Why Don't We Just...

Daniel

// May 30, 2017 \\

I woke up this morning feeling more groggy than usual. I was up late last night working on a song for someone. I took a cold shower, dried my hair, and dressed myself in light jeans, a Thrasher shirt and grey shoes. Knocking on Zach's door, I hoped he was awake.. I needed his help for a plan.

"Oy, Zach, you awake?"

"Yeah, come in." I walked in and he was sprawled over his bed playing 2k.

"What's up Dan?"

"Uh, I need your help. I have an idea for Oakley's birthday coming up and I'm not entirely sure as to what I should do." He turned off the game and sat up.

"Well, first of all, when is her birthday?"

"This Saturday."

"Yeesh, okay um, well what does she like?" Oh, I could go on and on about that. After the whole shopping thing a week or so ago, we traded numbers and we've texted almost everyday. Each morning we'd sit beside each other at breakfast and joke and laugh. The reason why I felt the way I did waking up is because we texted all night long- from 10 to 4 a.m. We got pretty deep and told each other about our pasts. She told me about all her favorite things and I coulde sense her smiles through her words- she's adorable.

"Well, she likes the color blue. She loves glitter or anything shiny. Cats are her favorite animal. She's into Indie and Pop music- a little Country here and there but-."

"Whoa, dude simmer down. Haha." I could feel my cheeks flush from embarrassment. "So let's say you buy her a.. shiny bracelet wrapped in a blue box. Then maybe a cat T-shirt and make sure that inside the shirt is an album of her favorite Pop singer! Brilliant!"

"Um, I'll think of something myself. Thanks." I laughed a little and turned towards the door.

"Fine, I'll buy her the cat shirt then." I laughed again and walked downstairs.

"Hey, Danny!" Everyone greeted me and I waved back at them, then stopped. Oakley sat on the couch beside Nicole and she smiled at me. I smiled sheepishly back and jogged over to them.

"Sup girls. What goes on?"

"Nothing really. Oak and I are online shopping for some dresses. I'm gonna take some photos of her and she'll post them on her Insta. I mean, she now has 400k followers to keep updated." As she said this, she playfully nudged Oakley and she laughed.

"Yeah, thanks again Daniel. You and Zach are wonderful guys." She placed her hand on mine and I had to fight myself to not react too much.

"That's what friends are for, right?" She looked at me for a moment then nodded in agreement. I mentally choked on the word "friends".. one step at a time, Daniel, one step at a time.

"So where ya going dressed like that?"

"Ah, nowhere. Just heading out to Best Buy."

"Like usual.", Corbyn interrupted. Everyone laughed, including me. I waved them all goodbye as I grabbed my keys and drove off. I stopped at a McDonald's and parked so I could check my phone. One night while Oaks and I were talking, she mentioned something that she's always wanted and I had to re-read our texts to find it.

"Mm...uhhh.. hmm, okay." I mumbled to myself while scrolling. She had showed me a picture of a pair of headphones she wanted. They were silver, studded with white gems and had cat ears attached to them. They also lit up, which is why she couldn't afford them herself; they were $250. Two hours later, I walked out the store with her cat ear headphones and a new drone.. I couldn't help myself. I put the bags in the passenger's seat and sat there, thinking. Then, it came to me.

"A ring..." I mean, girls buy rings all the time. It wouldn't give too much away if I bought her one.. would it? I picked up my phone and called someone who knew her better than I did- Nicole.

"Hey, what's easy?"

"Hey Nic, um, hypothetically speaking, if Oakley were to get a ring as a birthday gift, how do you think she'd react?"

"Daniel, I wasn't born yesterday. I know what 'hypothetically speaking' means." She paused for a moment and continued. "You like her, don't you?"

My face turned red, I could feel it. "Uh, I uh.. m-maybe yeah-yeah I um." She giggled and spoke.

"Calm down. It's fine. Honestly, if it were you, she'd accept it and thank you then once she's laying in her bed she'll be gushing over you and thinking about it all night. She's done the same with Corbyn a year ago."

"But that's what I'm afraid of- Corbyn. What if he still has a thing for her? What if she has a thing for him? I couldn't live with myself if I had gotten between them."

"Well why don't you just ask him?"

"...maybe. I might. Thanks, Nicole."

"Anything. See ya soon." I ended the call and laid my head back on the seat. I didn't want it to come to this but I'd hate myself if i didn't say something now. I shook off my worry and headed home. Once I got there, I snuck pass Corbyn and Jack and quietly ran upstairs to my room. I stored the headphones in my closet and took a breath.

"Hey guys." I said as I walked toward them.

"Sup Danny, how ya feelin?" Jack asked.

"I'm okay, but do you mind if I talked to Corbyn real quick?"

"Yeah no problem." He walked off, grabbing his laptop off the coffee table.

"So, you wanna talk to me?"

"Um, yeah I do. Uh.. mm."

"What's wrong, Dan?"

"Nothing. But uh, how do you feel about Oa-Oak-..."

"Oakley? Why?"

"J-just wondering." I resting my elbow on the countertop, trying my best to stay calm.

"I mean- she's great. She's my best friend and I don't know what I'd do without her."

"Oh." I mumbled under my breath.

"But if you want her, go for it."

"What?" I lost my balance and fell hard on the floor. He laughed at me and helped me up.

"It's cool, man. I kinda figured you may have a thing for her when you guys always sat beside each other and whenever she walks into the living room each morning asking if you're awake." I slightly smiled when he said this. Maybe she's really into me.

"Oh. Well are you sure you're cool with it?"

"Positive. She's out by the pool with Cheshire if you wanna see her."

"Thanks!" I hugged him and ran outside to the patio. "Hey girls!"

"Hey Daniel!" They yelled back.

"Oaks, can I talk to you?!"

"Sure!" She pulled herself out of the pool and wrapped herself in a purple and pink kitten towel. "What goes on?"

"Well, uh." I stopped to breathe to shake the nervouness from my voice. "Do you maybe want to go see movie with me Friday night?"

She smied and said, "What time? The girls and I are going birthday shopping around 12."

"How about 6. Does that work?"

"Yeah. It does. I'm down." She smiled again and I couldn't help but smile back.

"Alright, 6 it is." I walked backwards into the house as I watched her wave at me and jump back into the pool.

"YES!!" I jumped up and hollered out. So far, everything was going just the way I wanted it to.