Chapter Text
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Daniela doesn't think she's ever been more conflicted(is conflicted the right word, maybe confused. She doesn't know as you can see) in her life, and that's saying something (or maybe not; she tends to exaggerate a lot). She's always been confused about a lot of things and this... This is a first. Or maybe a second, or a third. It hasn't felt like this before.
Whatever her head was telling her was completely different from what her heart was telling her head was telling her. Or assessing how she perceived certain interactions rather. She just didn't know how to-
"Should I do blue or green?" Ok, not that. That's not what she's been arguing to herself over for she doesn't know how many days, but it is important to ask. At least in the moment. A simple color choice had been plaguing her for she doesn't know how many hours. At this stage, even simple decisions make her head hurt.
"You should do whatever helps make the room look clean faster. You're making me look like I live in a dumpster." Manon doesn't even ask her question, much less even look at the poster she was making.
She may or may not have had a point (Dani will not be confirming or denying) in that fact. Dani's side of the room doesn't normally look like this...most of the time. Anyway, that wasn't the point. The point was that Manon was not being helpful in the slightest.
"You know, that would happen if you were doing this instead. You know, like you told me you would." Dani says with a roll of her eyes.
"I never agreed to that, don't know where you got that from." Manon mumbles, her attention still on her phone, sticking to her side of the room.
"I figured you would say that. So that's why I have evidence in here." Yes this was completely necessary.
"Did you seriously make me put it in writing?" Manon questions in amusement, squinting her eyes so she could see the piece of paper Dani was holding up.
"Yes. I wouldn't have to if I knew you weren't going to attempt to back out. But you did. Come on, just help. I need those artistic skills of yours." Even though Dani already knew she won this battle, she pulled out the puppy dog eyes for good measure.
"Oh my gosh, fine. Only because I don't want your twenty thousand colors of markers staining the carpet. And you need to sleep." Manon huffs in reluctantly agreement as she pushes herself out of her bed.
"You wouldn't have to be worried about my sleep schedule if you just helped sooner. And I'm not clumsy; the markers arent going to spill anywhere." Dani scoffs
"Yeah I definitely would. You find new kinds of ways to mess it up. Scoot over. And, to answer your question, neither of those. Those aren't even school colors." Manon says, swatting the blue and green markers out of Dani's hand
"Yeah I know, but everything else is gonna be school colors. By the end of the night I'm gonna wish I never see them again." She gets the school spirit thing really, she does. But was it really necessary to put it on every item?
"Ok, I get you. So maybe do adjacent colors them. Colors that fit; doesn't look out of place and too noticeable."
"See, this is why I needed your expertise. You are gonna make it look great." Dani says with a smile and a pat on Manon's back.
"Uh, I thought I was helping, not doing the entire thing?" Manon squints as Dani pushes herself up from off the ground.
"Yeah but you hate when anyone hovers over you when you work, so I'm handing you full reigns, in coloring at least. I did all the outlining. I got other things to do anyway." And when she says other things, she really means it. Which knew the first day of the basketball season would make things so hectic (she did, that's who).
"I do not- Ok I do. So, I can pick this color and everything?" Yeah there was no use in arguing that fact when both of them knew that was the case.
"Full creative freedom. I have to focus on getting my outfit." Which isn't that hard, it is the uniform after all. The part that takes time is all the accessories she has to wear.
"You do know the game isn't until Friday night right?" Yeah she doesn't really need a reminder; she marked it on her calender as soon as she got the news.
"Don't see your point." Or hear it for that matter with how far her head is stuck into her closet.
"It's a Wednesday night." Was she going to elaborate or?
"Still not seeing your point. I need all the time I can get." Dani says
"Clealry. Why were you doing this anyway; I thought the cheer team always did this as a group thing." Manon asks. Doesn't really matter the answer though; as soon as she picked out a color, she was committed to the project and wasn't going to be done with it until she was happy with the finished product.
"It is. The group one is already finished; they said we can make our own if we wanted. I just wanted to do another poster just cause." Dani shrugs trying to keep her voice level as possible.
Maybe Sophia had a point about the twin telepathy thing because Dani didn't need to turn around to know that Manon didnt believe her in the slightest.
"Just cause huh? So, I take it you're excited for the first game?" Dani doesn't know if she should be thankful for the fact that she didn't address it or not. For now at least.
"Yeah, I'm always ready for the season to start so it can stop feeling like I'm dealing with muscle aches 24/7 for no reason." She was really really for that part, that wasn't a complete lie. But it wasn't the total true either.
