#pt 4

A strange, quiet normalcy settled over them. They were roommates now, navigating a shared space with a cautious, unspoken agreement. The first day had been about building the set. Today, Danny decided, was for a dress rehearsal.

After a silent breakfast—Danny with his coffee and cereal, Wes glaring daggers at the toaster as it produced another charred slice—Danny pushed his laptop aside and cleared his throat.

"So," he said, his tone all business. "We should run through scenarios. Wally is going to want to see us interact. We need to be prepared."

Wes blinked. "Prepared? Like... a script?"

"More like improv," Danny corrected. "We have our foundation—the library—but we need to fill in the gaps. We need to act like we have a genuine, shared history. Simple scenario." He leaned back, eyes fixed on Wes. "You're in the kitchen. I'm on the couch reading. One of Wally's friends—" He gestured vaguely, searching for a name. "Jim, was it?—comes in and asks me how we met. What do you do?"

Wes frowned. "Well, you'd tell him the story. We met at the library."

"Exactly. But what do you do?" Danny pressed. "Do you come out? Smile? Act like you're hearing it for the first time? The details matter."

Wes put his hand on the table, distractedly drumming his fingers, discomfort plain on his face. "I... don't know. I'd probably just go with the flow."

"That's not good enough," Danny said, a flicker of his old annoyance returning. "You said Wally notices things. The small stuff that feels fake. You need to act like you're not paying attention because it's a story you know by heart."

Wes took a deep breath, then pushed his chair back. "Okay. Okay, I see. Hang on." He stood and walked over to a drawer by the fridge, rummaging for a moment before returning with a cheap spiral notebook and a pen. He sat back down, the chair scraping against the floor, and clicked the pen open with a definitive snap. The gesture shifted his energy from flustered to focused. "Alright, let's do this properly. So, in that scenario..." He looked up, his journalist's mindset kicking in. "I'd stay in the kitchen, but I'd smile, glance at you over the counter, and then go back to whatever I was doing." He scribbled a note. He hesitated, then added, "And it's Tim."

Danny gave a curt nod, a flicker of approval in his eyes at the sudden professionalism. "Good. But don't force it. Be more like yourself."

A flicker of Wes's normal mischief returned. He jotted down a quick note. "I'd make some sarcastic comment about you being a nerd. That's more my speed."

"It works," Danny conceded. "It adds realism. Next: favorite restaurant?"

Wes tapped the pen on the now-open notebook. "Something a little fancy but believable. That Italian place downtown? The one with the checkered tablecloths."

"Okay." Danny pulled his laptop back and typed a note. "Next scenario. Wally asks you what your favorite meal is that I cook."

Wes paused, looking at the notes he was taking. "Uh... the stew from yesterday? That was really good." He made as if to write it down.

Danny sighed. "Wes, that's the first thing I ever cooked here. It sounds like we've only been together for a day. We need something general. A type of cuisine."

"Right, right," Wes said, the pen hovering over the page. "How about... you have a thing for Italian? Since our favorite restaurant is Italian? It ties together."

"Good." Danny’s nod was approving. "Classic, but not suspicious. Favorite thing to do on a Friday night?"

A grin spread across Wes's face. "We should say we go ghost hunting!" he joked, and immediately regretted, maybe it was insensible?

Danny lifted one judgmental eyebrow, arms crossed. "With those sticks for arms?"

"Hey! Not everyone can shoot lasers," Wes pouted, the nervous energy leaving him. Talking to Danny felt like navigating a minefield blindfolded, but he was starting to learn the terrain.

"Mind you, I also know how to throw a punch, thank you very much," Danny retorted with a good-natured smile. "But for real, what do we do? They're arriving on Friday. We need an answer."

Wes shrugged, tapping the pen against his chin. "We can just say we like to watch movies. Nothing extravagant. I'd rather stay in than go out if it's not for work."

"Touche. I'm the same." Danny hummed. "So, what do we like to watch?"

"I don't know. I just enjoy whatever's on. What's your favorite?" Wes propped his head on his hand.

Danny's relaxed posture shifted, becoming more reserved. He looked to the side, his voice dropping to a near whisper. "I... don't have one." He avoided Wes's eyes, a clear discomfort settling over him. "I never had time for movies."

The comfortable banter evaporated, replaced by a heavy, solemn silence. Wes stared, the pen stilling in his hand. The puzzle pieces of Danny's life clicked into a much sadder picture.

"Okay," Wes said quietly, breaking the tension with a deliberate clearing of his throat. He looked down at his notebook, giving Danny a moment. "We'll work on that later. What about documentaries? You seem like the type."

Danny finally looked back, a single eyebrow raised. "For the record, I am. Used to watch them while doing homework before. Space, mostly. Wildlife if it was interesting." He slowly relaxed back into his slouch.

"Then we can say you get me to watch them with you," Wes offered, writing it down and feeling the atmosphere lighten slightly.

Danny considered it, then nodded. "That works. It's a shared interest, and it sounds like you indulge me. We don't need a specific title; it gives us a safety net."

He leaned forward again, his tone shifting back to serious. "We need a backstory for our careers. Wally's friends will ask."

"Okay." Wes poised his pen over a fresh page in the notebook. "What do you do?"

"I work at the planetarium," Danny said, his voice calm. "I give tours and presentations. It's a part-time gig while I finish up my degree. I actually have to…" He checked the time on his laptop; it was already 11:43 am. ”...a shift in about three hours. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 3 pm to 7 pm. If your brother gets here early, I can welcome him and then go to work, but I should probably ask to have that day off just in case."

Wes's eyes widened as he scribbled furiously. "The planetarium? That's… perfect." He looked up, the journalist in him visibly connecting dots. "I'm a journalism student, doing my dissertation on local events for the Amity Park newspaper. Our fields are completely different, but it still makes our meeting at the library plausible. It's a solid story." He was already mentally piecing the headline together.

Danny sat back, watching him construct the narrative. "What else?"

“Maybe about your family?” Wes asked, not looking up from his notes. “I've only ever told him you have an older sister and your parents, but nothing more than them existing.” He drummed the pen onto the paper.

Danny's expression hardened instantly. "We don't talk about my past," he said, his voice cold and final. The temperature in the room seemed to drop a degree. "We can say I'm not close with my family. But we don't get into details."

The weight of the unsaid hung heavy in the air. Wes's drumming fingers stilled. His mind, always racing, put the pieces together. The proximity to the Fentons' house, their very public and eccentric profession, Danny's strange evasiveness. He swallowed hard. The puzzle was forming, but he didn't want to solve it. Not now. He just wanted to get through the next two days without making things worse.

He ran a hand through his hair, his earlier professional confidence evaporating. "Okay. No past. We'll stick to that." He scrawled NO FAMILY - NOT CLOSE in all caps on the page, underlining it twice. He looked up, his expression a mix of nervousness and resolve. "So... we have the career, the meet-cute, and a few shared interests. What about the smaller stuff? How do we act like we're a couple when we're just... sitting here?"

Danny’s tense shoulders relaxed slightly, the cold look in his eyes softening just a fraction at the clear boundary being respected. He leaned back in his chair, taking a slow sip of his now-cold coffee. "Small stuff. Right." He gestured vaguely to the kitchen. "Do we have a system for chores? Who cleans the dishes? Who buys the groceries?" His voice was back to its flat, pragmatic tone. "These are the things that people in a real relationship just know. If we have an answer, it'll make it all look more believable."

The morning's intense strategizing was put on hold as Danny rushed out for his shift at the planetarium. The apartment fell silent, the detailed plans feeling more like a bizarre dream.

Wes felt a wave of relief. This was a safe topic. This was logistics, a problem to be solved with lists and systems. He could handle this. He flipped to a new page in his notebook, a meticulous glint in his eye. "Right. Okay. Chore wheel. I hate dishes, but I don't mind laundry. You're clearly the better cook, so you handle meal planning. I'll do the grocery shopping; I have a system for the coupons." He leaned forward, ready to discuss the perfect division of labor, the perfect grocery list, and the perfect system for their perfect lie. For the first time all morning, he was on solid ground.

____________________________________________

The silence broke hours later with the sound of the door opening. Danny was back, and with him, the peculiar energy of their project returned. "Okay. Showtime. What's next on the agenda?"

The negotiation continued in front of the open pantry. Danny stood there for a bit, assessing everything they had, his expression one of profound disappointment."We're low on rice, and your spice rack is a tragedy. It's just salt, pepper, and something called 'Ghost Pepper Dust'?" Wes, from the couch, shrugged without looking up from his own laptop. "It's versatile." Danny's deadpan reply was instant: "It's a biohazard."

Wes presented his detailed chart with the pride of a general unveiling a battle plan. Danny, however, scanned it with the critical eye of a seasoned project manager. "You've scheduled deep cleaning of the bathroom for Monday," he pointed out. "That's my late shift at the planetarium. Switch it with vacuuming on Tuesday." Wes blinked, then nodded, making the change with a muttered, "Noted." The first of many concessions.

