Ashton Belle

The party that Danny threw together last minute ended up being a success. Danny cooked a nice big meal for everyone and the gifts were received well. My mother had gotten Danny's dad a new car and covered the fee to tow his old one that was breaking down. My father had bought the company his dad worked at because he wanted to diversify his assets and made him his assistant much to his shock. Danny's mother had given him a leather jacket that he had been eyeing for months. And I gave him an all expenses paid trip for two in the Bahamas where my parents had a house that would last an entire month.

"If it's for two, who do I bring?" Danny's dad asked.

"I'll take Danny on vacation, go have fun with your girlfriend," I might've sounded a bit possessive when I said it but it was worth it to see the blush on Danny's face and his adorable horrified look.

"Yay! We're going to live like the rich!" Danny's dad grabbed his mother and spun her around surprising Danny and really amusing my parents. It was really cute how hard he was trying not to act like a kid getting his dad stolen from him. He desperately wanted to not like Teresa but he couldn't find a reason not to like her, so he bit his tongue while this happened.

By the end of the night, Danny's dad was happy and drunk. My parents were happy that Danny's dad thought of them as his best friends. Teresa was happy that Danny passive aggressively agreed to her staying to keep an eye on his dad. And I was happy that everyone meshed together really well....even though I felt I was left with blue balls once Danny kissed me goodnight.

At least I was I was able to see him walk out of his house for school with his uniform shirt untucked and sleepy with bed head. I leaned over to kiss him but was stopped by his hand. "No, sex in the car...at least at school."

I knew that he wouldn't forget it, so I just settled for kissing his hands. "Ok, no sex in the car at school. Can I kiss you now?" He groaned in annoyance but didn't refuse me when I went in for a kiss. "I forgot, my baby isn't a morning person."

"She made pancakes, and lunch is on her at some point. And I have a doctors appointment after school, don't let me forget. Leave me alone now, I'm tired," he mumbled before putting his seat back and instantly falling asleep. I don't think I could even get tired of his grumpiness in the mornings. I took my chance to fix up the buttons that needed realignment on his shirt, fixed his crooked tie and tucked his shirt into pants, just so he could rest easy. "Thanks, Ash."

"Why are you so tired babe?" I asked. It was worse than usual today. "What time did you go to sleep?"

"My insomnia acted up, I couldn't sleep well," he mumbled followed by a light snore. He looked like he should be gobbled up right now that he seemed so defenseless. It was like he was purposely inviting me to take advantage of him. Knowing how much I wanted him, you would think he'd be more vigilant, but he did the exact opposite. 

Damn his tiredness. Ever since we did it the first time, I just wanted to have him under me all day everyday. Like he had unlocked years upon years of untapped lust and I couldn't turn it off. But my dad said that it was normal to feel that way when you really like someone.

It was a selfish feeling, but I wanted to bind him to me forever and make it so that he never thinks about anyone else again. I want him to normalize me bring by his side and making all of his wishes come true. Although the goodwill is there, I simply want to make sure that he can't live without me. I can't wish for him to be happy if it isn't with me.

So I'll make him the happiest he's ever been for the rest of his life. I'll try to never do anything he doesn't like and I'll treat him like there's no one else above him, as long as he's mine.

Ah, is this what normally goes through people's minds when they fall in love? Possessiveness and borderline obsession? Why does it feel so good that he likes me back, especially now that he's changing his attitude towards me. Ugh, I just want to take him right now instead of just staring at him from my seat. His sleeping form was like his own unique way of teasing me....or maybe just seeing him made me horny to no end.

He's just too sexy for his own good!

"Baby," I shook him gently and watched him squirm a bit. "We're at school now." 

"Shut up!" He muttered.

"Baby, we have to go to school," I said taking in his cuteness as he curled into a cute little ball in protest. He was really testing my patience. I ran my fingers through his hair for a couple minutes taking in the softness of it. His once thinning brittle hair seemed like it was strong and healthy now, which means I had succeeded in de-stressing him. 

