A/N:
Hello! So here is part two of Chapter One! Sorry for my weirdness. I just can't help it. But, um, here it is. Enjoy.
Chapter One Other Half: Guns N' Roses
I woke up sometime later, my forehead peeling off the window as I sat up. I yawned and rubbed the sleep from my eyes.
"Good morning sunshine." Danny proclaimed. Everything was fuzzy and I was feeling… content.
"How long have I been asleep?" I mumbled, still disoriented from sleep.
"Uh, about eleven hours. Just one more to go till Boston." I felt my eyes widen. That's when I realized it was dark outside.
"I slept for eleven hours?" I all but shouted causing Danny to shrug. I rarely slept over five hours- and that's when I'm lucky.
"That must be a record for you. You were pretty sleepy." Danny glanced at me and smirked before looking back at the road. "Nice bed head." He chuckled. I rolled my eyes. I could care less about my hair. It was brown. It was long. It was kept in a ponytail. The only time I had to care was when I had to go undercover and be a self-conscious moron. I pulled the ponytail out and redid it before taking in my surroundings. We were just outside of Boston, almost to the apartment complex I was living in. I pretended to live in the mansion my boss lent me, but it was so big and I hated being alone so I rented an apartment unknowing to my friends. Whenever they want to hang out or go to the mall or something, I just drive over there so they can pick me up. Stupid, but it was worth it. I let out a weary sigh, tilting my head back against the headrest and rubbing my face with my palms. "You alright there, shorty?" I dragged my hands down my face until my eyes peeked out at him. I was everything but alright but I wasn't going to whine about it.
"Yeah." I cleared my throat awkwardly and stole glances at Danny when he wasn't looking. I hadn't seen Danny in over a year because of my undercover project. He didn't look much different except his hair was shorter and his jawline more accentuated. His hair was still black and his eyes still a very dark brown. I've always thought of Danny professionally, or as a close friend, but never anything more. I mean, he was two years older than me. The thought of getting... together with him just seemed wrong. He glanced at me, raising a single eyebrow then turned back to the road. I turned back to facing forward. I pulled the gun out of my back pocket and slid it into the glove compartment. I always kept a gun near me for safety purposes. Boot, under my pillow, in my car and motorcycle. Wow, this makes me seem like a nut job. I was pretty badass for a 17 year old.
After another forty five minutes, we finally arrived. Danny and I climbed out of the car and towards the apartment. Then it hit me.
"Woah, woah, woah. You are not staying with me." I stopped in front of the doors, putting a hand out in front of me. He just laughed.
"Yeah, I am. I promise I won't be too annoying." He just smirked at me and walked around me inside. I snorted and followed him up the stairs.
"Well you can't. You don't even know my room number." I threw back lamely. He threw me a smile over his shoulder before stopping before a door. My door.
"Room 104." He pulled out my room key. My jaw dropped open.
"What? How- When-?" I stared at him questionably. He just smirked and unlocked my door before entering. He tossed the keys back at me and I immediately caught them. With my ninja reflexes, of course.
"You do realize we're basically assassins. Stealing and knowing things are one of the first things we learn." He raised a questioning eyebrow when I shrugged and he plopped down on the couch in the corner. I shut the door and walked over to him, plopping down next to him. He slung his arm on the back of the couch behind me. "Nice place." He looked around the small living space. It contained a small kitchen connection to the bedroom where the couch and TV was. There was also a bathroom.
"Yeah, its small, but I like small." He just silently nodded before getting up. "Well, it's night, and I'm tired, so scoot over." He started to lay down and I sprang up so he didn't squish me. He lay on his back, staring at me with an amused expression. "You get the bed... for now. Don't forget about school tomorrow." He winked before closing his eyes.
"Jackass." I whispered before flicking off the lights. I wasn't tired but Danny probably was. I decided to investigate a little more on my case. All I know is that I was sent here to be undercover as Emma and protect Dean... my "boyfriend". Dean is really sweet, a great guy, but he's also, unknowingly to him, in great danger. He has no idea that his dead father was part of our agency, a major part. His dad was one of the best, until he slipped up and got killed. His dad was an idiot- a really funny, kind, goofy, smart idiot. Dean was told he got murdered, which is mostly true. I feel bad for Dean, but then again we all have shit to deal with. I sighed and collapsed into the stool by the island in the kitchen. My notebook lay in the center, notes written all over. That's when I remembered. I had been so sucked into my "vacation" that I completely forgot about my Calculus homework. I groaned and pulled out my pencil and textbook. At least I had all night.
I woke up hunched over my textbook, my head buried in my arms. I groaned and pulled my head up, instantly blinded by the light.
"What the hell-?" I squinted my eyes. Then I remembered Danny was here. I jumped at the sound of his voice.
"It's about time. School starts soon and we gotta go." When my eyes adjusted, I turned to him. He stood there in a whole other outfit from yesterday. Black jeans and a white shirt that fit loosely on him. I couldn't help but wonder where he got them...
"Shit. Why didn't you wake me up sooner? And we? This is my mission not yours. You are not coming to school with me." I hissed frantically, causing him to laugh. I scrambled out of my seat and jogged to the dresser, pulling out a pink blouse and a pair of black skinny jeans. I despised skinny jeans. They suffocate you, and for what? Showing off your legs which you could easily do with gym shorts? Ugh. Danny's babbling snapped me out of my stupor.
"Boss told me to help you out. We have fifteen minutes by the way." He smirked at me. "I'm already ready so I'm waiting on you." He sauntered over to the couch and plopped down, looking down at his wrist as if he were checking the time. I rolled my eyes and ran into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door. I took a quick five minute shower and quickly blow dried my hair. Five minutes left. I slipped on my clothes and styled my hair just so it looked decent. Two minutes. I put on some makeup and speed walked out of the bathroom. Danny watched me smugly as I snatched an apple, shoving in my mouth while I forced all of my books into my backpack.
