Chapter Seven: Confusing Feelings pt. 2
As they walk in through the automatic doors the first thing to catch their eyes were all the Halloween decorations. Every store is decked out with the spooky spirit of the season. She smiles so wide, loving the atmosphere. She feels Danny tug on her hand. Turning to look at him she notices he's looking everywhere except at her, his face turning very pink and sweating uncomfortably. She looks down at their joined hands and realizes they walked he whole way to the mall holding hands.
She sucks in a breath and releases his hand as if it had burned her. They take a step away from each other and laugh awkwardly. She notices Danny rubs the back of his neck when he feels uncomfortable, the action looks oddly familiar. She brushes imaginary dust from her jeans, clears her throat and takes a deep breath.
"Ok, so here's the plan, we're gonna take turns going to stores we wanna check out, and then we get out of here to our last destination"
"Ok, sounds good, who goes first?"
"Um...rock, paper, scissors?"
He nods and they play. Turns out he's good at this game. He's hesitant at picking a store, she narrows her eyes at him, she knows that look, she's seen it on countless guys trying to do what they think she wants them to do. She smacks him on the shoulder, telling him it doesn't matter what she may or may not think. The point of coming here was for him to feel better so he better pick a store he really wants to check out willingly or she will make him.
He raises his arms in surrender, trying to calm her down. She crosses her arms and leans on her left leg, causing her hip to pop out. She could have sworn she saw his eyes follow the action, but it happened too fast for her to be sure. He looks around and picks the video game store. She pats him on the back, that's more like it. She's so done with people being fake around her. She would never admit it but Manson was right when she called her shallow, that's why she tries so hard to be genuine, even if it's expressing something unpleasant. She's going to own her feelings and opinions. She wants to surround herself with real people, so she can have real relationships built on trust and acceptance. Not smoke and mirrors just to keep appearances, that can lead to some very unhealthy habits. She would know.
That's one of the things she envies the trio for, their complete and total trust in each other. How they tell each other things exactly as they think them, without holding back. Her friends, though getting better, will never be like that. She can't really fault them for it, that's just how they've always been, her included. But it's never too late to change, that's what her mother always tells her. She jumps slightly as Danny bolts past her, straight into the game store.
She half jogs to catch up, bewildered by his sudden exit. When she walks in she bites her lip, trying to stifle the laughter bubbling up her throat. Danny has his face smashed against the glass of a brand new game station, mumbling to himself. When she asks what's so special about it he launches full speed ahead, explaining the greatness of the brand new graphics whatchamacallit and the mechanics thingamajig. She couldn't comprehend half the things he was saying. It was like he was speaking another language for all she knew.
He abruptly stops and apologizes, she's not sure what face she was making but he definitely saw her confusion. He restarts and explains it in English this time. Apparently this game station is revolutionary in the way it functions and how the game mechanics make you feel like you're actually there. She's never been one for playing video games, mainly because she's terrible at them, but she enjoys watching other people play them.
He decides to get a new game, he's been waiting for this one for months, seizing the opportunity to rub it in Foley's face that he got a copy before him. He tied to hide it but she saw the brief sadness in his eyes. After making his purchase it's her turn to pick, and of course her first choice is the makeup store. At the silent groan on his face she tells him he can wait outside is he wants. He immediately declines, reasoning that if she went into the game store with him then he can do the same.
She's secretly happy he decided to come in, it's no fun shopping by herself. She grabs a basket and starts filling it with things she's running out of or new things she wants to try. As she's making her way through the different brands she turns to Danny, only to find him not there. Retracing her steps she finds him staring at a shelf, dumbfounded. When she gets closer, she can tell he's looking at an expensive foundation.
"Sixty five dollars for face paint? That's insane!"
"Hey, you just shelled out fifty dollars for a video game, you have zero room to judge. Besides, that's one of the more expensive brands, I never pay more than forty five for foundation"
"Yeah but at least a video game you can play over and over forever, makeup runs out"
"Yes, but the amount you need to cover your whole face is very small so it lasts a very long time and makes your skin look photoshopped to perfection. Therefore your argument is invalid"
He huffs, mumbling something about crazy girl things, she half smiles at his antics. She makes it to the register and payes for her things. Upon walking out of the store the sweet smell of fresh cinnamon soft pretzels assaults their noses. She's a sucker for those. Danny turns to her, with a sparkle in his eyes that reminds her of a little kid.
"That smells so good! I'm a sucker for cinnamon soft pretzels, you want some? My treat"
"Sure! They're actually my favorite too"
He smiles, and jogs over to the line. She moves over and stands close to the windows, enjoying the warmth of the sun. Why does she feel so happy all of a sudden? She decides not to dwell on it, and just enjoy the moment. Suddenly she feels a tap on her shoulder, smiling she spins around. However the person who tapped her was not Danny.
"Hey babe, been waiting long?"