"Let go...before you pull it out. It finally stopped falling out," he grumbled stopping my hand from moving. At first I just wanted to touch him since I didn't get a kiss yet, but the more I touch him, the sexier and cuter his face becomes. It makes me happy to know that I was the only one who could touch him like this.

"I won't force you to get up, but I can't miss class because I won't be able to keep up like you. Still, let me kiss you before I go."

"Just let me tutor you." He whined.

"It won't work, I'll just end up having sex with you, remember last time, we only studied for an hour because you seduced me," I argued.

"I seduced you? How?"

"By being there. Get up before I carry you to classroom," I said fully meaning what I said. Danny groaned but sat up and grabbed his bag. His little pout was adorable as I could tell he was still half asleep. I opened my door and ran over to his side quickly to meet him and give him a kiss. Its really the only thing I've been craving all morning.

"Wait we're out in the open!" Danny protested.

"What? I thought you liked my my kisses though."

"Ashton."

"I'm not going to strip you down right now Danny, we won't be able to finish before class," I pointed out.

"I was going to say Good morning," he looked up at me with a big smile when I pulled away. We walked into school as usual, hand in hand, to the tune of people gossiping. Luckily none of it was about what I did to him in the car. 

"Well, if it isn't Ashton the car shaking ass eater," an annoying voice sneaked up behind us. Danny must've gave him details about what happened as he immediately punched Sam's shoulder. "What?"

"You're a pain in the ass!" Danny rolled his eyes.

"Oh please! You were dying to talk about it on the phone, man! Here I was, concerned about your ass because of the way that car was shaking, but I see it's unappreciated here," Sam pouted. "I even bought you a pillow to sit on for class."

"You're a fucking idiot," Danny shook his head. 

"It's just sex, it sounded like it was great!" Sam teased. "And look at that hickey! Looks like you're claimed territory now, Dan."

"It's not like everyone doesn't already know that," Danny said. He was absolutely correct about that. I had made sure to tell anyone that asked that Danny was my boyfriend, and the hickey that was peeking from his collar was just a confirmation of it. As long as Danny was fine with it, I was fine with it.

When we reached our classroom Sam asked for Danny to go in first as he had something important for future business to speak to me about. "Give me your jacket, Ashton." Danny demanded.

I handed it to him and he put it on immediately. To my surprise he didn't argue or anything else, he just quietly went into the classroom and put his head down.

"Listen, Vincenzo heard and you two in the car on Friday. He looked like he was on the edge of a breakdown and I also couldn't help but realize that he keeps spacing out for long periods of time and his withdrawal. Is that normal?" Sam asked.

"I haven't gotten word from the therapist to look out, so he's probably fine." I shrugged. I'm glad that he saw us in all honesty. I hoped that the Danny's screams of pleasure made him understand that he could never be the one to do this to him. That I was the only one who could make Danny scream under me like that even if we were in a car. That Danny was moving on with his life and quickly leaving him in the dust. "You think he'll act out?"

"No! He just kept saying 'I'm a bad person' and asking if he was a good friend or not," Sam said. "I know you want to assert your relationship with Dan, but can't you two tone it down a bit?"

"Why should I?" I asked. "He's jealous that I'm dating Danny, so we should tone it down to make him comfortable? He is a bad friend and a bad person anyway. I don't understand why his problems have to affect the relationship Danny has. He's in therapy to realize that the world doesn't operate through the comfort of his filter. I'm not going to coddle him like everyone else does Sam. You know that's why he's playing victim in the first place."

"I don't mean tone it down like that. I meant to...well I don't know what I meant, honestly. It's not my place to say any of this and I know how happy you two are together. I just can't help but be worried about how he looked that day. I've never seen someone look so dead inside!"

"That's just his guilt coming back to haunt him."

"Are you purposely trying to get him to see you?" Sam asked. 

"You think I'm trying to trigger a mental breakdown from him on purpose? If that was my goal, I wouldn't have sent him to therapy in the first place," I sighed. "Look, the only reason he's changing like that is because he's being forced to confront himself and everything he's done to Danny. It's a dark process since there's been so much."

"Was it that bad?"

