Payton let Danny drive her father's Porsche. Danny had never been in nice car like that. Rafael used to steal some nice cars, but nothing like that. They ended up parked in the parking lot of a playground. It was already dark. Payton pulled out a fifth of vodka. Danny hadn't had a drink since before the stabbing. The alcohol looked almost as good to him as the Payton did. And he knew if he would have a drink that he would feel more relaxed around her. So, he took the bottle from her and drank. Then she took a drink, and he laughed as she winced at the strength of the liquor going down.

"You keep a pretty low profile at Brentland, Danny Taylor. If it weren't for the baseball…" she started after she took the drink and handed it back to Danny.

"The kids at Brentland didn't exactly welcome the scholarship students with open arms, Payton. We don't keep a low profile. We just don't really have a choice," he replied as he took another drink. He had to pace himself. He easily could have downed the bottle, but didn't want to alarm her.

"I noticed you before you became Brentland's favorite baseball player. I always wanted to talk to you but…"

"But what? We've been in the same class for a whole school year."

"You never said anything to me either, Taylor."

"Your former boyfriend isn't a big fan of mine. I can't afford to rock any boats."

"Trevor doesn't own me. I do what I what…when I want," Payton replied seductively as she placed her hand on Danny's thigh and leaned in to him.

And then Danny knew what she wanted. He could see it in her eyes. The study group…the date…it was all a ploy to get him alone. "Look…maybe…maybe this isn't such a good idea," he whispered.

"What's not a good idea?"

"Us…out here…alone," he replied softly as he felt her hand slide further up his thigh.

"You know…from the moment I first saw you…I knew I wanted to get to know you better. I like you, Danny. You seem like a really nice guy. You're not like all the other guys at school. Are you, Danny?" she asked as she leaned in closer and brushed her lips against his.

She was pressed up against him in the tiny car. Danny thought about how good she smelled. He'd never been with a girl like Payton before. He'd dated before and had sex…but never with someone like Payton. And he was fairly certain that was what she wanted from him. The vodka was starting to affect him. He was feeling more and more relaxed, and she felt really good next to him. So he placed his arm around the small of her back and pulled her closer. They started to kiss deeply, almost frantically. Within seconds, the windows of the Porsche were steamed up. Payton maneuvered herself over the gearshift to settle herself on Danny's lap. They made out like that for a long time. Their hands roamed all over each other. Their breathing was ragged and desperate. Danny thought they would have to stop soon, so he started to slow down and pull away. He wasn't prepared to have sex, but then Payton reached into her bag and pulled out a condom. Danny knew then that she did actually plan all of this. He wasn't sure what to think about that. But because he was half-drunk and incredibly aroused, he didn't care. He took the condom and they had sex. After they finished, Danny finished off the bottle of vodka as Payton lay against him completely spent. As good as it felt to be close to some one, Danny couldn't help but feel like something wasn't right about the whole thing.

Danny continued to see Payton as frequently as possible. During school, Payton told him it would be best to not let on they were together because of Trevor. At first, Danny agreed because he didn't want the whole baseball team to hate him for stealing Trevor's girlfriend. They would usually hook up after their Chemistry study group or steal moments together in an empty classroom or in the school basement. Danny knew it felt wrong, but Payton always brought the best alcohol…so he didn't question it. And he hadn't realize how lonely he was until Payton approached him. His time with her was filling a void that he couldn't ever seem to fill before. When the school year ended, Payton told him that she had to go to Europe for the summer. So he spent the summer alone. He used the time to send college applications, and he helped his foster father put a new roof on their house. Over the summer, Danny realized that he really had feelings for Payton because he really missed her. They had fun together, and to him, it felt like more that just sex.

When school started in the fall, he was disappointed because Payton was not there. He heard that she extended her Europe trip for one more month. So again, he just took the free time to focus on school, which turned out to be necessary because he was struggling with his Shakespeare class. He couldn't understand a word of it. When he failed his first essay test, his teacher suggested that he get a tutor. He agreed because he had to do well the first semester of his senior year to ensure his scholarship to NYU.

During his study period, he went to the tutoring lab to meet with his Shakespeare tutor. When he walked in, he saw a pretty girl with dark blonde hair and glasses. "Hey…Katie Mason?"

"Hi," she responded as she removed her glasses. "Danny, right?"

"That's me. I hear you can help me make sense of this Shakespeare stuff," he said as he took a seat across from her.

"I can try. It's not that hard once you learn the basic themes of Shakespeare," she replied with a slight smile.

"Well…I thought I was pretty good at figuring stuff out. I know this guy writes in English, but it might as well be a different language."

They went over his failed essay quiz, and she tried to explain where he went wrong. They spent a half an hour going over the themes before Danny finally started to understand the complexities of King Lear. "You really know your stuff. I'm impressed," he said as he smiled his most charming smile.

Katie blushed with embarrassment. "I've been reading it since I was twelve. My mom's a big Shakespeare fan. I've even performed in a couple of plays. I think you'd like Shakespeare better if you saw performed on stage. That's where his words really come to life."

Danny looked at Katie in amazement. He'd never seen anyone get this excited about schoolwork. She seemed passionate about it. "How old are you?" he asked because she seemed too wise to be in high school.

Katie laughed. "I'll be sixteen in a week."

"Barely sixteen and already a Shakespearean scholar. That's impressive. Why haven't I ever seen you before? You're a sophomore, right?"

"Yeah. Um…I guess you just weren't looking. Last year, your locker was across from mine. It's OK…most of the older kids don't know that freshmen exist here at Brentland."

"You're not alone. For a while last year, no one knew I existed either."

"I knew," Katie said and then blushed again. "I just mean that I noticed you when you started here. I just never said anything to you."

Danny smiled at her. "Well, it's nice to finally meet you. And to top it off, you've really saved my ass with this Shakespeare stuff. I think I know enough to at least pass my next essay test."

"It's nice to meet you, too. And I'm here every Monday during study period. If you ever want me to read a paper or go over a play…just stop by."

"I'll do that. Thanks," he said as he rose from the chair.

Katie just smiled and watched as Danny walked out of the room.

For the next couple of weeks, Danny frequently talked to Katie about his trouble with Shakespeare. She even helped him write a paper. They were slowly developing a sweet friendship. He enjoyed talking to her, and he loved how easy it was to make her laugh. But their budding friendship was put on hold when Danny found out that Payton was finally returning to school. He didn't even know she was back until he saw her in the hallway. Their eyes met and he gave her a warm smile, but she quickly looked away to focus her attention back on talking to her group of friends. That didn't surprise Danny. He knew that their relationship was still under wraps. But he intended to change that the first chance he got.