A very sleazy looking guy walks up to her, with the most phoned in pickup line she's ever had the displeasure of hearing. He looked like the type of guy that thinks he can just buy everything he wants and nobody can oppose him, like he owns the world. His two cronies flanking his sides, encircling her. A tactic they use to make her feel like she's trapped an has no choice. She hates guys like that with a burning passion. Her face morphs into one of disgust.
"I'm sorry, I think you have me confused with some one else"
"C'mon babe, don't be like that. A pretty girl like you deserves to be on the arm of a rich cool guy like me"
His smile is like oil, every single hair on her body stands on end. He's entire presence feels like greasy garbage. She wants nothing to do with him.
"I said I'm not interested, please back off"
"But babe, I can give you anything you desire, just name it"
"How about a breath mint?"
"Hahaha! You're a funny one"
He gets in close and she wants to die. His cheep cologne is overpowering. Every step he takes his "friends" take another. They're trying to overwhelm her and it's kinda working. Her heart leaps to her throat as she feels his hand making its way from her waist to her butt. She reacted before thinking, the slap echoing around the food court. He turns to her, eyes as fierce as a wild bear. She's shaking.
"That wasn't very nice"
He grabs her wrist and hoists her up, her feet barely touching he ground. She squeaks in surprise, not expecting him to be that strong. His iron grip is crushing her bones, she tears up at the pain. Somebody, help. Her voice won't work she's too scared. Somebody please save her!
"There you are! I got the pretzels, lucky too, we got the last ones for the day...Who's your friend?"
Danny! She looks over and sees his relaxed posture and goofy smile. Why isn't he doing anything!? Then she notices. He's gripping the bag of pretzels with enough force to turn it to dust. His whole body is shaking with rage. But the scariest part was the look in his eyes. The murderous intent thundering in his blue irises, was strong enough to make her pity the dirt bag. He lowers her down, but doesn't let go.
"Who the fuck is this kid? Tony, Terry, do something"
The beefy friends lunge at Danny and her heart free falls again. She closes her eyes, this was supposed to be a fun day out. This was supposed to make Danny feel better. But at the sound of heavy bodies hitting the floor she cracks one eye open.
"Let her go, and I'll only hurt you a little"
"Hah! You think that just because you tripped them up that's enough to scare me? They trip on themselves all the time! You're nothing special"
"If you don't let her go now I will act"
He's not kidding...Danny is dead serious! He's never fought in his entire life, what it he thinking!? All those years of Dash beating on him actually caused some brain damage. Oh Jesus lord please do something!
"Please kid, I'm a blue belt in karate, you can't-"
It happened too fast. She didn't see how but one second Danny is five feet away and the next she's being carried bridal style. She looks up at Danny and can't stop herself from thinking how cool he looks right now. He puts her down to the side and faces the baffled scum bag.
"How did- there's no way! You little shit, nobody makes a fool out of me and lives to tell about it!"
He runs straight at Danny, who doesn't move an inch. The strength in his stance is incredible, even Dash would think twice before fighting a guy like this. As the beast of a man gets close Danny reaches out and grabs his hand, Incredibly stopping him in his tracks. Then he bends the hand backwards and the guy screams in pain. She is astonished by the amount of strength Danny had hidden away. She can see his muscles flexing under the hoodie.
"You should never underestimate your opponent. I'm an eight degree black belt in karate, judo and tai kwon do, if I wanted to I could snap your wrist in half and you would never be able to use it again. But I choose to use my strength to protect others"
He releases the guy's hand, staring daggers at him. She's never seen such a scary expression on Danny before, his eyes look like they're glowing again. Looking at him, his stance, his face, it's eerily similar to Phantoms. The sleazy guy scrambles away, friends in tow. Danny turns around and all traces of that scary look are gone. He's back to his sweet goofy self. He sprints to her side, checking her over worriedly.
"Are you ok?"
"Y-yeah, heh, that's what happens when you're this gorgeous. No big deal"
He smiles a sad sort of smile. Like he can see right through her pathetic excuse. Her brain flashes to Phantom on the roof of the school. What? Why is she drawing these similarities? She's over Phantom! She shakes her head.
"Do you still want the pretzels?"
"Hell yeah, just because some sleaze bag tried to get fresh doesn't mean I'm gonna waste perfectly good pretzels"
He chuckles. They sit at an empty table and eat the cinnamon goodness. Her hands are still shaking, that was scarier than a ghost attack. He made her feel like an object, like she didn't deserve a choice. Suddenly Danny grabs her free hand ever so gently. She jumps slightly and looks up at him. He's gazing out the window with a far away look in his eyes, chewing slowly. He gives her hand a gentle squeeze and she understands. He's trying to comfort her, without being overbearing. She smiles into her pretzel, and squeezes his hand back. She's lucky to have a friend like him.
Is this chemistry class? Because there are some volatile reactions happening here! (Booo bad joke) lol here's part two of their improvised hang out. Shit is happening and I'm exited to share it. After part three were passed the mid point so get ready for some heavy emotions!
In other news, I CAN DRAW AGAIN!!! My finger is almost all better, he nail just has to grow in. And even though I'm really slow at least I can hold the pencil long enough to doodle.
Thanks for reading and please review!