(A/N): Content Warning; Homophobia and lots of talk about sex. Stay safe.

Over the course of three hours the dance grew duller and duller. Sooner or later, the music made your head throb and the crowd had your mind reeling. With an empty red cup in your hand (the ice tasting of some orange soda) you stood off to the side of the students before you, tapping your foot haphazardly with the beat of I Wanna Dance With Somebody. You scanned the crowd for familiar faces and saw none- your friends had slipped between your fingers one at a time, and now you had no idea where any of them were. You felt a little lost and a lot out of place, but you didn't have a ride home so you were stuck here until someone answered your texts or stumbled upon you out of pure luck. Humming the tune of the familiar song, you leaned back against the wall and pulled your phone out of your pocket for the millionth time, desperate for some form of entertainment- your heart leaped into your throat, a smile cracking over your features, as that entertainment presented itself in a text from your favourite contact.

Danny <3
Bored?

You

How could you tell?

Danny <3
Look to your right lmao

You did just as he said, lifting your head and tilting it sideways to scan for Danny's familiar face. You spotted it in the far corner, eyeing you exhaustedly. Chrissy was still glued to his side, laughing boisterously at some joke that was probably shit. 

Danny <3
There in two. Just gotta get it off of me.

You laugh aloud, ignoring the strange look from the random graduate a few feet away, and nod your head in his direction before slipping your phone back into your pocket. You watched, grinning, as Danny said something with a flat expression and basically shoved Chrissy away, though she batted her lashes and smiled warmly after him as if he treated her like a princess. Chrissy's attention was rapidly stolen back to her conversation again, leaving Danny to make his way subtly for the gymnasiums exit door, motioning for you to follow with a flick of his shoulder. With quick feet, eager to escape the noise and flashing lights of the party, you scurry in his wake. The moment you set foot outside of the gym it's like a wave of calm washes over you. You feel stress ease smoothly from your shoulders, your headache evaporating like dew under the morning sun. Danny was waiting just outside, and as soon as the gym doors clicked shut behind you, muffling the deafening base to a dull thud, he reached for your hand and intertwined your fingers with his own.

"Thanks for the reason to get out of there, Sweetheart," He hummed, bringing your hand to your lips and kissing your knuckles, "That girl drives me insane. I regret ever talking to her at Mandy's stupid party." You smile, cheeks a dusty red, and shrug your shoulders.

"You saved me just as much as I saved you. I was losing my mind in there," Your words come out as an irritated mumble, and you feel your temper itching to flare until Danny gives your hand a reassuring squeeze and starts forwards down the hallways, planning to get as far away from the hustle and bustle as possible. You swung your conjoined hands gently as you began to walk at a snail's pace, pleasant and quiet. 

"So," Danny chuckled, "Where to?" For a moment you think, and then you tug on his hand and take a left down another hallway. You want to take him outside, to the park. The stars will be out, and some fresh air is just what you need. He follows without a need for explanation, catching the hint as you turn again to reroute so that you're headed straight for the school's front door. Danny breaks away from you but you suppress your frown as you see him push the door open and motion for you to step past him like the gentleman he has proved himself to be. 

"Why thank you," You say with a bow, and he returns it with a curtsey that makes your lips pull up into a smile and your heart do acrobatics. Sucking in a deep breath, the cool night air fills your lungs and pushes the last of the ache from your brain. Outside was a good call. You and Danny both know to head for the sad little park the school has installed; it's nothing more than a cheap metal slide and a few pieces of jungle gym equipment, but it's enough for the two of you to relax together. Danny hurries ahead of you, right for the trashy, rusted set of swings, and lets himself fall down into one with a grimace as the chains creak and groan. "Graceful," You laugh, and he laughs too, rolling his eyes and pushing off with his feet to sway gently forwards and back. 

"Sit," Danny says, and you go to take up the swing next to him when his next words halt you, "No no no no, over here," You turn to him and your face goes just a little redder as he pats his legs, a teasing smile on his face. He can see the awkwardness scrawled over your features and he's living for it- desperate to tease him right back, you force the tension from your brows and shoulders and smile nonchalantly right back at him, taking up his offer without another moment's hesitation. You drop yourself sideways, legs crossing over his own, and lean your weight gently into his chest so as not to lose your balance and fall face first into the sand. Once you're settled, Danny starts to move the swing a little faster, one hand holding the chain and the other secured tightly around your waist. "Not the greatest evening, huh?" 

