CHAPTER THREE:
HOW TO GET THE GIRL
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IF YOU HAD told Danny at the beginning of the day that he would be sleeping over at Mike Wheeler's house, he would've told you that you're fucking insane and belong in a psychiatric ward. Danny didn't have many friends but the friends that he did have had a tendency to get themselves in a lot of trouble just like Danny did, but Mike Wheeler and his friends didn't seem like the type to get into any trouble. They weren't people that Danny usually associated with. They weren't people that Danny got along with but yet, here he was, in Mike Wheeler's basement with Mike Wheeler, Will Byers, and Lucas Sinclair. He knew that they were a little weird and nerdy but that fact was only confirmed as he sat on the couch and looked around at the dingy basement.
It was your typical teenage hangout but among the usual things like the old couch, creaky table and chairs, old snacks and drinks scattered about, there were some nerd things. There were old toys and games that Mike had played with in his childhood, sci-fi books, and posters, all things that screamed that Mike got bullied a lot in middle school which was a fact as Danny had witnessed some of it. Troy was a prick and a coward, and Danny thought he deserved a hard kick in the balls so he couldn't produce any more of his horrible kind.
The main thing that Danny noticed on the table was a set for a game called Dungeons and Dragons that Will was setting up. Danny had no clue what that game was but just by looking at the book and the board, he could tell that it was nerdy and weird, which made it perfect for Mike and his friends. There seemed to be monsters and wizards involved which Danny thought was a little bit cool but he wasn't about to admit that and ruin his street cred. Still, Danny did get off the couch and observe the book, pretending to think it was strange but secretly trying to read the pages as Mike ranted to him. Will noticed and asked, "You play D&D?"
Danny shook his head and cleared his throat, trying to pretend he wasn't interested, "Never heard of it but by the looks of it, it's probably not my thing."
"What did I do wrong? What could I have done wrong? Did I do anything wrong? I don't think I did anything wrong!"
"Do I have to go through this again?" Lucas sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"I just don't understand what I did to deserve this!"
"Nothing, nothing!" Lucas shook his head. Danny furrowed his brows at Lucas's words. These boys really had no idea about how the female brain worked. Danny had a small idea but the rest was a mystery. "That's my whole point. You are the victim here!"
"I know," Mike nodded as he shoved chips into his mouth as he lay on the couch. "It's just, why is she treating me this way?"
"Mike..." Lucas sighed, exasperated. He pinched the bridge of his nose again.
"What did I do wrong? What did I do wrong?"
"Mike, stop. Relax. Just relax. Okay?" Lucas sighed. He grabbed Mike's legs and crossed them before gesturing for Mike to take some yoga breaths. Danny watched in amusement. "Stop asking rational questions."
"I know, I know. Yeah, you're right. You're right," Mike nodded, running his hands through his hair. "Because women act on emotion and not logic."
Lucas nodded, "Precisely. It's a totally different species."
Danny finally interrupted. He grabbed Lucas's forearm and the first thing he noticed was that Lucas gained some muscle since the last time Danny had hung out with him. Lucas almost didn't pull away, almost leaning into the touch until he came back to reality and realized what was happening. He pulled away and Danny raised an eyebrow at him.
Danny looked back at Mike as he sat on the edge of the couch, "Okay, you wanna get your girl back, right?"
"Yes! But I didn't even do anything wrong, so --"
"Shut the fuck up," Danny interrupted causing Mike's eyes to widen in surprise. "Step one to getting the girl... don't listen to Sinclair."
Lucas scoffed and before he could protest, Danny once again interrupted without even looking back at Lucas, "Shut up."
"Step two... It is your fault," Danny shrugged. Mike furrowed his brows, about to argue until Danny continued. "You lied to her about not being able to see her. She's gonna be mad about it, obviously." Danny then furrowed his brows, realizing he had no idea why Mike had lied. "Why did you lie?"
"Her dad threatened to kill me!" Mike explained. Danny chuckled at Mike's words, finding Jim Hopper threatening Mike Wheeler to be hilarious. "What was I supposed to do?"
"Do you even know how many dads have threatened to kill me?", Danny scoffed. He gestured to his outfit. Like always, he was wearing a muscle tank top, black ripped jeans, black combat boots, and his signature leather jacket. Even in the summer, Danny wore all black but in the summer he traded shirts for muscle tank tops and took off his leather jacket when he was outside.
Danny took off his leather jacket and tossed it beside him. Danny had some nice muscles and the girls always went crazy for them. The main reason that Danny got so many girls was because he was confident and he looked like a badass. Most girls liked bad boys, especially teenage girls who wanted to piss off their parents. Danny sometimes hated that girls only dated him to make a point. Sometimes, deep down, he wanted somebody to date him because they actually liked him and enjoyed being around him.
As Danny took off the jacket, he felt eyes on him. He looked over his shoulder and saw Lucas staring at him or more like his muscles. The muscle tank Danny was wearing was open down to the bottom of the tank top, so you could see his whole abdomen from the side. Danny had some nice abs, which the girls also loved, and clearly, Lucas had some interesting thoughts about them as well. Danny smirked at Lucas as he saw him staring, "See something you like, Sinclair?"
Before Lucas could respond in any way or even shoot Danny a dirty look, Will called out, "Guys, it's ready!"
"Will, not right now," Lucas sighed.
"They broke up with you!" Will raised his voice, clearly annoyed by his friend's obsession with their girlfriends. "What else is there to talk about?"
"Tons!"
"Yeah, Danny is trying to help us solve the great mystery of the female species," Mike gestured to Danny.
"No, Danny is not helping me with anything," Lucas crossed his arms over his chest. "I can get Max back all by myself like I've done five times before."
