Almost Lovers (Three)

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He drummed his fingers impatiently on the arms of the couch, sighing. Jazz was nearby, curled into a thick armchair, muttering to herself and reading a rather thick book about human nature.

Danny looked down and noticed that his hands were shaking slightly, and that his forehead was sweaty. He frowned and wiped his brow, leaning back and trying to relax.

Jazz raised her eyebrows and looked over her book at him, noticing his nervous movements. He had arrived home at one in the morning, sat down on that couch, and hadn't moved. Jazz, who had woken up after not being able to sleep due to the nap she took earlier in the day, hadn't said anything, accustomed to his showing up home at ridiculous night hours.

But this night he seemed… anxious. And nervous.

"Danny?" Jazz asked gently, lowering her book and closing it. "You okay?"

"Who, me?" he squeaked. Jazz blinked. He certainly sounded incredibly nervous…

"Yes. You seem really… worked up." She chose her words carefully. "Is something wrong?"

At first he was quiet, looking down at his feet. He opened his mouth then closed it again; it seemed like he was trying to decide on something. "You know you can tell me anything, Danny."

"I know, but—" he started, but then a look of dawning appeared on his face, and his eyes traveled to the book, and then his sister's concerned face. "Actually… I-I was wondering if you could explain something about human nature to me."

Surprised, Jazz placed her book on the table beside her and repositioned herself on the armchair. A light snow had begun to fall outside.

"I suppose… what do you want to know?" she asked. Danny gulped and leaned forward, clasping his hands together and closing his eyes.

"Why do… why do we do things that we will later regret?" he asked carefully. Jazz seemed taken aback by the question.

"Like… when we act on impulse?" Jazz offered. Danny nodded. Jazz folded her hands over her knee and thought for a moment.

"Well… in simple terms, I guess," she began, "we see something, or an opportunity arises that presents itself as something we really want to experience, or think will affect us or pleasure us later on. I guess normally the affects of an impulse are very brief, but normally pleasurable for that moment. And – this isn't a scientific fact, by the way, but – most of the time, people do end up regretting impulses because they aren't always in their best interest in the long run."

Danny sighed and looked at the floor again, shaking his head. Jazz stood up and walked across the plush carpet, sitting next to him on the couch. She put her hand on his shoulder, but when she did, he flinched, and cowered away from her comforting hand.

"Danny… what happened?" she asked. "What did you do?"

"Something terrible," he said just above a whisper. "Something that I can never take back."

"Something like what?" Jazz asked. Danny turned to look at her, his arms folded in front of him. On closer inspection, he looked tired and hollow, as if part of him had died.

"I… I cheated on Sam, Jazz." The elder girl's jaw dropped slightly, her eyes widening in surprise.

"You what?" she hissed, remembering it was early morning. Danny hung his head, sighing deeply. "You – you cheated on Sam? How—"

"I don't know," he said. "But it's been going on for awhile. Jazz – I just realized this now, but – I've been emotionally cheating on her." Jazz couldn't believe the words tumbling out of his mouth. Danny? Her brother? The boy who pined after Sam for nearly four and a half months – the most loyal and trusting person she knew?

How?

"What? What happened? What do you mean?" Jazz asked. Danny shrugged and put his head in his hands.

"It's all my fault!" he said suddenly. "It's not Sam's fault, nor is it Valerie's."

"Wait, you cheated on Sam with—"

"Yes," he said feebly. "I did." With a heavy heart, he launched into the story of visiting her room late at night, pulling her blankets up over her, watching her sleep. He explained how he had begun to make it nearly a nightly ritual, and that she was slowly invading his thoughts constantly, even when he knew in his heart he loved Sam.

And that, tonight, he had kissed her. He had looked her in her eyes, and seen the affection she once had for him still lingered, and a sudden burning erupted in his chest… and he had closed his eyes and leaned down and kissed her.

Jazz listened, half shocked, half interested. When he finished, she had her hands in her lap, staring at him with an expression he couldn't quite place.

"So…" she began, "where do you stand?" Danny looked at the floor again, and then right into Jazz's aqua marine eyes, his blue ones stern and decided. He had been thinking about this very thing for weeks on end.

"I love Sam," he said slowly. "I love her with everything I am. And I always will."

"But…" Jazz started.

"But…" he sighed. "I'm not in love with her, anymore. I'm in love… with Valerie."

"So, what does that mean?" Jazz asked warily, taken aback. How long had this been going on that Danny knew exactly what was happening?

"I wanted to kiss her, Jazz. When I saw her… I wanted to. It was almost if seeing her had unlocked something inside me that wasn't there before. I'd never felt that way before… not even about Sam."

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Yes, more of this. This is fun. This is evil to the max. This is slightly OOC. But sooooo much fun. Besides, certain DxS fans (not naming names; I don't believe the people who I'm speaking of are any of my reviewers anyway) have been acting a bit self-righteous about the end of DP. It bugs me because a) it's a CARTOON, an b) they're only 14 years old. And everyone I know who was dating at 14 is no longer dating, so you never know!