The Boys Next Door [Dan Howell x Reader]

Chapter 5: Taste * Plants and Coffee

Never had you ever dreamt of being Internet famous.
Alright, maybe a few times; but this was different.
The Whisper Challenge video appeared to have blown up, a number of questions rolling into the comments about your relationship with Dan. Who was this mysterious girl suddenly popping up in his videos?

It was late afternoon as you sat under your duvet, having at last crawled home after a painfully long lecture at university. The instant upon arriving at your flat, you'd taken it upon yourself to pull on your fuzzy socks, grab the ice cream out of the freezer (courtesy to Phil who'd apparently "bought too much ice cream") and settled yourself in bed with your laptop and the full tub.

The comments proved to be quite amusing to you as you snorted at some, smiling at compliments as you dished the cold treat into your mouth. At least you hadn't come across hate comments yet.
As you were about to reply to a comment, your phone buzzed loudly as you dropped the tub of ice cream in fright.

Daniel (Not Radcliffe): hey there! I need your advice on something.

You raised an eyebrow, setting down the spoon on the side of your laptop and typing back hurriedly.

You: what's up?

You set your phone down only to find that it had chimed within a few seconds, bringing a smile to your face. What was that he had said about being a slow texter..?

Daniel (Not Radcliffe): phil and I want to get potted plants for that window you said looked strange. come pick with us?

You glanced at the clock on your computer, rolling your eyes as you (literally) rolled out of bed.

You: On my way to yours. :)

In an instant you'd sadly pulled off the fuzzy socks, replacing them with ankle boots as you shivered slightly. The weather had been getting colder, which is why you doubted Dan and Phil would find anything but plastic potted plants at the store.
Knocking at their apartment door felt rather natural now, despite the fact that you'd only been living there for around a month (and a half perhaps? It felt longer, that was for sure). Dan answered the door immediately, bright smile you'd grown to love over the years of watching his videos painting his expression.

"(Y/N)!"

"We need your expert plant opinion according to Dan." Phil said, trudging out the door as he pulled on a thick coat.

"I do say I find myself quite the expert." you grinned, side glancing at Dan as he rolled his eyes teasingly.

"We're stopping at Starbucks along the way." Phil added, hesitating before grabbing his gloves and locking the apartment door. "It's way too cold right now to even function."

No sooner had the three of you stepped out that a cold blast of wind hit you in the face, freezing the tip of your nose as your cheeks flushed. Pulling up the (F/C) scarf you had resting around your neck to your nose, you followed the two lanky gentlemen down the streets of London, easily finding your way to Starbucks.

Since that first time Dan had taken you to Starbucks, the path had been seemingly ingrained into your mind - not that it wouldn't  have anyways, Starbucks ran through your soul.
The welcoming smell of spice lattes and those strange orders on the menu you could never quite pronounce right invaded the air, bringing a sort of comfort to you as the heater-warmed air enveloped your cold body.

"Take-away?" Dan asked, to which Phil nodded enthusiastically. In a moment, he'd returned with three tall cups of coffee to which you looked at him with a "come on!" look on your face.

"You didn't have to pay for me." You said, smiling happily as you took the cup from him.

"It was the least I could do. You are helping two weirdos find plants in minus-degree weather, after all." Dan chuckled, to which Phil frowned.

"Weirdos? Hey!"

The cold air wasn't quite as harsh as you sipped the coffee, feeling the taste warm every corner of your insides. Of course Dan had ordered you a mocha, the first drink you'd ever had with him. (A/N: soz if you don't like mochas lol)

"Here we are!" Phil exclaimed as you looked up at the sign.

"I can't believe there are plant nurseries open right now." you noted, and Dan shrugged.

"London plants are pretty resilient, I guess."

"You'd have to be." you replied, stepping into nursery as you smiled. Walking into plant nurseries felt like walking straight into nature, despite the amount of tall buildings and taxis you knew were waiting for you outside. Cold fingers clutched the warm coffee cup as you took a sip, wide eyes gazing at all the greenery around you.

"I can't believe you decided to buy plants on my suggestion." you said after a sip of the coffee, and Dan returned your smile.

"It's true, the window was quite bare."

"RIGHT!" Phil shouted, earning the attention from a small old woman who frowned the living hell out of him. He winced apologetically, turning towards the two of you. "I vote we split up. Cover more ground, find more plants." he said, to which you shrugged approvingly.

"Sounds good. I did take biology that one time in high school." you said, and Dan jumped up.

"(Y/N) took biology, I'm going with her!"

You grinned, pleased. "Sorry Phil, looks like you're on your own."

The dark haired man rolled his eyes, a knowing smile settling on his face. "Don't have too much fun."

"We'll try! The plants are quite alluring though!" Dan called over his shoulder as you dragged him towards the ferns, however he'd already gone in the complete opposite direction exclaiming sounds of glee.

"Ooh! (Y/N), come here! What about this?"

"That is the damn pinkest plant I've ever seen." you said, grabbing onto his wrist and pulling him away. "And no to the cactus!" you said as he pouted, attempting to pull you over to a row of unfriendly-looking cacti.

"I was thinking more of a hanging fern." you told him as he let you drag him by the wrist, suddenly flicking his hand so that he was holding yours. You almost froze, fingers clenching around his as you attempted to lull your heartbeat, pretending that you were nonchalant about what he had just done.

"What about this one?"

You followed his gaze towards a medium-sized fern that appeared to glow blue and green. A triumphant smile crossed your face as you bent down, taking ahold of the fern without letting go of his hand.

"Perfect."

(A/N: If it looks like I ended abruptly just remember the next chapter is simply  a quick continuation from this part :) sorry for updating so late and with such an awful chapter hahaahahha)