Second Shot (Bastille)

14: At least give me a smile

*Dans POV*

I heard Freddie gasp quietly and felt her hand untangle from mine. From the corner of my eye, I could see a fearful look painted all across her face; her skin a cold, white colour.

The person turned around and a look of ease spread across his face. He was a short man, short but stocky with wide shoulders and large biceps looking comically disproportionate to his stubby legs. His eyes were squinted making the colour indecipherable, his nose was also too large for his face; wide and crooked- probably broken a few too many times. "Freddie thank God. I tried calling you." He stepped forward. Freddie stepped back. "I thought something had happened to you, I was worried" Nobody said anything. All I could hear was Freddie's quiet, shaky breaths behind me.

"Listen Rowan," The moment the name passed Sams lips, I looked over my shoulder at Freddie, a sudden protectiveness filling me, she was pressed right up against the wall, her arms still crossed over her chest, making her look even tinier and vulnerable. "When are you gonna get it? There's a reason Freddie is not answering your calls. She doesn't want to talk to you. She doesn't even want to think about you." Sam spat angrily, taking a step towards Rowan. He slowly dragged his eyes away from Freddie and stared Sam down, clearly annoyed that she had disrupted him. While he wasn't looking, I held out my hand towards Freddie but she refused to take it, shaking her head. It'll be okay, I promise. I told her silently. Hesitantly, she lowered her arms and slowly put her hand in my palm.

"As admirable as your friendship is Sam, I think we should let Freddie speak for herself" He snarled before turning back to Freddie "What do you say Fred? You wanna sort things out between us right?" Then his eyes dropped down to our hands. "Sorry, I'm being rude" Rowan began, looking at me with a challenging spark in his eye "I'm Rowan," He held out his hand in a fake politeness "Freddie's probably not spoke about me much, skeletons in the closet and all"

"Believe me, I've heard enough about you" I answered dryly, rejecting the handshake and watched as the friendly outstretched hand coolly recoiled and clenched into a threatening fist. The next few seconds seemed to last forever, I saw it in Rowans eyes; I could tell he was deciding whether or not to start a fight last, his fist unfurled, glaring at both me and Kyle (who, despite staying quiet, was on high alert: keeping an eye on Sam and ready to jump in if Rowan did start something). Scoffing quietly, he disappeared downstairs.

Before anyone had a chance to speak, Freddie darted up the next few set of stairs and left the rest of us in a stunned silence.

"Bastard" Sam hissed bitterly under her breath. "You want me to go up?" She asked, turning to me. I shook my head but remained where I stood, unsure on how much time Freddie wanted on her own.

"Who was that?" Kyle asked obliviously, flicking his glance between me and Sam.

"Rowan. Freddie's ex. I'll explain it all, come on." Sam said shortly, moving towards the door of hers and Freddie's apartment. Just before she stepped in, she turned back to me and nodded towards the stairs, encouraging me to go up to the roof.

I slowly made my way up the last few flights of stairs, deciding on what to say to Freddie when I eventually got to her. Putting all my body weight on the door, it creaked open and I emerged onto the roof which looked far less homely than the last time I was up here. The wind was far more forceful up here than down on the pavement and it carried the cacophony of wailing sirens and shouting voices up to where I stood.

I easily spotted Freddie, who was sat on one of the sofas, her head in her hands and her only movement being the slow rise and fall of her shoulders. Carefully, I made my way over and perched on the edge of the sofa next to Freddie. I waited for a minute, seeing if she had even realised I was there, however, she kept her head down. I then gently put hand on her lower back, which made her lift her head. Her eyes were red and tearful and her face was still an anxious white.

"Hey," I brushed my thumb against her cheek, catching a tear that was slowly rolling down her face "You okay?" I checked, talking quietly.

"Want me to lie?" Freddie asked, trying to sound lighthearted and lounging back into the sofa. I raised a brow seriously "Oh come on Dan, no I'm not okay but at least give me a smile." Freddie poked my ribs and tugged me backwards. Surrendering, I sighed and smiled a little, leaning back and putting my hand in hers. "So that was Rowan, as you can tell he's a bit... full on"

"Just a little... And you dealt with that for a year?" Freddie nodded keeping her eyes, embarrassedly, off me.

"Pretty ridiculous I know but I just kept telling myself it would pass , that he would change.. God that sounds stupid now" Freddie laughed at herself and shook her head.

"It's not stupid. Staying with someone like him is-"

"It's not brave." Freddie butted in, sliding to the edge of the seat and scuffing her feet against the ground "in fact: it's the exact opposite of brave. If someone is mistreating you, you should be strong enough, have the courage to leave." I heard her voice quiver and her legs shake nervously.

"You did leave though"

"What?" Looking over her shoulder, I greeted her glance with a reassuring smile tugging at the corners of my mouth.

"You said; if someone mistreats you, you should leave. And you did. Yes, it took some time and probably some encouragement from Sam, but you did it. That makes you brave. You shouldn't forget that, or be ashamed by it" I stared Freddie down challengingly and she did the same. Eventually she gave in and finally slackened her body, sighing with a weak smile on her face.

"You're very convincing you know?"

"It's one of my few skills. Come on, you definitely deserve those treats now" I got to my feet and ran a hand through my hair before stretching it out and pulling Freddie up. I led her back down to her and Sams apartment which had been cast into a warm golden light; Sam was lounged across the sofa with her hands behind her head while Kyle was stood at the island, opening a bottle of cloudy lemonade (as Sam had been advised not the drink for a couple of days, but it was favourite brand so she didn't mind). "Take a seat" I whispered, nudging Freddie towards the sofa. She nodded and shuffled over to Sam who sat up alertly and hugged her tightly. After a minute or two, me and Kyle approached the girls, each with a silver plate in our hands.

"Mademoiselles" Kyle began in an melodramatic formal tone. In one synchronised sweep, Kyle and I lifted the lids off the plates and presented them with a drink and a bowl full of their favourite sweets (Freddie's being Haribo Tangfastics and Sams filled with Wine Gums.) Sam and Freddie laughed excitedly before bunching up in the middle while me and Kyle sat on the end on the sofa. I switched on the TV and flicked through the channels until I found something that we all wanted to watch. Sam quickly devoured her bowl of sweets and revelled in the pampering Kyle gave her while Freddie politely picked at her food and seemed much happier just resting her head on my shoulders.