Flower ((A Dan Howell Fanfiction))

Chapter Twenty-Nine:

I wasn't dead. The truck hadn't splattered me across the street. I stood in the center of the road, the little girl hugged to my body, her legs wrapping my waist and her arms wrapping my neck. Her stuffed animal was crushed between our bodies.

She was sobbing, and I was panting, tears coming from my own eyes.

The world stopped.

All vehicles vrooming past are now stalled in the road, none of the drivers brave enough to get out just yet. The people on the sidewalk were just the same.

Seconds turned into days.

The little girl cried into my shoulder.

I found my voice and spoke: "Hey, hey. Look at me." It took a few more minutes of cooing at this little girl, but she finally pulled away from my shoulder and looked me in the eye. Her eyes were wide, scared, and the deepest green.

I smile at her. "Hey. It's okay. Nothing can hurt you now. What's your name?"

She sniffles loudly and says, "Marie."

I smile wider and bounce her higher on my hip. "That is such a lovely name. My name is Chrys, but all my friends call me Flower. You know why they call me Flower?"

Marie shakes her head and I begin to walk to the sidewalk, because everyone is coming to life and I can hear Dan calling my name.

There's a taxi between the sidewalk and me and the girl.

"My name is the name of a flower. Sort of like a carnation. Do you know what a carnation is?"

She nods and I smile. "That's me. My name is Chrysanthemum, but you can call me Flower."

She giggles and then we're swarmed by two women.

"Marie. Marie! Oh my god. Thank you so much for saving her. How can I ever repay you?" the small woman said as she took Marie from me.

I'm numb.

I look at both the women, both women who are hugging Marie between them. They're her mothers.

I give a soft smile and tears spring to the corners of my eyes. "It's okay," I breath, not trusting my voice. "I don't want anything. I'm just glad she's okay." Both women take their turn and hug me, kissing me on my cheeks. And then they're back to crying over their daughter.

I turn away and try to make my way through the people trying to praise me.

I don't remember saying anything or even moving, but suddenly Dan has pushed his way to the front of the crowd and is hugging me.

"Oh my god. Chrys, I was so scared. I thought you'd gotten hurt."

Something in me wanted to push him away, to push away this person who had accused me of terrible things.

"I'm so sorry that I said all those terrible things. I can't believe I ever thought what those tweets said was true. I know you would never do that. Can you ever forgive me?"

I pull away from him and look up.

The air fills with white noise; the voices of each and every pedestrian bleed together until I can feel their words slug through my veins. Dan stares anxiously down at me, his mocha eyes filling with golden light when his bangs shift and let the light in. I don't say anything.