"Really, no other reason. Like a particular someone..." And there it is. Dani knew it was coming. She and Sophia had a habit doing that recently.
"Stop trying to talk about Megan." Dani groans with a roll of her eyes.
"I didn't say anything about any names. I could've been talking about Yoonchae." Manon chuckles at Dani's obvious frustration
"Yeah right. You dont try to insert her into ever conversation so that wasn't my first guess." Dani scoffs
"Is that me or is it you?" Dani will not give her that satisfaction so she doesn't say anything.
This. This is what her mind and her heart and been playing tug of war over. She didn't think this would still be such a big issue after basically two weeks, but then again. She hadn't really had that much time to address whatever this was. She had been busy.
She had noticed of course; she is self aware. Just not as much as she would like. She had noticed the rush of heat that came of her face and the wave of annoyance whenever this happened. She only knows she can categorize the feeling as a negative.
Which is something she didn't really want to do. She didn't really want to do it because she knows it has something to do with Megan. She didn't want any negative feelings she had to do with Megan.
But, after her two weeks of analysis (very shallow analysis she might add), she doesn't think she could avoid the fact. Every time she felt it, Megan was involved somehow.
She doesn't necessarily think that Megan is the cause; again, she didn't really do a deep dive into it. One, because she was just so busy. Two, because she didn't really wanna find out.
She didn't know what to do; she couldn't exactly avoid it. Megan was her friend and the option happening to fix whatever this is, was not an alternative. She doesn't even know what causes it. One moment she's fine and then another she's not.
Whatever it was, it started when she least expected it. It was supposed to be a good thing, them all hanging out together. And it was; it was great. Yooncahe and Megan fit right in. It was like they had been there the whole time.
So, color her surprised when she found herself in bad mood the majority of that day. She certainly hadn't expected after receiving the get well bag she told Megan not to get her. Then Manon and Lara had to ruin it.
They loved Megan. A lot. And for some reason, Dani, that morning, decided she didn't quite like that.
For what reason, she couldn't tell you. But them being all touchy with Mrgan just made her skin crawl and gave her the urge to peel their hands off of her.
She thought it was just a one off thing; she thought it was just a reaction to the idea that Megan wasn't just hers anymore (ok, well she had never been, but whatever). But it wasn't.
Much to her dismay, the feeling continued. It was a good thing though, that Megan and Yoonchae had started hanging out with them more. Aka, Megan hanging out with Dani more. So it was mostly good.
It was mostly good that Dani had forgotten that she even felt whatever she had felt. She forgot, until she didn't. It wasn't a one off thing.
The scowling and hissing and the pouting and the sulking at the fact that the other girls were so enamored with Megan in some moments, all came back. It was always when they said it so outwardly too.
"Megan you should let us watch you guys in practice."
No, she really shouldn't. Then they would start fawning all over her arms again and Dani didn't really want to go through that again.
"No seriously, I bet you even make opening a soda can look hot. You do for doors."
Seriously what is it with Manon and her weird and unique compliments? Does she really need to get all creative for Megan?
"Damn, I got your number before Dani did?"
That one in particular pissed her off because it was somehing she already noticed. Telling herself that hadnt mattered anymore since she had it now. Something she was trying to tell herself to get over and then Lara just had to go and point it out.
She doesn't even know why she's mad about all those things. They were all friends and those were all some sorts of friendly banter, kinda... mostly.
Maybe it was the fact that they were always touchy with Megan when they said things like that. Like, seriously, was that really necessary? Sophia always ruffled Megan's hair. Manon somehow always found a way to lay her hands on some part of Megan's arm. Lara always found a way to lay a hand on her thigh. At least Yoonchae hadn't provoked whatever Dani was feeling.
Dani knows she said that she was avoiding addressing this because she was so busy (seriously, learning like 20 different routines all while juggling homework was her perfect definition of busy). That was part of it. But part of the reason she didnt bother dealing with it because she felt that she had no right to be feeling whatever she was feeling.
It felt... wrong. Misplaced. And definitely misunderstood since she had no idea what the hell she was dealing with.
Plus, it only seemed like a bad thing on Dani's end (yeah, yeah. She has a stance on this even though everything she's talked about has more to do with Megan; just ignore that). Megan didn't seemed bothered at all. Which, she shouldn't be. Because that's what friends to with each other.
No matter how many times Dani tells herself that though, her body doesnt seem think it's true. She still feels it.
So she ignores it for the most part. She has more important things to worry about anyway. Like Megan making the team! Which, wasn't much a surprise to her. Even though she hadnt seen much (partly due to the basketball to the face thing and the fact that practice for each of them fell on different days), the news that Megan got a starting spot didn't shock her at all.
