Lacey led Danny back downstairs to rejoin the party, one hand laced together with his. He didn't even try to keep his demeanor in check, the smile on his face revealing everything to anyone watching.
"Lacey! Oh my gosh, there you arrrrre—" Regina danced up to her best friend, "Where did you go?" She looked Danny up and down.
Lacey looked at Danny too and smiled brightly, "I just took Danny on a tour." She squeezed his hand gently.
"Oh I bet that was an epic journey." Regina said with equal parts sarcasm and jealousy.
"You have no idea." Lacey gushed, making Danny's heart swell. He was happy that she had a good time.
"Have you checked your phone?!" Regina bit her lip as if she was trying to hold in the biggest news of her life.
"Uh—no, um—" Lacey released Danny's hand and fished around the tiny pocket she had stuck her phone into.
"Charlie's out." Regina blurted out, her willpower now at zero.
Lacey's eyes grew several sizes as she unlocked her phone and saw she had a handful of notifications from Charlie's number.
"I—what?" Lacey wasn't sure what to say, "Is he here?!" Lacey looked around.
"No, but he's been trying to reach you for the last hour. He said something about overcrowding, I wasn't really listening." Regina offered the summary, "He wants you to call him."
"Thanks, Reg."
"You know, Danny, if this means that you're available now I'd still love to hang out." Regina gave him her sweetest smile.
"I'm not available, sorry." Danny admitted, confused and incredibly uncomfortable at the moment.
"Well, you know where to find me." Regina turned and left them in the middle of the living room.
Lacey quickly read through the texts.
Charlie: Surprise! I'm out. Would love to talk.
Charlie: I miss you, Lacey. I miss us.
Charlie: Where are you?
She looked up at Danny. He couldn't read her. Was she happy?
"Danny—" Lacey shook her head almost in disbelief.
Danny covered his mouth with his hand, giving it a rub before leaning his face into it as he watched Lacey cycle through her thoughts.
"I didn't know." Was all she could say.
"So, what does this mean?" Danny asked softly.
"I wasn't lying, Charlie and I, we're done."
"You called it off because you thought he'd be gone for another two years. I understand if this changes things."
Danny didn't want to lose whatever was brewing between them but at the same time he couldn't compete with a guy who had loved her for years.
"I am going to reach out and talk to him, catch up."
"Are you going to tell him about us?"
"It's none of his business. Danny you and I—"
"Had fun." Danny finished her thought, "Let's leave it there." He nodded, trying to make it easy for her.
Danny's mind was on overdrive as his own insecurities flooded his thoughts. Lacey didn't want Charlie to know. She didn't want him.
"Danny—" Lacey began to object as he took a step away from her, his face showing his disappointment.
"There you guys are, I—I can't find Jo. We may have had some drinks, well, we definitely had some drinks—" A buzzed Rico tried to spit it out, "A lot of drinks in a short amount of time—"
"Where is she?" Danny asked, his brain still a little sex-hazed and now majorly preoccupied with the Charlie news.
"I led with the fact that I can't find her—" Rico held his hands up in frustration.
"Rico, just—when did you see her last?" Lacey asked, supremely annoyed by his timing and lack of communication skills.
"She was playing beer pong with Tyler like ten minutes ago." Rico was getting increasingly worried, "I went to use the bathroom, there was a line and w-when I got back she was gone."
"You looked around?" Lacey asked.
"Yes, everywhere downstairs so far." Rico's anxiety was increasing, "This house is huge though, I need help."
"You sure she's not outside?" Danny suggested, "She likes to look at the stars."
"Really?" Lacey squinted at him.
"What?" Danny shrugged.
"She's not outside! Why would she ditch her socially awkward boyfriend and go outside to look at the stars?!" Lacey broke it down smaller for him.
"Guys I'm standing right here." Rico shook his head in disbelief.
"Green Grove girls are so mean to me—" Danny grumbled.
"Hello? I need help—" Rico waved his hand between the bickering summer fling, their flame now slowly burning them into a pile of rubble.
"Let's check upstairs." Lacey said, trying to stay calm for everyone.
"Upstairs, like in the bedrooms?!" Rico's eyes bugged out.
"Arch!" Danny shouted and signaled for him.
Archie sighed and begrudgingly pried himself away from the group of girls he was flirting with.
"Dude, seriously? Sarita was finally warming up—"
"Uh—doubtful." Lacey gave him the side eye and laughed unabashedly.
"Your cousin is missing." Danny informed Archie.
"Jo?"
"No your other cousin—" Danny glared at him.
"How did you all graduate high school?" Rico wondered out loud.
"I need you to back me up, we're headed upstairs to look." Danny let that statement hang and waited for Archie to realize that they'd likely be walking into a situation with the potential to cause them both some major problems.
"Fuck, yeah okay."
"W-What do you think is happening? I mean—"
"Rico, we'll find her. I'm sure she's fine." Lacey tried to calm him down, "It's just a big party—"
"I can't find Tyler either." Rico confessed, he knew this probably wasn't good.
