again. If he could focus his mind on something other than his back against Dash's hard chest or the buff arm around his waist, he thought he would be okay.

"You were saying something about Desiree?" Danny glanced over at Paulina, who stared at him with sad eyes. He prayed that everyone would drop the topic of his cutting now that he told them something about it.

Paulina blinked as she tried to recall what they were talking about before all the reveals started. "Oh!" Her expression darkened as she frowned. "Okay, Kwan." She turned to the jock, taking his hand in her hands. "I know this paints her in a pretty bad light-"

"No, I get it." Kwan shook his head. "It's an impulse thing. She can't help it."

"Help what?" Danny tried to follow the conversation, but it felt like they were speaking in code.

"Oh, right. Danny wouldn't know." Paulina cleared her throat as her hand wrapped around the crystal pendant she wore. "Desiree is a genie, and she can sort of sense when people have a wish in mind. So when she sensed that from Skulker, she offered to grant his wish." She hesitated as her gaze flicked toward Kwan. "But it didn't work, and when it rebounded back at her, it made her completely obedient to Skulker. If he gives her a command, she can't disobey it." She frowned even more, lowering her emerald eyes. "He has her lamp, and I want to get it back for her."

Danny could only stare at Paulina after the explanation. He wasn't sure he even blinked while trying to process the information. "Wait. Desiree is a genie who has control of her lamp?" His mouth hung slightly open. There weren't that many genies in the world, and he never encountered one so far in all the places where he lived. It was like receiving the startling news that a family of dragon kin lived within Amity Park. But he never heard anything about genies being in control of their lamps. All the reference books that he read said that a genie acted under a master who possessed the lamp.

"When she arrived here, she was given control of it to allow her to live a normal life," Paulina explained.

"Wow! I never knew they could do that."

"So did Skulker command her to be a bitch?" Dash asked, not sounding all that interested in helping the genie.

"She's not a bitch!" Paulina snapped as she glared at him. "Maybe if you didn't antagonize her, she wouldn't be so rude to you. Men haven't exactly treated her well. And I'm going to get her lamp back whether you help me or not." She folded her arms, turning her head away.

"Oh, like she isn't-"

"Dash, it might be better to shut up," Danny offered weakly then cringed when Dash glared at him.

"Obedience," Wulf growled, speaking for the first since he sat next to Kwan. The one word drew everyone's attention to him, and the whole conflict between Dash and Paulina was forgotten. Wulf's green eyes focused on Kwan, who tried without success to pretend the werewolf wasn't glowering at him. "Why would Skulker wish for obedience from you?"

The question reminded Danny of what Dash said the first time they met in the theater. He paled at the thought that Skulker wanted Kwan to submit to his will to make it easier to have sex with him.

"Why would I know what goes on in that alien freak's mind?" Kwan refused to look at Wulf as he dug his fingers into the rind of an orange, starting to peel it.

"You knew he was an alien?" Wulf grabbed his arm, jerking Kwan toward him.

Kwan opened his mouth then snapped it shut. Fear passed through his eyes, no doubt realizing that he let something slip that he shouldn't have. "So what? That doesn't mean anything. You knew he was an alien too." He tried to pry his arm free, but Wulf wouldn't release his tight hold.

"But why would an alien want Kwan?" Abner asked the question that was on almost everyone's mind. "I mean, if it's just about a human, you know like in the movies where aliens want to probe humans and all that, why does he care only about Kwan?"

But before anyone could offer answers, the lunch bell rang. Kwan managed to free his arm, and after snatching up his bag, he headed for the exit of the theater. Danny scrambled out of Dash lap and seized hold of the jock's sleeve before Kwan could leave.

"I talked with Cogsworth after class today," Danny said as Kwan frowned down at him. "He agreed to let us switch seats."

"Why would you do that?" Panic and relief fought each other in Kwan's eyes, and Danny thought he might understand the mixed reaction. Kwan was relieved to have a seat that wasn't right next to Skulker, but he probably also feared Skulker's reaction after seeing that his prey switched seats.

"Because I can't sit through class while Skulker's leering at you like a piece of meat," Danny grumbled, his stomach twisting in disgust at that thought.

"This is still so weird," Kwan mumbled as he raked a hand through his hair. "I never thought anyone would care."

"And we are happy to prove you wrong about that." Danny grinned up at him. "And seriously, if you ever need to talk-"

"You should consider taking your own advice." Kwan pulled Danny's hand away from his arm and held his hand wrapped around Danny's wrist, his thumb pressing over where the scars were. "Because if I need to realize I don't have to carry my burden alone, then you need to realize that you don't either." The look that flashed in his aqua green eyes made Danny snap his hand away with a nervous gulp.

"Don't forget your bag," Dash said, and Danny jumped when the blond man appeared at his side. Dash held out the book bag to Danny, who could still see the lingering concern in his eyes.

"It's really not a big deal, Dash." Danny took his bag, slinging it over his shoulder. He glanced quickly to Kwan only to find that the jock fled quietly from the theater. "I never went so far as to commit suicide, and I haven't done it in months." He walked toward the exit with Dash following right at his side.

"But you still have the urge to do it." Dash frowned as he took hold of Danny's wrist like somehow he could drive away that feeling inside Danny and protect him with the simple touch.

"Yes," Danny admitted, bowing his head so his dark bangs hung down over his eyes. "But I don't act on it anymore. I made a promise that I'm not going to break."

Dash squeezed his hand lightly around Danny's wrist. "I'm just worried," he whispered. "You're carrying something around with you, but you won't tell me anything. Of course I'm going to freak out when I find out you used to cut yourself." He scratched his free hand through his blond locks. "I like you, and I don't want to lose you before we figure out if this is more than just simple attraction. And the thought that something might happen to push you over the edge and cut again really kills me."
"Dash," Danny forced the other man to stop as he looked up into Dash's eyes, "I promise you that I'm not going to cut myself again."

"I'm still going to worry."

"Yeah." Danny sighed. "I know."

Author's Note: I promise we're getting close to Danny's big reveal! XD;;