Danny saw the first flickers of the lights from the police cruisers as they made their way toward the gallery. He knew what was about to happen so he acted fast.
"Ride's here." He sneered at Jo and walked away toward Lacey's professor, "Walk with me." Danny leveled her with such an intense gaze that she felt compelled to walk with him in order to possibly save her own life.
"What's wrong, Danny?" Lacey's professor played dumb, hobbling along beside him as they walked together in the direction Lacey had gone.
"The cops will be here any second to arrest Jo Masterson. You're going too or you're going to tell me where Jack's office is right now."
"What are you talking about?" She bristled.
Danny stopped and crowded her against the wall, slamming his palm there beside her head and making her jump.
"If you want the theatrics I'm game, but every second that you're not telling me where his office is, is another second I'd be happy to smash your face in instead." Danny bit out, his ferocity truly terrifying.
Lacey's professor slid off the wall and pushed past Danny, leading him down the hallway and around toward an unmarked door in the back of the gallery. As Danny approached, the door opened.
"YOU ALWAYS DO THIS! I WAS HAVING FUN!" Phoebe shouted, pissed at Lacey for another cock-block.
"Get out." Lacey demanded firmly and pushed Phoebe further out the door.
Phoebe weaved her way out of the doorway, one arm in her jumpsuit, one arm out as she tried to thread it back through it's sleeve, both tits definitely still out.
"We were kind of in the middle of something—" Jack grumbled from inside his office.
"I'm pulling my work."
"You're overreacting—" Jack said louder than acceptable.
Lacey stormed out of Jack's office, surprised to find Danny and her professor waiting just outside the door. Jack followed, no shirt on, pants unzipped and barely in place.
"Danny!" Phoebe sang as if she hadn't seen him in years, "Hello!" She added and fell into his arms.
"Hello, Phoebe." He steadied her on her feet and dealt with her hug, "You okay?"
"Yep!" Phoebe smiled, she was blasted.
"Manny, we meet again. Here to collect the riff-raff I see." Jack muffled out as he lit a cigarette.
"The cops are here, maybe I should have you two arrested." Danny threatened Jack and the professor.
Jack smiled, "Listen kid, I run a clean gig, you've got nothing."
"Rape might be a thing." Lacey growled.
"Didn't get that far." Jack said chillingly before taking another long drag.
"And what have I done?" The professor protested.
"Manufacturing porn in your classroom, human trafficking, I could make a list—" Danny suggested, ticking off his fingers as he recounted this bullshit.
"You two are the ones who had sex in front of school security cameras and you just threatened me in the hallway! I think you'd be surprised who ends up in cuffs."
Jack blew smoke toward Danny, "You're brave, I'll give you that. I warned you about interfering in my business."
Danny's jaw flexed in frustration, he knew Jack could and would ruin the life he had tried to rebuild. Lacey was sensitive to this as well, it was the reason Danny had chosen to dump her after all.
"You knew Jo would be here." Lacey wanted to address her issues with Jack and take the focus off of Danny.
Jack shrugged, "And now Jo's being arrested again, meaning she'll be back in jail until trial. You're welcome."
"You put me in danger."
"Oh please, you're so dramatic. There are no jump ropes here." Jack cackled.
Lacey kneed Jack in the balls without hesitation.
"Fuck!" Jack danced around in pain, his cigarette sent flying in a fit of sparks.
"Fuck you!" Lacey seethed.
"Fuck me!" Phoebe shouted, wanting to participate somehow.
"Get your shit and get the fuck out!" Jack bellowed, "All of you!"
Lacey grabbed her drunk roommate and dragged her toward the front, not acknowledging Danny at all.
"Leave this alone and I'll let it go." Jack warned Danny, "Keep it up and she'll be arrested for assault, you know I have cameras." He pointed to the dome in the corner.
"You're a disgusting human being." Danny said simply before taking off after the girls.
The cops brought Jo outside to try and calm the commotion between the gallery patrons. Lacey kept one hand circling Phoebe's arm so she couldn't wander away while she spoke with an officer. Her other hand was trying to determine how Jack had hung her paintings.
Danny walked up and took over removing her pieces from the display. Several patrons loudly objected to this, assuming Danny was trying to steal them.
Lacey began trying to convince the officer that the pieces were hers and they were taking them. Danny did not stop during Lacey's explanation, working fast to pull down all six pieces, no permission needed.
Jack and Lacey's professor had quietly filtered back into the event. Jack smiled, doing his best to smooth things over and explain why his new artist was suddenly bailing.
"I guess she's just not ready for the big-time." Jack said condescendingly to his guests.
Danny carefully heaved all six canvases up onto his shoulder while Lacey continued to wrangle her blue velvet nightmare.
"Let me say goodbye to Jack—" Phoebe whined as Lacey pushed her toward the entrance of the gallery.
"I'm sorry you're mad at me right now." Lacey kept repeating to Phoebe as calmly as she could manage.
Lacey wanted to break down from fury and frustration but held her shit together so she could get her friend home. Danny ordered an Uber, the driver only having enough room for the girls and Lacey's paintings. Danny stuffed them inside and took off running, the two of them never really getting the chance to speak.
"I have a headache." Phoebe whispered sadly during the ten minute drive back to their dorm, her temperament tanking.
"We're almost there."
