Fic: Cute Boys With Computers (continued)
Cute Boys With Computers
Part One
*
Matt wasn't a new student, but Danny had never really noticed him as anything except one of the yearbook staff kids. But then he'd started taking photos at lacrosse games, and had sauntered up to Danny with his camera after one, and said, "Hey. I got some good pics. Check these out."
He offered the digital camera to Danny, who scrolled through. There were pictures of the game, but mostly there were pictures of everyone celebrating afterwards. And mostly those were of Danny, after he'd shed his pads and sweat-soaked shirt, laughing as he drained a water bottle over himself to get some of the sweat off. He was flushed and grinning and pretty damn hot, if he did say so himself.
Apparently Matt agreed, because he said, "Pretty nice, huh?"
"Yeah, uh, wow," Danny agreed.
"I'll send you the best ones. You could use them for your online dating profile... not that you need one, with so many boys all over you all the time." Matt grinned, and Danny couldn't help but notice that, aside from having a great grin, Matt's eyes were also really, really nice. Like. Really. "And you're great to take pictures of, because I don't even need to touch them up."
"Yeah, right," Danny laughed.
"No, it's true. Which is pretty sweet, because my copy of Photoshop is ancient."
"I can get you a new one," Danny said immediately, because the combination of cute boy talking about computer stuff was enough to kill his brain-to-mouth filter.
"Seriously?"
"Yeah, I've got... you know, ways. To get things like that. I'll find a copy for you. If you want."
"Sure, yeah, that would be awesome." Matt's gaze swept down Danny's still-shirtless body and then back up and he smiled again. "We should hang out sometime. So I can get more pictures for the yearbook."
*
They had never actually gotten around to hanging out. Matt obviously had a thing for Allison -- which, good luck, dude, because if she was half as into Scott as he was into her, there was no way that was going to happen -- and Danny was dating Trevor. "Hanging out" was code for going on a date, and as cute as Matt was, Danny was not a cheater.
Not like Trevor, as it turned out.
He and Trevor had managed to patch things up after their really bad weekend, and had decided to meet at the Jungle to see each other. The Jungle was conveniently about halfway between their towns, and once everything was okay between them, they started going there a lot. Going with Trevor was way better than going with Jackson, since Danny didn't have to keep an eye on Trevor (and okay, since Jackson got hit on more than Danny and that was just unfair), and going with a date meant he always had someone to dance with. He'd always been a little bit awkward when he danced with random guys -- he could fake it, but he wasn't really much of a dancer -- but grinding with Trevor was basically sex with their clothes on. Which inevitably led to sex with their clothes off, usually in one of their cars, which was cramped and awkward but had the advantage of not being a 20-minute drive away.
The Jungle was the closest thing they had to somewhere that was really their place. It was where they made up, where they made out, where they had fun and had sex. It was also where things finally went really, really wrong.
*
Danny didn't drink much when they went out, because he had to drive and because getting a little buzzed was fun, but getting drunk usually led to something embarrassing. Trevor didn't worry quite so much about it (and Danny always made sure he sobered up before heading home, unless Danny was the one driving him, which he didn't mind -- he was basically Jackson's permanent designated driver, so he was used to it).
So he was only a drink in, with Trevor on his third, when Trevor grabbed him and crowded him towards the door, shouting above the music, "Come on, let's go, I want to go."
"What?" Danny yelled back. "It's early --"
Someone with black hair and a cheesy goatee broke in on them, yelling, "Trev! Hey!" He grabbed Trevor's shoulder, and Trevor turned away. Not towards the stranger, and not towards Danny.
"Hey," Danny said. "You two know each other?"
"Uh, yeah?" The guy gave him a weird look. "Who're you?"
"He's no one," Trevor said. "I'll call you tomorrow, okay? Danny, let's --"
"Wait," Danny interrupted, really not liking the way he's no one sounded, even though Trevor was still grabbing his arm. "I'm his boyfriend. Who are you?"
"His... oh," the guy said. "Well, that's..."
"Let's go," Trevor said, shoving Danny towards the exit again.
Danny wasn't stupid, though. "How do you two know each other?"
The guy held up his hands. He was obviously older than they were. "Don't worry about it, it was nothing. He didn't say he -- just forget it." He hurried away.
"Trevor?" Danny demanded.
"Don't worry about it, Dan, let's just go, okay? I want to go home. With you." He leaned in to kiss Danny, who pulled away.
"How about you tell me who the hell that was, what that was all about?" Danny suggested. But he did let Trevor hustle them outside to where he could actually hear.
"It was... look, nothing, okay? I met him a couple weeks ago, but it's no big deal."
"You met him... did you hook up with him?" Danny asked.
