Derek and Danielle

Chapter Forty-One

Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

As well, this work of fiction depicts sexual activities between teenagers, siblings and otherwise. As such it may be illegal to view this story where you live, and you should cease reading at this point if that is the case.

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Danielle stuck the thumb drive back into her laptop's port, and made quick work of wiping all the files on it. She turned in her chair to look at Derek and said, "You still wanna go out?"

She reached out for his left hand, which he took, feeling the warmth of her skin as he looked down at her. His stomach made the decision for him when it rumbled a little. Danielle giggled and patted Derek's stomach with her free hand. "I think you're going to be coming with me, like it or not."

Derek grinned and tugged at Danielle's hand, causing her to stand up. He leaned in and planted a light kiss on her nose. "See you when you get dressed up, huh?" he said as he released her hand and leaned in for a hug.

"Okay. Look nice for me. But don't dress up too much, okay? We'll look weird." Danielle embraced Derek, then swatted his butt as she released him.

Derek laughed and half-heartedly tried swatting Danielle's butt, only to nearly get caught by her foot swinging out to defend herself (though he didn't think she was kicking out all that hard). He mock-pouted and said, "Fine. I know when I'm not wanted."

"Get going," said Danielle pointedly.

Derek left her room and went to his own. Remembering Danielle's words from earlier, he decided on a simple white T-shirt and black jeans. After stuffing his wallet and house keys in his pockets, Derek went back to Danielle's room and leaned against the doorjamb. Danielle, in her dark blue jeans, was just putting her bra on. She said, "Hey. Just gimme a sec."

"Sure. All the more to perv on you with," joked Derek as he eyed up his sister.

"Oh, fuck off," said Danielle without heat as she half-heartedly flipped him the bird while looking for a shirt in her closet.

"Your legs look fantastic through those jeans, you know," said Derek. He hurriedly adjusted himself as his penis started getting hard again.

Danielle, some shirts in her hands, turned towards him and smiled widely. "Thanks. Yours too, you know."

Come to think of it, Derek noticed his jeans felt a bit tighter around his legs than they had a month ago. Growth spurts, he mentally groaned. He'd always hated being paraded in front of mirrors to examine if his clothes fit when he needed new clothes as his mom would insist on making him try clothes on at the store. If he'd had his way he'd have just grabbed a bunch of clothes off the racks, bought them, and tried them on at home.

Danielle, he knew from long experience, luxuriated in the shopping experience. Maybe, thought Derek, it'd be less intolerable to shop for clothes if Danielle were helping him.

"Okay. Hey, Derek? Which one of these d'you like?" Danielle was holding up a black long-sleeved shirt and a medium blue long-sleeved shirt. Both seemed made of that slightly shiny material Derek wasn't quite sure of the name of.

Derek suggested, "Hold the black one up in front of you."

Danielle let the blue shirt fall to her side, and held the black shirt up against her front. Derek grimaced. "Kinda dark. Bad combo, I think. Blue one."

Danielle tossed the black shirt on her bed, and slipped into the medium blue shirt. It wasn't low-cut, but the way it clung to Danielle still showed her assets off nicely. Derek nodded approvingly. "You look nice. Not so, y'know, gloomy."

"Thanks." Danielle's eyes went up and down Derek as she checked him out again. "Nice. You won't embarrass me, at least." She smiled at him to take the sting out of that as she rested her hand on his upper arm. She squeezed gently as she said, "Just let me find my purse and we'll go. See you downstairs?"

"Sure. I think the leftover money's still there, anyway. I'll grab it when I get my shoes on."

Danielle clapped his shoulder. "All right, then. Let's get moving."

The siblings' first possible rough patch was, as Derek and Danielle stood near the bus's exit doors, Derek spotted a girl about their age getting on a few stops before the restaurant. Danielle's eyes went wide, and she blurted, "Shit!" into his ear. She wrapped her coat around herself and turned towards the doors so she wasn't as visible. Derek fiddled uneasily with the zipper on his coat pocket as he watched the brown-haired girl stay with the crowd near the front of the bus, gazing out the bus's side window.

