Chapter 10
Danny growled as he racked his brain for the answer to the calculus problem he was working on. He lay on a patch of grass between two buildings, a five minute walk from the dorm building. To his left, Jack lay on his back as he read a comic book that he received as payment from an underclassman who asked him to do a favor.
"I hate you," Danny said in a growl as he rubbed viciously at the paper with the eraser of his pencil.
Chuckling, Jack rolled onto his side. "I hear that coming from you less each day though," he commented as he looked over Danny's work. "That has to be a sign that you're getting better, right?"
"I guess," Danny mumbled, starting the problem again. "I wish this stupid test was over with already. I'm sick of this waiting."
"You'll do fine." Jack put a large hand on Danny's head and tousled his hair. "Vlad told me he thinks you can ace the test in your sleep."
"How optimistic of him." Danny swatted at the hand. "He just wants me to pass so he can humiliate me."
"Well, yeah, there is that," Jack said, chuckling. "But he does want to prove to you that you're not all that bad in math, at least not when you actually put your mind to learning it."
"Yeah, I know." Sighing, Danny folded his arms over the notebook then he rested his chin on his arms. "I just want it to be over with, you know? This waiting is driving me insane. At least, the test is finally tomorrow." Danny saw Jack nodded in understanding while he thought.
"So this is where you two have been hiding," someone said behind them. Danny sat up on his knees, turned around, and found Vlad standing there.
"I thought Danny could use some fresh air while he studies," Jack explained, sitting up as well. He waited for Vlad to sit as well before speaking again. "I had an idea."
"Should I be worried?" Vlad voiced what Danny was also thinking.
"Oh, funny, Vlad." Jack rolled his eyes. "Danny's been studying hard and stressing out over this test. I think after he takes the test tomorrow, we should go do karaoke. It'll be a group thing, but not a large group. I wouldn't want to make Danny uncomfortable with a bunch of strangers. I'll ask Maddie and Harry to come as well. It'll give Danny a chance to unwind before you tell him the results of the test."
"Plus you get off the hook for your own studying." Vlad narrowed his eyes at Jack, who grinned innocently. "But I suppose Danny does deserve a fun night out, no matter what he gets on the test."
"I can't imagine the two of you singing," Danny said, staring with wide, unblinking eyes at the two men.
"The best part about karaoke is that it doesn't matter how bad a singer you are." Jack wore a wide grin.
"If it did, we would be banned from stepping foot in any karaoke bar ever again," Vlad grumbled, glaring at Jack. "Especially with the way he sings," he staged whispered to Danny.
I am so getting pictures of them singing, Danny thought as he laughed.
"Well, I gotta get to class now." Jack stood up and dusted his pants. "I'll tell Maddie about karaoke when I see her." He waved goodbye to them before he walked away.
Danny lay down on his belly again and picked up his pencil. Vlad joined him, leaning close so that he could look over the work Danny already finished.
"I should have made the problems harder," Vlad murmured when he saw Danny got nearly all of the problems correct.
"They're hard enough already." Danny erased another mistake in his current problem.
"I wouldn't be able to prove you're capable of understanding calculus if I gave you all easy problems." Vlad reached over and pointed to one of the previously completed problems. "This one is wrong."
Danny growled and erased the wrong answer. "You're annoying sometimes," he muttered. He continued working on the problems with Vlad pointing out his errors. By the time he finished all the problems with the correct answers, Vlad had to go to class. They parted ways, and Danny headed back to their dorm to return to work.
"It's over! It's finally over!" Danny shouted, grinning in his post-exam high. He bounced as he walked down the street with Jack at his side.
Jack chuckled as he watched the giddy man. "How do you think you did on the test?"
"I don't really care right now," answered Danny. "I'm just so happy for it to be over with." He released a sigh of elation. "So we're meeting the others at the karaoke place?"
Jack nodded. "Maddie and Harry are probably already there. And Vlad, I think, is coming a bit later. I think Vlad is going to correct your test before joining us."
"I don't want to know the results yet." Danny sighed out his happiness in a one long breath. "I'll be depressed to hear that I failed, but I'll be humiliated with that French maid outfit if I pass."
"Well, this is the place," Jack announced, pulling on Danny's arm to drag him inside the karaoke club far too quickly for Danny to catch the name on the neon sign hanging over the door.
Danny's thoughts and worries about the test were driven away by the loud din within the club. Tables lined one side of the long, narrow room while the bar lined the other side. A short platform, only about two or three inches off the ground, stood at the front. A young man sang and danced about on it. He didn't seem to care that he looked like a dork or that he kept messing up the words. Danny chuckled at the man as Jack guided him through the crowd and down the narrow space between the tables and the bar until they found Maddie and Harriet sitting at one of the tables.
