Trapped (egobang trans)

Chapter 44 - Initiation

< Arin's POV >

Memories of dropping Danny off at his house after their little sleepover washed over Arin as the familiar house came into view. She probably would have gotten a lift if her parents weren't both working this weekend, but then again Arin always liked walking, so she didn't mind all too much. The walk wasn't too long either, maybe half an hour.

Nerves danced in Arin's stomach and she had a faint sick feeling, but she pushed the feeling away. It was just Danny. Though she feared what questions he might ask, especially about her cuts. Walking up the drive she tugged at her sweater sleeves slightly. They'd all stopped bleeding finally, but every time she moved her arms there was a slight ache which was sometimes a sharp pain. She regretted the decision and couldn't wait for them to heal so she could just forget.

With a shaky breath she knocked on the front door, timidly at first. When there was no reply she tried again a lot more forcefully, even sending Danny a quick text to say she was here.

This is definitely the right house, right?

The door opened suddenly, and Arin jumped. She stared wide eyed at Danny in the doorway, surprised by his attire. He was wearing his usual ripped jeans, but was now sporting a plaid shirt, an odd combination of green and purple and buttoned down the middle. Arin blushed as she thought about her own clothes, and how Danny had clearly made an effort to look nice.

He stepped aside, holding the door open for Arin and sweeping his arm gracefully to the side as she slowly walked in.

"Welcome to my humble abode," he introduced with a grin.

Arin smiled as he closed the door behind her. She surveyed the front hall around her, noting family photos hung on the wall. They were all many years old it seemed, only including Danny as a young child. Stepping closer to one particular photo - a sunny day out to the beach, it seemed - Arin looked more carefully at the small, curly haired figure.

Danielle. She had her hair in a sort of bun, though the wildness of it made it obviously difficult to tame. Her face was the picture of joy, in her hands a small plastic stegosaurus that she played with in the sand. She couldn't have been much older than 4, but Arin still found the image oddly bittersweet.

"Told you I liked dinosaurs."

Arin felt Danny rest his chin on the top of her head as he looked at the photo too from behind her. Her cheeks burned at the touch, but luckily he moved away after a few seconds and she could turn around to look at him. They accidentally locked gazes and for a moment and Arin found herself blushing even more, though she wasn't sure why.

"So, ya wanna get this gamer initiation started?"

"U-Uh, yeah, sure!"

Danny smiled, beckoning her to follow as he made his way upstairs. Once again he held the door open for her, sticking with the overly-polite-host character he'd unintentionally invented.

Arin giggled, thanking him as she stepped into the bedroom. She stopped in awe as she looked around. Posters covered most of the walls, and a fair portion of the ceiling too. Most were unsurprisingly music related, bands from the 80s that Arin had heard Danny mention before. It also explained why he got along so well with TWRP, who seemed to draw a lot of musical inspiration from that era.

Clothes littered the floor, and Arin smiled remembering what Danny had said before about the state of his room. He hadn't been kidding.

Her eyes floated around the room some more and finally landed on a TV in the corner, two large beanbags in front of it. Only one of them had an imprint, the other was clearly unused. That made Arin sad to think that Danny never had anyone to play with.