"It wasn't terrible," You let the words out in a sigh. Without noticing that you were really doing it, you let your head fall onto his shoulder; in exchange, Danny's arm around your waist pulled you closer. "I had fun at the start, and I know the others are having a blast, too. They just all kinda... slipped away." There's a beat of silence, you and Danny both soaking in the sudden closeness and how natural it felt, "I could have gone to look for them but I didn't want to go into that crowd alone. God, I'd have been torn apart," Danny cracks a smile. His own head tilts to lean against your own. 

"You could have found me. Chrissy may be an asshole, but she wouldn't chew me out for wanting to help you find your buddies in front of the whole cheerleading squad," You watch out of the corner of your eye as Danny cracks the wholehearted smile that fits his face so perfectly. You tilt your head to better see the way his eyes crinkle gently in the corners, his gaze glowing like molten honey. 

"Yeah, I guess. It crossed my mind once or twice, but... I didn't want to annoy you or anything."

"Oh, honey, you could never annoy me." The way Danny speaks is solid, resolute- you know that he's speaking the truth. This man could never lie, you think, in that very moment. His face turns to you and you just have to kiss him- you don't have any other choice. Smiling cheekily, you move forwards and sigh as your lips press against his own. Without a second thought he's kissing you back, and when you break for air he laughs breathlessly and leans his forehead against yours. The way your neck is best is a little awkward, and so, with Danny's help, you move so that your legs are on either side of his, face to face.

"...You're really..." The words come out low and die in your throat before you can finish speaking them. They were just too raw, and you didn't want to weird Danny out. He raised a curious brow, one hand moving to softly clasp your chin. He tilted your head up so that your eyes were glued together- he let out a questioning hum, urging you to continue. Swallowing the lump in your throat and letting out an embarrassed laugh, you forced the rest of your words through your teeth. "You're really pretty. I just- thought you'd want to know." And then, Danny's kissing you again and your arms are moving to lace over his shoulders, pulling him to you. The butterflies in your stomach are going haywire. Only when your lungs are gasping for air do you part your lips from his, hugging him tightly. With words so quiet you hardly heard them, Danny says to you,

"You're pretty too. So, so pretty." 

And then the moment is ruined by a furious shriek that sends you leaping from your place on Danny's lap, face exploding red. You whirl on your heel and almost lose your balance, but Danny, quick as ever, manages to catch your arm to help you steady yourself once more.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" Chrissy was fuming, her eyes ablaze with a rage like you'd never seen before. She grit her teeth and stormed the last few steps towards you- you were too stunned to stagger backwards, too stunned to process that a girl as crazy as her was more dangerous than you could know. Chrissy jammed her finger into your chest, forcing you another step backwards. "You fucking whore! Who do you think you are, acting like some slut to try and steal him away from me?" 

"Chrissy, stop let me explain please-" Danny tried to interject but his efforts were futile, his voice drowned out and ignored completely. 

"I can't believe you'd try to ruin my perfect night like this! I knew you were into him, I knew you were some stupid bitch and that you'd do this to me!" Chrissy stepped even closer and now that rage that always sat in your stomach, dormant, was beginning to come awake. "I shouldn't have even trusted him to go anywhere near you! Don't you know boys like him can't control themselves? When you work him up like the whore you are of course he's going to have his hands all over you! He can't control his dick you-"

"Why don't you shut the fuck up?" You force the words out quick, a hiss, dripping with acid so thick, so vile, that Chrissy flinches away and goes silent, leaving room for you to speak. "Who do I think I am? Bitch, who do you think you are? You're some depressing dumb-fuck gold digger wanting Danny all to yourself because it gives you some fucking status! Do you know a single thing about him? Do you know a single thing about his family? His hobbies?" You stood tall, shoulders squared, transforming into a whole new person in that very moment. Chrissy didn't look so big and scary anymore. "He's one of the nicest people I've ever met and deserves so much better than you. You're nothing to him, and you never will be! So why don't you fuck off and go back to sucking basketball cock?!" You hear Danny burst out laughing, and a bubble of giddiness blooms in your chest that brings your own delirious smile to your face. You can't believe you actually said that, holy shit. Chrissy looks mortified.

"Basketball cock- what?" She gasps, her astonishment faker than her plastic nose.

