A/N: Thanx to those who left feedback. Here's a little more...

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chaper 1)

Part 2 of 3

Lindsay woke up in her own bed, met by a too bright sun and a mass of memories that collided in her brain. Her hand over her face, she processed what had happened these last few days, the way she had proven to herself once and for all that there was no going back to her old geeky life. If her time spent with Milly and the Mathletes weren't enough to show her the truth, last night on the hood on Daniel's car certainly had.

She blushed at the memory, but smiled all the same as she thought on it. Where the confidence had come from to kiss him like that, she really wasn't sure, but she loved that she found it and that he seemed more than willing to kiss her back. They hadn't got much further than that, just a couple of good long kisses. To his credit, he didn't push like she feared he might, and she said not a word about it.

They parted on an agreement that he'd pick her up and drive her to school, and that thought made Lindsay sit up fast, reaching for the clock radio on her nightstand. She had an hour and then Daniel would be there at the end of her street waiting to take her to the place where they must face up to whatever the hell came next. Whether they were exactly a couple or not, Lindsay had no idea. Honestly, a part of her feared that this was all a trick, a ploy by Daniel and his friends to get back at her for walking out on them, but it sure hadn't felt like a trick when they kissed.

Shaking her head free of deep thoughts that she didn't have time for, Lindsay got herself up and dressed, knowing already that she wouldn't be able to speak a word over breakfast for fear of what lies she might mix up right now. One thing was for certain, there was no way in hell she could tell her parents anything about Daniel - they would never, ever understand.

* * * * *

It was time to make a change in his life. This Daniel Desario had decided last night, after the big and final break up between himself and Kim, and just before his talk with Lindsay that ended in a couple of very hot kisses. Yep, this time he'd ended things with Kim for good, and for more reasons than he could count. Getting together with Lindsay so fast was maybe going to look bad, but as of today, Daniel didn't care what people thought.

He knew he gave off that vibe anyway, seemed as if he didn't care if he was labelled a freak or a loser or whatever, but every barb thrown hurt, and none so much as those Lindsay had sent flying his way a few days earlier. She was always beautiful, but never so much as when she was cutting him off at the knees, telling him just how it was. He hadn't lied when he told her he never wanted her more. Stood next to Kim, she was a hundred times the woman of his ex, smarter and hotter and if he'd thought he could really be with her sooner, he'd have done it.

Somehow it had never worked out. In the first place, she was too good, too sweet, he couldn't image for a moment she'd ever actually be with him. Sure, she had a crush, he'd known that forever, but there was a difference between wanting to go wild and actually doing it.

Then Nick had stepped in and he and Lindsay seemed like they were going to have their very own fairytale. That was over way faster than it should've been, and honestly, to Daniel, the couple always looked so awkward together anyway. He had thought at first that was wishful thinking, but now he was sure.

Peering over his sunglasses and out the drivers side window of the car, Daniel hoped he'd see Lindsay coming towards him down the street. Clearly he'd arrived here earlier than he thought, because there was no way she was going to be late for school. Sure, she was willing to take a walk on the wild side with him, but certain values were not going to leave her. She was going to be the smart and sensible one in this undefined relationship or whatever the hell this thing was, but that was okay with Daniel.

"Finally" he said to himself as she came into view, glancing behind her as if she expected to be followed and hitching her bag further onto her shoulder as she hurried towards the car that for once didn't have its stereo blaring.

"Hey" she smiled, as she opened up the door and slid in beside him.

"Hey, yourself" he told her, not saying anything else as he put the car into gear and shot out of the end of the road, tyres squealing as he did so.

With Lindsay staring out of the side window and Daniel concentrating on driving, neither of them looked at each other for at least half the trip to school, and neither really knew what to say either. It was only as they neared McKinley, and they were forced to stop for a red light that Lindsay dared to look to her right and caught Daniel looking right back at her.

"So, er... how are we gonna do this?" she asked, her bravery from the night before apparently having left her in the harsh light of day, "I mean, are we just friends or...?"

"You kiss all your friends like that?" he asked her with an amused smirk that made Lindsay giggle nervously, not least because it made her face the fact she had been the one to kiss Daniel last night, not the other way around, and her embarrassment showed as her cheeks turned pink.

"No, I don't, I just..." she started to say, only to have him interrupt her as the light turned green and they drove on.

"Look, Lindz" he sighed, looking only at the road ahead as he spoke, "all I know is my life ain't so cool right now, y'know? I don't study, I get terrible grades... I'm the loser everybody thinks I am but won't dare to tell me because they think I'm always wasted or high or I'll kill them or whatever" he took one hand off the wheel to gesture some, before replacing it as he turned into the school parking lot, "I just don't wanna be that guy anymore"

"And that's why you wanna be with me?" she asked him then, not sure why she was surprised by the apparent revelation, "To fix your reputation?"

"No, that's not even it" argued Daniel immediately, a little pissed at her for reacting this way but knowing she had every right since he really wasn't explaining this well at all, "Lindsay, I just... y'know you showed me" he tried to explain as he shut off the engine and turned to face her, "You told me how screwed up I was and you were right"

Lindsay looked across at him, took in the expression that was as sincere as she'd ever seen him be, and she couldn't be mad.

"I didn't say screwed up" she muttered, feeling bad all over again for the way she'd yelled at him before - he hadn't entirely deserved it.

