Chapter Text
You were excited to see all the boys again after them being on tour for so long--well, even "excited" was an understatement, but you tried to conceal your glee as you passed by the few guests that were straggling in the driveway, music booming from inside the house beyond them. It had been a long time since you had seen the Kiszka house and it felt both familiar and not all at once, though nothing had changed about its exterior. It was just that everything happening in and around it was new for you--you didn't know most of the people at the party and the ones you did, you weren't close with. After all, you had moved for college while the boys had stayed back and then began their whole whirlwind of a new musical career. This party marked the end of college for you and moving back home--for Josh, Jake, Sam and Danny, it was merely another night.
That sentiment only encouraged you even more to take it easy with your sentimental glee when you got inside. You made your way through the people, the blues music reverberating against the walls, and grabbed a beer from the fridge. Glancing around, you realized the decor hadn't changed since you last stepped foot inside and, when your eyes landed on photos of the brothers, you laughed a little to yourself and popped the tab of the can. It was always so easy for you to get ahead of yourself, thinking about where all of them would end up and would you guys always be friends, so you were welcoming the night as a way to ease your concerns and probably get pretty drunk. You knew Sam would be down to do shots for sure, at the very least.
Your eyes landed on a photo of all four of the boys and you felt your heart flip in your chest as you looked at Danny. You loved all of them deeply and had experienced crushes on all of them at various times, but Danny--Danny was the one who had taken your whole heart.
You were closest to him out of the four. You had fun with all of them--Josh and you had plenty of hot summer days romping around in the woods; Jake had tried to teach you some chords on the guitar which you had both quickly given up on; Sam was always trying to get you into some hijinks with him and was the one who convinced you to live life barefoot whenever you could. But Danny and you had a different sort of connection, although you weren't sure if he knew it.
It was difficult to articulate the feeling--you felt like you both were emotional soulmates, in a way. He knew more about you than anyone. He was able to read you without even trying. He knew everything that made you tick, good or bad and, what you viewed as most important, he was able to ground you when you needed to be brought back down to earth. You loved Danny and you knew he loved you too. But you loved him more than as just a friend. So with that always somewhere in your mind, when you saw Sam approaching you from the hall, you felt your body flutter with anticipation of seeing Danny once more.
"You made it!" Sam exclaimed, also holding a beer. He wrapped his arms around you and you returned the gesture, holding him close.
"Of course," you said, letting your hands linger on his forearms as you broke apart. "You think I'd miss what will probably be the only Kiszka party of the summer?"
"You're moving back, right?" he asked, his brown eyes gleaming.
"I already did," you told him. "Exciting stuff."
"Yeah, excited to be back in Frankenmuth, right?" Sam teased, poking your side. "After Detroit?"
"I could use a break from the city," you said. "Besides, Frankenmuth is home. I'm sure you guys are aching to get out of here again, though. When do you leave?"
"Two more days."
"Damn. Well, I'm glad you invited me, then."
Sam smiled.
"Where are your brothers?" you asked. "And Danny?"
"Out back," Sam said. "Come on."
"Wait,"you said, realizing you needed a bit more of a buzz before seeing Danny for the first time in so long, and pounded your beer.
Sam laughed and handed you his, which was still mostly full.
In the backyard, Josh, Jake and Danny were sitting around a bonfire, empty cans lying around them. The music was in the background then, overtaken by their words and laughter. Josh's eyes lit up when he saw you, emitting a tidal wave of joy through your whole body, and you broke into a goofy grin and went over to hug him.
"When did you get here?" he asked you.
"Just a few minutes ago," you said, then glanced at Jake. "No guitar playing tonight?"
"Nah, Josh isn't allowing it," Jake said, pursing his lips as he shot a look at his twin.
"We're taking it easy tonight," Josh informed you. "We've been playing enough, right?"
"Yeah," Danny agreed, and you glanced at his wrist. Hopefully all old injuries had healed.
You sat down between Josh and Sam, with Jake and Danny across from you. Looking at all of them, it wasn't hard to see why you had crushes on all of them at various points: Josh was precious, with his big smile and curls and rough laugh; you always thought Sam must have been perfected by the gods with his perfect skin and chiseled face; Jake was, of course, astonishingly beautiful in his quietness, and even then his exposed chest glistened slightly against the flames, only adding to his allure.
