Chapter 09
Danny sighed as he relaxed on a bench outside the dorm building. For weeks, he was stuck inside doing laundry and cleaning rooms or studying with Vlad for the exam. The only times he actually left the building were to join Vlad in his calculus class or when they had enough money combined to eat at a nice restaurant. The rest of the time, they ate whatever Jack or Vlad managed to bring home for dinner.
I haven't even had time to look for someone for Vlad, thought Danny as he sighed yet again. At this rate, I'm never going to stop Vlad's obsession with Mom. He stood, deciding he had taken a long enough break from work. Before he could turn back to the building, he caught sight of Vlad walking with a woman at his side. Danny watched the two chat with each other, and he was surprised to see Vlad smiling and laughing at something the woman had said. Oh, Vlad, you're making this too easy for me. Danny grinned. When the woman waved and walked away, he approached Vlad.
"Who was that?" Danny noticed Vlad jump slightly.
"That? A girl from one of my classes," Vlad answered as he walked past Danny and toward the dorm building.
"You two seem to get along quite well," Danny pointed out and followed behind the man. "And she's pretty."
"Do you want me to introduce her to you or something?" Vlad turned to frown at Danny.
"No!" Danny coughed and looked away when Vlad raised a brow at him. "That's not what I was trying to get at," he mumbled. "Haven't you ever thought of asking that girl out before?"
"Go out with Amanda?" Vlad looked thoughtful then he shook his head. "I don't think I'm her type. She would probably say no if I asked her."
"You won't know if you never ask her," Danny pointed out. They entered the dorm building and started walking up the stairs to their floor. "I think your chances of her saying yes are good."
"You're quite the optimist," mumbled Vlad. "I don't think I want another failure in the world of dating. I'm still bitter over that blind date you set me up on."
"Okay." Danny sighed. "I apologized for that. I shouldn't have just said yes to the first girl I met. But this girl Amanda - You already know her, and you two seem to have a decent relationship already. What is there to stop you two from going on a date? Or are you afraid to ruin a friendship with her as well?"
Frowning, Vlad stared at Danny. "My friendship with Amanda isn't even close to the kind of friendship I have with Maddie." He stopped before the door to his room. "Why are you so interested in my love life anyway? You pushed me on that blind date, and now you're pushing me to ask Amanda out."
"Is there something wrong with wanting a friend to be in a happy relationship with someone?" Danny reached past Vlad to unlock the door then entered the room.
"It's suspicious if you ask me," grumbled Vlad as he followed the younger man into the room. "Do you want to start your lesson now?"
Danny glanced at the clock that sat on the desk. It was already past five. "Yeah, okay," he said and took a seat on the couch. "I guess I've done enough work for today." He grinned as Vlad joined him with a pad of paper and pen in his hands. They continued from where they left off during their last lesson. When Jack returned, they called it a night and happily dug into the Chinese takeout that Jack brought home.
"What's up with you?" Jack asked as he plopped onto the couch. He grew tired of listening to Danny sigh every ten minutes. He could no longer concentrate on his studies.
"This is the third time this week that Vlad hasn't returned on time." Danny frowned as he turned to face his father. "Do you know where he is?"
"Nope," Jack replied, shaking his head. "Vlad hasn't said anything to me."
Frowning with his lower lip jutting out only a little, Danny folded his arms. "He's supposed to be helping me study for that stupid calc exam."
"Well, you can always ask him when he gets back." Jack picked up the game controller to start a game of Pac Man. "But are you sure you want to put all that effort into passing the exam?"
"Excuse me. What?" Danny asked, blinking in shock of his father's question. There's no way Dad would encourage me to fail, he thought.
"I know about that little bet you have going with Vlad," Jack explained with his gaze glued to the television screen. "If you pass the exam, Vlad is going to make you dress in that French maid outfit."
Danny gulped, having forgotten the consequences of the bet. He was too focused on studying the material for the exam that the bet slipped from his mind. "He's not really going to hold me to that, right?"
"Oh, trust me, he will." Jack wore a tiny smirk. "So would you really want to pass the exam knowing the humiliation that awaits you when you pass it?"
Danny frowned as he thought. Why is he asking me this? I can't believe Dad would ever tell me to cheat or purposely fail an exam. "I couldn't cheat in that way," he answered after some time. "Vlad is trying so hard to prove to me that I'm not as bad in math as I think I am. It wouldn't be fair to either of us if I cheated like that."
"Good answer!" Jack tore his gaze away from the television to grin at Danny. "I would be disappointed in you if you took the easy route out of the bet."
Danny raised his hand to punch his father's shoulder when the door opened. Vlad entered the room and ignored the stares from the other two as he walked toward his bed.
"Why are you so dressed up?" Jack asked the question that was floating around in Danny's mind as well.
Vlad wore one of his nicer suits. His tie was undone, and he gripped one end and removed it with a quick tug. Tossing it onto his bed, he next removed his jacket and dropped it on top of the tie.