"It's nothing you don't do with your douchebag best friend, so don't even --"
"I don't," Danny snapped.
"Yeah, right. What about that kid at the dance?"
"I told you, Scott wasn't --"
"You've made out with your whole lacrosse team!"
"Before I met you!" Danny pulled away from him. "I can't believe you'd -- was that all it was with him? Making out?"
Trevor didn't say anything.
"Fuck you," Danny snapped. "I've never cheated on you. Never."
"Danny --"
"Don't call me," Danny interrupted. "I don't want to hear it. I just don't."
He stormed off towards his car and heard Trevor yelling after him, "Fine! If you're going to be such a bitch about this, I don't even care!"
"Me, neither," Danny muttered to himself. Even though he knew it was a lie.
*
It was the middle of the night. Probably. Danny still couldn't move, which meant he also still couldn't check the clock, but it had been hours, he thought. The hospital had quieted way down and Danny...
Danny had to pee.
He tried flexing again, and could swear his limbs were tingling, but he couldn't move. Which meant he was going to need help, which was possibly the most humiliating thing he'd ever had to think about. Especially because he could still occasionally hear Scott's mom in the hallway, and he was not going to ask her for help.
But a different nurse came in to check on him. A guy-type nurse, who barely looked old enough to have any kind of nursing license at all. He had pink scrubs and spikey hair and an earring. And freckles.
"Hey. You were one of the guys from the Jungle, right?" he asked, and offered a glass of water with a straw.
"Yeah," Danny said.
As he began to drink, the nurse said, "This is so crazy. I can't believe... I was there just last week, you know?"
Danny swallowed and managed to turn his head away from the straw. The nurse set the water down, but didn't leave. "You go there a lot?" Danny asked.
"Well, not a lot. But. You know." The nurse grinned. "I'm Brian, by the way."
"Danny."
"I know. I saw your chart." Brian glanced him over and then said, "Which says you came in hours ago, so I'm betting you've probably got some... let's say needs, to get taken care of."
"Plenty of needs," Danny answered automatically, smirking.
Brian laughed, his cheeks going red, which just made the freckles stand out more. "I don't think that's what I meant. I mean, I get it, though. That this is embarrassing. But I do actually do this professionally, so, you know... anything?"
Danny wanted to cringe but couldn't. Finally he just said, "Yeah. I... I really need to pee. Oh god, this sucks."
"Yup, it does," Brian agreed. "But you're not the first guy I've needed to help out tonight, and it's going to be fine. Trust me, okay?"
Danny flushed, wishing he'd met Brian at the Jungle, or the mall, or literally anywhere other than right here, but said, "Yeah. Okay. Hey... this guy I know was hit, too, did he... um, never mind."
"Wouldn't be able to tell you anyway," Brian assured him. "Patient privacy. Just like I'll never mention this again, to anyone, ever. Including you. Ready?"
Danny took a deep breath. "Ready."
*
Jackson had had his own stuff going on lately, making him more of an ass than usual, but when Danny had told him about the break up, he'd actually listened. His face had gone all serious and when Danny finished he'd put a hand on Danny's shoulder and said, "You want me to fuck him up?"
"What?" Danny actually couldn't help but laugh. "Are you serious?"
"I always hated that guy," Jackson said, which Danny actually believed was true. As jealous as Trevor had been over Jackson, well, Jackson had been almost as bad, which... Danny really didn't even know what to think about that, beyond that he wanted Jackson to get his shit together and get past whatever sexual identity crisis he'd been having in slow motion since they were pre-teens. Not that he thought about Jackson like that, no matter what Trevor had thought.
"Yeah, well I liked him. And now I don't. But I don't need you to," Danny gave him a slight smile, "fuck him up for me. But thanks for offering."
"If you change your mind, I'm not joking," Jackson said. "It's really -- he was a dick, and he shouldn't have treated you like that. You deserve better, okay? You do."
"Well, yeah," Danny said. "I mean, thanks, but duh."
Jackson gave him a hesitant smile back. "We should go out and party soon. I mean, you should. Prove you don't need him. I'll be your wingman. Buy the booze, drive you home... unless you end up with another ride."
"Go party where?" Danny sighed. "It's not like I can go back to the Jungle."
"Why the hell not? Because that asshole might be there?"
"Uh, yeah."
"So? Fuck him. Seriously, fuck that guy. You should go out, find a hot piece of ass, and hook up right there in front of him."
"Sure, except he'll be doing the exact same thing. I don't want to see it."
Jackson frowned. "So you're just going to let him run your life? Because that's bullshit."
"Well, maybe I'm just not as able to walk away as you are," Danny snapped. "Except, wait, you're not. Or you wouldn't still be screaming at Lydia every five minutes. You'd just be over her."
