Walk Away | Danny O'Donoghue FanFiction

10. Ella

relief
noun
'a feeling of reassurance and relaxation following release from anxiety or distress.'

That definitely described exactly what I was feeling right now. Telling Danny everything about Kyle had lifted an enormous, aching weight off my shoulders. All I had told both my friends and family was that Kyle told me he was having an affair so we split up. Nobody had known about my trauma of finding the man I loved with every fibre of my being screwing a random woman on our sofa. Nobody had known about how it made me lose trust in every man I had ever come across, with the exception of Danny after I had seen how good he was for Layla and how good he was as a friend for me. Nobody had known about the way I'd been torturing myself for 10 months about my ex-boyfriend's affair because I couldn't fathom why he'd want to go elsewhere to get something when I gave him my all in everything possible. But somebody finally knew, Danny knew.

When he left my apartment, I felt like a completely different person. I felt like my old self again. I felt like there had been a dark cloud over my head from the very moment I found out about the affair and that it had affected me dreadfully every day since, but that cloud had finally cleared.

Of course, it wasn't all a happy ending right now. There was still the matter of Layla possibly cheating on Danny. Despite thinking it was unlikely, I did see where Danny was coming from with his paranoia that Layla was cheating on him so I did want him to make sure that she wasn't, and get to the bottom of her lies and her 'busy' schedule. I hadn't even properly thought about what would happen if, and this was a very big if, Layla indeed was having an affair. Could I still be friends with a person who would put someone through the same misery and heartache that I endured? Danny wasn't just anyone either, Danny was the ideal boyfriend that every girl, including Layla, dreamed of having. Someone who made his girlfriend feel special, someone who was a classic gentleman, someone who wasn't sickeningly cheesy but still did all of the typical, cheesy romantic things for his girlfriend. He was what everyone looked for in an ideal partner but I knew Layla took this for granted, affair or not, and that she probably couldn't even see that he was like this.

This was the difference between Layla and I. I really valued what kind of a person someone was, I noticed all the little things about them that they themselves probably didn't even realise or notice. Layla was very black and white, she just knew enough to tell if a person was good or bad. She couldn't determine, understand or appreciate just how good someone could be. She couldn't tell the difference between someone being good by smiling at her in the street and someone being good the way Danny was with her, and was with everyone he encountered as a matter of fact. I just wished she'd truly appreciate him because he definitely deserved it, and Layla deserved to realise how good he was to her because it would make her feel like a princess, something she always wanted to feel like. Personally I didn't understand the princess idea, but I still wanted to one day find a man who made me feel happy, safe, secure and confident, which was probably what Layla meant by wanting to feel like a princess. I used to think that Layla was just keeping her cool around Danny but now I thought that she was under-appreciating him and not realising just how well he treated her.

FLASHBACK
"Can I get you a drink?" his arms slinked around my waist as his hand landed firmly on my ass, giving it a squeeze. I glanced up at him, looking at my offer. Pretty damn hot.
"Yes! Thank you" I smirked, telling the barman what I wanted as the hot guy bought us a drink each.
"I never got your name, sexy" he told me. I cringed at his oh-so-cliche words but I thought that he was too hot not to persue
"Ella"
"That's a pretty name" he winked at me as I started drinking my JD & Coke
"I never got yours either"
"That doesn't matter baby" he was probably trying to be mysterious, I didn't really care or even fathom that he wasn't telling me anything about himself since I was now on my 5th drink of the night and I was definitely drunk.

When Layla came to get me, I was being pressed up against the wall outside the restrooms, having a serious make out session with the hot guy who bought me a drink but wouldn't tell me his name.
"Ella!" she called over to me, squeezing past a few people before she reached the clear space in the club by us, "Ella for fuck sake you're too old to be acting like a slut!"
Hot guy finally pulled his lips away from mine, "how old are you?" he asked me
"24"
"So am I, so your friend can shut her fucking mouth!" he exclaimed
"No, don't say that" I slurred, smiling at him, "Ignore her baby" I tell him. I sound so embarrassing right now, but I'm too drunk to care. I just start kissing his gorgeous self once again
"Ella grow the fuck up, you look disgusting!" Layla shouts at me, tugging at my arm so that she pulls me away from the guy
"Call me!" he shouts after me, giving me a quick wink as I get dragged out of the club by my boring, killjoy friend. Hot guy should've thought that one through because he hadn't given me his number or vise versa.

