Shiloh didn't see him as a scary driver but it wasn't lost on her whenever he gripped the steering wheel in a choking manner. People in the city drove so wildly, she knew that just from living here, though it became more apparent when she was in the car with Genna. Genna was often flipping people off and yelling words that were far too harsh for Shiloh to repeat. Something told her Dan was the same way, or worse, but he was trying to hold it back for some reason. She didn't think it was because of her, no one was usually that kind, but she appreciated it either way. When Genna got mad on the road she became less careful, it scared her sometimes. Her gaze moved to him when he spoke, biting back a small smile of amusement. "Genna sometimes takes me, but she can't always and I don't know that many other people." She didn't mind repeating herself, and she felt that was better to say than she didn't have any friends outside of Genna. The people she worked with could be considered friends but they lived in different neighborhoods and she'd feel bad asking any of them to go out of their way for her. It made her feel guilty enough when Genna did it. No one else in her neighborhood went to the same college and she didn't really speak to them. They were always so busy, trying to make a living, that she didn't want to interfere in their lives. "I don't mind having very little free time." A part of her was so so tired, but she would never complain about it. Others had it worse.
Dan frowned a little at that; it sounded eerily similar to him and he wasn't liking the realization. He was like that in a way too, but not for the same reasons. Where Shiloh spent her time traveling between home and campus, working often with no free time at the end of all that, his was different. Dan stretched his time between work, school and practice, going for so long sometimes he didn't stop moving. It kept him busy, kept him out of his head and when his lowest lows hit like a train his free time opened significantly but he could never bring himself to do anything. He doubted Shiloh did that to herself to keep her busy out of a fear of what would happen if she just stopped. He shook his head, ignoring the thought; just like he always did anymore. "I...don't mind driving you," he offered quietly, before he realized it came out of his mouth and he couldn't exactly take it back. Again with that, his mouth was getting him into trouble. "Unless you don't want to. I figured since you're Genna's friend it's a...nice offer."
Shiloh peered out the window again, a soft sigh on her lips. Perhaps she should invest in a car? It would tighten up her budget by a whole lot, but she wouldn't have to walk and Genna wouldn't have to worry about her as she often did. Genna was concerned that there were people out there who would try something when she couldn't drive her and the fear wasn't unwarranted. There were a couple of times she's been followed home or to school by random men, but they were never successful. Still, she did feel bad making her friend worry but there wasn't much she could do about it. She sighed again, nearly missing his softly spoken words except the shock she felt made her think twice. "Oh it's so far, you don't have to do that." She stammered at first, trying to figure out a way to let him out of this. They weren't friends so he didn't owe her, but when he brought Genna up she sunk back into her seat. Genna would be thrilled to know she denied a safe ride from someone she trusted, the thought alone had her rethinking. She would bug her about it, and it's not like he would have to take her everyday. Genna would likely still take her when she could. "I...if you're s-sure..." the girl really had a hard time saying no sometimes, but she feared Genna's upset a little more than random people following her around. "Genna worries about me walking..."
"I don't mind. You're important to Genna, I'll help," Dan said honestly, taking another turn. Getting on Shiloh's good side helped his relationship with Genna, but at the same time it assisted them in their situation with Carter. It gave them a better chance to do something good, and he knew that when Carter noticed the group got closer to her he would be satisfied until the gala that would be their end date. At least he should be, but knowing Carter he would surprise them; having Shiloh trust him and his friends would make whatever Carter tried easier to handle. "It's not a bad ride. Better than a three or four hour walk." He slowed down a bit to make sure he was pulling up to the right place, parking so he could turn to look at her. "Just think about it. Genna's right to worry. Let me know when you see me on campus," he told her; he avoided offering out his phone number considering he thought it might have been too much pressure. Genna could always give it to her if she decided before he saw her. He glanced at the time on his phone when it lit up, ironically enough a text from Finn about Genna from what he saw in the small preview.
Shiloh and Genna were pretty close, the two were more like sisters than friends and so yeah she knew how much Genna worried about her. Genna was equally as important to her, she always worried when she wasn't feeling her best. She knew about the fight with her mother, having talked to her that morning, and she worried how she was dealing with it although grateful to know she wasn't going home for a few days. Her mother wasn't the nicest from the stories she's been told; she hasn't met her and she didn't want to. What would the woman say to her other than terrible things? Genna would want to defend her and she didn't want to be the cause of more stress between them. She waved away the thought and looked at Dan as he pulled to a stop, a faint smile on her lips. "I'm so used to it now...but it will be nice to not be followed..." Not that she meant to share that, but she figured if Genna heard about this then she would tell him. It was actually quite scary, but she always put on a brave front; she was good at that. "Thank you, again. I'll remember to ask."
