Chapter Twelve

A/N: This chapter contains a derogatory term involving sexual orientation.

Coop and Danielle were walking through the parking lot of the strip mall where the ice cream parlor was. Teens and families milled around in and outside, taking advantage of the last few hours of the weekend.

Danielle had a playful smirk on her face. "You know they don't have Wasabi ice cream here, right?"

Coop nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine with vanilla."

"How can you say you love something like Wasabi then go straight to vanilla?"

"Vanilla is good!"

Danielle shook her head "What you mean to say is vanilla is comfortable?"

They approached the entrance and Coop opened the door for them. "Some of the best things in life are comfortable."

She went through first, shivering when she got a few steps in. "Chilly." Even with her jacket on she rubbed her arms. 

Coop started chuckling like a goober. "No, ice cream." 

He kept laughing to himself while looking at her. He started to settle down as they got in line. It took her a moment to realize his horrible pun. "You crack yourself up, don't you?"

He wiped a tear out of his eye and took a deep breath. "That was pretty bad, huh?"

He made a sound of deep satisfaction, she just shook her head and they continued waiting in line. Finally they were next and they both stepped up to the counter. The employee smiled at them both, her eyes lingering on Coop for an extra second or two.

Danielle felt a stab of possessiveness hit and had to resist the urge to grab his arm. The girl looked at Danielle with a look of curiosity, clearly wondering whether they were together. Danielle smiled but her eyes clearly said 'Off limits!'

The girl feigned disinterest and looked back at Coop. "What can I get for you?"

He perused the board looking at all the other flavors, motioning to Danielle. "She'll have a cone with one scoop of chocolate and one scoop of strawberry, can you please make sure they put the strawberry on top though. I'll have a cone with just one scoop of vanilla."

The girl gave Coop a look that showed how cute she thought it was that he knew his girl's order. Danielle looked at Coop, not surprised that he knew how she liked her ice cream. They'd been together so long it made sense they knew the others' habits and favorites.

It was his confidence, this take charge attitude her mom had talked about. She had always loved how shy Coop got around other people. It felt like she was the only one who got to see the real him.

Not that this new version of him wasn't nice to see, but it made her question herself. They moved down the line as their cones were made. Coop paid and they thanked the employees.

Looking around Danielle turned to him. "Did you wanna stay in here or?"

Coop looked around, then shook his head. "Nah, it's pretty nice outside, let's sit on the back of your car."

They walked outside, Danielle taking a lick of her cone while digging in her pocket for her keys. Coop chuckled at how ridiculous she looked. She lifted her foot and kicked him in the back of the leg. "Stop picking on me!"

He kept walking beside her but turned away to hide his smile. She managed to wrestle her keys out of her pocket. They came to the back of her explorer. She opened the back and used the remote to lift the hatch.

As she did her shirt rose up and her concealed handgun became visible sticking out of the holster she wore inside her waistband. Coop made notice of what side she wore it on but said nothing.

* * *

She had called him on the phone six months ago, hysterical. The night her sister Jackie was attacked. Jackie had been coming back from her in-laws with her newborn. She had been forced to stop at a closed gas station with twenty-four hour pumps.

While putting in her info a man had snuck up behind her and grabbed her, trying to drag her to the back of the station where his van was parked. Luckily an off duty deputy had been driving by and intervened.

The man had dropped Jackie when the sheriff pulled up, attempting to escape in his van. The deputy had been forced to shoot the man, wounding him.

Detectives connected the man to human trafficking, which had been a sobering revelation to the family. Thinking of what might have happened to not only Jackie but her child had he succeeded.

The next day April had asked Paul to take her and Danielle to the gun store and help them pick out firearms for self-defense. April had shown an interest in revolvers like the one she kept in her nightstand.

Paul had instead steered them both towards a compact or smaller size handgun so they would be able conceal it on themselves easily, not just toss it in their purse.

April ended up picking out a Glock 30, while Danielle liked the feel of the Smith & Wesson M&P 45 Shield. Both women were on the taller side and fit, so he felt confident they would be able to handle the recoil of the .45 caliber round fairly easily.