Even though it didn't, that was definitely cause for celebration. So, she decided to make a poster. Well, Manon is doing the poster now, but Dani had gotten it started.
Megan was so excited so it only felt right to do something to share the excitement with her. Not that Manon needs to know that. She would think she's being too sappy or something.
So she decides to focus on that. Focus on making the first game as important as it is to Megan as she can.
"It's not me. But since you brought it up, yes. Is it a crime that I make a poster for my friends?" Dani mumbles as she emerges out of her closet.
"Yeah sure if you say so. And no, it isn't I guess. But, I get it. It's more exciting now that I know someone on the team." Manon nods in agreement, filling in the lines Dani had already drawn.
"Yeah it's more... personal. I'm gonna cheer so hard I think that my voice is gonna be gone the next day." Dani chuckles
"And I'll actually cheer instead of waiting for the game to be over."
"You're so lame, it isn't even that boring." Dani laughs as she pulls her calendar out of her drawer before sitting back down next to Manon on their carpet.
"Yeah says you. Literally after almost every game, you never knew the score." Ok, maybe she had a point.
"Ok, well it's not my fault that the scoreboard was so poorly positioned." Dani provides an excuse (not a good one since there were like 4 scoreboards in the gym.
"You only remember who won and who lost." Manon says with a roll of her eyes.
"Yeah, that's the important thing. I don't see anything wrong with my method." Ok, that might not mean the best for her attention span, but whatever.
"What if you cheer wrong when you think we're winning and we're actually losing?"
"We wont be-" Dani is cut off by Manon's curiousity. Which, this is definitely not something she wanted Manon to be curious about. The last thing actually.
"What's this little M here?" Shit, shit, shit. This is literally the last thing she wanted Manon to ask. She forgot she even put that on her calendar.
She didn't mean to. She was just a bit... excited when she wrote that down. It seemed important at the time. It still is. She just wouldn't have reserved a special place in her calendar for it if she knew anyone else was going to see it.
"Nothing. Uh, nothing. Wrong letter." That was totally not the case and Dani was sure her lie was not believable. Especially since she stuttered.
"Really, wrong letter? You put little stars and hearts around it." Ok, maybe she was really excited.
"And it's on Friday too. Are you sure this isn't for Me-"
"No, uh. No. Nothing special." Ok maybe it was a little special since Dani had like a whole elaborate plan. An elaborate plan that had yet to work.
Who knew it would be so hard to ask Megan out? Wait... Not like that! She meant like to hang out outside of school. Hang out. Like friends do.
You know like real friends. Close ones. She had never found the right time to ask without sweating so much she bails, but she would do it on Friday. After the game. It would be like a whole romcom moment.
Well minus the rom part. She isn't asking Megan on a date. And she knows that's what Manon would call it, so she didn't need to know why a little square on her calendar is so elaborately decorated.
"I'm serious." Dani knows she isn't very convincing but she needs to wipe that stupid smirk off of Manon's face.
"Ok, if you say so. So back to my question: what do you do if you cheer at the wrong moment?" Dani lets out a sigh of relief once Manon provides her a change of topic. Thank goodness. If she found out, no doubt she would gossip about how Dani was basically planning a play date with Megan, with Sophia the whole ride to school tomorrow.
"We won't be losing now that we have Yoonchae and Megan." She wasnt going to let this opportunity to go along with the subject change. Anyway, it was true in her mind. Dani had no doubt that her statement is true.
"Hmm, that confident huh?" Manon asks with a smirk
"Of course. Have you seen her, I mean them? Yoonchae is great too. They're- Why are you looking at me that?" Dani cuts herself off when she notices Manon stops her shading and just stares at her with a huge smirk on her face.
"I'm not looking you any in any way." She says while looking at Dani like that. Yeah, very convincing.
"Oh my gosh just tell me." Dani huffs, hating the feeling of being left out.
"Nothing you just don't make it easy to hold my tongue." Manon chuckles, not giving her an answer of course.
"What does that even-"
"Girls, what are you still doing up?" Well that's not good. Their mother always goes an excessively long rant whenever she finds them awake past 11 on a school night. She always reminds them on how much sleep people their age need.
"We aren't. We're asleep." Manon responds
"Yeah very convincing Manz. We're totally asleep and responding to her." Dani rolls her eyes as at the fact that she's blown their cover.
"We could be sleep talking. Plus, the fact that all the lights are on doesnt help." Manon points out.