"Evening, ladies," Jack greeted with a wide grin. "This is Danny, the honored guest of our night's festivities." He ruffled the younger man's hair, much to Danny's annoyance. Taking the free seat across from Maddie, Jack picked up her hand and dropped a kiss upon it. "And this lovely lady is Maddie," he told Danny while staring into Maddie's eyes.
"If they're going to be flirting all night, I'm leaving," muttered the other woman as Danny sat in the seat beside Jack. "I'm Harriet Chin." She extended a hand out to Danny, who shook it.
"Well, they can't flirt all night since Vlad should be showing up at some point." Danny glanced over to see Maddie leaned over the table to give Jack a kiss.
"So have you already chosen any songs?" Jack asked after Maddie pulled away. Danny noticed that they still held hands, and Jack's thumb ran gently over Maddie's knuckles.
"We handed in a few slips," answered Maddie, smiling. "But you'll have to wait for your name to be called to find out which songs."
"Jack forgot to mention your name, so we didn't pick any for you," Harriet told Danny.
"That's okay." Jack slapped his free hand on Danny's shoulder. "He can do a duet with someone if he wants."
"Perhaps I'll just sit and laugh at you all," Danny said with a weak smile. His knowledge on music of the eighties was limited, and he knew he would only look silly trying to sing lyrics of songs that he didn't even know.
"You can't get off that easy." Maddie shook her head. "The honored guest must sing at least one song." Danny groaned as he lowered his head. Maddie reached over with her free hand and placed it on one of Danny's hands. "It's really a lot of fun. And no one is going to care how poor of a singer you are."
"Yeah, just look at that guy," said Harriet, pointing to the stage. They all cringed as the man sang horribly off key to I Will Survive.
Danny laughed a little. "Okay. I guess I can try one song. Just don't laugh at me too much."
"I can't promise that we won't laugh," said Jack. "But we can promise to not tease you afterwards."
"That makes me feel so much better," Danny grumbled, but he wore a small smile on his face.
"We can get one of the books if you want to look through the songs," Harriet suggested. When Danny agreed, she got up and walked over to the bar where she asked one of the bartenders for the book with all the songs listed in it. She returned and handed the book to him. As Danny glanced through it, Jack leaned over his shoulder and mumbled names of songs as he read down the list.
"Should we do a duet?" Jack asked Maddie, and Danny glanced up to see them gazing lovingly into each other's eyes.
"That might be a bit risky," Maddie admitted as she frowned. "Vlad could start thinking there's something between us. I think it's best to stick to solos or groups of three when we're involved."
"I feel like we're betraying Vlad's trust by keeping our relationship a secret," said Jack, lowering his head with a shameful expression.
"They're starting on this again," groaned Harriet. "I'm getting a drink." She stood up again but paused when she turned toward the bar. "Vlad! It's great to see you again," she said loudly to be heard over the noise in the club.
Danny's head snapped up, and he saw Vlad walk toward their table. He glanced to his side, and to his relief, Maddie and Jack pulled apart from each other. Jack waved his hand, gesturing the other man over, even though Vlad clearly spotted them already. When Vlad reached their table, Danny noticed a woman walking close behind him and instantly recognized her as Amanda. Danny's brow knitted in a frown as he watched Amanda murmur to Vlad that she had to use the lady's room. After she hurried past their table and toward the restrooms, Danny remained glaring at Vlad.
"I was just about to get a drink," Harriet explained as Vlad took a seat next to Danny. "Since everyone's here now, should I just order for everyone?"
"I'll go with you," Jack said, standing up. "I want to give the guy a few songs." He squeezed past Danny and Vlad and into the narrow gap.
"I'll just have water," said Danny and Vlad together. They glanced at each other, Jack was already heading toward the bar, and both Harriet and Maddie raised a brow as they stared at the two men.
"I'll have a margarita," Maddie told Harriet before she joined Jack at the bar.
"I thought you broke up with Amanda," Danny whispered, his hand gripping Vlad's wrist tightly as he glared at the man.
"Oh, Amanda is your girlfriend?" Maddie asked, smiling sweetly. "Why didn't you say anything about it?"
Vlad cleared his throat before he said, "Actually, I broke up with her." He glanced over to catch Maddie's frown. "We're still friends. I think Amanda might actually still want a deeper relationship with me though."
