Will always liked going back to school in the fall. Johnny and the guys never could understand why he always looked forward to it. To them it was sheer drudgery that was only made tolerable by girls in short skirts and basketball games with dancing cheerleaders. It wasn't that Will didn't like those things too (what red blooded eighteen year old doesn't?), but to him school served another purpose entirely. He liked the structure that school provided. It gave his life a sense of order that he enjoyed, and truth be told he needed some of that in his life. Although he liked having his private time to think, the summer was just too long, and that left him with too much time on his hands. Too much free time always seemed to inevitably lead to thinking about his father more than he should, and that was not a good thing.
More than anything else, Will liked going back to school because, naturally, he got to play basketball. Being his senior year, he knew he would have it easy. Two of his classes were taught by assistant coaches, and he had Coach Riggs for economics. Along with that, his schedule was rounded out with a PE class and some study hall periods, a senior schedule if ever there was one.
As he walked towards Johnny's house, he wondered if Danielle would be in any of his classes. They hadn't had any time alone together since the night they met, and Will was starting to get antsy. She was like some kind of horribly addictive drug that he couldn't seem to get enough of. Every night he would lay awake in his bed and think about what it would be like to be with her, to be able to bury his nose in her mane of fiery red curls and breathe in the scent of her hair.
He thought back to the night they had kissed, the way she had seemed infused with the essence of a ripe peach, the way his senses seemed to be overwhelmed by her. It was the most desperate of his hearts desires, but he didn't know how he could go about satisfying his hunger for her. He wasn't bold enough to ask her out on a date, but maybe he could convince Carrie and Steph to bring her and the rest of the girls out to the diner one night. He thought about asking Luke to get Rachel to help out, but he hadn't seen her in a couple of weeks. Come to think of it, Luke and the girls hadn't mentioned anything about her absence for quite awhile. That seemed a bit out of character to him, but he dismissed the thought as quickly as it had entered his consciousness.
Johnny was waiting for Will at the corner, leaning up against a tree and making short work of his daily apple. They walked the rest of the way in silence, which wasn't unusual. Johnny was actually glad that Will was in one of his quiet moods. It gave him a chance to organize his thoughts. He had gotten a call from Malcolm a few days ago, and had gotten quite a shock when Mal told him Danielle was going to drop a bomb on Will at some point. On some level he was glad that Rachel might still have her shot with Will, but he had come to enjoy the new and improved Will. He had been so happy the last few weeks, and Johnny didn't want to see that end. He wasn't looking forward to picking up the pieces once the shit hit the fan, but he knew that Will would need him as much as ever, and Johnny wasn't the kind of guy to turn his back on a friend, especially not Will.
As they walked up the steps into the brick building, Johnny pushed those thoughts to the back of his head and went to his locker. He spun the lock open with a practiced ease and found that someone had slipped a note through one of the slots. His curiosity won out, and throwing caution to the wind he decided to open it immediately. It was from Rachel of all people, and simply said to call her after school whenever he could. This wasn't the way he wanted to start his day. The last thing he needed was Rachel adding to his growing Will induced headache.
"Why can't people just handle their own damn drama and leave me out of it," he wondered. He wished that this was a James Bond movie and the message would self destruct on its own, but better not to take any chances, so he tore the note into little pieces and dropped it in the nearest trashcan. When he looked up, he saw Rachel glancing his way, most likely to catch his reaction to her note. He gave her a nod to confirm he'd read it, then hurried down the hall without giving her a second look.
The first few periods of the day passed without further incident. Will was happy to discover that he and the twins were in the same civics class, and Johnny was in his economics and English classes. With his afternoon consisting of lunch, PE, and study hall, Will knew he had it made. He headed into the cafeteria with a big grin on his face and pulled up a seat next to Johnny. Soon the rest of the team took their usual seats at the table and they were talking about anything and everything.
After lunch Will had to get to the library for his study hall period. Most kids loved study hall since it was basically free time to relax and goof off. Will was happy to have a period where he wouldn't have heaps of homework, but he always found himself getting bored. None of the guys had this study hall, so Will grabbed a chair at a table near the corner and pulled out his econ book and pretended to read it. He found himself day dreaming about Danielle, wishing she was there to keep him company. He was so engrossed in his daydream that he didn't realize the real thing was walking toward him.
