Lacey felt awful for the way she had acted towards Danny the other day. She was hoping when she saw him again, her feelings for him would be resolved, but instead they had resurfaced.

Gosh, she thought, there's just something about him, that hair, long, shiny, black hair, those eyes that seemed to peer directly into the depths of her soul. Perhaps it was the way he knew her, every insecurity and every weakness. Danny accepted Lacey despite her need to hide their relationship when they were together, and despite how cold she had acted towards him when he came back the first time. Lacey felt inextricably drawn to him, like falling for him was not a choice but an inevitable reaction to what fate had in store for them. But why? Why was she so taken by his very presence?

Lacey cleared these things from her mind. She had to refocus. Homecoming was only one day away, and Justin promised that he had something special planned for her. She knew he was going to ask her to be his girlfriend. The boy was not the least bit covert. He was so sweet to her, and honest, two things she valued in a relationship. If only Danny could have been honest with her. The problem with her and Danny was that they are too much alike. They both try to deflect their feelings, and avoid talking about certain things, which could be detrimental to the progress of their relationship.

Disrupting her thoughts, Lacey received a text. She rolled over on her bed to see who it was.

Hey beautiful. Can't wait to see you tomorrow.

It was Justin, he was so sweet. No seriously, she thought, he was too sweet, and thoughtful, and perfect. Lacey couldn't believe that she could have lingering feelings for Danny when she'd scored a great guy like Justin. She smiled again at his text and responded.

You're perfect. I can't wait to see you either.

She started to add a winky face at the end, but thought it would send the wrong message. Lacey's phone buzzed again, and she wondered what he had said in reply. But the number wasn't his, it was Danny. When she saw this, Lacey dropped her phone instinctively, but after careful consideration picked it back up to receive the message.

We need to talk. Meet me at McNally Park at 4:00.

Lacey looked at the clock on her phone. It was 3:15. What did Danny want now? Maybe he really did just want to talk, Lacey thought doubtfully. She figured he would try to make advances towards her and had already begun formulating responses to let him down easy. He just had to make everything difficult. Lacey thought she had been clear about what she wanted when they had that discussion in English class, but she knew Danny was never one to give up easily, especially concerning her.

Lacey arrived at McNally Park where she found Danny sitting on one of the benches, staring down at his feet.

"Hey." She walked over to him.

They both said in unison, "I'm so sorry." Danny stood up to greet her.

"No, Danny I'm sorry, for everything. "For what I said at Johnny Cakes," she trailed off.

"No Lace, I am," he spoke slowly as to assure the words exiting his mouth aligned with what he was trying to convey. "I just want you to be happy."

Lacey half-smiled guiltily. "You deserve to be happy too," she assured him.

"So I've been doing some thinking." Oh no, Lacey thought. Thinking? About her? After their heart-filled apology, she couldn't bear to reject him as planned.

She interjected, "Danny-"

"No Lace just let me finish." Lacey retreated quietly. "I've been thinking…about us." Here it comes, Lacey's eyes reflected her thoughts.

"And how we used to be such good friends," Danny continued.

"F-friends?" Danny's words took her by surprise.

"Yeah, remember? At one time we were closer than me and Jo."

Lacey remembered. When they were ten she and Danny became inseparable. They did everything together. The walked to and from school together alone, Jo always opted to ride with her dad. They would often hold secret meetings at the fort where the two of them would just talk, about anything, everything. They were really close, Lacey thought to herself.

"Yeah we were good friends." She tried to mask her disappointment. She knew it was silly of her to even feel so disappointed. She planned to turn Danny down if he did try to get back with her anyway. And she had Justin, sweet, gorgeous, incredibly fit, Justin, who really liked her.

"That's what I'm saying, we should get back to that." He nudged her in the side. "I just don't think things should be weird between us. I mean I, he paused for a moment, contemplating whether he was making the right decision. "I really don't want to lose you Lace." He looked into her eyes intently.

Lacey's heart melted. Although she still had feelings for him, she was happy that they wouldn't write each other off as ex boyfriend and girlfriend. They weren't just exes, what they had- have, is stronger. Lacey smiled. It felt as if they were cutting some sort of mythological tie.

"I'm really happy we can be friends. I don't want to lose you either." Lacey stepped in to hug him. Danny held her tighter. She buried her face in his chest taking in his familiar scent. Danny closed his eyes for a moment. He didn't want to let her go, but he forced himself to pull away.

He tried to lighten the mood, "I can't wait to see what flamboyant ensemble you have planned for homecoming." Danny just wanted to let her know that he too would be attending. "You always did have a knack for fashion," he joked.

"Actually I didn't." Lacey remembered how plainly she used to dress. She wore the same sneakers with everything. Lacey winced at the thought.

"I know," Danny teased. "Time has done you justice."

"Hey!" She punched him playfully on the arm. "But anyway, I didn't know you were going to homecoming. Did you score a date?"

"Did you put a thumbtack on Mr. Tubman's chair in fourth grade?" Danny responded to confirm that he had a date. Lacey laughed at this memory. Danny had dared her to do it because the teacher would have never have suspected her as she was an exemplary student. She remembered the look on Mr. Tubman's face. He was a rotund man. When he sat on the thumbtack, he let out a loud yelp and he stood to rub his bum in front of the entire class. The teacher dismissed it as an accident, but Lacey became a class hero for getting them out of a quiz that day.

"So, who are you going with?"

"Just Jo," he replied.

"Just Jo? Why do you say it like that?"

"No, I just meant, you know, we're going as friends."

"Oh, well maybe we can all do our funny dance this time," Lacey grinned. "I didn't get to do it with you guys at Fall Fest."

Danny's mind flashed back to their time at the fall festival. Prior to that night, Lacey seemed to have kept him a distance. He watched her from afar as she conversed with other townspeople, secretly admiring that royal blue dress that laid snuggly on her beautiful body. That was the night she kissed him, the night everything changed between them, forever.

"Yeah, we should totally do our funny dance in a room full of judgmental high school students. That should do wonders for our social lives," Danny said sarcastically. "But-" he continued regaining seriousness "maybe you could save me a dance."

Lacey looked away shyly. "Yeah, maybe."

With that, the two parted. Danny watched as Lacey got into her car. Goodbye Lacey, he whispered to himself.