Count On Me

Chapter Two

Daniel Christopher Wilde

After Michael left, Daniel noticed that Emman was glaring at him, his arms crossed."You screwed up," he said rather straightforwardly. Daniel groaned."I know! Ugh, this is hard!" he exclaimed, kicking a small rock in annoyance. "Of course it would dude, you've been doing this for almost two years now," Stacy said sympathetically. Lukas nodded in agreement."Yeah, but... It's not too late to apologize to her... Although it's gonna be hard," he said, grinning. Hayley nodded, grinning also."Very hard," she said. Daniel groaned once more."You didn't need to add that!" he whined, earning a few chuckles from his friends."Never fear! We're all here!" Lukas said jokingly, laughing as he said so. Daniel smiled at his friends gratefully."Thanks guys," he said, pretending to wipe away a tear. Emman laughed."Don't go all crybaby on us Dane!" he warned, patting Daniel on the back. Daniel laughed."I know, I know. I won't," he said.

The bell suddenly rang, meaning it was time for first period. They all ran to their first class, which was English. They all sat on their seats, and Daniel saw Marianne as he walked to his chair. He thought that she wouldn't show up. Their teacher, Sir Flemings, walked in after a few minutes.

"Good morning class. Today, you will have a project. It will be due next week," he announced, earning a few groans from the students. "But, you will do it in pairs," he added, before flashing something in the board with his Powerpoint. "This is the list of you and your partners, along with the books I have assigned you with. Write it down, okay?" he said, as the sound of notebooks flipping to an empty page started to sound throughout the room.

Daniel looked in shock as he looked at the Powerpoint. He then turned to his friends, who were shaping hearts with their hands, and some, making kissy faces.

Marjorie Smith

Andrei Spangler

Romeo and Juliet

Michael Connors

David Hale

Tolstoy

Emman Roberts

Stacy Hinnings

Hamlet

William Colbert

Angelo Vargas

The Merchant of Venice

Marianne Grayson

Daniel Wilde

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Alice Hawthorne

Francis Bordeux

Les Miserables

Lucy Hart

Eric Lush

Macbeth

Hayley Densen

Lukas Bohr

Much Ado About Nothing

Alyssa Meyers

Kendall West

Anna Karenina

Amelia Longbarrow

Dominic Tennant

Of War and Peace

Victoria Denvare

Dylan North

A Tale of Two Cities

Bellona Summers

Jason Hyde

Othello

Andrew Sparks

Clarissa Hunt

The Tempest

Nicholas Hyde

Anika Svobodova

Twelfth Night

"It would be best for you to meet up with your partners after school," Mr. Flemings advised them, before starting the lesson.

After school had finished, Daniel was waiting near Marianne's locker. He knew that she would leave her books there, since she does her assignments before she goes home. Once Marianne arrived, along with her Marjorie and Will, her smiling face contorted into one of fear. She tried to get away, but Daniel's hand grabbed her wrist tightly, but not tight enough for it to hurt her. She turned back to face him. "What do you want?" she asked.

Daniel was at a loss for words. Because even though he saw her everyday, he never got used to the sight of Marianne's appearance. He remembered back at grade school, her hair used to be long, but now it was up to her shoulders. And that she would wear short sleeved shirts and pants, but now her clothes usually had to be something with a hood or long sleeves, and her pants got baggy. He suddenly realized that she changed her appearance once he ditched her for popularity years ago. He wished he hadn't.

It was a hot day, just like any another horrible schoolday. Daniel and his newfound friends Michael Connors, Angelo Vargas and David Hale were walking to school. Once there, Daniel saw Marianne, who looked like she was waiting for him anxiously in front of the school. The other three boys noticed this and Michael smirked. "You remember your promise, right?" he asked Daniel, to which Daniel nodded in reply.

The four boys walked towards Marianne, who was smiling widely once she saw Daniel. "Hey Danny!" she greeted happily. Daniel gulped."Hey Annie," he greeted back, smiling a little nervously. "Look, Annie...," he started, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. Marianne raised an eyebrow. "Yeeeaah?" she asked, grinning. "We can't be friends anymore," he said, and just like that, he walked away. He turned around to catch one last glimpse of Marianne, but she wasn't there anymore. Michael grinned cockily."Awesome job you did there Dan," he said, patting him one the back. Daniel faked a smile."It was nothing," he said. His thoughts trailed off to Marianne, and where she was and how she felt. He sighed softly, hoping not to catch the attention of Michael, David and Angelo.

'I'm sorry, Annie.' He thought, wishing that she could hear his apology. "Well, speak up!" Will's demanding voice snapped him out of his trail of thought.

Daniel loosened his grip on Marianne's wrist, before rubbing the back of his neck nervously."About the project... Can we do it at your place tomorrow after school? I have practice today..," he asked. Marianne nodded."Sure. So um, who'll bring what?" she asked. "You already have all the Shakespearean books, so I'll just bring the paper, USB and stuff..." he said, before walking away briskly towards the soccer field.

A few minutes later, Daniel had arrived at his destination. "Hey Daniel!" Emman greeted, patting him on the back. "You finally made it!" Coach Robinson exclaimed, patting Daniel on the back much harder, to which Daniel flinched slightly. Coach Robinson laughed, and after that, practice had finally began.

(Got kinda lazy here. Sorry. :/ I'm such a lazy bum! ;-; )