The Debt of Guilt [BxB]

38: before

September
1989

Danny crawled into bed a little past midnight, cold hands wrapping around Scott's waist, nose buried in soft brown curls, "Hi, baby." Danny whispered sleepily.

Scott hummed groggily in reply, curling into Danny's side, "How was it?" He asked tiredly, fighting away sleep.

Danny had had his first shift at the pub today. It was long and exhausting, but he enjoyed it. Lots of red faces and generous tips. His new coworkers were peppy and eager to help, and the old men perched at the bar kept him entertained with old stories and retired jokes. "It was good." He murmured into Scott's hair, planting a kiss on his forehead, "Go back to sleep. I'm sorry for waking you."

"S'okay." Scott yawned, pulling Danny closer like he was a big teddy bear, "G'night."

Danny smiled, pulling the covers up to Scott's chin, "Night, baby."

The next morning, the boys were jolted awake by the sound of Scott's alarm, blaring in their ears and pulling them from their slumber. Scott fumbled to turn it off while Danny buried his face in the pillow, groaning irritatedly.

"Sorry." Scott whispered, attempting to peel himself away from Danny's side, "Go back to sleep."

Danny tightened his grip around Scott, "Mm, don't leave." He hummed sleepily.

"I have school." Scott leant down to kiss him on the cheek, then rolled out of bed. He hadn't been back to school since the attack and the dread had been building in his chest ever since.

"M'okay, baby." Danny sighed, tugging the covers up to his eyes, missing Scott's body heat.

Scott chuckled, pulling a woolly jumper over his head, "You've been calling me that a lot recently."

"Mhm." Danny murmured incoherently. Then, as if something flickered on in his brain, his eyes flew open, "I'm walking you to school." He announced suddenly.

Scott frowned, "What?"

Danny rubbed his face, sitting up in bed, groaning as the tiredness tried to pull him back down, "I told you I'd walk you everywhere you needed to go. After the attack-"

"Danny." Scott had a fond smile playing on his lips, "C'mon, you were just saying that to make me feel better, you don't actually have to-"

"I made a promise." Danny told him firmly, opening the cupboard and pulling out a jumper. He loved seeing their clothes all mixed up together like this - it made it seem so real.

"Danny, really, you don't need to." Scott promised him, "You had a late night. Plus, I'll be with Peter-"

"You were with Peter when you were attacked." Danny shrugged, "It's fine. I want to do this." He leant forward to kiss him on the forehead, then left the room before Scott could say another word.

After dropping both the Wicks brothers off at school, and promising to pick them up at four o'clock, Danny headed straight to drama club.

They were performing monologues today. He didn't give his best performance; he was too distracted and too sleep deprived. But nevertheless, he got an encouraging smile and a proud slap on the back from the teacher.

"That was really good, Danny." Becky - a sweet girl with braces and a few too many freckles - congratulated him.

"Thanks." He smiled gratefully, though he knew it wasn't his best work.

"I'm sure you really impressed Mr Greenwood."

He frowned, "Mr-Who?"

Becky jerked her head towards the doorway, where a man in a suit was jotting something down into a notebook. "Apparently he's a talent scout." She whispered. "Mary thinks he's with the BBC."

Danny stared at him curiously, "Why would he come here?"

Becky shrugged, "Looking for undiscovered talent, I suppose."

"Becky!" The teacher called out, "You're up next."

"Good luck." Danny offered her an enthusiastic smile.

When the session came to an end, and the bundle of teenagers filed out of the room, Danny was stopped in his tracks by the man in the suit, "Hi-Danny, is it?" He smiled warmly.

Danny rose his brows in surprise, "Uh, yeah, hi." He looked down and realised the man was waiting to shake his hand, so Danny quickly obliged.

"My name's Mr Greenwood. I work for the BBC." He held out a card and Danny took it politely, "We're currently in the process of casting for a new TV show, set to premiere next year."

Danny stared down at the white business card, then back up at the face of Mr Greenwood. He wasn't quite sure what was happening. Everything the man was saying made sense, and yet, it didn't. Because why was he telling Danny this? "Okay." Danny said pathetically, lacking any better words.

"I watched your performance up there." He continued, "And I'd like to invite you for an audition in London."

Danny's eyes widened in surprise, "Oh." He breathed out, quickly trying to compose himself, "I mean...right. Yeah. Wow."

Mr Greenwood stared back at him in confusion, "Is this not something you'd be interested in?"

Danny shook his head quickly, "No! I mean, yes! Yes. I'm interested. Very interested. Really."

"Okay, then." Mr Greenwood smiled again. "Great."

"Wait." Danny blurted out, "Why me? Why...Why would you come here? I don't understand." He should have accepted the win and left, but he was too curious.

"My job is to find talent." He shrugged, "I go around the country searching for actors like yourself who are simply lacking the opportunities to succeed." He said, "Well, I'm giving you an opportunity now."

Danny grinned, "Thank you."

Mr Greenwood nodded his head politely, "That's quite alright. Give me a call on that number," He pointed to the card in Danny's hand, "And I'll send over all the details."

"Thank you." Danny said again - it seemed like the only thing he could say right now. The only thing that was appropriate.

"Oh, and a little bit of advice?" Mr Greenwood added, "If you want to make it big one day, scrap 'Danny'. It's too juvenile." He said, "You're Daniel now."

Danny nodded hesitantly, "Right. Yes. Okay."

Maybe his fantasy wasn't just a crazy stupid dream after all. Maybe all he needed was a bit of luck. A chance. An opportunity.

And maybe Danny could never make it big as an actor. But Daniel could.