They also purchased a mag pouch so that they would be able to have a spare magazine handy for reload. If it hadn't been for what happened to Jackie, April might have considered some of what Paul was suggesting overkill. But hearing her daughters shaken voice when she had called the previous night terrified her.

After making their purchases they had immediately hit the firing range. Going through at least two boxes of ammunition each. He wanted them to get over the shock of firing the guns. Danielle didn't mention she had already been privy to quite a few sessions out at the ranch when cans would be put out and everyone would take turns plinking targets.

Adam had taken the time to show her how to hold it and helped her find what stance worked best for her. Fairly soon into their range time though Paul had knowingly grinned at Danielle, clearly recognizing how familiar she was with firearms.

After they had finished up and started heading home, Paul had stressed the importance of continued training. And that a tool only works when you have it on you. The day you don't have it is the day you need it.

Both women made it a point to visit the range together and shoot twice a month. When Paul had also suggested learning self-defense techniques April had beamed with pride. "Danielle does kick-boxing at the Y twice a week."

Paul had glanced at Danielle in the rear view mirror upon hearing that. "Is it a good class?"

Danielle shrugged her shoulders. "The first instructor they had treated it more like an aerobics class. But now we have two cops teaching and yeah it seems pretty legit."

Paul nodded his head in approval as they pulled up to a red light. Looking to April he scrutinized her. "And what about you little lady?"

She reached up and started rubbing his arm. "Isn't that what you big strong men are for, protecting the womenfolk?"

Paul couldn't help but preen a little bit at the ego stroking, but he pressed on anyway. "Ideally yes, but what if I'm not around."

April leaned in and gave him a kiss on the lips while caressing his cheek with her hand. "Well I guess you'll just have to show me some moves later."

Both smiled at each other before Danielle spoke up from the back seat. "Light's green."

Both broke their embrace, Paul acting embarrassed while April kept looking at him with a wicked glint in her eye, stroking the back of his head with her hand.

The conversation had then turned to Jackie, April would fly out the next morning and spend some time with her daughter while helping out with the newborn.

* * *

Coop and Danielle sat on the back of her vehicle, enjoying their ice cream. A light breeze was blowing and the sun was low enough that the light was sparse and filtering through the trees.

Danielle leaned over and nudged his shoulder with hers. "So, would you still rather have Wasabi?" She said the last part with an attitude and a smile.

Coop took a tentative lick of his cone and looked around him, taking it all in. "I think I'm good, this right here is just about perfect."

They made eye contact for the briefest moment. Coop looked away first, gesturing to everything around them while stammering. "I mean this is like a perfect slice of Americana moment right here, it wouldn't be the same if you started bringing weird flavors into it."

Danielle nodded, though she knew that wasn't what he had meant. She took a small bite out of one of her scoops. rolling it around in her mouth for a moment as the surface of the ice cream melted.

"So, are you more excited that we're finishing high school? Or that in three months we'll start college?"

Coop thought about it for a moment, taking another lick of his ice cream. "Starting college, hands down."

She nodded. "I guess it's different when you didn't get the full high school experience."

"There's that, yeah, I guess I'm also looking at college as a second chance. An opportunity to stop making the same mistakes and not act like a background character. Wouldn't that be nice?" He smirked at the last part, saying it in an almost whimsically regretful way,

Danielle was studying him as he spoke. "What, getting a second chance?"

The way she worded it wasn't quite what he was getting at. But he nodded to the affirmative anyways. "Yeah, a chance to do things differently." They broke eye contact, each of them staring straight ahead.

It felt like a minute passed between when Coop spoke and she answered, but in reality it was only ten seconds. But that was more than enough time to give her words some pretty big weight.

"Absolutely, I think that's exactly what we need."

Another moment immediately followed where neither spoke. The only sound in the parking lot was the sound of the families and teens making their way about. The wind picked up a little bit and rustled the leaves of the trees lining the little strip mall.

Coop's body leaned towards Danielle almost imperceptibly. She placed the hand not holding the cone between them, bracing herself as she started to slide just a little bit closer to him. The sound of screeching tires brought them both out of their trance.

