Speed By • DANIEL GILLIES

17 | irl

"Are you nervous?" Joseph asked him at the other end of the line. Daniel shrugged it off, checking himself in the mirror one more time before stepping out of the car.

"I'm fine. Are you bringing your boy?" He asked.

"I asked him. But we'll see if he shows up," he replied. "I'm leaving you to it, mate. Best of luck."

Daniel walked up to the door, checking his breath for the third time. He put his phone back in his back pocket and rang the doorbell. He waited for a moment, before hearing the sounds of heels clicking together. The door opened and out came Cop Cooper. She smiled at him, stepping out of the house and locking the front door.

Suddenly, he forgot he was going to buy flowers. Or rather, that the thought of buying flowers for her should have at least been on his mind. Because Gia looked stunning. Different from the last time seen her. Suddenly, he felt bad about making jokes about her in a groupchat.

"You look stunning," he said.

Gia looked him up and down. "You don't look so bad yourself. And oh look, you've got pants on this occasion."

"I was really going through a horrible time, then," Daniel replied. But he didn't elaborate more. He didn't tell her how he was struggling to make rent and how he was so close to giving up when he landed the role of Elijah Mikaelson. Instead he said, "you're the worst."

"I was only doing my job, don't be a child," she rolled her eyes. They walked towards his car and he opened the passenger door for her. Gia took a seat and he closed the door, walking to the drivers side.

"Why couldn't you take my flirtation skills and not given me a ticket?" He asked, turning the engine on.

Gia gave him a smile. "What skills?"

"Ouch," Daniel touched his hypothetical heart and began to drive towards Weskin's party. On the way there, he played the Beatles. (To mess with Gia.) (But also because he really loved their music.) "What type of things does Julie like to do?"

"Well, let's see, she's in eight grade. She loves one direction, Niall is her favorite."

Daniel nodded along. "Niall is great."

"Do you have a niece Julie's age?" She asked. Or else, how did he know which was which if he didn't have someone talking about it twenty-four-seven?

"Yes that but we also talked about them ironically, until we started liking them. That's also the case of Taylor Swift."

"Taylor Swift, that's her name! Julie also really loves her music. I just took her to a Taylor Swift concert a few months ago, or maybe it was last year I'm not sure," Gia replied. She looked out the road while Daniel pulled from the driveway and began to drive.

"You are really bad with dates."

Gia shrugged a shoulder. "I won't deny it."

..

Daniel parked the car and let out a loud sigh. The drive on their way here, he'd been scared of making a mistake and Gia correcting him. She was so vigilant, watching the road even though she was in service. Didn't she ever rest? He opened the door for her and Gia stepped out. He lead them towards the front door, not bothering to ring the doorbell before walking in.

Phoebe was standing with a glass of whine, screaming at the TV. "Politics, Phoebo?"

"He's an idiot!" Phoebe let out a sigh. Paul turned the channel before she could say anything else. Daniel took a step back, as though displaying Gia.