A/N So...I got like over 400 votes and I was like dancing and screaming all alone in my room at night cuz I'm a crazy nut like that...LOL
"So tell me again why you're my boyfriend?" Dannie asks as she watches Lucas pace around her room. Everybody else was still at the pool, leaving the room otherwise empty.
"Because I know you didn't want to go to the dance with that Matt guy," Lucas says.
"Yeah I guess you're right," Dannie says thinking about how odd it was that Matt would ask her to the dance tonight. It wasn't like she didn't want to go with Matt, it was more of the thought of saying yes to him in front of Seth.
"I'm always right," Lucas replies stooping down to the ground to see something. After shuffling around for a few moments and shifting a few items around, he picked up an item that resembled a garment of clothing. Dannie moved closer to him to see what he was holding up.
It was a pale pink dress that was cinched at the waist and flowed out beneath it.
"What's that for?"
"It's for you to wear to the dance. Oh, and make sure you wear this too," he said holding up brown beaded necklace. "You'll have to find your own shoes though."
"Since when did you become my stylist?"
"Since you decided that you don't know how to dress yourself."
Dannie held a hand to her heart, mock-offended and scoffed, "I can totally play dress up Lucas. And where did you get that outfit anyways?"
"Let's just say I've got connections," he replied throwing the clothes onto the bed. "Anyways, I've got to go. Try to look presentable tonight alright?"
"Well geez, don't try to flatter me too much," Dannie grumbled sarcastically. Lucas laughed and exited the room just as a swimsuit clad Quinn showed up.
"Where are Katy and Kate?" Dannie asked eyeing a dripping wet Quinn. Her usual tamed brown hair had become unruly and stuck out in uneven tufts.
"Oh they're still at the pool. I'm sure they'll be here soon," Quinn said offhandedly. She jumped onto the bed Dannie sat on and stretched out her body, effectively getting all the sheets wet.
"What are you doing?" Dannie asked grabbing her dress before Quinn could see it or get it wet. It was not like Quinn to act so carelessly. Only a few days before, she would have laid a towel down first or not sat down on the bed at all.
"I'm being free," Quinn said laughing mirthfully. "Kate said that I should learn to let loose a bit."
Dannie's face automatically turned into a sneer when she heard that name but she was careful so that Quinn would not see it. The blond-haired model was absolutely no good for Quinn. She was corrupting her, Dannie was sure of it.
Deciding to tell it to her straight, Dannie sat up a little and spoke: "Quinn, I don't know how good of an influence Kate is on you." 'Oh God,' Dannie thought, 'I sound like mom'.
"What are you talking about?" Quinn asked narrowing her eyebrows at her sister. Before, Quinn's face was so wide and innocent but now, she had turned her expression into a deadly calculating look.
"This is what I'm talking about!" Dannie exclaimed gesturing wildly to Quinn. "You're like a whole different person now!"
"If you can't recall Dannie, this is the person I used to be and still am," Quinn said, her eyes flashed, indicating that her temper was about to blow.
Dannie looked at Quinn with sympathy. Before the whole incident a couple of years ago, Quinn was once the most popular girl at school. Sort of like the Queen Bee of Jasper Isle High. But junior year, her facade fell down, revealing a petite introverted girl who adored reading. Kate seemed to have made another reversal in Quinn's attitude.
"Whatever you say," Dannie said pursing her lips. Quinn flashed her an annoyed look when a knock came from the door.
"That must be Kate, I'll get it," Quinn said running from her spot on the bed to her new best friend.
***
Seth walked into his room feeling a bit dispirited. Ever since his kiss with Dannie, he hasn't been able to focus properly on Kate. Technically, he cheated on her, but how was he supposed to tell her that? It didn't matter though, Dannie acted like nothing ever happened and she had seemed convinced it was simple a mistake.
Seth's eyes landed on Lucas as soon as he walked into the living room. His heart rate sped up slightly as a pounding rung in his ears. Lucas lied to him. Lucas is going to the dance with Dannie, posing as her boyfriend.
Or at least, that's what he claims.
"Hey man, what is your problem?" Seth demanded, standing in front Lucas. He didn't even know what he was doing, only that his feet brought him there and that his mouth moved on its own accord.
"What is my problem?" Lucas questioned raising an eyebrow skeptically.
"Yeah you said you didn't like Dannie and now your supposedly going out with her?" Seth said, asking it like a question but accusing him with the statement at the same time.
"Well why is that of any concern to you?" Lucas asked.
"B-because..." Seth trailed of not knowing why he cared so much about Dannie.
"See, you're just confused. You've got a girlfriend Seth and even though Dannie is stupid for liking you, I'm always going to be here to look out for her."
