Sanctuary (A Dan Smith/ Bastille fanfic)

71. Chloe

I grip hold of the arm rest firmly as the plane lands on the ground. I hold my breath as the brakes are slammed on and we slow down on the runway. I finally open my eyes and see Amelie's small grin staring over at me. "Don't even." I mutter, shaking my head and finally letting go of the arm rest to find my palms sweaty.

"I didn't say anything!" She smirks and turns back around, facing forward in her seat.

"That was horrendous." I pick up my bottle of water from the pocket on the seat in front of me and I take a few large gulps. "I hate flying." I whisper into my bottle before screwing the lid back on tightly.

"Well it's worth it because now we're in LA baby!" She squeals excitedly and kicks her feet. "This is going to be amazing! Just think of the shopping!" I stay silent as I watch Amelie's mind trail to thoughts of clothes, shoes and bags. She's such a girly girl and I just don't care for those sorts of things. Although I should probably go with her seeing as I have dragged her all the way to America with me. Not that she wasn't a willing candidate to join me.

"Oh goody." I finally reply sarcastically, earning myself a slap on the arm from Amelie.

"Shut it you." She comments. "Ergh why does it take so long to open the bloody doors! Just let us off the plane!" She groans, standing up to eye up what's going on towards the front of the plane.

"I dunno." I shrug. "I would rather they do it properly and safely."

"God you're such a nervous flyer." She laughs and now it's my turn to hit her arm. "Ouch!" She remarks overdramatically. "So, how are you feeling?"

"I'm freaking out, Am." I reply honestly. "I mean, I look like a total psycho following him over the Atlantic to see him. I'm never impulsive. Why did I do this? We can still go back right?" I begin to panic.

"Chill." Amelie stops my ranting and grabs my hand. "Seatbelt signs are off." She looks up at the people around us standing up. "Come on, let's get our things."

We spend the next half an hour leaving the plane, going through passport security and collecting our bags. When we are finally nearing towards the exit I follow the signs to the taxi rank but am stopped in my tracks by a man holding up a card in my face with my name on it. I fling my arms around him and laugh loudly. "Chris!!" I screech and bury my face into his chest. "Oh my god I've missed you!"

"Jeez, it sounds weird hearing someone actually call me Chris." He chuckles. "Amelie." He smiles and nods towards my friend.

"Oh I'm sorry Mr 'I'm a big deal now so changed my name'!" I tease him and he squeezes me again.

"Alright Mrs... Mrs... I dunno." We laugh as he fails to come up with an insult for me. "Anyway, let me take your bags and we'll go, yeah?" I smile and thank him as he leans over to take my bag from me and he leads us towards the car park.

Chris fills me in on everything that the boys have been up to, excitedly telling me about various nights that they've had, or various tourist attractions that they've been lucky enough to see. I'm jealous when he mentions Dan's name, because I'm upset that I haven't been able to spend time with the two of them whilst they've been able to share this wonderfully strange experience.

We eventually pull up at a hotel and Chris drops us off at the front whilst he parks the car. My nervousness sets in again as I remember that Dan is somewhere inside this building and I'm actually going to surprise him. I can't even believe that I've pulled it off and I'm shocked that I've gone through with it, but I'm happy nonetheless.

"So we've got a suite on the 16th floor." Chris comes up and takes my bag again, leading us towards the lift. "I'm afraid I've got to apologise now, cause it's a bit of a mess and what with all of the recording equipment set up there's not much room." The lift appears and we enter it. Chris presses the '16' button, making the number light up and the doors close. I swallow in anxiousness and try to contain my feelings inside. "But I booked another room anyway for more space so it should be fine." The doors make a noise and open onto a long corridor. We step out and Chris leads us to the first door on the left. He pulls out a small blue card and taps it on a metal pad, making the door handle light up and open.

As we enter the room I hear the faint sound of Dan's voice. He's singing. Jesus Christ, that voice. I shake my head to make myself think a little clearer but it doesn't work. "Again." I hear Dan say and I smile at his demanding tone. "3, 2, 1." He says and then starts singing again. I follow Chris' lead and walk through to what clearly used to be a bedroom but has been turned into some sort of touring studio. I see Dan before he sees me, because he's facing the other way and holding a set of headphones close to his ears, so he hasn't even noticed our arrival.

I smile for a moment, watching him at work. I walk up behind him, being careful to not let him hear me. I put my hands over his eyes quickly so that he doesn't have the chance to realise who it is. "Bloody hell Kyle, don't be a prat." He bats my hands away and then turns around. My smile widens as I watch his reaction, a better reaction than I could ever have imagined. His mouth drops, his hands fall to his side and he stops speaking for a while.

"Well give me a kiss or something then!" I joke and he immediately grabs me and picks me up with a tight grip. He spins me around slightly whilst laughing loudly. He suddenly drops me to the floor and moves his hands to my face. He rests his palms on my cheeks and then brings my face to his, kissing me with all of his force. I let myself get carried away in the moment, wrapping my arms around his body and holding him as closely as possible.

"What the hell!" Dan pulls away and holds his arms out. "Amelie!" He laughs and goes over to give her a hug. "You're.. You guys are... Well you're here! I literally spoke to you two days ago and you didn't say anything! And Chris! You... You!" I watch Dan as he speaks in a high pitched tone with a dorky little grin on his face.

"Good surprise?" I ask.

"Amazing surprise! Fantastic surprise! Brilliant surprise!" He gleams. "I can't actually believe you're here!" He grabs me again and hugs me with all of his strength. "This is crazy." He laughs as he kisses me again.

My whole face lights up just seeing him this happy to see me. I definitely made the right, however drunken, decision to come here.

"I'm glad you're happy." I let go of him, well aware that we aren't the only people in the room.

"Happy, can't you see I'm ecstatic! Chloe, I can't believe you've pulled this off!" He beams again. "You've kept this quiet! When did you decide to come? What made you decide to come? How did you manage to get on a plane?! You hate flying." He laughs.

"I booked the tickets on Friday and I don't know I just felt spontaneous. And I got on the plane with a lot of calming tablets." I shake my head as if it will shake the smile from my face.

"Well, thank you. It's lovely to see you and I know it's taken a lot for you to make this leap." He wraps his arms around my shoulder and squeezes me again.

"It's good to see you too. It's good to see you both." I nod towards Chris who is in quiet conversation with Amelie.

"Right, you girls go unpack and make yourself comfortable, I'll finish up here and then we can all go out for dinner?" Dan suggests with a smile.

"Um yeah, sure." My smile falters slightly but I accept another kiss from him before he turns back around and picks his headphones up again.

Chris comes towards me and picks my bags up, leading Amelie and I out of the room. He points me towards Dan's room and explains that he'll move his things out so that and Dan and I can share the room together. I smile in acceptance and to show my gratefulness. Chris and Amelie then leave so that he can show Amelie to her room and I'm left feeling sort of deflated.

I've had the longest weekend full of hangovers and travelling and now I'm here in America and I can't wait to spend some time with some of my closest friends.