Derek shifted so he partially blocked the girl's view (putting himself a bit closer to Danielle, too), and leaned in. "Who's that? I can't quite remember."

Danielle grimaced. "That's Denise. She's on my volleyball team. She was giving you the evil eye ages ago, remember?"

"Oh, yeah, that's right!" Derek remembered now.

The bus was just pulling up to the curb one stop before the restaurant when Danielle yanked her hood over her hair. "Let's get off here!" she hissed.

A few moments later, they'd barrelled out the doors and were walking in the opposite direction from traffic. As the bus roared away, Danielle sighed in relief and pulled her hood down. She shivered, but whether it was from the cold air (it wasn't raining, thankfully) or from the sudden encounter, Derek wasn't sure.

Derek zipped up his coat as they turned around and walked in the correct direction. He looked over at Danielle and said, "What happened? She see us?"

"Maybe. I dunno. I just didn't want her to know where I was really going, if she saw me. It's just, she's part of the gossip network we've got at school and if she thinks I've got a boyfriend she'll be telling it all over in no time," explained Danielle. "Of all the times to be a blonde," she groused.

"Yeah, your hair kind of stands out." A brainwave hit Derek as he snapped his fingers. He nudged Danielle, who turned to look at him. He made sure nobody was close by on the sidewalk as he said, just above the noise of the traffic, "We could dye our hair different colors, y'know? And we could wear different sunglasses, maybe?"

A small grin stole across Danielle's face. She leaned in and said, "I bet we'd look less related, huh?"

Derek mock-gasped. "And you don't want the world to know what a wonderful brother you have? I am shocked, shocked I say!" He finished with an exaggerated wounded-heart gesture, his hands over his chest as he staggered.

Danielle, at first taken aback, began laughing as she socked him in the shoulder. "Der-ek! You're a weirdo, you know that?"

"I'm your weirdo," replied Derek.

"Whatever." Danielle rolled her eyes good-naturedly as they finally got to Frank's, and went in the door. There was an older couple eating breakfast up front near the window, but aside from them and the cooks, the restaurant looked empty. And sure enough, Hannah was there. She smiled and said, "You're here early! It's only about ten A.M., you know."

Danielle, who'd just lowered her hood and unzipped her coat, adjusted her purse strap as she replied, "We were hungry and didn't feel like making breakfast."

"Wise idea. C'mon, your usual spot's available." Hannah escorted the twins to the table in the back, and left the menus for them as they seated themselves. "I'd normally offer coffee, but maybe you'd want orange juice instead?"

Derek nodded, as did Danielle.

Hannah walked away, leaving the twins alone in the back. Danielle busied herself shoving her coat and purse against the wall. Derek, after he did the same for his coat, leaned in. "I just left out the part where I said, 'in bed', you know," he said in a low voice.

"Hey, keep it down, huh?" cautioned Danielle. "You're usually not like this, you know."

"Maybe it was the pictures," muttered Derek as he looked at the menu.

Danielle's foot against his leg made him lower the menu again to look at her. He raised his eyebrows. She folded her hands and rested them on top of the menu as she leaned in, her gaze holding his own. "The hardest thing in the world is trying to remember to cool it down after this weekend. I just want to…" Danielle slumped back in her seat, frustrated. Her foot fell away from his leg.

"Yeah," commiserated Derek. He wanted her to join him on his side and do stupid things like feed each other toast, or just exchange little kisses as they ate. He wanted Hannah to coo over them and tell them stories about her high school boyfriend and all the silly things they got up to. He wanted Danielle to be able to eat with him at school, not as his sister but as his girlfriend. He wanted to be able to cuddle with her in front of his parents and not get dirty looks, or worse.

The thought of being sent away made Derek shudder nervously.

Danielle leaned forward again, picking up the menu. As she opened it, she said, "What's wrong?"

Hannah was approaching, forcing Derek to quickly decide what he wanted for breakfast. Tension filled the air as Hannah set the orange juices before them. "I can come back later," she offered.

