Can I Be Your Number One? (Dan Howell aka danisnotonfire Fanfiction).

Chapter Two: The "Date"

I sigh as I try to find something to wear to Starbucks. Even though this is just a casual coffee "date" I still want to look nice. I've changed clothes about six different times and finally decide to just wear a pair of leggings with a cable knit, black dress. I slip my boots and stocking hat on and then grab my coat and head out the door. Dan and I agreed to meet at Starbucks a little after lunch. I'm half expecting him to be late so I doubt he'll be there when I arrive. I go outside in the cold wind and hail a cab.
When I arrive a few minutes later and go inside, I'm surprised when I see Dan sitting at a table. He sees me and grins before standing up. I smile and meet him halfway. "What sort of coffee do you want?" Dan asks when I reach him.
"A Caffé Misto, please." I tell him. He goes to the counter and I go over to the table he was sitting at. A couple of minutes later he comes back and sets the coffee down in front of me.
"Here you go," Dan says and then sits down across from me.
"Thank you," I tell him before wrapping my hands around the cup.
"You look nice," Dan says, giving me a shy smile. "I've been looking forward to having coffee with you since last night."
I blush lightly and mumble another thank you. I'm pleased that Dan is flirting with me but then again I don't want him to. I just want to be friends with a dude for once, no flirting or anything else going on. I find Dan cute, and I would date him if it wasn't for the fact that I just had a horrible breakup a couple of months ago. The dude I was dating (Tay) was really great and nice and the first few months of us dating were really good. He'd bring me flowers and took me out to dinner at nice places. Then he changed. He stopped bringing me flowers, became hateful and verbally abusive, and was a complete control freak. I finally got tired of his ways after a year of us dating and then I left him. Thankfully he hasn't bothered me but I think it's because I moved here to England. It's sort of hard to bother somebody five thousand miles away, especially if they don't have your number or e-mail address. Needless to say I haven't wanted to date someone since I broke up with Tay. So why did I agree to go out to coffee with Dan? Saying no probably would have hurt him, but not as much as when he tries to ask me out on a real date and I say no. Maybe he won't mind just being friends, so I should just give him a chance.
"So, um....what would you like to talk about?" Dan asks, breaking me out of my reverie.
"Tell me a bit more about yourself," I tell him, giving a small smile.
"Well, I hate exercising. I was going to pick up running but have yet to do so."
"Running sucks, but if you'd like a gym partner I'd be glad to go with you. I need to start exercising as well."
"Really? I mean, you'd really go to the gym with me?"
"Yeah, why not? We can encourage each other to keep exercising. And it's fun having friends to do stuff with. Maybe even Phil could come with us."
There. I said the word friends. And I also mentioned Phil, so that definitely means no dating.
"He doesn't like exercising either so I'm afraid we'd be a very lazy bunch of people." Dan says with a laugh. I join in on his laughter and then he says, "But maybe we could go work out together someday."
"I'll work on getting a six pack," I joke. "You know, some women do have six packs. You think I'd look good with one?"
Dan laughs and then says, "Sure. I'll sit over in a corner and throw Malteser's at you while you do sit ups."
We both burst out laughing, causing a couple of people to look over at us with displeased on their faces. My cheeks flush from embarrassment and I hide my flaming cheeks behind my cup of coffee. I hate when I attract unwanted attention to myself in public.
"It's called 'laughing'," Dan says to one dude who is still glaring. "You should try it sometime."
The dude quickly looks back down at his laptop, clearly embarrassed. I raise my eyebrows at Dan, rather surprised. He shrugs his shoulders and smiles, cute dimples forming on his cheeks.
"You have such an adorable smile," I tell him. "I've always wanted dimples."
Dan's cheeks turn a bright red color and he says, "Thank you. I think you have a beautiful smile. I like the way it even shows in your eyes."
"Thank you," I tell him, grinning. This is definitely not friend talk. Stop with the compliments, Zosia, before he takes it the wrong way.
I change the subject and over the course of an hour we've talked about everything from aliens to what it was like when I lived in the States. Of course he asked while I moved and I replied that I wanted a change of scenery. After about another hour of us talking we both decide that it's time for us to head our separate ways.
"Maybe you could come over and meet Phil one day," Dan suggests as we throw our trash away.
"Yeah, I'd love to meet Phil." I say with a smile. "Perhaps this weekend?"
"Yes," Dan says, grinning lopsidedly. "I'll text you the address sometime later."
"Great! See you later, Dan. And thanks for the coffee and chat. I really enjoyed it."
"I did too, Zo. Maybe we could do it again sometime."
I nod and give him a one armed hug before heading out of Starbucks and hailing a cab back home.
I really enjoy Dan's company and would love to spend more time with him. I'm just afraid that he'll want more than a friendship and I really don't want to hurt him.