"You literally don't need it," Pope said for the third time and pulled at the back of Danny's shirt.

He was trying to find his bandana in John B's van. He swore he left on in there. "Yes, I do!" Danny argued and pulled free from Pope's grip, ignoring the grumbles of disapproval from JJ and John B.

"Hurry up! Kie's probably already there!" JJ urged.

Danny lifted a stray hoodie and cheered, "Found it!"

"Finally," John B said and they all jogged up the back road and along the side fence to the junkyard. Pope lead them around the bend and they all squatted behind the scrap pieces of wood and other junk just in time to hear Kie yell, "Hello! Excuse me?"

Danny tied the navy bandana around his head and nudged Pope to fix it. The boy helped tighten it around the base of Danny's head. He tucked the tail into the fabric.

"How's it going with Kiara?" JJ whispered to John B.

Danny glanced in confusion.

"It's not awkward, weird, or anything."

JJ snorted in amusement. "Yeah. Honestly, I did not think you were gonna actually listen to me."

"What?" John B asked.

"I was 100 percent sure she was into you," JJ said. "Pope would agree."

Pope shook his head in consideration. "Ehh. . . "

"I'm left out of the loop," Danny said accusatorily. "Why am I left out of the loop?"

John B glanced at him with wide eyes. His voice is pitched when he responded, "Now isn't really the time, D."

"Then why are we talking about it now?"

"So, like, Kie, she, like, definitely gave you the Heisman?" JJ asked John B, ignoring Danny's scowl.

"Oh, no question."

"Maybe she's just into somebody else," Pope added easily.

The four boys watched Kie lead the security man back to her car. Once they were out of sight, they all sprung up and sprinted for the shrinking opening of the gate.

JJ took the lead and they all followed him, sidestepping various pipes, tires, and raised rusting boats. They reached an industrial building and JJ took out the piece of paper with the code to open the lock on the door.

Danny glanced around in caution. Normally junkyards had junkyard dogs.

JJ pulled at the lock, a frustrated huff leaving his lips.

"Do you have the right numbers?" Pope asked.

"All right, so I might have the wrong numbers."

"Ah, damn it!" Pope cursed and turned away.

Danny heard a dog bark and he slapped at John B's arm. "Dog," he muttered.

The german shepherd rounded the bend and began barking viciously.

"That's a cougar. Never mind," John B said and quickly ran around the side of the building, out of sight.

JJ raised his hands and slowly began backing away. "Hi! No, stay there! Good boy." He jogged to the side and turned around to see Pope standing there staring at the dog, and Danny jumping up onto a taller crate.

Pope picked up a pipe and brandished it at the dog. "Back off! Back off! Back off!"

"I got a toy, boy!" JJ said and waved his red bandana. The dog turned its attention to JJ and raced after him. "Wait, no. I was just kidding. Shit! Okay, sit!"

"JJ!" Danny yelled, worried for his friend's safety. "I've gotta go after him," he told Pope and jumped off the crate.

"No!" Pope said and pulled at Danny's arm. "We need to leave. He's gonna be fine. He's JJ."

Danny looked around helplessly. He debated for a second longer and reluctantly nodded. "Fine. Go get John B. I'll find a way out."

Pope nodded and Danny set off into the junk. He passed two heaps until he found the two old car mats that he was looking for. He jogged back to Pope and John B.

"This way," he said and lead them to a pile of crates next to the back fence. He climbed up and placed the car mats onto the barbed wire. Once safe, he climbed over and jumped to the ground.

"Come on," he said and waved them on.

Pope came next, and the two boys took the case from John B, who happened to find the drone.

Once they were all cleared, Danny reached up and pulled the mats from the fence. He took a step for momentum and then heaved the mats back over the fence and into the yard.

"Nice," Pope commented, and they ran around the perimeter to the front of the lot, heading toward the back road. Danny paused behind an elevated boat.

"You guys go. I'll meet you at the van," Danny said and squatted down for cover.

"What?" John B said and paused his escape, Pope following right behind. "We've gotta clear out."

"Yeah." Danny nodded. "You go. I'm not leaving without JJ."

"Danny," Pope started.

"Go!" Danny assured and waved them on. After another moment's hesitation, John B and Pope headed toward the van half a block away.

Danny waited five minutes.

At the ten-minute mark, his anxiety was almost too much to bear. Danny was about to make a plan to jump the fence again just as the front gate rolled open. JJ walked away seemingly unharmed, and Danny sighed in relief. He had a half the thought that the cops would be rolling in.

Danny saw the security guard standing on the other side watching JJ.