"I think he's ignoring me," Jack mumbled with a frown when Vlad remained silent. His watch beeped right then, and he glanced at it. "Ah! I have someone I need to meet." He got up and grabbed his coat from the chair at the desk. "I'll see you guys later." As he pulled on his coat, he left the room.
Danny watched Vlad, who kicked off his shoes then lay down on his bed. "Where have you been? You were supposed to help me study for the exam." For a moment, Danny feared that he would receive no answer. Then Vlad sat up with his body hunched over and his arms resting over his thighs.
"I went out with Amanda," whispered Vlad.
"Really?" Danny stood and walked over to the bed and sat beside Vlad. "How did things go?"
"Well, she seemed to be pretty interested in me, and we did get along rather well."
"But there's a problem, right?"
"I just don't see her as anything but a friend." Vlad sighed and leaned back on the bed. "We went out on three dates, but they didn't feel like dates. It felt like being out with a friend, like hanging out with Jack or something."
"Does this mean you broke up with her tonight?" Danny lowered his gaze to the floor as he picked at a loose thread on his jeans.
"Yeah." Vlad breathed out with a sigh. "She was pretty upset too. She asked me to give us another chance, saying that I couldn't know after only three dates if I loved her or not. While I did have fun with her on those dates, I just - I couldn't make myself love her."
"Because you're still in love with Maddie," mumbled Danny, feeling disappointed. He hoped if Vlad gave another woman a chance, he would stop obsessing over Maddie. Why do you have to be so stubborn, Vlad? he thought as his fingers wrapped around the loose thread and yanked on it. You only went on three dates with Amanda. Three! Okay. So Sam and I only went on one date before realizing we could never be more than friends, but our situation was different. We had been best friends for years. Vlad and Amanda were only casual friends. They didn't have a deep friendship to ruin by dating. Why are making this so difficult for me, Vlad?
"Hey!" Vlad shouted, sitting up and laying a hand on Danny's shoulder. Danny jumped at the sudden contact. "Are you okay? You spaced out there for a moment." Vlad stared at him with concern in his eyes.
"Oh, yeah, I'm fine," answered Danny, grinning. "I was just thinking about stuff."
"I see." Vlad sat silently for a moment. His hand remained on Danny's shoulder. "Have you already eaten?"
"Um, well, Jack brought home sandwiches from the deli." Danny blinked at the sudden change of topics.
"Oh." Vlad frowned. "Well, would you like to go out for some ice cream?"
"Now? But it's past ten." Danny's brow furrowed.
Vlad sighed and leaned closer. "I've kind of fallen into this habit of getting ice cream every time I end a relationship or a girl breaks it off with me." He leaned back, shrugging. "It's become my little way of grieving; even if it doesn't get rid of all the pain."
"That sounds like something a gir- I mean, I'd love to get ice cream!" Danny forced a grin to his face when Vlad started to glare at him.
Vlad stared at him a moment longer before he stood. "Great! Then let's go. I know this great little ice cream shop just off campus." He pulled on his jacket then he walked over to the closet and grabbed another coat for Danny. They left the room as Danny pulled on the coat. Once out of the building, they headed through the northern exit of the campus.
"So how did you get into this ice cream eating habit?" Danny asked curiously as they walked.
Vlad remained silent for a while, and Danny thought he wouldn't answer. "My mom, actually. Nothing helps to ease a heart in pain than a tub of your favorite ice cream, she told me after my first girlfriend dumped me. And after that, I would get some ice cream after each time I got out of a relationship." He shrugged as they reached the ice cream shop.
"I see. So you were close with you mother?" Danny got into line with Vlad.
"Well, I guess," Vlad answered, the corners of lips turning downward. "I mean, I was lot closer with my mom than my dad." When they reached the front of the line, he ordered two cones of vanilla ice cream. "So how is your relationship with your parents?"
"Um, well," mumbled Danny. What can I say that won't have any effect on the future? He accepted the ice cream cone that Vlad passed to him. "I guess you could say that there's a bit of distance between me and my parents." He took a lick of the ice cream as they started walking again. "They mostly focus on their work and are sometimes completely oblivious to my existence. I'm not trying to say they're bad parents. They aren't! They're really good parents. They're just - They're not always around when I need them. You know?"
"So you have a fairly decent relationship with your parents," Vlad summarized. "Why exactly did you leave your home?" Licking his ice cream, he stared with furrowed brows at Danny.
"I didn't exactly plan on it. I didn't really have a reason to leave. I-" he paused, thinking of how to explain what happened without telling too much of a lie. "I just left and ended up here." He shrugged, unable to think of a better explanation.
"I suppose you won't be more honest about the reason even if I prod you for it, right?" Vlad glanced at Danny out of the corner of his eye as he took a long lick from the ice cream.
"Sorry," Danny replied with a wince. "It's a bit complicated." Because I can't really say anything that won't affect the future without it being a complete lie.
Vlad frowned at the answer, but he didn't press further for the truth behind Danny's situation. They continued walking and eating their ice cream as the cool night breeze drifted past them. It was a pleasant night and perfect for a stroll around campus, which is what they did instead of heading back to their dorm right away.