"Ok, I'm coming in to see how bad it is." Well, at least she gives them a warning before coming in. Not enough of one, but whatever.
"Daniela."
"Oop, not the full government." Manon snickers under her breath as their mother enters the room, prompting Dani to flick her shoulder.
"The room is the same when I came in here hours ago. And now you're helping her." Dani had to refrain at the look on Manon's face when she got included in the scolding.
"She forced me basically." Manon says, pointing a finger at Dani.
"I did not. Plus you were still up anyway. Not like you were going to-" Dani is cut off by a shove from Manon to get her from spilling all her business.
"You girls know you need sleep. You need-"
"Yes, 7 to 8 hours of sleep." The girls recite with how many times they've heard it, in unison.
"Well since you know. I wonder why you're still up. What's so important that it needs to keep you up late anyway?" They can tell she's worried and actually cares so they decide to actually make an effort to clean up.
"You know, first game is on Friday. You know how Daniela gets." Manon answers softly
"I don't get any way when it's the first game." Ok, she knows that's not true, but she could at least pretend. The knowing look both Manon and her mother gave her didn't help her delusions.
"Ok, maybe I do. But I can't help it. Just helps with the nerves and stuff." Dani sighs
"I know. I know. Just you two be in bed in 10 minutes. I mean it." Their mother said sternly.
"We will. Won't we Dani?" Manon glances over at her.
"Hmm, give me 15. Let's be realistic." Dani jokes
"Daniela." Ok, maybe not the best decision to push it.
"Si Mama. I will." Dani mutters
"Ok, good. Good night girls."
"You're gonna stay up for like another hour arent you?" Dani chuckles after their mother closes their room door.
"You know me so well. Now hurry up so I can turn the light off and make this convincing." Manon rushes, pulling her covers over herself
"Mama said you had to help." Dani pouts
"Mmh, I took that as more of a suggestion. So no thanks. Good night." Well she definitely wont let this sit on her conscience.
Lazy. Fine. She didn't need her help.
...
Ok, maybe she did need her help. She feels half dead right about now. It's even worse than it usually is.
Maybe her mom was right (she usually is); maybe she did let the first game get to her too much. Mmh, no that didnt sound right. She's gonna stick with she worries just enough. Of course, Manon decides to contrary with her.
"Is she alive?" Well at least one of them is concerned, even though Dani had told them about 20 times on the way to school not to be.
"I don't know." Manon's tone doesn't sound very interested when she responds. Dani guesses she's on her phone now, ear bud in one ear with her eyes not even glancing towards the backseat. She wouldn't know because she hasn't been able to open her eyes since she sunk into the backseat of Sophia's car.
"Well why aren't you concerned to figure out why?" Sophia asks
"She said she'd be fine. I'm guessing this is her definition of fine." Manon snickers
"Well she doesn't look fine. She looks like she's running off of cheers that she won't let rest." Ok, maybe she's a little freaked out over how accurate Sophia's description of her tiredness is.
Truthfully, she should've listened to Manon last night (even when Manon wasn't going to take her own advice), and went to bed. She gave herself 15 minutes to clean up. That should've been enough.
Well it was enough until she had to put her calendar back into her drawer. She was just supposed to cross off another date and maybe impulsively color in some of the numbers. But no, her eyes (thanks to Manon, partially at least), gravitated to the day marked Friday.
She almost regrets not telling Manon why she was sweating so much over that date (ok not that much) circled, highlighted and underlined in her calendar.
She never made this much of a big deal about hanging out with someone; she doesn't know why she's doing it now. It's just Megan. Ok, maybe it being Megan is what's making the whole idea worse.
What if she says no? It's totally possible she only tolerates Daniela in school (which she knows anyone else who knows them would tell Dani she's being irrational; she knows. Blame it on the lack of sleep.) The more probable reason for her saying no would probably because she's busy. Megan is an athlete after all. Maybe it was a little silly to ask right her when the season is ramping up but Dani's waited long enough. It's been a month since they became friends. Now, she doesn't know the standard timeline (if there is one, who cares) but she thinks it's around the right time to ask.
But what if she says yes? That mean Megan totally thinks she worthy of hanging outside of school with. What if she says yes and Dani picks the wrong place? What if she totally hates it and thinks it's so boring she'll wanna claw her eyes out and she never wants to speak to Dani again?
Yeah, all of those sound bad. But, Dani must admit that the one possibility Dani is fearing the most, isn't even the worst one. It's kinda stupid really how much she's worrying over it.