"Shit," he muttered and trailed JJ, the row of junk between the two. Danny glanced back periodically to make sure the guard was still there. Once the man left, Danny ran over to JJ.

"Dude!" he yelled and pulled JJ into a bear-hug. "You gave me a heart attack, for fucks sake."

JJ chuckled softly and patted Danny's back. "Yeah," he muttered. "Well, you know me."

Danny pulled back, and his smile immediately dropped. He noticed the tear stains on JJ's cheek and felt his anger spark to life. "The hell did he do to you?"

JJ wiped at his cheeks and shrugged in dismissal. He continued walking, and Danny followed. "Nothing, man."

Danny huffed.

He circled JJ, searching for injury. "The dog get you? He hit you?"

Danny took hold of the bottom of JJ's shirt and lifted it to look at the skin underneath.

JJ pushed his hands away, "Stop it. What're you doing?"

Danny stopped in front of JJ. His expression was equal parts stern and worried, something extremely well-worn. "Tell me right now, JJ: are you all right? Because I will go back there if you aren't."

JJ seemed like he was going to protest or make a joke, but after a second look at Danny, he sighed and said, "Danny, seriously. I'm fine."

Danny observed him for a quiet second. After he decided, he replied, "Good. Now let's go. They're waiting for us with our loot. Our first heist was a success!" He pumped his fist in the air and threw his other arm around JJ's shoulder.

They stayed arm-in-arm the whole way back to the van.

***

They pulled up to the Wreck, and Danny immediately jumped out of the van.

"I'm starving," he said. "What I would give for a buffalo chicken sandwich."

JJ punched his arm. "No. Beer, shrimp, and grits."

"That would not be pretty," Pope said.

Kie glanced at them and they walked up the ramp. "Leftover burgers and fries are probably on the menu."

Kie stopped at the bar to speak with her dad while the boys continued to the seating area. There were a few patrons still eating, but Danny could tell that the waitresses were anxious for them to leave.

Danny looked at the photos on the walls from fishing trips and other random photos of the scenery around OBX. It made the place feel homey, along with the low lighting and soft music playing over the speakers.

"Sit down," Kie said and the boys rushed to pull out seats. Danny tried to hide his amusement and pulled a stool from the end of the bar, Pope next to him.

Kie brought out baskets of fries, burgers, and tall glasses of water. After a few minutes, Danny walked over to Mr. C by the register. He handed a one-hundred-dollar bill to the man.

"I know it probably doesn't cover everything they're eating, but I hope it covers enough."

Danny knew good and well that their total bill would maybe be forty-dollars, but he didn't care much to divvy up exact change.

Mr. C stared at Danny as he held the bill in his hand, making no further move to accept it. "Why would I want this?"

Danny shrugged and leaned against the bar. He glanced at his friends stuffing their faces and then back at the man. "Any sensible businessman would."

At the silence, Danny smiled briefly and said, "Put it in the register, give it to Kie, burn it, doesn't matter to me, but it's yours. You looked out for them, I look out for you."

Danny could understand the reluctance, but he didn't care much for pride. He wasn't doing this to embarrass Mr. C. He was doing this because of his friends.

Without waiting for a response, Danny walked back to his seat and finished his fill.

Around twenty minutes later, Danny switched the station on the radio that Kie brought out. A new song came on and Danny stood with a smile.

"Someone dance with me," he said as he began to dance with an imaginary partner, all hip sway and footwork. When no one made a move to stand and continued with their food, Danny groaned in annoyance.

"Come on. I'll ask the best partner to be my date to Midsummers."

JJ snorted. "Now no one will dance with you."

"Yeah," Pope agreed and spooned a mouthful of soup. "I'm already dreading it with my dad. Why would we willingly want to go?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Danny said and stopped his movements. At their blank stares, he smiled cheekily and said, "You get to have me all to yourself. And if you're lucky, you get to really have me all to yourself."

He winked, proud of his lewd remark.

"Gross, Danny!" Kie yelled.

Danny laughed at their reactions and dodged the fries sent his way.

"I'm not picking those up," he said and resumed his dancing. He closed his eyes and hummed along to the song as his friends' voices carried softly in the background.

One song changed to the next and just as Danny was going to wind down, someone tugged on his hand.

A body tucked against his and Danny opened his eyes to see JJ's mischievous smile.

"Knew I could count on you," Danny whispered in delight.

He placed his hand on the middle of JJ's back and pulled him forward, flush against his chest, hand slotted with the other. Danny's skin felt alight.

JJ placed his hand against the small of Danny's back and reminded, "I'm not as good as you."

"It's all right. I'm more than happy to practice my moves on you."

