Chapter Text
Daniel was unstoppable.
He was on fire the whole night; calling play after play, throwing pass after pass. He had a sense of gravitas and authority on the field that drew people’s attention to him and firmly established him as the leader. Grace found herself incapable of looking away anytime the cheerleaders were turned in the direction of the game.
Grace hadn’t been totally sure what to expect during her first football game but even she wasn't immune to the infectious energy emanating from the crowd and was occasionally so enthralled by what was going on on the field that she forgot to pay attention to her sidelines. It had been a good night overall with the excitement consistently high through first, second and third quarter. Much to Kelsey’s pleasure, the halftime routine went off without a hitch.
When time finally ran out in the fourth quarter, the Bouldin High Panthers were beating the Westwood Cardinals 42 to 13. The cheer squad performed the alma mater as the Panthers and Cardinals shook hands down the middle of the field with Daniel at the head of the lineup.
Kelsey turned to the squad after the band finished.
“Great job everyone! Super awesome. Coach said the halftime routine looked great so I’m just gonna review the video and then on Monday if there’s any small things we need to smooth out we’ll do that. But other than that, we’re done for the night! There’s gonna be a little celebration over at Daniel’s for anyone that wants to come.” Win or lose the captain throwing a bash after the first game of the season was apparently tradition. Technically all the cheerleaders were invited but the thought of watching Kelsey drape herself over Daniel all night made Grace’s stomach turn. Not to mention that now that the adrenaline rush from tonight was finally starting to leave her, exhaustion was taking its place.
“Oh! There they come!” Kelsey shrieked excitedly as the football players finally began to make their way off the field, jogging at a clipped pace in the direction of the locker room. Daniel was leading the pack and as they passed the cheerleaders he turned to them and gave Grace, who was standing just behind Kelsey, a wink. Grace’s breath caught in her throat at the brazen display.
“Awww, isn’t my boyfriend the sweetest y’all!” Kelsey exclaimed, misconstruing the wink as intended for her. Grace felt her shoulders sag in relief.
As Kelsey finished dismissing everyone, Megan turned to her.
“Hey, you going to the party tonight?”
“No, I think I’m just gonna stay home.”
“It’s the first of the season you have to go.” Megan was pouting at her as she pulled the strap of her cheerbag across her torso.
“Oh, is it like a requirement?” Grace teased, lifting her water bottle to her lips.
“Come on, it’ll be fun” Megan pleaded. Grace briefly looked back in the direction of Kelsey who was talking to Abby and Peyton about how great Daniel played. Having to spend the night avoiding Daniel’s not so secret advances would already be enough to make her think twice about going but the thought of listening to Kelsey babble on all evening as she clung to Daniel’s arm- the thought of actually having to see them be a couple in front of everyone- made Grace feel slightly nauseous.
“Nah, I’m crashing Meg. You have fun, I’m just gonna go home. My mom is expecting me anyway. Something about chick flick night or whatever.” It was a lie, she wasn’t even sure if her mom was home but it got Megan off her back.
“Alright. I’ll see you tomorrow then.” They hadn’t actually made any plans for this weekend, but she imagined Megan would call her sometime around noon to go get breakfast at Sawyer’s.
“See ya.” Megan headed off in the direction of her parents who were waiting for her off to the side. The sight of them hugging her and congratulating her on the first game of the season did something funny and unpleasant to Grace so she looked away. Jo and Zoya’s parents had both shown up as well and Kelsey was heading back to the parking lot with Peyton probably planning to get ready for the party together.
Grace stood alone for a moment looking out at the bright lights on the field. She should start walking back to her house. She didn’t drive- she took the school bus in the morning- but this late her options were down to walking or taking an uber and considering that Grace wasn’t quite sure what she would be walking into at home, she opted for the longer option. It was only about a mile and a half away after all.
The late summer evening was filled with the sounds of cicadas, a white noise that could drown out the voices going a mile a minute in Grace’s head. Since yesterday she'd had Daniel's words racing through her brain incessantly. Just what he wanted she was sure: to be able to think of nothing but him. Grace looked up at the sky searching for something else to grasp onto. There was a sort of peace in the star dotted blackness hanging above her and she found herself wanting to wrap herself up in its darkness, fade into the nothingness. She took a deep breath. The smell that greeted her was sweet and promising, as if beckoning her forward into the turn of the season, assuring her of all the new beginnings that she had been searching for this past year.