What if Megan insists on everyone else coming? Yeah that's the last possibility she wanted to happen. Dani just wanted it to be them. For no particular reason other than that's just what she wants. No, it's not a date.
Is that a crime? Manon would definitely say it is but who cares.
So yeah that may be a small reason as to why she looks like she's auditioning to be a background character for Walking Dead (she actually did theater once because Sophia insisted she try to be "well versed", she said. Dani didn't do half bad she thinks). But of course, her cheer captain duties did also keep her up.
Routines, routines, and more routines. The week after the first game was always brutal. Let's just say coach takes her job a little too serious and starts cutting people and holding secondary tryouts like there's no tomorrow. So yeah, Dani had that to be worried about.
That along with what's she's going to wear. If you didn't catch her last night, she has to look fabulous. She's already got the game covered of course. She needs to worry about the school day for Friday. It was unfortunate and fortunate that she had basically cataloged her entire closet in her head. Kept her up for another good 20 minutes.
Megan only had a small part to play in her lack of sleep last night. And small as in maybe an hour... That wasn't that much. It could've been worse. Of course it didn't help that she got in the bed at midnight.
Even though she says it could've been worse, it definitely doesn't feel like that. She wishes Manon felt the same sentiment as Sophia though. That might've willed her enough to make it to class on time.
"She'll be fine see. Dani, I got your favorite." Ok, maybe Manon is right; she will be fine. She has a feeling because the sound of shaking ice granta her a boost of energy.
"You got me coffee?" Dani didn't think she would be sounding so cheerful in the morning but here she is.
"Damn, not even a thank you before you yank it out of my hands?" Manon chuckles at a now wide eyed and energized Dani.
"Thank you, you do love me? I never would've guessed." Dani jokes before taking a much needed sip of coffee
"Shut up. And I just didn't want you more fallen than you needed to be. See Soph, I told you all she needed was coffee." Manon says with a roll of her eyes
"Clearly. Don't think we're gonna move past how this is addict behavior." Sophia says as she points at Dani
"This isn't addict behavior I just wanted coffee." Dani mutters, shaking her cup
"Yeah says the person who snatched the cup so hard that it almost spill on my carpets." Sophia clears her throat in disapproval
"Won't happen again Soph. What's with all the bag?" Dani questions, seeing the two large brown bags next to her.
"Surprised you didn't wake up at the smell."
"Shut up."
"We got breakfast for everyone. We figured it would be a bad look if we met them at Megan's car with coffee and nothing to offer." Sophia answers
"Great idea. Let's go meet them so we can eat." With newfound energy, she hops out of the car with her bookbag and wait impatiently for Manon and Sophia
"Well, glad to see you back with us. All for food." Manon chuckles as she closes the passenger door behind her
"Not all for food, for company too." Ok, it is mostly for the food.
"You mean for Meg-"
"Manon." Sophia stops her, trying to sound stern but failing, a smile coming onto her face.
"What, I wasn't going to say anything inaccurate." Manon shrugs
"Then say it."
"No, alas, I shall not. Dear Sophia would rather I keep my mouth shut." Manon jokes, poking at Sophia as they walk across the student parking lot.
"Why are you speaking like you're in a Shakespeare play? Wait, Sophia, is that one of your next plays?" Dani asks with a squint of her eyes
"No, ignore her." Sophia chuckles with a roll of her eyes
"You know, you guys have gotten like way more cryptic recently. I don't like it. You know, if you're already planning the wedding, I'm totally on board. No need to hide it." It was her turn to tease the two of them.
"Please, Dani, no rush for that. Sophia hasn't even proposed yet." Manon laughs
"Oh, I did start... planning." Sophia mutters to herself
"What was that?" Dani smirks. Sophia is a total simp, it was so endearing.
"What's happening? The world is off kilter; Sophia is blushing." Lara's voice leans towards teasing as they make their way to Megan's parking lot.
It didn't take them long by this point; they knew where meet every morning. Dani had come up with the little idea for them to meet each in the parking lot a couple of weeks ago, when they first ate breakfast together (well attempted to). Dani didn't the fact that she basically didn't see Megan for potentially up to three days out of the week. That just wasn't going to work for her.
So, this was a great solution. Helpful too; suddenly all of them had a little extra motivation to actaully get up earlier so they could spend more time with each other.
"No definitely. Am I imagining things? Is that food? I'm so hungry." Yoonchae grumbles, hoodie still over her head, clearly still tired.
"Yes it is in fact. I decided to be generous and get us some food. I was feeling in a good mood today." Sophia chuckles at the way Yoonchae snatches the bag.