"It's clear as fucking day that you've been slutting it up with the entire basketball team so why don't you just take a step back and leave me and Danny a-" and then Chrissy is swinging her hand across your face in a slap so unbelievably powerful that your vision goes dark and you stagger sideways, losing your footing and collapsing to your knees in the sand. The entire right side of your face goes numb and your ears start to ring but you're vaguely aware of Danny falling to your side and then you feel his hand tilting your head up to look at him. His golden eyes are crazed and you know he's processing the hit just as much as you are. All at once pain floods into your face, making your eyes well up with involuntary tears. You feel something warm trailing down your cheek, and lift a tentative hand up to touch it- your fingertips come away red. Chrissy is wearing a ring, and it's cut along your face from your ear to the high of your cheekbone. Tears slip over and down your face and that's when you see something in Danny snap like a brittle bone. His eyes light up like flames. His eyebrows screw down and he lets go of your face to stand upright once more. 

"I can't believe you think you have the right to lay a hand on them!" Danny's voice is furious. He spins, slow, and you rise to stand just behind him, hand on your stinging cheek. Chrissy is staring at him with a glare, but something tells you that she is in way over her head. She could never rival Danny if he moved to hurt her back. If you were in her shoes, staring into his blazing eyes, you would have turned and ran long ago. 

"I can do whatever I fucking want, or can't I?" You watch as Danny... flinches. He seems to resign into himself, his eyes falling shut, his face falling to the ground. He looked almost ashamed. What had happened? Where had that cold Danny gone? "Look at you. Pathetic. Like some kicked dog, all because of some bullshit secret for a bullshit person? Why do you even care if I tell anyone? It's not like this shit is about you. You'd be better off without that bitch as a friend."

"Stop talking." Nothing made sense to you. You stood, silent, missing a massive piece of the puzzle, searching for it desperately.

"I'd be doing you a favour. If you stopped talking to her then maybe you'd actually make some real friends, not just dumb whores desperate to mooch off of your reputation."

"Stop. Talking." Danny's hands balled into fists. He was shaking.

"Or maybe she's just insecure. Maybe she knows how messed up she is, and knows that you're a good fuck. Maybe she thinks you can fix her. Maybe she's begging, pleading, trying to get you to fuck her sickness right out of her." Danny sucked in a shaking breath, as if he were about to cry. All of a sudden, Chrissy turned her head to you, realization spreading across her features. "Maybe that's why you are trying to get his dick, too? Maybe you're some sick faggot looking for a cure-?" Danny snapped his head upwards.

"If you don't stop talking I'm going to kill you." You felt your heart freeze over. Danny was... gone.  He was shaking, furiously so, his face slack but his eyes glowing like those of a snake. He looked unhinged, unstable. He looked like he really was going to kill Chrissy in that very moment. Chrissy just sneers.

"Give it your best fucking shot. If I'm dead there'll be no one left who loves you-" Danny pounced. He moved so quickly you couldn't contain your startled cry, though it was nothing in comparison to the throat-shredding scream that Chrissy let out as she was tackled to the floor. Danny's hands went immediately for her throat, only having to bat her own arms away once before making it to his destination. You watched as he gripped and squeezed, his knuckles turning white, Chrissy's eyes filling with horror as her breathing was cut off entirely. 

"Danny oh my God-" You're breath died in your own throat as if it was your neck his hands were locked around- without the ability to speak, you had to intervene with brute force. Chrissy was thrashing, kicking, scratching at his hands and arms with manicured nails so long they drew blood in too many places to count. Danny was unphased, his face blank, hardly moving with her desperate attempts for freedom, not flinching at the pain. You shot yourself forwards and wrapped your arms tightly around his own, hooking them underneath his armpits; you tugged with all your might, and managed to move him the smallest bit. As he stumbled momentarily backwards Chrissy sucked in a choking breath, but seconds later Danny got away from you and was catching her neck again. "Danny stop!!" You cry out, your tears running fresh again, the pain in your face forgotten, "Get off of her!" You choked out the words in a sob, and Danny's head flicked towards you for the quickest second before he returned to his task. Chrissy's lips were turning blue. You had to get him off of her now, or else she could be seriously injured. Hooking your arms underneath Danny's once more, you braced yourself and let out a strangled cry as you tore him backwards, stumbling into the sand and pulling him with you. As soon as he was off of Chrissy she was scrambling backwards, grasping at her throat and sucking in massive, heaving breaths of precious air. 

"No, no! Let me get her, let me fuck her up-!"

"Stop it, Danny you're scaring the shit out of me!" You screech out the words and they finally seem to make it past your lips and to his ears; he locks up, gasping, and then turns to face you with a terrified expression. He opened his mouth to speak but Chrissy beat him to it.

