Between The Two of Us

Chapter Sixteen

"James, are you sure you're okay?" Christian said as James leaned against his locker.

One more month of senior year. A year with Danny. Questions of whether he should leave for the marines or not invaded his mind. Danny or even more discovery. He didn't know what he wanted but at this point he felt as though it was too late.

"If Danny breaks up with you..." Christian started.

"I'm breaking up with him." James looked at the ceiling. "I'm breaking up with the most amazing guy in the world."

Christian just put his arm around James and patted him. James bit his lip to make sure he didn't cry.

________

Danny grabbed his stuff and looked out the door only to find Lucas sulking around. He looked at Danny with red eyes which meant that Lucas was crying. He ran up to Lucas and hugged him.

"What happened?" Danny asked his best friend.

"Bryce is gone." Lucas said with sadness in his tone. "He just left and I had no idea. Not a clue."

"Why would he do that to you?" Danny asked Lucas patting Lucas's back.

"I'd like to think he didn't want to see me like this. You know, all hurt and shitty."

Danny was going to have his hands full for the whole day.

_______

"I have to tell him." James said as he got to his truck. "I have to let him know what I'm planning on doing."

"You taught him not to worry about the future and now your doing this to him." Christian said.

"You can't be in the present forever." James put his stuff on the back and looked at Christian. "Danny taught me to look ahead."

"You might be ending this too soon." Christian said.

"Maybe that's how it was supposed to end."

"Why not let Danny have a final choice in this?!"

"Because... He would just choose to stay. I can't let him wait for me. He has to move on."

"But it's his choice not yours."

"His choice matters but my push does, too. Maybe he'll find someone who isn't a coward like me. I'm positive he's going to find someone better than me."

James felt the tears start to fall.

"You don't seem ready to so this." Christian had a worried expression spread across his face.

"I have to be." He turned on the car and they drove in a shrouded silence.

_________

Lucas felt more like himself after the fact that Danny took him to the gun range. For a pacifist, Lucas sure did relief himself through violent means. Danny was still glad to help him out. Afterwards, he got a call from James.

"Hey, so what's up?" Danny asked.

"I need to talk to you." James said in a serious tone.

So Danny's mind raced but on the outside he seemed fine and composed. Mainly it was because Lucas was the unstable one and he needed someone stability.

"Not now." Danny said. "I'm kind of busy trying to calm Lucas down. Bryce just left."

"Is that James?!" Lucas blurted out.

"Yeah so shhhhh."

"Ask him why Bryce left!"

"Lucas!"

"Bryce went off somewhere didn't he?" James sounded upset and disappointed.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Danny asked.

"He does this a lot. I was hoping he wouldn't do this with Lucas but it seems like it's too late for that."

"You can see why I can't meet up with you today."

"Yeah, it's okay."

"Love you."

"Love you, too."

__________

Lucas woke up next to Danny. His head hurt and his heart ached. Danny smiled to try to cheer him up but it seemed like Lucas wasn't going to budge from this heart break.

"I really loved him, you know." Lucas looked up at the ceiling. "I would've done anything for him. If he had just told me or said he was leaving I would've offered to go with him but I guess he never loved me. He would've told me something."

Danny put his arms around Lucas and held him. Danny felt the heart break himself. This just reminded him of what he went through when he found out about Alice. It hurt so much more to find out the truth from someone else. Things weren't like that anymore but it felt odd again. That gut feeling that used to be there when the Alice incident occurred came up again.

He decided to ignore it. Danny was happy and that's all that mattered. He was happy even if it was in a sea of ignorance. No longer did he want to see the future. Danny wanted the now more than ever.

________

"Maybe you should wait until later." Christian said.

"Yeah, maybe..." James waved goodbye to Christian.

The drive home was filled with so many maybes and those maybes took jabs on James's mind. Now all James could think about was the future. How could he leave Danny like Bryce left Lucas? He didn't want do that to Danny. Danny deserved better.

The phone rung and snapped James right back to reality.

James: Hello?

Kat: I'm home so come home already!

James: Why?!

Kat: What do you mean why? Just get your ass home, damn it!

James drove home knowing full well that his intentions wouldn't play out today. Maybe it would've made it easier for him to just disappear but he couldn't do that to Danny. He wanted more for Danny. A better ending than just silence.

He made it home only to his sister blocking the driveway. James got out as Kat slapped him. Then Kat cried hugging him.

"You found out, didn't you?" James asked.

"You fucking idiot!" Kat shouted at James. "How the fuck could you so this?! And to Danny! Does he even know?!"

"Not yet..." James couldn't look Kat in the eyes. "I'm ending it tomorrow."

"One year with him..." Kat said. "He wasn't enough to stop you and neither was I. You remember what happened to Gordon, right? Why would you do this to us?"

"What happened to our brother won't happen to me!" James shouted at Kat.

"You can't say that!" Kat yelled her voice seeping with anger. "You can't make that promise either! All you can do is go! I'm done with you and all the stupid shit your gonna put us through!"

Kat punched James. He couldn't believe what she did. After staring at him intensely she ran inside the house. James ran after her hoping to stop her from rampaging but he was too late. She had kicked his door opened and threw his bookshelf on the floor.

"I still can't believe mom and dad are letting you do this and our brothers are okay with this, too." Kat said. "After Gordon was gone I , at least, hoped they would be with me on trying to stop you. It seems like I was in the wrong. God, I hope you don't die. Or maybe Danny will change your mind."

James just looked back as his sister as she buried her face into his chest.

__________

The rain started to pour and Lucas stared out the window as Danny looked at him from a distance with Mell standing right beside him.

"Are you sure he'll be alright?" Mell asked Danny.

"Most likely...." Danny said as he sipped his coffee.

The depressed state of Lucas left Danny wondering what he would do if he were in Lucas's shoes. Is love just a losing game?