"Hey, you aren't gonna say anything about how she snatched the bag but for me you did? I call favoritism." Dani jokes, peeking over Yoonchae's shoulder to see if she could find Megan
"Of course she is. Why wouldn't she be my favorite, look at her." She can tell Sophia had an overwhelming case of cuteness aggression with the way she goes to pinch Yoonchae's cheeks
"Pleas unhand me so I can eat." Yoonchae's please comes out as muffled before Sophia fulfils her request.
"I contributed to that by the way. All of my 5 dollars." Manon points out
"Wow, we wouldn't have gotten it without you Manon, a hero truly." Lara's voices laced with sarcasm as she leans against Megan's car
"Hi guys!" There she is, just the person she was looking for.
"Oh my gosh, why are you so jolly? Lucky." Manon mutters, covering her ear as Megan's voice all but shouts
"Sorry." Megan mutters out an apology as she fully climbs out of her car
"No, jolly is good. It might rub off on me." Dani says, the vibrancy already proving contagious and making her smile.
"Don't worry, she'll crash by lunch." Yoonchae waves off, stuffing her mouth with food
"Slow down. Don't choke." Sophia scolds gently, moving Yoonchae's hair out of her face as she eats.
"I got us napkins. Yoonchae will definitely need them." Megan waves in front of each of them as the bag is placed on the hood of her car
"Do you always stash you car with napkins? You're so responsible." Manon hums. Here she goes, spouting flattery at Megan.
"Yeah definitely since I always manage to spill my drinks in the car." Megan chuckles awkwardly
"Aww cute, you and Dani are basically twins." Lara laughs
"How do you even know that?" Dani mutters as she shoots a glance at Lara
"Please, I'm Sophia's emotional support friend. And you know how seriously she takes having a clean car." Lara shares
"So you do admit it, you make my car messy?" Sophia challenges.
"I am not messy. Promise." Dani turns towards Megan, who is trying to hold in a laugh
"I believe you. I've seen your locker." Megan chuckles
"Yeah and that's-"
"Anyway, let's ignore them. Let's go sit on the trunk; they're occupying the hood." Dani shoots a glare at Manon before cutting her off, hooking Megan's arm in hers to lead them to the hood of her car. She doesn't forget the bag of food of course; she's pretty sure she wasnt awake enough to even eat anything.
"Do you want us to take pictures?" Sophia raises her voice as they walk away (for what reason, Dani has no clue. They aren't even going 10 feet away)
"Um, why?" Dani tries to mask her impatience but seriously, they're holding them up from their alone time.
"You know, right after sunrise, it's giving like romcom." Manon answer with a smirk
"No pictures. Leave us alone." Dani mutters
"As you wish." Lara chuckles.
Thankfully they actually listen and turn the opposite direction from them (mostly anyway; Dani sees Manon glancing over her shoulder every once in a while). Finally, peace and quiet.
"You think they would stop after two weeks, but no." Dani laughs off as she looks at Megan looking down at her
"I don't know, I don't mind." Megan shrugs, smiling at how worked up Dani is getting over it.
"Perfect place for a picnic huh?" Dani says nodding her head towards the trunk of Megan's car
"Yeah, caffine, hashbrowns and a trunk sounds perfect." Megan chuckles
"Good, we're on the same page. Well help me get up there then."
"Not my fault you're so tiny." Megan mutters as she places the bag on the car
"I am not tiny. Normal people don't just get on top of cars without assistance you know." Dani scoffs playfully, mounting her hands so she can push herself up.
"That's what short people say." Normally Dani would've had a comeback for that. She did actually. She just didn't have a chance to get it out.
Which you definitely can't blame her for when she suddenly had Megan's hands hovering over her waist. They weren't touching her (unfortunately), just guiding, making sure she didn't fall. But she sure wished Megan actually had held her up by the waist to get up.
Topic for another day though. Or never; she was debating.
"Morning." She doesn't know why she said that. Really it was stupid since they had already seen each other and spoken. But she had to say it in that moment.
It would've felt wrong to not greet Megan now, perching on the back on top of the back of Megan's car together. Not when she hunches down a little to meet Dani's eyes. Not when she has such a bright smile on her face.
Maybe she said that because she didn't want to accidently say something else. Something much worse. But something that definitely would've been true.
"Good morning!" Dani snickers a little when Megan responds with such enthusiasm. She tries to reign it in when it looks like Megan is silently beating herself up over it.
She wants to tell her it's fine. Even though the girls were definitely right in the fact that they would never be able to get over the fact that Megan was so awkward. It didn't bother her one bit.
