Chapter 4

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You blinked.

For some reason you felt a heavy weight in your chest when you saw the woman and Dan together. You couldn't place the reason why you felt this way.

"Oh," the woman looked between you and Dan. Realization flickered behind her eyes. "I am so sorry, I didn't know you had a girlfriend."

Dan jumped up with open hands. "It's no problem at all. I'm the one sorry for being presumptive at the Internet thing."

The woman managed a small smile before turning on her heel. She soon blended into the rest of the nightly crowds.

"Did you just call my sister your girlfriend?" Phil asked while licking his ice cream cone. His tone sounded amused.

"Uh," Dan stammered as a shade of cherry blossom pink bloomed on his cheeks. He avoided both of your gazes. "I didn't mean it that way."

"Did you know her?" You asked, trying to stop your own emerging blush.

"No, not at all. This never happened to me before."

"First time for everything," you remarked and cocked your head to one side. "Shall we get going? Or did you want to run after her?"

"Wait," Dan took a look at your ice cream. "Can I have some of that? I'm feeling quite warm."

"Someone's feeling embarrassed," Phil chuckled.

You raised your cone, expecting Dan to take his own grip on the handle. Instead he leaned down and took out a large chunk of your moist ice cream and cone. You looked down at what remained with a shocked expression.

"You ate like half of it," you exclaimed.

Dan licked his lips. "Needed to cool off." He smiled at you. "I'll buy you another one later."

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"Is this really my little sis?" Phil asked from the doorway of his bedroom.

You stuck your tongue out at him and returned your focus to his body length mirror. You borrowed his room and mirror for the last hour to pull together your outfit for the night. Tonight you were headed out to a club with your high school friends.

You smoothed down your black frame clinging dress and turned around. Your curls bounced along and your earrings swayed. Your makeup was perfect. You felt confident.

"I'm not always in a tomboy aesthetic you know," you retorted and hugged him, careful not to smear your makeup.

"Remember to stay with your friends."

Dan chortled from the living room. "Phil, she's not twelve. I'm sure she can handle herself."

"Exactly," you added and entered the living room.

Dan took a brief glance at you before doing a double take. "You look really nice. I love the black."

"I have been blessed by the aesthetic guru." You gave a mock bow and answered your friend's text. They were now outside waiting in the cab. "Don't wait up."

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"So, any new boys?" One of your friends asked above the music.

You found yourselves on the rooftop of the club. After having a good number of drinks and dancing, you needed to surface for fresh air. Your friends led you to the rooftop that was converted to act as another floor for the club, but with less people and more air.

Your laugh sounded crisp against the cool air. "Not particularly. My brother's flatmate is cute but that's about it."

"You should go for it!" another friend encouraged. She handed you another drink.

You swished down the shot in one go. "He might be interested in someone or something." You looked down at the shot glass, noticing how a brown logo in the corner resembled the shade of Dan's hair.

"Well, you should find out."

You hummed before you answered. "Maybe after a few more drinks."

Your friends around you cheered.

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After waving goodbye to the friend who dropped you off with a cab, you entered the complex and headed to the flat. You huffed as you hiked up the stairs that led up to the front door. It took more than one attempt to properly insert the key into its lock. Once you flung the door open, you wobbled inside and locked it shut. You kicked off your heels, not checking where they landed, then continued wobbling upstairs.

"Dan!" You exclaimed with open arms and a sing song voice. You plopped down next to him on the couch. "What are you doing?"

He took a sniff of the air around you and smiled. "Just Tumblring. It looks like you had a wild night out, huh?"

You swayed slightly from side to side and smiled. "Mmm." When you opened your eyes again you found Dan looking at you, attempting to suppress laughter. "What is it?"

"It's just... You're so red right now." He chuckled. "You're lit like a Christmas tree."

You narrowed your eyes and leaned closer to him. "You sure? My face doesn't feel warm." Your face almost touched his shoulder. "Maybe you should take a closer look."

Dan shifted a bit and moved the laptop out of your reach. "I've had plenty." The smile continued to dance on his lips.

You huffed and plopped your head onto his shoulder. "I need to borrow your shoulder. I have a sitting tolerance."

He reached up and felt your forehead. "What are you, eighty?"

You hummed in response.

"How about we get you to bed?" Dan suggested, watching your changing expressions. You appeared confused at first then nodded in agreement as you began to feel sleepy.

"Lead the way, soldier."

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A/N: It's been a couple of busy days and I'll be traveling this upcoming week so I'll update a few times before I leave to make it up :) Thank you for everyone who voted, commented, and added this to their public reading list so far!   

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