"I am over her," Jackson said. "She's nothing. Just like Trevor. They don't matter anymore, and you and me, we're better off without them. So just -- let him fuck whoever he wants, okay, because he's never going to do better than you. And trust me, you can do so much better than him."
"This has got to be the weirdest pep talk ever," Danny said.
Jackson shrugged. "Friday night. We're doing this. You and me at the Jungle. And don't pussy out on me."
Danny sighed. "Yeah, sure. Friday."
Except Jackson hadn't actually shown up on Friday. He'd cut out of school early -- with Allison and Stiles and Lydia of all people -- and hadn't answered any of Danny's calls and texts. So much for them going out together. So Danny hadn't really wanted to go after all.
But he also knew Trevor would be there. And he'd be smug, thinking Danny was too upset to show his face. And maybe Jackson was right, and he really did just want to show up and get it on with someone else. Just to show Trevor how little he mattered.
So he'd gone. And yeah, seeing Trevor with another guy, like Danny wasn't even there, had hurt. But the bartender giving him a drink on the house and making sure to point him at a new dance partner? That was pretty great. So he'd ignored Trevor and forced himself to have fun.
Until the attack -- drugging? Whatever -- had ruined the night. And now Jackson was apparently missing, Danny's parents were pissed at him, the sheriff was going to be keeping an eye on him, and basically everything sucked.
Except that Trevor was in the exact same boat.
It wasn't much of a silver lining, but hey, Danny would take it.
*
The night was incredibly long and slow and horrible. Danny wanted to sleep, but couldn't, because now that he was alone in the dark and the quiet, all he could think about was how he couldn't move, and what if he never could again? So much for ever playing lacrosse again. Or walking. Or... Jesus, going to the bathroom without help. His life would be -- he tried not to think over, that wasn't fair, tons of people were paralyzed or disabled or whatever and their lives were fine, but... but it would be different. Everything would change, everything he thought he was, everything he took for granted...
Dawn flooded the room, and yet another nurse came back. Another woman, not Scott's mom, but she fed him a tasteless breakfast and held the phone to his ear so he could talk to his parents. Hearing their voices was good, reassuring. His mom sounded worried again, but not angry anymore, and his parents dropped by to see him and bring him a change of clothes before they both headed off to work.
Scott's mom stopped back in a few hours later, her next shift starting, Danny supposed. "Just wanted to give you some good news, Danny," she offered. "It looks like most people from the club are starting to regain motor functions."
"Seriously?" He tried to stretch again and -- and his arms and legs definitely started tingling with pins and needles. "Oh, finally, I can actually feel something."
"Glad to hear it." She smiled at him. "You should be up and around in a few hours. You want me to turn the TV on for you?"
"Sure," he agreed, and she even flipped channels for him until they landed on some stupid home decorating TV show he could watch for hours on end. Not that he'd ever admit that to anyone at school.
Lunchtime came and went. He could wiggle his fingers, and then move his hands. He could curl his toes. The pins and needles feeling became a heavy ache, but he didn't want to take any medication for it, because aching was better than the weird, creepy nothing he'd felt all night.
It wasn't until about the time school would have been ending that he could actually move his limbs, twist his torso. He sat up in bed and stretched, touched his toes.
Brian stuck his head into the room, saw him moving, and grinned. "Hey, you're looking better today!"
"Finally," Danny said.
"You want a hand up?" He fiddled with the metal sides of Danny's bed, pushing one of them down, so he could swing his legs over the side. Brian supported him, making sure he was steady as he stood, and god, it felt good to be able to move at all.
"Can I just go... check out now?" Danny asked.
Brian shook his head. "Sorry, you'll need the doctor to check you out first, and your folks to come pick you up, since you're a minor."
Danny scowled. "Can I at least shower?"
"Knock yourself out. I'll walk with you, just to make sure you're steady, okay?"
Danny nodded, but now that he was moving, he was fine. His body still ached, but he didn't stumble or anything. At the bathroom door, Brian patted his back. "Use the handrails, take it slow. I'll check back in a few minutes to make sure you're okay."
"Thanks," Danny said, and shut himself in the tiny bathroom. He turned the shower on as hot as it could go, stripped down, glad to get last night's clothes off of his body at last, and stepped into the steam. It felt good -- scalding, but even that was a relief.
After a few minutes, there was a knock, and Brian called over the sound of the water, "Everything okay?"
"Great!" Danny shouted back.
"You've got a friend who came by," Brian added. "He's waiting out here."