Archie took the lead, Danny, Lacey and Rico following close behind as they scaled the spiral staircase.
"Regina's got like nine bedrooms doesn't she?" Rico looked down the long hallway.
"Twelve." Lacey corrected.
"If Tyler is fucking with her I'm going back to jail tonight." Archie predicted and got to work trying door handles.
Danny and Lacey looked at each other worriedly, Rico still trailing along behind them.
The first few bedrooms were empty. The next few had couples hooking up inside with their doors unlocked.
The first locked door that Archie came across enraged him. He pounded on it like he was a firefighter, yelling for whoever was inside to unlock it.
"Hey man, what's your fucking problem?" Scott Ogden of all people stuck his shirtless upper half into the hallway.
"Great." Danny quickly slid himself in front of Archie before he could pummel this douche bag who had already tried to cause them problems.
"Oh, it's you two fuckwads." Scott tried to slam the door shut but Danny stuck his boot inside the room just in time.
"Don't mind us, just on a scavenger hunt. We're super into party games." Danny smiled and flicked the light on, definitely a girl wrapped in a sheet in the corner, definitely not Jo, "It's clear." Danny reported back to Archie, "Carry on, mate." He smiled at Scott.
"Fuck you." Scott growled and slammed the door.
Danny found the next locked door and stuck his ear against it instead of immediately Neanderthaling his fists into it like Archie did.
Laughter. He plugged his other ear so he could hear better.
"No, no, no." He heard a girl's voice. It could be Jo, but she seemed so—happy, "Give it back, Ty—"
"They're in here." Danny confirmed and before he could say anything else Archie crushed the handle, slammed his shoulder into the door and easily broke in.
Tyler and Jo were standing in front of an open window, the whole room reeking of pot.
"Oh—my god." Jo was shocked at first, then pissed.
"Oh shit!" Tyler giggled, "It's the whole D.A.R.E. program!" His words making him and Jo bust out laughing together.
"Jo? What are you doing? Are you okay?" Rico asked her in a mixture of worry and heartbreak.
"We're smokin', Rick!" Tyler confirmed.
"It's Rico."
"Busted." Jo said softly, taking another long drag.
"We would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling kids." Tyler laughed again and took the blunt back.
"Jo. Are you good?" Danny asked her seriously.
"Yes, DAD. I'm fine."
"This is bullshit Jo, you know we can't be around that shit." Archie was pissed now too.
"I believe the door was shut and locked, you absolute caveman assholes." Jo scathed.
"I can't be in here." Danny headed back toward the door.
"You never think about anyone else." Lacey scowled at Jo and followed Danny out.
"I see what you mean." Tyler said to Jo and shook his head.
"Right?!"
"I was worried about you Jo, I can't protect you if—" Archie began to explain.
"I'm so sick of being protected!" Jo shouted, "You think I didn't need to get out of that house tonight too?"
"You're not on parole! Stop being such an angsty fuck and think about someone else, damn no wonder Lacey shaved your eyebrows off—" Archie shouted back.
"Oh shit—" Tyler started laughing again, "I remember that. Shit was so bad ass."
Jo shook her head, Tyler was so weird.
"I—I'm gonna go." Rico turned and began to walk away.
Tyler handed the blunt back to Jo and exhaled one last time before going after him.
"Hey man, you stay, I'll go. You're a lucky guy." Tyler gave Rico a smack on the back and dipped.
"Thanks." Rico was overwhelmed at this point.
"Want some? Sharing is caring." Jo giggled and held her hand out to Archie and Rico.
"Please don't get us arrested, that's all I'm asking." Archie declined and left Jo and Rico to talk through whatever this was.
"I need a drink." Lacey declared as she reached the bottom of the stairs.
Danny stayed in the living room and watched Lacey head straight for the drinks.
"What's going on with you two?" Archie wondered, picking up on their frosty interaction.
"Nothing."
"Nothing? You two were gone forever, you hit that?"
"Her ex is back." Danny needed to tell someone.
"The guy in jail?" Archie asked, just as stunned as Lacey had seemed by the news.
"Yep."
"So fuck her, dude. There's plenty of other girls here—" Archie tried to scrape his friend's morale up off the floor.
Danny looked around, his eyes roaming and acknowledging lots of other people that were coexisting with him at this party. There were plenty of other girls, but Lacey was the only one he could actually see. He shook his head no.
"Nah, man. It's just her."
"Okay, the stop sulking and show her you're it. I've never seen two people with more chemistry than you two. Who even is this other guy?"
"I'm not good enough for her." Danny stared across the room at her radiant soul as she talked to her friends.
"Oh, and the loser who went to jail is? You're a good guy Danny, she'd be lucky to have you." Archie gave one last push to boost Danny's confidence.
Archie was right, Lacey definitely deserved better than two dudes with significant legal trouble vying for her, but if she was about to choose either of them to love her or have fun with her anyway, why would he give up now?