SF Chapter 164: Last day
"I think it was very romantic, but I might get into trouble..." Haley said conflicted after Dylan finished singing.
Amanda gave a mock smile. "So, being a few screws loose runs in the family, Dani?" she joked since Haley wasn't really shy by the song.
"Hey, I'm normal," Alex retorted, trying to hide her face behind her hair, embarrassed by the song.
"You have to give him credit," Dani said, unfazed. "It takes guts to sing that in front of the girl's entire family."
"Ha," he chuckled. "Haley, you're gonna be like Hilary here," Dani pointed to the blonde. "Sleeping in your parents' room tonight."
Hilary rolled her eyes. "My parents trust me. They even let me drink a little."
But she explained why. "There are many adults and kids here, so they feel like it's a safe place."
"Besides," Hilary added, looking around, "there are only two boys. You and Haley's boyfriend. What's with the lack of guys here? Thought you'd be more popular..." she jabbed.
"Hey!!" Dani exclaimed. "My usual crew - Leonard, Raj, Howard, and Sheldon - are in North Pole doing scientific research, so they couldn't come."
"Wouldn't make a difference for what you want, Hilary," Haley pointed out. "They're much older and nerdy."
"Also, I have friends from high school and middle school, but... you know how it can put some pressure with all of this," Dani said more sober.
"Not just the money and the fame. Being around so many famous, beautiful girls makes it harder for a regular guy to fit in."
"Aw," Amanda patted his arm supportively. "What about actors? I don't remember seeing you with any of them..."
"Maybe because he's too distracted by the actresses," Mischa mocked.
"That's true!" He pointed a finger at her. "It's all you pretty chicks' fault. You're always stealing my attention instead of letting me make some bros in Hollywood!"
He received a few eye rolls in response, the girls not even bothering to reply to his shameless remark.
"He got a lot of congratulations," Prudence commented this time, changing the subject.
Dani patted his pocket. "Is that my phone?" he asked, gesturing toward the cellphone in her hand.
"Yep, I'm reading all your messages," she smirked.
"Sheesh, someone's in trouble," Amanda teased.
Dani didn't seem bothered. "I have nothing to hide. I was only going to ask her to keep the girls' names private, but then I remembered all my contacts are in code."
"It's true," Prudence confirmed. "What are all these nicknames?"
"I'm a careful guy."
"Annoying comet?" she asked, pointing at one of the favorites on the list.
"That's Hay-hay."
Haley gasped offended. "Annoying comet?!" She looked outraged at her uncle.
"Springfield's beer."
"Hilary."
"Mike."
"That's Mischa."
Everyone looked at the girl.
"Yeah, my name is a diminutive of Mikhail in Russian..." she revealed, pouting slightly.
"Princess Ariel."
"Ahh, you put that?" Alex yelled.
"Of course! You were a cute five-year-old Ariel - the tiny fish princess. I have lots of photos of that."
"Don't you dare show those," she warned.
"Rain detector?" Prudence frowned, not even able to follow the logic.
"Oh, that's you, Amanda," Dani said, turning to her. "Because of the joke..." he gestured toward her chest.
She kicked him. "That damn joke you made."
"Deadpan. That's Lexi, right?" Prudence laughed.
"Yeah!"
Lexi just looked flatly at the duo.
"You put mine as Prudence?"
"Yes. What annoys you more than just using plain and simple, just your own name? When everyone else has a funny nickname?"
She raised an eyebrow, then nodded. "You know me well. It does annoy me a little."
Meanwhile, Dylan was pulled aside by Jay and Charlie for a talk. Charlie was a very ironic choice to go, but there was no one else reliable besides him and Jay.
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After a while, Dani went with the girls to one of the rooms. Haley went to talk to her father, while Alex decided to go to her room since they had started drinking alcohol.
"So what are we going to do?" Amanda asked.
"I think we should play spin the bottle. Whoever it lands on has to choose someone to kiss," Dani suggested, picking up an empty wine bottle.
"Ha-ha-ha," Mischa laughed mockingly. "You're so funny, Dani. You'd do great working in a circus."
"It's already past midnight," Lexi said, glancing at her wristwatch. "We can kick Dani out and call it a girls' night," she smirked.
He made a face. Dani pulled Prudence closer. "Restore some order here, please, Prudence. You're the owner!"
She thought for a moment, then ran her hand through his hair. "Unfortunately, I'll have to agree with him, since what I want to propose is that we sing."
"More?" Dani raised an eyebrow.
"Not a bad idea," Hilary chimed in. "And I'm curious about Dani's other songs."
"Fine, which one should I start with?"
"Do 'Shape of You' first," Prudence suggested, "since you recorded it."
"What?" Lexi exclaimed, surprised.
"I did when I was in New York. Prudence made me record two of my songs: 'Shape of You' and 'Animals.'"
"So you actually did something productive on that trip?" Amanda mocked.
"Yeah," he leaned closer, whispering, "reproductive, I did a lot," he provoked, earning the usual elbow to the ribs.
Prudence played the melody she had created, and Dani began to sing.
♫♪ The club isn't the best place to find a lover
So the bar is where I go
Me and my friends at the table doing shots
Drinking fast and then we talk slow ♫♪
♫♪... ♫♪
[Dani commentary]
"Yeah, we made some very small changes, like: 'church' to 'club,' 'bros' to 'friends,'" Dani revealed.
"Obviously, the 'mouth' line - and the reason behind it - will stay between Lexi and me."
He didn't tell Prudence it was inspired by Lexi giving him her first BJ.
[Commentary ends]
The girls were looking at him in surprise. Even Lexi, who had seen the creation up close, was a little impressed by the full song, especially hearing it with the music instead of a cappella.
"Wow, Dani, I think this one was even better than the other two I heard," Amanda remarked. "Where did you get all the inspiration?"
Lexi just kept staring at her wine glass when she heard the question.
"Eh, I don't know," he shrugged. "I get these sparks of inspiration sometimes."
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