"Just keep being a friend to him or whatever, that's all you need to worry about," I wanted so badly to drop Vincenzo as the topic of conversation. Every time his name comes up, it's about what someone else could do for him instead of how he could help himself. I didn't understand why everyone wanted to help a bully so badly! "I know you believe in karma, Sam. He's receiving his right now and it's been a long time coming. Nobody sits on top doing what he did forever, so his fall from grace was inevitable. The only thing I did, not even to effect him, was start to date Dan."

"So you get why I'm concerned then?"

"No, because you could honestly waste your time on something or someone more productive. I honestly don't care what he does to himself, wether it's stupid or not. I'm only helping him because it's what's Danny wants."

"You'd just let him go crazy?"

"Yes, because I don't care about him. Just like if it were you or me going crazy, he'd just let it happen and probably make it worse for you," I pointed out. "He wouldn't lift a finger to help you if you were in his situation, Sam. He beat Danny for being his friend, he beat Martin for being his friend, don't think he thinks of you any differently."

"I'm aware of all that, but don't you think he could change with the right support-"

"Which he is getting! He's going to a top rated doctor in the city, free of charge. He's got a person he can bitch about things to, because you'll listen to him. What else can be done? I've more than done my part. I'm not going to stop what I'm doing with Danny just to make him comfortable, so I hope you can stop bringing it up," I tried my hardest not to threaten him but my tone wasn't very convincing. "I'm not trying to threaten you, I'm just annoyed."

"I understand, I might've overstepped a bit," Sam shook his head. "I just wanted to know if you really think he'll help himself the way he needs too."

Did I hold any hope that Vincenzo would change? Technically, he has already been changing his ways. He never skips, he does his work, he doesn't act up anymore, he switched all of his classes and I barely see him around. But just because he did all that doesn't mean anything fruitful will come from it.

"I not naive enough to think that everyone has a chance at rehabilitation. Realistically some people will never be rehabilitated."

"Why try to help if you don't think he'll change?"

"Danny asked him to get help, so I made the help accessible," I explained. "I left it up to Vincenzo to go."

"I see. Well, I guess that's just as good, I just had to be sure about this. I just can't help but feel sorry for the guy."

"Well stop feeling bad then, he's getting help he doesn't deserve, and whatever he feels is the karma he created for himself," I patted Sam on the shoulder to indicate that this talk was done. 

"Just hearing his name is enough to piss you off. Makes me wonder what he did to you," he taunted.

"He did nothing to me, but I've disliked Vincenzo for a long time already. The complaints people have towards him but are too scared to speak on are the things I've said to his face."

"Bullshit, you suck at lying. " Sam scoffed. "You hate Vincenzo because Danny cares about him, don't you?"

He may be correct, but the point still stands that the hate has been there since the beginning. I hated Vincenzo solely based on his character and how he treated people. My hate for him only grew when I heard what he had done to Danny, and it doubled when I realized Danny was being manipulated by him. 

"You're right, I hate him, Sam. If it were up to me, I would ruin his future or hurt him more. But my hate for him doesn't matter anymore because Danny's mine, so I'll do what he says." I looked right into Sam's eyes so he knew I was serious. 

"You make me feel like I need a cigarette every time I talk to you."

"The school is a no smoking zone and smoking is a waste of your time," I reminded him. "By the way, why does your father want us to come over? I'm not in charge of anything and I can't give him any guarantees."

"That's why he wants to solidify the friendship between us, for when you do take all that stuff over. He seems to think it'll give us first dibs on business contracts, you know how it is," Sam rolled his eyes. "You're family is the stepping stone to my success, blah blah blah, business stuff."

"Oh, it's just that? You could've just asked me," I sighed. The warning bell rang so Sam and I entered the classroom dropping the topic completely. Danny hadn't budged at all and seemed to be in a deep sleep. He looked comfortable while my jacket, which was at least seven sizes too big, enveloped his cute tiny frame.

Halfway through the class, Danny had woken up. Before he could say anything I made a motion for him to be very quiet and pointed to the teacher who was in the middle of lecturing the class. He put his head back down.

