��I want to go back,�� Danica said, bursting into Troy��s room.
Troy was talking to Tatiana while Aziel shifted to Hernan��s room. Even though he was still sick, he wanted to be in Hernan��s video. So Hernan decided to vlog inside the house to make sure Aziel was in the vlog.
Tatiana got up from the couch as Troy glanced at Danica. ��I will check on Aziel and disturb Hernan,�� said Tatiana and excused herself from the awkward tension building up in the room.
After Tatiana walked away, Danica repeated to Troy, ��I want to go back to New Jersey.��
��Have a seat, Dani.�� Troy offered a plate full of gummy bears which were on the coffee table. ��Want some?��
Heaving a sigh, she sat next to Troy and took the plate of gummy bears on her lap. She started eating them one by one as she spoke, ��I really have to go back.��
��Why? Aren��t you enjoying it here? You were supposed to stay till the end of the vacation,�� he pointed out.
��Yes, I am enjoying it a lot. In fact, I'm loving it here.�� She took a mouthful of gummy bears and swallowed them as Troy watched her in amusement. She always had a habit of stress-eating, and it didn��t fade away yet. ��But I have assignments to submit and it��s that I����
Troy placed his finger on her lips, shushing her. ��What are you hiding?�� He could always tell whenever something was up with her, and he was pretty sure assignments wouldn't get her that riled up.
Danica��s eyes became teary at that instant. She felt her throat getting dry, so she couldn't utter any word.
��Answer by nodding or shaking your head if you don��t want to speak. Okay?�� Troy let out and she nodded her head. He started asking, ��Did you receive any threat?��
She nodded.
��Is it from any of my fans?��
She shook her head.
Troy thought for a while about who could be threatening her. ��Is it related to why you left?��
She hesitated before nodding her head, tears rolling down her cheek. Troy removed his finger from her lips. Why can��t she just tell me what the reason is? wondered Troy. He hated to see Danica cry. So he wiped her tears with his thumb and pulled her closer by wrapping an arm around her. She placed her head on his shoulder, finding comfort within him as always.
He nuzzled her shoulder. ��You will stay here till summer vacation ends. I will try my best to protect you and Aziel, no matter what.��
��But���� Danica was interrupted by Troy.
��You never used to run away from your problems. Rather you faced them without any fear. Why are you running away now?�� She became quiet when he continued speaking, ��I let you run away once three years ago. Not this time, Dani. I won't let you run away anymore.��
��Troy���� she mumbled but paused in between. She had no idea what to do but all she knew was, she could trust Troy come what may. When Troy waited for her to speak, Danica said with a small smile, ��I trust you.��
Troy chortled and caressed her brown hair. ��I will make sure this becomes the best summer for you and Aziel.�� After Danica gave a big smile this time, he said, ��I have got different ideas for our videos. Since we are a couple now, fans will love the couple related videos. If you have ideas as well, you can tell me.��
Danica said to Troy, ��Tell me your ideas and I will understand what kind of ideas I can give.��
With a cute smile plastered on his face, Troy started telling her the ideas, except the pranks he would do to Danica. However, instead of listening to Troy��s ideas, Danica kept admiring him. He was so understanding and caring, also not to mention handsome. How could one not fall for him?
The thought struck in Danica��s mind. Was she falling for him? This was what she feared the most, and it couldn��t just be true. She had to be sure whether she was really falling for him or not. She didn��t just want to jump to conclusions. It was a crush, and now like, Danica informed herself.
��Dani, did you like the ideas?�� his voice brought her out of the trance.
��Uh...yeah.�� Danica got up from the couch. Glancing at Troy, she said, ��I will get back to you once I get more brand-new ideas. Let me check up on Aziel first. Where is he, by the way?��
��In Hernan��s room,�� he answered. ��He took Aziel with him because he was feeling guilty and wanted to take care of him now.��
��Okay,�� Danica mumbled and got out of his room. As she was making her way to Hernan��s room, she stumbled upon Tatiana, who just smiled at her.
��Hi, Dani. I was just making my way to your room,�� she informed Danica.
��Is something wrong, Tati?��
Tatiana shook her head. ��No, but it is kind of important and I think that you should know.��
Danica was confused, which kept her wondering whether she did something wrong to make Tatiana hate her. ��Okay����
Tatiana��s smile got bigger as she said, ��Great. Let��s go to your room.�� She grabbed Danica��s hand and both of them made their way to Danica��s room.
After they reached her room, Tatiana closed it and asked Danica directly, ��Why did you disappear three years ago, leaving without giving any explanation or even a farewell note?��
Danica became quiet immediately. She didn��t want to answer because the fewer people knew about it, the more they would stay safe, so she averted her gaze.
Tatiana further spoke, ��Look, Dani. Everything is slowly falling in place and before it does, I want to make sure you won��t disappear again leaving Troy broken.�� She continued speaking, ��You know, I like Troy, more like I love him. I don��t want him to go through that heartbroken phase once again. It pained my heart when I saw him how he became after you left.��
��Was he sad?�� Danica managed to ask, now her chest feeling heavy. He absolutely had no idea what he went after her disappearance. Even though she was curious, she didn't have the courage to ask anyone.
��Sad?�� Tatiana let out a humorless chuckle. ��He was miserable. He didn��t talk to any of us and just focused on making videos. Then he slowly started talking to us again.��
��I am sorry.�� This was all Danica managed to utter.
Tatiana placed her hand on Danica��s shoulder and she looked at her. ��Did you know, Troy was about to ask you to be his girlfriend after the prom?��
