Title: I SWEAR
By: Danny's Girl - dannysgirl85@hotmail.com
Main character: Dan
Total Chapters: 11
Note: Danny and Aleyna were best friends in elementary school, but what happens when they're reunited? Will they become more than friends?
I'm writing a sequel to this story, coming soon!
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NOTE: this story takes place a few months after Dan first joined O-Town
Chapter 1
"Aleyna….Aleyna….ALEYNA!" Maria shook my shoulders, "wake up!"
"What are you doing? What time is it?" I asked, drowsily lifting my face from my pillow. Sunlight streamed in through the window blinds, casting strips of brightness across the dorm room floor. My college roommate Maria was sitting on the edge of my bed, a concerned look on her face.
"Leyna, its 10-o-clock, aren’t you supposed to be at your audition?" Maria asked. I glanced nervously at my alarm clock.
"Crap! I could have sworn I set my alarm!" I cried. I jumped out of bed and scanned the room, panicked, "I’m supposed to be there right now Maria!" I frantically scrambled to find some clothes to put on.
"Calm down hon! I’m sure you’ll be fine! The studio is only a few minutes away, and I’m sure its not a big deal if you’re a little late." Maria reassured me.
"You don’t understand! This is a big audition! The company only chooses 3 dancers for the summer musical, and I just have to get picked!" I exclaimed. I hurriedly swept my curly brown hair back into a messy bun and grabbed my gym bag.
"Here, take my coffee," Maria said, handing me a Starbucks cup, "I think you need it more than I do this morning!"
"Thanks! I don’t know what I’d do without you Maria!" I said, grabbing the cup. I can never get through a morning without at least one cup of coffee! "Bye!" I called over my shoulder as I ran out the dorm room door.
"Good luck!" I heard her voice echo back to me from down the hall.
I sped down the road in my red Jeep Wrangler. "I can’t believe I’m late for the audition!" I thought anxiously to myself. I flipped on the radio, remembering that my boyfriend’s radio show was on.
"Hey, this is DJ Jim and you’re listening to 94.5, Orlando’s hit music station!" The sound of his voice instantly calmed me. Jim could always make me feel better, no matter how bad things got. I was so grateful I had found him, he was the best, sweetest boyfriend I’d ever had.
"Right now I wanna give a shout out to my girl Aleyna," Jim continued. My ears perked up, "how sweet! he’s talking about me on the radio!" I thought to myself. For a second, I almost forgot my chaotic morning.
"Leyna baby, if you’re listening right now, I wanna let you know that its been a great 8 months but I have a confession to make, I’ve been seeing someone else. I’m sorry honey, its over between us."
Hot tears stung my eyes and blurred my vision. I felt my heart breaking. Just when I thought my morning could not possibly get any worse, my boyfriend had just dumped me over the radio. The one guy I cared about and trusted with my love had thrown it all away in a second.
I don’t know how I did it but I managed to make it the rest of the way to the dance studio without crashing the car. I parked next to the curb and looked in the mirror. My face was wet with tears and black mascara was streaked down my cheeks. "I can’t go into the audition looking like this!" I cried.
I sat in the car for a few minutes, trying to calm myself down. I felt like my heart had been ripped out of my chest. I finally managed to stop crying and I wiped my face off with a tissue, "calm down Aleyna," I told myself, "just don’t think about Jim and get through the audition." I took a deep breath and got out of the car. "at least I have my coffee!" I thought as I walked down the sidewalk towards the studio.
Just as I was rounding the street corner, someone coming from the other direction crashed into me. I stumbled backwards, startled, and spilled my coffee all over the front of my white t-shirt. I looked up angrily to see what had caused the crash.
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Chapter 2
"Hey buddy! Watch it!" I cried, glaring angrily at a tall, handsome guy. "Great, just what I need this morning!" I moaned, trying to wipe the coffee off my shirt, "things just weren’t bad enough already!"
"I am so, so sorry," the guy said sympathetically. Something about his deep blue eyes was strangely familiar, and I caught myself staring at him. We stood there silently examining each other for a few moments, his eyes scanning my face, as if he was searching for something he had lost in my features.
"Aleyna?" Dan breathed at last. His lips curled into a friendly smile, a bright grin that I knew so well.
"Danny!" I cried in disbelief, "oh my gosh, I can’t believe its really you! I almost didn’t recognize you, its been what, 3 years?" I dropped my bag and threw my arms around his neck. Dan scooped me up in a big bear hug, lifting my body off the ground and holding me tightly in his strong arms. He set me down and held me at arms length to get a good look at me.
"Wow Leyna! You’ve really grown up!" Dan exclaimed, eyeing me up and down, "I mean look at you! You’re not the little girl from across the street anymore!"
"And you! You look so….old!" I grinned. "But what are you doing down here in Orlando?" I asked, wondering why Dan wasn’t at home in Ohio.
"I live here now actually. I auditioned for a boy band a while ago and I made it! I’ve only been down here for a few weeks so far, but its been amazing. We’re getting ready to go on a mall tour in a week and we’re gonna be on the road the whole summer." Danny explained.
"Wow! Thats great Danny! Congratulations!" I exclaimed.
Dan blushed, "Well thank you," he said modestly. "Ya know its funny, when you left Ohio and moved to Orlando back in tenth grade, I never thought I’d see you again, and now here you are!" Dan said, his eyes sparkling.
