"No, he isn't, but I know how you all are, scrambling for ways to help your friend." Carter looked unbothered by Dan's menacing air, studying his nails as he took just a moment to himself. If they were smart then they knew there was no real way out of this and if the they knew what was good for them they would hurry it up along and get Emmett closer to the girl. Time was ticking, the ball would be here before they knew it. "Should've, could've, would've. My point is, Danny boy, that you and I are a lot more alike than you are willing to admit." He smirked, returning his gaze to Dans. He was like a trapped bear waiting for the perfect time to strike, Carter knew he had to be somewhat careful with the things he chose to say but he wasn't too worried. His henchmen were close by in case anything happened and the police would believe him over Dan in any case. Mother and father would be sure of it. "So much anger, I wonder if they know just how dark you can really be."
"We're very different," Dan replied sharply. The comparison to Carter wasn't something he would just let slip; Carter made lives miserable, he wasn't like him. Though, the mention of the others grabbed his attention. They all had their ideas, had seen Dan's temper fly off the handle but he knew Carter was right in some way. Dan kept it under wraps, just as he did his past with Bree. "Can I ask what that has to do with anything? Do you think you have something on me?" He asked, scanning Carter's expression for a moment. "Did you come over here to get yourself hurt? Because we're heading down that path the longer you sit in front of me with your bullshit, weasel." He didn't care about the casual, though minor, threat; the chances of him acting on it were low seeing as he didn't have time to deal with whatever the outcome was this time. He could have been home, but of course this had to happen when he chose to sit down to do work instead.
Carter laughed, a genuinely amused laugh. "I have something on every person in this city. Every person that matters that is." His parents had friends in every corner of this city, and that meant he had friends in every corner of this city. There was an entire network of people who's jobs it was to dig dirt up on people and of course his family had made sure to have very close ties to these people. They weren't a mafia, but he supposed the word could fit them. Everyone had their place, and everyone had their secrets. Including Carter, but he was good with covering his tracks when it mattered the most. "Oh Dan you waste your talent on those fools, I hope you know that." He shrugged, getting up from his seat with one last look around. "I'm afraid our time has been cut short, such a shame, I was really hoping to show you exactly what you're missing out on. Maybe another time."
As glad as Dan was to see Carter get up from his seat, he couldn't ignore his gut feeling telling him this was far from over between the two of them. He knew Carter would be back in time, showing him whatever he had wanted to and adding more issues to the already complicated situation. "Whatever," he sighed, gathering his own books. His study time was ruined anyway, and now he needed to find a proper outlet for his frustration. Genna would most likely find it amusing. "Stay out of my way," he added, grabbing his bag as he pushed himself off his seat at the picnic table and not waiting for an answer from Carter. The threat was there in his words, though he knew they would be meeting again whether it was with the group or like this. He headed down the pathway, typing out a response to his little sister as he headed in the direction of the parking lot.
Carter held out his arm, as if showing him that he was not in his way. He knew what he meant, but he would pretend otherwise. The blonde watched him for a moment before he turned on his heel and headed towards the school; even he had classes to attend. Up ahead of Dan there were two figures, one holding up their arm above their head and the other jumping desperately to try and reach that hand. "Give it back, please!" A female voice called out, sounding just as desperate as her actions showed. The leather bound portfolio was very important to her, not only did it have her work in it but it had been a gift from her father when she first started attending the college. He had wanted her to be proud of her work when she showed it off, and she was. Shiloh was proud of the portfolio itself and now some hired bully had it in their clutches, far too tall for her smaller figure to reach. The brown haired male opened the portfolio and took out one of the photos, laughing as he tore it in two. Sure she had copies on her computer at home and on her thumb drive of every picture she's taken, but that was still a slap to the face. "No!"
He only smirked, reaching into the portfolio for yet another picture.
