Between the Lines // Danny Griffin

Chapter 4

"Well good morning my dear Ms. Winter." I look up at Daniel. Throwing my hands against my face I say. "Omg, can't I have one class in peace?" He places his hand over his heart, shocked. "I'm just gonna pretend I didn't hear that!" We both start laughing a little. In that moment I have a weird feeling. I look over at the door to see Kimberly entering, shooting me yet another deadly look. "You know, I did not intend to be the middle of some teenage high school drama." Daniel tilts his head. I gesture over to Kimberly. He starts laughing again. "Just ignore her. That's what I do." I roll my eyes a little. "Yeah, that's exactly the problem." He lets himself fall into the chair next to mine. I fumble through my backpack to take out my stuff, then I turn back to Daniel. "Seriously though, are you in literally every class I'm in?" - "Hey! You make that sound like it's a bad thing!" I shrug my shoulders and turn away from him a little to hide the fact that a stupid grin has placed itself on my face. It is definitely not a bad thing at all... but it should be.

"You're pretty good at that stuff." Daniel says while we leave the classroom. "Yeah, we covered that last year." Together we walk over to the next classroom. I need to admit it was nice to know the stuff we talked about because it made me feel confident. Yesterday I struggled so much with understanding Price and Prejudice, it was a nice change to be good at the topic. Also, I really enjoyed biology back in Germany, so I guess that helps a little too. "So..." Daniel starts, ripping me away from my thoughts. "What are you up to after school?" Where is this going? He's not gonna ask me out, is he? He has a girlfriend! "Ehm... nothing much, homework I guess." I shrug my shoulders, trying to sound casual, even though my insides are going crazy right now. "Oh seriously? Come on! You gotta have some fun! My friends and I are going to the park later. Why don't you come along?" I exhale slightly, relieved. What was I thinking? Of course he didn't want to ask me out! "Sure, why not." I say as casually as possible. Why is there the smallest trace of regret in my voice? That guy is really messing with my head.

When we enter the music classroom I spot Lily in the back. "Alright, see ya later." I wave a little and walk over to Lily quickly. I need to get some distance between us so I can think clearly. Walking towards Lily I can see her wiggle her eyebrows at me. I roll my eyes and fall into the seat next to her. She pokes my side with her elbow. "So... I see Danny is still all over you." I look at her shocked. What did she just say? "Omg Lily! He's not all over me!" Lily starts to laugh. "What's so funny?" It takes her a few moments to calm down again. "Nothing. You're so innocent it's almost cute." - "What are you implying?" She shrugs her shoulders and grins. I shoot her a deadly look. She lifts her hands up in defense. "I'm just saying... it's not typical for him to hang out with... well anyone but his posse." I roll my eyes at her. "Did you ever talk to him?" She shakes her head slightly. "Well, maybe you should try before you judge him like that. He seems nice. Even asked me to hang out with him and his friends after school." Now Lily looks fully shocked. Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that...

Luckily the bell interrupted Lily and I which gave me a little break from her interrogation about Daniel and I. Sadly, as soon as class is over, Lily drags me out to our lunch spot to continue. "Ok, so you are hanging out with them later?" The way she says them has something weird about it. Almost like they are some sort of royalty. I shrug my shoulders. "I guess so." I don't get why she is making such a big deal out of it. Lily wants to say more but someone is walking towards us. "So... new girl" Kimberly looks at me like I'm some sort of vermin. I straighten my shoulders and look at her with all the confidence I have. "It's Lauren." She makes a throwing hand gesture, brushing it off. "Whatever. Stay away from Danny." I catch my breath. "Excuse me?" She rolls her eyes, as if she is annoyed she has to stand with us for longer. "You heard me. Stay away from Danny."

I burst into laughter. For a second I can see confusion on her face but she catches herself quickly. "What's funny?" I try to gather myself. Taking a deep breath I say "Listen, maybe you're the Queen B of this school but honestly? I don't care. You have no right to tell me what to do or who to hang out with." Both Lily and Kimberly catch their breath. "You're new so I'll give you a second chance. Take it, because you do not want to mess with me. One last time: Stay. Away. From. Danny." This girl is seriously starting to get on my nerves. I reach for my backpack, grab it and get up. I step right infront of her. "Make me." With that I walk away. Lily follows right behind me. Once we're a few feet away she pulls me to the side. "Are you crazy?" I look at her with disbelief. "Am I what? She's definitely the crazy one!" - "Yeah, sure she is BUT she can make your life here really hard." For a second I wonder if it was wrong to react the way I did. It's not even the fact that I like Daniel. I just couldn't stand her trying to tell me what to do. "I guess it's time someone shows her some manners."