When I Met Dan (A Dan Howell Fanfiction)

Eleven

Grace's P.O.V

Beep beep.
Beep beep.
Bee-
I swung my arm in the general direction of the annoying noise, before it could beep again. After hearing the thumps of several items falling off my bedside table, I sat up and stared blearily at nothing in particular, then looked down and saw that I had knocked my iPhone, my alarm clock and a glass of water onto the floor. The water had clearly gone all over the clock and the carpet, but had somehow missed my phone.
I grabbed my phone and threw it onto my bed. Then I picked up the alarm clock, the digital display screen wasn't even showing numbers, just parts of numbers. Broken.
"Nice one, Grace." I sighed, sarcastically.
I placed it back onto the bedside table along with the knocked over glass. The carpet was still wet, luckily it was just water.
I made my way into the kitchen and made a bowl of Lucky Charms, flicking on the radio that sat on the kitchen top. I hummed along to a song I didn't really know and wandered into the living room. I leant against the arm of the sofa and stared out of the huge window. It was going to be a beautiful day, but still probably not that hot because lets be real this is England.
Why was I up so early?
I frowned thoughtfully at the sugary depths of my bowl of cereal.
I had set an alarm so I must have organised something for today.
After putting my empty bowl and spoon in the sink, I went back to my room and grabbed my phone, the screen lit up, showing a text from last night.

From: Dan
night gracey, see u tomorrow :)

"Oh my GOD." It all came rushing back, and I grinned with excitement. I twirled around, heading for the bathroom but ended up stubbing my toe in the process, I fell on my side, clutching my toe and groaning.
For someone called Grace, I wasn't very Graceful.
I showered and put on a relatively comfy outfit; black jeans, a white shirt, and a bomber jacket. And obviously white high-top Converse.
It was 9am. I stared intently at my damp hair and makeup-less face in the mirror. I dried my hair and loosely curled it, then applied not too much makeup. When I was happy with my appearance, I sat on the sofa with my laptop and browsed Tumblr for a bit.
When the doorbell finally rang I had just started watching an older episode of Game Of Thrones. I paused it and swung my front door open, knowing exactly who it was.
Dan had already tackled me into a hug before I could say anything, really catching me off guard. Wow.
"Well hi." I said into his chest while hugging him back.
He pulled away, "Are you excited for today? I've planned it all out."
"Course I am! Are you ready to go now?" I said, letting him in as I hurried back to my room to grab a cute backpack which I put my phone, iPod, headphones, and my purse with my credit card and money in.
"Did your filming stuff arrive yet?" Dan asked as I came back through into the living room, I found him sitting on my sofa.
"Nope," I plonked down next to him, and grabbed my laptop, and opened my emails, "But I got an email this morning saying 'your order has been dispatched'." I air quoted the words on my computer screen.
Dan grinned, "Well it should arrive really soon then. I'm looking forward to seeing you start uploading."
"I'm kinda nervous though because I'm so awkward in front of cameras." I sighed, closing my laptop.
He looked at me thoughtfully, "Practise makes perfect." he stood up, dragging me up with him, "Besides," He switched off my TV for me and made me follow him to the door, "They'll love you."
I'm glad I could turn away from him when I locked the door, because that way he wouldn't be able to see the rising blush on my cheeks and the stupid smile I was biting back.
Luckily he never noticed, and minutes later, we were outside my apartment, walking to the nearest Tube station. We talked about nothing in particular, although we eventually moved onto TV shows and music. We definitely had very similar tastes when it came to those two things.
"Sooo... where are we going first?" I asked when we reached the station.
"You'll see." He replied, his mouth twitching into an amused smile.
"Oh, I see how it is, Mr. 'I've got it all planned out'." I raised an eyebrow, hoping he'd tell me as we went down an escalator.
"It's a surprise, Gracey." He winked as we neared our platform.
My heart skipped a beat when he called me Gracey and I thought I was going to fall up the stairs we were climbing. Yes, I've fallen up stairs before. I quickly collected myself, "Fine, be that way." I said sarcastically.
Dan looked back, he hadn't realised he'd almost left me behind. I caught up with him, "Slow down, long legs. I can't keep up."
"Long legs?" He asked, carrying on walking as we scanned our Oyster cards, "I was walking normal pace, you're just short." He teased.
"Hey! I'm not short, you're just giant. And so is Phil."
"Whatever you say."
The closer we got to our platform, the more people there were. I guess it was mid-morning rush hour, but I was used to it, I'd taken the Tube hundreds of times, and it was always really busy.
The train platform was also pretty busy; a group of tourists stood holding maps and suitcases. A businessman, dressed in a suit, held a briefcase in his hand while he scrolled through his phone. A little girl held her mothers hand and glanced around, entranced by the different displays, lights, sounds, and people. I smiled, I bet it's her first time on the Tube. I had always loved looking at individual people in crowded places.
What was their story?
Are they happy? Are they sad?
Heartbroken? In love?
I'd never know because they were strangers, but it was still really interesting to think about.
I felt someone staring at me. I glanced over my shoulder. It wasn't just one person, a group of older men sat on the wooden bench against the wall, not far behind me. They looked me up and down, then began to laugh when they saw me looking. They were drunk. No, actually, they were very drunk. I pulled my jacket down a bit to hide my bum. I wish I hadn't worn skinny jeans.
"Why don't you take your jacket off, sweetie?" One of them slurred, loud enough for me to hear. Dan, who was standing next to me, apparently heard it too. He looked down at me, concerned, then looked at the men with a look of disgust on his face. They laughed again and Dan wrapped a protective arm around me. I leaned into his side, staring at the ground. I felt insecure and upset.
A rumble interrupted my thoughts as the train arrived to the platform. I forced myself to smile. Forget about it.
We climbed onboard, but there were no seats available so we stood.
"Are you okay?" Dan frowned, looking down at me.
"I'm fine, don't worry." I forced another smile. "Will you tell me where we're going yet?"
His expression softened. "The Natural History Museum."
I felt a rush of excitement and I grinned. The train began to move and I watched the inside of the tunnel whizz past, reminding me of the train from The Hunger Games, but this wasn't quite as glamorous.