The Boy Upstairs (DanXReader)

Chapter 5: A couple of doorks

Preemptive A/N: DAN'S LAUGH GIVES ME LIFE.

I looked in the mirror, doing my fifth and final inspection of myself. Daniel would be here in less than five minutes and I was going to be as composed and as socially normal as I could. I'd already embarrassed myself in front of Phil... I wouldn't do the same with Daniel.

I took a breath and exhaled, I looked good. My makeup was natural but pretty, my hair was in check, and my outfit was casual but fun. If someone had seen me they probably would've sworn I was meeting up with someone I had a crush on... but it was just an old friend. Well he had been my first kiss... and we had dated for a while. But that had been so long ago that it really shouldn't have mattered. And sure, from what I'd seen he was just as attractive to me now as he was back then, if not more so now. But I didn't even know him anymore, it might be like meeting an entirely new person.

I closed my eyes and tried to not think of it as meeting a new person. That had been a mistake in the first place. Meeting new people scared me. That was why Dad had arranged numerous Skype meetings between himself, my new supervisor, and I. That way I'd hopefully be in a better place when starting work.

I jumped slightly when I heard the knock on my front door. "J-just a minute! I-I'll be right there!" I shouted, taking one last glance in the mirror.

I nodded at myself and scurried around my apartment, mentally telling myself I would be fine and that it'd be like old times. Once I'd grabbed everything I needed I slipped on my shoes and walked over to the door. I shakily grabbed the handle and flung the door open.

THUD.

Goddammit. Why was my door designed like this? It was an awful idea to have it open outwards, especially when the person opening it was as accident prone as me.

I peeked around the door, a mortified expression on my face as I saw a tall brunette staring at me with a shocked expression. I felt like I was going to cry when I noticed the red mark on his nose and forehead. "I-I... I AM SO SORRY..."

Anyone could've heard the wobble in my voice so it was all the more startling when Daniel started laughing. "Oh my god... I didn't believe Phil when he said you'd literally opened the door on him!"

I felt my face heat up, now even more embarrassed by the acknowledgement that this wasn't the first time this had happened. I began to shrink back into my apartment, only to be stopped by Daniel grabbing the door. "No, please no," he said, wiping a tear from his eye as he regained his composure. "I'm sorry, it's not your fault ______. Phil warned me about the weirdness with the door but I didn't believe him."

"W-weirdness?" I managed to ask.

"Well yea, I think your door is the only one in this building like this. All of the other front doors open into the flat."

Of course I got the one hazardous door. That was just my luck. I hadn't even thought about it when I done the final walk through. But it was what it was... I was just going to have to be more careful when leaving my apartment.

"O-oh... weird."

Daniel laughed and shot me a smile, making me feel slightly more at ease. I gave him a small smile back and fully emerged from my apartment. It was only once I was able to fully see how much he'd changed since I'd last seen him.

The most noticeable difference was his height. I noticed that he might have even been a bit taller than Phil, which as quite impressive to me as he hadn't been all that much taller than me before I'd moved to the states. Next I noticed that he wasn't nearly as tan as he used to be and his hair was much shorter. He looked amazing.

"Not going for the wannabe surfer look anymore, Daniel?" I asked quietly, a small smile on my face.

Daniel grinned and pulled me into a hug, which I gladly returned. It was odd how the hug felt so different yet so familiar at the same. It was definitely the Daniel I'd grown up with but we'd both grown and matured into different versions of what we'd once known each other to be. It was a strange feeling.

"It's been too long," Daniel said, pulling away and looking down at me with a smile. "Call me Dan though, please. Only my mum calls me Daniel anymore."

I grinned and nodded. "Okay... Dan."

"So... how've you been?" Danie- Dan asked as I closed and locked my apartment's door.

"I-I've been good..." I said with a quick nod. "How about you?"

"About the same..."

Small talk... the bane of my existence. It was awkward and pointless. All it ever led to awkward silences... speaking of which.

"...Boop..." both Dan and I said at the same time, grinning and laughing afterwards.

"See! It works!" I said, gaining control over my giggles.

"It's the best life hack out there," Dan laughed.

"It's the OG life hack!"

Dan and I both immediately cringed at my use of OG. "Uhg no, please never say that again," Dan begged.

"Definitely. Well, we should probably get going if we want to do anything other than stand in front of my weird door."

Dan nodded and began leading me down the stairs. We didn't say anything until we got outside, but it wasn't a bad silence. It was a more comfortable silence. No words needed to be said. So far it seemed like Dan and I might be okay.

A/N: That door is out to ruin your life, I swear!