Mr Van der Linde | Dutch x Reader

Year I - Term III.2

Summary: John makes last-minute plans for his birthday, and you can't say no to visiting him.

Chapter word count: 12,203

A/N: i know roman numerals don't work like that but i dont care :)

Happy birthday!

You set your phone down after sending the message to John, the last birthday in the academic year out of your group of friends - landing in late August. The plan was to celebrate when you all returned to university, considering that was only a few weeks away.

It'd been a couple of months since you all last saw each other, at the infamous Van der Linde party that had more than lived up to its expectations.

It was strange.

You hadn't spoken to Dutch since then, and while he didn't exactly have any way of contacting you, you assumed he would be capable of finding a way. If he wanted to, he would, after all.

Still, you were glad you left to go home with Javier when you did. You knew better than to make yourself readily available to a man, even if said man made your legs turn to jelly.

Your phone buzzed, and you picked it up from beside you on your bed to see a train ticket send over by John.

You gotta come down! Javi and our friends from home are going to a pub tonight. It's an open ticket, so you can come anytime and I'll pick you up.

John, this is for today! You suck at planning.

He replied with a few smiley face emojis, and you huffed back to lay on your bed. You could hardly say no to that, could you? He'd gone out of his way to buy youa ticket, all so he could see you on his birthday. You didn't have plans today anyway, and it's not like it was a long trip. Plus, you'd be out of the house; no chance for any awkward encounters with Mr Van der Linde.

That being said, you no longer harboured any embarrassment towards him. You'd retained your dignity this time around, and were more than prepared to be casual and nonchalant towards him if you did end up seeing him.

You had a few errands to run, but once you were back home you packed a small overnight bag and wore a casual outfit that was still nice enough for a night out. Jeans and a nice top had never failed you so far.

It was mid-afternoon by the time you sat down on the train, pulling out your phone to let John know you were on the way. He replied soon after.

We're already out. Snooze ya lose

The fucker. Not like you could be mad at him on his birthday, though. Just as you were about to ask where they were so you could make your own way from the station, he sent another text.

Dad'll pick you up.

What? No! A casual conversation in passing with the man would be manageable, but him coming out of his way to pick you up alone was a horrifying thought. Another text came through.

I gave him your number, he'll let you know where he's parked.

You were going to kill him. Or were you? What could you say? How dare you give your father – whom I've kissed, twice – my number and ask him to pick me up? No, for once, John wasn't knowingly being a pain in the ass. Though, maybe there was still time to salvage the situation.

It's okay, I can just get a taxi

Don't be daft. I already asked him, he doesn't mind. See you later