After the lecture was done, I pack up my things and woke him up once more. "Babe, class is over."

"Hm? What?"

"You're sweating, take off the jacket," I told him.

"No, it helps me sleep better if I can smell you," he muttered still half asleep. I could feel my face heating up when he said this. Saying he needed my smell to sleep to better, must be cheating. If only the school wasn't so populated right now, I'd take him in this classroom if he didn't ban...well, he only banned car sex in school. "I can see what you're thinking you pervert. That wasn't meant to turn you on at all."

Shit, I forgot that he could read me so well now, but was it my fault that I found what he said really hot. "I just thought I could help you get some sleep."

Danny went red in the face and huffed. "Ashton, calm yourself!"

"No, you should demand more from me since I can make anything you want happen."

"You can't show me aliens, so there's no point in asking for impossible things," he rolled his eyes at me.

"You know what I mean, indulge me a little Dan. You always say you have what you want, but please tell me more of what you want," I told him. If he says it to me, I'll allow any kind of demand no matter how painful. I just wanted to love him until he melted.

"There's no way I could say that...." Danny turned his head from me. So there was something I could do for him.

"Am I that unreliable?" 

"It's not that. It's just...." Danny's face went even redder and he checked to see if anyone was too close to hear us. The hallways were full so I pulled him to the side away from the traffic, trapping him with my arm so he couldn't run from me. "K-Kabedon?!"

"What's that?" I asked confused about what he was talking about. Was it something that we wanted from me? I'd have to remember it for later if that was the case, especially since it was making Danny look at me with pleading eyes. "What's a Kabedon?"

"It's....never mind that. I just don't need anything," Danny assured me.

I sighed and looked down at his small stature. "You know, although I try and act cool in front of you somehow it's becoming hard to do. I'm begging you now, please depend on me more. Even if you don't need something, if you just want it for a minute I'll get it. If you don't do that, I might be insecure."

"Th-then....give me this jacket and leave a change of clothes at my house, it's curing my insomnia," he mumbled. "And....just be mine alone, even if you make new friends." Was he just saying that to get me to shut up? Even if he was, I didn't care. Hearing it made me extremely happy. "You don't look cool right now. Why are you smiling like an idiot?"

"Just let me kidnap you and keep you there forever. I promise I'll take care of you," I let my arm drop and wrap around him. 

"You sound crazy."

"Let me rephrase then. After high school, I'll buy your dad a new house so he and your mom can live together. Then you should move in with me," I begged hoping that he would just give in and say yes. "I'll hire the best help and we can-"

"Ashton....calm down," Danny covered my mouth. His hands were red and his heart was beating fast like mine, so that was good sign. Hopefully, I didn't creep him out by just saying what was on my mind. "Too much at once."

"Really?"

"Yes, it's been like this since day one. You're so affectionate....just like your parents told me." 

"You don't like it? I'll change it if you wan-"

"No! I mean, I like it way too much!" He buried his head in my shirt. "You've turned me into some kind of shitty romantic that makes people cringe. It's the worst kind of person, and that's me now, because I like you so much. All this mushy shit is consuming me, it's giving me diabetes." 

He was just embarrassed because he liked the affectionate side of me so much! No wonder he was always turning red and told me to stop talking like that. He's could've just despaired about it, yet now he's so embarrassed. How can he be so loveable? I let go of him and wouldn't let go of his hand all the way to the next class despite his many protests.

"There's Sam," Danny waved him over to us. I wish he wouldn't make anymore friends than he does now. I can be his friend as well as his boyfriend. "Where'd you go, jackass?"

"It's not my fault you fell asleep for the entire class," Sam scoffed. "I took notes for you though."

"Why did you do that?" I glared at him.

"We paid the same person to do our homework last year, I know all about how you got into AP classes, Ashton. I pick up on things related to school quicker than you too as I saw you struggling to keep up in class today," Sam explained himself. "It's what friends do. Danny's written my notes for me a few times too."

"It's fine Ashton. You need to focus on your own grades so we can attend a good school," Danny took the few loose leaf papers full of notes from Sam and examined them. 

