The room right now felt like a ticking time bomb, someone had to diffuse it, and that responsibility had apparently fallen on Jazz's shoulders. She cleared her throat the four younger persons turned to look at her, hoping that she could offer a viable solution to the situation at hand.

"Say, um, Dash, why don't we have a private conversation in the kitchen?"

Dash looked from Jazz to her little brother. He nodded to show his approval. Their hands separated and the blonde followed the redhead to the kitchen.

"Hey, I'll come too." Sam proclaimed as she followed the pair, leaving Danny and Tucker alone. The duo locked eyes and glared at each other, crossing their arms simultaneously.

"Tucker."

"Danny."

That was the only conversation they managed initially. From the kitchen, the trio watched the event unfold, silently wishing it to work out. Both of these males were stone walls, stubborn and unwilling to budge in any direction. Naturally Tucker wore down first; he was in the wrong after all. With a sigh, he uncrossed his arms and began speaking.

"Okay look, I'm sorry that I overreacted. I guess I was just caught off guard is all. I don't have a problem with you liking dudes, it's more of the dude you like that I have a problem with."

Danny cocked a suspicious eyebrow, showing he was listening. Tucker took this as a sign to go on.

"When we got here we talked with Jazz, and she had said what Sam said, that while they may not be okay with it, they trust that you know what you're doing and to give Dash the benefit of the doubt or whatever."

"And?"

"And I guess that I can't really assume he hasn't changed?"

"And?"

"I'm sorry for what I said about him not being honest with you?"

"Good."

"Good?"

"Yes. I'm not entirely blameless in this; I did jump to conclusions with what you were trying to say. But I'm telling you right now, and this goes to you two too," Danny motioned to Sam and Jazz, who he was aware were listening intently, "If any of you try to fuck up my relationship you'll have me to deal with, and I will not be reasonable and forgiving like I am right now."

"Deal."

"Good, now I would like to spend my last few days of vacation in a GOOD mood."

And that is what they did. Sam and Tucker managed to open up to Dash, albeit reluctantly, but Dash didn't force them to accept him, which was both relieving and surprising. They managed to see Danny a bit, although he was with Dash most of the time, which gave them an insight as to how he felt when the couple had gotten together last year.

The clock glowed brightly in the early morning sunrise, 7 AM. Danny groaned. He had one last day of summer, but his parents had suggested he wake up early so it would be easier tomorrow, when it actually mattered. He managed to drag himself out of the bed, although it still beckoned him as he got dressed. Something about being up already didn't sit right with him. Something else that struck him as unsettling was the degree of silence at this point. Jazz had left for college the night before, and both his parents were asleep, home in what seemed like forever. Danny sighed.

"I still don't know how to tell them."

To be completely honest, he was pretty good at keeping things from his parents. After about three years, which seemed like a lot more to Danny, they still had no idea about his powers, but he was worried that they would gladly take that over his orientation. He cringed and ran a hand through his hair, pushing it back and holding it there. Jazz had kept her secret and hadn't told a soul, about both his secrets actually. He really felt guilty about not trusting her, he'd be sure to apologize the next chance he got. His thoughts stayed on the subject of secrets for a minute, but he ended up thinking about Sam and Tucker. They had promised not to tell anyone, but that wasn't his concern. He knew Dash didn't mind if they didn't like him, in fact he could even understand why, but for some reason Danny couldn't accept that. He wished they could be more like Kwan, who was not only willing to accept Danny but actually encouraged Dash to spend more time with him as well. It certainly earned Kwan points in Danny's book, if anything. Speaking of Kwan-

"Hello?" Danny spoke as he answered his phone.

"Danny?"

"Kwan?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

"You called me. How-how did you get my number?"

"Dash gave it to me. I suggested it."

"Why?"

"Well duh, if you wanna date my best friend you gotta get used to me too, right?"

"I do?"

"Well you want Sam and Tucker to get used to Dash, don't you?"

"I want them too, yeah, but they aren't too thrilled about the idea."

