Blue // Daniel Seavey

Chapter 41

Tori

Unbuckling my seatbelt, I scan the scene around me, the place that Daniel has unexpectedly taken me after dropping Isabelle off at home. It's not exactly a clifftop, but a high ground that overlooks the city, a place that's only a few minutes drive from Daniel's house. Along with the glimmering stars, the lights of the city nightlife illuminate the darkness around us, creating a serene atmosphere.

"Wow, this is amazing," I shake my head slowly, my gaze still roaming over the scenery until I finally turn to Daniel. "Remind me why we're here again?"

"No reason in particular," he shrugs. "I just wanted a quiet place where we can have some alone time."

"You really are a softie sometimes, aren't you?" I tease although it is a genuine statement, smiling as I stare at him.

"What?" he laughs, scoffs. "Don't say that," he adjusts his position, so that his muscles are slightly tensed, before saying playfully, "It messes with my masculinity."

A small smile on my lips, I roll my eyes.

"On a real note though," he says, his tone taking a sudden turn as it converts to a serious one, scratching the back of his neck. "I, uhm... I never thanked you for what you did for me earlier."

"Thank me?" I ask in confusion, my eyebrows forming a small crease.

"Yeah. First of all, I want to say thank you for spending so much time with Isabelle. It..." he trails off, his gaze temporarily moving off of me. "It genuinely made me happy to see you both smiling together, and laughing together, just being together in general."

I smile helplessly, "You're welcome, Daniel. And anyway, it's not something that I felt I had to. She's honestly the sweetest girl I've ever met and she's so easy to talk to."

"Yeah, I know, she is." A genuine smile of his own appears. "But still, you didn't have to make the effort, you did it because you wanted to." I smile again. "I don't know if this sounds weird..." he trails off once more. "But I felt like I had a family today, when I was out with the both of you, I actually felt like I could say I have a family."

My hearts skips a beat, or two.

"Okay, I just realised how weird that sounded," he shakes his head, more as if he's speaking to himself. "I'm making it sound like you're my fucking wife or some shit--"

"Hey," I cut him off, slightly amused. "Forget about it. But I don't think it's weird at all, you deserve to have that feeling. And I'm glad I'm a part of it." He smiles in response to my words. "What was the second thing you wanted to... thank me for?"

"Oh, uhm," he pauses for a moment, again scratching the back of his neck. "Thank you for that thing you did earlier... on the Ferris wheel."

"Oh, you don't need to thank m--"

"No, wait," he cuts me off. "I seriously do need to thank you, because I have no idea what would've happened if you weren't there, or if you didn't do what you did." He moves on his seat, shuffling up so he's closer to me by only a few inches. "I don't think anyone else would've been able to do what you did... so for that, thank you."

"You're welcome," I simply reply, not wanting to shoot down his gratitude although I don't personally need a thank you.

The intense silence dances around us for a moment as he stares at nothing but me, those bright blue pools slowly swirling themselves around his bottomless orbs.

"Can you come here?" he suddenly asks, nodding at me with his head.

"What do you mean...?" I question, curious.