It took me an entire two days to put up a new chapter. I know, I know, sorry about the wait. Honestly, I hadn't planned on continuing this story. I liked the idea of leaving their relationship unresolved, but after reading the reviews, I did decide to carry the story on. I'm thinking about wrapping this up in 3 or 4, maybe five chapters. It was just a quick idea I had, I wasn't expecting people to enjoy so much, but thank you.

Danny's knees felt weak. He could feel his heart beating wildly beneath his chest, and with every beat bled the desire to chase after her. He wanted to explain to Lacey that his kiss with Jo didn't mean anything to him, but he figured it wouldn't change anything.

"Dude, what was that?" Danny turned to see Cole approaching him angrily.

"We were just dancing," Danny replied nervously.

"Come on Danny, seriously? Look man, Lacey's cool, she's cute, you guys have that whole best-friends-turned-lovers vibe going on, I get that. But do you know how hard it was to find a player as strong offensively as Archie? Listen, normally I would stay out of it. It's your life. If you wanted steal girls from every guy in the school -except me of course- I would be perfectly fine with that, but when it starts to effect the team- I've got to draw the line."

Danny knew what Cole was saying was true, but he cared way more about Lacey than he did the soccer team. He tried to speak up, "Maybe I shouldn't be on the t-"

"He's not like Archie." Cole reasoned. "Justin is really serious about her. You know, when he transferred here a few weeks after you went AWOL and he was really there for Lacey. I hate to break it to you buddy, but you weren't."

"I'm here now," Danny tried to defend himself.

"I know you are," Cole nodded his head, "that's the dilemma," he joked. "Come on," he said, patting Danny on the back. "I'll take you home." As the boys headed for the exit, someone came running up behind them.

"Danny, can we talk?" Danny heard a female's voice. It was Jo. He rolled his eyes and then turned to face her.

Cole observed the tension between the two of them. "You breed drama Desai!" He said jokingly. "I'll be in the car."

"I was just gonna head out a little early, I hope that's okay with you."

"Yeah, that's fine," she said timidly. "Are you okay?"

Danny's face hardened. He really did not want to be having this conversation with her right now. "I'm fine Jo," he lied.

"Danny, I'll talk to Lacey, we can fix this."

"I think you've done enough," he barked coldly.

"Oh," Jo's head dropped. "Well I am really sorry," she offered.

"Yeah, you should be," he said harshly, then quickly softened his tone. "Look I'm sorry Jo, but I just can't right now." He said, unable to look at her.

...

Meanwhile, Justin rode with Lacey to her house. When they got there, he walked her to her door.

"Thanks for making sure I got home. I can pay for the cab," she offered.

"It's okay Lacey, I got it." He flashed that winning smile of his.

"Justin, you have been so kind to me, and patient, and understanding." She hated herself for what she was about to do, but it only seemed right. "But I can't keep stringing you along when I still have feelings for-" she couldn't bring herself to say his name.

"I don't think you're just stringing me along," he interrupted. "Now correct me if I'm wrong, but you don't seem like the type of girl that would date a guy solely to make someone else jealous.

"Justin, I-"

"You may be confused about your feelings for him, but deep down you know that I'm good to you, and good for you. Otherwise you would have found some sleaze ball to dangle in his face until you convinced yourself that you were better off with this other guy. "

"But-" Lacey could not get a word in. Justin was calling her on feelings yet another time tonight. He did not even know her but she felt like he knew her.

"You're gonna get with this guy, I mean the guy from before, and he's going to break your heart, or you'll break his. And once it's over it will be impossible for the two of you to stand in the same room as one another because all of those feelings that had been building up between you for all of those years will linger indefinitely. And you're going to miss your friend Danny, and he's going to miss you, but you have been down that road before and it only led to destruction."

Lacey seemed to be both disturbed and shocked that Justin knew about Danny. "How long have you known?"

Justin pulled out his cell phone to reveal the video that Doug had recorded of Lacey and Danny making out. "Good old Archie Yates," he said sarcastically, he too couldn't stand the guy. "He sent that to me a few days after I asked you to homecoming. I didn't think much of it, except that you and Danny used to be a thing. Then when he came back and you started acting weird around me, and he kept telling me how the two of you used to be such good 'friends,' I kind of just pieced it all together," he explained.

"Danny means so much to me," Lacey knew she couldn't lie to him now.

"I get that, and I don't want to replace him. But just give me chance. I know it won't be easy for you to move on from him, but there's a reason you two aren't together anymore. I mean right?"

"I broke up with him because he lied to me about-" Lacey remembered Regina's necklace. The town, and even Lacey herself, had been skeptical of Danny as he was the leading suspect in Regina's murder, because the necklace she was wearing the night she was killed belonged to Danny's aunt Tara who Danny had killed five years prior. When he finally confessed to having the necklace after several times of denying it, Lacey's suspicions of him resurfaced. She couldn't trust Danny, not only because of what he had done in the past, but because of the uncertainty that he had repeated the same mistake, killing her best friend this time. But DNA doesn't lie, and not an ounce of his DNA was recovered on the murder weapon, it was someone else's which had yet to be determined. If Danny really didn't kill Regina, then her reason for breaking up with him was void.

"There is no reason anymore." She said quietly to herself. "Thank you Justin. I have to go," Lacey said quickly and rushed towards her car.

"Wait where you going?" He grabbed her by the elbow.

"I have to tell him I love him," she exclaimed. "Here." She unclasped the diamond necklace Justin had given to her from her neck, and darted to her silver car. "I'm really sorry," she called out to him as he stood there pitifully.

...

"You're home early." Karen greeted her son as he walked into the door. "How did it go with Jo?" Danny's mother asked more out of nosiness than curiosity.

"Mom, me and Jo are never going to happen!" He barked. His mother was always trying to get him to feel something for Jo, but he simply couldn't.

"I know, I know, sorry. You seem down, I assume something happened with Lacey?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Danny marched up to his room where he threw himself onto his bed. How could he let her get away from him again? Danny wanted to text Lacey, or call her to assure her that nothing was going on between he and Jo, but he didn't think it would make much of a difference. He had put her through so much. There was no way she would even begin to forgive him. Danny was so caught up in his thoughts that he did not even hear the doorbell ring.

...

Lacey became incredibly nervous as she knocked on the door of the Desai's house. She didn't care that Danny had kissed Jo anymore, she knew how he felt about her, and figured that whatever he was feeling for Jo in that moment was because he didn't think there was a chance for them to get back together. Lacey felt her stomach churn, whatever happened, Danny would know how she felt, even if he didn't feel the same way anymore. Lacey was finally being honest to her herself about her feelings and she thought Danny deserved to know.

Lacey knocked on the door again, but this time it opened. "Hi Mrs. Desai, is Danny home yet?" She asked hopefully.

Karen stepped outside to meet Lacey on the porch, and closed the door behind her. "He doesn't want to see you," she said coldly.

"What?" Lacey thought his mother was kidding.

"He doesn't want to see you!" She fired again, more firmly this time. "Listen Lacey," she said approaching her. "My son has been through a lot this year. He doesn't need you and your drama and indecisiveness barging in and out of his life. If you care about Danny at all, you'll just leave him alone."

Karen turned her back to Lacey who was left standing there stupidly. She went back inside, and shut the door after her.