Phoebe slid out of the car begrudgingly while Lacey struggled to yank out her canvases. The driver waited but offered no help. Phoebe held one of the pieces while Lacey tried to get a grip on the other five. She finally managed to slam the door shut and looked up to see Danny jogging toward them.
"Jesus, it's like two miles—" Lacey looked at him like he was insane, his ability to run a five minute mile just a weird benefit of being in love with an athlete.
Danny didn't say anything, reaching out to collect all of the canvases and hoisting them up onto his shoulder again before walking into Lacey's building.
She didn't need his help, she didn't want his help, but Danny knew this and just did it anyway. It's the way they had worked since day one and having him helping her was strangely comforting to both of them after such an awful night.
"When are you going to talk to him?"
Lacey ignored Phoebe at first, fishing out her favorite black leggings and an SU hoodie she had stolen from Danny.
"Lace—"
"I am talking to him, okay? We text. Is he asking you about me? If he is I'll tell him to stop—"
"No and I'm honestly just curious. You two okay?"
Lacey exhaled and plopped on her bed. Defeated.
It had been a week since the gallery incident. Jack had been right and Jo now sat back in jail to await her trial date. Lacey was certain that whatever backhanded trickle down benefit this turned out to be was not what was originally intended.
Danny hadn't reached out to Lacey the way he had tried before. Lacey hadn't reached out either. It was awkward to move past this blip and neither one of them were sure how to start talking about it.
Danny didn't want to fuck this up anymore than he already had. After Lacey had basically ignored his existence at the gallery he decided to back off a little and give her the space to think without his influence.
They had texted a good morning and a good night each day and just let time pass while they focused on school.
"We're just, I don't know, friends I guess."
The teams were back from the road and Lacey assumed that Danny just resumed his jock life in his apartment by frat row with all of his friends.
"Can we please talk about the other night? I'm so sorry. Thank you again for helping me—"
Lacey held her hand up, "I don't want to talk about it."
Phoebe and Lacey headed to the library to study, both of them needing a change of scenery from the inside of their dorm room.
Lacey kept her ear buds in and chose a study space that was tucked into a corner, low foot traffic and maximum isolation. She spread out her statistics work and tried to get her head in the game.
About an hour later, she needed to stretch her legs. Lacey stood and went to find an actual book to read to fill her down time with for the week ahead. There were no more games to go to, no parties that she wanted to attend. It had just been her and her own thoughts. It was either get a damn book or go insane.
She needed a break from painting, thankful that her studio class was as over until the next semester. Lacey researched and found out that she would have a new teacher for her next round of art classes as well.
Lacey had contacted Tim and apologized for her rocky start. Turns out Jack had not cleared anything with Tim and he assumed she was just another college student no-show. Once she was able to explain, Tim absolutely wanted her back as one of his servers, agreeing to hire her back in January after their winter break.
Everything was weirdly falling in line, everything except for this lose end with Danny.
"Vonnegut, should I be worried?" Danny whispered from behind her.
Lacey spun around to see Danny's dazzling smile. Her heart fluttered and damn, love really is like that.
"Perhaps it's everyone else not reading Vonnegut that you should worry about—" Lacey smiled back, turning to continue looking through the books.
Danny walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her tightly. She couldn't move, couldn't hug him back. Lacey tried to twist away for a moment, maybe to think, maybe to breathe, maybe wanting to face him and hug him back proper. It was no use, Danny wouldn't let go.
"Just let me hold you for a minute?"
"Danny—"
"Please?" He begged lightly into the top of her head, "I'm just not sure when I'll see you again, I want to soak it in when I can." He squeezed her tighter.
Lacey closed her eyes and just let him hug her. Just as quickly as she surrendered, he let her go.
"Thank you."
Danny took a step back, both of them trying to collect themselves, remembering the last time they were in the library together. Their energy was right where they left it and they both knew.
"Is that my hoodie?" Danny bit his lip and pointed to the hoodie that he recognized as his own, the one he had been missing for last two weeks.
"Umm, this? Nnno, I don't think—"
Danny grabbed her again and pulled her in slowly for a kiss this time. He took his time and gripped the back of her neck, his other hand holding her body against his.
He searched her mouth, Lacey returning every request his mouth made. Once he finally pulled back, Danny rested their foreheads together while they caught their breath.
"You can keep it." He flashed his smile again, Danny's eye crinkles absolutely melting her.
"Yo D, dinner time." One of Danny's teammates burst their bubble.
"I'm being summoned."
Lacey gave him a single nod, that was it?
"I'll see you around?" Danny asked, reaching out for her hand and kissing the back of it.
She wanted to scream.
She wanted him to drop to his knees and beg for her. She wanted him to—to fight for her, something. Maybe he really was done with this, maybe he was still scared of what Jack could do. Whatever, she didn't care what the reason was.
Lacey knew damn well that Danny felt the same way about her as she did for him. Lacey was enough to fight for and she was majorly upset that he wasn't going one hundred to get her back. He dumped her and Lacey would be damned if she was the one to trail after him.
"I guess." Lacey shrugged and pulled her hand back.
She offered him nothing else, he hadn't earned it. Lacey grabbed some random book and left him standing there.
Danny watched intently as she stormed off. It was the reaction he was hoping for, she was upset, which meant there was still a chance. His presence still affected her, what he did, what he didn't do, she was pissed. Danny knew then that it was time to fight, for her, for them.