In that moment, Seth saw Lucas not as another immature teenager, but as somebody who was older, wiser. His eyes flashed with an emotion Seth didn't recognize but his face turned stone hard only an instant later.
Seth couldn't even bring himself to fight back when Lucas roughly shouldered past him, and walked into his room.
"Wow, he could be Van's twin," Oliver said poking his head out from the small kitchen.
Seth didn't even register that as his mind revolved around Lucas' words, 'Dannie is stupid for liking you'.
***
"I don't know if I want to go," Dannie said. Did she really want to go to a party on a cruise ship? She wasn't really the one for the party scene.
"Don't be stupid Dannie," Seth snorted giving her a condescending look when Kate glanced his way. "You look beautiful," he added quietly.
Dannie bit her lip and turned away from him. Somehow, her heart still fluttered when he said that to her. She never thought that somebody that wasn't her father would call her beautiful. Or that she could feel and be beautiful. Well, she wasn't beautiful on the outside, merely just pretty at best. But on the inside, she felt like she was glowing.
"Besides, it's just a party right?" Seth said giving her a teasing smile. Dannie's smile faltered and her eyes met Lucas'.
"Right, just a party," they echoed together.
"Well, we should get going," Kate announced latching onto Seth's arm. Her body was wrapped tightly in a strapless black dress that emphasized her tiny waist along with her model like proportions.
Quinn bounced to Dannie's side in a baby blue dress that sparkled from the glitter overlay while Lucas stood on her other side.
"Let's just have fun tonight and not worry about anything okay?" Quinn said looking at her sister with affection, trying to seem reassuring. Quinn had let her guard down and the real and kind person inside her shined through. Her brown eyes looked at Dannie as if communicating with her, as if they were saying that everything would be alright.
"Let's go crash this party!" Oliver hollered as everybody walked down the corridor. Except for Van of course who had chosen to stay in his room.
"We're not crashing a party if we're invited," Kate said rolling her eyes.
"Just go along with it," Oliver said, still jumping around from foot to foot, looking excited as ever.
Pulling open a heavy wooden double door, the music blasting from the room nearly blew Dannie backwards. She had forgotten how loud and cramped teen parties could be. Inside the room, strobe lights flashed as bodies danced and moved against each other. The room was full but it wasn't crowded; it looked like the scene one would find at homecoming.
"Let's dance!" Kate cried dragging Seth to the dance floor. Dannie looked away and rubbed her chest, trying to get rid of the dull ache she felt.
She looked at Lucas who had his hands stuck in his pockets and was leaning against the wall. Several girls who had come to the party single eyed him curiously but he paid them no attention. Dannie shook her head; no girl would ever claim Lucas' heart.
Their eyes met and he smiled, pushing himself off the wall.
"Shall we dance?" Lucas asked holding his hand out. Dannie took it as he led them to the middle of the dance floor.
They spun around together, moving in sync as only best friends could do. Laughing, Dannie looked over Lucas' shoulder and caught Seth's eye. They glinted in the light and before she could look away, he winked at her.
'I must have imagined that' Dannie thought to herself as Lucas twirled her in circles.
"Hey, I see you made it," a familiar voice spoke from behind her. Lucas stopped dancing and pulled Dannie closer to him.
"Back off bud," Lucas said glaring at Matt who looked fresh, as if he had just come off a photo shoot.
"Sorry man, I just came to see if I could have a dance," Matt said, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking at Dannie from underneath his eyelashes.
"Yeah sure," Dannie agreed. It was just a dance and Quinn had said for her to have fun. She needed to stop being so paranoid. Lucas reluctantly let her go and watched as Matt led her away.
Matt put his hands gently on Dannie's waist while she wrapped hers around his neck. They moved to the beat and looked like every other teenager in the room, letting loose and partying without a care in the world.
"You're friends are really protective of you," Matt said as they paused to catch their breath.
Dannie smiled fondly as she realized that she had people who cared about her. People who would be there for her no matter what. "Yeah, but I love them."
In a dark corner of the room, near the food table, Katy appeared holding a bottle of some type of liquid. The label read 'alcohol' and the devious look in her eyes told anybody who was paying attention to her what she was about to do.
"Katy! What are you doing?" Dexter asked her, a disapproving expression on his face. He wore a dress shirt and slacks that seemed a couple sizes too big. Katy had on a yellow sundress to match the shoes she wore.
"Well I've got this liquid that will cause people who drink it to tell the truth," Katy explained.
"No stupid, alcohol makes people say things they don't mean."
"But the things they say are still true."
"But it's unethical to spike the drinks at a party."
