Ohh, coffee.. [Danni] {closed}

[engel]

Bill walked into Starbucks and stared up at the menu, debating between the apple cider or coffee. He wasted a few more minutes before decided he wasn't in a coffee mood and ordered the cider. Grabbing his drink he looked around for an empty seat. After noticing one in the corner he wandered over and plopped down. Taking a large drink of his beverage, Bill stared absent-mindedly at the other customers, tapping his manicured nails on the table.

[nekosan]

There is a thin line between, what is good and what is evil,
I would tiptoe down that line, but I would feel unstable.
My life is a circus, and I am tripping down the tightrope,
Well, there is nothing to save me now,
I’m falling to the ground. Falling to the ground. Down to the ground


<sup>Danni walked down the street, staring at his feet. His hands were deep in the pockets of his hoodie, newly bought from Hot Topic from when he went to the mall with Astoria. The air had a slightly humid edge, thanks to the heavy rain from yesterday. He stepped in a shallow puddle left over from the downpour, and it splashed up his black skinny jeans. It didn’t faze him, and he looked up just in time to spot the Starbucks.

Going inside, he pulled down his hood and got in line. Whilst waiting, he noticed a guy he thought he recognized. Yes…Danni couldn’t name the face, but he was sure it was a student from Watson. In fact, it dawned on him that it was a very particular student. It was the guy Danni had a crush on. Even this thought made Danni blush, and he realised he was staring. Looking away sharply, he studied the menu with unnecessary enthusiasm. He wasn’t feeling very daring today, so he ordered a sprite.

Making a big deal of realising there was no where to sit (there was, but he pretended not to notice) he ended up casually walking over to the table that Bill was sitting at, and rested a hand on the empty chair.
“Uh…Hey there, can I sit here?” Danni asked as calmly as he could, but he could already feel a pale pink blush creeping across his face. He bit his lip a little, and then toyed with his lip ring nervously. His hand was gripping the glass of sprite tightly so that it wouldn’t slip, and the cool surface was making his palm go numb. Silver-black eyes were fixed intently on Bill’s face, and he blushed even more when he remembered it was rude to stare, and stared at the cider instead.</sup>


I speak of madness, my heart and soul
I cry for people who ain’t got control
Let’s take our sanity, let’s take a passion,
Let’s take responsibility for ev-ery action.

[engel]

Upon hearing the door open, Bill turned his head and instantly recognized the boy who'd entered. He was unnaturally good at matching names to faces, even if he'd never met the person before. All he needed was for one to point out and name the person and it was instantly ingrained in his mind. Taking a sip of his drink, he looked back towards Danni. He couldn't help but check him out. Danni was a very attractive boy and although he wasn't prone to crushes, he thought that maybe there was a little something growing. Bill quickly shut that thought out and went back to tapping.

A moment later Bill was pulled out of his distracted state when he heard a voice ask if they could sit. He looked up and stared, instantly taken by the color of the eyes that were looking at him. Taking note of the slight blush creeping up the boys face, Bill watched as the boys gaze moved to his cider. Nodding, he opened his mouth to speak, his thick German accent obvious, "Yah, go right ahead." Smirking slightly, Bill looked at away and continued tapping his nails before posing the question that had only entered his mind seconds ago; "Is that your real eye color?"

[nekosan]

There is a thin line between, what is good and what is evil,
I would tiptoe down that line, but I would feel unstable.
My life is a circus, and I am tripping down the tightrope,
Well, there is nothing to save me now,
I’m falling to the ground. Falling to the ground. Down to the ground


<sup>Danni was surprised by the older boy’s reply, and sat down slowly; still unsure he’d heard him right. He was curious; the heavy German accent was an obvious clue as to where the boy came from, and he was fascinated by the way he sounded. He’d had enough of American accents to last him a lifetime, he still had trouble understanding them properly after nearly a year in Miami. He sipped his drink shyly, hiding behind his hair. Today he’d taken the time to put on make up - his trademark maroon eye shadow and thick black eyeliner - taking advantage to the fact Chris had left fairly early in the morning, before Danni had even thought about getting out of bed.