"But Vlad has made it clear that he just wants to be friends," said Amanda as she took the seat across from Vlad. "I'm Amanda." She turned and smiled at Maddie.
"Maddie," she said, returning the smile. "It's a shame that Vlad doesn't want to continue dating you."
"So I've graded your test," Vlad said loudly, clearly trying to redirect the conversation away from his relationship with Amanda. Danny frowned, his mind still focusing on the fact that Vlad brought Amanda with him. "Would you like to know your grade now?"
"I'll give you the pleasure of holding that over my head for the rest of the night," Danny muttered grumpily as he returned to looking over the song list.
"I was going to anyway." Vlad smirked smugly.
"I knew you would." Danny shot him a sour look.
"You two seem to get along quite well," Amanda said as she watched their exchange. "How long have you been friends?"
The two men stared at each other before Vlad answered, "Not too long." His brow drew together. "How long have you been living with us? About a month?"
"Something like that," Danny agreed. Has it really been that long? he thought, wondering how the time went by so quickly. Sighing, he rested his chin in his hand as he flipped the page. "I don't know any of these songs."
"Well, you can always go up with someone else and just kind of mumble along to the song," suggested Maddie.
"I probably would have done that anyway." Danny smiled at his mother. "At least then there would be another person to share in my humiliation."
"And Jack surely wouldn't mind sharing your spotlight of humiliation." Harriet handed a margarita to Maddie. She sat down between the other two women. She sipped from a margarita of her own.
"What about me?" Jack asked as he reclaimed his seat beside Danny. He slid down the two glasses of water for Vlad and Danny, but he had no drink of his own. "Oh, was there anything you wanted?" he asked Amanda.
"Not at the moment, no," Amanda answered with a kind smile.
"We were just saying how you wouldn't mind embarrassing yourself," Harriet clued Jack in. "I think Danny might be more comfortable singing with a partner."
"I'd be glad to!" Jack slapped Danny on the back. "Just let me know what song you might want to do."
They continued chatting with each other. Danny watched the interaction between his parents and Vlad with interest. Whenever Vlad left the table, no matter how brief, Maddie and Jack entered their lovey-dovey mode, holding hands and staring into each other eyes. The moment Vlad returned, they returned to acting like just friends. When Harriet was called up to sing, Vlad took her seat so that he could better speak to Maddie.
"I signed you up for 'Somebody to Love,'" announced Jack, smirking wickedly.
"What?" Vlad scowled at the other man. "I am not doing that song again."
"Aw, but I love when you sing it." Maddie pouted in disappointment. Danny watched Vlad as his mouth twitched in an attempt to frown. Danny almost thought Vlad would refuse.
"I guess I could sing it once," mumbled Vlad. He looked unhappy about his own answer, but when Maddie grinned and clapped her hands happily, Vlad let a smile grace his face.
Dad can bully Vlad into doing things, thought Danny, amazed, and mom only has to ask and Vlad does it. No one - other than Amanda, who had applauded Harriet's performance – noticed when Harriet finished and rejoined them at the table until the next singer was announced.
"And our next singer is," said the bartender running the karaoke, "Jack Fenton!"
"Do you want to sing with me?" Jack asked Danny as he stood. "If you sing now, you won't have to sing again."
Danny hesitated. He hated the idea of singing in front of a crowd, and it was worse because he didn't know the songs. Eventually, he nodded and stood. Jack's large hands dropped onto his shoulders, and he guided Danny up toward the stage.
"Don't you ever get sick of singing this song?" the bartender asked Jack.
"Nope!" Jack grinned widely as he shoved a microphone into Danny's hands.
Danny glanced worriedly at his father and wondered what song the man could have picked. The music blared through the bar, and Danny stared blankly at the words scrolling by on the television screen set before them. Dancing Queen? his mind screamed. Dad chose Dancing Queen?
Jack gave Danny a small nudge in the ribs with his elbow. Danny gulped before he tried to mumble out the words to the song. His mouth felt dry, and his voice was hoarse. He winced with each butchered word that left his mouth. He glanced at his dad, who he was shocked to find was not only singing but dancing along to the song. The dance looked like it was well rehearsed.
When the song finally ended, Danny breathed a sigh of relief. He trailed behind Jack back toward their table where he dropped heavily into his seat.
"Not bad for a first timer." Vlad gave Danny a kind smile.
With his head lowered, Danny blushed in embarrassment. "I don't think I even got one word right" He lifted his gaze to gawk at Jack. "You have a dance to go with that song?"
"Yeah." Jack blinked. "Doesn't that song just make you feel like dancing?"
