Chapter 78

Needless to say, they didn’t practice that morning. Instead, they did something a little unorthodox, though, according to Peter, totally okay. The senior declared it an unofficial ‘Senior skip day’, and after a quick call to his dad, Peter had the two of them okayed to do whatever they felt like for the rest of the day.

It took Dan a little while to come to terms with his emotions, both regarding everything Peter had said, Dan’s own memories of his mom and her battle, and the whole, skipping school thing. His dad was pretty strict, what with the military background, and skipping school was never allowed. Then again, his dad was gone, and Peter was here. And the moment Peter’s father okayed it, Dan didn’t have much room to argue. After all, if the head of the school allowed it, was it really even skipping?

That of course, had been Peter’s logic, which Dan figured he couldn’t argue with all that much. Instead, he hopped in Peter’s car, and let the senior guide him about on the much-needed day off. A day where they could live and thrive and revel in the now. A day, to clear their minds, and set their emotions at ease.

A day which, apparently, included a few others. Because while it had been a spur the moment plan on Peter’s part, that didn’t mean, he was alone in wanting a day off of school. And, while he’d gotten permission for Dan to skip school, given Dan’s reservations about the whole situation, the others who joined them, didn’t seem to have those qualms.

The other two accompanying them on their skip day, Ashley and Sophia, had been more than happy to just skip school. Apparently, it was something they did at least a couple times each semester, and as long as their grades were fine, their parents didn’t care. It had been a situation that made Dan just realize, his father was much stricter on him in some ways, than these students. It was also bit of information that reminded Dan how different of a world he seemed to come from.

“So, ladies.” Peter said as they sat at a local restaurant, waiting on their food to arrive. “Anything special you’d like to do today with Dan and myself?”

Peter had reached out to them immediately after he’d decided on his skip day plan, and they’d all agreed to meet here for breakfast, and to plan their day. While Dan was still set to pick up his racquet that afternoon, for the remainder of the school day, they were free to do as they pleased.

“Honestly,” Sophia responded after she took a drink. She glanced between the three of them. “No idea. I’m actually surprised Dan skipped school with you.” She turned her focus on Peter, a bit of her silvered hair falling over her eyes. “You’re really a terrible influence on him.”

“Hey now,” Peter said with a grin. “Skip days are important for mental health. Besides, don’t you think Danny boy here needs a reward every now and then, for all the hard work he’s been doing?”

“You mean, like brand new racquets, paid for you by you?” Ashley butted in. “Seriously, you his sugar daddy now?”

Peter laughed and took a drink of his water. However, when he spoke, his voice was no longer laughing. “How’d you hear about that?”

“You’re not the only one who has connections outside of school.” Ashely said simply. “And, the two of you,” she pointed to both Dan and Peter with her straw, “made quite the spectacle with Maddie. It wasn’t hard to guess why you were there, considering Dan’s match the other day.”

Peter’s laugh returned, and he ran his hand through his hair. “You got me there. Though, I assure you, I’m not his sugar daddy.” Peter leaned forward, shooting a wink towards Ashley. “I can be yours though, if you want.”

She threw an ice cube at him.

“Take that as a no?” Peter said, and glanced between Ashley and Sophia. “And here I was, thinking I was irresistible. You couldn’t keep your hands off of me just the other,” this time, half a dozen ice cubes pelted Peter, and Dan was pretty sure Ashely was doing all she could, not to splash him with her water.

“I don’t even know why we came here.” Ashely said, her eyes smoldering. “It’s always the same with you. You don’t take anything seriously. And you live in your own little world.”

“Hey,” Dan cut in. “That’s not fair. Peter’s done nothing,” before he could continue, Peter’s hand on was on Dan’s shoulder.

“Easy buddy.” Peter said with a smile. “I deserved that. I can’t help poking her buttons.” Peter offered a smile and hand to Ashely. “I apologize. It’s just, you’re so easy to mess with.” He laughed and didn’t even try to move his hand as Ashley dumped water into it.