"You're a fucking psychopath!" Chrissy finished off her shout with a bought of violent coughing, staggering to unsteady feet. Her makeup was ruined, tears streaking down her face. "Fuck you, Danny Johnson, and fuck Amanda's stupid secret!" With that, she whirled on her heel and made for the front doors. 

"Oh my god, she's going to- I have to- I have to go," Danny cried, breaking free from your grasp with a burst of strength and rocketing to his feet. You leap to your own feet in his wake, trying desperately to keep up with him as he sets off running to follow Chrissy inside. Everything is moving too quickly. A nice evening was ruined in the blink of an eye, a matter of minutes. Chrissy led Danny (and in turn you) back towards the gymnasium, and you rounded a corner just in time to watch her smash through a set of heavy gym doors. You pick up your pace to race down the hallway, staggering to a stop at a terrified Danny's side in the doorway. You shot out one arm to catch the door before it hit him on it's way closed. The music was still booming, but faces turned to Chrissy as she moved into the crowd, shoving people out of her way in a beeline for the stage. "No no no no-" Repeating the word under his breath over and over again, despair contorted Danny's features, his brows swooping low, his eyes glossing over- he moved forwards to follow Chrissy, and again you went as well. The crowd parted to let him, and in turn you, pass by. You noticed Brahms giving you a frightened look. He had been dancing, enjoying himself just moments earlier. Just like you had been. 

"Danny, what-" Amanda's voice startled both you and the boy in front of you into a halt- you whipped to face her in tandem and that despair on Danny's face only deepened.

"Mandy, thank God, we have to go before-"

"No, no I want to see this," She laughed, pointing to Chrissy as she approached the stage and turned to head for the stairs leading onto it. "Miss princess thinks she can do whatever she wants, It's gonna be hilarious!" On the stage was a microphone, on but not in use; it was meant to announce the dance king and queen at the end of the evening. Danny lifted one hand to ghost, haunted, over his lips, and you watched as the tears in his eyes built further. He didn't move any closer to the stage. Chrissy staggered up the steps and to the microphone, staff immediately noticing the disruption and moving to intervene, but they weren't fast enough. She had already pulled the mic from it's stand, and her furious gaze swiveled to settle on Danny, you and Amanda- every other gaze followed suit. 

"Ashboro High," She spat the words out, her voice hoarse. People had began to mutter. "I have an announcement to make. Someone in this fucking school doesn't deserve the respect she's been given. This stupid bitch is only important because of the people she's surrounded herself with. Amanda Young," Chrissy stares, Danny shakes, and Amanda's brows furrow confusedly, "May just be some rebel girl on the outside, but in her spare time she's begging for Danny Johnson to fuck her straight again! Amanda is some worthless- faggot and she shouldn't be regarded as anything more than scum!" Finally a teacher makes it to the stage, but the damage is already done. All eyes swivel, Chrissy forgotten, landing on Amanda as she realizes what's just happened. She turns to Danny. She looks betrayed. 

"How did she..." She speaks low, a whisper, and then swallows the lump in her throat and raises her voice so Danny can hear her, "You told her? You... you told Chrissy?" Amanda sounded just as shattered as she looked, voice cracking.

"No, no Mandy I was drunk and I didn't mean to-" 

"I can't fucking believe you- you told Chrissy." Danny tried to speak again but Amanda had already turned, slinking, ashamed, through the crowd and slipping from the gym to escape the whispers and stares, leaving them to Danny. There was a mixture of disgust, shock, and anger- Billy Loomis, his date Stu at his side, was scowling and shaking his head. A senior spat at Danny's shoe. Asshole and bitch and cunt were thrown around without a care. Someone in the crowd started to boo, and one by one students joined in until your ears were throbbing with the sound of it. As Danny's reputation crashed and burned alongside his lifelong friendship with Amanda, a glass of punch was thrown his way to crash against his chest and stain the fabric of his fancy suit. He took a petrified step backwards, hands raising, slowly, to press over his ears, and then you watched tears spill down his cheeks as he spun and raced from the gym. You waited only a second before turning to race after him, but Brahms had stepped into your path. He shook his head, a sad look in his eyes, and offered up a simple hug. From his view, you had been tricked by some dickbag who had outed his friend; he didn't know the whole story. He didn't know that Danny would never do such a thing on purpose. With a scowl and your own headshake, you pushed past him and followed after your breaking crush. 

(A/N): Apologies again. Chrissy is vile. I hope you're all okay after reading this, and I hope the chapter was okay. 

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