Days Go By [Dannie & anybody else!]

[KYLE JAMES SLATER]

Time had flown by as of late, things had happened, some things had changed, some had stayed the same. It had been nearly a year since several important events. The first of said events was Justin nearly died. He had unintentionally run into someone who happened to hate him and ended up being shot in the arm and stabbed in the abdomen. He very nearly bled to death before someone happened to find him lying in a pool of his own blood. That one person happened to be Dannielle Curtis. She stopped the bleeding, though not before Justin lost just about every ounce of his strength and current ability to think clearly. Not knowing what else to do with him, Dannie brought him to the house of Jeremy Scott where she managed to get the bullet out of his arm and stop him from bleeding to death... although they did have a couple... disagreements thanks to Justin's... less than friendly demeanor and awkward lack of knowledge when it came to social interaction.

It was also one year since the day that Justin had finally gotten to meet his son Justin Junior. Before, he had been in jail just after his baby was born, and Alessandra had denied him permission to see J.J and got restraining order against him to keep him from trying to see his son. Just over two years after the restraining order was put in place, Justin violated it. He went to the Morris house and asked if he could just see a picture of his son, but Alessandra's dad refused to let him and called the police, and Justin was arrested for violation of the restraining order. In his court hearing though, his broken honesty earned him the restraining order being repealed and he was allowed to see J.J. After that day, it was like his entire outlook on life changed. It made him more determined to set things right and get an actual respectable job instead of just being a street fighter... which definitely was anything but respectable.

Not too long after that, Justin finally worked up the nerve to ask Dannie out... and was denied. He didn't know why she wouldn't, all he knew was that she had refused, and of course, he had been less than pleased with that result and automatically jumped to the conclusion that it was because he was just street trash and she didn't see him as good enough for her, even though he was trying harder than he'd ever tried to do anything, to be better and to change. It hurt, and he didn't know why. Dannie was the only girl who had ever meant enough to him for him to actually ask her out, and it took him forever to even ask her... and she just turns him down flat. Naturally his response to something like that was violence... not violence against Dannie, no, he would never hurt Dannie. He wouldn't ever hurt anyone who wasn't intending to hurt him... so he went out to the street fights, where he hadn't been for some time, and of course completely dominated, though not without some personal injury. Like every fighter he wasn't perfect, and he took his fair share of hits.

For a while he avoided Dannie, then after some time he finally started spending time with her again, and several months later managed again to make an attempt at asking her out, though he did it quite reluctantly. This time though, much to Justin's relief, Dannie said yes. They both agreed that no one should know about it. Justin didn't want people to know since a lot of people would do anything to hurt him, especially emotionally, and hurting someone that Justin loved would hurt worse than anything they could do to him. Dannie didn't want anyone to know because of how her dad would react and because she didn't want anyone to know that she was going out with Pismo's "bad boy." Of course that didn't last long, and Dannie ended up moving out of her house with her dad on Justin's persuasion and in with Justin.

Not too long after that, thanks to Dannie's closeness with Jeremy, Justin started getting closer with Jeremy, and because Jeremy was close to Kyle Slater, he started getting close with him as well, and since Kyle was close with Jacob Morris, who had formerly hated Justin because he got Alessandra pregnant and because Cassandra had lied and told Jacob that he had gotten her pregnant as well which he most definitely hadn't... but they managed to put their differences aside, and pretty soon, all of them had become pretty close friends which fell into "drinking buddies" which essentially was the equivalent of "best friends" since that translated to a tell all sort of friendship.

Tonight was one of those nights when the guys were all hanging out together at the bar. Yes, the only bar in town was in the strip club, and technically, Kyle was the only one in the group who was old enough to be there... but that didn't stop them. Jeremy had "connections" with all the bouncers and the bar tenders, so they never had any trouble getting in. Of course, Justin had to bring Dannie... he rarely went anywhere without her anymore aside from work... but "the boys and Dannie" tended to be your typical group, she sort of fit in with them, oddly enough. Jeremy, Jacob, Justin, and Kyle all made fun of her for her lack of height and anything else they could think of, but that was just their way of including her in their group. It was a guy thing, and most people wouldn't understand it unless they'd spent time with the quartet.

They were currently in the middle of a discussion about Jeremy's latest song that he'd written, which wasn't an uncommon topic, but what was uncommon was Jeremy's lack of information about the song. Normally he was your typical tell all sort of guy... no secrets... but tonight he was being quite vague on the details, and it was obviously to all of them that it had something to do with someone in the group which was why he wasn't saying anything about it. You guys will just have to wait and see. Jeremy was saying, which was quite unlike him. Oh come on Jer, you don't really expect us to settle for that do you?

[/s] Jake asked, definitely in a much better mood today than he had been last time. Even though it was going on two years since Chelsea died and he had Roxxie now, he still had his bad days and was still conflicted with flashbacks occasionally.

