I'm REALLY sorry about not updating, especially because I had this chapter typed out for so long. But then I got covid and now I'm having respiratory problems and I have no idea if it's even linked to that because the hospital told me they don't even have enough information about covid to be able to treat me for it so bottom line, if I'm dying I might as well just live life, part of that being giving you guys another chapter, so I hope you enjoy :)
"What are you doing here?" Valerie asked, and although he was expecting it, he couldn't sense any anger behind it; if anything, she was asking out of pure curiosity. "I thought your parents had you on a tight leash?" She further questioned, only making Danny chuckle nervously before he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Yeah, a lot can change in a few years," he answered, then turned to look back at Sam and Tucker and motioned to them. "You remember Sam and Tucker, right?"
"Of course! How are you guys?" Valerie asked, causing Tucker to shrug.
"Oh, you know. Same old shit," Tucker told her while Sam smiled back silently, and Tucker could tell her mood had completely changed. He assumed Danny seeing his ex was making Sam feel insecure as if at any moment she could sweep him away again. There wasn't much he could do about it since concealing her feelings was her choice; the only thing he could do was comfort her and try to make her feel better however possible. Valerie only smiled at the both of them before turning back to Danny.
"I haven't seen you in a while. You look good," and from the corner of his eye, Tucker could see Sam take a large swing of her drink.
"Thanks. You don't look too bad yourself," Danny told her, but mostly out of kindness.
"You want to catch up?" Danny looked back at Sam and Tucker, not wanting to hurt their feelings by ditching them for a little bit.
"We'll be fine, Danny. Go on," Sam finally spoke up, forcing another smile. He returned her fake grin with a real one before disappearing with Valerie, and Sam let out a frustrated sigh.
"How much did that kill you?" Tucker jested, causing Sam to shrug.
"I'm fine," she lied, taking another sip of her drink.
"Don't worry, Sam. Danny's not into Valerie anymore... even if she's still into him," he added, and Sam wished he would just stop talking. She knew he was trying to make her feel better, but just thinking about it made her nervous. Without a word, she chugged her drink until it was empty.
"How about another drink?" She asked, and before Tucker could answer, she walked away to go into the kitchen to find more booze, preferably something stronger. Tucker followed close behind, not wanting to lose her in the crowd. Upon entering the kitchen, there was only one other person in there, grabbing a beer from the fridge.
"Looking for something?" He asked in a friendly tone, opening his beer can swiftly. His dark hair was covered with a grey beanie and his green eyes were a bit cloudy from being intoxicated. He looked from Sam to Tucker before a smile spread across his face. "Hey, I know you guys! What's your name again?" He asked, directing his question towards Tucker.
"It's Tucker," he told him, and the teenager held out his hand to shake it.
"Derek." He switched his attention from Tucker to Sam. "Sam, right?"
"You remember me?" She asked, receiving a smile from him.
"I'm usually good at remembering faces. Especially a pretty one," he added, taking a sip of his beer. "Do you remember we had English class with Lancer?"
"Oh, yeah! That class was torture," Sam replied, and he nodded in agreement.
"Definitely. I don't think Lancer ever liked me."
"Join the club." They both laughed together, and it was obvious they were getting along well, so Tucker decided to leave them be for a bit in hopes it would distract her from Danny and Valerie hanging out.
"Sam, I'll be right in the living room if you need me," he told her, getting a nod from her before he left. Upon Tucker's departure, Derek placed his beer on one of the counters and leaned against it.
"So, were you looking for something particular in here?" He asked, causing Sam to shrug.
"Just alcohol." He nodded and walked to the other side of the kitchen, taking two shot cups and a bottle of vodka in his hands.
"Shots?" He asked, giving her a lopsided grin. She returned his smile and took one of the shot cups and the vodka, accepting his offer.
Almost an hour later, Danny surfaced at the top of the stairs, making his way down and into the living room. He scanned the area for Tucker or Sam and found only Tucker in the living room playing a video game with Dash. There were only a few people standing around watching, but none of them were Sam. Worried, Danny approached Tucker, making sure he wasn't blocking the television.
"You're not half bad at this, Loser," Dash was saying to him. "You're actually giving me a run for my money."
"I mean, we can bet actual money if you want," Tucker commented, causing Dash to scoff.
"Don't push your luck, nerd."
"Where's Sam?" Danny asked, interrupting their useless bickering.
"She's in the kitchen with Derek," Tucker answered casually, and Danny could feel his heart skip a beat.
"Who the hell is Derek?"
"They're friends. They went to school together."
"Why aren't you watching her?" Danny asked, getting angrier at him for leaving her alone and possibly vulnerable.
"Sam can take care of herself."
"Not if she's drunk!" Tucker tried not to roll his eyes at Danny's outburst. He was someone who was overprotective in general, but when it came to Sam, Danny was on a whole different level.
"I can see the kitchen from here. They're still in there and she's fine." Danny shook his head at his carelessness and turned away from him, walking straight into the kitchen where Sam and Derek were. They were both holding red party cups, and by the way their eyes looked, the way they were talking and losing balance, it was obvious they had a few too many. At the sight of Danny, Derek drunkenly held out his hand.
"Hey! I'm Derek," he introduced, and Danny stared at Derek's outstretched hand for a moment before resisting the urge to roll his eyes and finally shook his weak hand firmly.
"Danny," he introduced before he turned to Sam who was leaning with her back against the counter, "are you okay?" He asked, causing her to scoff.
"Of course! I'm fine," she waved a hand in dismissal as she took a sip from her drink, but before she could put it back down, Danny took it and dumped it down the sink.
"You've had way too much already. We're going to go now," he told her as he heard a small cry behind him.