Katy moved toward the punch bowl and cast a glance at the adults chaperoning the party. They paid no attention to her small form and only glanced for a second at Dexter. Katy knew that to people around them, they just looked like children with siblings who were forced to take them along.
"Katy, don't you dare do it," Dexter warned as Katy opened the bottle lid.
"I dare you to stop me," she challenged.
"What is the purpose of all this?" he asked, sounding like a psychiatrist talking to a mentally unstable patient.
"That's none of your business," Katy snapped, glancing around nervously. She had a purpose for doing this. Everything Katy Hale did had a bigger purpose; she always looked at the big picture.
Standing up on her tiptoes looking at the punch bowl, Katy tipped the bottle closer so that she could spike the drink. At the last second however, Dexter grabbed her elbow and jerked her back.
"I thought you were joking! You're actually going to spike the punch?" He cried. Katy glanced away and was relieved when nobody heard his voice over the music.
"Just trust me on this one!"
"I'll never trust a demon like you!"
"Just this once Dex!"
"Don't call me that! And no, you got me drunk last time, remember?"
Katy grit her teeth, seeing there was no way to persuade Dexter to give her back her bottle of alcohol. So instead, she gripped the bottle tighter in her hands and wrenched it away from his grip. It was a good thing that girls developed before boys, giving Katy and edge over him. But Dexter was faster.
His hand lashed out and latched onto the bottle before she could dump it into the punch bowl. The two wrestled back in forth before Katy, using a maneuver she had seen Dannie do once, stepped on Dexter's toe with her mini heels.
"Ow!" he cried grabbing his foot while Katy dumped the contents of the bottle into the drink, and swirling it around with the ladle.
"Hey you two," Kate said coming up to the pair of ten-year olds. "What are you guys up to?"
Kate grabbed a cup and poured herself some of the drink while Katy wore a satisfied smile on her lips.
"Nothing--"
"Don't--"
Dexter and Katy said at the same time. They looked at each other and shared a similar scowl. Kate gave both of them weird look and lifted the cup to her lips to drink. Before Dexter could protest, Katy leaped onto his back and covered his mouth with both her hands.
Kate giggled at her and gave a two-fingered wave as goodbye.
When she left, Dexter pulled Katy off of him and rushed to the bowl. Making a split second decision, he flipped the bowl backwards, spilling the contents all over the floor. A gasp left Katy's mouth as she covered her mouth with her hand.
"Hey, what are you kids doing?" a man in black yelled when he spotted Dexter. The security had finally noticed the two children and were rushing at them.
The floor surrounding the food table was now overflowing with fruit punch as Dexter gaped at what he had just did.
"Come on Dexter! If you don't want to spend your years in Juvie, we better run!" Katy cried gripping his wrist and running away from the spilled drink.
Twisting and turning through the darkened hallways, Katy once again got away from trouble and saved Dexter at the same time. Her goal was also completed. She was sure that if not now, then definitely soon, Kate would be drunk and her plan would be in action.
"Come on, just one more dance Dannie," Matt pleaded, his eyes lighting up with amusement.
Dannie giggled and shook her head no. "I can't! I'm too tired!" she protested. She had forgotten how much fun parties could be and it was only a couple of hours ago when she had thrown off her shoes and really let her inner self out.
"No, you're just worried that your boyfriend Lucas will be mad at you," he accused. His lips curled up at the edges though and a teasing look came upon his face.
"We're not actually dating," Dannie confessed. "We just wanted to mess with you."
Matt looked astonished. "Really? You guys seriously look like a legit couple."
"Really. We're just best friends," Dannie said. A movement to the left caught her gaze and she saw Kate stumbling around, a plastic cup in her hand. "Hang on one moment."
Dannie rushed toward the blond haired girl even though her insides twisted at the sight of her.
"Kate! Kate, are you alright?" Dannie asked holding her shoulder and maneuvering her so that she was standing upright.
"Yeahhh," Kate slurred. "I'm perfectly fineee."
Dannie wrinkled her nose and looked at the cup, disgusted. How did Kate manage to get alcohol on a teen cruise ship? Wasn't there security around here or something?
Her black dress was now wrinkled and slightly riding up, showing off a lot of leg. Kate's eyes appeared a translucent blue and her hair stuck up at the wrong angles. A sober Kate would never appear in public like this; she must be drunk.
"Let's get you back to the room, you need some rest," Dannie said tugging on her wrist to get her to the exit. She waved to Matt on the way out and caught Seth's gaze but he turned away as soon as his eyes landed on her.
Back in their room, Kate collapsed on the couch, curling up to the pillows. Setting some Advil and a glass of water on her bedside for her when she woke up, Kate spoke before Dannie could leave.