Then there was Danny--admittedly sort of tough looking on the outside but when he smiled you didn't doubt that everyone could see the gentle light within him, beyond the intensity of his face and all his dark features. He ran a hand through his thick, raven-colored hair, letting it fall over one side of his face before gently brushing it back a bit, and gently regarded you before looking back at his beer. It almost felt unfair, you thought, to be enamored with him.
You didn't want to think about them leaving again so soon after your reunion. You chugged the rest of Sam's beer as the fire warmed your calves to near-total discomfort, and you squirmed in your chair.
Jake sighed as he got up. "I'm getting another," he said. "Anyone else?"
"Me," you chirped.
"Obviously," Sam said.
"Yep," Josh and Danny said almost in unison.
Jake smirked, nodding his head. "Alright. I'll be back."
You watched him go, his languid body trailing across the grass to the house again, thinking that Jake really was destined to be a rock star.
"Oh hey," Josh said to you, jostling your arm. "Happy graduation."
"Thank you," you replied, chuckling. "It couldn't have come soon enough."
"Yeah, congratulations," Danny said, giving you a nod.
"How does it feel to be officially a college graduate?" Sam asked.
"I'll let you know when I get a better job," you answered.
"It's incredible," Josh went on.
"My student loan debt? You're right," you laughed.
"Ah, come on," Danny said. "You worked really hard."
"Yeah, you're right," you agreed. "Thanks for saying that. You guys have been incredible too, obviously, with the records and touring." As you spoke you felt the buzzed sensation creep into your head more and more, exacerbated by your feelings for Danny. Normally you didn't have any awkwardness with him but the more you were apart, the more your feelings grew. You felt that should have worked the opposite.
Jake came back cradling beers in his arms and leaned down for all of all of you to take them. "Drink up," he said, keeping two for himself and settling back down in his chair.
You popped the tab of yours and took a sip. It was hard to believe you were sitting with four rock stars--when you met them, they were four kids playing mostly in their garage and then some scattered, tiny sets here and there, and now they were touring the world.
You caught Danny look at you again and you both made brief eye contact before he got up and announced that he would return before going inside the house. You wanted to get away from the fire for a minute so you looked to Sam and said, "Shots?"
Sam grinned. "Hell yeah."
"Don't let him get too wild," Josh warned as Sam and you headed for the back door.
"Never," you called back.
You looked over all the family photos on the fridge while Sam retrieved a bottle of vodka from a nearby cupboard, grabbing two shot glasses and pouring it out.
"Well, cheers to another Greta Van Fleet tour," you said, raising the glass.
"And your graduation," Sam added, clinking the shot glass against yours.
As you grimaced slightly, waiting for the acrid taste to dissipate from your tongue, Danny entered the kitchen. You straightened your posture without thinking, setting the shot glass down and resting your hand on the counter. You glanced at Sam, who raised his eyebrows while looking at you but said nothing.
"Danny, do a shot with us," you said to him, still feeling nervous, still feeling tipsy. The first shot had already begun to hit you.
Danny chuckled and came to you guys as Sam grabbed another shot glass and poured three more.
"You should do a cheers," you told Danny. "I did the other one."
"Uh--cheers to tonight," Danny stated. "We're all together."
Sam nodded; you looked at Danny with such love you thought he could see right through you so you averted your gaze and downed the shot, then grabbed an empty glass and filled it with tap water. You couldn't let yourself get too drunk--you couldn't spill your guts to Danny that night. Not ever.
You all went back outside where Josh and Jake were bickering--Sam happily joined them, sitting on the ground between them and looking from one to the other as they went on.
"How are you?" you asked Danny, standing beside him as we hung back. "Like, officially?"
"Officially?" he laughed. "Good. Tired but good. You?"
"About the same." you sighed. "Glad to be done with school."
"You moved back home?"
"Yeah. Hopefully soon I'll get my own place."
"Being with your parents is better than being on the road all the time."
You smiled. "You think?"
"Well, especially when you're stuck with these three," Danny replied, gesturing to his bandmates.
You laughed. "Yeah, you've got a point there. But you've been ordained a blood brother."
"'Bout time," Danny replied. "Hey, remember that trail that leads to the creek?"
"Yeah?"
"Wanna go?"
Oh god, you thought. It's already happening. Alone in the dark--in the woods--with Danny while you were drunk.
"It's dark," was all you said.
Danny shrugged. "So we'll get flashlights. Come on, it'll be fun."
You hesitated but looking at him made you melt, so you relented.