Art By: @Ember_in_Lonelyland
"Okay so let me make sure I heard you right. You read fanfiction?" I asked Dan, bewildered.
To pass the time, Dan and I just talked about random things like TV shows we'd been watching or stuff we'd seen on the internet. Somehow the conversation shifted to reading and Dan mentioned a really good book he had read. He talked animatedly about the characters and how he enjoyed the plot and the way he described it, it sounded like a pretty good book.
So naturally, I had asked him what it was called and where I could buy it. However, as soon as I asked this, Dan became super shy which led to me forcing it out of him.
He ended up confessing that he reads fanfiction.
Like... a lot of fanfiction.
"Yeah... I read fanfiction. What's the big deal?" He responded, twiddling his fingers and darting his eyes around the plane.
I gave him a wide smile.
"The deal is that now I have someone I can talk to about fanfictions! Dude you should have told me sooner. We could've been recommending stuff to each other this whole time." I replied, excited by my new discovery.
Dan chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Ahh... well I was afraid you'd think it was weird that I read fanfiction." He explained.
I scoffed at that.
"Dan. Honey. We've been friends for how long? And in all that time haven't you thought that maybe I don't care about anything 'weird' people do because I'm not exactly normal myself?" I questioned.
Dan nodded his head.
"So... what kind of fanfictions do you read?" He asked, becoming a bit more comfortable with the conversation.
I choked on air.
"Ah... well.. it's uh- um you probably wouldn't like the stuff I read. I'm- I'm much more interested in what you read." I stuttered out, images of the previous fanfics I read floating through my head.
"Now wait a second. That's not fair. I told you about one I read, so you have to tell me about one you read." He stated, crossing his arms and pouting slightly.
I sighed.
How can I explain this?
"Okay so the last one I read had a guy... who was going to... let's say kidnap... this person but the person was actually pretty cool so he ended up moving in with them instead. Well this guy kinda belonged to this whole group of... people... and a couple of them ended up moving in with the person too. And then they trained the person in... the stuff they do... and that person became like an undercover spy for this group. Anyway, a bunch of stuff happened, the person was basically addicted to this drink, and in the end the guy who was going to kidnap them realized he had feeling for them and they got together and somehow this person became ruler of the... of a... let's call it a kingdom." I did my best to explain the story without giving away the weird parts that Dan would probably judge me for.
He nodded his head and let out a yawn.
"So like, did the guy like the person right when he saw them? Or was it like a slow thing?" Dan asked, laying his head on my shoulder.
"Well... I think maybe at first he just saw the person as a friend, but then he started liking them and didn't realize it because he's a dummy." I answered, feeling myself become tired.
"Did he ask them out as soon as he knew?" Dan questioned, yawning at the end. I rest my head on top of his and fought to keep my eyes open.
"No... he didn't. I was kind of angry at him for that. I think he should've told them how he felt as soon as he knew."
"But what if he was afraid? What if he told them and they didn't want to be friends with him anymore?"
"Well... then they weren't very good friends in the first place. I don't think something like that should ruin a friendship. Even if he was a little afraid, the worst that could've happened was the person didn't feel the same. It might've sucked, but he'd move on eventually and they'd still be great friends. And if they did feel the same, then he saved a lot of time that would've been wasted on 'what ifs'"
Dan didn't respond, so I assumed that he fell asleep. I tried to do the same, but the conversation I had just had lingered in my mind.
Why was Dan so curious about these characters? Did he like someone?
For some reason, my heart hurt at that question, but I didn't know why. Maybe it was because if he did like someone, I'd feel betrayed if he didn't tell me. We are best friends after all.
I sighed and cleared my head.
I don't know how long it took me to fall asleep, but at some point I did. I slept great for some reason, which was odd because planes aren't exactly the easiest places to sleep in.
I woke up to the sound of voices near me.
"...friend? ...Really...you two... couple."
"Ah... not... wish..."
When I felt more fully awake, I decided to keep my eyes shut. The conversation became much clearer.
"You should tell her." the voice of a woman said.
"Ah... I can't do that right now. It's not a good time." I heard Dan respond.
"What is a good time never comes? How long will you wait for? How much time will you waste?" The woman asked.
I heard Dan chuckle softly.
"I know I know. I'll tell her soon. I just... want to get to where we're going and make some good memories before I risk messing things up." He replied.
I wasn't sure what they were talking about.
What does he have to say? And who does he have to say it to? What's he risking?
I felt bad for eavesdropping so I prepared to pretend as if I just woke up. I took in a deep breath, scrunched my eyes, and yawned, stretching my arms out slowly and cracking a few bones in the process.
"Oh, (Y/N), you're finally awake. We're almost there." Dan informed me, smiling softly at me.
I smiled back and poked his cheek.
"Did you miss me while I was asleep?" I asked.
"I've only been awake ten minutes longer than you." He replied.
"But did you miss me?"
He let out a breathy chuckle.
"Oh how I missed my dear (Y/N). I would not have been able to continue living had she not woken up just now. Though my time alone was short, it felt like centuries and each minute was a passing year in which I could not spend with my precious (Y/N)." He responded dramatically, laying himself across my lap and grinning up at me.
I laughed at his antics.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flight attendant smiling before quietly walking away. Perhaps she was the woman he had been talking to.
I focused back on Dan and pat his head.
This 'vacation' would be fun.
•••••
1207 words
Oof I haven't updated this in more than a month. Well... here you go. I hope you liked this chapter!
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