Dan was in the middle of putting his phone back in his pocket when the sound of some kind of altercation caught his attention. He glanced up to see none other than Shiloh and some random guy; clearly not a friendly interaction. He took a deep breath, speeding up just a little. Genna would be pissed if she found out he just let it happen. He came up behind him, grabbing him by the back of his shirt and yanking him back. His pent up anger from the Carter situation seemed to have somewhere to go, at least a little. "The fuck do you think you're doing? Are you deaf?" He asked, glancing over at Shiloh. He could see the brief flash of fear that normally came with him coming over, from both of them. "Give her the folder. Or I'll make you." He knew he had a bit of a...reputation for being intimidating and honestly scary, and he used that to his advantage whenever he needed to. The rumors weren't that far off from what the truth was.
Shiloh squeaked with the sudden appearance of Dan, not expecting him to have shown up out of nowhere like he always seemed to. A brief look of fear crossed her features, he wasn't exactly the nicest guy, but her fear concern for her portfolio outweighed any of the fear she may have for either guy there. It was important to her. The guy had had his hand on another picture when suddenly he felt himself being yanked back, glancing up to see Dan looking more than a little angry. His pride got the best of him in that moment however, a smirk crossing his lips as he waved the folder from side to side. "Oh yeah? And how're you gonna make me? Huh?" He chuckled, looking at Shiloh and then the folder again. What was the big deal? It was just a bunch of stupid pictures in his opinion.
"I don't think you realize who you're talking to right now," Dan said quietly, eyeing the folder in his hands. He couldn't risk pushing Shiloh away from the group; he could only imagine what Carter would do then. Besides, he wouldn't let some random guy harass her over nothing. He couldn't, actually, not when she never did anything to warrant it. In a swift movement, Dan had the guy's arm with the folder in it twisted back behind him; he could break his hand if he really wanted to, but he wouldn't. "Drop it. Or you leave with a broken hand. Your choice," he snarled, the guy's tough guy act not one to intimidate him in the slightest. He'd get his way and Shiloh would get her belongings back. They were far too old for childish playground bullying like this, but clearly the guy in front of him hadn't matured past that. "Give this girl her things back and get out of my sight."
The guy yelped in pain as he found his arm twisted painfully behind his back, his hand opening automatically which let the folder fall away. Shiloh watched it hit the ground with a loud plop, a few of the loose photos slipping out though she knew better then to go over there now to pick them up. It would be a foolish idea to put herself in between the two boys, especially one of them looked so angry. Hopefully this didn't turn into a full out fight, but from the look of things the bully wouldn't be fighting back any time soon. Dan had his arm twisted behind his back, it looked pretty painful and she had to remind herself to never get on Dan's bad side. Genna would probably have a lot to say if he ever hurt her, and she didn't think he would, but she preferred to stay on the safe side of things. Shiloh watched the little display unfold, wincing as the bully screeched out for Dan to let him go. How else would he get out of here like he wanted him to?
The moment Dan saw the folder drop, he let go of the guy's arm and shoved him forward. He had little care for the pain he'd inflicted, knowing that he deserved it. He bent over to pick up the portfolio, gathering the loose photos in a swift motion. There was no chance he would give this guy any opening to take it back from Shiloh. Not that he thought he would, considering he had already threatened him with a broken hand. His gaze came back to the guy who still dared to stand in front of him; so it was going to be like that. "Is your learning curve a horizontal line? Get out of my sight before I fulfill the broken hand promise," he said sharply, glancing over to Shiloh again. She hadn't gone running from him like he'd expected, so that was already going much better than he thought. Genna was most definitely going to have a field day with this once she learned about it, whether it was from him or from Shiloh.
The guy took no time at all to scamper off, holding his arm as if it were broken though Shiloh was sure his pride was more bruised. She watched him disappear through the parking lot before she turned her attention to Dan, glancing at the folder in his hand. Honestly she hadn't expected him to pick it up for her, that was really kind of him. A side of him she had seen in the photography store at the mall, but she didn't give it too much thought as she rubbed her left wrist awkwardly. As if it were sore. The girl wasn't sure what to do, and she sure wasn't about to demand her folder from someone who she was pretty sure could snap her like a twig. Her frame was small and she had no muscle, she felt like a little kid standing next him. "Uhm...thank you, for helping me." She mumbled, her voice soft like a warm gentle breeze. He really wasn't all that bad, but she still felt a bit intimidated.