They moved on to practicing "casual" proximity on the couch. Wes "read" a magazine held upside down while Danny scrolled on his phone. The first attempts were stiff, a full foot of tense space between them. By the third try, a quiet understanding had settled. Danny had naturally tucked his feet up under himself, his shoulder just brushing Wes's arm, both of them focused on their own tasks in a silence that was no longer awkward, but... companionable. Efficient.

Emboldened by this progress, Wes, determined to contribute beyond paperwork, decided to start a load of laundry. He emerged from his room with a hamper full of blacks, whites, and a single, vibrantly red shirt he’d gotten as a gift and never worn. Danny, walking by on his way to get more coffee, did a double-take.

"Whoa, hold on," he said, holding a hand up like a traffic cop. He pointed at the red shirt. "Is that new?"

"Yeah? So?" Wes said, confused.

"So, it's going to turn everything in there a lovely shade of pink," Danny said, his voice dripping with the experience of a thousand laundry disasters. "My sister Jazz went through a 'rebellious red' phase. We had pink socks for a year. Separate your darks and lights, Weston. It's basic science."

Wes looked down at his hamper, then back at Danny, a newfound respect for his domestic intelligence warring with his pride. "...Noted," he grumbled, and began meticulously sorting his socks.

“Good boy!” Danny cheerfully mocked from the doorway.

"Alright," Wes said, pen poised. "We need milk, bread, eggs..."

“Oh, shut up!” Wes yelled, his face flushing with embarrassment. He grabbed a balled-up pair of socks and launched them at Danny’s head. Danny just laughed loudly—a bright, unguarded sound that was still foreign to Wes—and dodged, disappearing into the kitchen.

________________________________________

"Standard," Danny nodded.

"...AA batteries, coffee filters, and a new pack of highlighters."

Danny stared at him. "Highlighters? For what?"

"For highlighting things!" Wes said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Important passages. Suspicious statements in the newspaper. You know."

"Right. Of course." Danny paused. "Well, while you're in the stationery aisle, we also need industrial-strength air fresheners, a bag of rock salt, and a five-pound bag of flour."

Now it was Wes's turn to stare. "Flour I get. Rock salt? For the icy steps to the lair?"

"How can you watch this?" Danny asked, grimacing at the news channel Wes had put on.

"For the ghosts, obviously," Danny said, completely deadpan. "You sprinkle it on them. It's a classic. The air fresheners are for after Skulker visits. He leaves behind this awful smell of diesel and failure." He said it with the same casual gravity Wes had used for the highlighters.

Wes opened his mouth, closed it, and then simply wrote ROCK SALT - GHOSTS on the list, deciding, once again, some questions were better left unasked.

_________________________________________

"It's called being informed about the world, Fenton."

"It's depressing. Put on the science channel. There's a thing about Neptune."

"We are not watching a documentary about a planet that's just a big, blue ball of gas," Wes retorted, snatching the remote.

"Says the guy who was literally just talking about highlighters!"

"That's practical! This is... celestial gossip!"

They bickered for a full minute, before they both stopped and realized what they were doing. A beat of silence passed.

The apartment settled into a final, quiet hum. The chore wheel was taped to the fridge, the grocery list was finalized (a bizarre testament to their respective neuroses), and the subtle art of sharing a couch had been, if not mastered, then at least rehearsed.

"...We can just tell them we read together," Wes said finally, turning the TV off.

"Good idea," Danny agreed, the tension broken. "Much quieter."

__________________________________________

They ordered chinese for dinner, Danny too tired to cook and Wes too much of a disaster. The easy camaraderie from the afternoon lingering. They even managed to watch a nature documentary without dissecting it for potential lies, the sound of the narrator's voice filling the comfortable silence.

As night fell and they turned off the lights, retreating to their separate rooms, the apartment felt different. It wasn't just a set anymore. The books on the shelves were his. The blanket on the couch was his. The faint, lingering scent of burnt pizza and laundry detergent was theirs. The lie had been meticulously furnished, and in the process, the space had started to feel, against all odds, a little like a shared home.

Lying in the dark, Danny stared at the ceiling of the guest room. The scripts were written, the blocking was planned. There was nothing left to do but wait for the curtain to rise. A low thrum of anxiety buzzed under his skin, a familiar sensation before a fight. But this time, the opponent wasn't a ghost; it was a well-meaning brother and his observant friends.

In his own room, Wes listened to the quiet sounds of the apartment. He could hear Danny shift in his room down the hall. The guilt from earlier had been soothed by the unexpected normalcy of the evening. The sock thrown, the laughter, the pizza—it felt... real. Maybe this would work. Maybe they could actually pull it off.

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You don't know how much fun i had writing this one, like, the little montage of them doing some mundane things around the house? gold, i love it.