"You think I'm stupid or something?" I asked Sam.

"Everyone learns at a different pace Ashton. You cheated so you have to work twice as hard to keep up. I can catch up very quickly to the class, so I need you to as well," Danny answered for him.

I got a bitter taste in my mouth with the knowledge that Sam might be smarter than me, but I still couldn't disagree with what Danny had said. He was definitely smarter than me, and if he said I needed to pay attention in class, it was probably true. After all, I can barely understand anything being taught to me in the first place.

Cheaters never prosper I guess.

"Stop acting like a jealous girl, Ashton. I'm straight." Sam said. 

"Ignore him," Danny said to Sam looking at his notes. "I never pinned you as this organized."

"I have to be to match the notes you wrote for me. It's an impossible standard to live up to, and you do it willingly. You'd be an excellent secretary-"

"Don't even think about it, he'll be my secretary," I crossed my arms.

"Well, what does your company do, Sam?" Danny asked.

"Biomedical engineering," Sam turned his nose up proudly. "And I'm going to be a doctor in the future."

"Interesting," shit Danny looked hooked. How could I make the farming business sound more interesting to him?

"Biomedical engineers might research and test biomaterials suitable for medical implants, such as an artificial ankle replacement. 'Can the material be engineered to withstand the forces of everyday use?' Alternatively, a biomedical engineer may work on large-scale manufacturing of a new drug. Biomedical engineers are responsible for production intended for human-use in clinical trials, so how the drug is produced must be safe and cost-effective so the new treatment can help as many people as possible," Sam explained. "My dad also runs several hospitals from here and Korea."

"Is he a surgeon?" I asked. As much as I hated this bonding of theirs, I couldn't help but nerd out at this information. I wanted to get into the medical field since I was a kid, and he was just reigniting my fire for it.

"Yeah, he's looking to branch out into animal research. Plus a better food supplier for our hospital would be preferable," Sam told me.

"That would be a good deal to collaborate then," I thought. I've always wanted to branch out into medicine in some way, and maybe starting with animals is the correct way to do that.

"Save the business deals for when you two are actually running something," Danny said. "Secretary isn't exactly in my plans for the future, although I'm flattered by the both of you."

"What do you want to do?" Sam asked.

"Never thought about it. Honestly, I believed that I wouldn't even make it through to the end high school, so I never really thought anything up," Danny said nonchalantly. Sam shot me a look and I returned it back to him. Now he could see how bad it was himself. "I guess I'm not the type to think about the future."

"Nothing catches your eye?" Sam asked.

"I stopped looking at things I liked a long time ago. I'm not used to doing that," Danny looked up from the notes at us. "What the fuck are you staring at me like that for?"

"I'm wondering what the fuck you were doing all that time? We're in our last year of school," Sam snapped at him.

"I was too preoccupied with Vincenzo."

"W-well then," Sam brushed his hair back with his hands. "I'll show you some information from the hospitals and the lab, until then you should look at what Ashton's family does. If none of these careers suit you, you should look at other things."

"But I have to study for college."

"What for if you have no plan for the future?" Sam said seriously. "What degree are you even going to get? General studies? That won't give you a wide range of options in jobs. Why are you so calm about this? Isn't there something you wanted to be as a child?"

"An astronaut," Danny said. "That's impossible for my body though. Actually, I don't know if it was me or Vincenzo who wanted to be an astronaut. I think stars are fucking boring to stare at but Vincenzo liked them so I think I took that up. I like comic books."

"Manga and anime?"

"Definitely."

"Then should we go to an art class?" I offered Dan. "Or graphic design? I know a few mentors."

"I want to do tattoos," Danny said. "I can already draw, my dad says I have a natural talent for it. And tattoos have always fascinated me a lot. My dad has a bunch of them, but he keeps them covered up really good."

"I know some tattoo artists you can start an apprenticeship with! The best in the business, but you'll have to prove your artistic talent!" Sam said excitedly. "You got a portfolio?"

"Yeah, I do," Danny's eyes started to twinkle. "On paper though, I've never actually tattooed before."

