Danny unlocked the front door to his house, stepping inside with Chase following close behind. Danny was hoping to get up to his room quietly, but Danny would have no such luck. Denise, called out, [color=ffccff]“Danny? That you, sweetheart?”[/color]

[color=pink]“Yeah, Mom, it’s me!”[/color] Danny replied, slipping off his shoes. [color=pink]“And I brought a friend!”[/color]

Denise stepped into the living room. [color=ffccff]“Oh! Hello, you must be Chase. Danny has mentioned you a few times since the trip to Disneyland, but I don’t think we ever properly met.”[/color]

Chase extended a hand with his signature grin. [color=teal]“That’s me. It’s nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Davis.”[/color]

Denise shook his hand, studying him for a moment. She couldn’t help but think, [color=ffccff][i]I thought he’d be dating MJ.[/i][/color] Denise was already friends with his Aunt Anna, and she had seen Danny spend a lot of time with him lately… [color=ffccff]”Can I get you boys something to eat?”[/color]

Danny smiled, relieved that she didn’t try to press for more info. [color=pink]“Thanks, Mom, but we’re good. We were just going to hang out in my room.”[/color]

[color=ffccff]“Of course.”[/color] Denise said, stepping aside to let them pass.

Once in Danny’s room, Chase flopped onto Danny’s bed with an exaggerated sigh. [color=teal]“Man, your mom is super nice. I was half-expecting a whole interrogation, but she’s way cooler than that.”[/color]

Danny chuckled, sitting down at his desk and spinning his chair to face Chase. [color=pink]“Yeah, Mom’s great. She’s been through a lot, so she gets the whole ‘don’t freak out over the little stuff’ thing… So uh… what do you want to do? We’ve had enough nightmare-fueled drama for one night. I vote we keep it low-key.”[/color]

Chase sat up. [color=teal]“Agreed. How about we watch a movie or play something? I could crush you in Mario Kart.”[/color]

Danny raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms. [color=pink]“Oh, you think so? You’re on.”[/color]

The two spent the next couple of hours immersed in a heated Mario Kart competition, their laughter filling the room as they playfully trashed-talked each other. It was exactly what they needed. A break from the chaos and a chance to just enjoy each other’s company.

As the night wound down and Chase finally admitted defeat after a particularly brutal race, he flopped back onto the bed, hands behind his head. [color=teal]“You’re annoyingly good at this, you know that?”[/color]

Danny grinned, shutting off the console. [color=pink]“Years of practice babe.”[/color]

Chase turned to look at him. [color=teal]“You know, for what it’s worth, I’m glad we got through all that nightmare stuff together. You’re stronger than you think, Danny.”[/color]

Danny smiled. [color=pink]“Thanks, Chase. That means a lot.”[/color]