Dreamer ~ A Daniel Seavey Fanfiction

Chapter 13

HARPER'S POV

Throughout the entire class, I can feel Daniel's eyes on my back. I'll bet he's trying to figure out whether I'm real, or if he's dreaming. I want to talk to him, but not here, and not right now, with all these other people around us.

When the bell rings, I pack my stuff up slowly, knowing that Mr. Ethens will leave for lunch when most of his students are out of the room. I catch Daniel's eye, and he does the same. After barely glancing at us, Mr. Ethens leaves the classroom, and the door closes behind him.

I take a deep breath and turn around in my chair to face Daniel. "Hey."

"Hey," Daniel says, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms. "Nice of you to show up for a change."

I smile, thanking God that this isn't as awkward as I thought it was going to be. "Yeah, I know. Been pretty busy, being in the hospital and all."

Daniel's smile slides off his face. "Yeah. How are you, by the way?"

I shrug. "I'm all right. It's been...interesting."

"Yeah, I bet it has." Silence falls around us, and I hear the late bell ring for lunch.

"You know I know that you were there," I blurt out. "Right?"

Daniel looks like he spotted a ghost. His arms fall onto his desk and he leans forward. "What?"

I swallow. "I know that you found me there. When I was in the hospital. I know that you saved my life."

Daniel shakes his head. "I...I didn't..."

"Yes," I tell him. "You did." I pause. "Thank you."

The corner of his mouth quirks into a half smile, but it disappears as quickly as it happened. "How did you know?"

"Hm?"

"How did you know I was there?" Daniel asks. "You were unconscious. They were going to take you off life support. They thought you were going to die, which is why I was allowed into your room in the first place. It sounds morbid," he says, and shrugs. "But it's the truth."

"Oh," I say, and I can feel my cheeks heat up a little. I didn't really plan on telling Daniel about my ghost period, as Kaylee calls it. But I guess I have to now. "Well," I say. "You believing my story about that is a long shot."

Daniel raises an eyebrow, and his lips lift into that half smile again. "So shoot anyway."

I smile, and I do. I tell him about everything, and he sits through it. I'm worried I might have scared him. But at the end, he just smiles like he understands everything. Like I don't need to tell him what I went through - like he already knows.

"That's..." Daniel shakes his head. "Wild."

"Yeah," I say, standing and lifting my bag onto my shoulder. "Now you know my entire life story." I turn to leave, but something stops me. "Daniel?"

"Yeah?"

"Just...promise you won't tell anyone else about...this," I say. "About the accident. About..." I swallow. "About my parents. The only other person who knows besides you is Kaylee, and I'd rather not become a school joke."

Daniel winces. "Well," he says. "About that..."

"What?"

"When I was in the hospital," he begins. "I was there because my best friend, Corbyn, was getting a surgery done. When I got back from your room, the guys - Corbyn, Zach, Jack, and Jonah - well, they could tell that something was wrong with me, that I was upset, and I spilled my guts to them. About you. But don't worry," he adds quickly when he sees my face. "I made them all swear not to say anything. And if they swear not to, they won't." He takes a deep breath. "You can trust us. We won't say a single word."

Relieved, I smile a little. "Okay. Thank you." I get to the door before Daniel says my name again.

"Harper?" He joins me at the door. "I'm really, really happy you're okay."

Daniel smiles at me, his blue eyes gorgeously happy, and disappears down the hallway.

~