"We were supposed to leave three minutes ago. Tsk, tsk." He waved a finger at me. I pulled on my backpack and took a bite out of my apple.
"Whatever." I mumbled through a mouthful of apple. He chuckled as I practically ran out the door. He slowly followed.
"You forgot these. Good thing I remembered." He held the keys up and laughed at me when I scowled at him.
"This is all your fault you know." I mumbled as we slipped into the car. He started the car and we were off. "I'm guessing you know where East Boston High is?" I quickly devoured my apple as he drove.
"That would be a good guess." He licked his lips and sped up. We were about five minutes away. If there wasn't traffic we'd be there on time. When we got there the bell rang. The bell signaled that we had three minutes to get to class. I rushed in the building towards my locker, depositing some items before heading towards first hour, English. I walked into the classroom just as the bell rang. That's when I realized Danny had followed me. I plopped down into my usual seat in the back corner where Raeanne, one of my "friends", sat. That's when I noticed everyone's eyes wide and mouths agape. I looked to see what they were staring at. Oh, God. The girls were staring at Danny like he was a God while the guys glared at him and sized him up.
"Ohmygosh who is that." Raeanne openly gawked at him, checking him out. Before I could respond Mr. Druchant stood up.
"Hello, friends. Today is free write. Write what you want in your journals. Also, this is a new student. His name is Daniel." I snickered silently to myself as Danny frowned at his full name. Danny acknowledged no one as he smiled at me and sat down a few rows away. Some girls shot me curious glares before instantly turning toward Danny and flirting.
"Wow he is hot." Raeanne gushed. I rolled my eyes and pulled out my journal. I jumped when a note was tossed onto my desk. Gosh I needed to be less jumpy. "And he's flirting with you. Better not tell Dean." She winked at me and giggled. I just smiled lightly. I opened the note, sending a glare to Danny. My eyes skimmed over his sloppy handwriting.
We're cousins, k?
I looked up at him and nodded. Raeanne raised an eyebrow at me.
"We're cousins. He came up here to live with me for a while and go to school here. We've always been super close." Raeanne looked curious. Uh oh.
"You've never mentioned him before." She squinted at me. I wracked my brain for an answer- any answer.
"Oh, um, that's because we got in a fight and we hadn't talked in a while. He decided to come up here and apologize and then asked if he could stay with me for a while." The words tumbled out of my mouth. I prayed she'd believed me. My eyes flickered over her facial features until her tense gaze relaxed.
"Oh, I guess that makes sense." She eyed me suspiciously before turning back to him, her eyes lingering on his butt. A smirk formed on her lips. I wanted to flinch away in disgust but I restrained myself. I sighed and turned away.
"Yeah. I'm sorry for not bringing him up before, I just didn't want to talk about it. Especially because I knew you'd obsess over him." I shrugged at her, grinning. Raeanne giggled obnoxiously. Danny peeked over at me with raised eyebrows and I looked away, not wanting to embarrass myself further. I stared at the desk blankly, pretending to listen to Raeanne's gossip while I scribbled down some lines for free write. I zoned out, continuing to go on and on about random crap in my journal. The bell suddenly rang, scaring me out of my stupor. Wow, that was fast. I stood up, shoving my stuff into my bag and looping back backpack strap over my shoulder.
"C'mon, let's go." She hooked her arm in mine and dragged me out of the classroom. I looked around for Danny but the rush of students had already forced its way down the hall. I shrugged it off and let Raeanne dragged me further and right into Dean. He caught my arms to stabilize me, a soft grin across his full lips.
"Hey, Em." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a red rose. My heart leapt in my chest. I felt guilty for faking a relationship with him, but I really did like him. He was the sweetest, most gentle guy I knew. I felt a smile creep up on my lips.
"Thanks." I gently plucked the rose from his fingers, spinning it between my fingertips and smiling giddily at it.
"AW!" Raeanne ruined the moment by screaming and jumping up and down excitedly. I pretended not to be super annoyed and just beamed at her. Dean smiled sweetly at me, grabbing my hand and swinging it as he tugged me along.
"So, Dean, have you heard the gossip that there's a totally new hot guy? Looks like you have some competition." Dean chuckled, shaking his head as Raeanne's babbling.
"Nope. I'm set." Dean winked at me before slipping into our class.
"Yeah. Well, it's Emmie's cousin so you have nothing to worry about either." Raeanne winked at me, (what's up with all the winking?) before scampering off to her class. We plopped into our seats that were next to each other, throwing our bags on the floor. He turned to me with a raised brow.
"So, cousin's in town, eh?" He looked a little confused, I guess I needed to explain.
"Oh, yeah, Danny. We were really close but we got in a fight and I really just didn't want to talk about it. But he came up here and apologized and he's staying with me for a while." Dean nodded his head, peering at the blank chalkboard.
"Well that's nice. You have plenty of room for him at your house. At least you don't have to be alone there now." He threw me a quick smile before turning to the front of the room when the teacher entered and began talking. I smiled sadly at him before turning to the front. I think he knew I was lying. I was a good liar- but for some reason only Danny and Dean could tell when I was lying. Which really sucked for me. The teacher announced our project for art, going into deep detail about it. Everyone pulled out their sketchbooks and began. I scooped my phone up and turned on shuffle for my iPod. I poised my pencil in my hand, waiting for the song to come on.
Guns N' Roses blasted my eardrums, causing a small smile to erupt on my lips.