Coop looked up to see two cars pull into the parking lot and park a ways down from the ice cream parlor. Coop cursed under his breath when the passenger side door of the first car opened and the person occupying the seat stepped out, it was Anthony Farina.

The other vehicle's driver side door opened, it was the man Christine had identified as Anthony's older brother. Danielle saw the two men and involuntarily inhaled a slight intake of breath. Coop didn't move, not wanting to draw their attention and hoping they would go inside without any trouble.

There were seven men, including the brothers. Some of them were ones he'd seen that day at the diner. The others were some of Anthony's lackeys from before. As they reached the door of the parlor one of his cronies opened the door for him. Anthony walked in looking back to give the man a playful slap on the cheek.

When he did he also glanced toward Danielle's SUV and saw both of them. Anthony's eyes flashed and he immediately started back outside. Coop had been ready to breathe a sigh of relief, now it seemed like things were gonna get bad. 

Anthony's brother called after him, seeing the distress on his face. Coop realized he wouldn't be able to get him and Danielle back in the vehicle before Anthony would be over here.

He leaned over and spoke in a normal tone. "Don't antagonize them, if I tell you to, dive up front and get the engine started."

She didn't have time to question him as he stood up from sitting, dropping what was left of his cone and placing himself partially in front of her, just as Anthony got within spitting distance.

Anthony had put on considerably more muscle since Coop had seen him last. Enough that Coop was fairly certain the other man was leaning into pharmacological enhancements heavily. "Bet you didn't think you'd see me again did you asshole."

Anthony tried to push Coop back into Danielle and the SUV, but Coop brought his left foot back while angling his upper-body away from him as well, his hand grabbing Dany's hip to steady himself against her. He pushed Anthony off and let his momentum drive him into the right side of Danielle's bumper.

Anthony's brother and the rest of his crew rushed over, Cooper had his hands in front of him. "I don't want any trouble, he came at me."

Even before Coop said this he had dropped into a fighting stance. Anthony's brother came up, grinning as he saw Coop ready himself for a fight. He grabbed his brother by the scruff of his collar and yanked him up.

He raised his pointer finger to Coop, signaling to give him a moment. He put his arm around Anthony's shoulder and brought the younger man close to him.

"What's with the aggression bro?"

Anthony was staring daggers at Coop. "That's the faggot who cheap-shotted me Aaron!"

Anthony said it so high a volume that everyone in the parking lot looked their way. Teens started dispersing and families started loading up into their cars and leaving.

Coop saw at least one adult pull out their phone and another walk into the parlor shop. He wondered to himself what the response time of the police would be. Would they arrive before Coop got stomped to death, or before Danielle drew her firearm to protect him? Aaron, along with another man towards the back of the group were the only ones who matched Coop's size.

He pointed at Coop, acting surprised. "This guy kicked you in the gut?"

He looked at Coop as if he was impressed. "Damn bro, I'm surprised you survived, this cat looks pretty strong."

Anthony stepped towards Coop, held back only by his brother's meaty arm. "He's a bitch who has to attack people when they aren't looking!"

Aaron's mask slipped for a moment as he got annoyed with his brother shouting in his face, slapping the younger man on the side of his face to grab his attention. "Hey, watch your volume before you draw more attention."

Aaron looked around at all the people who hadn't already left. He then looked at Coop, sizing him up. "Is what my brother said true, did you go after him when he wasn't ready?"

Coop shook his head. "He saw me coming, he just thought he was safe because he had his friends with him. He made a disparaging remark about my friend and I didn't take kindly to it."

Aaron listened patiently, then looked at Danielle. He stepped a little bit to the side, bringing himself more in line with her. He motioned his head toward her. "This the friend?"

Coop nodded dispassionately. "Yes it is."

Aaron seemed to contemplate something before opening his mouth and saying bluntly. "So you two aren't fucking then?" He said it more as fact than a question.

Coop clenched his hands, biting the inside of his cheek to force himself not to launch himself at the prick. Aaron's gang busted out laughing, even Anthony snorted, though it was probably more out of compulsion to his brother's authority.

