This Love Was Out of Control - (v.f.)

II.

Danielle wakes to the sound of her obnoxious alarm, and she dismisses it, getting out of bed. As she goes through her morning routine, one person is on her mind: the one and only Vic Fuentes. While she picks out what she’s wearing, her mind strays to him; will he like she’s wearing? She quickly shakes the thought from her head.
 
I’m not dressing for him, what am I thinking?
 
She is thinking this in her head as she pulls on skinny jeans, a tank top, and a cardigan for the day. When she is finished getting dressed, she brushes her naturally straight hair, letting it fall down her back.
 
“Have a good day sweetie!” Her father calls this out the door as she walks to her car, and she waves back to him.
 
“You too Dad,” she says before getting into her car. She drives to school and pulls into a parking spot, next to a white sedan. As she steps onto the pavement, her car door almost hits another, and a familiar head is dangerously close to hers.
 
“Well good morning to you too, Holloway.” Vic smirks at her attempts to apologize, as she stammers a hurried “sorry,” before standing up straight. Before she can escape to the safety of her first-period class, Vic braces his hands on the either side of her Impala, effectively trapping her against the side.
 
“Um,” Danielle stutters, glancing towards the school. “I have to get to first period if you don’t mind.” She tries to duck under his arms, but he reaches out to grasp her arm.
 
“Woah woah woah, I’m not letting you get away that easily,” says Vic, chuckling. He wraps an arm around her waist, leading her up to the school. “Now about that dinner date…”
 
“No. Absolutely not.” Danielle cuts him off, looking at him directly. Her response doesn’t quite get the effect she wants, as Vic only chuckles and raises his eyebrows. Her eyes flicker back down to the pavement as they walk.
 
“Why not?” Vic questions, pushing the doors open for her. She nods quickly, thanking him.
 
“I’m not—I haven’t—“ she says, stammering nervously. In reality, she has never really been on a proper, one-on-one date with a guy since she had lived in Colorado. But she doesn’t want Vic to know that. Unfortunately, her inability to lie has betrayed her, and Vic’s smirk grows wider.
 
“We’ll see about that,” he says, winking. She blushes and manages to shake his grip off of her, walking rapidly to AP Civics. Throughout the entire class, the only thing she can think of is the way his hand felt resting on her hip. She can still feel his soft fingers pressed against her skin, and the gentle weight of his arm around her waist. She’s so caught up in her thoughts that when the bell rings, she jumps and almost falls out of her chair in surprise.
 
“Hey Danielle!” A girl with a brunette pixie cut smiles brightly at Danielle across the hallway. The girl’s name is Bethany Preciado, and she is in a few of Danielle’s classes. They became friends over a disastrous chemistry experiment, and Bethany remains Danielle’s only friend.
 
“Hi Bethany,” she says, smiling back at the shorter girl. They walk alongside each other, on their way to the AP Chemistry class where they first met.
 
“I heard that you were pretty much cornered by Vic today,” Bethany says excitedly, and Danielle rolls her eyes. Bethany has a certain fascination with Vic, and since him and her brother Jaime were friends, she always knew everything about him.
 
“Yeah, cornered is right,” says Danielle, letting out a short, unamused laugh. “He’s trying to get me to go out with him.” Bethany gasps, her hands flying to her mouth. Danielle has noticed that Bethany has a habit of dramatizing events, so she’s grown used to her flamboyant reactions.
 
“Oh my god, what did you say?” Bethany asks excitedly.
 
“I said no,” Danielle says calmly. Before Bethany can speak, her brother walks by and shoves her shoulder playfully.
 
“Hey short stop,” says Jaime teasingly, messing up his sister’s hair.
 
“Fuck off Jaime,” says Bethany bitterly, fixing her hair. Jaime throws his hands up in defense, smiling at the shorter girl. His smile is replaced by a bug-eyed look when he sees Danielle, and he blinks a few times before smiling and taking her hand gently, kissing it.
 
“Hi, I’m Jaime,” he says, and Danielle looks down, blushing. Bethany groans in annoyance before swatting Jaime’s shoulder.
 
“Stop trying to pick up my friends weirdo. Danielle, this is my stupid brother Jaime.” Jaime cocks his head to the side when Bethany introduces them, and he opens his mouth to ask Danielle a question.
 
“Danielle… Danielle Holloway?”
 
“Um, yes…” she says, confused as to why he needs the clarification. Jaime’s mouth forms an “o” shape, and he backs up a few steps.
 
“Oh my bad, I had no idea you were Vic’s girl.” Danielle’s face turns to one of confusion at Jaime’s words.
 
“What? I’m not—we’re not—“ Danielle trails off, mentally scolding herself for being such a tongue-tied mess this morning.
 
Danielle, get a hold of yourself. He’s just a guy, a pushy one at that, but he’s only a guy.
 
“You’re not?” says Jaime, but before she can say anything in response, a pair of warm hands grabs her from behind. She jumps and yelps in surprise, only to hear a familiar laugh in her ear.
 
“Hey Danielle,” says Vic, pulling her closer. She isn’t sure why, but his touch and words instantly calm her, and she relaxes momentarily before seeing the confused looks on the Preciado siblings’ faces.
 