A friend? Danny frowned to himself, picturing Trevor -- but what would he want? But still, if it was him, Danny wasn't going to let him see how much he was still hurting. He pulled on his pants and he also threw on a smile. He shook a little water out of his hair and glanced in the foggy mirror. Trevor always had really liked his body.
Well, now he could like it, but he couldn't have it. Like Jackson had said, he deserved better.
Except that it wasn't Trevor waiting for him. It was Scott McCall. Again. Danny raised his eyebrows. First he'd been at the Jungle, and now here? To see Danny? Maybe he wasn't so in love with Allison. Which would not be a terrible thing...
Except that what Scott said, as Danny startled rifling through his wallet to make sure none of the EMTs had grabbed his cash or anything, was, "Are you sure everything's okay between you and Jackson?"
"Yeah, everything's fine," Danny said, even though it was a totally weird question. He groaned, realizing that it wasn't cash missing from his wallet. "Did the cops have to take my fake ID?"
"You didn't do anything to make him angry?"
Danny tossed his wallet down in disgust and grabbed for the shirt his parents had brought him, pulling it on as they chatted. It was a weird discussion. Not about Danny at all -- so much the hope that Scott was harboring some kind of secret crush on him -- and just... weird things, that ended up with Scott taking off to retrieve his tablet, while he lay around waiting for his parents to come pick him up.
It didn't take too long. His dad ducked out of work early to come get him, since apparently having a kid in the hospital was a totally acceptable reason for clocking out early, but waiting around was boring. He wandered into the hallway and saw Brian smacking an ancient computer monitor at the nurse's station.
"You know, unless the monitor is flickering, that's not the part you need to hit." He pointed down at the tower, sitting on the floor next to the desk. "That is."
Brian kicked it vindictively, then said, "That didn't work and it's freezing every five seconds. Any other ideas?"
"Restart?" Danny shrugged, then, because cute boys with computers really were his kryptonite, "If that doesn't do it, I can probably get a virus scan running for you. I mean, I'm betting it's a pretty old machine, probably needs to be replaced, but it could always be malware or something. You want me to take a look?"
Brian hesitated, then, "Just let me shut out of everything with personal records..."
As if Danny couldn't break in and find anything he wanted to anyway. Not that Brian needed to know that.
"Wow, you must be, like, an IT whiz or something," Brian said, watching approvingly as Danny fiddled with the computer's control panel. It really was an ancient machine, and definitely needed to be replaced. Though probably any money the hospital got went to things like x-ray machines and CT scanners.
"It's just a hobby," Danny said, kicking off the scan. "But I guess I'm pretty good at computer stuff. I'm kind of a nerd, really."
"Yeah, right," Brian laughed. "You're like the guy they cast in movies as a nerd, but who you know real life is like... the hottest guy in the world. He just needs to take off the stupid glasses or whatever."
Danny laughed. "Well, thanks, I guess."
Brian was blushing again, and damn, Danny really liked his freckles. "Um. I should go do my next set of rounds. If you don't need me for any computer... stuff. You know. Like my password or whatever."
"I think I'm good," Danny said.
"Okay, well, thanks for looking at that. Maybe I'll see again you before you go?"
Danny looked up and caught his eye. "Absolutely."
He kept busy with the computer, ferreting out anything that might be slowing it down. It was actually soothing, taking just enough brain power that Danny wasn't worried about anything else, but not so difficult that he couldn't vege out. He actually lost track of how much time passed, but the next thing he knew, his dad was shaking his shoulder.
"You'd better not be breaking into anyone's medical records."
"Just trying to make the computer run faster to help out the, uh, very helpful medical staff," Danny said.
His father raised his eyebrows. "That cute boy in the pink, specifically, by any chance?"
"Maybe," Danny admitted.
"Mm-hmm. You ready to go?"
Danny nodded, standing up. "I just need to grab my things and..." He looked down the hallway and saw Brian walking into a patient's room down at the end, which gave him a few minutes. He gathered up his clothing and his wallet, stretched a little, and then shuffled back out. He watched down the hall, looking over his shoulder as his father led him towards the elevators, and -- ah ha.
"One sec, Dad," he said, turned around, and waved.
Brian waved back and walked towards him.
Danny met him halfway down the hall and smiled. "So, uh... I'm gonna try not to be in the hospital too much from here on, but... you have my chart, right?"
"Yeah," Brian said.
"Well, I'm pretty sure my phone number is on it. You should call me."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah," Danny said.
"Okay, then. I guess I will."
"Great." Danny grinned at him before he ducked away, back towards his father and the elevators, finally heading home. But he glanced back over his shoulder and found Brian still standing there, and Brian waved awkwardly when he saw Danny watching. Yeah, Brian was definitely going to call him.