Dan watched the guy scurry off, dramatic like he had actually snapped his wrist. It wouldn't have been the first or last time he did something like that, but it would have made things interesting. It always did. He was being dramatic, Dan knew, and something deep down found amusement in the way he had embarrassed and threatened him so flawlessly. He realized after a moment, once he heard Shiloh speak to him, that he still held her portfolio in his hands. "Least I could do. Here," he said quietly, offering the folder to her to take. He rubbed the side of his neck for a moment, unfortunately still feeling that bad mood deep down that he would have to deal with at home. Genna really was in for a long day with him, or rather however long she was staying with him. He bet at least a week. "I...wasn't going to let some asshole act like that. And I was walking by." Shiloh seemed...wary of him still, which he supposed he should have expected. She had watched the whole thing, but he was just glad things didn't escalate too far. He didn't think their knowing of each other could be repaired if that had happened so soon after meeting properly. That would have made outings with Genna all the more awkward once she told Shiloh everything (if she hadn't already after they'd gone to lunch), seeing her and knowing she feared him. He shook off the thought, reeling himself back in before he let his mind go too far. He couldn't risk that, it would land him right back in bed with a callout to his job...plus an angry Finn and concerned Genna.
Shiloh gently took the portfolio from him, looking it over as if to make sure everything was still there. The torn photo caught her eye and she sighed as she held it up. It was of an old man feeding the geese in the park, a content smile on his face. He had quite the story to tell when she first approached him to ask permission to photograph h and she listened because it was polite thing to do. The stories behind people were important, at least in her opinion. This photo was completely ruined but she knew what thumb drive it was on, it would take no time at all to reprint it when she got home. She went over to the nearest trashbin and threw the pieces in, glancing at Dan after a moment. If Genna was friends with him again then that had to mean he wasn't a bad person, perhaps a little misunderstood and...sad. Something about him was very sad, but she had no place to ask him what was on his mind. "That's very kind of you, most would walk away." She said after a moment, offering a gentle smile. At the end of the day she was still the polite, shy, girl her father had raised.
"I'm not like most people," Dan told her, and it wasn't a lie, especially around here with the rather pretentious rich people they went to school with. He knew how different he was standing next to some others that were in class with them or at various galas and events they went to. His mind lingered on what Carter had said earlier, that they were all too similar. Dan knew otherwise, knew he wasn't full of himself and he didn't treat people like second class citizens if they didn't have money. No, that was never his style...though, when he had dated Bree he had to fake it enough to avoid a fight sometimes. But, then again, he also knew he was on a different mental and emotional level than others. He noticed the way she was looking at him, a familiar look in her eyes; it happened a lot when people started to realize he 'could snap at any moment in any direction'. That was how he'd had it described to him for years, especially with Bree. He shook those thoughts off, focusing on Shiloh again. "No one deserves that."
Shiloh nodded as if agreeing with him. He was different, instead of picking on her he had helped her out although she was sure Genna had something to do with that. His friends didn't really mess with her either, only when she first arrived at the college did they make fun of her but that had been years ago. Despite what she said she knew that, but she was a wary person by nature. People could change on a dime, according to both her father and Genna. She looked away after a moment, suddenly feeling incredibly shy though she had no idea why. His gaze was so intense that she couldn't help it, but she didn't think it was a menacing stare. Perhaps curious? Things had gone quiet and she wasn't sure what else to say. Outside of work and when she was talking about her photos she wasn't much of a conversationalist. She didn't have anywhere to be either, she had been headed home from her morning class, so she didn't want to just walk off and leave him there. Why was she so awkward when it came to people? It was embarrassing.