Justin had his arm wrapped loosely around Dannie's shoulders like he usually did, just waiting for a point where he should interject. Although he had quite the presence, and was much less socially awkward now, he was still the quiet one of the group, and probably always would be. The other guys figured it was because Justin could already tell you exactly what was going to go down five minutes later and was too busy making a play-by-play in his mind to do much talking, which was partially true. Kyle definitely wasn't as boisterous as Jeremy and Jake were, but he was more so than Justin. Being the shortest, though probably the strongest, of the four of them he definitely had to make up for that in other ways. Jeremy was the youngest, but topped the charts at a rather impressive 6'4." Jake came next in age and in height at 6'2." Justin was just over 6'1" and a few months older than Jake, and Kyle was the oldest by a few years, but just barely managed to pull off 5'9"

There was definitely quite a bit of diversity in this group. Jeremy was a musician who was completely obsessed with music and quite honestly couldn't function without it, literally unafraid of anything and would do anything without so much as a second thought about it. Jake was ex-military, currently working as a surfing instructor, but didn't really have much direction in live. Justin was an ex-con currently working as a mechanic who just couldn't seem to get things straight in his life. Kyle was ex-military, now working as a recruiter, and at the persuasion of Jeremy getting back into music slowly but surely. Not one of them was like the other, but that was what made their group as good and fun as it was. None of them would ever hurt anyone... except maybe Jake if he was in a flashback, but Kyle knew how to deal with those situations better than the rest of them and always handled it... and even though they occasionally got completely drunk, they never did anything socially unacceptable. It was a good group of friends to be a part of... so long as you were on their side.[/center][/size]

[DANIELLE WHITNEY CURTIS]

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Most of the time people loved it when time flew by. Children loved it during school, parents loved it during work, and most people loved it when they were seventeen about to turn eighteen; they could move out and live by their self. But Dannie? She was incredibly different. She wanted time to slow down. Her eighteenth birthday was coming up soon, and with Justin as a boyfriend and Jeremy, Jacob and Kyle all as her friends who knew what the hell they would do to her. It had been about a year or so since several important things happened to her. She could remember them like it was yesterday. She could remember what their hair style was, the expression on their face, the clothes they were wearing; she could remember everything so clearly that it was almost crazy. Some memories, though, were easier to remember then others and that’s what killed her inside the most. About four memories in particular she could remember better then the rest. They weren’t memories she wanted to forget, but they were a bit depressing.

Like, for example, the day she had first run in to Justin. Though this one was a memory that she wanted to remember forever, the visuality was terrible and sickening. Lets go back a year, shall we? An alley way in Pismo Beach, California. Imagine the sound of a gun shot ringing out through the air while you are running away from your father, and suddenly see a large gang leave an alley way. Yes, we're seeing this through Dannie's eyes. As she neared the alley way, there laid a - man, boy, teenager; whichever term you chose to us - in his own pool of blood. She got sick to her stomach, but still got down in the blood and pretty much revived him I guess. She had to take him or Jeremy’s house - where along the way the two kissed twice - since she had no other place to take him and knew he probably disliked the hospital, like her, with a passion. Jeremy had been a good friend of hers for a while, which was a miracle since Dannie was pretty much friends with no one at the time. She had removed the bullet and healed him, much to Justin’s dislike. Of course, it had taken them a while since he kind of refused the help after waking up from passing out. The next day - or later that day one - Justin had met his son for the first time. Without a doubt he was happy, and Dannie was thrilled to know he was going to change his ways.

Then the two memories she remembered a bit better then that one. The times Justin asked her out. The first time she denied him, but felt incredibly terrible about it afterward. She had a simple reason, and it was not what you're thinking so quit. She had not turned him down because he was street trash or because he had been to jail, not because he had committed a robbery nor had a child; dear lord no. Danielle did not care about such things. And it was not because Justin and her twin Dakota hated each other either. It was because of her father. Her father and Justin knew each other - they had been in jail with each other before - and Dannie knew how her father would react to her dating “the town’s street trash”. His response would be, well, “cliché” just did not fit but it would have to do for now. And because of her past of being raped, which she still had yet to tell Justin about. She was not incredibly open about her past – not even to her boyfriend – so he didn’t know about her being raped.

They had avoided each other for a while, but eventually started hanging out again. Several months after the first try, poor Justin reluctantly asked Dannie out again. This time, though, she accepted. She figured her reason was a bit childish, and being an almost adult she could make decisions for herself without worrying what her father would think - despite the fact she lived with him. But they kept it a secret. Justin didn't want anyone knowing because if they wanted to hurt him emotionally, Dannie would be the first one they would go after. Dannie did not want anyone to know because of her father, and because if Dannie was dating the town "bad boy", we could go back to that subject of hurting Justin emotionally - they would go after Dannie. She could not exactly say she loved him then, but it was obvious she liked him. Of course, their secret relationship failed to last and it all became revealed when Dannie moved out of her father's house and in with Justin. Dannie didn't worry about what others thought about it at that point. She was happy, and Justin seemed to be as well - that was all that mattered to her.