As he left the hospital, Danny realized that he actually felt pretty good.
Part One
*
Matt wasn't a new student, but Danny had never really noticed him as anything except one of the yearbook staff kids. But then he'd started taking photos at lacrosse games, and had sauntered up to Danny with his camera after one, and said, "Hey. I got some good pics. Check these out."
He offered the digital camera to Danny, who scrolled through. There were pictures of the game, but mostly there were pictures of everyone celebrating afterwards. And mostly those were of Danny, after he'd shed his pads and sweat-soaked shirt, laughing as he drained a water bottle over himself to get some of the sweat off. He was flushed and grinning and pretty damn hot, if he did say so himself.
Apparently Matt agreed, because he said, "Pretty nice, huh?"
"Yeah, uh, wow," Danny agreed.
"I'll send you the best ones. You could use them for your online dating profile... not that you need one, with so many boys all over you all the time." Matt grinned, and Danny couldn't help but notice that, aside from having a great grin, Matt's eyes were also really, really nice. Like. Really. "And you're great to take pictures of, because I don't even need to touch them up."
"Yeah, right," Danny laughed.
"No, it's true. Which is pretty sweet, because my copy of Photoshop is ancient."
"I can get you a new one," Danny said immediately, because the combination of cute boy talking about computer stuff was enough to kill his brain-to-mouth filter.
"Seriously?"
"Yeah, I've got... you know, ways. To get things like that. I'll find a copy for you. If you want."
"Sure, yeah, that would be awesome." Matt's gaze swept down Danny's still-shirtless body and then back up and he smiled again. "We should hang out sometime. So I can get more pictures for the yearbook."
*
They had never actually gotten around to hanging out. Matt obviously had a thing for Allison -- which, good luck, dude, because if she was half as into Scott as he was into her, there was no way that was going to happen -- and Danny was dating Trevor. "Hanging out" was code for going on a date, and as cute as Matt was, Danny was not a cheater.
Not like Trevor, as it turned out.
He and Trevor had managed to patch things up after their really bad weekend, and had decided to meet at the Jungle to see each other. The Jungle was conveniently about halfway between their towns, and once everything was okay between them, they started going there a lot. Going with Trevor was way better than going with Jackson, since Danny didn't have to keep an eye on Trevor (and okay, since Jackson got hit on more than Danny and that was just unfair), and going with a date meant he always had someone to dance with. He'd always been a little bit awkward when he danced with random guys -- he could fake it, but he wasn't really much of a dancer -- but grinding with Trevor was basically sex with their clothes on. Which inevitably led to sex with their clothes off, usually in one of their cars, which was cramped and awkward but had the advantage of not being a 20-minute drive away.
The Jungle was the closest thing they had to somewhere that was really their place. It was where they made up, where they made out, where they had fun and had sex. It was also where things finally went really, really wrong.
*
Danny didn't drink much when they went out, because he had to drive and because getting a little buzzed was fun, but getting drunk usually led to something embarrassing. Trevor didn't worry quite so much about it (and Danny always made sure he sobered up before heading home, unless Danny was the one driving him, which he didn't mind -- he was basically Jackson's permanent designated driver, so he was used to it).
So he was only a drink in, with Trevor on his third, when Trevor grabbed him and crowded him towards the door, shouting above the music, "Come on, let's go, I want to go."
"What?" Danny yelled back. "It's early --"
Someone with black hair and a cheesy goatee broke in on them, yelling, "Trev! Hey!" He grabbed Trevor's shoulder, and Trevor turned away. Not towards the stranger, and not towards Danny.
"Hey," Danny said. "You two know each other?"
"Uh, yeah?" The guy gave him a weird look. "Who're you?"
"He's no one," Trevor said. "I'll call you tomorrow, okay? Danny, let's --"
"Wait," Danny interrupted, really not liking the way he's no one sounded, even though Trevor was still grabbing his arm. "I'm his boyfriend. Who are you?"
"His... oh," the guy said. "Well, that's..."
"Let's go," Trevor said, shoving Danny towards the exit again.
Danny wasn't stupid, though. "How do you two know each other?"
The guy held up his hands. He was obviously older than they were. "Don't worry about it, it was nothing. He didn't say he -- just forget it." He hurried away.
"Trevor?" Danny demanded.
"Don't worry about it, Dan, let's just go, okay? I want to go home. With you." He leaned in to kiss Danny, who pulled away.
"How about you tell me who the hell that was, what that was all about?" Danny suggested. But he did let Trevor hustle them outside to where he could actually hear.
"It was... look, nothing, okay? I met him a couple weeks ago, but it's no big deal."
"You met him... did you hook up with him?" Danny asked.