"Well then, after your appointment, I'll buy you some equipment and you can practice something simple on me," I offered without thinking. If my baby wanted to be a tattoo artist, then I was going to help him reach his full potential to achieve that.

"I've watched the tutorials and I know how to put the gun together and all that. Plus some of my dad's friends from the club are tattoo artists downtown," Danny gleamed. "Let's go visit my uncle Mickey. If anyone can give me some tips he can."

"I never heard you mention Uncle Mickey before."

"That's because he just got out of federal prison. He's actually my godfather, but I just call him Uncle since he's basically family," Danny said. 

"Why'd he go to jail?" I asked.

"He's in a motorcycle club. Hells Angels."

"But what did he do to go to federal prison?" Sam jumped in, clearly as intrigued as I was.

"Nothing at all," Danny shrugged it off. Sam looked at me and I just shrugged as well since I didn't look into Danny's background at all to know this. But knowing this, I can understand why Danny valued keeping his loyalty and his manhood so much now. He was surrounded by masculine men all his life, so I can understand his constant emphasis on being a man.

"Related to a Hell's Angel, I gotta look you up man. You're just full of surprises," Sam said. "I want to meet your uncle too!"

"We just have to stop by his club or something. He's been asking for me to drop by anyway since my dad told him about Ashton." I could feel my heart drop a little. Hells Angels are an infamous motorcycle gang right? Was he going to kill me because I was dating Danny? "Don't make that face. He's on parole, so he won't do anything to you. I just want to ask him for some tips on how to start tattooing."

"I'm not worried," I averted my eyes. "I'm just curious about what he did."

"I just told you, he did nothing at all," Danny smiled as if what he was saying was normal. He obviously did something to go to federal prison, and just his long was he away? Why didn't Danny ever bring up the connections his dad had? "You're still making a face. I never said anything because it just never came up. Plus dad said not to talk about him too much."

"He's your godfather," Sam pointed out.

"And he's being unfairly targeted by the police. So we don't want to accidentally make it worse," Danny leaned in closer to me, undoubtedly to make me stop asking questions about this uncle. "I didn't get a kiss this morning." I had to stay focused on the topic at hand and not forget that I had a million questions about this. "Give me a kiss, Ashton."

Even if this was a distraction, fuck it. "Turn away for a bit, Sam." I said. My arms felt heavy and awkward and twitched to wrap around Danny as he slowly brought his lips forward to press at the corner of my mouth. "What was that?"

"On second thought, I don't want to rile you up at school," he stuck his tongue out at me. 

Yet he managed to get me riled up without even trying. He wiggled out of my grip and walked into the classroom on his own, effectively ending Sam and I questioning him about this.

"I can look him up....if you're curious as well," Sam said. "I'm doing it regardless because I want to know, but I can email you a copy of his entire family tree. I can get it by lunch time if you're that impatient."

"He'll tell me when he's ready," I grimaced as I said this. The devil on my shoulder was literally telling me otherwise right now, because I had a nagging feeling that Danny wasn't going to talk about this again. "But...you should still email me a copy."

"I will, after all, he never said we couldn't look it up," Sam nudged me before taking the seat directly behind Danny and going right on his phone. Just a peak into his background wouldn't hurt, it wasn't like I would love him any less.

By lunch time, as promised, Sam had emailed me the complete background on Danny's family and associates in PDF form. I learned that before Danny was born, Michael Cunningham was considered a serious problem child. He took after his father, who died from an ambush from a rival gang in prison, and started his delinquency early on in life. During his elementary school days, he brutally stabbed a stranger who was lurking around their school. The incident was never made public because he was a minor and the man managed to survive.then during his first year of middle school, he was the instigator of a violent attack on a teacher.

With charges ranging from petty theft to aggravated assault to fraud to drug trafficking he slowly got in good with and eventually became a pledge of the Hells Angels chapter in the area, earning him the nickname "Goodfella." Soon after he was made a full member, he was allowed to walk away from the life of crime by the chapter president to focus on his own life before he could get into any real trouble, but he wasn't allowed to retire from the gang. His life changed, but he still kept in close contact with everyone in the club and is still welcomed like a brother. He's been investigated by the FBI before but they ultimately couldn't link him to any crimes.