And of course, the time Danielle lost her "virginity" to Justin. You could not exactly call her a virgin physically, since she was in fact raped, but she still considered herself one. Now, I can not say that they were tangled together in the bed sheets and lost in each other. But I also can not say that it was not in the least bit enjoyable. They, well, it was on a kitchen counter. Without a doubt it was a tad bit cold on Dannie's sweat covered skin, but she still enjoyed it. She would have preferred a bed, but since she just could not wait to get to the bed room toward the back of the house, and the counter was the closest thing, it had to do. Besides, she was not worried about the location or the temperature of the room; just the fact that it was with Justin, and she loved that part most of all.

After that, everyone started becoming good friends. Dannie was close to Jeremy, Jeremy was close to Kyle, Kyle was close to Jacob, and eventually… Justin and Jacob became friends too. After the drama of Justin so called “knocking Cassandra up” and Justin fathering Alessandra’s little boy passing of course. They all became so called drinking buddies, everyone except Danielle though. She was still against drinking because of her father, and every time one of them got drunk she secretly just wanted to leave since it brought back a lot of the memories. She knew they all were pretty laid back drunks, and were rather funny when they spoke and joked around. Dannie seemed to always be their target for jokes, especially when it came to her height, but she just smiled and let them go in one ear and out the other. They were all good friends, Dannie included, and Dannie had put her fair share of jokes on them as well. It was just a part of them being friends – they picked with each other.

Tonight was just another night. Another wild night for the boys and Dannie to go out and have a good time. The night normally ended with everyone going their separate ways to sleep, while Dannie and Justin just kind of… stayed up for a while in the bed. Kyle was really the only one legally allowed in, but they all got in without any trouble thanks to Jeremy. Danielle was still a young seventeen – the youngest and shortest of the group – but made up for it with her feisty personality. She went pretty much everywhere with Justin, and occasionally stopped by his work to see him throughout the day. His co-workers were jealous of Justin for having Dannie, but she typically ignored their perverted comments toward her. She was good at blocking people out. The boys – the “boys” being Jacob, Jeremy, Justin and Kyle – normally picked on Dannie for her lack of height. Justin was about a foot and four inches taller then she, Kyle was a foot taller, Jake was a foot and five inches taller, while Jeremy stilled towered a foot and a half taller then her. She could not say it was exactly intimidating, since if they ever went a little too far she had a perfect reach out for the stomach or another place they’d wish not be hit, but it was a bit weird at times. She loved them though. Not in the way she loved Justin, but in that friendly kind of way. They were her friends – she loved them.

They were discussing Jeremy’s new song, which was not an unusual topic between the five, but it was weird Jeremy was giving very little information to the group. She just kept quiet, a small smile on her fragile and sweet face, listening to their conversation. It had something to do with someone in the group; everyone knew that, so Jeremy denied giving out any information about it. She just listened to them, giggling every now and then at some of the things they would say in response to Jeremy giving very little out. Justin had his arm wrapped loosely around Dannie’s shoulders as usual, and her arms wrapped gently around his torso as she stood beside him. Her eyes glanced around the room, looking toward the door every now and then to see if anyone she knew would come through the door. She seemed a bit uneasy tonight, which sometimes was not unusual in they were in a large place – like here – with many drunk men around her. She knew Justin wouldn’t let anything happen to her, but she just couldn’t help but be uneasy.

She stared at the door, and her eyes grew somewhat in size as a familiar face walked through the door. Her father? No, it was not her father. But it was her father’s friend Shaun. She had seem him at the house a time or two to watch the football game with her father, when they were not our drinking, as she stayed in her room. Her heart beat picked up, and she restrained herself as she almost began to shake. She was wearing a small jean skirt and a black tank top, something she normally wore, and the jean skirt revealed her smooth tan legs. Though her twin had chosen the outfit for her tonight like every other night, she refused her sister’s request to wear the high heels and instead wore simple flip flops. She scooted in front of Dannie, putting her cheek against his chest as her arms around him tightened gently, like it did whenever she was scared. Justin… someone that knows my dad is here. she whispered, pressing her face against his chest gently as she closed her eyes and pressed her body against him and let her auburn hair fall over her shoulder. She did not want Shaun seeing her, since he would more then likely try to strike a conversation and she didn’t want that. She stood somewhat inside their little circle with her back to all the guys, just standing there silently with her body against Justin and her face against his chest. She was scared – it was obvious – but didn’t want to let it off like she was. Didn’t seem to be going good so far, though. You could always tell when she got extremely scared, because she would turn her back to all the guys, even her friends, and just press herself against her boyfriend. It always let off she scared, even when she tried not to. Wasn’t working, was it? No, not really.