"It's nothing you don't do with your douchebag best friend, so don't even --"
"I don't," Danny snapped.
"Yeah, right. What about that kid at the dance?"
"I told you, Scott wasn't --"
"You've made out with your whole lacrosse team!"
"Before I met you!" Danny pulled away from him. "I can't believe you'd -- was that all it was with him? Making out?"
Trevor didn't say anything.
"Fuck you," Danny snapped. "I've never cheated on you. Never."
"Danny --"
"Don't call me," Danny interrupted. "I don't want to hear it. I just don't."
He stormed off towards his car and heard Trevor yelling after him, "Fine! If you're going to be such a bitch about this, I don't even care!"
"Me, neither," Danny muttered to himself. Even though he knew it was a lie.
*
It was the middle of the night. Probably. Danny still couldn't move, which meant he also still couldn't check the clock, but it had been hours, he thought. The hospital had quieted way down and Danny...
Danny had to pee.
He tried flexing again, and could swear his limbs were tingling, but he couldn't move. Which meant he was going to need help, which was possibly the most humiliating thing he'd ever had to think about. Especially because he could still occasionally hear Scott's mom in the hallway, and he was not going to ask her for help.
But a different nurse came in to check on him. A guy-type nurse, who barely looked old enough to have any kind of nursing license at all. He had pink scrubs and spikey hair and an earring. And freckles.
"Hey. You were one of the guys from the Jungle, right?" he asked, and offered a glass of water with a straw.
"Yeah," Danny said.
As he began to drink, the nurse said, "This is so crazy. I can't believe... I was there just last week, you know?"
Danny swallowed and managed to turn his head away from the straw. The nurse set the water down, but didn't leave. "You go there a lot?" Danny asked.
"Well, not a lot. But. You know." The nurse grinned. "I'm Brian, by the way."
"Danny."
"I know. I saw your chart." Brian glanced him over and then said, "Which says you came in hours ago, so I'm betting you've probably got some... let's say needs, to get taken care of."
"Plenty of needs," Danny answered automatically, smirking.
Brian laughed, his cheeks going red, which just made the freckles stand out more. "I don't think that's what I meant. I mean, I get it, though. That this is embarrassing. But I do actually do this professionally, so, you know... anything?"
Danny wanted to cringe but couldn't. Finally he just said, "Yeah. I... I really need to pee. Oh god, this sucks."
"Yup, it does," Brian agreed. "But you're not the first guy I've needed to help out tonight, and it's going to be fine. Trust me, okay?"
Danny flushed, wishing he'd met Brian at the Jungle, or the mall, or literally anywhere other than right here, but said, "Yeah. Okay. Hey... this guy I know was hit, too, did he... um, never mind."
"Wouldn't be able to tell you anyway," Brian assured him. "Patient privacy. Just like I'll never mention this again, to anyone, ever. Including you. Ready?"
Danny took a deep breath. "Ready."
*
Jackson had had his own stuff going on lately, making him more of an ass than usual, but when Danny had told him about the break up, he'd actually listened. His face had gone all serious and when Danny finished he'd put a hand on Danny's shoulder and said, "You want me to fuck him up?"
"What?" Danny actually couldn't help but laugh. "Are you serious?"
"I always hated that guy," Jackson said, which Danny actually believed was true. As jealous as Trevor had been over Jackson, well, Jackson had been almost as bad, which... Danny really didn't even know what to think about that, beyond that he wanted Jackson to get his shit together and get past whatever sexual identity crisis he'd been having in slow motion since they were pre-teens. Not that he thought about Jackson like that, no matter what Trevor had thought.
"Yeah, well I liked him. And now I don't. But I don't need you to," Danny gave him a slight smile, "fuck him up for me. But thanks for offering."
"If you change your mind, I'm not joking," Jackson said. "It's really -- he was a dick, and he shouldn't have treated you like that. You deserve better, okay? You do."
"Well, yeah," Danny said. "I mean, thanks, but duh."
Jackson gave him a hesitant smile back. "We should go out and party soon. I mean, you should. Prove you don't need him. I'll be your wingman. Buy the booze, drive you home... unless you end up with another ride."
"Go party where?" Danny sighed. "It's not like I can go back to the Jungle."
"Why the hell not? Because that asshole might be there?"
"Uh, yeah."
"So? Fuck him. Seriously, fuck that guy. You should go out, find a hot piece of ass, and hook up right there in front of him."
"Sure, except he'll be doing the exact same thing. I don't want to see it."
Jackson frowned. "So you're just going to let him run your life? Because that's bullshit."
"Well, maybe I'm just not as able to walk away as you are," Danny snapped. "Except, wait, you're not. Or you wouldn't still be screaming at Lydia every five minutes. You'd just be over her."