This Uncle Mickey was Micheal's childhood best friend who usually did time with Danny's father. He was called "Mickey" because he had big ears that resembled a mouse, but his name was Arthur Cromwell. His police record was almost twice as long as Michael's was as he really had developed a talent for armed robbery and intimidation over the course of his youth. He had joined the gang after killing a rival gang member during an armed robbery and beating the charge due to a technicality with Michael as his lawyer. It was legendary for two stupid kids. He was known around the group for his influence in illegal pharmaceuticals and meth trafficking, though he was arrested seven years ago for six murders and aggravated harassment of a school teacher. The case dragged on for a very long time as he sat in prison, but the bodies were never found. Still since his record was longer than a bean stalk, they let him off on parole and have been monitoring him.

"What's so interesting?" Danny asked me looking up cutely from his food. I could understand the confusion about this as I was never usually on my phone when I was with him. 

"I'm reading tattoo stuff," I lied. Danny raised his brow at me. He wasn't buying that at all from me and it really showed. It sucks not being able to lie to smart people. "It's about..."

"It's Uncle Mickey, isn't it? It's fine, I never said you couldn't look it up. It's just something I can't talk about," Danny returned his attention back to his food. "Sam already told me he was looking it up. So I figured he'd send it to you."

"I'm sorry, I should've let it be until you told me," I sighed in defeat.

"Why? I would've done the same thing," Danny said. "Uncle Mickey said he's going to meet us at my house today with the tattoo books and he's going to show me some basic things to do."

"I never would've pegged you as the type to hate delinquents," I couldn't help but question how he was so ok with his Uncle Mickey but hate all the delinquents at school.

"I hate the people who did something bad to me, but I only have good memories of Uncle Mickey. That's it." 

"Do you know what happened to that lady?" 

"Yes."

"Can you tell me?"

"Another time." Danny waved off my question.

Hm. Maybe I should try to stop over analyzing him as I never seem to get it right anymore. I should just calm my stupid brain and enjoy my time thinking about important things. 

Today, I was going to help Danny with a cool thing he may want to do professionally and he was really excited about it. That's right, Danny's family is my family and regardless of their pasts, they genuinely love Danny and are willing to help him out.

"Ok," I smiled at him and dug into my own food.

"I also looked you up because Sam offered it," Danny confessed. "He thought you were unbelievable as well but your reputation is really just that immaculate. Especially in Georgia. You're a really stand up guy it seems. I knew all that of course, but I couldn't help but take the opportunity when it was presented."

He looked me up? Is that why he wasn't mad at all? I guess all that was understandable. 

"I have to bring a gift for your uncle, what does he like?" I asked.

"Um.....weapons, I guess. Money might be good as well. But maybe....I don't know, probably bike stuff," Danny groaned. "He's not going to be expecting a gift from a teenager anyway. He's a grown ass man."

"A new bike?" I suggested. Danny shot me a look as if what I said wasn't alright. Ok, can't buy a motorcycle today or else he'll bite my head off, but I still couldn't show up empty handed. "Yeah, I'll just get him a new bike."

"Ashton, you're too extravagant for your own good. Who gifts someone a brand new bike?"

"People like me. I just want to treat your family like mine, because I love you," I explained holding firm on what I wanted to do. "It's not like I'm buying one in solid gold, it'll just be a regular motorcycle baby. I just need to let him know my intentions with you are pure as well."

"Idiotic," Danny mumbled but still turned a bit red. "Do whatever you want."

The rest of the day was uneventful, and as promised, I took Danny to the doctors office. It was the local hospital we went too last time, despite me suggesting a more private clinic. On a plastic hallway chair across from us in the waiting room sat a child, legs kicking in the air, clearing the floor by several inches as they swung back and forth. He must be suffering like Danny did.