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POST STATUS completee. TAGGED meee. x] and other people. WORD COUNT one nine four six without codes. BANNER me. TEMPLATE me. NOTES text banner credit to someone on caution. muse is NICK LACHEY.

[JACOB ANTHONY MORRIS]

Most people really didn't know a whole lot about Jacob Morris. He wasn't afraid to talk about things, and he was a rather outgoing guy, but he rarely ever talked about himself or anything relating to himself. If someone ever asked him something personal about him, he would answer, but he would never go into any details, especially if it involved his time in the military or his "love life." Kyle probably knew the most about him out of the entire group since he had been Jacob's commander in the Army and knew all about what had happened to cause his especially severe post war trauma, and knew some about him before he had joined the Army. Of course, Kyle also knew a lot about Jeremy, since he had known Jeremy before he went off to war, and he knew a lot about Justin because Justin had taken to confiding in him for whatever reason... but that is all besides the point.

Everyone in the group knew that Jake didn't like to talk about the war, and so the topic was avoided all together. That, naturally, meant the didn't really talk about Kyle much either, since he had been in the Army and still worked as a recruiter, but Kyle didn't seem to mind all that much. In the group, everyone had their little issues, that they all knew about and so went out of their way to work around that and not bring it up at all. Guys may have been traditionally less thoughtful than girls, but Jake, Justin, Jeremy, and Kyle definitely didn't fall into that category. Sure sometimes they didn't really think before they did things, but that was just part of what made them guys. Most of the time though, they were all pretty level headed, which was saying a lot, considering how often and how much they drank on a regular basis.

For Jacob, it had been just about two years since the event that had sparked the Post War Trauma that even to this day haunted him. He was much better now than he had been two years ago, but every once in a while, something would happen to spark a flashback, and he usually got rather violent when he was in a flashback, partly because in his mind he was back at war, and partly because he was fighting so hard to keep his mind in reality that his inward battle had to be expressed outwardly. Somehow though, he had always managed to keep his violence suppressed enough that he very rarely ever lashed out at another person and took it out on some inanimate object which wouldn't feel pain. Kyle was the one who always dealt with Jake when he was having one of those moments because he had been the one who had dealt with him overseas and had prevented him from killing himself.

A time or two Jake hadn't been able to control the anger and had ended up hitting Kyle, but as mentioned before, Kyle was probably the strongest of the group, as well as the most sturdy and tough. He could take a hit and not even flinch. Out of anyone in the group, he was without a doubt the most in control of himself. Hitting Jake in return would accomplish nothing, and he knew it, so the thought of doing so never even crossed his mind. Normally to get him out of that mindset, Kyle would take him out back and talk him through everything that had happened after that event to get his mind back in his life now and out of his life then. That almost always fixed the problem, although Jake was always so rattled afterward that he could hardly function and had to be taken home, which meant the end of their get together.

No one really understood what he was going through. They knew why he was going through it, but they didn't know what it was like to be in a bar one moment, and the next be in a war zone in Iraq watching the woman you were in love with getting killed over and over again. It was hell, and he hated it. One way or another, he had always managed to focus his anger on something not near to Dannie. He had seen her fear of men and strangers in general, and that had managed to be a part of the shard of reality that he managed to hang onto every time. The last thing he wanted was to scare Dannie worse than he probably always did when he got into that mindset, and the last thing he would ever do was hurt her. He didn't want her to be afraid that he would take his anger out on her, because he would never in a million years do anything to harm her.

Despite the fact that his main focus had been on Jeremy, he saw Dannie's expression change when a man walked in the door, and then the way she held onto Justin... it all definitely said she knew that man and had reason to be afraid of him. Now, anyone who knew Jake understood that ever since that day in Iraq he had become almost obsessively protective of the people around him. Whether it was someone he had known all his life, a family member, a friend, acquaintance, or a complete stranger he was protective of them. He couldn't explain why, he just wouldn't stand for someone to get hurt while he looked on. He had always been the sort of guy to defend the people who couldn't defend themselves, and even if they didn't ask for his help, he sure as hell would give it.

Just after Jake noticed Dannie's fear, Jeremy and Kyle noticed it as well, though they didn't know what was causing it. Justin put both his arms around Dannie, holding her tightly against him. I won't let him hurt you Dannie

[/u] He said softly to her. He wasn't sure if they should go or if they should figure out a way to make the other guy leave, but before he had even finished that sentence to Dannie, Jake was breaking off from the group and heading pointedly in the direction of the man who was causing Dannie's distress. The thought that instantly entered his mind was, of course, shit. because he knew what Jake was planning to do, and there was nothing any of them could do to stop him now. He was a determined and stubborn son of a bitch, and once he got his mind set on something, there would be no changing it no matter how hard you tried... and they all already knew that.