Dan nodded, offering Shiloh the smallest of smiles; immense progress from how he'd felt this morning, if he had to say so himself. "Yeah, I get it. I'll see you around," he said, letting her get out of the car but he didn't pull away immediately. He reached for his phone to answer Finn's text, telling them that he was on his way back and finally replying to his mom from the day before. He'd put that off long enough, he didn't need her driving all the way here or hopping on a last minute flight because she thought something was really wrong. It wouldn't be the first time; she cared about him and worried more than he wanted her to. Besides, she was a busy woman, being a fully booked photographer. He glanced up, making sure Shiloh got in okay before he finally sped off to head home. He noticed it was only twenty minutes from where he lived, but he guessed that might have had something to do with the way he was speeding; he was just desperate to get home. Once he parked and got his bag, he let himself inside and practically bolted up the stairs. He unlocked his door when he arrived on his floor, rolling his eyes almost immediately; there stood Finn, in his kitchen, with a shit-eating grin on their face.
"Oh, welcome home, honey, you're home early," they near sing-songed.
"Fuck off," Dan said, though the eye roll was fond. "Morning, Genna," he called, seeing her sitting at his table.
Genna looked up from her phone, watching the two lovebirds have their little spat. They were great friends, but if one didn't know them then you'd think they hated each others guts. "Hey Dan. How was class?" She asked with a small tap of her manicured fingernails on his table, not asking him about anything specific which would let him know that Shiloh hadn't instantly told her anything that happened. Shiloh wasn't the gossip type, if anything it took a day or two to get anything out of that girl since she claimed to be busy all the time. Which was fair she was. She tilted her head and looked at Finn then Dan again, shaking her head as a mother would to her two fighting children. "You two should just get married, always going at it like a married couple." Of course she knew they weren't into each other like that, but it was fun to tease them. Dan especially since he rarely dated, although she didn't blame him; dating was a lot of work these days.
"Canceled," Dan said simply, shrugging as he sent a pointed look Genna's way. "God, no. Never."
"Don't you remember I'm taken and Dan's not my type?" Finn asked, feigning offense as they held a hand dramatically to their chest.
Dan lifted a hand to flip them off, turning his attention to Genna again. Even with class canceled, the morning had somehow managed to be interesting. But he couldn't tell her about what happened with Carter, it would raise far too many questions right now and it wasn't safe to tell Genna yet. As for the situation with Shiloh, he preferred if she shared that information herself; he wasn't the type to go around bragging when he did something good, he never had been. "I thought you'd be excited considering you wanted to go shopping."" He cursed himself for reminding her for a moment, but he knew that it was coming either way. "Also, you decide if you're hanging here when I go to work or coming along with me?"
"You took a long time for a canceled class then." Genna mentioned smoothly, hiding her suspicion well. He had secrets, something he was hiding, but it wouldn't do anything good to accuse him so early in the morning. Maybe he ran into the guys for all she knew and they hung out for a little while. There was that stirring in her gut that told her otherwise, something was wrong, but she did well to ignore it for now. After all he was right, they had some shopping to do. Well, after she teased them some more. "What? You don't like the bad boy aesthetic Finn? I'm shocked." She feigned surprised, spreading her fingers across the tabletop before she threw a wink at Dan. The bad boy aesthetic fit him very well, she knew a lot of girls drooled over him because of it. None of them could handle him though, he was too good for them. They were like siblings, so no one was good enough for him. She thought Bree had been and that obviously hadn't gone well so she would be more picky this time around. "Fine I'll go, but if I fall into another exhibit it's on you."
"The guys ambushed me," Dan said simply, and it wasn't a lie. He was just stretching it to make it sound like that was all that took up his time. He moved to toss his bag onto one of the chairs at the table, turning his attention to Finn again. "Finn has their sights set on their long-term partner, who, again, is not me or like me."
"Bad boys aren't my thing. You're just pouting because it's Kendall and not you," Finn teased, shoving Dan's shoulder gently. Truthfully, they'd never had a crush on Dan or anything of the sort. He was a great guy and attractive, so they understood why he got girls fawning over him for the bad boy aesthetic like Genna had said. They had found Kendall though, and he'd been everything Finn could have wanted or asked for. Wildly different from them, but somehow the same; it made the two of them a good match.
