Time clicked slowly on, Danté tapping both his foot and playing with his pencil. He shouldn't have seen her before going to take a test… Danté glared at this paper angrily; he only had four problems left and his brain was AWOL. He looked at Mr. Fillion, eyebrows furrowed with worry.

"Your grade depends on this, Mr. Way." Mr. Fillion said. "But no pressure." Danté growled to himself, turning back around and writing some random numbers down on the paper and circling them.

"Done, I'll see you Monday." He said, picking up his bag and handing in his short novel of a test. Without another word, he left the room, trudging down to the parking lot.

Opening his car door, he sighed and threw his bag into the passenger's seat. He was so tired, and it wasn't as if he had actually done anything exhausting. Danté climbed into the driver's side and shut the door. Perhaps he just needed some peace and quiet to think about what was going- or possibly not- to happen with him and Faythe. She was undoubtedly his dream girl, but there was no way that she saw him as anything more than a close friend. Closing his eyes he relaxed, his back cracking as he flexed. The quiet of the empty parking lot overcame him, and he soon fell fast asleep…

Danté awoke, the sound of rain pelting the windshield pulling him from his restless sleep. Looking around, he sighed, it was most likely too late to go and watch Faythe say her fourteen lines. He checked his cell for the time; it was a quarter to nine.

"Shit…" he grumbled, sitting up, his ass asleep, and putting the key into the ignition. In the back of his mind, he wondered why Vincent (or their parents for that matter) hadn't tried to get a hold of him. As he turned the car on, he noticed a very human-like movement out the corner of his eye. Looking out the passenger-side window, he seen it was someone standing in front of the school, getting soaked to the core in the rain. "Oh for Christ's sake, who could that be?" Despite his agitation, he pulled around to the front of the school. Danté parked the car, getting out and leaving it running. "Hey! …Faythe?"

"Danté?" he asked feebly, looking up at him in the rain. Her eyeliner and mascara were slightly smeared and her hair was limp from the rain.

He reached her, putting an arm over his head in an attempt to stay dry. "What are you still doing here, babe- er, Faythe?"

"My mom must've forgotten to pick me up… wouldn't be the first time." She mumbled, holding her purse close to herself.

"Come on, you don't need to stand out in the cold I'll give you a ride home." He said, taking her hand in his and feeling the electric sparks in his heart. He led her to the car, opening her door for her. It was an almost-awkward silence between them as Danté set off for her house.

"Danté? Could- could I stay with you tonight?" she asked quietly, looking at him, but not making eye-contact.

Danté's foot unnoticeably pushed the gas pedal minutely down, causing the car to speed up. "Uh, sure. You know Mom and Dad wouldn't have a problem with you staying over." He realized he was speeding and exhaled, letting up on the gas.

"Th-thanks, Danté. It means a lot to me. I just don't… I don't wanna go home tonight." Faythe was staring at her hands, eyelashes and hair dripping water onto her palms. It was quiet again for quite some time after that, neither knowing what to say to the other. It wasn't until they were halfway to Danté's house that the silence was broken. Faythe still hadn't looked up at him, and she knew she couldn't, for if she did she knew all her anger would fade away in his perfect face. "You didn't come."

"What?"

"You didn't come… to the play I mean. I just thought that you would…"

Danté frowned, "Oh…" There wasn't much he could say; I'm sorry wasn't going to make it better. "I'm sorry, Faythe." But there was no harm in trying.

"I figured you would come to see my first performance, that's all." She said, finally looking up at him. Danté glanced at her from the corner of his eye, trying not to take his eye off the dark, puddle-covered road; it was then that he realized that it had not been the rain that had smeared her makeup: Faythe had been crying.

His mouth hung open, and he kept looking from her to the road, "Faythe, don't cry- please. I didn't mean to miss it; in all honesty I fell asleep in my car."

"I know," she said, smiling ruefully, "but that doesn't get rid of the hurt…" Danté frowned, hands gripping the steering wheel.

"No, that was unacceptable. I'm sorry- no, I know that won't make it better, but that's all I can say. I had every intention of going, but because of my laziness-"

"Danté?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry if I'm a burden." She said quietly, laying back in the seat and promptly falling asleep. He looked at her, a borderline-incredulity smile on his face.

"You'll never be a burden, Faythe." He said quietly, turning the heat up for her. Her quiet snores filled the silence perfectly the rest of the way to his house; where, upon arrival, he parked the car in the garage and carried her inside where he relinquished his bed to her and took the couch.