Clueless

After my lunch with Peter, I flew straight back to New York. Nathan was making a speedy recovery so Peter promised they would be home soon. Until then, I was worried about my grades. I know that sounds strange of all things to be concerned about but after I came home, I remembered that I had sent an application to NYU. Not just for admission though. It was for their dance school. And if my grades were satisfactory for them, I wouldn't even get an audition.

Then there was the slight problem of the lack of control over my powers.

Sylar's reappearance caught me off guard and I was unable to defend myself. I needed to be prepared for next time. To do that I did little exercises like controlling a small air current or lifting myself an inch off of the ground until I was able to do the big stuff that weekend in secret.

Two days had passed since my visit to Odessa. Cole was there to greet me when I arrived. It was then I remembered that we were officially a couple. I know it sounds naïve but it was something I had to remind myself considering I spent five years denying any feelings for my best friend. Apparently the news spread around fast because by the time we went to school the next morning our classmates exchanged knowing looks with us. Dylan taunted us with, "I told you so" and Ava screamed, "Finally!"

As much as I despised the attention, I didn't care who did or didn't know. I was happy. I know I said that when I was with Chad but this was different. I didn't have any doubts with Cole and there was nothing stopping us from being together. It was as if a huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders.

Speaking of, Cole came over to the house more often than he usually did. I gave him a key since he came so often. I guess the whole thing with Sylar rattled him so he checked up as much as he could on me. I didn't mind though. It was just like old times except with more flirting. Plus I felt less alone in the house my family left me to take care of. But that wasn't due to Cole's visits. It was hard to explain. It was as if I could feel another presence in the house. I was never able to investigate though since I left early for school and came home late from dance rehearsal.

I left the issue alone for now. At the moment, I was currently preoccupied trying to solve a math problem while attempting to put my NYU application at the back of my mind. As predicted, Cole was there as well to do homework as we sat in the living room.

"Don't try so hard," Cole teased me. "That's the mathematician's job."

"Well not all of us can be stellar at math," I countered.

"You have a higher grade than me in this class and you hardly study."

I sighed. "I can't stop thinking about my application. They were supposed to send me a date for my audition this week. What if they threw it out?"

"Are you kidding me? They would be out of their minds if they did that. Besides, you're going to blow them off of their feet at the audition."

"I hope you don't mean that literally," I said.

His face reddened. "Oh sorry, there was no pun intended there."

"It's okay. I feel better about my powers nowadays."

"So how is the training going?"

"It's coming. I can't practice on the big stuff until I can get to the warehouse this weekend but other than that I'm making progress." I smiled. "Like when we were running for dance rehearsals, I barely felt out of breath by the end of the mile and I was running at normal pace."

"It sounds like you're getting stronger."

"Yeah and it feels great to be honest. It's tiring to ignore who you are."

Cole moved closer to me. "I haven't heard you this excited about this stuff since…ever."

"After Sylar came back, I thought, I'm never going to be normal so why give the effort and embrace what I am?" I paused. "I can help people and I think that's why I can do what I can do."

"Like a superhero?"

"I don't know. I think there's a purpose for me, but I haven't exactly figured that out yet. Until then, I'm completely content where I am now."

"Great because I'm not ready to let you go just yet."

"Me neither."

We leaned in towards each other until our lips met. The light kiss turned into a passionate one as we shoved our books off of our laps and pressed our bodies together. I opened my mouth allowing his tongue to enter. My heart raced as I ran my hand through his blond hair. I ignored my surroundings whenever I was with Cole. All that mattered was him and I.

"Well I didn't expect to run into this," a voice echoed through the doorway.

I pulled away from Cole at the familiarity of the voice. It couldn't be. But it was. My foster mother, Angela stood at the doorway appearing as cleaner than when I last saw her at the prison. Her hair was neater and with her makeup on she was able to hide more of her wrinkles.

"Angela," I said, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here," Angela stated.

I got up from the couch. "No. I mean when did you get out of jail?"

"Nathan put out an early release for me shortly before he was shot in Odessa."

"So you've been here this whole time?"

