Janey and Dannyboy

Chapter 7

Jane's POV

I ran down the hall with my backpack held tight against my back, fighting the swarms of students racing through the hallway as the final bell of the school year rang.

"We did it!" I yelled as I saw Danny within hearing distance. Before he could turn around I leapt onto his back as I had so many times and he caught me with ease, breaking into a chuckle and leaning against the lockers for support.

"Geez Janey, a little warning?" He gently put me on the ground and turned around, a smile evident on his lips and in the creases surrounding his dark green eyes.

"Oh but it's so much more fun with the possibility of utter disaster looming in the air isn't it?" I smirked at him as he let out another low chuckle, shifting his body back to the lockers as he emptied the contents of his locker into his backpack. My own backpack hung a bit heavier than normal as I'd already emptied my locker out earlier this morning.

"What are our plans for tonight?" I leaned my back against the lockers next to Danny and watched as he scraped some old gum from the inside of his locker. I cracked a smile as it stuck to his fingers and he winced, scraping it off into the trash can next to us.

"That's what you get for cleaning your locker once a year" I clicked my tongue and reached into his locker, pulling a stick of minty Extra gum from a fresh pack that he had yet to pack away. The metal lockers felt cool against the bare skin of my shoulders. The activity of everyone through the halls on this hot summer day had counteracted any efforts of the AC, not that it was usually all that effective. Our school seemed centuries old by now but one more year and we would be out of here!

Danny finally closed his locker for the summer and turned to me, "You have to pack, don't you?" He gave me a weak smile and my stomach fell a little bit and I felt my smile falter. He nodded down the hall and I peeled myself away from the cool lockers to follow as our steps fell in line with each other, creating a soft, smooth rhythm that grounded me through the chaos of the school halls.

"Well I'm almost done and I'm not bringing all that much with me honestly, my mom told me she wants to get me a whole new wardrobe once I get there so I'm just bringing the basics, keep me company?" I turned around so I could see his face and walked backwards down the hall. I let a soft puppy dog face grace my features and he shook his head with a laugh, his dark brown hair tousled softly across his forehead.

"Sure Janey, I'll take as much time with you as I can get!" I smiled and started to spin back around, however the rubber toe of my red converse stuck into a broken tile and before I knew it I had landed on the harsh floor letting out a yelp.

Danny's melodic laugh enveloped me as I grunted and muttered "stupid broken school" and Danny reached out to pull me up.

"We'll be out of here soon enough and you can be clumsy at whatever college we choose"

"We?" I questioned as I dusted off my shorts and start walking again.

"Oh yeah, don't think just because we're graduating you can get rid of me that easily, SENIOR YEAR HERE WE COME" Danny puffed out his chest and yelled this as we emerged from our school, standing atop the steps over the parking lot. Before I knew what was happening he grabbed my hand and tugged me down to the lot, both of us laughing like hyenas in hopes of gripping these few moments we had together this summer as tightly as we were holding onto each others' hands.

~~~

"That's all you're bringing?" I looked in the mirror to see Daniel laughing in disbelief at the tiny duffel carryon I packed my clothing into for the summer.

"Dannyboy, you know me, I'm not really sure how you're that surprised?" I jumped onto my bed, laying next to him and we both lay staring at the ceiling that was still graced with glow in the dark stars from my younger years. The air fell into a comfortable silence and I closed my eyes for a minute; enjoying the peacefulness of summer and Daniel's company.