"I thought that was you hiding in the corner," she said with a smile.
"I wasn't hiding."
"Whatever. I'm sure you have to hide from all the cute girls so you can get your homework done. I guess I better leave you alone."
"NO, no, it's okay, really I won't mind."
"Well, since you twisted my arm..."
She giggled and pulled up a chair next to him. Any hopes of getting any studying done were officially gone. She was wearing a tight red tube top that left the tops of her breasts exposed, and a short white pleated skirt that sat low on her hips and left most of her thighs exposed. Will tried to hide the fact that he was flustered by pretending to study, but he couldn't stop himself from stealing glances at her whenever he thought he could get away with it. His eyes were having a difficult time deciding whether they should fixate on the gentle rise and fall of her ample chest, or the creamy stems emerging from her short skirt.
All too soon the bell was ringing, rudely snapping Will out of his hormone induced stupor. Danielle was already gathering her things to head to her next class.
"I suppose I should get going. I guess I'll see you tomorrow, same table?"
"Yeah, sounds good, thanks for keeping me company."
"No problem. See you later Will."
And with that, the object of his affection was gone. The rest of the day seemed to drag by as if it was in slow motion. Will couldn't wait until he got to see Danielle again. He had been able to spend a little time with her, but no matter what it never seemed to be enough. It was like giving a man in the desert a few drops of water, but holding the canteen out of reach.
By the time basketball practice arrived Will was desperate for something to take his mind off of Danielle. The team was basically the same as last year minus a couple of seniors that graduated. Soon Will was engrossed in practice and forgot all about Danielle. Having organized practices with the coaches was nice for a change. It gave Will a chance to just play without worrying about keeping everyone else in line. With Lucas being the only non-senior starter, they would have a very experienced squad this year. Most of the newspapers had predicted they would win the championship, mostly due to Will's outstanding play.
The first few practices were always pretty relaxed, as the coaches were just trying to get a feel for what kind of shape they were in, having not seen them in action for months. Everything seemed smooth and easy this year. All the practice during the summer had taught the boys how to work together to maximize their strengths. What Will really thought helped was having Danielle come to their practices. With her running the point for the other side, Lucas got to play his natural position, shooting guard, and work more closely with Will. They had become so familiar with each other that Mal and Dre started joking about them being twins that were separated at birth. Everyone left the gym that afternoon feeling great about their season...well almost everyone.
After practice Johnny quickly headed out of the gym and headed straight for home. All day he had been wondering what Rachel wanted to talk about. He was sure that it would have something to do with Will, and although he knew the conversation might not exactly be pleasant, his curiosity was definitely peaked, and Johnny was just a curious guy by nature. If nothing else, being Will's friend always kept life interesting. He waited till after dinner to call her. Luckily, his parents hit the sack early just about every night, which would give him some privacy.
When the phone rang Rachel picked it up so fast she startled her mother.
"Hello?" she said with a tinge of nervousness.
"Hi, Rachel, it's Johnny."
"Oh thank God Johnny. If you had waited any longer to call I think I would have lost my mind."
"That bad huh?"
"Ugh, you have no idea. So I guess you know why I'm calling..."
"Let me guess. It starts with a 'W' and ends in 'ill.'"
"You guessed it."
"So mademoiselle, how may I be of service?" Johnny drawled in his best French accent, which was terrible by anyone's standards.
"I need to know something Johnny, and being Will's best friend you seemed like the logical one to ask."
"Come on Rach, cut to the chase."
"Oh God, I'm even afraid to ask. Well, here goes...are Will and Danielle dating?" She couldn't help but hold her breath and grimace as the words came out of her mouth.
Johnny paused. He had to think how he could answer this delicately. On one hand, they weren't actually dating, which would give Rachel hope. On the other, he knew that Will wanted to be with Danielle, but Danielle didn't want to be with Will. So, in reality, nobody wanted the person who wanted them, and that created a problem. "This is just great," Johnny thought to himself. A regular old love triangle with me playing referee. What could possibly be more fun?
"No, they haven't gone on a date."