"You said everything else" he told her, not at all concerned by the fact she stood up to him, in fact he'd loved it and told her as much last night, though the over-riding memory would not be what they'd said then, "I guess we were kinda using you, but I never meant for that to happen" he explained, "I just, I liked having you around, I still want you around, okay?" he told her, as she dipped her head and wouldn't meet his eyes, until he reached out to lift her chin with his finger, "I don't care what Kim or Nick or anybody thinks. I want you, Lindsay. Okay?" he said, glad to see her smile in response.

"Okay" she agreed, sweet as anyone had ever looked as far as Daniel could tell.

It wasn't the first time he wondered at what an enigma she was. A geek, a beauty, a woman, a child, mad at him, in love with him. He'd never figure her out, but then that was half the appeal.

"Then let's go" he said as they climbed out of the car and headed into McKinley High together.

It wasn't a particularly planned move, yet when they cleared the main doors they showed solidarity as his hand slid around hers and held on tight. It surprised Lindsay to realise that someone like Daniel might need support, and yet his grip on her might just as easily be a show of property. Lindsay wouldn't normally like the idea of being labelled as a guy's property, but she might just make an exception for Daniel, if only for today.

Heading down the hall, gasps and whispers were clearly audible to the couple, but neither paid any mind, Daniel Desario had been the subject of gossip and rumour for as long as he could remember, and Lindsay had started to get used to it these past weeks and months, hanging out with the so-called freaks and burnouts.

"Okay, what the hell is this?"

A comment that could not be ignored was directed squarely at McKinley's newest odd couple by the one person both Daniel and Lindsay could've used not seeing so soon.

"Kim, just be cool, okay?" he urged her, rubbing his forehead as if her very presence were giving him a headache already.

"Cool?" the blonde relocated loudly, as was her way, and with wild arm gestures that seemed to come naturally, "You want me to be cool? Are you out of your frickin' mind, Daniel?!" she yelled as she pushed him in the chest knocking him back and step where he almost bumped Lindsay who had been forced to let go of his hand in the altercation.

"No, actually for the first time in forever I'm using my own mind" he said angrily, trying to keep his temper, but not finding it easy, truth be told, "instead of you nagging me and yelling in my ear, tellin' me how things are gonna be" he accused, knowing Kim was only going to get worse but so genuinely sick of her getting at him.

She was good at making out and an easy lay, and in the beginning she'd actually made him laugh sometimes. These days she was nothing but a nagging bitch. Just a few days in Lindsay's company had started to show Daniel there was way better in the world than his current gifrlriend, and that such a girl was not inaccessible. He didn't have to take this crap anymore, and he certainly didn't want it.

"So, what?" she asked with a nasty look, "you have her to tell you what to do now?" she asked, jabbing a finger in Lindsay's direction, "You gonna try to be a geeky loser like Lindsay frickin' Weir?"

"Hey!" the injured party quickly interjected, but Daniel shook his head, silently asking her not to dive into this, since it was his problem to handle.

"What if I am? Huh?" he asked, pushing himself in Kim's face, just like she always did with him, "What if that's just what I want?" he challenged her, right there in the hall for the gathering crowd of onlookers to see.

"You're not smart enough to be a geek, Daniel" his ex told him nastily, "so forget it"

"You're just jealous, Kim" she was surprised to hear Lindsay explode then, about as stunned as Daniel was anyway, though he shouldn't've been after the events of the last couple of days, "You hate it because you're not the centre of attention for a while, that Daniel's not going to come running when you snap your fingers" she explained to the girl who she'd once considered a friend, though she no longer could remember why.

"Don't bet on it, bitch" the girl much better fitted to the title sneered.

"Oh, for God sakes, Kim" replied Lindsay, loudly and apparently unphased, as Daniel looked on, so proud of her right now, "Have some respect for yourself. Be the bigger person. Move on" she said with emphasis as she moved to walk away.

Daniel moved to follow, but Kim immediately got in his path one more time, poking her finger into his chest.

"Nick's gonna kill you for this" she said definitely and menacingly.

"Whatever, bitch" Daniel, pushed her arm away, "Get out of my face" he said as he moved passed her, and straight to Lindsay's' side, throwing an arm around her shoulders and walking around the corner, "You okay?" he asked her, when they were clear of all the spectators of their confrontation with his ex.

"Yeah" she nodded, "but y'know she may have a point about Nick" she sighed, "He still seems kinda hung up on me"

"He'll live" Daniel rolled his eyes, trying to hide the fact it bothered him at all that a guy he'd been friends with for too many years might get hurt in all of this, "Geez, I had to sit back and watch you two all over each other for a while, I'm still breathin'" he shrugged as they stopped outside the room of Lindsay's first class and she leaned back against the wall.

"You were jealous?" she asked, feeling flattered and surprised and all at the same time, "Of Nick?" she asked, a light laugh escaping with her words, as Daniel rested his arm against the wall by her head and leaned in close.

"Shut up" he laughed in spite of himself, right before his lips covered hers.

The bell rang over their heads but it took a while for Daniel and Lindsay to come up for air. When something felt this good, class could wait just a minute without doing any harm, even Lindsay knew that.

What she didn't know was that she and her new boyfriend, if he could even be called that, were being watched. Oh, she was certain many people had spotted her there, pressed against the wall by Daniel Desario, and were wondering how, what, why, and when all this had started. What she didn't know was that one specific young man had just rounded the corner and spotted them, his face turning ashen as he saw the love of his life in the embrace of another, his heart breaking clean in two.

"No way" he gasped, as Lindsay finally parted from Daniel and glanced his way - she felt awful.

To Be Continued...