Layla pulls me out of the club and helps me into the front seat of a car. I think I remember her telling me that her boyfriend was driving us back to hers? Or maybe back to mine? I'm too drunk to remember, though.
"Ella what the fuck were you thinking!" she screams at me as she sits me in the front seat then gets in the back of the car, "You're gonna have to keep an eye on her, Danny. She's acting like a fucking drunk slut!"
"Woah, woah, woah! Calm down love! She looks fine, she's just a little drunk that's all!"
"She's not fucking fine, Danny! I found her getting it on with someone outside the toilets!"
"Hey!" I exclaim, having had enough of the way Layla was talking about me, "That makes me sound so bad! I was only making out with him near the restroom because it was quieter there!"
"Yes Ella but you're too fucking old to be doing that!"
"I thought she was your age?" Layla's boyfriend asked her, "That's not too old to be doing that at all! Ye know that I'd be doing that if I wasn't with ye and I'm way older!"
His thick, Irish accent was strongly present in his voice when he spoke. I laughed to myself, he was Irish like I was!
"Fine, I'm sorry Isabella" Layla told me, probably apologising me for telling me I was too old to be having a bit of harmless fun in a club.
I relax in my seat, feeling smug because Layla had apologised which meant that I'd done nothing wrong, "It's fine" I tell her
"She's a single woman, surely she's allowed to have a bit of fun with a guy whenever she can?" her boyfriend questioned her
"Yes I know that Danny that's why I apologised!" she spat at him.
Hold on a second. Danny? Irish? Hadn't Layla told me before that her boyfriend was- "oh my gosh, it's Danny from The Script!" I squeel, unable to contain my excitement. I wasn't even a fan of The Script, I'd only enjoyed the few songs of theirs that I'd heard on the radio or out and about so I didn't know why I even cared about meeting Danny from The Script but it probably had something to do with the fact that I was drunk.
"It is indeed!" he told me, laughing to himself although I could see that there was a smile playing on his lips
"I can't believe my friend is dating Danny from The Script!!!" I carry on squeeling, feeling extremely excited about who Layla's boyfriend was, "Oh my gosh Layla he's even more gorgeous in person" I gushed. I definitely was drunk if I was freaking out about Danny in this way since I wouldn't even be like this with a celebrity I loved and admired. Unless of course they were Channing Tatum.
Layla just laughed at me, erupting in a fit of giggles, "Ella you're so drunk!" she laughed
"It's cute" Danny told me, laughing too
"You guys! Shut up!" I tell them, laughing too because I was too drunk to stay neutral.
Danny parked outside Layla's place and let us out. They stood against the car engaging in some terrible PDA that could hardly even be called PDA. They didn't even kiss each other properly! I was a way better kisser than both of them combined. Hot guy knew it too. I also found it weird that they simply kissed each other, not making out or giving each other a proper, tender kiss. That's what I would do if I had a boyfriend. When they'd finally finished their poor excuse of a kiss, Danny came over to say goodbye to me too. He gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek, how sweet of him.
"It was really good to meet ye Isabella! Stay safe, ok? Don't drink any more tonight!"
I giggled and hugged him "I won't Danny!"
"Bye!" I called after him as Layla dragged me inside
FLASHBACK OVER

I got a call from Danny and when I picked it up, he was crying.
Fuck. I was going to kill Layla.

Hi guys!
I'm sorry for a later upload, I'd written the whole chapter in advance apart from the flashback to when Ella met Danny, and I had trouble not only writing it but also choosing it's positioning in the chapter! I'd rather have put it first but I wanted to start with the relief definition, which wouldn't have made sense without the paragraphs after it. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and understand what I tried to do with it, I hope the placement of the flashback isn't too confusing! It was quite random to add in but I planned to so I hope this doesn't seem like I was just trying to fill up the chapter!
Love, Amelia. Xx