"Well that's where I differ from them. Dash and I are hanging out at my house today, and I better see you there too."

"I-uh-okay."

"Great! See you at like 12."

"Oh-okay."

And with that the call was over. Danny stood with the phone to his ear, completely detached from the real world at this point. He couldn't help but feel, well disturbed. He had just been talking about this, and then here was Kwan, telling him to come over completely unprompted by Dash. He tilted his head back and let out a guttural groan. He looked at the time on his phone, 7:25 AM.

Five hours managed to fly by. Dash knew that football practice was going to be dreadful tonight; the heat alone would make that a fact. He had to make sure he relished these last few hours before they were gone, because he knew after tonight the school year was going to suffocate him. As he turned the door knob to the front door of Kwan's house, knocking wasn't a thing they did, they were friends for too long to do that shit, he was surprised to see Danny standing in the living room.

"Danny?"

"H-hey, Dash."

"What-uh-what are you doing here?"

"I invited him over." Kwan announced as he came out of the kitchen.

"Okay, not that I mind, but, um, why?"

"Because I gotta get to know the guy dating my best friend, right?"

"I-I guess."

"I told him he didn't have to." Danny tacked on.

"But I wanted to, so I did."

Dash was genuinely happy that Kwan wanted to get to know Danny, but at the same time, looking at Danny's face, he could tell Danny felt bad, for one reason or another, most likely because his friends refused to do the same for Dash.

"Okay, so, yeah, let's stop being awkward and do something." Kwan tried to mitigate the uncomfortable atmosphere a little, hoping Danny would feel more relaxed and this whole plan wouldn't blow up in his face.

"What do you wanna do?" Dash wasn't helping the situation.

"Pffft, I dunno, video games?" Kwan shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess that works. Danny?"

"I-I could play some video games, sure." Danny rubbed his forearm anxiously, like he expected something would go wrong.

Danny was a bit uncomfortable at first. Okay, who was he kidding, he was jumpy and nervous as fuck, but eventually he was able to chill out, seeing that nothing would go wrong. He managed to beat both Dash and Kwan and managed to laugh at the most random moments, which proved contagious. The trio was reduced to giggles in no time, Kwan on the floor and Dash flopped over the arm of the couch, Danny face down on his chest. The whole aura of the room felt welcoming, humourous even. Eventually the passing minutes turned into ten, then 30, and soon an hour had passed. Before they even realized it, the commitment they had made to the football team summoned them, and they had to part ways. Dash had to leave first to walk home before meeting back up with Kwan at the school. He gave Danny a quick peck on the lips before patting his best friend on the shoulder and vanishing down the street. Danny got up to leave, but not before Kwan pulled him into a friendly embrace, catching him off guard.

"Now normally I only do that with Dash, but I figure I'll make an exception this one time. I'm glad you decided to hang out here today."

"I-I am too. I was kind of dreading it, but I'm glad I did."

"I can see why Dash likes you though. You are pretty cool, sorry that you have the nerd rep in school."

Danny shrugged his shoulders and chuckled, "It doesn't bother me really."

"Once people see you with Dash they might change their minds."

"We're-uh-not really ready to go public yet."

"Fair enough. But in the meantime you're always welcome here."

"Thanks, if only Sam and Tucker were as willing to accept Dash as you did me."

"He's the type of person that it takes time to get used to, they'll come around, eventually."

"You think so?"

"Honestly I don't know, but it's their choice."

"Yeah."

"Alright, I gotta get ready now, but I'll catch you in school tomorrow."

"I'll be seeing you."

"Take care, Danny."

"Bye Kwan."

As Danny began his trek home, he felt a mixture of disappointed and overjoyed. He did have a great time, but he still wished Sam and Tucker would be more like Kwan. He shook his head gently from side to side, trying to think of a way to get them and Dash to hang out and it not backfire completely. After running over several ideas in his head and disregarding them all, he gave up and decided to worry about it later. Besides, he had bigger issues to think over, like how he was going to break the news to his parents.

"This is going to be a long school year." Danny frowned to himself.