Troy was dumbstruck at what Danica just said. His heart skipped a beat when Danica shifted closer to him, waiting for his answer. How could he stop his love for her when she was being so adorable?
��You mean, on a fake date?�� Troy asked to be sure whether she was serious or it was just for keeping up with being his fake girlfriend. He would hate to make a fool of himself by showing how much he wanted it to be real.
Getting so bold out of the blue would be weird, so she hesitated to say that she meant it. After a moment, she nodded her head. ��It will be a piece of great news for the Stones, as in your fans. No one will label us fake,�� Danica pointed out, making Troy sigh.
As expected, she was just thinking about my image, this is why she offered the date, thought Troy, as disappointment washed over him. He decided to stop assuming things that would never happen��it will only cause him more pain. His feelings for Danica should just stay buried deep in his heart. ��Okay,�� agreed Troy, trying to hide the bitterness in his voice. ��Then we shall go tomorrow, and I will record it in the camera, which I will take along for the fake date.��
Hearing the emphasis on the fake date, Danica didn��t like it at all. She wanted everything to be real, but she had to take baby steps. She had hurt Troy deeply, and she had to repair the damages she caused from the root. She swore not to run away this time and tackle every challenge that would be thrown at her. She stopped talking about the date and told Troy, ��Okay, so where is my script for the next video?��
��I will mail it to you,�� Troy answered. ��The challenge is who can eat more desserts in fifteen minutes.��
��Really?�� Danica��s eyes glinted in excitement. She loved eating desserts and it was the first reason Troy decided to do this channel. Hernan suggested eating spicy food, but he knew that Danica hated spicy food, and he didn��t want her to cry, even if it was due to mere spicy food. Her tears were precious to him after all.
��Yes, these are the desserts.�� Troy took his phone and showed her the pictures.
They continued talking the entire night, sometimes they would laugh while the other times, Danica would glare at him when he would tease her remembering their high school lives. They were relishing the memories, and they loved the moment they were spending. With every passing second, they understood how much they missed each other.
Troy wished to pull her into a hug and never let her go away from his sight, but he had to keep himself in control. Danica didn��t return for him and she was just doing him a favor, nothing else. She came for Aziel and she didn��t even tell him the reason behind her going away. All Troy could do was, enjoy her company till it lasted.
___
��Are you sure this looks nice, Tati and Gab?�� Danica questioned, looking at herself in the mirror. She wore a red off-shoulder dress that reached down to her knees. It radiated classiness as she paired it with red stilettos.
After Gabrielle and Trevor returned in the morning, Tatiana told Gabrielle everything and both of them were very much excited. They prepared everything for Danica��s first date with Troy, and finally, it was time to get ready.
��Dani, this is perfect. You look stunning,�� Gabrielle complimented Danica, sitting comfortably on her bed.
Tatiana approached Danica and twitched her lips. ��Something is missing.��
��I look bad, don��t I?�� Danica breathed out and she was about to head back to the closet room to change, but Tatiana stopped her by grabbing her arm. She thought she was too dolled-up for a date. ��No, silly. You look good, but not perfect.�� She scanned Danica once more, trying to find out what was missing, and then she realized, ��Your neck seems empty. You need to wear a simple pendant. Do you have one or Gab will bring one from her room?��
Thinking about whether she had a suitable pendant or not, Danica remembered having one. ��I have on���� she paused midway, realizing it was the pendant Troy gave her on her birthday during their junior year. ��Never mind, leave it.��
Tatiana frowned. ��Why?��
Immediately, a smirk formed on Gabrielle��s face. ��I know why.�� She stood up and looked at Tatiana. ��Troy gifted her a pendant once. I am sure that is the only pendant Dani carries everywhere. What a sweet love!��
Tatiana clapped her hands, grinning. ��This is it. She is wearing that pendant.��
��But���� Danica was interrupted by Tatiana.
��No ifs and buts, Ms. Waylon. Go and get that pendant.��
When Tatiana left no space to argue, Danica sighed and took out the pendant from her clutch. The pendant was star-shaped, and small diamonds were engraved in them.
A gasp escaped from Tatiana��s lips seeing the pendant. She wasn't only mesmerized at the beauty of the pendant but also at the efforts of the person that gave it to Danica. ��A teenager gave you a diamond pendant, which seems customized for you. How can you not guess his feelings for you? How can you be that dense?��
��It's hopeless. She is talented in studies only,�� retorted Gabrielle, making Danica narrow her eyes at them.
��I didn��t want to take it, but I promised him the day before my birthday that I would accept the gift, no matter what it was,�� explained Danica. Even so, on her birthday, a diamond pendant was the last thing she expected from him. She shook her head, trying not to dwell on it any longer and delay their date. ��Anyways, we should hurry up. Troy must be waiting.��
___
��I don��t even want to get ready. This is just a fake date, Hernan,�� Troy breathed out, ��Stop jumping to conclusions.��
Hernan rolled his eyes. He was holding a red suit in his hands. ��Fake or not, a date is a date. You should always dress up appropriately for it. And Hazel herself proposed to go on this date.��
��Exactly,�� Trevor let out, walking inside Troy��s room. ��Dani is spending hours to get ready for you. She knows this is a fake date, right?�� When Troy nodded his head, Trevor further spoke, ��Then why is she putting so much effort? It��s not to impress fans because she is not that type of person.��
Trevor��s point made Troy understand what he was trying to say. Is she doing it for me? he shoved that thought away at that instant. ��I don��t want to assume things, Trevor,�� Troy said to him.
��Then think about her,�� Hernan spoke up. ��After spending hours to get ready, if she sees that you are wearing your casuals, what will go in her mind? She will be upset and embarrassed, which she will try to hide with her smile.��
Trevor sat next to Troy and placed a hand on his shoulder. ��No need to assume things, Troy. Just listen to your heart. God has given you another chance to do what you couldn��t do three years ago.��
A series of flashbacks played into Troy��s mind. He would never forget how he donated the bouquet of purple roses to a child after Danica left. The food he cooked for her, he gave to some orphans in the orphanage near the school. The gifts he prepared for her at that time, he gave to the old ladies in the old-aged home next to the orphanage.
Even if it was a new chance given by God, this time Troy would wait for Danica to take the first step, and it would only be possible if she opened up about what had actually happened to her three years ago and why she ran away with Aziel.
��Well?�� Hernan��s voice brought Troy out of his fallacy.
Troy got up and took the red blazer from Hernan��s hand, making his way to the closet room to get ready. ��Fake or not, a date is a date. And I should dress up appropriately for it,�� he repeated Hernan��s words to himself and started to get ready.
After getting ready, Troy was waiting for Danica downstairs, along with his vlogging camera. When Danica was slowly making her way to the staircase, Troy��s breath hitched seeing Danica. She was looking so beautiful. She did light makeup, which made her look more stunning. But that wasn't what made his heart flutter the most, it was the pendant around her neck that he gifted her so long ago, which she still kept with her.
Troy couldn��t help but ogle Danica from head to toe, as he watched her walk towards him. Not paying much attention to anywhere else but Danica, he bummed with a small figure, and his camera fell from his hand.
Troy��s favorite vlogging camera broke into pieces, and when Troy looked at the culprit, it was none other than Aziel.
