Henley and Merritt hurried to keep up with Daniel's fast pace. Jack took another breath to pull himself together before following behind. After a few minutes of striding through the park in silence, Henley dropped back to talk to Jack.
"Jack, you need to do something about this," she whispered into his ear.
Jack pulled back, confused. "About what?" he asked, keeping his voice low.
"About Danny," Henley answered. "He's being all bitchy, and he's going to keep being bitchy until one of us does something about it."
Jack frowned. "Why me? I don't think I'd be able to do much."
Henley rolled her eyes. "Are you blind or something? You fell asleep on his shoulder and he didn't shove you off. Danny hardly lets people shake his hand, for heaven's sake. He likes you, okay? Just go talk to him!"
Jack's eyes widened. "Woah, hold up. He likes me?"
Henley groaned. "Oh no, we are not going to do this. Go talk to him before I handcuff you two together." Jack raised an eyebrow. "I will, you know," Henley added.
Jack looked her over. "I don't see any handcuffs on you, though…"
Henley just winked before giving Jack a light shove in Daniel's direction.
The few steps it took for Jack to reach Daniel's side felt like the longest he'd ever taken. He fiddled nervously with his coat.
Henley probably just meant Daniel likes me as a friend, he assured himself. Daniel doesn't like many people as friends, right? That's why it's a big deal. Jack refused to consider the one possibility he wanted most. Sure, plenty of people in the show business were gay, himself included. Running around shouting about it was usually just asking for trouble, so Jack kept it to himself. But Daniel? Daniel brought back girls all the time, much to Henley's annoyance. They were all one-night stands – Jack would see them once, and then never again. Merritt loved to analyze that bit. But they were all girls, never any guys. No, Jack told himself sternly. Daniel is not bi, not gay, and he is not into you.
Jack cleared his throat. "Hey," he mumbled.
"Hey," Daniel replied, not looking up. "Henley sent you?"
"No – of course not, I…" Jack fumbled, before trailing off. "Yeah."
Daniel smirked and turned his head to look at Jack. "I knew it was just a matter of time. I'm not actually pissed, you know. Chester Chapman is ridiculous; even I can laugh at that."
Jack breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad," he said. "Henley was worried. I should go let her know – "
Daniel cut him off, grabbing his shoulder. "Nope," he whispered. "Let her worry. Besides, I want to see what you're going to do to cheer me up." He winked.
Jack swallowed. If this isn't flirting, he thought, I have absolutely no idea what is. "Well," he stammered, "there's a 24-hour donut place not too far from the park. Nobody can be mad – or whatever – when their face is covered in powdered sugar, yeah?"
Daniel laughed. "Sure," he agreed. "I think we could all use some powdered sugar."
Behind them, Henley and Merritt looked on, amused.
"The kid's better at magic than I thought," whispered Merritt.
a/n: Have I mentioned how awesome you guys are? Thank you for all the reviews & favorites & such! I should tell you - this is the longest I've ever managed to stick with a story, and it's all down to how amazing my readers are. This chapter was a bit short, but maybe its content will make up for that...?
See you tomorrow!
Julia