A few cars had passed Grace on her walk home but when she felt one coming up behind her and slowing down, her heart raced a little. Sure, the south was plenty hospitable but strange cars pulling over late at night would freak anyone out. The car- no, truck- rolled to a stop beside her.
“Hey Grace, need a ride?” Daniel called out to her from the driver’s seat. She released a relieved sigh at the realization that it was only him but her heartbeat didn’t seem intent on slowing down.
“No, I’m fine.”
“Come on, I’ll drive you home. It’s not a big deal.”
“Don’t you have a party to prepare for?”
“Party doesn’t start for another half hour. Just get in the car loser.” Grace scoffed at that and glared at him in response to the insulting nickname- he can be so annoying- before looking around her. It was kind of muggy and she was pretty tired . . a ride might be nice. A ride with Daniel? She would never say it in a million years but a part of her wanted to be the girl in his passenger seat. A stupid, small and probably hormonal part of her.
“Fine, because you offered so nicely” she added with a sarcastic bite. Daniel mimicked her facial expressions in a teasing manner and she rolled her eyes and got around to the other side. Suddenly the engine turned off and Daniel was hopping out of the driver’s side.
“What the hell are you doing?” Grace asked as he came around to her side. “You’re parked in the middle of the road.”
“Helping you get in.” He opened the door. It should piss her off- no, it did piss her off- but maybe it also made something flutter in her stomach.
“Who said benevolent sexism was dead?” she deadpanned. Daniel looked like he wanted to say something back but opted to bite down on his lower lip as he took her cheer bag from her and tossed it in the trunk.
“It’s just that the step is high up” he pointed out and he was right. It was a few feet off the ground and Grace might have needed to give it a running start. “Come on, Grace.” Grace looked back at him and decided that her trying to jump up would look more embarrassing than just accepting his help so she took hold of his proffered hand which was warm if not a little sweaty and then grabbed hold of the door and used Daniel and the door as leverage to push herself up onto the step. Daniel’s other hand momentarily hovered at her waist as if preparing to steady her. When she had gotten seated, he shut her door and as he hurried to the other side Grace tried to shake the sensation of his hand in hers.
When Daniel got into the driver’s seat Grace was looking pointedly through the front window. Her cheeks had warmed, painfully embarrassed by how quickly she accepted his chivalry and the fact that part of her liked it. No one ever tried to take care of her. Fuck him and his southern gentleman BS.
“Ready?”
“Mhmm” was Grace’s answering reply. She hadn’t forgotten though that she was mad at him and rightfully so and after a few minutes of them driving she finally let it out.
“I saw that, you know.” He glanced away from the road to look over at her, surprised by the break in silence.
“Saw what?”
“I saw you- ” she paused, feeling awkward but pushed through it “I saw your little wink.”
“What wink?” Daniel, now, really was playing dumb. There was a light, teasing note to his voice and it grated at Grace.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about Donald. Kelsey was standing right there.”
“And you're just assuming I was winking at you?” Daniel replied back, still teasing. Grace rolled her eyes; she knew Daniel had been looking at her, he just liked to screw with her head and get under skin and she wasn’t having any of it.
“I’m not interested in playing part in your sadistic little mind games.”
Daniel looked like he had a retort on the tip of his tongue but he paused and took a moment to mull over her words. For the second time that night he held himself back. Grace was sure she was grateful for it but she couldn’t help wanting to know what it was he refused to say.
After a long and slightly painful two minutes had passed, Daniel reached over to the center console and started rummaging around, searching for something. A plastic bag crinkled. Grace had been looking out the window, trying her best to ignore his presence but couldn’t help peering out of the corner of her eye to see what he was reaching for. It was the brownies that she had made for him. No, no- for the team. It seemed that he hadn’t had any yet and a part of Grace admired how committed he actually was to his sport even if she didn't quite get it herself. She watched him (as discreetly as possible) as he bit into one.
“Mmmmm. So fucking good ” Daniel muttered as he inhaled the brownie. Grace tucked her smile into her shoulder, pleased at his unknowing compliment to her. She coughed once before saying.
