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Dash might be an asshole, but Danny has been dating him on-and-off for the past year now so showing up to his annual Dash bash is a must, even though their relationship status at the moment is a firm off.
Dash is probably even less happy about it than Danny is if the way he refuses to so much as look in Danny's general direction is any indication. Then again, he might just be trying to make Danny jealous or something. He's been flirting with Paulina all night, and at this point, there is not a soul in Amity Park who doesn't know Dash Baxter is exclusively into guys.
Whatever Dash's reasons, Danny isn't gonna budge. They're done this time. Over. Finished. Broken up for good.
Now if only he can get Sam and Tucker to believe him.
"You guys'll be back together by the end of the night," Sam says. "If I'm wrong I'll eat my left shoe."
Danny wishes she wouldn't be so condescending, but then that's just Sam. She means well, she's just not very good at productively conveying that.
Tucker has a little more tact. A little.
"You've broken up with him a hundred times, dude," he says. "It's just kind of hard to believe at this point."
Danny looks at where Dash is, on the other side of the room with an arm slung lazily across Paulina's shoulder, leaning so close to her that she looks a little uncomfortable, and slams his drink onto a nearby table.
"I want nothing to do with that jerk anymore," he says, and stalks off.
There are fewer people on the back porch than there are inside, though that doesn't mean none. There's a group of smokers in the corner and going by the smell alone, the thing they're passing around isn't a normal cigarette. The boy leaning against the railing on the other end is someone Danny doesn't recognize, but he's not smoking anything weird and he doesn't look drunk either, so Danny decides to stick to his end of the porch.
The boy only gives him a quick look in greeting, and then goes back to furiously texting. He's wearing baggy jeans with a rip in one knee and a hoodie. He's got light brown hair - actually, it might be dark blond or red. Danny can't tell in the dim lighting.
"It's rude to stare," the boy says.
"Huh?" Danny doesn't think he was staring but he still feels caught. His cheeks feel hot, and he looks away. "I wasn't-"
"Relax." The boy smiles. "I was kidding."
For a moment, Danny doesn't know how to react. Then, feeling stupid, he holds out a hand.
"I'm Danny."
"Oh, I know." The boy grins widely, then, all the reservation Danny thought he saw just moments before gone with the wind. "You're Jack and Maddie Fenton's son. You guys were on the cover of Parascience weekly back in May."
Being recognized as the kid on the cover of that particular magazine would normally make Danny feel embarrassed, but this kid makes it sound like it's cool.
"Uh, yeah?"
"Sorry, I'm Wes. I should have said."
Wes takes Danny's hand, which Danny was just beginning to feel stupid for not dropping, and shakes it.
"I've never seen you around before," Danny says.
"My dad and I just moved here from Louisiana last month."
Now that he mentions it, Danny does hear a pretty distinct accent.
"How do you know Dash?"
"Basketball." Wes shrugs. "And I sell him pictures of Sam Specter sometimes."
Danny tries not to react to the mention of his friend's alter ego. He's never been very good at lying or keeping secrets, but he's had some practice at this one.
"You take pictures?"
"Yeah. Good ones. Not to sound like I’m bragging, or anything.”
“Don’t worry, I didn’t think that," Danny tells him. "So do you only take pictures of the ghost girl, or...?"
"No, I- Okay."
Wes begins tapping at his phone again, and soon he's holding it out to Danny. Danny leans forward to look at the picture: it's a boy with long-ish auburn hair leaning over a campfire. Sparks are flying around his head and there's a manic grin on his face. He's not looking at the camera, but straight into the fire like he wants to jump into it.
It's a great picture.
"I take pictures of people," Wes explains. "Any people. The ghost girl is... she's interesting. She's got that whole glowy, purple aesthetic going for her, you know. The pictures basically take themselves.
"Can I?" Danny asks.
When Wes nods, he takes the phone and begins scrolling through pictures, moving so he's leaning against the railing next to Wes.
They're mostly of people he doesn't know. The boy reappears a couple of times, but so do a girl and two other guys, and a man who looks so much like Wes that he must be related to him.
"That your dad?" Danny asks.
"Yeah," Wes says.
There are pictures of Sam, too. Sam mid-battle, Sam flying somewhere, Sam looking thoughtful and angry and determined. It's a little creepy, but Danny can't really blame Wes for not thinking to ask a ghost for permission to take pictures.
"These are really good," Danny says after a moment, handing Wes his phone back. "You've got some serious talent."
"Thank you," Wes says. He sounds pleased. "So what about you? What do you like to do?"
Danny thinks about last night when he and Tucker helped Sam fight the Box Ghost over at the docks. That isn’t exactly something he can mention, though.
"I have a telescope. I used to stargaze a lot but lately..."
"Busy?"
"You could say that."
"Well, I'm sure you'll find the time again."
It occurs to Danny that he isn't normally this good at talking to strangers. The realization brings with it the awkwardness that should have been there all along, and Danny is just about to mention that he should head back inside when he sees Dash stalking towards him through the glass sliding doors.
"Hey," Danny says. "Do me a favor and kiss me."
"Wh-"
Danny grabs the front of Wes's hoodie and pulls him close, smashing their lips together.
Their teeth clack and it's messy, and Wes makes a noise of surprise that Danny isn't sure is all that positive. He also doesn't pull away, though. In fact, after a moment he steps closer, crowding into Danny's space and putting his hands on Danny's cheeks as he deepens the kiss. There are freckles dusting his nose, Danny notices before he closes his eyes.
Wes tastes like an energy drink and up close, he smells like pine needles, which has got to be his deodorant. Danny puts his hands on Wes’s arms, unsure what else to do with them. His heart is beating erratically, hammering in his throat.
When they break apart for air, Dash is nowhere in sight.
"Wanna tell me what that was about?" Wes asks. He’s not stepping away at all. They’re breathing each other’s air. That’s got to be why Danny feels so dizzy. No other reason.
"I j- I saw someone I really didn't wanna talk to," Danny stammers.
Wes raises an eyebrow, clearly amused. "Well, by all means, pretty boy, if you ever wanna scare someone off again..."
Danny bites his lip, feeling flustered and excited at once. He's only ever really kissed Dash before (and Sam during a fake-out-make-out, but she doesn't count). The impulse to kiss Wes again surprises him.
Wes called him pretty boy. Nobody's ever called Danny pretty. It should make him feel weird but it’s kind of hot.
"I'm sorry," Danny says slowly, though Wes doesn’t look angry by any stretch of the imagination.
"Make it up to me, then." Wes holds out his phone to Danny again. "Your number would be a start."