Hidden Valley (D. SWING)

XXV. Pompeii

It was almost as if the world finally continued turning.

"Hey, D! You think you can help me with my history homework? Apparently Rome was way more important to America than I thought it was," said Cynthia as she walks beside Don in the busy hallway. The bell to transition between class has just ceased its ringing. Marlene stands on the other side of him, holding his books that he'll need in the class they are attending together.

Don nods without any real thought. "Yeah, for sure. Don't forget we have to talk about that thing."

Her smile falls at an instant.

Four days ago, when Paulette and Tasha picked the two up, tensions were still flying high. The following night was when things changed. Paulette and Tasha agreed that it was time for Don and Cynthia to make up after they were forced to sit through a car ride with tension so thick that a katana couldn't even cut it. They did their best and though Don is still unhappy with Cynthia, he was persuaded by the girls to at least be cordial. However, the agreement came with one condition and one condition only. Cynthia had to explain to Don what happened.

"Right," she looks as if someone threw her paycheck into a river. "The thing..."

Don peered down at her. "Yeah, the thing. We gotta' go to class though, I'll talk to you later... okay?" Cynthia throws on an artificial smile and waves the two off. The moment Don and Marlene make it around the corner, she rolls her eyes after gagging herself with a finger. Alone, Marlene and Don pace through the nearly deserted half of the hallway. "So, Marley..."

"So, D..." She giggles.

Much like he and Cynthia, Don is just beginning to regain Marlene's interest. It took so long to pull her back into his life that by the time she got around, he was back at square one. Still, he wants her to be his girlfriend. If frustrates him whenever he thinks about how deep into their relationship they'd be had the accident at the lake never happened to begin with. Although, he understands that it happened for a reason and maybe it is best that he knows her a little better before asking her to be his girlfriend.

He chuckles at her giggle. His heart skips a beat when their arms brush up against each other. "You free tomorrow night?" They were supposed to go out on Friday night. Those were plans before Cynthia left Don without any sort of transportation.

"Yeah, I am."

Smiling, Don finds himself walking w little closer than before. He raises an eyebrow. "You want to... y'know, maybe see a movie or something."

"I thought you had to do that church thing?"

"I do," he replies. "I can get out of it though. Especially if I'll end up hanging out somewhere with you."

Marlene smiles. In the beginning the smile is based on her flattery and poorly hidden flustered feelings. She still likes Don just as much as before, only she's a lot more precautious about the way she handles their situations. It's gotten worse since Cynthia lied to her about what really went down before they were fired. It makes Don look like a stressed and depressed maniac who started playing control freak because he had nothing to do since his injury.

"Oh, Don..." Her smile is immediately filled with pain. She looks away from him because she knows that his face is her kryptonite and the bat of one eyelash would change her mind. "You shouldn't be out here skipping church for me. I'll be there whenever you're free. I can clear my schedule at an instant, okay? We can do something this weekend, maybe."

Don laughs, "Did you just turn me down?"

Marlene continues the playful exchange with her own hearty chuckles. "Yeah, D. I did."