The first question Bill asked him took him completely by surprise. He was used to ‘Omg, are you really an emo?’ or ‘wow, you’re an emo! Don’t they cut themselves?’. To be greeted by an actual question about himself was a pleasant change.
“Uh...yeah. My mum’s Chinese, she has the same,” he wondered if anyone other than himself would understand the significance of being Chinese and having black eyes anyway. Danni did though, many people from Asia had such dark eyes they appeared black.
“You’re Bill, aren’t you? I’m Danni…if you didn’t already know,” he smiled nervously, and when he finished talking he bit his tongue, irritated with himself. He tended to talk too freely when he was nervous, and he needed to bite something or fiddle with his lip ring to keep his mouth too occupied to say something stupid. He traced the thin lines in the condensation on his drink’s glass that the sliding droplets had made, making them into thicker lines. His leg had begun to twitch, like it normally did in awkward situations, and he couldn’t understand why he was so nervous. Every time the door opened he looked round, the image of Astoria springing to his mind in a bad way. He frowned slightly, what was making him so jittery?</sup>


I speak of madness, my heart and soul
I cry for people who ain’t got control
Let’s take our sanity, let’s take a passion,
Let’s take responsibility for ev-ery action.

[engel]

Bill watched as Danni slowly sat down. He noticed that he was wearing makeup, something he hadn't before. It was nice to know he wasn't the only guy who did. His own eyes were covered with black eyeshadow, which he had made sure looked perfect before he even thought of leaving his room.

"That's interesting, I wouldn't have guessed. They're very.. " Bill stopped mid senctence, thinking, "I like them, the color that is." Feeling a light blush crawling up his face, Bill felt like an idiot. He couldn't quite understand what it was that was making him unable to speak. He was usually very good at speaking to just about anyone. It was only when he liked someone.. and once again, that thought was pushed right out of his mind. "Yah, I already knew that. And yes, I'm Bill." He took another sip of his cider, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

Bills attention then turned to Danni's twitching leg, noticing how nervous he seemed. Another thing that came to his attention was, whenever the door to the shop opened Danni would look over in an almost.. panicked way. Catching his eye, Bill gave him a concerned look, "Are you alright, you seem nervous. We might not know each other so well, but if there's anything you want to get out.." Bill trailed off, hoping maybe there was some way to calm the boy down.

[nekosan]

There is a thin line between, what is good and what is evil,
I would tiptoe down that line, but I would feel unstable.
My life is a circus, and I am tripping down the tightrope,
Well, there is nothing to save me now,
I’m falling to the ground. Falling to the ground. Down to the ground


<sup>Danni looked surprised at the sudden compliment. He tipped his head on one side, and smiled shyly.
“Uh…Thanks,” he felt embarrassed now, and glanced behind Bill, looking anywhere but at his sleek face, his unique hair and the black shadowed eyes that seemed so intense…Danni sighed, and rested an elbow on the table, propping up his chin with his hand.

He twirled the straw in his drink thoughtfully, unsure how to answer. How did he explain to Bill his nervousness? He bit his lip, and winced when he tasted blood. He looked around, and saw a napkin on the table. He picked it up and pressed it to his lip for a moment, to stop the bleeding.
“Uh…sorry…Bad habit,” he muttered through the napkin. Luckily it gave him more time to think of a reply. When he was satisfied the bleeding had stopped, he scrunched up the napkin and put it in his pocket to throw away later.
“I keep thinking someone I know is going to come in…I’d feel bad if she saw me…” he trailed off, unsure how to explain why. ‘Because she’ll be able to tell I like you…She’ll feel forgotten, toyed with…’ he explained to himself. But he couldn’t tell Bill, could he?</sup>


I speak of madness, my heart and soul
I cry for people who ain’t got control
Let’s take our sanity, let’s take a passion,
Let’s take responsibility for ev-ery action.

[engel]

"You're very welcome." Bill laughed lightly at the surprised look on Danni's face. He watched as he played around with his drink, wondering what was going through his head. Bill looked away again, distracted by the people who had just entered the store. Turning his head back towards Danni, he noticed he was holding a napkin to his lip. Bill shuddered, he was in no way a fan of blood. His eyes followed Danni's hand down as he stuffed the napkin in his pocket, but quickly moved back up.

Bill listened carefully as Danni spoke about a girl seeing them together and instantly wondered why it would be a big deal. It's not like anything was going on, they were only chatting and drinking. Bill was silent for a second, he had the feeling that maybe this wasn't a subject to pursue, so he quickly changed the subject. "So, are you from around here?" He inquired as he studied Danni's face closely. He was just so.. he couldn't even think of the right word. Something about this boy made him want to know more.

[nekosan]

There is a thin line between, what is good and what is evil,
I would tiptoe down that line, but I would feel unstable.
My life is a circus, and I am tripping down the tightrope,
Well, there is nothing to save me now,
I’m falling to the ground. Falling to the ground. Down to the ground


<sup>Danni smiled slightly when he saw Bill become uncomfortable at the thought or sight of blood. For some reason it amused him greatly when people had a phobia of blood. When another group of people entered, he turned to look again, and sighed irritably. He had to calm down.

