Dear Dan (A danisnotonfire fanfic)

Chapter 5

Her scream had brought Aaron rushing to the door, and as Tayla struggled for breath she let out another cry. The part of her brain that had realised she needed to act told her:

Concentrate on your breathing. In, out, in out. Steady.

She heard a muffled yell and a crash from outside the door. Tayla had locked herself inside the bathroom in self-pity, to warn people to stay away. Now that tiny, gold barrel bolt was what stood between life and death. Everything seemed far away now: the cries from Lilly, the sound of her own desperate breathing, the screams of her mother. Her head fell against the wall as her whole body went onto shut-down mode. The pain in her chest was searing, like a hot iron rod being pressed into her heart. Her body lost strength and collapsed, just as Aaron broke down the door and scooped his weak daughter up in his arms.

*           *           *

Tayla awoke in a small bed, a hospital style oxygen mask covering her nose and mouth. Her hand was warm, and when she looked she saw her mother holding it, crying softly, just letting the tears fall. Her father sat behind Mandy, holding Lilly and trying to get her to stop wailing.

Mandy noticed Tayla's eyes flutter open and leaned in. “Hi, babe, you feeling okay?”

Tayla nodded, and tried to take the oxygen mask off but it was fastened to her from behind her head. “I’m sorry…” Tayla managed a frail but heartfelt apology.

“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled, if I had kept my cool we wouldn’t be here. Do you… uh, forgive me?” Mandy asked in an unsteady voice.

Tayla nodded again and smiled. She heard her father say something about reinforcing the issue of her being grounded when they got home, but Mandy mouthed something to Aaron that Tayla interpreted as ‘not now’.

“Do you want to have a sleep, the doctors will check you over and we can go home?” Tayla's mother asked, stroking her hair.

Another nod in agreement and darkness engulfed Tayla's vision once again.

This time, when she awoke, she was in her own bed, a Beaker toy from the Muppets by her side. As she rolled over and faced her bedside table, she noticed something that wasn’t usually there. An envelope sat up against her clock. She pushed herself up, picked up the envelope and read the front:

Tayla,

These’ll make you feel better soon.

Mum and Dad xx

She ripped open the seal and two bits of paper, no bigger than a standard bus pass, slipped out onto her lap. On closer examination, they had a deep orange stripe on the top and bottom, and the lettering looked incredibly machine processed. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes she read the words, dropped the two bits of paper and screamed, out of adrenalin, excitement and astonishment.

Mandy came charging in but stopped dead when she saw Tayla holding the paper. A kind smile spread across her face.

“Train tickets?” Tayla asked, not peeling her eyes away.

“Train tickets,” Mandy confirmed. “Train tickets to London, I might add. Just you and me.”

Tayla looked up at her mother as she said, “Tay, we’re going to London. We’re meeting Dan and Phil!”

Tayla jumped out of bed and threw her arms around her mother, tears of joy streaming down her cheeks and rolling off onto Mandy’s jumper.

“I love you I love you I love you,” Tayla screamed and her mother pulled back, massaging the ear Tayla had just yelled down.

“I love you too, babe,” Mandy was about to say something else when Tayla picked up her phone and texted the two Hannah's and Katie about the news.

“Tayla?”

“Mm?”

“We’re not going yet. You're not strong enough. And, besides, we’re only going for four days…” Mandy said, trying not to dampen Tayla's electric mood.

“I don’t care. We’re still going, right? First time in London and meeting Dan Howell!” Tayla took a split-second break to look up at her mother to clarify.

She nodded and told Tayla the tickets were booked for next Tuesday, and they were to return that Saturday.

She waited until Mandy had left the room and proceeded to call Katie. This was going to be great.

Katie: “Hi Tayla-”

Tayla: “KATIE I’M GOING TO LONDON! TO MEET DAN AND PHIL! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?”

Katie: “What?! That’s great! Oh my actual f-”

Tayla: “I know right! Can I get you his autograph?”

Katie: “Yes! Do, please! Oh, Tayla, I'm so happy for you!”
Tayla: “I know… I mean thanks… I'm going next Tuesday and staying in London for four days, it's going to be AMAZING! I can't wait!”

Katie: “Okay, darling, love you, have a great time.”

Tayla: “I will, love you too. In a straight way.”

Tayla then Skyped Hannah and Hannah in a group chat which included screaming in excitement, laughing fits and a series of seemingly unstoppable hiccups from Hannah S. From the depths of death Tayla had been at only a few hours ago, she now felt revived, full of energy and, dare she admit it, healthy. Not physically as her body made it feel like beating her heart was an unwanted chore and would much rather stop, but mentally. She felt strong and level headed, finally able to stand up to challenges. Not that meeting Dan Howell would be a challenge.