Danny scoffed. He stood up from the couch and stood in front of Lucas. Danny was only an inch taller than him but by the way he held himself, he basically towered over Lucas. He saw Lucas gulp and he smirked, "If you've been dumped five times, you're clearly an awful boyfriend. Now, I can help you with that or you can continue staring at my muscles. Your choice. I'm fine with either. You're not the first person to be mesmerized by me."
"I was not staring --"
"Back to Mike," Danny sat back down on the edge of the couch. "Her dad threatening you is no big deal. Dads threaten me all the time. Your main solution is to see her outside of her house. She can just sneak out which she can clearly, easily do like she did today or she can invite you over anyways."
"Did you not hear me before?" Mike asked, his eyebrows raised. "He threatened to kill me!"
Danny rolled his eyes, "Confidence, Wheeler. Confidence. You just gotta have confidence and the thing about confidence is that nobody knows if it's real or not." Danny stood up as he continued to explain the concept. "If you walk into that house acting like you don't care what he thinks, he's gonna be pissed but there's gonna be nothing he can do about it by that point."
Mike was listening intently to Danny's words while Lucas was rolling his eyes the entire time. Lucas knew that there was some good advice in what Danny was saying but Lucas was too anti-Danny Buckley to truly listen. Lucas wasn't homophobic but he was scared about what the possibility of liking boys would mean for him and his future. It was the eighties and people weren't too kind to boys who liked boys or girls who liked girls. Lucas also didn't know exactly what his sexuality was. He knew that Danny liked boys and girls, which Lucas didn't even know was a thing. Lucas thought that he loved Max, but did he? Was it possible for him to love Max while simultaneously being attracted to the annoying Danny Buckley?
"Despite all of this, you need to apologize to her," Danny told Mike who sat up immediately and attempted to protest. "Don't even try, Wheeler. You fucked up and you gotta own that shit. You lied to her and she found out. It doesn't matter what Hopper said, you still gotta apologize. You are not the victim here."
"But --"
"No. Apologize or you're never gonna get her back and honestly, if you don't apologize then you don't deserve to get her back," Danny shrugged. Danny was an asshole but when it came to his relationships, he was a gentleman which usually surprised all his girlfriends. "A gift was a good start but from experience, a genuine apology is what really works."
Mike nodded. Danny smiled as Mike started to realize that his advice was better than Lucas's dumbass advice, "Yeah, yeah, you're right. A genuine apology."
Danny nodded, "Good. Now... you got any cookies? I'm feeling something sweet."
"My mom made some earlier. I'll go get you some," Mike nodded as he got off the couch and headed upstairs. Karen Wheeler was a very kind woman as Danny had found out. Hawkins was a small town so everyone knew everyone. Karen Wheeler knew exactly who Danny Buckley was and what he had been doing since he was nine years old. Despite that, she was nice to him.
As Mike went upstairs, Will went to the bathroom. That left Danny Buckley and Lucas Sinclair alone. Danny smirked at Lucas while Lucas rolled his eyes. Danny patted the couch, "Alright, Sinclair, your turn."
"No," Lucas shook his head. "No way. I can get my girlfriend back on my own."
Danny tilted his head, "Can you, though?"
Lucas glared at Danny. Danny sighed and grabbed Lucas's hand, pulling him toward the couch. Danny expected Lucas to pull his hand away and say something nasty but instead, Lucas let Danny pull him toward the couch. Lucas took a seat and Danny sat across from him on the coffee table.
Lucas leaned back and crossed his arms as Danny started, "So... five times, huh? What the hell do you keep doing?"
"It's never me," Lucas defended. "It's always her."
Danny furrowed his brows, "Yeah, I wasn't even there but I know for sure that all of it was your fault. That or you two are just really not meant to be."
Lucas glared at Danny and uncrossed his arms. He sat up and leaned closer to Danny, "Just because we fight sometimes doesn't mean we aren't meant to be."
"Do you think you guys are meant to be?" Danny asked curiously.
Lucas hesitated. He opened his mouth and then closed it again. Danny raised an eyebrow at Lucas who finally asked, "Why do you care?"
Danny leaned in closer to Lucas, "Why do you care if I care or not?" The two stared at one another for a moment. Danny took in Lucas's big brown eyes as Lucas took in Danny's hazel, almost grey eyes. Danny swore he saw Lucas look down for a moment before Danny leaned back. "Fine. You don't want my advice on how to win Max back? I get it and maybe you really don't need it." Danny hesitated before smirking at Lucas. "You sure as hell don't need it when it comes to kissing skills."
Danny heard Lucas's breath catch in his throat. Danny smirked and narrowed his eyes slightly, almost challenging Lucas. Lucas gulped, seeming nervous. Danny watched as the gears in Lucas's brain turned. He was thinking hard about something. Danny leaned forward again, "Whatcha thinkin' about, Sinclair?"
Lucas looked down for a moment before slowly moving closer to Danny. Danny moved closer as well but paused when his lips were inches from Lucas's. He then moved his head and leaned toward Lucas's ear, his lips grazing the top of his ear before saying, "Still think I'm a horrible person, Sinclair? Still think I'm going nowhere in life? Figure your shit out and stop acting like you didn't like me first. And remember... you kissed me first."
Danny pulled away as Mike came back downstairs and Will exited the bathroom. Lucas stared at Danny with a guilty expression. His brows were furrowed and his mouth was turned down. His eyes held so much guilt and Danny was happy about it. Danny was tired of Lucas treating him like shit when Lucas was the one who kissed Danny first. Danny wasn't interested in hearing Lucas tell his friends about how horrible he was and then turn around and attempt to kiss him. Danny didn't deserve that and he wasn't about to let Lucas keep getting away with it.
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