"Yes."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "And when were you going to enlighten me about your presence?"

"Sooner than this but you obviously had your distractions." She glanced at an embarrassed Cole. "I see you followed my last piece of advice. Don't let me be an interruption any longer. Carry on with…whatever you'd like to call what you were doing."

Angela left up the stairs. I waited until the door shut behind her to speak again.

"Unbelievable," I muttered. "It's like nothing's changed."

"What exactly was the advice she gave you?" Cole questioned.

"Find a boy and a nice boy," I quoted. "I think I did a pretty good job."

"So now that you're not living on your own anymore, I guess I won't need to come around as often."

I sat back on the couch and punched him in the shoulder. "Please, no. I just might go to your house now that Angela is back."

Cole laughed. "I wouldn't mind that. Listen, I know we've only been dating for a couple days but don't you think we should actually go on a date?"

"Are you trying to ask me out? Because as far as I can tell, you're not very good at that."

"Fine. Would you like to go on a date with me tomorrow night?"

"I would love to." I gave him a tender kiss on the cheek.

"Great," he smiled.

Our heads moved in closer once again, but before our lips could touch a voice stopped us.

"Just because your books are on the floor doesn't mean that you're actually using the time to study," Angela chastised behind us. I didn't even hear her come back down the stairs.

"Was she a ninja at one point?" Cole hissed to me.

"Wouldn't surprise me," I replied.

It was strange. Angela never took attention to my personal life until now. I guess since she figured that Cole and I were just friends that we wouldn't be too crazy. But things were different now. I didn't realize she would take that into account. Cole and I continued our study session under Angela's discreet supervision until he left to go home.

If Angela didn't show up when she did, I would go on with my life thinking that she was still in prison because by the next morning, I was alone once again. Once I was ready, I met Cole in his jeep so he could take us to school. Besides the fact that my relationship status with Cole had dramatically changed, school had stayed relatively the same. Remember Chad? The slime-bag I dated for a couple months before Cole? Well, he didn't seem to have an inch of guilt for cheating on me with Brooke. In fact, they were in a steady relationship together now. Good. They deserved each other.

I was just waiting until he found someone else better than Brooke.

Anyway, we were half-way through senior year and it seemed as though every conversation consisted of college admissions and plans for the future. As Cole mentioned before, I was concerned about my audition for NYU. I needed to know when I needed my original routine done by. Ava, on the other hand, was worried about places such as UCLA, Harvard, MIT, and Berkley. Cole's plans were if he didn't get into Julliard or NYU, he would go to University of Virginia or a smaller college close to New York. It was hard to believe that each of us had different plans that would take us different directions but all the same we still met at the same point of our journeys for a reason. It was a bittersweet feeling more than anything.

The school day went on as it did and when the final bell rang, I walked with Ava to dance rehearsals while she was on her way to her debate team practice.

"I can't believe that didn't enter your mind," Ava exasperated. "When you're dating, it's usually implied that you go on dates."

"It's only been a couple of days," I stressed. "And with Peter coming home and college stuff, I didn't really think ahead. Besides, it's not like he hasn't been over in the past couple days."

"Those aren't dates. Those are the usual Danni-Cole study and hang out sessions. Not exactly romantic."

"Well we have different tastes then. I prefer the simple things in life, but you're expecting Cody to take you to Paris one day."

She blushed. "Not right away. One year anniversary, maybe."

Despite the disaster my date to the dance turned into, Ava's date went very well. Cody and Ava were seeing each other more often now. He seemed like a good guy. I wasn't sure what his plans were after high school were but I was assuming he would continue with music since he was the lead singer of his own garage band. Ava said they were pretty good, but I hadn't heard them myself to be the judge of that.

"So what are you and Cole doing tonight?" Ava asked.

"I'm not sure. He's going to pick me up at six and I'm assuming everything else is in his hands."

"At least you two are doing something now."

I narrowed my eyes at her.

She shrugged in response. "What? I've been waiting for this to happen since you first moved to New York."

"Let get this straight: my first relationship was unapproved and now this relationship is highly recommended?"