JJ rolled his eyes. After a beat, he asked, "How do you even know how to dance like this?"

Danny shrugged. "Mom took me to dances with her. The ladies fought over each other to dance with me, but mostly my mom taught me."

Danny led him through a diagonal box step. "She'd put her favorite French CDs on in the house, and we'd spend hours together." He smiled at the memory.

"Got pretty good after a while. My dad never wanted to dance with her. Never knew why, either. She looks magical when she dances."

They spent another half song together before Kie stole Danny away. She wanted to be properly twirled and dipped.

Danny's cheeks ached by the end of the night.

***

Danny sat on John B's dock with his feet resting on the first step of the ladder. He had his hood pulled over his head and stared at the rippling water.

Kie and John B were swimming around the drone that Pope was testing. Danny thought it was cool, but he was too in his head about going home later to offer anything other than a half-assed, 'that's cool.'

Pope and JJ hunched over the screen looking at the drone footage. John B was scrubbing his finger over his teeth underwater.

"What's this?" JJ asked. Pope slapped away his hand.

"Don't touch that. I'm trying to work out this thing."

"God bless geeks, Pope. Truly, man. What would we do without you to control the drones?"

Pope rolled his eyes. "It's not a drone. It's an ROV."

JJ waved his hand and interrupted, "Shut up. Shut up. It's too early for that right now."

JJ crossed the dock and stood behind Danny, resting his hands on the railing of the ladder. Danny tilted his head back and stared up at JJ.

JJ smiled down at him and tapped his finger on the tip of Danny's nose.

"Hey, once we get footage of the wreck," John B spoke from the water, "We'll bring it to a lawyer in town and file a formal claim."

"It's bullshit." JJ scoffed. "Why do we have to do that?"

Danny rested his head against JJ's thigh and stared out at the horizon. The sun was just beginning to rise above the edge, still blocked by random trees.

"Well, there is maritime salvage law. You can't just go to the ocean floor and scoop a bunch of stuff up," Pope added.

JJ huffed and re-adjusted his hold on the railing. "I know. I know. It's just lawyers aren't cheap, bro."

"As soon as they see the footage, they'll work for a comp."

Kie floated on her back and questioned, "How do you know all of that?"

"'Cause my dad said it, like, a million times," John B answered easily.

"Yeah, that's fair," Kie said. She swam to the ladder and rose to the last step. She smiled at Danny and flicked her fingers at him, little water droplets sprinkling his legs. He scowled at her pleased smile.

"This tether is, like, really long. In the wrong weather, it could get pushed around," Pope said as he leaned his forearms on the wooden beam running between the posts of the dock.

John B shifted to his back and offered simply, "Then we'll go at dead calm."

"At slack tide?" Kie suggested.

"So now, we just gotta wait around for the right weather. And today is not that day."

Danny looked up at the growing clouds. He used to not like thunderstorms, but ever since he and his mom built blanket forts in their living room to hide when he was younger, he couldn't help but now find them soothing in a way.

They'd have flashlights and make shadow puppets on the blankets. They'd read stories and empty their packets of m&m's in their bowl of popcorn.

He missed it.

He felt Kie brush past him as she rose up the rest of the ladder and onto the dock.

Danny's view was obstructed when JJ bent at the waist and hung over him.

"Hi," JJ said softly.

Danny immediately brought his hands up to hover over JJ's shoulders. "You're gonna fall in," he cautioned.

JJ rolled his eyes but straightened anyway. He took a step back to lean on the post. Danny stood and glanced up at the Chateau. It looked like Kie and Pope were preparing to leave.

Danny walked over and squatted in front of the drone. He began to pack it away in its container. 

"Can I ask you a question?"

Danny glanced up in confusion. He wound the tether of the drone around his elbow and thumb and replied, "Shoot."

JJ cleared his throat and quickly glanced at John B who still swam around in the water. He took a step closer and then asked quietly, "What, uh, what did your dad say to make you so angry?"

Danny froze his movements.

Disappointment.
Fag.
Fag.
Disappointment. Disappointmentdisappointmentdisappointment.

He quickly recovered, hoping JJ didn't catch it. His teeth tugged at his lip. "He was just reminding me that my mom needed me."

At the prolonged silence, Danny looked up. JJ was studying him, head tilted and eyes narrowed.

"Have I ever lied to you?"

JJ scoffed. He turned and rested his forearms on the wooden beam. "Yeah, actually."

Danny stood and pushed at his shoulder. "When?" he demanded.

"When you told me that Nikki Santini was into me."

Danny laughed, loud and uncontained.

"She soooo wasn't."

