Out Loud ||Dan Howell x Reader||

Chapter 6

I made my way down the stairs and into the lounge. Phil was sat at the table with a plate of pancakes covered in syrup in front of him. There were two more plates, one in front of the orange chair where Dan would usually sit, and the other at the grey chair. I sat down in the grey chair and looked at the pancakes in front of me. I could feel my mouth water, they looked and smelled so good.

"You okay?" Phil asked. I looked up at him and nodded, flashing him a smile as I picked up my fork.

"Thanks for making breakfast," I said, cutting into the stack of fluffy pancakes and taking a bite. My smile grew. They were as delicious as they looked.

"You seem very happy about these pancakes, (y/n)," Phil chuckled, eating from his own plate. I nodded and took another bite. The orange chair across from me moved was pulled out as Dan sat down. I looked up at him and gave him a small smile as I swallowed the mush of pancakes. "Very attractive," Phil commented as he and Dan began to laugh at me.

"Shhhhh, you know it's better than you," I retorted, setting my fork down by the plate and giving him a smirk. Phil let out a fake gasp and placed his hand over his heart.

"I am offended. My own sister--I can't--" I started to laugh before he could even continue.

"Oooo, Phil, I think you're going to need some ice for the burn," Dan responded before digging into his own plate of pancakes. Phil shook his head, but the smile remained on his face. I calmed myself down and relieve spread over me. It felt nice to laugh without a bad thought on my mind. It felt nice to feel like nothing was wrong.

--TIME GOES BY--

"(y/n)? Are you ready yet? We're going to miss our train!" I grumbled as Phil shouted from the bottom of the stairs. Why didn't I pack the night before as he did?! It was December 21st, and Phil and I Were getting ready to go home and spend time with our family. Of course, I decided to pack all of my belongings literally an hour before our train left. But, being the speedy child I was, I managed to stuff everything in my bag just before Phil started yelling at me again. Grabbing my phone, I quickly raced out of the office and flew down the stairs, passing Phil on my way out.

"Come on! Let's go!" I called out, reaching the door of the flat before Phil. A smirk spread across my face as Phil caught up.

"If you thought that was a race, then I won. I was packed away before you," he said. I giggled and shook my head at him.

"Actually, I believe I won. I packed the fastest, and I was the first one to make it to the door," I responded. "You ready?" Phil let out a sigh and nodded. I opened the door and stepped out, my bag draped around my shoulder. Phil closed the door behind him and locked it. Dan had left the day before, leaving the flat empty for the holiday season.

I had recently started to grow more comfortable around Dan. These past few weeks have been a great opportunity to actually talk with him more and hang around the house with Phil. But there was still something uncomfortable about the whole thing. Those weird butterflies I get when I talk to him one on one, a pink flush when I'm with him alone... it's odd. It's uncomfortable. I don't appreciate it. But at the same time, I do appreciate it. It's a mixture of emotions that I don't know what to feel.

Phil and I quickly grabbed a taxi and made it to the train in no time at all. Taking the tickets out of his coat pocket, Phil handed me my ticket and we went on our way. It wasn't long until we were on the train and on our way to Manchester. I took my headphones and a book out of my bag, flipping to the page I had last left off on. Phil grabbed his own book as well and went off into the Twilight Zone. I turned on some light reading music and began to read, but it took me a while to realize that I was reading the same sentence over and over again. I closed the book and let out a small sigh, knowing that I would not be able to concentrate on the book in front of me.

Oddly enough, I couldn't keep Dan off my mind. I felt dumb when I thought about how I completely lost trust in him, but at the same time, I kept telling myself that it was justified. But when I talk to Dan and have a real conversation with him, whether it be serious or joking, it always felt like something was just... right about it. Thinking about it now, it sounds dumb and cliche. I shook my head, trying to clear my thought of Dan. I opened to book once more and stared at the paragraph I couldn't concentrate on.

Focus on the book in front of you. Focus on the elaborate story. Focus on Cassia's growing love for Ky. Focus on that...

But no matter how hard I tried to read the rest of the chapter, I simply could not focus. I closed the book once more and pulled out my phone, changing the playlist from light reading music to my everyday playlist. Looking out the window of the train, I watched as the scenery flew by. I looked at the time and noticed that we only had another hour until we got off. And for once, my mind finally drifted away from Dan, and I began to think about my family.