"Look, obviously Chad isn't the model figure for us anymore but even before that I wasn't sure about him since he barely spoke a word to any of us and only shows up at school periodically."

"His dad lives in Florida so he does independent study when he's over there," I explained earning a slight glare. "I dated him for a couple months. I picked up a few things."

"Anyway, I know Cole. He won't do anything to hurt you and I can never imagine you'd hurt him so I imagine you two will last."

I didn't know how to respond to her point of view on my personal life so I simply said, "Thank you."

We changed our conversation to a lighter subject before we went our separate ways. Dance rehearsals went on its normal course. The advanced group would prepare for the next dance competition while the younger groups would do their normal exercises. I nearly sprinted home after rehearsals to get the mail on time. My letter from NYU had to be there. It was the end of the week and if it wasn't in the mail by now, I would fly down to the school myself and demand the status of my application.

Much to my relief I found a pile of mail on the table near the door. I quickly shuffled through the letters to find the one I was looking for. Bill…bill…bill…sports magazine? Must be Nathan's. Letter addressed to me…wait a minute! I looked at the envelope more closely. The return address and the seal proved to me that this was the one I was waiting for. Sudden anticipation quickly turned into fear. What if they did reject me? What would I do?

Before I could convince myself otherwise, I broke the seal and opened the envelope.

Miss Danielle Petrelli,

New York University's Tisch School of the Arts would like to invite you to audition for our dance program. The dates are available below. Call our office of admissions for the date that you are able to come. Bring an 8x10 full body dance photograph in your dance wear, ballet shoes and form fitting dancewear, and a resume detailing your dance experience including types of training, schools and teachers. The whole audition will last 90 minutes consisting of modern and ballet dancing classes. Then you must perform a one to two minute solo of any dancing style which will be proceeded by an interview. We hope to see you there.

It took all of my willpower not to scream right there. I was given an audition which meant I had a chance. Now my only worry was to come up with my solo and to survive the dance classes. Then there was my date with Cole that night. I grinned to myself.

It was crazy to believe that a weekend ago, I was willing to give up the friendship I had with Cole for a relationship that was meant to break into pieces and I still believed my brother to be dead. Now, I was going on my first date with Cole, my brother was never dead to begin with and the door to NYU seemed closer than ever before.

I was utterly lost as what I would wear that night. I know that sounds pathetic, but it's true. I was about to go on a date with a guy who could have cared less if I went in my sweats. I didn't know if I should wear something that looked nice or impressed him in any way. Was I aiming to impress him? I wasn't sure. I came to the final decision to wear a nice top and jeans. It was enough for Cole to notice something different.

"Going somewhere?"

I turned to see Angela in the doorway. "Yeah, I'm going to hang out with Cole tonight."

"I saw you two together yesterday. There's no need to sugar code it."

"Right." I paused. "So have you talked to Peter since you got out?"

"I spoke to him at the hospital. He should have been back in New York today."

"And you had nothing to do with hiding his survival?"

"Even I have my morals, Danielle," she gave me a tight smile. "What the Company did to my son was unforgivable. I had no idea Peter was alive this whole time."

"Right. I just needed to know."

"I understand. Now that Peter is back, you have the chance for a normal life again. Isn't that right?"

No one besides Cole knew about my plan to training myself to have more than control over my power. I wasn't about to tell Angela that though.

"Of course," I simply said. "I better head downstairs in case Cole shows up."

"Of course. Have a good time."

"Thanks."

She moved aside allowing me to walk through. I quickly made my way down the stairs just in time for the doorbell to ring. I grabbed my coat and opened the door. Cole grinned at me.

"You have a key," I pointed out to Cole. "You could have gone vampire and snuck up on me."

"And sparkle in the sunlight? That's not really the proper etiquette," he said. "Are you ready?"

"Yes."

He offered his arm and I took his hand as he led me to his jeep.

We drove a little ways until we arrived at Central Park. I went towards the park as soon as the car came to a full stop, but Cole stopped me.

"Wait, there's something I have to show you," he said.

I nodded. "Okay."

He led me down the street until we arrived at the street corner between the drug store and the meat shop. I went to press the crossing button but he stopped me once again.