"You just wasted perfectly good grey goose!" Derek was wallowing, and Danny finally let his eyes roll, knowing Derek was probably too drunk to remember any of this later anyway.
"What if I don't wanna go?" Sam asked, causing Danny to place a hand on her back to guide her out of the kitchen and into the living room.
"We all carpooled here so we all leave together. Where are your keys? I'll drive."
"Tucker's got 'em," she slurred as Danny walked them over to the couch their best friend was sitting on.
"Let's go. Keys, please," Danny said, holding out his hand to Tucker.
"Are you good to drive?" Tucker asked him, rising from the couch and reaching into his back pocket.
"Yeah. I only had one beer at the beginning of the night. I'm fine."
"Okay. Here." Tucker dropped the keys into Danny's palm before they said brief goodbyes to some of their friends that were near on their way out. Once they got to Sam's car, she and Tucker sat in the back while Danny took the wheel.
"Where are we going?" Sam asked, looking out the window as Danny pulled away from the curb.
"To drop off Tucker then I'm taking you home," Danny replied.
"Wait, where's my car?"
"We're in it," Danny sighed out, and he could hear Tucker start to laugh from behind him.
"Oh, my god! Are you drunk?" Tucker asked in amusement as he turned to Sam who only smacked him in the arm weakly.
"Shut up!"
"How many drinks did you have?"
"I dunno. That's too much math," she complained, holding a hand to her head as if it hurt.
"Wow, the only time any of us are smarter than Sam is when she's drunk," he continued, causing her to snarl.
"You're the one who left me alone in the first place!"
"I technically didn't leave you alone. You were with Derek."
"Wait, wait, wait," Danny interrupted, making a hard stop outside of Tucker's house before looking back at the both of them. "You left her alone with Derek?"
"What's the big deal? They both knew each other and she was sober when I left. It's not like I left her alone while she was drunk."
"You shouldn't have left her at all!"
"Sam's an adult like the rest of us and can take care of herself. She was fine the entire night until you freaked out," Tucker finished, crossing his arms. Danny overthought his words and sighed, unlocking the doors so Tucker could leave. "I'll talk to you later, dude," Tucker told him, letting him know he wasn't angry at his actions.
"Okay." He left the car and Danny watched him get inside before turning to Sam.
"Can you sit up here with me, please? I want to keep an eye on you," he asked her, getting a silent nod from her before she switched to the front clumsily. He waited until her seatbelt was strapped before he pulled away from the curb, and she looked up at him as he drove. His eyes and that jawline always distracted her, enough for her to have to force herself to look away sometimes, but being intoxicated lowered her impulse control and she couldn't help herself.
"What happened with you an' Valerie?" She asked, scared of the answer but supported by liquid courage.
"Nothing happened. I didn't want anything to happen. We just talked and caught up," he responded.
"Did she want somethin' to happen?" The silence that met her concerned her, and he gripped the wheel tighter as he drove.
"I didn't let anything happen. I politely turned her down."
"Why?" He looked over at her briefly, wanting to tell her that she was the only one he wanted, but he knew he couldn't. He decided to go with the more vague, simple answer.
"I'm just not into her anymore. I haven't been in a very long time." Sam finally looked away and out her window, silently satisfied and relieved that nothing had happened between him and Valerie. He soon pulled up to her house and parked by the curb, turning the car off and stuffing her keys in his front pocket. "Come here. I'll fly you up to your room," he told her before picking her up and floating them through her bedroom window. He placed her next to her bed and held one of her arms to make sure she was stable. "You should really go to bed. You're going to have a killer hangover tomorrow," he continued, and she walked over to her dresser and pulled out a very large, black shirt.
"Looking forward to it," she said sarcastically. She didn't think twice or warn Danny before she started to strip down, and he quickly turned around the opposite way out of respect so he wouldn't see anything. She pulled the shirt on before she crawled into bed, sighing as she pulled the covers up.
"Are you good?" Danny asked, still with his back to her.
"I'm in bed," she stated, causing him to turn around and walk towards her, placing his hands on the bed to lean over her.
"Do you want anything?"
"Like?"
"Water or Advil?" She looked up at him before slowly placing her hand over his fingers.
"I just want you to stay," she said to him, and he looked down at their hands before he nodded at her.
"Move over," he told her, and she unsteadily crawled over to the left so Danny could sit on the right side of her bed. He sat with his back against the headboard and she laid down to go to sleep, but after closing her eyes, she looked up at Danny again.
"Why were you upset about Derek?" She asked out of curiosity, remembering his outbursts about him in the car. He looked down at her to meet her gaze before shrugging.
"I don't like you being alone at a party like that," he paused for a moment, thinking about possibly admitting something to her since she was too drunk to remember anyway. The real reason was that he was jealous, which even he thought was stupid, but he couldn't help it. "I don't know. I was worried that maybe he liked you," he finished, causing her to raise an eyebrow.
"Whasthat supposed to mean?" He looked into her hazy eyes before taking a breath.
"I mean, anyone would kill to have you. You're smart, funny, down to earth, not to mention beautiful. It's easy for someone to fall for you... including me." He was afraid of her reaction, especially with her being intoxicated. He half expected her not to even comprehend his remarks because of it, but she looked at him with such sad eyes that he knew that she understood. She sat up to look at him face to face before cupping his cheek with her left hand.
"I'm sorry," she told him, eyes looking upset behind the glaze.
"For what?" He asked, and she was silent for a moment before answering.
"You may be everything I want now, but what about later? I don't know if I can take another heartbreak, especially if it's you." She hoped that all made sense even in her drunken state, but before Danny could give a response, she laid down and turned away from him. He let out a sigh before glancing at her still form. In a way, that kind of went well considering she admitted that she liked him, but she was too scared to do anything about it. All he had to do was prove to her that he was in it for the long haul, but how?
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