ARTS AND CRAFTS
CHAPTER FOUR

The light that shined from the ceiling was almost blinding. It felt as though she was staring directly at the sun when actually, she was in class, watching her trigonometry teacher demonstrate the sine rule which she couldn't understand to save her life. Her lack of understanding of the topic may or may not have been influenced by her desperation to go home and just relax— sitting with a book or a movie and a cup of hot cocoa was all she could think of. She had spent every night of the past two weeks with either Nicholas or Sabrina and her friends. Sleep was not something easy to come by when hanging out with them. They could talk and laugh for hours on end without their eyes drooping. It was a superpower Dani hoped she would develop over time.

Tapping her pencil against the wooden desk, she couldn't take her eyes off the clock. There were only a few minutes left until class would end and she'd finally be free from this hell they called school, but the ticking of the clock was teasing. Time passed by at a snail's pace, almost as if it was delaying in spite of her.

After what felt like hours, the hands of the clock struck three-thirty, and just seconds later, the bell rang, signalling freedom. Without hesitation, her hands were already throwing her untouched math book and pencil case into her backpack. As fast as a gust of wind, she was out of the classroom, walking toward her locker.

"Hey," she heard a familiar voice say as she dumped her school books into her locker. Dani glanced up to see Roz and Sabrina walking toward her with Harvey and Theo in tow. "How was class?" Roz continued.

"I had math." Though it was a vague answer, Dani was sure that just the fact that it was math would be enough to convey that it wasn't exactly fun.

"At least you're not taking physics." Roz sighed. "I don't think I can take any more of Mr. Koch's puns."

"Do you think he even realizes that they're not funny? I never thought I'd say this but I wish he'd just teach more," Theo agreed, laughing along. He pointed to the banner near the assembly hall. Dani looked up, pursing her lips when she read who the Baxter High Raven's were competing against today. "Are you gonna watch the game against the Bulldogs with us, by the way? It starts in like, half an hour."

Dani didn't hesitate to shake her head, smiling apologetically. "I think I'll pass, but thanks."

"Are you sure?" Sabrina's eyebrows were furrowed in confusion, her usually smiling lips turned the other way round. "Aren't any of your friends from Riverdale High going to be here?"

"Probably not," she said, although she knew very well that her friends were definitely going to be watching the game. They never missed a game. Normally, Dani didn't either. She would have loved to support her new school's team, but not if she'd have to face her old friends who still, after weeks, had barely made an effort to check in on her. She was tired enough already and seeing people from her old school would exhaust her even more. "It's fine, guys. I'm just gonna call it a day."

"Okay," Sabrina settled, "but if you change your mind we're gonna be in the gym. We'll save you a spot just in case." Dani smiled, nodding.

"Thanks." She waved at her friends before walking toward the school's exit.

The cool air that hit her when she walked out of Baxter High was refreshing. Her entire body felt lighter as she strolled down the path towards Cerberus Books; just the fact that the day was over was a weight off her shoulders. Finally, her saviour had come in the form of the weekend. With that in mind, Dani forced herself to bear the short, yet tiring walk to the café-bookshop where she could relax with a nice book and a cup of hot cocoa.

The wan expression on her face lifted when she finally arrived. The pleasant smell of coffee beans and steamed milk filled her nose as she pushed the glass doors open and stepped foot inside. The atmosphere at Cerberus Books was her favourite kind— it was easy to understand why everyone loved it so much. The sound of flipping book pages and the scent of whipped creme in the air gave off a cozy vibe. Pop's was great, but this place was much more relaxing with its dim lighting and quiet music. Its charm was the comforting books, whereas, for Pop's, it was the colourful, energetic lights that didn't always suit Dani's mood.

Standing in the short queue at the counter that Cerberus was attending to, she waited for her turn. She tried to preoccupy herself with the decorations around the shop until the man was done with the people in front of her. She was snapped out of her reverie when a familiar voice filled her ears. Though his words were incoherent, she knew instantly that it belonged to Nicholas.

"I'll let Sabrina know, love." Hilda's soft voice was what gave his location away. Dani looked to the left where Hilda stood with her back to her. In front of her stood a perfectly groomed Nick. When he momentarily glanced away from Hilda, his eyes landed on Dani's and a grin lit up his features. She smiled back and watched him turn back to Hilda and mumble one last thing before making his way towards her.

"Dani," he greeted, stopping in front of her.

"Hey, Nick. What are you doing here?" Aside from that one time on her first day in Greendale, she had never seen him here— and she came there a lot. The place was just as cozy to her as her own bedroom was. Being able to relax with a drink or pastry while reading any book her heart desired was all Dani could ever ask for. Had it not been for her curfew of seven o'clock, she would have happily sat there the rest of the day to consume the delicious snacks and read the engrossing books.

Nick shook his head, his lips still curled upward. "I just needed to talk to Sabrina's aunt." Dani nodded in understanding then he continued to speak. "You don't mind if I join you, do you?"

"You don't think this place is a waste of time?" she jested, stepping forward when everyone else in the shortening queue moved forward too. Nick followed her actions.

"Believe it or not, there are a few places here that I don't hate," he jested with a laugh. "Anyway, you're here, so I might as well stay."

