"D-Daniel...?"
"Aren't you happy to see me, baby?" Daniel smiled. He lifted me off the floor and swung me around.
"How did you- where-"
"I wanted it to be a surprise. That's why I haven't been returning your calls." He said, putting me down.
"It is indeed a surprise." I told him, scratching my head.
"You don't look so happy." He said, his smile gradually disappearing.
It's not that I wasn't happy. I didn't know what to feel. It was just hard looking at his innocent, angelic face after all of the things I've done.
"Of course I am, Danny." I stood on my toes and wrapped my arms around him, pulling him into a long-awaited hug. I missed him. I almost forgot how it felt having him in my embrace.
"But how did you find my house?" I asked, pulling away slightly to look at him.
"Harry knows your house. He told me the directions." Daniel answered before planting a kiss on my cheek. "This was actually his idea. He said I should pop by at your house."
That makes sense. What Harry did wasn't innocent at all. His idea of sending Daniel over to my house was evil. He wanted me to get in trouble with my parents when they see Daniel.
I can't believe I almost thought he was changing to become... a not-so sinister person. An imp will always be an imp.
But his plan didn't work. My parents were out so Daniel was totally out of their sights. Take that, Styles.
"I got so worried when you weren't answering my calls. Thought you were mad at me..." I told Daniel as I led him into the house.
"Why would you think I was mad at you?" He asked, the back of his hand slowly caressing my cheek.
"No reason. I was just thinkin-" I was interrupted by my father's car pulling up in the driveway.
Shit.
I completely forgot he was coming home early today. I thought of what to do as I tried my best to keep my heart from pounding out of my chest. My hands wavered as I looked around in distress.
"Hel, are you okay?" Daniel asked, confused by my frantic movements.
"Uh, no." I bit my lower lip. I grabbed onto his arm tightly and pulled him upstairs to my room.
"Would you explain to me what's going on?" He inquired, straightening up.
"My dad's home."
"That's great, I can finally meet him."
"No, no!" I held up my hands to his chest, stopping him from exiting my room.
"Why? What's wrong?"
"Could you please just stay in here? Please?" I pleaded.
"Wh- are you ashamed of me?"
"No, Daniel. It's nothing like that. It's complicated... my dad doesn't like it when boys come over."
"Wait... I thought he knew about me."
"He... does. But he has trust issues and stuff. It's complicated. Could you please just stay here until he goes?" I tried my best to smile at him.
"Alright. I understand." He nodded.
I rushed downstairs and saw my father throwing his keys on the couch. "Dad!" I hugged him.
"Were you talking to someone?" He asked, taking off his coat.
"No I wasn't." I tried to prevent my lies from being vividly visible on my face as I kept on smiling at him.
He nodded and walked into the kitchen. I made sure I didn't lose sight of my father by following him everywhere he went. "So how was work?" I asked. He looked over his shoulder and gave me a confused glare as he opened the fridge.
"Quite alright. Exhausting, though." He replied.
He grabbed an apple and walked out of the kitchen. He took a bite out of it and started walking up the stairs. My breathing paused for a moment, my heart ferociously beating.
I ran up after him. I thanked god when my father walked past my room and into his. I prayed he wouldn't sense anything amiss. This was the perfect opportunity to get Daniel out of the house.
I followed my father into his room. I realized he was in the bathroom. If I was going to let Daniel out, I had to make sure my father wouldn't come out. I used one of the house's keys to lock the bathroom door.
Yes, I'm a terrible person for locking my own father in the bathroom. But it had to be done.
I quickly rushed to my room and saw Daniel reading some of my old comic books. "You have to go now." I whispered and grabbed him by the arm, leading him downstairs.
"Wait, where's your dad?" Daniel asked when we reached the entrance door. "Did you lock him in a room?" He looked confused when he heard a loud bang against the door.
"Yes, I'm going to let him out now. I'm so sorry for doing this, Daniel." I gave him a small kiss on his lips. "I'll see you tonight?"
"Alright, baby." He flashed a warm smile before heading out the door.
I rested my back against the door after I closed it shut. I wiped the sweat off my forehead as I took a deep breath. I could hear my father calling for help, followed by some banging on the door.
My legs were exhausted from all the running but I rushed back upstairs to my father's room. I quickly unlocked the bathroom door and hid the keys in my pocket.
My father's face was red and sweaty. "Did you lock me in here?"
"No, Dad, of course not!" I said. "I came rushing when I heard you shouting!"
"That was so weird." He spoke to himself.
"I think you might have locked yourself in when you shut the door too hard." I told him.
_______________________________
I rang the doorbell and straightened myself up.
Daniel invited me over to his house for dinner. I was so glad he wasn't even a tad bit mad at me. He was so understanding.
But I was really furious at Harry. It was because of him that I had to lock my own father in the bathroom and sneak my real boyfriend out of my house.
When the door was opened, I was nothing but irritated to see Harry. "There she is." He said with a cheeky grin. He leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms.
"I hate you." I squinted my eyes at him.
"Harsh words from a pretty girl like you."
"I'm going t-" I was interrupted by Daniel peering from behind Harry's shoulder.
"Harry, welcome her in." He said, opening the door wider and letting me in.
Dinner was tense and awkward. Well, especially awkward for me because Harry kept poking at my feet with his and I had to keep a straight face.
After a long dinner filled with delicacies of every sort, I sat in the living room with Daniel, his mother and Harry.
"Were you one of the kids on the trip with Harry?" His mother asked.
"Uh-" I froze for a moment. Harry looked at me, raising an eyebrow. "No." I answered. Harry gave out a small laugh. I could tell he was enjoying every bit of my distress.
"Alright, kids." She stood up. "I've got a midnight shift at the hospital tonight. Got to run."
"I'm meeting my friends for a movie." Harry got up as well. "So I've got to run too."
"And who are those friends?" His mother asked.
"Niall and the gang."
"Becareful not to get in trouble with that Zayn kid again." She ordered before heading out the door.
Harry disappeared to his room and Daniel and I were left in the living room.
"So how's college?" I broke the silence.
"It's great so far. New experiences. How's your life been?" He took my hand in his.
"Complicated, but quite alright." I smiled. "Would you mind if I used the bathroom?"
"Sure. But the one downstairs has a plumbing problem. You could use the one upstairs, just turn left after the family photo." He directed.
"Got it." I pecked him on the cheek and made my way upstairs. Their house was so large I didn't know where to go. There were several family photographs. But only one of them had the whole family in it. Daniel, Harry, their mother Mary and their father. They looked genuinely happy.
As I walked further, I saw a room with the door wide open. There was a bathroom in it. I assumed this was the bathroom Daniel was talking about so I went in.
Just as I was about to open the bathroom door, I saw someone coming in the room in the corner of my eye. I turned to see Harry. Besides a towel wrapped around his waist, the tall, scruffy haired boy had nothing on. His lengthy physique was wet and shiny under the room lights. His brown hair was soaked as well, his curls damp.