Oh no. Here we go. Danni frowned, the subject of family and where you live and his past was being dug up again. He just had to grin and bear it though.
“Not at all. I lived in England, in a place called Epsom. It’s pretty near London,” he explained. He prayed that Bill would go off on some great speech about where he came from - Germany seemed the most likely place - and would forget about asking Danni about his life any further. On the other hand, it would be nice to get some things off his chest…</sup>


I speak of madness, my heart and soul
I cry for people who ain’t got control
Let’s take our sanity, let’s take a passion,
Let’s take responsibility for ev-ery action.

[engel]

"What was that little smile for?" Bill questioned, as he chuckled. He assumed it had to do with his reaction to the blood, but couldn't be sure.

Bill noticed the frown as the boy spoke. "England? That's kind of awesome, it's on my list of places to go." Bill gave Danni a smile, looking into his eyes. He wondered whether or not he should push the subject of family, and decided he would. He wanted to see how far he could get, he just hoped that by doing this, he wouldn't scare him off or push him away. Bill started tapping his nails again as he thought about how to word his next question.

"I hope I'm not freaking you out by asking so many questions, I just like to know.. things," Bill turned his head again, still thinking. Despite his earlier thoughts, Bill decided not to push the subject. He figured that if there had been anything else Danni wanted him to know, he already would have said it. However, that didn't stop him from throwing another question out there. "Do you like it better here or there? Personally, if I could, I'd be on the next plane back to Germany."

[nekosan]

There is a thin line between, what is good and what is evil,
I would tiptoe down that line, but I would feel unstable.
My life is a circus, and I am tripping down the tightrope,
Well, there is nothing to save me now,
I’m falling to the ground. Falling to the ground. Down to the ground


<sup>Danni shrugged, totally unsure of what to say. He missed his mum a tonne, but what if she’d got a new boyfriend? What if he was like the first one? He shuddered slightly, and stiffened up to hide his discomfort. He stared at his drink for some time, everything churning around in his mind. There would be the email - he’d never deleted it - and it always came back to haunt him. He read it over and over, and still couldn’t understand. He tried to find some hidden meaning, some secrete message between the words. There were none, and he knew she’d never just re-appear.

He only then realised that his eyes had gone teary, thinking about it, and he turned away, wiping his eyes on the back of his sleeve. His makeup was all smudged now, but he didn’t care. People would just call ‘cheer up emo kid!’ or maybe shove him a few times till he got to clean it off.
“I-I’m sorry…” his voice was choked, like his throat had gone tight. ‘Bloody hell Danni! Pull yourself together!’ he scolded himself, and took a couple of deep breaths.
“I really miss my mum...but I don’t think I’d want to go back…” he finally managed to say. It must have sounded pathetic, a 15 year old boy getting teary about thinking about home, then saying he missed his mum but didn’t want to go home. He was pathetic, sighing; he stared down at the table. Now Bill would say something like ‘oh, are you okay?’ or ‘why not?’ and he’d look even more stupid. He didn’t want anyone’s sympathy; he just wanted to talk to someone. He debated taking of his hoodie. It was hot in Starbucks, but he wasn’t wearing any wrist warmers…Bill seemed like the inquisitive type, and showing off his scars wouldn’t do him any favours. He decided to stay hot.</sup>


I speak of madness, my heart and soul
I cry for people who ain’t got control
Let’s take our sanity, let’s take a passion,
Let’s take responsibility for ev-ery action.

[engel]

Bill noticed the slight shudder. He sat in silence as he watched Danni, who seemed to be deep in thought. He started picking at his nails before looking up and noticing the tears in the other boys' eyes. Bill scolded himself for asking so many questions; he'd never made anyone cry, or anything even close to it before. He didn't quite know how to react. Bill knew it was hard being away from people you loved, for him it was his brother. Everyday that he was away from Tom it felt as if a little piece of him died, but he got the feeling that maybe missing his mother wasn't necessarily the reason for Danni's tears.

"Don't worry about it," Bill offered Danni a weak smile, "I should be the one apologizing. I'm prying and it's none of my business. I'm sorry." Bill looked down and stared at the cup his drink was in. He desperately wanted to know what was up with Danni, but was afraid of opening his mouth again. It seemed that he'd done nothing but make the boy a nervous, upset mess since the beginning.

