𝐇𝐄𝐃𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐌

seven

later that day, they were all gathered once again inside the classroom. daniel was just going on about his day when doo and company went up to him with the intent of getting on his good books.

they invited him out to a get together held later today after class with a reason being that a new semester dawned upon them and that it's only right that they celebrate it and they insisted he join them.

now here's the thing, daniel, he never had friends growing up, well, none that he could remember if his memory serves him right. this would be the first time he gets to join a get together, held exclusively for friends.

he can only ever dream of spending quality time with friends and living life with friends. finally! he thought, friends. they'd go to amusement parks, visit the pc room, you know, the like.

daniel used to be so lonely growing up. he would sing alone at home, he'd play video games all by himself, he'd knit because, well, there's only so much one can do by himself. gosh he even talked to a dog once.

"see ya at seven."

"you can come right?"

"okay."

both parties cheered, all for different reasons. doo and company were happy that the pretty boy said yes, and daniel was happy he got to hang out with some friends.

how naive, a certain black haired female thought. she didn't intend to overhear the conversation, didn't mean to eavesdrop. their voices were just loud that she can't help but hear it.

seriously, did that daniel guy didn't know he was being coerced into being their friends? after all the taunting and siding with zack, he still thought those guys had pure intentions, what a joke.

speaking of daniel, her thoughts led her to daniel the cashier, who also happened to be the poor guy those three bullied. how coincidental that those guys bully fun-sized daniel and subdue themselves in front of newbie daniel.

she let out a scoff as she eyed the three suspiciously. what exactly are they up to? aside from the fact that they aim to get on daniel's good side, what else are they scheming? you know what, fuck it, why is she even invested in what's going to happen to daniel? seriously.

a sigh escaped her lips, followed by a groan while she banged her head against her desk. what is wrong with her? okay, cool, he's gorgeous, he knocked zack out and made vasco's iconic grip look like nothing. regardless, that doesn't excuse her growing attachment.

jay averted his gaze from the book he was reading. what's with all the sighing and scoffing? he was not the type to ask what's wrong, there used to be no need for him to ask her what's wrong for she tells him the problem when she's ready. but that doesn't stop the curiosity from enveloping his entire being, and it doesn't help that she remains silent lately.

hera was oblivious to the inner turmoil that's going on inside her seat mate's head as she too was wrapped in her own world. it's because he's new, right. she's just looking out for him. she figured. how could she even look out for him while she ignores the problems in her life? ah, whatever, who cares anyway, definitely not her, nope. why would she care? hah, as if!

night came eventually and daniel was already on his way to the address sent to him by his friends in the group chat. all of these, it all seems surreal. he can't believe this is happening. the last time he was in a group chat, it was nothing close to this, it was prison for him then, to be honest.

nothing could've prepared daniel for what he saw. it was no decent restaurant, no hidden place which offers only the finest. it was a beer house. and as if things couldn't have been more worse, zack was there.

the place was hazy with all the cigarette smokes hanging in the air, it was rowdy, it smells funky too. this was far from what daniel had envisioned, no, this isn't even what daniel had considered on going! this just ain't it chief.

this place is seemingly where all bad things happen and he felt like he was trespassing on a forbidden territory. daniel didn't know what to do, much less what to say in order to escape from this hell hole.

they were handing him alcohol, encouraging him to gulp it down. no matter how much he refused and told them he doesn't drink, they would immediately shut him down. he was in a bind, he's stuck.

daniel wished his mom would just come in and swoop him away from all these, whatever this is. he doesn't know what was happening nor did he know where this was going. it's a mess, that much he know of. all he can ever think about was dipping out before he become more corrupted than he already was.

zack was just throwing shots one after the other. suck it, newbie, see just how good he can handle his drink. what annoys him most was the fact that daniel was seemingly on a whole other level. he lives alone? tsk, so what.

oops, he doesn't live alone, he lives with a dropout. crap, so he truly is on a whole new level. he was above them on so many aspects than one. just who is this guy? what kind of life does he lead? his roommate works only at night?!

okay, no doubt, nu uh, he's living with a gangster. it all adds up when you think about it, sleeps all day and works all night? he also has a big frame. that's a hundred percent gangster description there. he's more dangerous than they could ever think.

that honestly made him more appealing to zoe, after knowing all these, she knows he was someone capable of protecting her. she can only swoon so much over a guy, but she'd swoon a little more if it's daniel.

so many things had happened while they were there. in a nutshell? the owner of the beer house knew they were underage, but because of daniel's pretty face, she forgot all rationality and fought over him with zoe. zack, who happens to be a poor drinker himself, admitted his jealousy for daniel. he's face was flushed as he asked daniel to be friends with him. he even went as far as to give him a smooch! then, as if things couldn't have been more worse, zoe slipped some booze in his cup and offered it to him which immediately caused him to lose all sense of rationality and fear. gosh, don't even forget that they got into a fight with some seniors.

in the end though, daniel, in his old body, had to pick his new body up as he had been too drunk causing him to pass out. thank god they ate up his excuse of being sent on an errand for daniel's roommate. drunk zack also taught him how to throw a straight.

"now you can fight back! although if someone dodges them, you're screwed." he huffed out, face flushing once again as he spared tall daniel a glare and a pout on his lips while doing so.

—

author's note:

yup! this is a continuation of the previous chapter. can't put them together in one chapter, it'd be tooooo long.