Flower ((A Dan Howell Fanfiction))

Chapter Eleven:

Dan ended up paying, no matter how uncomfortable I felt or how long I told him "Please, just let me pay my own tab."

He wouldn't budge.

"Yes, I believe that women can pay for their own meals and that it's perfectly okay to destroy the gender role norms, but I also believe that the old gender roles should come into play occasionally," he told me as he collected his jacket from the back of his chair.

Together, we walked out of the restaurant. It was almost four in the afternoon, and people were milling about leisurely. They all looked comfortable.

"I so wish I had my sketchbook right now," I muttered, thinking of all the colors before me and how they would look astounding on paper.

Dan was looking at me again, and that's what snapped me out of my head.

"What?"

He shook his head, not saying a word. Taking out his phone, he tapped at the screen and then pocketed it again.

"Would you like to come to over to watch a film?"

I give Dan a look that says What are you thinking?

Then suddenly he's laughing, looking at me every few seconds to laugh loudly all over again. When he finally calmed down, I was mildly terrified.

"Dan?" I said, my voice soft.

I don't know what happened when I said that, but he immediately sobered up, looking over at me with an unreadable look. My breath slowed, but my heart picked up, but I couldn't break his gaze.

And then my phone rang.

It scared us both, jolting us to reality. With a heavy sigh, I take out my phone and answer it.

"Chrys? How's it going?"

I whine, "Tana."

"Oh...you're still with him, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

Then she hung up.

Why do I feel like I just missed a major opportunity?

"So, about that film?" he said, his voice uneasy.

Is he nervous?

I crook my eyebrow at him, but smile at how cute he was when he was nervous. My anxiety was receding again, leaving me slightly more confident than normal.

"Let me talk with the Emily." From my pocket, I pull out a pink sticky note with Emily's and Adam's numbers on it. I called Emily.

She picked up on the second ring. "Hello?" she said.

"Hey, Emily. It's Chrys."

"Oh, hi."

"I was wondering if you guys would be okay with me going to watch a movie with a friend I made."

Emily was quiet for a bit. It sounded like she was talking to someone else.

"Adam is okay with it. Just please be cautious. Don't be home to late," Emily says when she returns.

I tell her yes ma'am, cringe at how country it sounds, and then hang up. I look at Dan. "They're okay with it."

Dan nods and then hails us a taxi. When it arrives, we climb in.

"Where to?" the driver says.

Dan feeds the driver his address and then we're on our way.

When I was alone in my first ever taxi on my way to Nando's, the drive felt adventurous, like something you'd see out of a movie.