"Hey," Danny said and tried to fight off his chuckles. "I heard from her best friend that she wouldn't stop talking about you. How was I supposed to know it was because she couldn't stand your finger tapping."

"JJ!" Pope yelled.

The two boys turned around to see Pope waving JJ over.

JJ shot Pope a sarcastic thumbs up but slowly began to walk backwards up the dock. He said, "You could've asked maybe, like, a few questions. But what do I know?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever Princess," Danny said. "Go have fun on your deliveries. I'll see you later. Try not to miss me too much."

"'Til my heart stops."

Danny smiled brightly and watched JJ jog the rest of the way to Pope and around the bend and out of sight.

***

Danny wiped his forehead of sweat and stood from his squatted position at the base of the Pogue's motor.

"Hey, John B!" Danny yelled. The boat was propped next to the tree in his backyard, a good distance from the shed where John B worked on programming the Royal Merchant's exact coordinates into the drone.

When he didn't hear a response, Danny shouted again, "John B? Can you change the station? I fuckin' hate Bruno Mars."

Danny sighed in annoyance and wiped his hands on the rag. "Dude," he muttered and turned around. The rest of his words died on his lips when he came face to face with Sarah Cameron.

"What'd Bruno Mars do to you?"

Danny glanced over Sarah's shoulder and across the yard to John B. He stood from his chair and shrugged at Danny as he shoveled popcorn into his mouth.

"What're you doing here?"

Sarah fixed the strap of her bag on her shoulder. She didn't answer and instead responded with a question of her own. "I should ask you the same thing."

"What?" he asked. His eyes widened in alarm when he realized what she meant. "Shit!" he cried and pat his pockets for his phone. Coming up empty, he yelled even more frantically, "Shit!"

He looked at her wildly and hovered his hands over her shoulders. "What time is it?"

She raised her phone and glanced. "Almost one."

Danny ran his hands through his hair. "Will you drive me, please? I'll owe you one."

She hummed and crossed her arms.

"Please, Sarah?" Danny implored.

When Danny was about to pop a blood vessel she smiled and said, "Yes, Danny, geesh."

He deflated in relief and praised, "Thank you, thank you. Let's go!"

Danny ran through John B's backyard and around the side of the house. "Bye!" he called half-heartedly over his shoulder. He could barely hear John B's response as he rounded the front of the house and opened the driver's door of Sarah's Volvo.

"Come on, come on, come on," he ushered as Sarah leisurely rounded the bend. She stared at him in amusement. He gently closed the door as she got in and he raced around the front of the car.

She pulled onto the road and Danny's legs restlessly bounced. He could hear the scuffing of his shoes over the soft sound of the radio. He ignored Sarah's occasional glance at him every stoplight.

"Thank you," Danny whispered as they cruised down the road. He bit his lip and drummed his fingers on the leather seat.

"It's really no big deal, Danny," Sarah said.

He didn't tell her that, no, it really was.

"What color is your suit?" she questioned, attempting as a distraction.

Dany swallowed and tried to take a breath. "Navy. She, uh, she likes that color most on me."

She hummed. "Yeah," she said as her eyes assessed him. "I can see that. Who's your date?"

"No one is."

Danny tried to ignore her dramatic gasp of surprise. "The Daniel Sarver doesn't have a date?"

Danny looked over at her for half a second and then fixed his eyes back on the road. He tried to relax back into the seat. "No," he said simply.

"Wow," she said and tossed her hair over her shoulder to keep it from falling in her face. "Everyone turn you down?"

Danny huffed slightly in amusement. "I guess you could say that. None of my friends wanted to go. Hell, I don't really even want to go."

"Me neither," she whispered like it was a sin.

Danny looked at her in shock. She briefly met his eyes and then turned back to the road. "We can skip together," Danny offered.

"Sure, sounds like a plan."

They both knew that would never happen, but Danny was comforted by the fact that in a different reality, it could've been true.

***

When Sarah pulled into his driveway, Danny was out of the car before it was even in park.

He ran up the steps and crashed into his front door. He typed in the code on the door handle and nearly kicked it down with frustration when the code didn't take.

"Dude!" Sarah yelled and jogged after him. Just as she made it onto the porch, Danny finally threw the door open and took off up the stairs.

Sarah closed the front door, set her shoes down, and he heard the soft patter of her feet racing after him up the stairs. Danny tripped up the second landing stairs and skidded around the bend.

"Slow down!"

His hands braced himself from colliding with the wall and he took a deep breath. He knocked on the door of his mom's fitting room and waited for her answer.

"Come in!" she said and Danny all but ripped the door off its hinges.