Aaron feigned embarrassment, placing his hand over his heart. "Oh I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disparage the young lady."

He turned back to his group, taking the time to smile and chuckle. When he turned back he was the picture of humility. "Well if you and my brother are at odds, I think it's best you two work out your differences."

Aaron turned to his brother, grabbing him by the shoulder, he bent down to whisper into his ear. "Handle your business little brother."

Aaron moved away, motioning for his own guys to follow him. They moved towards the parlor. As Aaron walked away Coop saw a prominent bulge protruding under his shirt. Though half the men were no longer close enough to put hands on him, the fact that two guns might be involved caused him to re-evaluate the situation.

Anthony was buzzing, bouncing on the balls of his feet. He stepped up and got in Coop's face, at least as much as he could being five inches shorter. "You're not so tough now huh?"

Coop could see through the bravado, Anthony was terrified. He knew he didn't stand a chance against Coop. But Coop wasn't willing to risk Danielle's safety. He would go along with whatever meant keeping her safe.

He did his best to feign sincerity. "You're right, I bum rushed you last time and ran away before you could hit me back. It was a bitch move and I apologize."

Though Coop was agreeing with Anthony's false recollection of the incident, it only served to make Anthony angrier. "You think that's funny? Huh, you think I'm a joke don't you. Do you think I'm someone you can just punk and then run away?"

Anthony raised his right hand and slapped Coop, hitting his jaw more than his cheek, the slapping sound dull because of it. Danielle let out a gasp, Coop's face barely moved, but he saw her startled face.

He also saw how her body responded almost on autopilot, her left hand going to her shirt, prepared should she need to draw her firearm. Coop took a deep breath and turned to look at Anthony.

Coop averted his eyes to allow Anthony to feel he was in control. "I'm sorry Anthony, I was wrong and I shouldn't have messed with you, please let me off the hook."

He could see that made Anthony happy. But in order to appease his brother, Anthony had to make an example of him. Anthony looked down at the ground, seeing where Coop's cone had landed. He got a sinister smile on his face and nodded at Coop. "Pick it up!"

Coop followed his eye-line to his discarded cone, bristling at what he was sure Anthony wanted out of him. He steeled himself and bent down, grabbing the paper wrapped cone and picking it up off the ground.

The ice cream had melted to a point where when he picked it up most of the ice cream stayed on the pavement. Only the cone and what ice cream was inside it remaining.

Coop imagined smashing the cone into his face before grabbing his head and twisting it until his neck snapped. Leaving him stuck looking behind himself at the horrified faces of his friends. 'If only Dany wasn't standing next to me, I just might.' a part of him thought.

"Eat it!"

Realistically what he held hadn't actually touched the ground. That didn't change the fact that he was surrounded by people; taking orders meant to humiliate him from a roided out asshole who he could literally throttle with one hand.

His self-respect wasn't worth more than Dany's safety though. He raised the cone to his lips, eyeing it to make sure he wouldn't actually be putting any gravel or dirt in his mouth. Even as something inside him screamed to rip into them he took a bite.

Quickly chewing while trying to put the thought of where it had just been out of his mind. He cast his eyes down, resisting the urge to stare Anthony down as he ate it. He also couldn't bear the thought of Danielle seeing him being shamed like this.

He quickly finished it, swallowing even as his stomach tried to protest and throw it back up. When he was finished he stood there, that familiar feeling, that single point inside him that threatened to boil over. He felt like his skin might blister and his eyes were close to melting.

As he stood there dejected, Aaron and his guys walked back outside; strolling over to stand in front of Coop and Danielle. "Did I miss much, looks like you two have become regular chums now."

Coop and Danielle both made no sound or movement. Anthony, emboldened by his brother's presence, took delight in putting Coop down. "Cooper knows who his betters are now." Anthony smirked, desperate for his brother to acknowledge him. 

Aaron merely raised his hands palms facing up. "Well that's just great, maybe now that we are all friends we can…"

As he was speaking he took a step towards Dany, reaching out his hand toward her. Faster than anyone could register Coop's hand shot out and caught his wrist, the speed with which he did it not seeming possible.

