By Any Other Name (Adopted by DanTDM) - hiatus

Chapter 2

Dan's POV

"Girl or boy. 13 to 16 years old. Likes videogames and dogs," Jem said, repeating the list we'd both memorised for about the hundredth time that day. "Preferably knows who you are so they're prepared for the sort of stuff that might happen. Doesn't mind-"

"Jem, please," I said, glancing at her for a second before turning my eyes back to the road ahead. "The more you say that, the more I think we're making a mistake in doing this."

"What do you mean?"

"There are so many things that could go wrong! What if the kid we adopt doesn't like us? What if we don't like them? What if our family doesn't like them? What if we're terrible parents and we fail at everything? What if-"

"It'll be fine," she said gently. "Trust me."

I sighed quietly and nodded my head, but the thoughts continued to plague my mind.

We drove the rest of the way in silence, which was only interrupted every so often by the satnav telling us to take the third exit at the roundabout or to turn right in half a mile.

"You have reached your destination."

I parked the car, then Jem and I both got out and just stood there, looking at the building in front of us.

"Ready?" she asked, after what seemed an age, but realistically could only have been about a minute.

"Ready," I nodded.

We walked in and were greeted by a fairly tall woman with long black hair and a scar on her right cheek.

"Ah, you must be Mr and Mrs Middleton," she said, giving us a bright smile and shaking our hands. "I'm Anne Harris. The children are all very excited that you've decided to adopt one of them. If you follow me, they're all waiting for you."

We both followed her, and I couldn't help feeling that her smile was a little too bright. Then again, maybe I was just making it up.

We walked into what looked to be a big living room area, with worn sofas and armchairs around the walls, and a rug that was full of holes on the hard, wooden floors. Lined up were 8 kids, only 1 of which was a boy. I looked at them all, and I couldn't help noticing the thick makeup all the older girls were wearing. The other girls all seemed quite a bit younger, and the boy looked like he could be no older than 4. I glanced at Jem, and I could tell she was thinking the same thing as me: none of these kids seemed like they would fit in with our family.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, we seem to be missing one," Anne said. "I'll go and find her."

She left, then came back a few minutes later with another girl following her. She had long brown hair, which didn't look like it had been cut in years, and although she was looking down at the floor, I could see she wasn't wearing makeup like the others. She was wearing a faded Minecraft hoodie, which seemed to be about 3 sizes too small, and grey trousers.

As this girl joined the row of kids, Anne said, "Children, this is Mr and Mrs Middleton."

"We prefer Dan and Jemma, if you don't mind," I said.

When I said that, the girl in the Minecraft hoodie gave a small start, then finally looked up. She looked at Jem, then at me, her eyes wide. I gave her a small smile, and she quickly looked back down at the ground again.

"Are there any you'd particularly like to talk to?" Anne asked.

Jem and I looked at each other, then nodded slightly.

"We'd like to talk to the girl who just came in," Jem said quietly.

A look of shock flitted across Anne's face, but it was quickly gone again. She turned to the kids and said, "Rose, you stay here. The rest of you can leave."

They all filed out of the room, their faces filled with confusion, leaving only Rose. She was still looking down at the floor.

"Come here," Anne said, and I noticed her voice was slightly sharper now.

She came over to us instantly, her behaviour like that of a well-trained dog. I frowned slightly.

"I'll leave you three to talk," Anne said, before leaving the room.

"So, Rose," Jem said gently. "Tell us a bit about yourself."

"My name's Rose, I'm 15," she said quietly. "I like Minecraft, Harry Potter, and watching YouTube videos." She shifted uncomfortably on her feet when she said the last 2 words.

I smiled at Jem, then said, "And how do you feel about dogs?"

"I love them," she answered, a small smile creeping onto her face.

"Favourite breed?"

She thought for a bit. "Either cockapoos or pugs, I can't decide."

Jem and I looked at each other again, having a furious but silent battle over who would ask the awkward question. Jem won (no surprise there).

"One more thing," I started, and now it was my turn to shift uncomfortably. "Not to sound vain or anything, but do you... know who we are?"

Rose nodded.

"And you understand that if we were to adopt you, you'd almost certainly get haters... well, hating on you?"

She nodded again, and I could see a small amount of hope in her eyes. Not hope for haters, of course, but hope that maybe Jem and I would adopt her.

Just then, Anne came back.

"Have you decided?"

I glanced at Jem, who nodded.

"Yes," I said. "I think we have."

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2 chapters in 1 night! Nice!

My attempt at a cliffhanger doesn't even work because this book is literally called "Adopted by DanTDM".

It's like "I WONDER IF DAN AND JEMMA WILL ADOPT ROSE??? I HAVE NO IDEA IF THEY WILL OR NOT!!!" XD

If you liked this chapter, please vote, comment, and DON'T STEAL MA MILK!

Anyways, it's 5:22 in the morning, so I should probably sleep. Bye! <3