XXXIX

The next morning, Danielle woke up feeling drained. Despite getting some sleep, her mind had been restless all night, running over things she didn't want to think about.

Still, she wasn't about to let it show. By the time she left her house, she looked every bit like the confident, untouchable girl everyone expected her to be. Dressed to perfection, expression cool, posture straight. No one needed to know how exhausted she actually was.

Arriving at school, she walked through the doors like she owned the place, her usual presence commanding attention. Lilianna and Brooklyn were already by her locker, waiting for her.

"Morning, sleeping beauty," Lilianna teased, leaning against the lockers.

"Shut up," Danielle muttered, opening her locker and grabbing what she needed.

Brooklyn smirked. "Rough night?"

Danielle side-eyed her before slamming her locker shut. "Nothing I can't handle."

She turned, only to immediately notice Riley, Maya, and their group standing further down the hall. Maya was laughing at something Zay said, her face lit up in a way that made something twist in Danielle's stomach.

Danielle forced her gaze away, focusing back on Lilianna and Brooklyn.

"So," Lilianna said, clearly noticing, "are we gonna talk about how you still look at her like that, or are we continuing the 'I don't care' act?"

Danielle shot her a glare. "There's nothing to talk about."

Brooklyn hummed. "Sure. If you say so."

Danielle exhaled sharply. "Do you guys have anywhere else to be?"

Lilianna grinned. "Nope. You're stuck with us."

Danielle rolled her eyes but couldn't fight the small smirk on her lips. "Let's just get to class."

After sitting through Art, Danielle was more than ready for Cheer practice. Art was fine—easy enough to zone out in—but Cheer was where she could actually do something. Move. Exert energy. Distract herself.

And, as always, she led with confidence.

The routine they were working on wasn't anything new, but as head cheer captain, Danielle made sure everyone stayed sharp. The last thing she wanted was for the squad to look sloppy, especially with a game coming up. She called out corrections, demonstrated moves when necessary, and kept everyone on track.

Brooklyn and Lilianna worked alongside her, and even William—who had finished early with the football team—lingered on the sidelines, watching with his usual amused smirk.

When practice wrapped up, Danielle grabbed her water bottle and took a breath, running a hand through her hair. The feeling of movement had helped, but as the adrenaline wore off, her mind started creeping back to other things.

Like the fact that recess was next.

The moment practice ended, her squad dispersed, heading off to grab snacks or meet up with their own groups. Danielle walked back into the school building with Brooklyn and Lilianna, but her eyes naturally drifted across the hall—right where Riley, Maya, and the rest of their group were.

Maya was talking to Lucas, something animated in her expression. Danielle clenched her jaw and looked away.

Brooklyn noticed. "You good?"

"I'm fine," Danielle said, maybe a little too quickly.

Lilianna smirked. "You do know you could just go over there, right?"

Danielle scoffed. "And why would I do that?"

Lilianna shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe because you obviously want to?"

Danielle shot her a glare. "Not happening."

Brooklyn chuckled. "Whatever you say, captain."

Danielle ignored them, grabbing her bottle from her bag that hung off her shoulder.

Danielle barely had time to take a sip from her water bottle before Riley stormed up to her, dramatically shoving a crumpled Spanish test paper right into her face.

"Look at this!" Riley exclaimed, eyes wide with distress.

Danielle leaned back slightly, blinking at the paper that was now inches from her nose. Her gaze flicked down to the bright red letter scrawled at the top.

D.

She smirked, taking the paper from Riley's grip to actually look at it. "Well, congrats. You didn't fail."

Riley groaned, running a hand through her hair. "I might as well have! A 'D' is basically failing!"

Brooklyn raised an eyebrow. "I mean... technically, it's passing."

"Barely!" Riley cried, then turned her pleading gaze back to Danielle. "You speak Spanish, right? You have to help me."

Danielle let out a short laugh, handing the paper back. "I don't have to do anything."

"Danielle," Riley whined. "Please. You're my only hope."

Lilianna smirked, clearly enjoying the show. "You could tutor her. Might be fun watching her suffer."

Riley gasped. "I wouldn't suffer! I'd be a very attentive student."

Danielle crossed her arms, eyeing her skeptically. "Somehow, I doubt that."

"Come on," Riley begged, clutching her test dramatically. "If I don't bring my grade up, my dad's gonna make me write an essay on the importance of Spanish, and I don't think I can emotionally survive that."

Danielle sighed, tilting her head. It wasn't like she had anything better to do. And honestly... the idea of making Riley work for it was kind of entertaining.

"Fine," she said at last. "I'll help."

Riley beamed. "Really?"

Danielle smirked. "Yeah. But it's not gonna be easy. If I'm tutoring you, that means actual work."

Riley straightened up. "I can handle work!"

Brooklyn snorted. "We'll see."

Danielle chuckled, already predicting just how much of a mess this was going to be.

Danielle leaned against the lockers, arms crossed as she eyed Riley with amusement. "Why can't Maya help you?"

At that, Maya—who had been standing nearby watching the scene unfold—let out a short laugh. "Oh, duquesa, you clearly don't know me well enough."

Danielle raised an eyebrow. "You don't speak Spanish?"

Maya smirked. "No, I do. I just don't do tutoring. Teaching people requires patience, and, well..." She gestured vaguely toward Riley.

"Hey!" Riley huffed. "I am a great student."

Maya shot her a look. "You spent half of last class doodling hearts in the margins of your notes with the initial L."

Danielle couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, okay. That tracks."

Riley groaned, throwing her hands up. "This is not the support I need right now."

"Hey, I'm tutoring you, aren't I?" Danielle pointed out. "That's more support than you deserve."

Riley gasped. "Rude!"

Maya just grinned. "I don't know. I kind of like this new arrangement." She nudged Danielle with her elbow. "Let me know how long it takes before you give up on her."

Danielle smirked. "Oh, I'm giving her a week. Maybe two."

Riley crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes. "You guys have no faith in me."

Maya patted her on the shoulder. "It's not no faith. Just... very, very little."

Danielle shook her head with a chuckle. "Alright, Matthews. I'll come over tonight, and we'll see if we can fix your mess."

Riley perked up. "Deal!"

As she walked off, Maya turned to Danielle, eyes glinting with mischief. "So... how long before you regret this?"

Danielle sighed dramatically. "I already do."