"I think I'm going to be flattered anyway. Who else falls into that camp, so far? Danny, Lydia, Allison?"

"Jackson, you can't just ask people if your friends are hot."

"Yes," he answers anyway.

"How about we live up to all the hype? I told Ade we were the popular crowd."

"We are popular. I throw all the best parties, and nothing gets done around here unless I'm behind it."

"Football is a joke around here, and I'm the lacrosse captain."

"Allison is the beautiful, coquettish new girl with rich parents of mysterious but intriguing backgrounds."

"And there's you, friends with everyone and most eligible bachelor in school. All the teachers love you, and you're almost as good at programming as you are at holding us together."

"Cute story, did you guys put a lot of work into it?"

"We're hashing out the details. It takes practice to tell the story of how you got married without any bumps, so we're starting now. Hillary and Bill have it down."

"Are they, uh, the best model? For your relationship?"

"Why not? I can be the charming Southern gentleman she picked up when she came to stay with her mother in a small town."

He blinks. "I kinda want in on that."

"Do governors typically have interns?"

"Governors have mansions for their families, it's not too hard to pull off."

"Are you planning on having an affair in front of your wife?"

"His future wife is helping him plan it, and it's not an affair if all three of us know. And anyway, I'm not sure Ade is my type."

"I'd meant I want in on the whole politics thing but that's not bad, either. What is your type?" To Jackson: "And yours?"

"Insecure but in a way that is completely masked by confidence."

"Ambitious, driven, social, kind of domineering..."

"Hmm, yeah, I guess I'm not very much your type," he tells Lydia. And to Jackson: "Yours, on the other hand..."

He is not watching for Danny's reaction to this, but he is—let's call it primed.

Danny seems vaguely disquieted by all this flirting, and eats his lunch. 

Huh. Alright.

"How 'bout you?" he asks Allison.

"Uh. I like people who are sweet but can handle themselves? Genuine, honest, someone who cares about people. Smart?" 

"Huh. Makes sense," he says, glancing at Scott from a distance.