"I am over her," Jackson said. "She's nothing. Just like Trevor. They don't matter anymore, and you and me, we're better off without them. So just -- let him fuck whoever he wants, okay, because he's never going to do better than you. And trust me, you can do so much better than him."
"This has got to be the weirdest pep talk ever," Danny said.
Jackson shrugged. "Friday night. We're doing this. You and me at the Jungle. And don't pussy out on me."
Danny sighed. "Yeah, sure. Friday."
Except Jackson hadn't actually shown up on Friday. He'd cut out of school early -- with Allison and Stiles and Lydia of all people -- and hadn't answered any of Danny's calls and texts. So much for them going out together. So Danny hadn't really wanted to go after all.
But he also knew Trevor would be there. And he'd be smug, thinking Danny was too upset to show his face. And maybe Jackson was right, and he really did just want to show up and get it on with someone else. Just to show Trevor how little he mattered.
So he'd gone. And yeah, seeing Trevor with another guy, like Danny wasn't even there, had hurt. But the bartender giving him a drink on the house and making sure to point him at a new dance partner? That was pretty great. So he'd ignored Trevor and forced himself to have fun.
Until the attack -- drugging? Whatever -- had ruined the night. And now Jackson was apparently missing, Danny's parents were pissed at him, the sheriff was going to be keeping an eye on him, and basically everything sucked.
Except that Trevor was in the exact same boat.
It wasn't much of a silver lining, but hey, Danny would take it.
*
The night was incredibly long and slow and horrible. Danny wanted to sleep, but couldn't, because now that he was alone in the dark and the quiet, all he could think about was how he couldn't move, and what if he never could again? So much for ever playing lacrosse again. Or walking. Or... Jesus, going to the bathroom without help. His life would be -- he tried not to think over, that wasn't fair, tons of people were paralyzed or disabled or whatever and their lives were fine, but... but it would be different. Everything would change, everything he thought he was, everything he took for granted...
Dawn flooded the room, and yet another nurse came back. Another woman, not Scott's mom, but she fed him a tasteless breakfast and held the phone to his ear so he could talk to his parents. Hearing their voices was good, reassuring. His mom sounded worried again, but not angry anymore, and his parents dropped by to see him and bring him a change of clothes before they both headed off to work.
Scott's mom stopped back in a few hours later, her next shift starting, Danny supposed. "Just wanted to give you some good news, Danny," she offered. "It looks like most people from the club are starting to regain motor functions."
"Seriously?" He tried to stretch again and -- and his arms and legs definitely started tingling with pins and needles. "Oh, finally, I can actually feel something."
"Glad to hear it." She smiled at him. "You should be up and around in a few hours. You want me to turn the TV on for you?"
"Sure," he agreed, and she even flipped channels for him until they landed on some stupid home decorating TV show he could watch for hours on end. Not that he'd ever admit that to anyone at school.
Lunchtime came and went. He could wiggle his fingers, and then move his hands. He could curl his toes. The pins and needles feeling became a heavy ache, but he didn't want to take any medication for it, because aching was better than the weird, creepy nothing he'd felt all night.
It wasn't until about the time school would have been ending that he could actually move his limbs, twist his torso. He sat up in bed and stretched, touched his toes.
Brian stuck his head into the room, saw him moving, and grinned. "Hey, you're looking better today!"
"Finally," Danny said.
"You want a hand up?" He fiddled with the metal sides of Danny's bed, pushing one of them down, so he could swing his legs over the side. Brian supported him, making sure he was steady as he stood, and god, it felt good to be able to move at all.
"Can I just go... check out now?" Danny asked.
Brian shook his head. "Sorry, you'll need the doctor to check you out first, and your folks to come pick you up, since you're a minor."
Danny scowled. "Can I at least shower?"
"Knock yourself out. I'll walk with you, just to make sure you're steady, okay?"
Danny nodded, but now that he was moving, he was fine. His body still ached, but he didn't stumble or anything. At the bathroom door, Brian patted his back. "Use the handrails, take it slow. I'll check back in a few minutes to make sure you're okay."
"Thanks," Danny said, and shut himself in the tiny bathroom. He turned the shower on as hot as it could go, stripped down, glad to get last night's clothes off of his body at last, and stepped into the steam. It felt good -- scalding, but even that was a relief.
After a few minutes, there was a knock, and Brian called over the sound of the water, "Everything okay?"
"Great!" Danny shouted back.
"You've got a friend who came by," Brian added. "He's waiting out here."
