I freeze. My heart rate instantly rises, the beat pounding through my ears. I clench my fist, grinding my teeth in an anticipated beat down. What was she up to now?
Britney directs her question to Dane yet again, "C'mon! Truth or dare?!"
He thinks about it for a second, unfazed by all of this.
"Truth," he says confidently, without batting an eye, looking directly at her.
It would be just like Dane to pick truth. A dare wouldn't be as fun to him as mentally psyching out Britney. He was too smart for that.
"Now you know the rules, you need to answer truthfully," she drags out dramatically.
"Uh, yeah, kinda the point of the game," he responds bluntly. The guys surrounding them stifle laughs at Britney's stupidity.
With an annoyed look at the boys, she redirects her attention back to Dane.
"Okay, well here goes. Which personality is your favorite? Destructive Dane that destroys the front of school property and punches coworkers, or Dapper Dane who is the new and improved hottie of Washington High?"
Red. Lots of red.
Everyone silences. Eyes are wide, jaws are dropped. The nerve of that bitch. I was literally envisioning myself running across the room, tackling her, slamming her head into the stone fireplace again and again, when Dane speaks up in his calm deep voice, breaking the tension.
"First of all, I don't have multiple personality disorder. And second, if I did, you couldn't get any one of them to think you were attractive."
"OOOOOOHHHH!!!!!!" All of the guys that were sitting around us, listening intently, got up and enthusiastically started running around the room in a circle.
"BURNED THE B! BURNED THE B!" They start chanting and laughing while simultaneously coming through to high five Dane.
I was trying to hide my uncontrollable laughter with a hand over my mouth watching the scene unfold along with a wide-eyed, open-mouthed Gabby. Britney's attempt to humiliate Dane totally backfired in the best way possible. Not only had she brought up the elephant in the room, but Dane instantaneously tamed it in front of everyone. The fact that he could make light of the situation was not only honorable but it seemed to gain him the respect of the guys because of it.
After the game fizzled out from the excitement of the burn, and the remaining group dispersed throughout the party yet again, I pull Dane aside to a secluded bench near the end of the hallway. We both sit as I turn to him, taking in his appearance.
"You sure you're alright? That was a messed up thing she did back there," I ask him, holding his hands in my lap.
He pauses to smile genuinely at me while gently squeezing my hands, then lets out a deep breath to answer.
"I've come to realize that life and the time we're given, are so extraordinarily special, that no one, not even someone as insignificant and small as Britney, could disrupt that. Especially when looking at the grand scheme of things."
Tears well up in my eyes at the strength of this man in front of me. How he's been able to overcome this the way that he has is nothing short of heroic. I let out a deep sigh, feeling a significant weight lifted off of my shoulders I hadn't realized I'd been carrying around for Dane.
"But, I love you for caring," he says before kissing my nose, then forehead, then lips. My favorite little thing he likes to do.
"Alright so I don't need to whoop her ass tonight? Is that what you're telling me?" I ask in a humorous tone.
"Not tonight, or at school, or ever. I don't need you getting all scuffed up or arrested with your feisty ass. Especially not for the likes of me." He chuckles at my smile, while tucking a stray hair behind my ear. "But I must admit, it's pretty fucking sexy," he continues, raising his eyebrows at me.
YOU ARE READING
A Sliver of Infinite
Teen Fiction"There's only one thing that's keeping me here, only one thing that's keeping me sane. The galaxy to my stars, the constellation that guides me home, the gravity that holds me down. It's her. It's always been her. But even she can't save me from my...
