fake it til you make it | greta van fleet

a friendly favor | three

That night, things were strange between you and Danny. The two of you had never had a sleepover before, let alone after spending an entire evening pretending to be in the honeymoon stage of a relationship. Your cheeks still ached from smiling too hard, and you could still feel the ghost of his body pressed up against yours.

He laid on his back beside you, a very respectable amount of distance between the two of you as you both laid on the very edges of the queen sized bed, but you could still feel his touch. You could still feel his hair tickling your cheeks, and your neck, and your shoulders. You could still feel his hands holding your sides, pulling you right back into his lap as you tried to catch your breath from laughing so hard post tickle-attack.

You could still feel his lips on your cheek, and you could still feel his warm breath on the side of your face as he rested his chin on your shoulder. Your heart was still fluttering in your chest, and you were trying hard to calm your racing mind down so that you could attempt to get some sleep before the full day of acting began. Despite your attempts, you couldn't.

All you could think about was how it felt to have the slightest taste of what it was like to be loved by Daniel, and the bitter sting that burned through your chest each time you'd realized he was watching her instead of you. You knew it was pathetic to be so upset about it, but you couldn't help it. No matter how aware you were in your mind that it wasn't real, it was hard to keep your heart on that same track.

He'd been so sweet all day long. He'd worked so hard to try and keep you comfortable, never straying too far or for too long because he knew you felt awkward being surrounded by a group of friends who considered you an outsider. Still, your mind was stuck on the one thing he'd done all night that had made you feel badly.

Danny probably wasn't even aware he'd done it. And, why should he have been? As far as he knew, you only thought of him as a friend. What reason did he have to think that staring at his ex like a kicked puppy would upset you?

Even beyond that, you were pretty sure he wasn't even consciously aware of the fact that he'd been watching her. You knew very well the pain of being around an ex after a recent breakup. You knew how much it hurt to see them for the first time after separating, and you knew how hard it was to not find yourself gravitating toward them in some way or another.

The questions about his intentions were eating you alive, though.

"Danny?" you whispered, hoping that he was awake and you weren't disturbing him.

He rolled onto his side, facing you with his eyes still wide awake. "Can't sleep?" he asked, and he chuckled when you nodded, "Neither can I. I can't shut my brain off."

"I have a question," you admitted, a little sheepishly, "I don't want to sound weird, but what are you hoping to get out of me being here?"

Daniel propped up on his elbow, resting his head in his hand as he furrowed his eyebrows. His voice was low with confusion, and maybe a little apprehension as he asked, "What do you mean?"

You chewed at your lip as you pondered how to explain, eventually settling on, "Like, are you hoping to get back together with Holland? I just–I understand if you are, really, but if I'm here in an attempt to make her jealous I'd prefer to know."

He sighed, falling back onto his back and effectively hiding his face from you. The movement startled you, but you grew more nervous by the fact that he took awhile to reply. The longer he laid in silence, the more you worried you'd finally found that invisible boundary and crossed it.

Just as you'd considered retracting the question, telling him to forget about it, he spoke up. "I can't lie, the thought did cross my mind." he murmured, softly, "But that was before we'd even left, and I forgot about it as soon as I even considered it. I don't like playing games like that... it feels wrong, and besides, I don't think I'd want to get back together even if it were an option."