Soft French cords drifted through the air as he stepped inside. Danny's mom stood from her desk, the skylight highlighting her papers and illuminating the room.

"Baby!" she crooned softly and walked to meet him, her arms open wide.

Danny wrapped his arms around her and lamented in French, "I'm so sorry, Mom. I didn't have my phone. Please don't be disappointed with me. I'm sorry I'm late. Please."

She pulled back and placed a palm on his cheek. "I'm not disappointed, my love. Never."

Danny smiled and his shoulders fell in relief.

"Oh, Sarah. Lovely to see you," Irene said and walked over to meet her at the threshold of the door. "Come," she said and guided Sarah to the plush couch on the side of the room facing the platform and floor-to-ceiling mirrors.

"Danny. Shower. You smell like a day's work on your grandpa's farm."

Danny smiled and rubbed his hands on his chest. He held his hands up and brought them closer to his mom. She shouted and swatted at him. "Go!" she said and he laughed, but obliged.

When he returned, Sarah stood on the platform in her dress and his mom was nowhere to be seen. She met his eyes in the mirror. They widened and she averted her gaze. "Uh?" she said and cleared her throat.

Danny rolled his eyes. He wondered how this would play out. His mom would have him undress anyway, so he only wore his boxer briefs. "Surely you've heard my mom say, 'the French don't get embarrassed.'"

She nodded and turned to meet him. She crossed her arms and raised her chin. "I have. But newsflash. I don't speak French."

He winked and sunk into the cushion of the couch. "The French don't get embarrassed."

"You never get embarrassed?" she accused.

He shook his head. "No."

Sarah raised a brow and turned to face herself in the mirror. She played with the skirt of her dress and moved it back and forth. "I find that hard to believe."

"It would take a lot. And on top of that, I'd actually have to care about the person's opinion of me, so."

After his mom came back, she finished hemming Sarah's dress and it was Danny's turn to stand on the platform. He complained exactly once about being poked and then zipped his lips for the duration of his fitting at his mom's warning glare. He could see Sarah's shoulders move in quiet laughter through the reflection anytime he made a pinched face.

"I don't want to wear a tie," Danny whined and all but stomped his foot.

"Shh!"

He didn't care how nice his mom made it out to be, it felt like a noose around his neck.

She took a step back and assessed her work. She circled her finger and Danny turned slowly in place. She came up behind him and smoothed the fabric across his shoulders. Her lips were still pinched as she took a step away.

Danny stared at himself in the mirror. He didn't see the problem.

"Sarah, would you dance with him?"

"What?" Danny asked in bewilderment.

"I need to see it in action." She moved across the room and turned up the volume on her record player. "Nothing fancy," she appeased. "Do the cross-step waltz with a turning-basic and a few pivots is all."

Sarah shook her head and stared wide-eyed at Danny. "I don't—"

"Oh, nonsense," Irene said and sat down on the seat by the record player, right in front of the open space. "Danny's a wonderful lead. You'll be quite all right."

Danny stepped toward her and bent to a knee. He raised his hand and tilted his head in question. "The French do not get embarrassed," he reminded.

She sighed and placed her hand in his. He smiled wickedly and pulled her up in one swoop and into his arms. He guided her to the open floor. He bowed and said, "My lady," as he rose his hand.

Sarah's mouth opened and closed, clearly out of her element. She hesitantly set her hand in his and he guided her hands to where they needed to be placed. He kept his touch light and offered breathing room between the two.

Danny lead her through the turning basic in a grand circle and incorporated a few pivots as his mom said. His lips quirked at Sarah's brilliant smile.

"Chained roll-aways," his mom called.

Sarah raised a brow.

"Just do a spin when I let go of your hand, but keep your steps going in the circle," Danny said. He smiled at the billowing of Sarah's dress. "Good," he said once she returned.

Danny slowed to a stop soon after and dipped Sarah as a finish.

His mom's claps drowned out the music. She came up and pulled at his coat. "Excellent. Beautiful, Sarah," she commented. "Off, off," she rushed and took his jacket into her walk-in closet to her sewing station.

"That was fun," Sarah gushed. "You've got to dance with me at the party."

"Because your boyfriend would totally love that."

"Well," she said and ghosted through the dance movements. Danny grinned at the sight. "He can throw whatever fit he wants. I want to have at least some fun there."

Danny hummed. "I guess it would be pretty fun to watch him throw a temper tantrum."

"Then it's settled."

*****

The sexual tension between Danny and flirting with all his friends.

(Also if it wasn't clear, anytime the sentence is in italics, it will be in French.)

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!
R