"I need to tell you something important," she whispered.
"I'm sure it can wait. You can tell Quinn," Dannie said impatiently. She was having a good night and a good time before her conscience had made her take care of this poor drunk girl.
"Nooo, it's super importanttt."
Dannie sighed and sat on the edge of the couch with her elbows on her knees. "Enlighten me then," she said.
"I kissed this other guy at the partyyy." Dannie's eyes went wide. "But you can't tell Seth. Because we're the perfect couple," she purred.
Dannie was too in shock for words. So Kate had cheated on Seth? Well technically, Seth had cheated on Kate too. What kind of relationship was this?
"If you cheated on him, how exactly is this the perfect relationship?" Dannie asked quietly, trying to keep the frustration and anger inside of her. Why did Seth have to date her? She was going to break his heart eventually, Dannie knew it.
"Because we're best friends so we make the perfect couple. Like you and Lucas."
"That is seriously sick. You guys should just be friends, not a couple if you don't invest your whole heart into it!" Dannie blurted.
"But we have to date. It's how life works Dannie," Kate giggled and then suddenly fell asleep. Dannie stood up and looked down at the girl who she had tended to not minutes ago. Kate was not in love with Seth, although she claimed that she was. She was infatuated with him and the idea of them being a perfect couple.
Feeling an odd amount of hatred for the girl, Dannie took the Advil and water, dumping them into the trash. Kate could get them for herself when she woke up.
Dannie marched out the door and passed the double doors to the dance. The party was almost over anyways and she wasn't in the mood to dance anymore either.
Not knowing where she was going, Dannie walked the hallways until she ended up outside on the railing of the cruise ship, looking out at the ocean. The moon shone brightly in the sky, but no stars accompanied it tonight.
She didn't know how long she was leaning up against the railing, looking up at the dark sky. But she did know that all that was on her mind was the fact that Kate was not good enough for Seth. Even though her looks exceeded that of any goddess, her heart was not in the relationship.
Dannie knew she liked Seth, but she also knew that she would never be good enough for him. He had everything a girl could want: good looks, a cocky persona that often disappeared to reveal the nice guy underneath, and the best of all, a big heart.
"Couldn't sleep?"
Dannie turned around startled and held a hand to her heart that was beating in double time. She saw Seth standing in a couple feet away, his lips tilted up at the sides.
"You scared me," Dannie accused.
"Sorry," he said walking up to the railing beside her. "Thanks for taking care of Kate tonight by the way."
Dannie looked at him surprised. "You knew she was drunk?"
Seth rubbed his hands over his face and groaned. "Yeah, I had the feeling. I just had to get away for a night you know?"
"Yeah," Dannie said softly. She wanted to tell him that he should get away from her forever. That he would be better off without her. But then she would just look like a jealous girl who was vying with Kate for his attention.
"So, I heard there was a skate board park on this ship."
"What? No way!" Dannie cried looking astounded.
"Yeah, I'm just kidding," Seth said laughing as her morphed back into a glower.
Before Dannie could punch him in the gut for teasing her though, he grabbed both of her shoulders, shaking her excitedly.
"Oh look! A shooting star!" Seth said pointing at a white flash in the sky. Dannie stared at the star, struck by how amazing it looked. It was like a picture coming to life, as the meteor streaked across the sky, a tail of color trailing behind it.
She watched it until it disappeared, a small smile on her face.
"Did you make a wish?" Seth asked. Dannie looked at him and her face dropped. Even though making a wish on a star was childish, she still felt like she should have. Seth laughed. "It's alright, I made a wish for the both of us."
"What did you wish for?"
"If I told you, it wouldn't come true, now would it?"
Dannie smiled and leaned in closer to him. "You can trust me Seth," she said, doing her best puppy dog impression.
Seth looked away before briefly looking back into her eyes. "Okay fine. I just wished that--"
He leaned in closer to Dannie, causing her breath to get caught in her throat. Instead of leaning toward her lips as she expected, his mouth neared her ear. He paused for a moment and in that second, all time stood still.
"--I wish that you'd tell me what the deal between you and Lucas was."
"Hey what are you two doing out here. All alone?"
Dannie turned around and grimaced at her best friend. 'Great timing Lucas, great timing' she thought bitterly to herself.
_________________
A/N So this chapter is kind of sucky cos I wrote it at like one in the morning LOL I tried to edit it but it's just not happenin'
Sorry
But I guess Vote cuz you love me and I love you guys and comment if you've ever seen a shooting star!!!
Oh and also a big shout out and thank you to all my readers who stay up til the early morning hours to read my story!!! It means so much that you guys actually do that :D