Staring absent-mindedly at the wall, Bill racked his mind to try and find something, anything, that he could say to lighten the mood. He'd decided to get and stay far away from the subject of family and home life and, well, just about anything personal. "So, do you..." he stopped and thought some more,before continuing, "What do you do for fun?"

[nekosan]

There is a thin line between, what is good and what is evil,
I would tiptoe down that line, but I would feel unstable.
My life is a circus, and I am tripping down the tightrope,
Well, there is nothing to save me now,
I’m falling to the ground. Falling to the ground. Down to the ground


<sup>Danni shrugged. Bill wasn’t to know, he wasn’t a mind reader or anything. At least, Danni didn’t think he was - and really hoped he wasn’t. He looked down, twining his fingers together thoughtfully.
“Don’t worry about it…You didn’t know,” he smiled back, and blushed again.

He sighed, feeling like all his emotions were whirling round and getting bound tighter together with every moment that passed. Eventually, he’d snap. Sitting here, talking to Bill - who he thought was gorgeous - was wearing him down. Bill was either going to bring up something that finally made Danni cry, or they would go outside and…get carried away. Danni tried not to fantasise about it, but he kept imagining them walking down to a quiet corner of town, an alley, an empty car park.

Bill finally asked him another question. This time he seemed to have considered all the possible replies before hand, just in case.
“Well…I like playing the guitar. I started playing when I was about nine, so it’s been something I enjoy for years now. I think I’m pretty okay at it…” he wondered if he’d sounded too brash, saying he thought he was good at his instrument. But it was true, there was no denying that.</sup>


I speak of madness, my heart and soul
I cry for people who ain’t got control
Let’s take our sanity, let’s take a passion,
Let’s take responsibility for ev-ery action.

[engel]

Bill studied Danni's smile. He liked it, thought it was cute. He was glad, though, that he wasn't too upset. Bill knew he could be pushy and was always afraid people wouldn't like him because of it.

"The guitar? That's awesome! I've tried to play instruments before, it doesn't work for me, I have no patience. You'll have to play for me sometime." Bill winked and continued, "I sing and write lyrics though. I actually used to be in a band with my brother before I moved here. We almost had a couple deals but they all fell through." Bill frowned at the thought. He somehow knew that if he'd stayed in Germany he would probably be famous by now. He wasn't full of himself, he just had that feeling.

Out of nowhere, Bill got felt the urge to kiss the boy sitting in front of him. Instead he turned his head to look outside as he felt a bluch covering his face. This didn't happen to him, he didn't get these urges.. at least not when he'd just met the person. Bill licked his lips, just slightly, as he looked back towards Danni.

[nekosan]

There is a thin line between, what is good and what is evil,
I would tiptoe down that line, but I would feel unstable.
My life is a circus, and I am tripping down the tightrope,
Well, there is nothing to save me now,
I’m falling to the ground. Falling to the ground. Down to the ground


<sup>Danni noticed Bill looking carefully at him as he smiled, and blushed even more, hiding his face behind his hair in embarrassment. When he was sure the blush was gone, he looked up again but turned away bashfully when Bill winked at him.
“You nearly got record deals? Wow, you must be really good. I’d like to hear you sing too,” he smiled, tucking his hair behind one ear.

He sipped his drink, still watching Bill as he turned to look outside, blushing for some unknown reason. Danni’s brow furrowed in curiosity.
“What’s up?” he asked, wondering if he’d seen someone he didn’t - or maybe did - like.</sup>


I speak of madness, my heart and soul
I cry for people who ain’t got control
Let’s take our sanity, let’s take a passion,
Let’s take responsibility for ev-ery action.

[engel]

Bill chuckled at Danni's reaction. "Yeah, we were alright. I mean, I was like, 12 - 13 at the time so we weren't amazing. It's awkwrd trying to sing while going through puberty." Bill laughed and watched as the boy tucked his hair behind his ear. "We'll have to make some plans to meet up. I mostly sing in German though, hopefully that wouldn't be a problem."

After hearing Danni's question, Bill bit his lip. He rubbed his face in hopes of getting rid of the blush, shoving a piece of hair out of his face. "It's just.. uh, nothing really. Sometimes thoughts enter my head that... shouldn't." Bill let out a nervous laugh as he trailed off. Biting his lip, he felt his stomach growl. He glanced over to the counter and noticed brownies. Immediatly craving one, he debated offering to get one for Danni. He narrowed his eyebrows in concentration. "I'm kind of hungry, did you want anything?" he asked quickly, looking up and waiting for a reply.