Heartbeat (Danny Rand)

Nine

         I glare angrily at my reflection for at least the sixth time today. Should I wear a dress? Or is that too much...

        After what feels like a lifetime, although it's close to 20 minutes, I finally decide on wearing a black skirt with a dark green t-shirt and a jacket. I grab my phone, stick it in my pocket, and begin my walk to school.

          The day stretches out for what feels like years until finally, the last bell rings and I practically jump out of my chair. As soon as I get my stuff together and walk out the front doors, though, I can't help but wish that the day lasted centuries instead.

           "Hey, Ari," Danny smiles, grabbing my hand and walking with me towards the school parking lot. My face turns a shade of bright red that rivals MJ's hair as I slide into the passenger seat of his car.

           "So, where are we going, anyway?" I ask, trying to slow down my frantically beating heart.

            "Sorry, I can't tell you. It's a surprise," Danny replies, and I sigh. In case you couldn't tell, we're going on our first date and I'm way more nervous than I've ever been before.

            We sit and chat for a while, laughing at stupid jokes. Eventually, the car takes a sharp turn and pulls into a parking lot.

             "Sorry, it's a bit of a walk. I hope you don't mind," Danny admits as he parks the car and we both get out.

              "Trust me, I don't mind walking." I smile, and he takes my hand again. We walk for a few minutes until the smell of popcorn and deep fried food fills my nose.

               I can barely contain the giant grin that breaks out across my face as I run towards the carnival, dragging Danny along with me.

              "Oh my gosh, I love carnivals! I haven't been to one since in years!" I gush, turning towards him.

               "Well, that's a relief. I was worried you wouldn't like it," He admits quietly, his face turning a light shade of pink.

             Danny buys us tickets without a second thought, which I'm incredibly grateful for since I probably wouldn't be able to.

           We walk into the fair together, taking in the bright flashing lights and cheesy carnival music. My stomach growls at the scent of funnel cake, and I can barely keep myself from jumping up and down. Not only am I at a carnival, which is exciting by itself, but I'm also on my first date with a guy I really like.

           "So, what do you want to do first?" Danny asks, and I immediately point towards a giant roller coaster. He laughs at my eagerness and nods as we walk hand in hand towards it.

           After riding the roller coaster and a bunch of other rides we go over to the lines of games booths and start playing some.

             "I bet I can beat you at ring toss!" I challenge, and Danny shakes his head.

              "I guess there's only one way to find out," He decides and we walk over. We both get three rings, and despite my previous claim, I completely miss the table two of the three times. The one I do make manages to land vertically between two bottles, which Danny seems to find hilarious.

               "Let's see you do any better!" I glare, shoving him playfully. Much to my dismay though, ring toss seems to be yet another thing that Danny is good at. He hooks all three rings around the bottles without a second thought and just smiles politely at the woman running the game as she hands him a stuffed teddy bear as a prize.

               "Don't pick battles you know you're going to lose," He chides, handing me the bear and turning towards a food booth. "Now I'm starving, let's go get something to eat."

              I gape slightly at the fuzzy brown teddy bear in my hand before following after him. We both end up getting a funnel cake with extra powdered sugar on top.

            "You have a little something..." He begins, reaching out and bushing some sugar off the corner of my lip. My cheeks turn a dark shade of scarlet.

             After we eat our funnel cake we decide to ride a few more rides. Three spinning rides later we decide that something calm like the Ferris wheel would be a nice break.

              We wait in line for a few minutes before stepping into the yellow car and sitting down. I can hear the motors in the wheel whirring to life, and with a slight jolt, the ride begins to rotate.

              "You know, I'm really glad you asked me out. I had an amazing time," I whisper, a light blush dusting my cheeks for what must be the 80th time tonight.

               "Me too," Danny replies, and I turn to look at him. Before I can register what's happening we're both leaning in and his lips are on mine.

            A few seconds later we pull away, and I can't help but notice how it feels like the butterflies in my stomach turned into full-on pterodactyls.

           Neither of us says anything else for the rest of the ride, but nothing needed to be said. Even though it was just a kiss, I can't help but feel at peace for the first time in a long time. Like all my problems melted away the second I met Danny.

              Luckily the ride ends before any more cheesy thoughts pass through my mind, and we get off. We're both pretty tired, and without much discussion, we decide to call it a night.

              The ride back is filled with general conversation, neither of us mentioning what happened before. There's no real need to though since I'm pretty sure we both feel the same way.

                "I had a great time," Danny says, pulling up outside of large stone and wood house.

              "Me too," I reply, smiling lightly at him. "We should do it again sometime," I add, getting of the car, my new teddy bear in hand, and walking up the driveway to the house before he can say anything.

               I reach the door and turn around to see him driving away. With a sigh, I walk back down the driveway and start my twenty-minute walk to my actual house.

                 You see, whenever my friends invite me to go anywhere and insist on driving me home, I always tell them I live somewhere in this neighborhood that's located pretty close to where I actually live. That way I basically get a ride home and none of my friends need to know the truth.

                Since it's dark out I'm pretty on edge while walking home, but I make it home fine. I walk through my front door and turn on the lights, realizing pretty quickly that my mom still isn't home.

              I shrug off my jacket and walk into my bedroom, taking my hair out of its braid and throwing myself onto my bed.

            For a second I glance at the stuffed bear in my hand, and I can't help but smile. Even if it's a pretty insignificant detail, it still means a lot. No one ever really gives me gifts, at not least without an ulterior motive.