She wanted to tell her that it was cute- completely fine, Dani means. Nothing wrong with it at all.
"That it is, it seems. Someone's in a good mood." Dani hums as she playfully bumps Megan's shoulder
"Maybe." Megan mutters, handing Dani whatever Sophia and Manon had picked out for her. Apparently what they picked out for Megan, perfectly she might add.
"Oh my gosh they got my favorite sandwich too." What did they know her favorite breakfast order from anyway? Apparently they just had a handbook on all things Megan?! (If they did, Dani wouldnt mind taking a peek at it, just a small one).
"Day got better huh?" Dani smiles softly at the crinkle of Megan's eyes
"Much. Can I have a sip?" Megan points to Dani's cup
"Yeah sure." Dani doesn't even have to think before she hands Megan her cup. Again, it feels like they've been friends forever.
"You know, I never share my coffee with anyone. Take this as a special privilege." Dani jokes softly, before taking a bit of her sandwich
"Wait seriously. You didn't have to share if you didn't-"
"Megan, relax. I shared cause I wanted to. I was just kidding. Well not about the not sharing part." Dani chuckles at her abrupt worry. She's found that Megan does that a lot; it's cute.
"Oh right. I knew that." Megan mutters as she turns her head away from Dani.
"Sure you did." She's such a terrible liar.
"Seems like I get a lot of special privileges from you." That's another thing Dani notices Megan does, a lot more often as more time passes. Another thing that makes her stomach do a weird thing.
The way Megan is awkward one moment and then says something like that, with the way she says it, all... like that (she can't describe it) and with a smirk on her face. It's.. not cute. Definitely not a bad thing. Just sort of... ho-
Yeah, she's not going to venture into that territory. She just likes the fact that Megan gets these random burst of... confidence (she'll call it that for now) and it comes out when she's with Dani.
"I guess you do. Don't tell anyone." Dani says as she leans closer to Megan
"No promises. I have to brag about getting special treatment from the Daniela Avanzini." Megan jests, mischievous glint in her eyes
"Oh my gosh, shut up." Dani laughs as she playfully pushes Megan by her shoulder
"Ok, ok."
"So, you excited?" Dani asks, laughing fit calming down a little
"Is it that obvious?" Megan sighs, trying to bite back another smile on her face after she takes another sip of Dani's coffee
"Maybe just a little. Don't worry, it's a good look." And trust her; Dani knows she's seen a lot of Megan looks.
All good probably and maybe she's a little biased. But she's pretty sure that if she asked random people in the hallway what they thought of an in class Megan look, where she keeps pushing her glasses up on her nose every two seconds (cute). Or maybe an at lunch Megan look, where she has everyone laughing at the dumbest jokes she can come up with and sports a proud smile on her face after (cute). Maybe an after school Megan look, evem when she looks half tired and half considering if she should drop out because she found the 4 practices she's been to too grueling along with homework (not Dani's favorite but still cute.) Or her favorite, for not particular reason an after practice Megan look, when her muscles look extra defined for some reason and sweat is rolling off her...
Ok, Dani is getting a little in detail here. The point is, all Megan looks are good looks. But an excited Megan is always the best.
"Well savor it. Yoonchae's right I'll crash by lunch." Megan frowns, looking like she feels as if it's inevitable.
"You nervous?" Dani hums
"Not yet, but I will be. I cant wait to get out there, you know, a real game. And then I'm gonna want to feel like puking once they start calling the line up." Megan laughs sourly
"I think I'm the opposite really. I'll tell you, I stayed up unnecessarily late last night, worrying about things hat have been planned for weeks. But when I'm out there, with real people cheering with us, I'll be excited." Dani doesnt know if it'll make her feel much better. What she does know is that Megan likes to hear what Dani is feeling too.
"Which one do you think is better?" Megan questions. How can one be so insightful in the morning?
"Whatever works for you. Whatever you think, not that you can really control it, gets you do play better." Ok, maybe Megan's insightful question prompted her insightful answer.
"You're great at giving advice." Megan says softly
"Well it's basically another form of cheer, so I get a lot of practice." Dani shurgs
"I can't wait to see you out there." Could Megan see her blush at that? She really hopes not. She made sure she didnt by turning her head away from her.
"Shouldn't I be saying that to you?" Deflect. She hopes Megan doesn't notice her clearing her throat to brush off whatever that was.