"It's hard to feel like dancing when your stomach is turning in knots." Danny hunched forward on the table.
"It gets easier each time you go up to sing," Harriet said, patting Danny on the shoulder. "I was absolutely terrified the first time I went up." Danny smiled a little. "But those three," she pointed toward Jack, Maddie, and Vlad, "they didn't seem to care at all the first time they went up."
Maddie shrugged. "We find singing up there fun and relaxing."
"I was forced into it," Vlad argued grumpily. A silence fell over their table as Harriet, Maddie, and Jack stared at Vlad. Danny could clearly read the expression on their faces: "You know you enjoyed it." He grinned as Vlad twitched uncomfortably under the combined stares of his three friends. The tension was broken when Amanda asked what all their favorite karaoke songs were.
The night grew late, and everyone sang at least one song except for Vlad. When his name was finally called, Vlad stood and walked up to the stage with an air of confidence. He took the microphone from the bartender, stepped onto the stage, and focused his gaze on their table, not even bothering to look at the lyrics on the screen.
"Can anybody find me somebody to love?" Vlad sang. His voice wasn't that great, but he poured such emotion into the words that it tugged at Danny's heart. "Each morning I get up, I die a little, can barely stand on my feet, take a look in the mirror and cry."
As he listened to the lyrics, Danny thought about them and frowned. He remembered the time when Vlad made the clones. Vlad said that all he wanted was love. Could he really only have wanted love? Danny wondered, almost ashamed of the cruel words he said to Vlad.
"I get down on my knees and I start to pray till the tears run down from my eyes."
Danny recalled the expression of pain and sorrow that twisted Vlad face when his perfect clone degenerated. That expression now tore at Danny's heart.
"I just gotta get out of this prison cell, someday I'm gonna be free, Lord, find me somebody to love. Can anybody find me somebody to love?" Vlad sang as the song came to an end.
"Are you okay, Danny?" Maddie asked, laying a hand on Danny's arm to get his attention.
Danny jumped and blinked at her. "Oh," he replied, voice thick with emotion. He paused and cleared his throat. "I'm fine." He smiled reassuringly at Maddie.
"Are you sure? You looked like you were about to cry." Maddie frowned as she gave his arm a little squeeze.
"I think it's about time to go," announced Vlad when he returned to the table.
Amanda checked her watch and gasped. "I should have left an hour ago! I have a test of my own to study for." She stood, grabbing her purse. "It was nice meeting all of you."
"Nice meeting you too," Harriet said as she stood. "Why don't you walk back to campus with us? We're all leaving now anyway." Amanda agreed, and the six of them left the club and headed back to the college campus. When they reached the campus, they parted into two groups. The men headed toward their dorm building while the women walked off in the direction of their own dorms.
"Did you enjoy yourself?" Jack asked as they entered their room.
"Yeah, it was fun," Danny answered. "But I can't believe you were actually dancing to that song."
"Are you ready to know the results of your test now?" Vlad asked, smirking.
"You just had to bring that up now." Danny sighed. "All right. Tell me."
Vlad walked over to his bed where his bag sat. He reached into it and dragged something out. "Congratulations! You passed," Vlad announced as he held up the French maid outfit. Danny groaned and hung his head.
"It won't be so bad," Jack said, trying to sound reassuring as he patted Danny on the head.
Danny walked over to Vlad's bed and flopped down on it. "I'm going to sleep," he muttered as he rolled onto his side, facing toward the wall. "Wake me when my punishment is over." He heard Vlad laugh as the bed dipped. When he felt a hand wrap around his ankle, Danny shot up and glared at Vlad.
"You aren't sleeping in my bed with shoes on," Vlad said flatly as he pulled off one of Danny's sneakers.
"I can do it myself," Danny muttered and pulled off the other sneaker. Then he lay back down and tried to fall asleep. Jack and Vlad changed into their pajamas before they climbed into their beds. Danny heard Vlad mumble something about his nice clothes getting wrinkled. Danny snorted in response. He stayed up for some time, listening to the snores of Jack across the room.
That song, thought Danny, it's like it was written for Vlad. It must have been hard for him being alone all those years. He rolled onto his back and stared at Vlad, who was already fast asleep. He doesn't deserve to suffer alone with no one. Why couldn't I see that before? I was so obsessed with treating him as my enemy that I never even thought of what he was dealing with. He sighed. We were both being stupid: him with his obsession to hide his pain and me because if I saw him as anything other than a cold-hearted bastard, it would be harder to fight against him. Danny drifted off to sleep, but his dreams were torment by loneliness.