I turned my attention to Danny and was mesmerized by how good he looked in my blue duffle coat, paired with his red shoes. Somehow Danny reminded me of Paddington Bear. His face now had unhealthy grayish look to it and his eyes were hard open as he stared at nothing on the wall. Danny started to swing his legs like the little boy was doing, but I noticed his legs weren't swinging in the care-free way like the little boy across from us. Each one was more like a nervous kick, sharp and pointed. I crouched down in front of him just to try and calm him down a bit.

"Hey there, I'm Doctor James, I'm filling in for Dr. Seamus today. Are you Daniel?" Danny became still and was quiet for a moment, sitting further back into the chair.

"I'm ok," came out almost like an accident, spilling out of his drawn inward lips. His brown eyes lost their harshness, becoming rounder, more glossy. Then all at once his face buckled, his breathing stopped momentarily and tears streamed down his cheeks, causing the doctor to look taken aback.

"Babe, calm down, what's going on?" I asked.

"Hospital anxiety," he said nonchalantly. "Happens every time I come here. I'm fine."

"Well let's get you in for your checkup," Dr. James smiled sympathetically. Danny nodded and followed the doctor into the examination room. For about thirty minutes, I sat outside the room anxiously waiting for Danny to be done with everything.

When he finally exited we were instructed to just wait for the results. "You ok baby?" I asked looking at his arm where there was a new purple bruise. I'm assuming they did a blood test.

"Yeah, he said that I'm looking better than my charts say, that he wasn't even sure that he had the right chart, which just makes me wonder how bad I really looked before," he said.

"You looked like you would break just by being touched and a bit like the walking dead," I told him honestly. "You didn't have much color before either and you definitely gained some weight. You also-"

"I get it, it was really bad before."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you more."

"You didn't, but I'm grateful to you. Thanks to you, I feel much better than I used too all that time ago. Maybe I can start thinking more positively about the future with less doctors visits."

"I'll accompany you every time then!" I vowed.

Danny turned his head from me and pouted. "You're like a stupid golden retriever."

"Does that mean I'm cute?" I perked up knowing that I had finally broken through his anxious state. Danny blushed but nodded.

"Really fucking cute," he mumbled. 

"Cunningham?" A nurse called out. As he got up to walk back into the exam room, I grasped his hand and held him back. It was soft and warm and caused my arm to vibrate with electricity. He turned and looked at me surprised. Before he could say anything, I hastily pulled him to me and stole a chaste kiss. His lips were sweet and the smell of his topical creams permeated my brain. He had closed his eyes for a brief moment. When he opened them, they had darkened to an enticing black. He pulled back slightly and I could see my own reflection in those dark pools.

"Sorry," I whispered, "I couldn't help myself." He pulled my hand up and lightly kissed my knuckles. Then he smiled at me radiantly before leading me into the exam room. 

"Daniel," the nurse cleared her throat to get our attention although she was a bit pink at what looked like a loving display. "You've gained a healthy amount of weight and maintained it, so congratulations on getting back to a healthy weight. Your hemoglobin levels are also normal now. It also looks like you've found a way to relieve your stress. Your lung capacity has also gotten a lot better as your inhalers are lasting longer and you don't come to the hospital as much."

"My asthma is gone?"

"It's getting better, but we can certainly say that you can start doing more light exercise. Your recovering very nicely, Daniel. I wish there was something we could do about your ear," she sighed.

"It's just one ear, I have another one that I can hear perfectly fine out of. But am I really getting better? No new medicine or extra tests this time?" Danny looked like he was about to cry.

"Whatever you're doing right now, keep doing it. It's working for you," the nurse confirmed.

Danny let out a surprised laugh before throwing himself into my arms effectively knocking me down onto my ass. He grabbed my face and stared intently at me. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly. We were only inches apart when he whispered, "You cured me, Ash!" 

"You're getting better," the flustered nurse started to fan herself with her clipboard as she corrected Danny. She was in shock but was definitely watching us with the eyes of a fan girl. "You two look really cute together, by the way. I'm rooting for you."

"Isn't he the cutest!" Danny started to plant kisses all over my frozen figure. I was excited that Danny was indeed getting healthier, but any more of this shock and I'd end up jumping on Danny in front of this nurse.