Lonely ((A Danny Jones Fanfic))

2. The Coffee Shop on the Hill

**Guitar Lessons**

£5 for an hour

The best teacher in Bolton - you'll be playing like the Boss in no time!

Give Danny a call on-

The number was illegible. Thick yellow stains had coated the small piece of paper over time, creating a wall of dirt over the type which was almost as scummy as the window it had been sellotaped on.

Not that I was surprised, mind. On our way to the shops, Paul had gone into complete melt down mode about needing the toilet. Luckily, a small cafe was at hand, despite the shoddy appearance. Whilst Paul had run off to relieve himself, I had acquired one of the many empty seats towards the back. After the day I'd had, a strong brew was most definitely in order, especially if I was going to get through this shopping trip with both of us remaining sane.

The menu itself was almost as bad as the poster: the protective laminated cover had begun to peel badly, exposing a series of wilted edges. The main body of the menu had survived better, but had since been decorated with a host of different sauce and food spillage in its lifetime. My eyes didn't even bother reading the words properly as my brain slipped into an idle state. It had been a long time since I'd shared 5 minutes of silence with just my thoughts.

"uh-h, can I help?"

A meek voice snapped me out of my trance.

"You do realise the number on that flyer has rubbed off?" I completely ignored the question presented to me, my mind still elsewhere. The waiter shifted uncomfortably beside me, not sure of what to say.

"Yeah, uh, sorry about that." he nervously chuckled, casting his eyes down to the ground. I took this opportunity to match the voice to a face. My eyes were greeted with an abundance of mopped fringe; almost enough to cover the boy's entire face. Clumsy highlights allowed a soft bleach blonde glow to radiate from the top of his head, vastly contrasting with his face, which had begun to burn a wicked crimson.

"Its Danny's sign," he continued, still fixated on the ground, "but no'one bothers with his number because everyone knows Danny, right?" This was said with a sort of conviction, but a quick glance at my bemused face didn't fill him with the confidence he had hoped to gain. The awkward silence between us prompted him to a conclusion, "you're not from around here, are you?"

I shook my head, this time with a small smile. "No," I stated simply.

"Ah, that kinda explains a lot." He fumbled, at last a small smirk twigging at the corners of his mouth. I reciprocated the smile.

"And nor are you, actually!" I say, suddenly realising that the boy wore a cute Essex accent. "Nice to meet you fellow southerner!" I extended a hand out to him comically.

"Ha! You got me there!" He chuckled, taking my hand and shaking more vigorously than I expected. "Yeah, my family hail from Essex, if you couldn't already guess." He paused momentarily before continuing, "but if you're on a mission for southerners, Danny's definitely not your man!"

It took me a moment to realise we were back on the case of the dilapidated poster.

"Ah, yes! Sorry... to be honest, I was just reading it to pass the time." I confessed.

"Oh, so you're not looking for lessons...?" The boy returned, evidently confused that I had interrupted his day's work to enquire about something insignificant. Yep, that's me. Anything to distract from the fact I was to be reunited with Paul momentarily.

"No, sorry - I didn't mean to waste your time."

The boy let out a hearty laugh at this - the most confident since our encounter had begun. "Don't be silly!" He fussed, "I'm bored as heck anyway," he twisted from side to side to gesture to the empty cafe before returning his eyes to me. "You're a welcome distraction."

Now I felt myself blushing. Not that there was much time for that, though. Paul charged through the cafe and bolted for the seat opposite me, taking me and the boy both by surprise.

"Tessa! Let's go!" Paul commanded. "I want to go shopping."

I rolled my eyes, offering a bemused look up at the boy. I turned my attention back to my impatient brother, "actually, Paul, we're staying here for a drink."

Paul's brow initially furrowed, but soon relaxed as he realised this meant free hot chocolate; a luxury even Mum denied him at home.

"One coffee and a large hot chocolate, please!"

The boy shuffled off dutifully back to the counter. Turning to make idle conversation with Paul, the paper on the window once again teased me from the corner of my eyesight.

"Wait here." I instructed Paul. I could see him ready to protest, but I had already moved and was making my way to the counter with haste before he got the chance. Luckily, the boy had only produced two clean cups on the tray. I'd caught him just in time.

"Sorry, this is going to sound crazy but..." the boy smiled, obviously intrigued by my preposition. "But um, what time do you finish?"

"Half an hour." He replied, reaching for a bag of coffee. My hand reached out instinctively to stop his, causing him to jump at the unexpected physical contact.

"Sorry," I apologised once again, "but instead of making these, do you maybe want to..." His intent stare was encouraging. "Quit early and hang out for a bit?" The words came out in a rush. To my relief, the boy just nodded.

"Sounds great!... but uh, what about your brother?" We both turned to watch Paul repeatedly whack the table with a spoon out of boredom.

"Ah, now this is where I need a teensy favour?" The boy raised his eyebrows. "Can you ring your guitar mate-"

"Danny."

"Yes, Danny." I corrected myself. "Can you ring Danny and see if he's doing anything this afternoon?"

Sharing my thoughts, we both exchanged a calculated smirk. Nodding in approval, the boy dug around in his loose skater shorts before producing a Nokia. With a few clicks, the mobile was up to his ear and ringing.

"Danny! Hey, yeah it's Doug... have you got a minute?"

Danny murmured something in reply. I couldn't hear his response, but the boy -who I now knew to be Doug- seemed confident enough.

After a minute or two, Doug snapped his phone shut and returned with a smile.

"He said to bring him round now and he'll get him set up."

I smiled triumphantly to myself. Doug and I may be going into town, but Paul, on the other hand, was in for a more creative afternoon.