Take Me Away | Daniel Howell x Reader [DISCONTINUED]

Chapter 1 - Tall Familiar Stranger

Three days now, three days since you have been pulled away from your roots. Three days since they found out, they tried to delete it, take your passion away from you. Left you to wondering airports and train stations, nowhere to go, until now. You walk down the footpath, the unfamiliar London buildings reflecting the gloom of the grey sky in their windows. Busy people in black and grey winter coats walk past and mutter at your slow uneven pace. You stop in front of an allay way causing more cursing coming from the impatient public, the buildings making it seem darker than it really is. You take out the crumpled note with a single address written on it then peer back into the darkness. "This is it." You say with fear and sadness dripping in your voice, but only loud enough for you to hear. You shrug your shoulders, adjusting your backpack which only contained the few essentials. Some clothes, computer and toiletries.

You take a deep breath and sputter a little at the polluted air. You shove your hands in your pockets, the right one gripping onto your phone. You disappear into the alleyway unnoticed, your black and grey clothes making you blend in with your surroundings. The alley way is long, and musty steam rises from a pipe which belongs to the high-end restaurant facing to the rest of society. The traffic noises fade away and you reach a door. It is made from unpainted brown wood, with a simple knob and a rough slot for a key. You raise a hand to knock on the door. Your palms go sweaty as you do not know what to expect, the plans were rash after all. Your fist makes swift contact with the door. A groan echoes throughout the brick building and you hear sluggish but strong footsteps approach you. You jump and take a small step back as the door slams outwards, almost hitting you in the face. A tall and muscly man leans up against the door frame.

"W-We talked on the phone." You say quietly, a stutter making you stumble over your words. You look him up and down, you really hoped that you had gotten the wrong apartment. His muscles ready to explode, a beer stained white singlet and grey baggy cargo pants. You notice that he hadn't shaved in a while and a ginger beard was threatening to grow although he seemed quite young.

"Ah, yes. Of course, come in (Y/N)." He gave you a friendly smile. His Irish accent made his appearance lighten up, making his aura less sinister. Looks are deceiving I guess you think to yourself. He holds the door open and you walk past him, turning your nose up at the stench of the apartment you just entered. The smell of beer and mould made you want to run back to the polluted air of the street. The apartment was small, very small. "This is the lounge room, kitchen." He pointed to either side of the room, no doorways separating them. "Bedrooms and bathroom are up the stairs. Make yourself at home." He sits down on the sofa and kicks his feet up onto the coffee table. You look over to the corner of the room to see wooden steps that look like they were put together by a five-year-old.

"Thanks, Alroy." You recall his name and walk over to the stairs and carefully place your foot on the first step to see if it is worthy of your simple weight. Check, you place your next foot on the step above. That too is safe. Relaxing a bit more you quickly walk up the stairs and disappear from his sight. There are three doors. You push the first one open, bathroom. All it has is a shower, toilet and sink. The white tiles covering the room were cracked in places. The next door you attempt to open is locked. You jiggle the knob backwards and forwards but no luck. You sigh and go the next one. It creaks open with ease. The room is completely bare apart from a single mattress lying on the floor in the corner, luckily for you it was already made. You dump your bag and stare out a small window.

You rummage through your bag for food, but no luck. Not even an empty crisp packet. This place seems like the place where bugs would run wild through stale food, the thought of that sent a shiver down your spine. You reach back into your bag and pull out your wallet then walk back downstairs. "I'm going out." You say to him simply. He doesn't turn his head away from the television but nods at you. Closing the front door softly behind you, you start to run to the exit of the alley way. The stench was too much to bare for your normal sensitive nose. People look at you strangely as you erupt breathless onto the footpath. After a few seconds you regain your breath and stand up straight reaching into your pocket. You pull out your phone and search for the nearest supermarket. Five-minute walk from where you are.

You find the shop without getting lost and pull a basket from the rack. The sudden movement causes all the other baskets to fall, a passing bystander rushes over and pushes it back before it can fall.

"Hey are you, (Y/T/N)?" The girl who looks fourteen asks excitedly.

"Yep, that's me." You shoot her a smile.

"I'm a massive fan by the way, I love your videos. It has helped me through some tough times."

"T-Thanks." You say speechless.

"Can I have a selfie?"

"Sure." You were always happy when you met a fan. You posed for the photo and waved goodbye to the girl who left with her mum.

You collect a few items that won't perish easily as you don't 100% trust the fridge back at your new home. Just one more thing you needed to get, it was on the top shelf. You jump up to try and reach it but fail, you keep on trying. You were about to give up when you notice a tall stranger reach up to the top shelf and pull the item you were after.

"Is this what you wanted?" The articulated accented man says. You know that voice, it was very familiar.

"Y-Yes..." You trail off as you look up at the pale figure with a brown fringe swept to the left. He gives you the item. You briefly look down to place it in your basket then look back up but he was gone.