The three guys remaining there in the group watched as Jacob walked away, not even trying anything to stop him. Jake had absolutely no idea who this guy was or if he'd ever done anything less than acceptable, but he wasn't about to wait and find out. All he knew was that Dannie was afraid of this guy, and he wasn't about to let him ruin the night for her. It was just his over-protectiveness kicking in again. He strode over there with the kind of confidence that you would only see in a guy who knew exactly what he was going to do and didn't give a damn whether it worked or not... he wasn't going to just not do anything. Of course, a faster and less risky way to resolve this issue would have been Jeremy just going and getting the bouncer to kick the guy out, but Jake didn't think that way. When he thought of ways to resolve issues, he thought of the ways he could do it, not anyone else.

Anyway, he walked over to the man, a less than friendly expression on his face. Without so much as a word, he slammed his fist into the guy's bottom jaw, his voice a low growl. You son of a bitch.[/s] He half muttered as the man stumbled back, improvising and making things up as he went along, I swore I'd kill the man who got my sister pregnant, and I've waited a year to see you just so I could do exactly that.[/s] Of course, Jake had absolutely no idea who this guy was or who the guy who Cassandra pregnant was, but what the hell... it could be this guy for all he knew, and he needed to have some "reason" even if he made it up, to go over there and clobber the guy.

Justin's expression changed from "dammit why does Jake always get in fights?" to amusement when he heard what Jake was saying. All eyes had turned to the two men, and as soon as Jake said that, everyone was instantly on his side, which was a good move. That meant that the bouncer was more likely to throw the other man out, and not Jake. Just then, Justin also noticed that Jeremy had moved away from the group as well while everyone's attention had been on Jake and the other man. It took him only about two seconds to relocate Jeremy since he stood head and shoulders taller than everyone else in the room, and only about half a second more to realize what Jeremy was doing... which was further cementing getting rid of the other man and keeping Jake from being thrown out... again. He was incredibly convincing when he wanted to be, and from the hand gestures, Justin was guessing he was telling the bouncer to throw the other guy out.

Most observers of the situation would probably be in disbelief, but anyone who knew about this group would just shrug it off. This wasn't the first time a situation had gone down like this with them, and it would undoubtedly not be the last. Although, this was the first time Jake had gone and punched a complete stranger. He tended to get into fights a lot, normally with people who he knew, and he usually had a good reason to as well. He'd been thrown out several times too when Jeremy's convincing hadn't been quite enough to prevent that... and most of them expected it now. But hey, what was a little excitement added to the night, and it gave them something to talk about too.[/center][/size]

[DANIELLE WHITNEY CURTIS]

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Now, if you were to ever read a book or magazine, love would be mentioned more then about twenty times. Unless were reading something on motors or something – and sometimes even then the advertisement would say “you are just going to love this product” – love would be mentioned at least once. But when it came to the word “love” it was used in different ways. It could be used in a scientific way to describe something – maybe H2O or something. Like how the oxygen seems to “love” – oops, there is that word again – the water. And how the water would “love” – see, there it is again – the oxygen or what we call air. You could say that you would just “love” – damn there it is again! – this brush, these pair of shoes, this shirt, this skirt, this song, those jeans, and things along that line. And then came the way the word should really be used – to describe your feeling for someone. In the dictionary, love meant “a profoundly tender, passion affection for another person”, “a sexual passion or desire”, “sexual intercourse; copulation” and the most famous of them all – “a feeling for warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child or friend”. None of those definitions or terms could really match up the way Dannie felt for Justin. She loved him, and “love” did not even do her justice. If for one moment you could feel the way she felt around Justin you would never want to have any other feeling in your life from that point on. It was so intense, so deep that not even fairytales could experience it. And as we all know; fairytales have some of the happiest tales of love in the history of the world. Romeo and Juliet was depressing, Cinderella ended with Prince Charming, Snow White ended with her Prince, and so on. Even those famous fairytale love stories could not match up to this feeling she got around him – not even if every feeling of love added together to try and get the feeling. It was almost impossible to feel unless you were Justin. The feeling was so strong and it was unbelievable.

Dannie has been through so much that sometimes people could not even believe that Dannie was with somebody – let alone town bad boy Justin Novak. They would always think she was joking, going “you’re funny” or “you are joking” or something along those lines. Danielle rarely talked to anyone – she had issues communicating, and her social skills were nowhere near great. Justin was the one person she talked to a lot, and sometimes she rarely talked to him if they were in public. She was always so scared of letting her secret slip out, and that if it did the world would end. That people would use it in some way to mischievously use it against the poor girl; that they would find her unattractive and refuse to talk to someone to be around someone with such a horrible past that reflected no happiness in it what so ever; or that they would feel sympathy for her, send her to counseling and thinking they needed to pamper her like a baby. One thing that Dannie hated worse then abortion was people feeling sympathetic for her – and believe me if you will, she hated abortion more then she loved Justin. She had always hated it with pure passion, since she felt like that when people felt bad for you they treated you like children. Danielle was no where near the age of a child – she was currently seventeen about to be eighteen in a few months and she was rather mature for her age. She was an incredibly hard worker, working hard when it came down to it. Of course she was changing as well, becoming a bit more outward and outgoing thanks to her group of friendly friends and her sister who was a bit of a whore in the town. Her sister was the one that had convinced her to have sex with Justin in the first place and get the tattoo she had hidden from even Justin himself who had seen every inch imaginable of Dannie’s body – her sister was changing her a lot.

