Alchemy- A Bastille/Dan Smith FanFic

22: Date II

Chapter 22

Despite the cold, we decided to walk through the park. Unfortunately, 10 pounds didn't buy much but it bought enough. Two cans of cheap alcohol and a bag of crisps in hand, we made our way through the cold night air, to the park.

There was  always something about walking in the night that gave me a weird feeling.

The darkness messed with my head, made me feel strangely connected with the person I was with.

The night was for sharing, for spilling your deepest, darkest secrets. The day was for regretting that decision.

"Do you believe in aliens?" I asked, taking a sip from the bottle in my hand and cringing at the bitter taste.

Dan glanced over at me and then to the night sky.

"Definitely. I mean we're here, why can't there be other things?"

I smiled at his answer, looking up at the night sky.

"Where my parents live, you can see all the stars. Me and Linda used to lie out for hours looking at them. " Of all the things I missed the most, it was the stars.

As I stared at the sky, reminiscing, I could feel Dan's eyes on me.

I turned to look at him, only briefly catching his eye as he looked away. 

"Did I ever tell you that my parents are from South Africa?" I shook my head, surprised. "Well, we used to go there a lot, me and my brother, and there was this one place where you could see every star, the sky was so clear."

I closed my eyes as we walked, visioning the picturesque scene.

"I loved it there. I have some really great memories from there. " Dan said softly, his voice dropping,  layered with sentimentality. "I wrote a song about a place there. Durban. It's an amazing place, if you ever get the chance, you should go."

At the mention of a song, my eyes opened and I looked to Dan, his face hidden in the shadows of the park.

"Can I hear it? The song?"

Dan remained silent for a few moments before shaking his head.

"Come on! You're going to be playing up and down the country, to strangers! I think you can sing for me!"

Dan still remained silent, only letting out a small 'fuck' , causing me to giggle. The alcohol was slowly working it's way into my veins.

"Dan you're going to be so bloody fantastic, like, seriously. You have nothing to worry about."

"I know, I know." He said, breaking his silence. "I mean I don't know. I'm rubbish but we've practised practised and I think we might sound alright? Plus, it's not like I'm on my own. God, that was awful. I hated it, being up on a stage, by myself, all eyes on me."

I smiled at his rare optimism, it was nice to hear, for a change.

"Do you think your family will come down to some of the gigs?"

"Mhm, maybe. My parents probably will." I wondered about Dan's family, he never spoke about them much, I hardly knew anything about his background, really.

"Didn't you say you had a brother? Would he not come?"

Dan let out a low, bitter laugh.  "Liam? No. Liam would never." I glanced at Dan, questioning his sudden change of tone. "He's too wrapped up in is own fucking drama."

I blew out a low breath of air,  slightly weary of the subject matter I had stumbled across.  I had a faint recollection of Dan once mentioning his brother had alcohol problems,  but I couldn't remember much.