A friend? Danny frowned to himself, picturing Trevor -- but what would he want? But still, if it was him, Danny wasn't going to let him see how much he was still hurting. He pulled on his pants and he also threw on a smile. He shook a little water out of his hair and glanced in the foggy mirror. Trevor always had really liked his body.
Well, now he could like it, but he couldn't have it. Like Jackson had said, he deserved better.
Except that it wasn't Trevor waiting for him. It was Scott McCall. Again. Danny raised his eyebrows. First he'd been at the Jungle, and now here? To see Danny? Maybe he wasn't so in love with Allison. Which would not be a terrible thing...
Except that what Scott said, as Danny startled rifling through his wallet to make sure none of the EMTs had grabbed his cash or anything, was, "Are you sure everything's okay between you and Jackson?"
"Yeah, everything's fine," Danny said, even though it was a totally weird question. He groaned, realizing that it wasn't cash missing from his wallet. "Did the cops have to take my fake ID?"
"You didn't do anything to make him angry?"
Danny tossed his wallet down in disgust and grabbed for the shirt his parents had brought him, pulling it on as they chatted. It was a weird discussion. Not about Danny at all -- so much the hope that Scott was harboring some kind of secret crush on him -- and just... weird things, that ended up with Scott taking off to retrieve his tablet, while he lay around waiting for his parents to come pick him up.
It didn't take too long. His dad ducked out of work early to come get him, since apparently having a kid in the hospital was a totally acceptable reason for clocking out early, but waiting around was boring. He wandered into the hallway and saw Brian smacking an ancient computer monitor at the nurse's station.
"You know, unless the monitor is flickering, that's not the part you need to hit." He pointed down at the tower, sitting on the floor next to the desk. "That is."
Brian kicked it vindictively, then said, "That didn't work and it's freezing every five seconds. Any other ideas?"
"Restart?" Danny shrugged, then, because cute boys with computers really were his kryptonite, "If that doesn't do it, I can probably get a virus scan running for you. I mean, I'm betting it's a pretty old machine, probably needs to be replaced, but it could always be malware or something. You want me to take a look?"
Brian hesitated, then, "Just let me shut out of everything with personal records..."
As if Danny couldn't break in and find anything he wanted to anyway. Not that Brian needed to know that.
"Wow, you must be, like, an IT whiz or something," Brian said, watching approvingly as Danny fiddled with the computer's control panel. It really was an ancient machine, and definitely needed to be replaced. Though probably any money the hospital got went to things like x-ray machines and CT scanners.
"It's just a hobby," Danny said, kicking off the scan. "But I guess I'm pretty good at computer stuff. I'm kind of a nerd, really."
"Yeah, right," Brian laughed. "You're like the guy they cast in movies as a nerd, but who you know real life is like... the hottest guy in the world. He just needs to take off the stupid glasses or whatever."
Danny laughed. "Well, thanks, I guess."
Brian was blushing again, and damn, Danny really liked his freckles. "Um. I should go do my next set of rounds. If you don't need me for any computer... stuff. You know. Like my password or whatever."
"I think I'm good," Danny said.
"Okay, well, thanks for looking at that. Maybe I'll see again you before you go?"
Danny looked up and caught his eye. "Absolutely."
He kept busy with the computer, ferreting out anything that might be slowing it down. It was actually soothing, taking just enough brain power that Danny wasn't worried about anything else, but not so difficult that he couldn't vege out. He actually lost track of how much time passed, but the next thing he knew, his dad was shaking his shoulder.
"You'd better not be breaking into anyone's medical records."
"Just trying to make the computer run faster to help out the, uh, very helpful medical staff," Danny said.
His father raised his eyebrows. "That cute boy in the pink, specifically, by any chance?"
"Maybe," Danny admitted.
"Mm-hmm. You ready to go?"
Danny nodded, standing up. "I just need to grab my things and..." He looked down the hallway and saw Brian walking into a patient's room down at the end, which gave him a few minutes. He gathered up his clothing and his wallet, stretched a little, and then shuffled back out. He watched down the hall, looking over his shoulder as his father led him towards the elevators, and -- ah ha.
"One sec, Dad," he said, turned around, and waved.
Brian waved back and walked towards him.
Danny met him halfway down the hall and smiled. "So, uh... I'm gonna try not to be in the hospital too much from here on, but... you have my chart, right?"
"Yeah," Brian said.
"Well, I'm pretty sure my phone number is on it. You should call me."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah," Danny said.
"Okay, then. I guess I will."
"Great." Danny grinned at him before he ducked away, back towards his father and the elevators, finally heading home. But he glanced back over his shoulder and found Brian still standing there, and Brian waved awkwardly when he saw Danny watching. Yeah, Brian was definitely going to call him.
As he left the hospital, Danny realized that he actually felt pretty good.