Of course, it wasn’t long after Justin and Dannie got together and became closer friends that Dannie left her father and moved in with Justin. Her father, being the abusive alcoholic he was, thought that his daughter shouldn’t move out at such a young age and should stay in the protective custody of her father. Of course, it wasn’t exactly safe considering she was getting abused every night. Justin had been just outside the house too, and before then Dannie would take frequent sneaks out of her bedroom window just to see him and hang out with him. They would have the occasional kiss here and there too, just hanging out and talking and catching up on their day since normally Dannie was only allowed out when her father wasn’t there to enforce the rules and make her stay home. So she would sneak out, risking the chance of getting caught and her father getting pissed off just to see the one guy that was in her life that made her smile and laugh and that she could actually be herself around. It was obvious she had liked him at the time, though Dannie never really went along with her heart and showed him or told him. She was more of an actions then words kind of girl – she always had been. So she would throw out little hints, talking about how sexy he was or the occasional kiss or something along that line just to give him a few hints. She had refused him at first, though, because she refused to let him get in her life anymore and risk him getting hurt by her father or herself. If she ever hurt him, she just wouldn’t know what to do.

Almost as soon as her arms wrapped around Justin and the tightness she clung to him with, Jacob had already left the group and had went over to the man that was scaring Dannie. What she was going to do was beyond Dannie, but as long as he found some way to get him out of here he was okay. She heard him start talking about his pregnant sister – Cassandra, the one who had falsely accused Justin of being the father – and that he would kill the guy that had gotten her pregnant. Dannie knew for a fact that the man Jacob was hitting was not indeed the father; since the father was Jace, a man Alessandra, Cassandra and Dannie went to school with. But Jacob was getting rid of the man, and that was all that mattered to Dannie. As long as he got the man to leave Jake could fight with him all day long. Justin had his arms wrapped tightly around her, and Kyle remained there as well. Jeremy had left to go talk to the bouncer, and just about as soon as the fight started it ended. The man was thrown out, and Dannie was extremely grateful of Jacob for doing such a thing. Dannie had found a bar stool near by, since they were standing off to the side of the bar itself anyways. She sat down on the stool then reached out to Justin, pulling him down slightly before kissing him gently on the lips. She remained there for a moment or two, just getting caught up in the moment before pulling back and climbing down off the stool. I’ll be right back she said, and with that quickly made her way through the crowd and over to Jacob. She wrapped her arms gently around him, giving him a small hug. Thanks… she said to him, pulling back and looking up at him with a gentle smile. She was grateful, and it was obvious.

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POST STATUS incomplete. TAGGED meee. x] and other people. WORD COUNT one three three two without codes. BANNER me. TEMPLATE me. NOTES text banner credit to someone on caution. im terribly sorry for poofing. D: finally finished after a month or so.

[KYLE JAMES SLATER]

Every so often people will come across someone who they know is completely unlike anyone else they have ever met or ever will meet, and Jacob was definitely one of those people. He was extremely defensive of the people he cared about, so much so that he was willing to put himself in harm's way to protect them. He knew full well that the consequences of this could have turned out completely differently. He knew that he could have been thrown out and the man could have pressed charges against him, and he could have even gone so far as to go to jail for aggravated assault, but he didn't care. There was something not right about the man who had just walked in, and if he was a threat to Dannie, which it appeared he was because of her fear, then Jacob was going to do whatever he had to do to get him away from her. He had lost a lot in his life, and he wasn't going to lose anything else.

Though he hadn't told anyone, this morning Roxxie's side of the bed was made, and she was nowhere to be found. There had been a simple note telling him it was over and she was leaving... and nothing more. He'd been crushed by it, but he hadn't said anything to anyone. He didn't want them to know... not yet. He didn't want people to take pity on him... but he knew that sooner or later he was going to have to tell them. He couldn't be a single dad... but being adopted himself, he knew what it was like to be given up by your parents, and he couldn't possibly do that to his baby, not when he knew how horrible it could be. Now that he was older, it wasn't so bad, but he'd had a lot of anger issues when he was younger because of it. He didn't understand why, and was convinced it could only be because he wasn't good enough for them. He was going to need help and soon too.