When Aaron turned to look at Coop he was momentarily stunned. For the briefest second he could have sworn that he saw something flash in the center of Cooper's eyes. He quickly disregarded it and reached out to try and pry Coop's hand off his arm. Instead, Coop turned his arm over the opposite way, forcing Aaron to bend backwards in front of Coop.

Coop stepped slightly forward so that his hip was up against the older man's chest, letting the man's weight rest on his leg as he looked down at him. From this angle Aaron was forced to look up at Coop.

Coop stared down into Aaron's eyes, his voice completely level and monotone. "If you touch her, I'll kill you."

Coop heard Dany's sharp intake of breath, the only one to make a sound. None of them made a move, every single one of the men instinctively somehow knew that not only did Coop mean what he had just said, but that he could make good on the threat.

That reptilian part of the brain that knew when a predator was present was screaming at all of them to run. Coop twisted Aaron's arm the other way, forcing him to twist so his back was facing up. Cooper took his other hand and lifted the back of Aaron's shirt, surprise etching his features.

The bulge he'd noticed earlier wasn't a gun but a knife, a rather large one by the looks of the handle. Cooper knew he could disarm him if he tried to brandish it, but he considered taking the blade anyway just in case. At that moment everyone started to hear the sound of sirens approaching.

Coop held onto Aaron's wrist a moment longer, increasing his grip strength momentarily to the point where he saw a grimace of pain on the other mans face.

Just before he was sure his fingers were about to break the skin he casually let go, tossing his arm back at him like an owner throwing a treat to his dog. Coop struggled to quiet that part of himself that wanted to beat them all bloody for even looking at her.

It was only his concern for her safety that broke through his rage. All of them except for Aaron started moving towards their vehicles. He straightened up to his full height and bore his eyes into Coop's.

Flexing his arm and making a fist. He clearly hated the thought of leaving things unfinished. But his self preservation won out and he started backing up towards the vehicles.

He pointed back and forth between the two of them. "I'll be looking forward to seeing you both again." 

He emphasized his pointing finger by making a stabbing motion at Coop. "Especially you Cooper."

He almost snarled it as he spoke, spinning on his heels and jumping in his car. Both vehicles backed out, Coop guided Danielle to the opposite side of her SUV in case they decided to try and back into them.

Both cars peeled out the opposite direction from where the sirens could be heard. Coop looked after them, wishing his eyes could ignite the gas tanks with the fire he felt burning inside.

From a far away place he heard a soft voice calling to him. Suddenly the spell was broken when Danielle reached up, turning his face towards her and staring into his eyes.

Her skin was flushed and her eyes were practically vibrating. "Are you okay?"

She took one of her hands and raised it, placing it in the side of his head, her thumb resting on his cheek in front of his ear. The second she rubbed her thumb back and forth in a soothing rhythm he felt the tension ease off him. The muscles that had been coiled in anger relaxed.

He could see in her reaction that she noticed him decompress, he couldn't place the look she made. It almost looked like pride, like she reveled in being able to calm him so quickly. "Why did you let him do that to you?

She looked at him and he thought he saw pity there in her eyes. He had to turn his head away from her out of shame. She started to protest, but at that moment the police arrived. They started interviewing a few of the people who had been present and took Cooper and Danielle aside.

After confirming with Danielle's mother that as a minor she was allowed to be carrying a firearm, they began questioning them both about their statements. Cooper and Danielle were giving their statements separately, but Danielle was close enough to hear what was said. "So the two of you were sitting outside in the back of Ms. Ramos' car?"

He pointed to Danielle as he spoke, Coop nodded his head. "Yes, we were eating ice cream and just hanging out. A former classmate named Anthony Farina who I have had previous altercations with pulled into the parking lot with his brother, he called him Aaron. There were five other men with them. I wrote down the names I know."

The officer waved his hand in a dismissive fashion, irritating Coop. "Here you say that Mr. Farina slapped you across the face, and then he instructed you to eat your discarded ice cream off the ground."