"I mean yeah. But I've seen you in your uniform but not cheer. I've anticipating seeing you in action." Megan reasons
"Well don't get too distracted trying to see me cheer that you miss your shot." Dani jokes
"Of course I wont. I'll only get more motivated to get you to cheer more." Did she just wink? Who knew Megan could be an over confident jock?
"Your jock is showing." And for some reason Dani didn't completely mind.
"I have many different sides." Megan chuckles
"I'll say."
"Looks like I owe you a coffee. I had to manage a way to keep the facade up that I got enough sleep somehow." Megan apologizes, handing the almost empty cup back to Dani.
"Maybe you'll help with my so called addiction Sophia says I have." She doesnt have an addiction.
"Glad I could help out.
"And you need to help me out; how do you not look like you're surviving off of 3 hours of sleep?" Dani squints
"How'd you know it was 3?"
"You talk about how gaming keeps you up. A lot." Dani chuckles
"You'd understand. Trust me; once you start you won't wanna stop." Megan reasons
"I'm sure. Maybe you could-" Seriously, did they have to interrupt now? Just when Dani had found a great opportunity to ask Megan to hang out, naturally?
"Hello, yeah you two. If you haven't noticed we've been calling you two peas in a pod for like 20 minutes." Manon shouts, making Dani roll her eyes
"Then we would be late." Megan mutters in confusion. Yeah, she definitely didn't get enough sleep.
"Not literally Meg. Manon likes to exaggerate." Dani says with another roll of her eyes.
"You know we can hear you guys right?" Manon questions
"Yep, making it loud and clear just so you can hear me." Dani teases
"Whatever, get up here. We're having a conference and two group members are not present."
"Why are you calling it that?" Yoonchae asks
"Ok, coming. Looks like we're needed." Dani sighs; oh well. She'll miss the 5 minutes of time they had before their unfortunate schedules pulled them apart.
"So, you need help down too? You know, since the ground is so far from you." Megan smirks as she slides herself off easily
"I'm not gonna refuse help, but the ground isn't that far down, so shut up." Dani says with a glare that she couldn't even call one.
"Sure. If you say so. Look if Sophia's car is lower to the ground, I think we should sit over there more. You know, for your safety." Dani was hoping for hands on her waist (you know for more stability), but she'll take the gentle hand Megan offers her to grab with her own.
"Yes because I would've broken an ankle without your help." Dani jokes
"You're right, I'm glad you finally recognize my services." Megan bows stupidly like a knight as Dani shakes her head at her antics.
"You know Sophia is a clean freak, so I can't imagine her letting the six of us hang out in her car."
"You know I heard that right?" Sophia frowns as she and Megan walk to the front of the car
"I think you should stop parroting Manon; don't want you two morphing into one person." Dani gets a laugh out of Lara and Yoonchae with that one. Definitely worth the middle finger from Manon and Sophia.
"So, what'd you need to consult us for?" Dani asks
"For how we're gonna celebrate." Lara responds
"For what, nothing happened yet." Megan questions with a scratch of her head.
"For tomorrow. We figured it was better to celebrate today after school just in case we lost or something." Yoonchae says with a shrug.
"Which you girls won't." Sophia sounds mad at them for even considering that possibility.
"I hate when you make a dumb idea make sense." Megan grumbles
"It's not a dumb idea." Yoonchae says as she sticks out her tongue.
"It isn't because it's a great opportunity for us to hang out. I say shopping." Good to see Lara already has an idea.
"With what money?" Dani poses a very fair question
"Ok, good point. Window shopping. I say after school, today." Lara revises
"I'd love to. But I have to... clean my fish tank." Megan stutters.
"Yeah, very convincing." Sophia chuckles
"I have a fish though." Megan defends with a pout on her face.
"Yah but we know that's not the reason." Yoonchae chimes in
"You have to set out your jersey and all that stuff cause you're too exicted arent you? Gotta pick the right shoes, the right headband. Hell, I'm sure you're even particularabout your towel." Manon says wheat Megan really meant while placing a hand on her shoulder. Well she wasn't gonna say it, but that was definitely something Megan would do. And spend the rest of the night how she should keep her hair out of her face for the game.
"You could've just told us babe. It was really obvious." Lara grimaces with a nod of her head.
"Really?"
"Really." Dani really hates to tell her. But yeah, unfortunately so.
"So Friday instead? Even if you guys lose?" Lara confirms
"Especially if we lose. You guys will cheer us up." Megan nods with a smile
Good enough for Dani, and everyone thankfully. It was their first time hanging out together outside of school. It wasn't just them, just her and Megan, but this will do.
Definitely. She can't wait.
...