Bad Blood

18.

I played with the hem of my dress nervously as I waited for Dan to open the door to his house. He had been pestering me for weeks to come to the party he was throwing. I didn't want to go. The idea of being in a room full of drunk people wasn't overly appealing. But if I didn't go, he would never shut up about it. I had spent the entire afternoon trying to find something to wear. Normally I wouldn't have given two hoots about what I looked like. It was rare that I even wore make up. But I wanted to make a good impression on his friends. So I had finally decided on a blue spotted summer mini dress, white heels and I'd even straightened my hair.

I'd be meeting his band mates, properly, this time. Maybe I could finish that interveiw I was suppose to have done six months ago? Not that it even mattered anymore. Grans house had been sold, leaving me with quite a sizeable amount in my bank account. For years I had struggled with money and now suddenly I had some. A lot. And I didn't know where to start spending it. I knew I didn't want to quit work but not having to rely on it for income would mean I was finally enjoying life. I still had deadlines and a pile of articles to finish off, but they weren't stressing me out as much anymore. After all, it had been the career I'd dreamt of since I was eleven.

Despite having been spending a lot of time together in the last few months, I'd yet to go to Dans place. He'd always come to mine or we'd go to the pub or to grab food between his recording and tv schedule. It seemed pretty nice, a little terrace in a quiet suburban area of London he shared with some of his uni friends.

'Gracey!' He declared as he opened the door. The bottle of wine in my hand might not have been needed; he seemed pretty drunk already. He pulled me into a bear hug and dragged me inside. 'Guys! She's here!' I was led through a hall way, stairs leading up and down, and it was down we went into an underground kitchen. This was where the party and the noise seemed to be happening. I felt all eyes turn to me. I waved nervously at the dozen or so people. I instantly recognized Kyle and Woody.

'Hey.' I smiled at them.

'We meet again. And now we know who you are.' Kyle laughed. 'Not gonna run away are you?'

'I erm...'

'He's kidding.' Dan smiled. 'Shut the fuck up, Kyle.' He warned his bearded friend and draped his arm across my shoulders.

'I thought Olivia was coming?' Woody asked. He must've remembered her from the last time we met.

'She was, but she had to work.'

'Thats a shame.' He shrugged and wandered back into the crowd.

'I'm so glad you came.' Dan said, his arm still casually around me.

'Of course. Wouldn't miss this, would I?' He kept his arm there for a few minutes as people came to say hello to me. His housemates, friends, some people he worked with, all of them equally nice and friendly. I shouldn't have felt so scared about coming. But it didn't stop me wishing that Olivia had been able to get the night off. It would've been nice to have someone else to stand awkwardly with.

I was overwhelmed by how confident Dan was. The boy I'd once known would've shied away from this situation. But he seemed to be thriving. I guess I hadn't been the only one to grow up. I couldn't wait to go see him play the following night. I'd enjoyed the last gig, but this time I'd know it was my former best friend up there. Former. I wasn't entirely sure what we were right then. I felt quite close to him. We text a few times a day when he was away and we would meet up whenever he was free. I'd even found myself missing his company. In the few months since Grans death my life had taken such an odd turn. I felt somewhat happier than I had been in a long time and Dan was a big reason behind that. I could feel the old scars finally begin to heal.

'Do you want a beer?' He asked. I nodded and he disappeared off into the small crowd. Kyle grinned at me, making me feel more comfortable. It was important that I got along with his friends.

'Hows things going Grace?'

'Yeah, really good. You? How was LA?' They'd just arrived back from doing some really big TV shows in America. It was all pretty amazing. Since their BRIT award win, things had exploded for them. Who would've thought my little Danny could be so popular. Not that I'd ever doubted his talents.

'Do you need a pen and paper to take notes?' He teased. I held up my hands.

'You got me. I'm trying to find a scandal on you.' We both grinned. But I hope he didn't think I was serious. I wasn't too sure if other people understood my level of sarcasm. A great defence mechanism I'd used to my advantage many times.

'It was good, so warm and sweaty, but glad to be home. Have you met Will yet?' I shook my head. I'd seen the bass player of the band across the room but Dan had yet to introduce me to him. He arrived back with a bottle of beer as Kyle led the way over. 'This is Grace.' Kyle told him. He both put his hand out to me but instead of shaking it, he bent down on one knee and kissed it. I giggled nervously.

'Nice to finally meet you Grace.' Will, a mountain of a man with an incredible beard, got up from the floor with a cheeky grin in his face. I could tell instantly I was going to like these guys. 'Tell us some embarrassing stories about young Daniel.' He jumped right in there.

'No...please don't.' Dan blushed. In the spirit of making new friends, I obliged.

'When we were nine, Danny got his head stuck in the banister of the stairs at school.' The very memory of it brought me to hysterical tears. Dan seemed less impressed but still laughed.

'I'll tell them about the time you threw up on Miss Wilkes.' He threatened me, bumping my shoulder with his.

'And I'll tell them about how you used to think that France was a continent?' Our memory war continued, each of us digging deeper for more embarrassing moments of our childhood. It took us a while to realise that people had slowly headed upstairs and into the garden, leaving us sat on the sofa, doubled over with glee. It was only when we'd pretty much been over every single embarrassing thing we'd been through, together and also as adults, that we noticed the silence in the room. We looked around and giggled.

'Oops.' He grinned.

'So much for me mingling with people.' I sighed, taking in a much needed breath. He shrugged and took a sip of beer.

'Whatever. I'm having more fun with you anyway.' It was the same for me. I couldn't think of a better way to spend my Friday night than with this guy. 'Maybe I should go show my face? It is my party after all. We've got some fireworks to let off.'

Sure enough, most people were gather in the little contained garden.

Woody was in charge of lighting them and we all stood back. Someone jeered at him to be careful, which was met with roars of laughter. Alcohol and fireworks weren't the best combination. But they sure looked pretty as they zoomed into the night sky and burst into a million sparkling lights. I stared up, totally captivated by them.

'Not bad, eh?' I heard Dan say. He'd swerved his way through the crowd with two more beers for us and now took his place by my side. There was something about being stood there with him, enjoying these beautiful explosions, that made my heart swell. I glanced to my right and I could see he lights reflected in his pale blue eyes. He must've felt me looking and he turned to me. His eyes bore into mine, making me feel very exposed. He held my gaze and I became aware of my every move and my every breath. I didn't know what to do to break the connection, so I just laughed nervously.

'Danny.' I jabbed him in the side of the ribs and turned to continue watching the fireworks. After another long moment, he did the same. But his arm had snaked around my waist. He looked upwards, as if he were unaware of what his limb was doing, drinking his beer nonchalantly. It wasn't unpleasant. It wasn't uncomfortable. But it was weird. I was still coming to terms with our friendship. What was I suppose to think now? I had never been through this before. This was one of the reasons why I avoided all male contact. It was too scary.