Song - London Beckons Songs About Money Written By Machines 

Artist - Panic! At the disco

"Daniel?! But I thought-" I exclaimed.

"You'd thought I'd forgotten you, right?" He smirked knowingly.

"Well that's one way to put it, its sure has been a while." I stared at him in disbelief.

He had changed quite a bit since I last saw him, his hair was a lot bushier than before and his style gave off a hey-I'm-your-resident-friendly-guy sort of feeling, he was a lot more grown up than I would have imagined and about a whole head taller than me now.

"Ahem..." Victoria coughed and we both spun around in unison. "So I'm guessing you two do know each other then?"

"Oh, sorry Victoria," I said.

"Yeah sorry about that Vic," Daniel replied.

"Vic?" I said.

"Yeah from now on that the nickname I'll call her. I almost never say someone's actual name when were friends, it has to be one I give otherwise it just feels too formal for me," he said slinging his arm over my shoulder.

First Vicky now Vic I swear everyone is giving her a pet name now. I thought, but I interrupted yet again.

"What are you all doing out here." We were cut off when Mr. Thornhill suddenly walked out of his office. We all froze and Daniel slowly removed his arm from its resting place on my shoulder. "Josh didn't I tell you to go and get Victoria, what have you being doing out here since?" He was staring at me again. God would it kill him to let up on the monster headteacher image and be nice for once.

"Er..." I had no reasonable explanation for this one, we were all to caught up that we forgot about the situation at hand.

"Sorry sir, I held them up but we were just having a casual discussion," Daniel admitted.

"Well, do you think you can have your casual discussion after I've sorted this out." He had now shifted his gaze from me to Daniel.

"Yes, sir." He replied, seemingly unfazed by the giant tyrannical gorilla.

Mr. Thornhill turned his head to face Victoria, "Young lady, could you go into my office." It sounded like a request but we all knew it was an order. One of the things you needed to learn if you wanted to survive in this school. Don't answer back to questions like that from the headteacher. More often than not that question doesn't need an answer.

"Yes sir" She replied instantly and followed behind him.

Daniel and I watched in silence as they both walked off into the room. Good luck Victoria, you'll probably need it I thought.

After they both left and we heard the door close firmly shut Daniel let out a small sigh of relief. "Well, if there was one thing that hasn't changed since we last met it's that guy, still as scary as ever." Daniel made a face which made me laugh.

"You're telling me." I sighed as we stood in the silence of the hallway.

"Well?" He looked at me expectantly.

"What?"

"You heard the girl. We have a lot to catch up on." He patted my back in a friendly way, but he must have gotten stronger since the last time too because I swear it felt like I had just been pounded with a boulder.

We both went and sat down on the bench outside the door of the headteacher's office. While Victoria was being interrogated, we decided to talk about what we've both been doing in the time we had separated. I asked him a bunch of things like how he was, what'd he'd been doing up until now and so on. As it turned out after he left me back then when we first met he came back day after day until he had given up and thought I didn't really like him, which I felt kinda bad about but I explained to him that I decided to stop shutting myself up from the world.

"And here silly old me thought you didn't like me."

"No, you actually really helped me, like a lot." I babbled.

"Awwww! Stop it, your making me blush." He batted his eyelashes while making this horrible attempt at a pout.

I tried to hold back a snicker by biting down on my bottom lip but failed and I let out a small chuckle which soon became a full-scale laugh and had to grab the chair armrest to stop myself from rolling on the floor. "Were you always this weird?" I laughed.

"Hmm, for as long as I can remember." He grinned.

"I thought you were more of the mature rule-following type of person."

"Are you sure you're talking about the right guy here! I'm never serious, well almost never. I only ever act like that when I talk about depressing stuff." His face drooped a bit.

"...Like about your mum." I asked, but regretted it afterward when Daniel went all quiet.

"Yeah..." He said eventually.

"Sorry, I'm an idiot for bringing it up," I apologized. I had a tendency to ask the wrong questions at the wrong time.

"No, it's not your fault, and besides I've put all that behind me. And by the looks of it, you did as well."

Though this friendly chat was all well and good there was still one thing bothering me.

"So question, what are you doing here?" I asked.

"I was wondering when you would ask me that," he smirked. "Well, you know earlier when shit hit the fan?"

"You mean when I got into a little argument with the fuckboy of the school?"

"Yeah, that."

"What about it?"

"I was there when it was happening, I was going to class when this huge crowd appeared as I turned the corner, and me being curious decided to go and see what all the fuss was about. I got there and saw some kid and his girlfriend-"

"For crying out loud she's not my girlfriend! Do we really look that much like a couple?" I shouted. Then realized I had said that out loud and instantly shut my mouth.

"OK, keep your hair on I was just teasing you. Some kid and his friend. They were in some sort of argument with the 3 princes of the school so I went in for a closer look cause you don't see that often enough. Which is when I heard the girl shout out your name and I thought it was some sort of coincidence since, not be rude but you name isn't the most unique in the world. I figured it was someone else."

"OK, then what?"

"I went in for an even closer look and I saw your face, it looked exactly like you and I undoubtedly knew it was you, it shocked me as I hadn't seen you in ages and all these thoughts started to pop up in my mind such as if you remembered me and what were you doing. So I stayed and watched the whole thing, those guys really were being jerks to you and I wanted to help but I thought if I interfered it would have just made things worse. I didn't see the whole thing because some people in the crowd were blocking my view but I did get a glimpse of that wicked kick you have fuckboy number 1." He continued. "But I have to say, old friend, you surprised me, I'd never thought in a million years the one to finally stand up to those retards would be you. Man, you really went for it with that kick! And his face, god I felt like all the years staying at this shitty school was worth that one moment."

"I'm still in awe at it myself, I never knew I even had that fighting strength in me."