"You think I ever wanted to date you?" Dan asked, eyebrows raised as an amused laugh left him. "No way." He shook his head, ignoring Finn's teasing protests as he leaned against the kitchen island. A smirk found its way across his lips at the mention of Genna falling into another exhibit; his supervisor was likely going to bring the incident up upon seeing her. She didn't forget, Dan knew from how she'd joke about it to this day "If you fall in, that's on you. Not me. Leave being on the edge to me and especially leave it to Colleen. She'll tease you even more if it happens twice."
Genna eyed him for a moment but let it go for now, she would find out what was going on eventually. She shook her head at them, looking back down at her phone to answer a few more texts. Shiloh had gotten home safe and sound which she was glad to hear; she didn't mention anything that happened and probably wouldn't until they met up again. The bashful girl was more of an in person talker, she didn't text very much. Or call. Genna looked at Dan, narrowing her eyes as if she were willing the world itself to hit him on the head. "Then I'm definitely not going now." She wasn't embarrassed about the situation anymore, but that didn't mean she wanted everyone to pick on her about it either. It happened a long time ago, but it seemed that she would never live it down for as long as she lived. Oh well, she had thick skin and she could handle whatever was thrown her way. On a good day. "Maybe I'll push you in, see how you like it."
"I'm just fucking with you," Dan said, waving her off. His supervisor meant well, and he knew she would have something to say but she wouldn't make it a whole thing. The woman valued her job, and work came before play in her eyes; it wouldn't stop her from teasing Genna once or twice. "If you push me in, it won't be nearly as fun. I know how to handle the animals, and I can swim down there," he reminded her. At one point in his life, he could have made the swim team with his breathing control under water and the stamina he had for swimming. However, he declined the invite in high school and never turned back. Mixing what he was most passionate about and competition made him fear he would grow to hate the water, and he wasn't chancing losing his only real solace. Besides, cycling gave him the best outlet for everything. "You'll be fine. I'll keep you away from the penguins."
"I know. I've always said that you're part fish." It made sense after all, he loved the water and he loved the aquatic animals. He had a passion for it just like she had a passion for fashion, it was why she wanted to be a stylist of some kind. Genna got up from the table, her gaze falling on Finn again. Would they be coming with? "What about Finn?" She asked, she would feel bad if they were left out of all the fun. Was she the only one who liked to go shopping around here? "And I'll try not to take too long while shopping, all I need is a few things to keep here." A few sets of clothes, underwear, maybe a suitcase to keep it all in since she didn't want to take up any of his drawer or closet space. Not like he had a ton of clothes but if she went into his closet she would want to reorganize it until he couldn't find a single thing of his and he got grumpy because of it. What could she say? She loved clothes, every aspect of it except laundry. If only clothes could just magically be clean, but she understood that was not the case and knew how to do laundry because of Shiloh; she watched her do hers before.
"If you think I'm not going shopping with you two, you really don't remember me at all," Finn told her, grinning a little. After all, they loved a shopping spree just as much as she did.
"Finn has other plans after. They're seeing Emmett," Dan said, turning to face them once more. "Which reminds me. Keep your mouth shut about Genna."
"You have so little faith in me!"
"Because you can be a horrible gossip, especially when you see Emmett and Zoe," Dan retorted, holding up a hand when he saw them start to protest. He knew they wouldn't say anything, they were good at keeping a secret once asked to but he felt the reminder needed to be there. He hadn't gotten a chance to actually talk to the rest of the guys about everything, and he needed to be the one to tell them despite how much he didn't want to. Hearing it from Finn would cause an unnecessary amount of tension and fighting between him and Emmett, and he wasn't about to put a strain on the whole group right now. "Are you two ready to go then?"
"It's been awhile." Genna reminded Finn but fell silent after they began chatting again about the guys. Hopefully Finn did well to keep their lips sealed. She was already in for it whenever Dan planned to talk to them about her, she didn't want to wonder about what would happen if he wasn't the one to do so. He would be dead for sure, probably her too. Emmett had anger issues that could rival Dan's though she was sure Emmett wasn't as willing to get his hands dirty. Only if he really had to. This would be one of those moments. She sighed, grabbed her purse and moved towards the door without them. "I'm going to die either way, but yes please don't get Dan killed too." Who else was she to leave Shiloh too? They didn't know each other well, but Genna trusted him more than anyone else to take care of her best friend.