Coop nodded his head. "Yes."

The officer shook his head in disbelief. The officer interviewing Danielle chimed in. "Must have been some bad guys."

Coop didn't say anything for a second, Danielle finally turned her head to look at him, his jaw set hard. "My friend had a gun on her, I saw a bulge sticking out from underneath the older brother's shirt and thought it might be a gun. There were also seven of them. If I started a fight and they went after me I'm sure she would have ended up having to defend me and they would have gone after her. I was just trying to keep her safe."

Danielle was the one who had to turn her head this time, ashamed that he had felt the need to prostrate himself before those thugs for her.

The officer nodded his head to Coop. "Okay, I see, stay here a second while I go over some stuff with my partner."

Cooper nodded his head and moved to put his back to the car. The two patrolmen walked around the side of the vehicle and left Coop and Danielle by themselves. Coop leaned against the SUV and crossed his arms, casting his eyes down. 'How can I look her in the eye after that?'

His attitude was decidedly grim, and showed no sign of getting better. He lifted his arm, rubbing his face in a futile attempt to clear his thoughts. Suddenly there was something warm pressing against the front of his body.

He lifted his arm and looked down, seeing Danielle huddled there. She rested her head on his chest, burying her nose in his shirt and wrapping her arms around him.

He lowered his arm and rested his hand on her other shoulder. "Dany, what's wrong?"

She turned her head up and he looked into her eyes, not sure what he was seeing reflected back at him. "I was sure when Anthony slapped you that you were gonna lose it. When you didn't do anything I got scared cause I thought maybe you froze. That you were backing down because there were so many of them."

Her expression changed, she was looking at him like she was seeing him again for the first time.

"And then he started towards me and you just…" She trailed off, shocked by her own thoughts. "You meant what you said to him, didn't you?"

He turned his head looking down as he answered. "I wouldn't let anyone hurt you, and if they tried I'd..." He trailed off, the promise clear.

She reached up, wrapping her arms around his neck. She pulled him down and hugged him close.

She let out a breath Cooper didn't realize she had been holding in. They stayed like that for what must have only been ten seconds, Coop would have frozen time if he could. Danielle finally pulled back, loose strands of hair were plastered to her forehead from sweat.

Her lips pursed and she shook her head. "I don't know how I kept it together without you here."

His heart wouldn't last long if she kept saying things like that. Did she realize she was pouring gasoline on a fire he was trying to extinguish? They just looked at each other, no smiles, no longing glances. Nevertheless that part of Coop that wanted to forget his feelings was being awfully quiet.

Right now all he wanted was to take her and hold her against him. To kiss her until she was forced to pull away for breath and then kiss her again. 'She wants it too, you know she does. You're just too scared to believe it.'

He couldn't help it when his head dipped down a little, his heart picked up its pace and he was sure she would pull back in disgust. Right as he thought he saw her begin to rise up to meet him the patrolmen returned. "Excuse me kids."

Neither of them got spooked or jumped away, they both registered the intrusion. Danielle smiled slightly and pulled away from him, though she had only been that way for less than a minute it felt wrong for her to be anywhere else but in his arms.

Coop turned to look at the officer. "Yes sir?" 

The patrolman motioned for Coop to follow him. Coop looked at Danielle and gave her a reassuring look, he followed the officer until they were out of earshot.

"I'm gonna level with you kid, it will be hard trying to charge any of them with anything, you say you've had run ins with this kid in the past and there's been escalation on both sides. None of the other men did anything to attempt to harm you and the other witness' statements don't all corroborate your story.

"Though that is probably due to the reputation the Farinas have around town, the older brother is a felon, he's got a decent rap-sheet, featuring plenty of violent crimes. He's only down here because he was part of a group suspected of carrying out a murder.

"I don't know any of the details but my department has been told to expect a warrant for his arrest before too long. Just do your best to stay out of their way for the time being and hopefully this will sort itself out."

As they walked back to Danielle, Coop felt like he had ice-water running through his veins. He had seen the murderous intent in Aaron's eyes before the man had hopped in his car. He had been humiliated in front of his crew and at least a dozen witnesses.