“Vic, what are you doing?” she asks, slowly slipping out of his embrace.
 
“I am so confused…” says Bethany slowly. Vic ignores the other two, reaching out and grabbing Danielle’s hand.
 
“Since you said no to dinner, I’m taking matters into my own hands,” he says, pulling her down the hallway. Bethany calls after her, but Vic ignores the other girl and practically sprints down the hallway, pulling Danielle along behind him.
 
“Vic, stop.” She says. The tardy bell has long since rung, and they are the only two left in the hallway. “You know I actually have a class this hour?” she says exasperatedly, and Vic just shakes his head, chuckling.
 
“Come on Holloway, haven’t you ever broken the rules before? What class do you have anyway?”
 
“No, I haven’t. And I have AP Chemistry,” she says shortly, turning on her heel. Before she can actually make it down the hallway, Vic grabs her hand again, a pleading look in his eyes.
 
“Danielle. Please come to lunch with me. If you do, I won’t ever bother you again,” he says, and she can’t say no to his pleading eyes. She sighs in annoyance.
 
“Fine. But Vic, if I get in trouble because of this…” she says warningly. He nods in understanding, before smiling and walking to the student parking lot, Danielle by his side. He walks around to open the passenger door for her, and she thanks him, a little surprised by his gentlemanly gesture.
 
“So. Where to?” He asks, and she shrugs.
 
“I don’t know what’s around here,” she says.
 
“Any requests?” he asks.
 
“Just… no fast food. I’m not supposed to eat it,” she says, and Vic shakes his head in disbelief.
 
“You actually obey your parents when they’re not around?” he asks incredulously. Danielle avoids his disbelieving gaze by looking out of the window. When she speaks up, it’s quiet.
 
“Is that so bad? I want to make my dad proud. He hasn’t had it easy lately. I try to make it as easy on him as possible.” Vic is quick to respond.
 
“He’s not going to know about the one time you eat at In-N-Out Burger.” Danielle is silent, and Vic uses this opportunity to persuade her further.
 
“Come on, it’s one time. You need to experience the mouthgasm of In-N-Out.” Danielle giggles despite herself, and Vic smiles at her; a real smile. They pull out of the parking lot, laughing and joking around like they’ve been friends forever. Even though she was reluctant about this “date” before, she finds herself having fun with Vic.
 
Whenever she looks at him, she notices something new about him. She notices how much his eyes crinkle at the edges when he smiles. She notices how when he concentrates, his lower lip juts out slightly more than normal. She notices that he actually has a decent voice when he sings along to the radio; not the scream she usually associates with rock bands. What she notices most, is how this is the first time she has seen his natural smile. This is the first time he’s been a genuine person, and not just a cocky ladies man around her. She likes this Vic a lot more.
 
She doesn’t realize it, but he’s observing her as much as she is him. He notices how her hair has a strawberry-blonde tint when the sun catches it. He notices how loud and happy her laugh is, and laughs himself every time she does. He notices how she knows she can’t dance, but she does anyway. His new favorite thing about her, he has decided, is how every time she looks at him, her smile grows a little wider. Every time she looks at him, her beautiful blue eyes sparkle a little brighter.
 
“This is better than Chemistry isn’t it?” he asks, and she nods happily.
 
“I never thought that I’d say ditching is fun, but here I am,” she says, smiling and laughing. They have let themselves go around each other; they bring out the best in the other person. It’s an exhilarating feeling that neither of them can get enough of.
 
“Here we are,” Vic says, pulling into the drive-thru window. “What do you want?” Danielle bites her lip indecisively. She’s never really eaten at a fast food place before.
 
“I don’t know, you pick,” she says, and he shrugs, ordering a regular cheeseburger, fries, and a chocolate shake for the both of them. She pulls out her wallet to pay for hers, but he snatches her wallet and tosses it back into her open bag.
 
“This is a date, remember? I’m paying.” She rolls her eyes playfully and smiles as they pull up to the window. He accepts the food and pulls into a parking spot, walking around and opening the door for Danielle. He pops the trunk and they sit on the edge of it, their food wrappers rustling in their laps.
 
“You’re going to thank me later for introducing you to this food heaven,” says Vic, and she giggles, lifting the burger to her mouth. She takes a bite and her eyes widen.
 
“Oh my gosh, that’s amazing,” she says, closing her eyes in appreciation. Vic laughs at her reaction, and she throws a fry at him. Surprisingly, he catches it in his mouth, and he throws his hands in the air in triumph.
 
“Hell yeah!” he says, shouting. She laughs loudly, throwing her head back. The rest of their lunch goes the same way, and before they know it, it’s time to head back to the school.
 
“Remember your promise?” says Danielle in the car, and his face falls.
 
“Yeah, I’ll leave you alone,” he says quietly, and she places her hand on his arm gently.
 
“Well if you’d let me finish, I was going to say you can forget your promise. I had a lot of fun today and… I was hoping that maybe… we could do it again sometime?” Vic smiles widely, and nods.
 
“I would love to, Danielle.”