Sophia turned her focus from those two, and addressed Dan, pulling him away from Peter and Ashley’s, flirting? He really wasn’t sure what to categorize it as. He knew Ashley had a thing for Sophia. But it was more than evident she and Peter had some sort of history.

“So, Dan,” Sophia said, her attention fully on him. “How’s everything been going for you? I don’t think I’ve ever actually had a chance to chat with you, away from a tennis court. Is your shoulder all better?”

Dan’s mind froze as he took her in. Her hazel eyes seemed to shift, their colors playing with the light blue jacket she was wearing over a white, low-cut top. She’d undone the jacket just enough, that it was complementing her, uh, assets, quite nicely. Additionally, Dan realized she must have recently had her hair done, as it no longer had purely silver streaks. There were the faintest hints of purples and blues splashed in, though they were faint, and not as evident as the silver.

All of this, and her comment, made him realize they really didn’t get much time together outside of crowded school environments, and the tennis courts. In fact, while she was arguably someone he saw more than some of his other peers, their interactions had been extremely limited. As it stood, he realized, he didn’t know all that much about her. And yet, he’d been foolishly trying to make her his doubles partner? All because he thought she was hot? Suddenly, that aspiration felt extremely shallow.

“Things are going good.” He said, dumbly. “And yeah, it’s finally healed enough Peter said we could go back to practicing normally. You’d never imagine he was the one forcing me to take it easy, would you?” Dan laughed at that, but Sophia’s face showed a different reaction. It was, surprise? She glanced between Peter and Dan.

“Really? He made you take it easy?”

“Yeah. He wouldn’t let me do anything more than soft hits, and made sure I let it heal up enough that there wouldn’t be any further damage. Something about not wanting to ruin my career over something stupid.” Dan stopped rambling as he tried to discern her reaction. She was deep in thought.

“That’s, so unlike him…” She trailed off, her eyes going distant. Dan looked at Peter, who was in the middle of a battle with Ashley involving a glass of water, some ice cubes, and their shirts. Neither had taken notice of Dan and Sophia’s conversation.

“I, uh,” Dan’s mind raced, and he pulled up Sophia’s information out of panic. How much did he suck at interaction, that he needed a cheat sheet on her? Just as he was flipping to her romance section, which would tell him her likes and dislikes, he cursed himself, and closed it. He remembered Samantha’s sudden change when he’d been using his powers, unintentionally, on her. He didn’t want that. Especially not with Sophia. Well, okay, a part of him was totally okay with that. But, that was his teenage self, and he knew if he abused it, things would be nothing but superficial.

“So,” he cleared his mind, trying his best to draw Sophia back into the conversation. “What uh, what do you like to do? Other than play tennis, of course. Since I figure, we’ve established that already, and uh,” he trailed off.

Sophia smiled at him and let out the sweetest little laugh as she placed a hand atop his. He hadn’t realized it, but he had his hands resting awkwardly on the table, fidgeting with the silverware. Seriously, he was outside of his element here.

“Are you nervous?” She asked with a smile. “Don’t be. The school won’t get mad at us for skipping, and you’re safe with Peter at your side. It seems, he actually does care about you, which, is something I can honestly say, I never expected from him. As for the two of us, well, Ashley seems to have a grudge with you, but trust me, we’re all happy to spend time with you. So, relax yeah,” she squeezed his hand, before letting it go. “You’re with friends.”

Dan felt himself calming as he matched her smile. He started to lean back into his seat, feeling his nerves fading away, realizing how stupid he’d been, and how much he’d been overthinking. Sophia, Ashley, and especially Peter, were his friends.

Ha. Friend zoned. Syn’s comment caused him to stiffen, and it was all he could do, not to retort back to that cheeky bastard in this moment. Just because Sophia had said they were friends, didn’t mean she was friend zoning him, did it? What did that even mean? Suddenly, his nerves came crashing back over him, much to his dismay, accompanied by Syn’s laughter in his mind. Freaking Syn.