Now he had a fair idea of how far Aaron would go when seeking retribution. He just hoped the man got locked up before either one of them were forced to keep their promises.

Danielle looked hopeful as he walked back, he tried to mirror her smile but the sinking feeling that something bad was going to happen hampered it. "What did he say?"

Coop looked at her, trying to think of the most truthful lie he could tell her. "He said there's a good chance Anthony's brother is gonna get arrested, for now you and I are good to go home."

She nodded, eying him warily. "Great, do you mind driving? I wanna call my mom and let her know everything's alright."

"Sure, no problem."

As she went to hand him the keys he noticed her hand was shaking a little bit. 'It's been a while since all that went down, she must really be upset about it.'

Meanwhile Danielle was more preoccupied with Coop's lips and how close they had been to touching hers earlier. He walked her over to the passenger door and held it open as she jumped in.

He climbed into the driver's seat and they headed out in silence. Danielle called her mother and explained what had happened. April told her to thank Coop for looking out for her and they said their goodbyes.

After she got off the phone they went the rest of the way in silence. Pulling down their street Danielle finally felt her shoulders sag and she rolled the window down a tad, letting the somewhat cooler night air blow across her face.

When they turned into her driveway she turned to look at Coop, but he was preoccupied with parking so he didn't notice her.

Once he put it in park he turned to her and smiled. "Home, safe and sound."

She smiled softly back at him. "Thanks Mr. Pumpkin."

He furrowed his brow. "I think the car would be the pumpkin, wasn't it one of the mice that got turned into the coachman?"

Danielle shook her head, taking off her seatbelt. "It's been so long since I've seen it I honestly can't remember." Coop jumped out and came to grab her door as she got out.

She looked at him not quite annoyed but at the very least animated. "I'm okay you know, you don't need to…"

Coop held up a hand. "Manners are as much about the person showing them as they are about the person receiving them."

She rolled her eyes, climbing out. "That must be some pearl of wisdom passed down from the Bogdan elders."

Coop shut the door for her and fell in step next to her, putting his hands in his pockets. "Sorry things went downhill like that, I was aiming for a different kind of nostalgia trip."

She shrugged, looking up at the sky as they walked to the side door of her house. "There's always gonna be jerks like that in the world. At least you were there to make sure everything turned out okay."

She stepped up onto the concrete steps leading into her kitchen. Coop walked up until he was standing directly in front of them, hanging his head to hide his prideful smile. When he looked up Danielle had turned around, still on only the second step, placing her a few inches higher than him.

She was looking at him intently but softly. He was about to ask what she was looking at when she leaned down, tilting her head and giving him a kiss on the cheek. It was over before it registered to him fully. He was able to maintain for the most part except for the goofy smile that spread across his face.

She changed the subject with a suspiciously high pitched voice. "So, speaking of movies, we should have a movie night at some point. Maybe a slasher flick or something."

Her rambling was so cute it was distracting, he would have agreed to swimming with sharks at the moment. "Yeah, we should do that. Maybe even on Thursday, since Friday is graduation we can stay up later."

She brushed some errant hairs out of her face and smiled. "Sounds good, well, I better get upstairs and get ready for bed."

Coop hadn't realized he was staring at her until she spoke about going to bed. He came to the realization he was still leaning in towards her a bit and stepped back. "Right, so what time should I be over in the morning? Is 07:15 okay?"

She nodded, starting on the other braid. "Sure." She paused, he wasn't sure what for, but before too long. "I'll see you in the morning Coop." She turned and used her key on the side door.

As she opened it and stepped inside Cooper softly said. "Good night."

She turned in time to see him leap over the picket fence separating their yards in excitement. She closed the door and leaned back against it. 'I really almost kissed him.'

She had switched to his cheek at the last moment, losing her nerve. Even just kissing him on the cheek was causing her heart to race. She headed upstairs, deciding on a soak in the bath. Across the way Coop was whistling some tune as he made his way up to his bedroom.

Operation Arms Length had failed tonight, But for some strange reason he couldn't really be bothered to care.