Jake didn't really like talking about the things that were going on in his life, especially when they weren't going well or when he felt like he had been emotionally compromised to the point that he wouldn't be able to function properly. He knew how he could be when his emotions got the better of him... and it wasn't good. He knew he tended to get violent... he knew it caused the flashbacks to start again... he knew he was a danger to anyone and everyone that came around him, and it was essentially a miracle he hadn't hurt anyone in the year that he had been out of the army. He wouldn't ever intentionally hurt anyone, but when the flashbacks started, no matter how hard he tried to convince himself it wasn't real, it was all so vivid and clear that it almost always essentially eon him over and sent him into a state of uncertainty, and once that happened he would be pulled back into the war again, and at that point he would become dangerous.

He watched in silence as the bouncer intervened before he made this into a bigger fight than it needed to be, and he didn't doubt that it was Jeremy's doing when the other guy got thrown out instead of him. He didn't move from where he stood while all this went on, his attention never leaving the bouncer and the man being escorted out, a habit he had obtained from the army. Never take your eye off the person who was a threat to you. For that reason he was a little taken off guard when Dannie suddenly appeared out of nowhere and wrapped her arms around him and thanked him. For a brief moment, Jacob very nearly lost it, but he clenched his fists for a moment fighting it, then relaxed and forced the well practiced smile. Don't mention it. He said with a nod, coming off as perfectly fine when in reality he was anything but.

Meanwhile, the ever ADD Jeremy had gotten himself distracted somewhere between talking the Bouncer into not throwing Jacob out too and re-joining the group. He was extremely predictable like that and everyone always expected to lose him somewhere when they were in a crowded place. He normally brought his ipod so that he could constantly have music, but he had decided against bringing it today for God knows what reason, and for that reason, his attention had gotten scattered somewhere along the way and he had completely forgotten what he had been doing in the first place. He was now somewhere between the door and the bar, talking to someone that he had probably never met in his life before this day. He was possibly the most outgoing person you would ever meet, and that didn't help with his ADD in the least.

Justin had stayed where he was for a moment before making his way over to where Dannie and Jacob now stood, leaving it up to Kyle to go find Jeremy and get him to rejoin the group. Everyone always left the difficult tasks up to Kyle, because Kyle was the most suited for the job. He walked over and slid his arms around Dannie's waist in that loving and protective way that he always held her. Are you okay baby?

[/i] He asked her softly, always legitimately concerned about her. He would often ask her if she was alright when nothing had happened just because he was so concerned about her well-being. Dannie was always the one who brought that out in him. If she wasn't around, then he would always come off as rough and untouchable... but as soon as Dannie came around all of that changed and he was a completely different person. It was like his personality completely changed and he became someone totally different. It was amazing the sort of thing that love did to a guy like Justin. It had been all he needed all his life, and he had never been granted that until Dannie came along. Now he had turned full circle and was heading back in the right direction. Dannie saved him, there was no questioning that. He loved her more than anything out there. She was his life, without her, he was nothing. So long as he had Dannie he was happy.

As Justin left, Kyle got the hint. He, like everyone else who knew Jeremy, knew that Jeremy was God knows where talking to God knows who. He was like a little kid in a candy store when there were people around and he had no music to keep him focused. Kyle was definitely the mature one of the group, always keeping everyone in line. If someone had to choose between getting in a fight with any of them, the last one they would choose would be Kyle. Although he was only 5'9" getting in a fight with him would be like pitting a doberman against a bulldog. While the doberman may be bigger and agile and more intimidating, the bull dog was stout and powerful and with one snap of its jaws it could break any neck. Kyle was definitely more powerful than anyone in that group and could very easily kill someone with his bare hands. He was like the security guard of the group. If he was around, no one was going to mess with anyone in that group. Of course, Jake and Justin also contributed to that, but since Kyle looked every bit the army man he was, he definitely held the cards on that one.

Kyle waded through the crowd that had once again fanned out now that the fight was dispersed, not at all having a hard time finding Jeremy. The guy was 6'4" and stood a good head and shoulders above most people in the room, of course he was easy to find. Jeremy what the hell is taking you so long?[/u] Kyle said as he reached him, interrupting the conversation he was having with a random conversation. Most people would consider him rude... but Kyle didn't give a damn, he was a former army commander, if he gave a shit about what people thought then he'd never have risen in rank like he did. As soon as Jeremy's attention was on him, Kyle pulled out his own ipod and shoved it in Jeremy's hands. Focus. Lets go. He took hold of Jer's shoulders and turned him in the direction of the group, and pushed him forward, never even acknowledging the other person. He wasn't going to apologize to them, and he sure as hell didn't want a conversation with them, so he was just going to completely ignore their presence... it was a Kyle thing... only the people who were close to him understood it and weren't bothered by it. If he didn't want to talk to you, he would just ignore you... that was just the way he did it.