“I’ll be sure to tell Kelsey.” It was a dumb thing to say really, considering that Kelsey was Daniel’s girlfriend. If he wanted to compliment her on her culinary skills it would be pretty easy to. But her comment felt more like something to fill the silence, to ease the surrounding tension that was making it difficult to breath in that truck.
Daniel looked over to her, observing her fidgeting and the way she adamantly refused to look at him.
“Right” Daniel said, a small smirk playing at the corner of his lips. Grace glanced briefly at him and caught his eyes before shyly looking back out her window.
The rest of the trip was fairly quiet with Grace and Daniel occasionally stealing glances as she directed him to her house. She tried not to linger on the way his biceps flexed when he turned the wheel but it was upsettingly distracting.
When Daniel pulled up in front of Grace’s house, she felt a little unsure of herself but before she could find a way to say thank you without actually sounding grateful Daniel was already out of the driver’s seat and making his way over to her side. A brilliant blush colored her cheeks but Grace kept her chin tilted up, trying to remain dignified as Daniel opened the door and offered his hand to her. She reached for it, refusing to look at him, and then gracefully leapt down from the truck. One hand in his and one hand curled around the door handle. When she landed on the asphalt, her gaze was drawn up to his and for a moment they lingered. Hand in hand, warm brown eyes locked into swirling blue ones. But then Daniel cleared his throat as he pulled away and grabbed her bag out of the bed of his truck.
“Thank you” Grace muttered softly as she took her bag from him, wishing she didn’t sound quite so small. Daniel nodded, a hand reaching up to rub nervously at the back of his neck. At least he seemed as awkward as she did.
“Do you want me to walk you to-”
“No, no, that’s fine” Grace said quickly. Daniel walking her up to front door felt way too ‘first date’ for her liking. Not to mention if both her parents were home then he’d definitely be able to hear the yelling from outside the front door and that thought made her anxiety skyrocket.
“Okay, well, goodnight Grace” Daniel said.
“Goodnight” Grace replied as she made off to her front door. She could hear Daniel getting back into the driver’s seat behind her and when the engine turned back on she suddenly felt herself turning back around.
“Hey Daniel” he looked up at her with an open, waiting expression, “you um- you played really well tonight.” Grace wasn’t even sure what compelled her to say it. He was sure to hear the same thing a hundred more times in a hundred better ways and from far more qualified individuals and yet . . .
Daniel’s expression softened impossibly and his eyes shined with something she had never seen before, a look she hadn’t thought him capable of and had never herself been on the receiving end of.
He looked at her with, well, with what could only be called, plain and simply, adoration.
“Thanks Grace.” And with that Grace turned back to her house, her heart beating a little faster, biting back a smile.
When Grace opened the door, she heard the television and looked into the living room to see the back of her mother’s head coming up from behind the couch. Her mother looked back at her as she softly shut the door behind her.
“Where were you?”
“Tonight was the first game of the season.” Her mother took in her ensemble and gave a curt nod before lifting her large glass of red up to her lips.
“Don’t you think you should do something else? Something a little more intellectual” her mom suggested even though she had now turned back to the TV and didn’t seem like she was even particularly interested in the conversation anyway. “I mean you should think about your future. With that shit father of yours out of a job you’re really gonna need to try for scholarships. Money doesn’t just grow on trees.” Grace could tell that it was at least her mother’s third glass just by the way she was rambling. “You should go out for the newspaper or debate club or something.”
Grace knew when her mother got like this there was no use in arguing with her so she just muttered ‘okay’ before heading off to her room. The exhaustion had settled deeply in her bones and her excitement and giddiness from tonight had disappeared just about as soon as she walked in the door. If there was one thing her mother was a true talent at it was making her daughter feel like crap. Grace ran a tired hand over her face as she opened her bedroom door and dropped her stuff on the ground.
Despite how depleted she now felt she forced herself to take a shower and change into a tank top and pajama shorts before crawling into bed. She reached up to turn the light off but just as she did her phone on the nightstand pinged. She picked it up. It was a text from Daniel.
brownies were delicious. thanks ;)
Grace put her phone down and turned her lamp light off.
A small smile was still playing on her lips when she finally drifted off to sleep.