Dani laughed, nodding in confirmation. "Of course you can join me." The straight line of people continued to shorten, and finally, she was at the front. "Hey, Cerberus. I'll have a hot chocolate and an apple pie please," she said, leaning against the island.

"Whipped cream?" he asked, a knowing smile on his face. She nodded then he diverted his attention to Nick. "Nicholas, how about you?"

"I'm good, Cerberus. Thanks." Dani handed him a five-dollar bill and the two teenagers stepped aside when he passed a printed note with Dani's order to Hilda.

"Hello, lovely!" Hilda greeted, her big, energetic smile forcing one just as big on Dani's face. She glanced at Nick before leaning forward to whisper to Dani, though it was clear her intentions were for the boy to hear. "Has he been bothering you?" Dani laughed and shook her head.

"Not so much that I can't handle," she replied at the same volume. She looked at Nick, the grin on her lips growing when he faked a hurt look, his lips parted in supposed shock.

"Well, you let me know if he gets to be too much," Hilda said, laughing once more before handing Dani a small plate with a slice of cake and a mug of hot chocolate. Dani nodded before thanking the woman and walking away with Nick.

"I'm not annoying," Nick argued as he sat down at a table. Dani sat down opposite him and raised her eyebrows, her expression enough to say that she disagreed.

He exaggerated a look of shock again, folding his arms over his chest. "If it weren't for me, you'd be sitting here all alone."

"Exactly how I like it."

"That's why everyone calls you Loner Girl," Nick declared matter-of-factly.

"No one calls me Loner Girl, Nick. Only you do." Her laughter echoed throughout the shop, contagious enough to break Nick out of his look of mock seriousness and into his own fit of laughter. When the last chuckle left Dani's throat, she leaned back against the cushioned seat. Letting out a big yawn, she closed her eyes and let the soothing scent of black coffee beans fill her nose.

"I take that school wasn't exactly riveting." Nick read her mind. "Long day?"

"Way too long," she corroborated, raking a hand through her untamed wavy hair. "I'm just glad the suffering's over for today."

"Isn't that a bit dramatic?" He uttered a breathy laugh.

"Well, how was your day at school then?" she challenged. She raised her eyebrows and folded her arms over her chest expectantly.

"Absolutely appalling. Just knowing I have to go back— ugh. I'd rather go through an apocalypse," he mocked, folding his arms over his chest to mimic Dani. She shot him a dirty look before sitting up straight.

"Whatever, Nicholas." Dani tried to look annoyed but couldn't help the amused smile that snuck on her lips. "You privileged private school kids probably have it so easy."

"Hey, we have the same foolish stuff you guys do, like, uh..." He looked down at the table, face scrunched up like he was trying to think of something. "... the arts, and uh, crafts?" It sounded more like a question than a statement. He squinted the entire time he spoke like he was trying to gauge her reaction. Dani disregarded it, assuming that either that was just the leisure of going to private school or he was messing around. Plus, it was beyond entertaining.

"I rest my case." She snorted. He laughed along and they continued to speak. It was as though she had completely forgotten the exhaustion of the day, overcome by the exhilaration of their conversations. She and Nick didn't hang out often, but the few times they did were always enjoyable.

It was only a few minutes later that Dani took notice of her buzzing phone. When she pulled it out to check, her eyes had brushed over the time, and realized that it hadn't been just a few minutes; it had been an entire two hours. Nick paused what he was saying, assumingly at the sight of how urgently she scrolled through the several notifications from her brother and dad. How had time passed by so fast? She and Nick hadn't talked that much, had they? It was just a few conversations. Or maybe a bit (more like a lot) more than a few, now that she thought about it.

"Crap," she muttered under her breath.

"What's wrong?" Nick asked, concern lacing his voice.

"I forgot to tell my dad I'd be home a bit later," Dani mumbled, distracted by scrolling through her contacts list. It was already a hassle to get her dad to let her go out, so missing so many phone calls were definitely not going to work to her advantage. So instead of calling her dad, she clicked on her brother's name. When the beeping stopped, she inhaled deeply and then spoke.

"Cal?"

"Where are you, Dani? Dad's really worried," Calum's voice sounded from the other end of the line. "I'm on my way home from college. Do you want me to pick you up?"

"No, it's okay. I'm gonna start walking home right now," she promised. She hung up and turned her attention back to Nick who looked at her expectantly. His eyebrows were raised and his lips no longer held the playful smile it usually did.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah." She emitted a long sigh. "My dad's just always worried."

He nodded in understanding and didn't ask any more questions. She smiled gratefully at his choice to not pry on the topic that she was too fed up with to talk about anymore. She did feel bad for missing her curfew and for worrying her father, but she thought that moving to a smaller, seemingly safer town would change things. Nick smiled hearteningly and placed a hand on the small of Dani's back, leading her out of the door. "Well, let's hurry up and get you home, then."

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→ author's note

I hope you enjoyed that! i can't wait to get more into the story where all the adventure/mystery and stuff takes place. right now i'm focusing on not letting the story move to quickly, but i promise things will be getting more interesting within the next few chapters!

thanks for reading. let me know what you think!