"I know, I can’t believe it!" I cried, still amazed that Dan, my childhood best friend, was actually back in my life so suddenly.
"And hey listen, I really am sorry about the coffee," Dan said, bringing me back to reality.
"Don’t worry about it, I’m sorry I got so mad at you, its just been a really rough morning…" I trailed off. My heard echoed Jim’s stinging words, "its over between us." A lump formed in my throat and I once again fought back tears.
"Aww honey! What’s wrong?" Danny asked, concerned. He gently brushed a stray lock of hair out of my eyes and lifted my chin until our eyes met.
"Its just…" I began, feeling my lip begin to tremble, "my boyfriend just dumped me this morning…" I managed. I couldn’t hold my emotions back any longer, saying it out loud just made it seem that much more real. Jim had dumped me. I broke down, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Don’t cry baby!" Dan pulled me close to him in a comforting hug. I rested my head on his shoulder, soaking his shirt with tears. Danny rubbed my back soothingly, "shhh, its okay Aleyna," he whispered gently.
"I’m supposed to be at a dance audition right now," I managed between sobs, "but I don’t think I can dance like this, I’m too upset. And plus, I’m already almost an hour late." I lifted my head from Dan’s shoulder and wiped away my tears with the back of my hand.
"Forget the audition," Dan said, putting his arm around my shoulder, "I know exactly what you need right now, trust me this will cheer you up 100 percent!" Dan insisted, "but first you gotta promise me one thing. You’ve gotta stop crying Leyna! You’re too pretty to cry, you know that!" Dan grinned at me.
I cracked a half-smile. Danny always knew how to make me feel better, no matter how upset I was. "OK, so what is it thats gonna cheer me up?" I asked, eager to get my mind off Jim.
Dan winked at me, "its a surprise. Sit right there," he pointed to a park bench, "and I’ll be back in a minute."
"Okay, if you say so Danny!" I settled down on the bench, curious to see what Dan was up to.
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Chapter 3
Dan returned a few minutes later, carrying a white bag. "McDonalds?" I asked curiously.
"Not just any McDonalds," Dan explained, reaching into the bag, "its a Chicken McNuggets Happy Meal, just for you!" Dan handed me the box.
"Danny! I can’t believe you remembered! This is still my favorite!" I jumped up and hugged him excitedly.
"And I got you a coffee too, since I kinda spilled the other one," Dan said. We sat down on the bench together and I started to eat.
"Thanks so much Danny, Happy Meals can always cheer me up! Remember when we were like 8 years old and I fell off my bike and broke my arm, you came to the hospital with a Happy Meal for me? That made me feel so much better! You’re the best!" I grinned at him.
"Hey, its the least I could do for my little sis!" Dan pinched my cheek playfully. Even though he was only a few months older than me, I had always called Danny my big brother, and he called me little sis. Growing up, we had been so close that I felt like he really was my brother sometimes.
"Ya know, I’m sorry that I unloaded all my problems on you this morning," I said, taking a bite of a french fry, "I finally see you after three years and I act like a huge crybaby over some stupid guy, I feel so ridiculous." I admitted.
"Don’t feel like that sweetie, I’m always here for you, you know that. And trust me, I’ve seen you act a lot more ridiculous!" Dan laughed.
"Like when?" I giggled.
"Remember when we used to make up dance routines in my backyard? I would dress up like Michael Jackson and I always made you be Janet! You looked pretty ridiculous dressed up in that black catsuit and the wig!" Dan teased me.
I punched his arm playfully, "like you didn’t look stupid in that red leather jacket and the white glove?" I laughed.
Dan and I sat and talked for a while, and in a way it felt as if we had never been apart. The three years since I’d moved to Orlando hadn’t changed Danny a bit, he was still the funny, sweet, charming boy from across the street. But his life had changed tremendously since I’d last seen him. Dan told me all about O-Town, the new boy band he had joined.
"…and they’ve got all five of us living in this awesome house over on Palm Avenue," Dan gushed, "its right on the beach and it has a hot tub and a boat and…"
"wait, where did you say the house was?" I interrupted suddenly.
"Palm Avenue," Dan repeated.
"You’re kidding! My roommate Maria and I are living in her beach house on Palm Avenue for the summer! We’re moving in next week! What part of Palm are you on?" I asked excitedly.
"Our house is number 421 I think," Dan answered.
My heart fluttered, "oh my gosh! Our house is 420! Would you believe that? We’re going to be neighbors again!" I exclaimed.
Dan gave me a big high-five, "Wow Leyna, this is awesome! Its kinda weird though, I mean we were neighbors until we were like 16, and then I don’t see you for three years, and then all of the sudden I run into you on the street and it turns out we’re living next door to each other again…..kinda twilight zone if you ask me!"
"I know, I just got the chills!" I cried. It was kinda weird, its like Danny and I were meant to be neighbors or something!
"When are you moving in?" Danny asked curiously.
"Hmm….our last exam is tomorrow, so probably on Monday" I said.
"Ok, well listen, give me a call then and I’ll help you guys move in. Here’s my number," Dan jotted it down on a piece of paper for me, "I should be home on Monday before five-o-clock, OK?"
"Okie dokes!" I agreed happily.
"Allright great. Well I gotta get going now, another rehearsal," Dan explained apologetically, "But it was really great seeing you again Leyna," Dan gave me a warm hug. "Bye bye babe!"