Danielle blurted, "No, that's okay! We'll order now."

They managed to get rid of Hannah quickly, with Derek asking for French toast and Danielle ordering a meatless breakfast. After Hannah left, Derek frowned. "No sausages or whatever?"

"Nah. I don't wanna eat really heavy as we start getting into serious v-ball practice," Danielle replied. She gulped down some orange juice, then continued. "Now, quit changing the subject. Why'd you look upset about something earlier?"

Derek couldn't look Danielle in the eye. He sighed and stared at his hands. He muttered, "Just… if they had to take me away from you."

Danielle's voice was just barely audible in the quiet restaurant. "Hey. Nobody is taking anybody away, all right? Look at me, okay?"

Derek looked up and saw the intensity and emotion in Danielle's eyes. She gestured between them and said, "We are here and we're gonna stay together, okay? We just don't fuck this up and do something stupid, all right?"

Derek sighed. "All right," he said glumly.

Danielle's phone rang, startling the siblings. Derek nearly jumped out of his seat, and Danielle jerked sharply, putting her hand to her chest as she rummaged through her purse with her other hand. She yanked her phone out, looked at it, and mouthed, "Mom."

She answered the phone call and brightly said, "Hey, Mom! What's up? … Oh, yeah. We just had a boring weekend and all … Tonight? Okay, we were figuring that anyway … You are? Okay, cool … Oh, Derek? He's just in the bathroom, I think. You really need to talk to him? … Okay. Love you, too, Mom. Bye."

Danielle shoved the phone back in her purse and heaved a sigh of relief. Derek gestured and said, "What'd Mom want? And where's Dad?"

"Okay. I dunno where Dad is and let's not start guessing. As for Mom, she was basically just checking in. She and Dad'll be home tonight sometime and they'll pick up Chinese. She was just hoping to say hi to you, but it wasn't like, super-urgent so I guess they think you haven't sneaked off to go bang Rick or something."

Derek smiled, relieved. "It's kinda dumb, but if they knew about this place it'd just… be awkward, y'know? I'm sure they wouldn't care."

"Our little secret." Danielle winked.

At that moment, Hannah was bringing plates. Derek let out a small whoop and said, "Food!"

Hannah chuckled as she set their orders down on the table. "I've got a cousin who's kinda like you… what's your name, again?"

"Derek."

Hannah nodded. "Right. And you're…?" She pointed at Danielle.

"Danielle."

"So. I've got a cousin who's kind of like you, Derek. He's older, but he's like a kid when it comes to getting breakfast."

"Huh," mused Derek. "That a good comparison or a bad one?"

Hannah arched an eyebrow and said, "You're cuter, if you don't mind me saying so."

"Thanks. I think," allowed Derek as he sipped his orange juice.

"Actually, seriously, can I talk to you guys for a sec?" Danielle nodded a little uncertainly, and Derek frowned a bit.

Hannah sat on the edge of the bench seat on Danielle's side, and said, "D'you guys think you could use a little extra money? I don't know how much spending money you get from your parents, but…"

Their parents hadn't exactly denied them anything, but now that Derek thought back on it, he realized it did kind of suck, a little, to always have to ask his parents for money if he wanted to buy something. Shit, even the birthday and Christmas presents he bought for Danielle and his parents were paid for with his parents' money.

"Well, I could use some," said Derek, a little tentatively.

Danielle seemed surprised, but said in support of Derek, "Me too."

Hannah smiled. "Great. Listen, here's the deal. My dad actually owns this place, and I live at home, but I work here so I can make my own money. He's told me we're going to need some Christmas help, but he hasn't put the sign up yet. So I was thinking I'd help you with a head start, if you wanted."

"Why us?" asked Danielle suspiciously.

Hannah backed off, standing back up. "Hey, I totally understand. If some person I barely knew offered me a job or money, I wouldn't exactly jump at it. Why don't you think about it over breakfast and if you still want to talk afterwards, we'll talk. Okay?"

The siblings nodded, and began digging into their food, each in their own thoughts about the sudden opportunity offered them.

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