I looked at him curiously. "Is this what you wanted to show me? Drugs and poultry?"

"No." He patted the lamppost. "I wanted to show you this."

"A pole?" I crossed my arms. "You cringe at the thought of pornography and now you're suggesting a pole?"

"No! I didn't mean it like that. You probably don't remember this since I was the one who saw you and you had no idea I existed at the time."

"Can we please skip the creeper diaries?"

"Right, sorry. You were walking down the street and I was with Ava. Then I saw you. I don't know what came over me, but the next thing I know I crashed into this pole."

"I remember. I helped you up."

"Ava teased me about it for the rest of the day. It got worse when I found out that you were in my history class. But when we had our first conversation, I felt like I could talk about anything with you."

"My mom had just died two weeks before and you were the first person outside of my foster family that I told," I admitted. "I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't tell anybody unless the time came, but you just snuck up on me. It was like the minute I opened my mouth to you, I could trust you."

"I knew there was something special about you. I guess that's why I was attracted to you in the first place. How you carried yourself despite the pain you went through and how you were able to still smile even though the world gave you every reason not to. It was and it still is the most strength I've ever seen in a person."

I moved closer to him. "Thank you, but strength is nothing without a hand to hold on to. You've always been there for me and I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you for it. I know I've said this to the most annoying level, but it's true. Especially this past year. When everything changed, you were able to stay the same nerdy Cole. The minute I knew I was in love with you was when you came back even though I pushed you away. I don't deserve you, but I'm glad you asked me to dance."

"So am I," he wrapped his hand in mine. "I didn't realize how much I wanted you until that night. I'll always be there for you, Danielle Petrelli."

"And I'll be there for you," I leaned in close enough for our foreheads to touch.

We pulled into a kiss under the lamppost.

You know the saying, calm before the storm? Well, that was what was going on those problem-free few days. I was so happy to have Peter back in my life and Cole as my boyfriend that I forgot how horrible my life actually was. I know, it sounds a little dramatic, but you just wait. Not even a week later, my life would take a drastic turn.

After my date with Cole, he dropped me off at home. We ended up eating a couple of hotdogs and walking through the city shortly after our little moment. I didn't come home too late that night, but the lights were off nonetheless.

I quietly snuck in, careful not to disturb Angela. I placed my coat on the rack, closed the door behind me, and flipped on the lights. I gasped at the dark figure that appeared in front of the staircase.

I relaxed when I realized who it was. "God, Peter, you could have given me a heart attack."

"Sorry," he shrugged. "I just needed to check up on you."

"Well, I would have called if you gave me a recent phone number since the last one was cancelled." I sighed. "I'm fine."

"I tried asking mom where you were, but she said that you never told her."

"I said I was out with Cole."

"The where is what I was concerned with, Danni," he slightly growled. "Why didn't you tell anyone where you were going?"

I was taken aback by his sudden hostility. "No one usually cared. Besides, it's Cole. Where in that name screams illegal?"

"That's not what I'm worried about. It's your safety that's the concern here."

"Look, I know I had a run-in with Sylar earlier this week but I came out fine and it seems like he's not going to come back anytime soon."

"Sylar is not the problem, at least for now."

I crossed my arms. "Then what is?"

Peter stared blankly towards me. "You don't need to worry about that."

"You can't just tell me that I need to worry about something and not tell me what it is!"

"It's best if you don't know."

"For you or for me? What is up with you anyway? Ever since you came back, you seem different."

"Of course I'm different. I spent many months away from home trying to gain my memory back and then almost released a virus that could have killed the world. It's our experiences that shape us, Danni and they can change us in more ways than one."

"So you converted from optimist to pessimist?"

"You don't understand now, but you will soon," he told me. "If you know what's good for you, you'll stay out of what's to come. Goodnight, Danni."

I watched him as he left through the front door. I didn't realize it then, but Peter was more right than I would have ever expected. Things were about to change and so was I.

Thanks for reading! I figured this would be a nice calm chapter before the chaos that starts to ensue in the next chapter. Until next time...

~ShatteredxDreams411