Dear Dan (A danisnotonfire fanfic)

Chapter 9

Thursday, although it could well have been the last Thursday on this planet, was fairly uneventful, apart from when Mandy found out Tayla was dating Dan Howell.

“YOU’RE WHAT?” she screamed at breakfast.

“He asked me out last night, mum.”

“WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU LAST NIGHT?!” Mandy went into overly-protective mother mode.

“No, mum. He called me,” Tayla rolled her eyes.

She slumped back into her chair and clutched her hand to her chest, as if she was the one with the dodgy heart. “That’s good then.”

“Yeah.” Tayla leant back in her chair. “That’s very good.”

*           *           * 

Thursday now behind her, the sun broke the darkness shrouding the night - finally, it was Friday morning, and Tayla was ready to go meet Dan and Phil at their apartment. The day looked lovely - blue sky, warm sun and that perfect amount of breeze: not too much so your hair gets in your eyes and not so still the trees look more like statues.

“Mum, your gonna make us late!” Tayla yelled out, standing by the door of their hotel room, heart racing in excitement.

“Oh, Tay… I'm not coming.” Mandy appeared out of the bathroom, a white, fluffy towel wrapped around her hair and wearing a dressing gown.

“Why not? I mean, like, how am I going to get there?” Tayla shuffled her feet, suddenly aware how much she trusted her mum with… basically everything.

“You don’t need me there! Besides, I'm going back to the beauty store. They offered me a free makeover!”

That wasn’t really Tayla's thing, but deep down she was glad her mother trusted her. In previous years, Mandy hadn't trusted her with an elastic band let alone using London transport to visit her new boyfriend. Alone, at that.

“I love you, have a good time,” Mandy hugged Tayla so tight she could feel her ribs press against her lungs.

Tayla exhaled to catch her breath, and muttered, “I love you, too, mum.” She buried her face into her mother’s robe, and smelt that familiar rose and mint aroma that often lingered around her, and let the tears roll onto Mandy. This could be the final embrace.

After her mother gave her some money for a taxi and the standard ‘don’t get up to anything, you know the rules’ speech, Tayla headed off to Dan and Phil's apartment, heart heavy with guilt but slightly lifted because she was going to see her new boyfriend. That then backfired, as she realised she would have to break the news to him. Her heart felt weak enough without being coated in lead. She patted her back pocket to make sure the letter was there. It was.

*           *           *

As it turned out, the doorbell didn’t work at the apartment so Tayla had to do that awkward stand-there-and-knock-hoping-you-did-it-loud-enough-so-they-could-hear-it knock.

About ten seconds passed when Dan opened the door with a cute side smirk. “Hey, my little gem,” he said, biting his lip.

Tayla giggled and looked at her feet again, desperately hoping he would kiss her. After all, they were officially dating.

He put his fingers under her chin again and got her to look at him. He was leaning on the doorstep so he was about her height.

Fingers still on her chin, Dan asked, “If you want me to kiss you, why don’t you just say so?”

Before Tayla could say anything, he closed his eyes and kissed her lightly on the lips. Tayla couldn't resist smiling as their lips touched. He pulled back, eyes full of pleasure; she smiled and pecked him on the cheek.

“Daniel! Time for your neck exam!” Phil appeared behind Dan but Tayla barely noticed him, she was too busy melting onto Dan's warm, secure gaze. “Oh, hi, Tayla. I was just going out to make a video with Crabstickz… I was wondering if you two were going to come with me.”

Dan tucked a stray bit of hair behind Tayla's ear and traced his finger down her pale cheek, over her lips and then let it drop into her hand.

“Nah, Phil. I'm staying here with my girlfriend.” Dan said, not dropping Tayla's gaze.