Jeremy started into a word of protest when Kyle pushed him towards the group, but even in as much of a stubborn ass Jeremy was, he knew better than to argue with Kyle, even if Kyle was wrong he would quickly convert you to his side... the guy just didn't lose arguments, and even Jeremy had given up on trying, and that was saying a lot. Honestly all of the guys in this group were stubborn and very opinionated, Jacob was by far the worst at arguing, Justin wasn't all that great either, Jeremy was practically a professional, and Kyle was just the best there was. He hardly even had to argue. Whatever he said, people tended to just believe because he always spoke with such authority. Anyone who knew him just didn't argue with him. It was a waste of time and breath.[/center][/size]

[DANIELLE WHITNEY CURTIS]

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dannie has always been the kind of girl to believe in fairy tales. for the longest time she waited for prince charming to come along on his white horse, to rescue her from her life of hell. she had a life of hell that was sure. her mother didn't want her anymore; she had left her when she was a little girl and had not talked to dannie since. her father was abusive; he beat her for something she didn't even do. he would leave blood on the floor for his daughter to clean up as soon as she got enough strength to even stand up. it was amazing she was alive to this day after all the abuse and pain the poor teenager had gone through. it was amazing what you could go through in a short eighteen years. of course, through the last year of her life things had started changing for the better. sure, the abuse got worse and she got injured more. she only went through a few months of that though. she had met someone that cared enough to try and figure out what bothered her; by she was so damn distant from the rest of the world. he stood up for her and stood up to her dad, threatening him. through his persuasion she moved out of her dad's place and in with him, now happy as ever. she was in love. only after a year of meeting him, she was head over heels.

dannie knew very well that jacob had taken the risk of getting the group thrown out. he had stood up for her but he still could of gotten himself and the rest of the group thrown out. she was still glad that he had stood up for her. when she had hugged him she felt him tense up and she knew that it wasn't exactly something he liked. he relaxed though and as soon as he did she pulled away, looking up at him with a smile. he smiled back down at her when she pulled back. she wasn't sure if it was honest or not but she definitely was not going to ask. a smile was a smile whether it was fake or not. she turned back around, taking only a few steps before seeing justin appear in front of her and wrap his arms around her in a loving way. she smiled up at him, her green eyes standing out against her auburn hair. her and her twin were exactly alike yet completely different at the same time. if no one knew any better a lot of people would think that dannie had chopped her hair off, dyed it and magically grew it out and dyed it again every time they saw either her or dakota. they had the same color eyes, the same skin tone and that was pretty much it. their smile was the same, though dakota's held an evil hint to it. dakota's hair was mullet styled and black while dannie's hair was auburn and long, a bit messy at times when she didn't dress up. their personalities were so different that it was hard to believe they were even twins. dakota had the personality of the devil while dannie had one of an angel.

at least she had that personality when she wanted. she could come off as shy and a bit rude if she ended up ignoring you, but deep down she was incredibly sweet, outgoing and charming. justin was the only one that ever brought out that side of her. he had changed her so drastically in the past year it wasn't even funny. she loved justin so much that it was hard for her to even express to him how she felt for him. he brought out the soft side of her that had never been brought out before. she cared about him and would do anything to be in his arms. it was just so hard for her to express in words how he made her feel. he made her feel so important. he gave her a reason to wake up in the morning. he was the reason she had a smile on her face every day. it wasn't a fake smile either. it was an actual genuine smile, a smile that you just couldn't fake. he was her everything. everyone always said that words could always express how you felt. that sure wasn't true for dannie. he just made her feel so amazing and there was no way in the world she could use words to express that. i'd be lying if i were to say marriage and "together forever" has never crossed her mind the entire time they've been together. and lets be honest - im just not a liar.

as he wrapped his arms around her and asked if she was okay she grinned and nodded her head. never better, baby. she said as she ran her hands over his stomach and rested them on his chest. dannie never was the kind to want to leave early, always wanting to stick around and see what would happen. tonight though, she had a change in personally. she leaned up, kissing his neck gently before pulling back and looking up at him with her gentle green eyes. what do you say we head home? i think me and you need some alone time... she whispered to him, kissing his neck again and smiling at him gently. she knew justin understood exactly what she meant. dannie never was the kind to make the first move, justin always was, but could you blame her? she really did just want some personal time with justin. what can i say? dannie loves her privacy. especially with that privacy was with justin. i'd be lying again if i said their personal wasn't very active. it was very active. a bit more than dannie was used to but she didn't complain. hell, she loved it. and with a amazing guy like justin who in the right mind wouldn't like it?

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POST STATUS complete. TAGGED meee. WORD COUNT one thousand and fifteen. BANNER me. TEMPLATE me. NOTES text banner credit to someone on caution. ugh. you're so unfair. but here it is. DONT READ IT. it sucks.