imvu ❥ dan howell

//67//

SOTC: This Is What It Takes by Shawn Mendes

As they followed the white jeep on the fairly straight roads, the conversations seemed as if there was a wall between them and the words couldn't get past. It had been three minutes and the only sound was coming from the radio. The words in their head formed scenarios and conversations, but couldn't make it to their mouths to actually speak them. Dan's hands fidgeted on the wheel as if it was hot and he needed to move or he'd get burned. "Dan, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said, ceasing his hands. "Just a little.. disappointed in myself is all.."

"Well I am too, but I'm not going to hold it against you forever."

"Why not? I lied to you. I lied about something that you hate with a passion, and you just say you're disappointed?" His voice got louder with every second that passed, and he noticed it, closing his mouth and shaking his head like a child who got busted. "You should hate me. I led you to far for you to just be disappointed. I'm more than disappointed in myself, Audi. I almost feel like you came here for nothing."

Audi's expression slowly contorted into sadness as she listened to his words. "Just because of one little habit, you shouldn't hate yourself for it."

He sighed and kept his focus on the road, thinking for a few seconds on what to say. "Listen, I really, really, really like you... I really do, like a lot, and I understand if you're being all nice because you were forced into my car, but you don't have to. I want to hear your voice.. I want to know why you are the way you are. You just make me so.. so, I don't know.. you give me such a weird feeling, a good feeling, whenever I talk to you, and I guess I'm now realizing how much I've fucked up."

She looked over to him, his bottom lip between his teeth as it quivered. "Dan, Dan, don't... Please don't..." She whispered, but it was too late as he blinked once and a tear rolled down his face. "No, cmon, pull over at that gas station."

He nodded and took a left, pulling into the gas station parking lot and parking in a vacant spot. "I'm sorry.."

Audi's heart hurt as she watched the boy fall apart with guilt for his habit and himself spill out in realization. "Why are you crying, Dan?"

He sniffed, shaking his head, looking out the window of the car as he wiped his eyes quickly. "Because I don't want to lose you." He knew how dumb it sounded, just meeting her in person for the first time today, but he felt a relationship between them that he'd never felt before. Before he knew it, he was rambling on about how he was sorry and how she should call Ashley to turn around and pick her up, not stopping when Audi would tell him it was okay.

"Dan, baby, you're okay, just take deep breaths, you're freaking out." Her words did nothing as he cried and rambled, so she did the only thing she knew could make someone's mind cease.

She leaned over the center console and turned his head, and she kissed him. Dan's eyes closed as he focused on her, pushing his habits and mistakes away for the short amount of time, and when she pulled away, she was surprised how calm he was.

His breath was shaky as he breathed in, slow and deep. "Why did you do that? I thought you hated me."

"How many times do I have to tell you? I don't hate you."

"But why?"

She smiled at him, wiping the moisture from his cheeks with her sleeve. "One day a boy who I really liked told me to promise him to never completely define someone by their mistakes and bad habits, and I'm going to keep my promise to him."

He sighed and let a small smile form into his lips, looking at her with admiration. "Well that boy made you a promise and he's really glad he did."

It was still quiet in the small corolla, the radio softly playing in the background.

"Can you make me one more promise, Dan?"

"What's that?"

"No more secrets?"

He nodded, "no more secrets."

Audi smiled, leaning over the center console to kiss his cheek, a light blush spreading across his face, neither of them mentioning the kiss, and neither of them planning on it as Dan switched the gear into drive and made a U-turn, exiting the gas station parking lot to drive towards the park. And for the hundredth time as he sat in the car, his hands were shaking, but this time in happiness. Happiness as Audi had forgiven him, and happy that Audi had kissed him.

Audi had kissed him.

He smiled at the thought and turned up the radio to some random pop song that Audi knew, resulting in her singing it off-key.
She laughed as Dan cringed playfully at her, though his fingers still fidgeted on his thigh. She reached over and pulled his hand into hers and laced their fingers together, and for once, the atmosphere was comfortable.

A/N mine and Dan's ship name is daddy ;)