"Well, it looks like you have seeing how you went ape shit crazy back there. Lord, I just wonder what could have set you off."

"It was actually something pretty stupid," I murmured hanging my head.

"OK this, I've got to hear."

I hadn't thought he heard me, and I wasn't planning on telling him either. That incident wasn't one of my proudest moments but he was already looking at me expectantly so I guess I had no choice.

"There's not much to hear," I started, "Micheal was being an asshole said some bullshit thing about taking my only friend away from me. Victoria stood up for me until he gave in, then kissed her and said it was payback for before." I felt my blood boil.

Daniel sucked in some air quickly "Man, that must have been hard to watch, having your friend molested by that idiot."

"I still get ticked off when I remember it." I clenched my jaw.

Daniel sighed deeply as he became lost in thought and I just sat quietly trying to get rid of the memory even thought it was futile. After about a minute Daniel piped up again.

"Josh."

"Yeah."

"What kind of relationship do you have with her, Victoria I mean?"

"What kind of a question is that? Oh and now its Victoria what happened to all that it feels too formal stuff?"

"This is different so just answer it will you."

"We're friends, she was a new student and I was assigned the position of her monitor. Though she did somehow drag me into starting a club with her in the process."

"A club?"

"Yeah I know, she was pretty insistent about it and I being the super duper chump I am, gave into her without much of a fight."

"Yep, that kind of does sound like you," Daniel said.

"Wow you're such a great friend," I said sarcastically.

"The best ever," he smiled back.

Now we were on the topic of the club, I thought it couldn't hurt to try my hand at recruiting. "Speaking of clubs, I was wondering..." I began.

"If I knew anyone who would be willing to join?" he laughed and I nodded my head in a response.

"Sorry Josh, I don't know anyone who's looking to join one, but you know because you'[re my mate and I'm such a nice person, I'll join it. Or at least help you out, that way we won't vanish from each other again." I smiled triumphantly after the words left his mouth, that as one down one to go.

Victoria gonna be so happy I I envisioned her warm sunshine smile that always brought happiness even in the darkest of times.

"So have you got anyone?"

"Yep, actually this girl called Lola who looks after the student council room volunteered to be a part of it once we came to put the suggestion forward."

"I know her, we talk sometimes. She's a cool girl you're lucky." Daniel tilted his head up, staring at the patterned ceiling about.

"Well. that makes the job of getting to know each other a lot easier. Victoria really is gonna be really happy when she comes out that office."

"I'm guessing you really care about her then."

"Yeah you could say that I guess."

"....Are you sure you two are just friends?"

I turned to face him, that was the second time he'd asked my that. I was starting to wonder why it mattered, I told him we were just friends, that's what we were and that's all we were ever going to be. Just friends.

"What are you getting at?" I raised my eyebrow suspiciously at him.

"Nothing, it's just that you're really protective of her. Josh you bloody knocked a person out for a kiss and always seem to stay close to her."

"That doesn't mean I like her."

"I never said that you did I just if you guys were really just casual cause you seem a lot closer than that and-"

"Just friends Daniel. We're just friends." I answered quickly.

"Cause I thought.." He trailed off.

"Well you thought wrong, now can we please drop this topic." I turned away from him.

What Daniel couldn't see was a slight blush seeping into my cheeks, I did like her, not in that way! Victoria and I we're friends and I just felt like I was responsible for her and didn't want her to get into trouble, that was all nothing else.

Conveniently, the office door opened just then and Victoria stepped out. She didn't look out of it so that was a good sign but I was eager to know what had happened.

"Hey, so everything good?" I asked, grateful that she had shown up to change the subject.

"Pretty much. Nothing happened he just asked me to explain my version of the story. Then interrogated me a little telling if that if I'm lying to own up and stuff like that. But he did say he will call all of us to his office again at some point during the day to settle it."

"Well I guess we can't do much about it now, so we just sit and wait." Daniel sighed.

"I don't see what else we can do," I exhaled already getting out of my chair.

Three of us walked down the corridor and I introduced Vic and Dan to each other thought they seemed to be quite well acquainted already for having only met less than 2 hours ago.

"He told me quite a lot of stuff actually and funnily enough, you were the main conversation topic," Victoria said.

"Oh really, what sort of stuff did you guys say about me?" I questioned, genuinely curious.

"It wasn't anything worth mentioning, Daniel came over while I was sitting down and asked of you were in the office, I asked who he was and he said he was a friend of yours from way back. That part kinda surprised me cause I thought you didn't have any friends...Wait! No! That came out wrong!"

I felt my head hang a little and I could hear Daniel in the background trying to control his laughter, and failed. It didn't help.

"Wait. I didn't mean it like that! It was just you always seemed like a stand along type of guy I wouldn't have thought you to be the type to..." She babbled on.

"I know what you mean Victoria, its fine. Don't kill yourself over it." I smiled the best I could.

At that point, I think Daniel just lost all self-control. He broke out into a loud pfft ha ha ha.  "You two are so awkward," he finished.

"Oh shut it, would you." I snapped at him before sighing.

It continued to stay peaceful for a while, we talked about how I met Victoria and I told her we would be having an additional member to our club. As I predicted she was pretty happy about it, and by happy I mean she rushed over and gave Daniel a huge hug, and then handed him a bunch of her crappy flyers. I could tell he was feeling a bit overwhelmed because he mouthed thank you to me when I managed to pry Victoria off him.

Eventually after another few minutes of walking, Daniel left us to go to his class which was in the other direction, saying he would meet us at the head's office. Part of me was thinking about how he would get out of class to meet us there but then I thought this was Daniel we were talking about, he would find a way somehow. He always does.

***

Keep reading for the next chapter...

Chapter 13.2 Let off easy? (part two)