*Dan’s POV*
“We need to congratulate her in person. Now.” I smile, running over to pull on my shoes. “We could pick up a pizza or something, and I don’t even know but we need to go.” I start rambling, excitement filling me up with each new breath. I look over to Phil, waving for him to hurry up.
“What if we invited her over tomorrow and had a proper party?” he muses. “With cake and balloons and stuff.”
“Good idea. We’ll get balloons on the way.” I laugh. “Cake, too.”
“You just miss her already.” Phil smirks at me, knowing exactly why I want to see her. I feel like part of myself is missing without Penelope by my side. I want her to be with me every second of every day, so I can make her laugh, protect her, and love her with every fiber of my being. I feel my cheeks go a bit red as I grab both Phil’s coat as well as my own.
“Don’t act like you don’t want to see Jess again.” I counter, turning to see him blush. “I saw the way you were looking at her. Are we going now?” He nods, so I throw him his jacket and we head out the door. We walk past a flower shop, so I buy a bouquet of roses for her while Phil goes across the street and gets balloons- I wasn’t joking when I said we would. As we get closer to the girl’s flat, we pass by a pizza place that I remember Penelope mentioning, so we get a large pie before heading up.
Phil rings the doorbell, and a few seconds pass before we hear muffled footsteps coming towards the door. Jess swings open the door, and a smile quickly spreads across her face as she ushers us inside. “Penelope!” she yells, taking the pizza from Phil and placing it on their breakfast bar. She turns her head, and grins widely as she skips over to us. We trap her in a giant group hug, squeezing her tightly.
“Surprise! Congratulations love,” Phil says. “You really deserve it.”
“I expect to go to the premier.” I laugh, my grip tightening as Phil’s arms drop.
“All of you are going; are you kidding?” she smiles.
“They’ve brought food.” Jess states, lifting up the lid to the pizza box and smelling the warm pie.
“I see that,” Penelope replies, trying to escape my grasp to join her. I kiss the top of her head, releasing her slightly. I let my hand slip into hers, and she intertwines our fingers as she pulls me towards the kitchen. “What kind?”
“Just plain. Is that alright?” Phil asks.
“Of course it is.” Pen smiles, opening the cabinet in front of her and going onto her tip toes to reach for the plates sitting on the top shelf. I laugh at her, then wrap my arms around her waist and gently lift her off the ground. She grabs four, and then places them on the counter. Everyone takes one as well as a slice before sitting down around the table.
“This is from Mario’s isn’t it…?” Jess grins, taking another bite.
“Only the best.” Phil says, smiling at her. We eat in silence, eventually finishing off the entire pie.
“Do you guys want to stay?” Pen asks. “We have movies, television, music, video games…”
“We’d love to.” I kiss her, missing the feeling of my lips pressed against hers. “Right Phil?”
“Yes! What would you guys like to do?” he asks.
“Well I was going to go get cake from a bakery up the road…” Jess tells us, smiling. “Want to come with me Phil?”
“Yes! Do you want to leave now?”
“Sure.” They throw on their shoes and jackets before hastily escaping into the cold night air.
“I told you they’d hit it off.” Pen grins, bringing me over to the couch.
“I never doubted you for a second.” I reply, taking her hands and intertwining our fingers again. I look up into those gorgeous eyes, seeing the light pink color flush her cheeks.
“Those flowers are lovely,” she states, darting her gaze to the roses placed on the counter. “I should put them in some water.” She gets up, and scurries to another area of the flat to grab a vase. Before I know it she comes back, and starts filling a crystal one with water. He phone starts to ring, and she asks me to pick it up so that they don’t hang up.
“Hello?” I say.
“Hi, is this Penelope? I probably have the wrong number…” a male voice replies.
“No, it’s her. She’s just busy at the moment.” I state, wondering why this guy is calling her. I trust her, of course, but I’ve always been the jealous type. I can’t help it, especially with a girl as beautiful as Penelope. She could have any man she wants with her adorable giggle, dazzling smile, striking eyes, and silky hair. Her looks alone would make anyone interested. But added to her amazing personality and kind spirit- she’s everyone’s dream girl.
“Oh, when will she be back?”
“Right now…” I answer, holding out the phone as Penelope walks towards me with her arm outstretched.
“Thanks,” she smiles at me before talking into the device. “Hello? …Oh, hi James… Really? Congratulations! … Thank you, I’m still in shock. … We should! I’ll see you Sunday, yeah? … Awesome. Night!”
“Who’s James?” I ask, not realizing how paranoid I sound until I actually say it.
“He’s playing Romeo.” She says simply before taking the place next to me on the couch. Suddenly, thoughts of Penelope and this James character start to flood my head. They’ll be spending a lot of time together, hugging, kissing…. I’ll lose her for sure. How could I compete with this guy? I’m just Dan; there’s no way Penelope will stay with me if he becomes interested, which of course he will. “Are you okay?” I hear her soft angelic voice ask, bringing me back to reality.
“I’m fine.” I unintentionally snap.
“Are you jealous?” Penelope continues, and I look up to meet her gaze. “Is the Daniel Howell jealous?” A small smirk creeps onto her face, as I don’t reply. She leans towards me, our noses brushing against one another. “You don’t need to be. You’re the only guy I would ever want.” Her fingers grab onto my tee shirt as she pulls me towards her and our lips connect. I can’t stop myself from picking her up slightly so that she’s positioned on my lap, each of her long legs drooped over my sides. My hands snake around her waist slowly, my fingers running along the soft surface of her top. A quiet moan escapes my mouth as she slings her arms around my neck and deepens the kiss. She breaks us apart, only to leave a trail of kisses along my jaw line leading down to my neck. I flinch has her supple lips delicately press against it, and see her smirk again. “Believe me?”
“Almost…” I return, bringing her back to meet my lips. This time I pull away, going to preoccupy myself with her exposed neck as she tips her head back. Her hands press against my back as if trying to close the remaining space between us. Her legs wrap tighter around my torso as my hands gently slide down to rest on her hips.
We hear the lock on he door click open, and she jumps off of me as Phil and Jess walk towards us hand in hand. Once they spot us, they separate, a knowing grin spreading across their faces. I look over at Pen, and see that her hair is ruffled, and I guess that mine is too. “Still jealous?” she mouths to me, making me stifle a laugh.
“We got cake.” Phil announces as we stand up. I don’t want Pen to leave my side, so I keep my arm slinked around her. “Looks like you had fun while we were gone.” Phil whispers, chuckling to himself. I know my cheeks must be a bright crimson by now, but I don’t care. We all walk into the kitchen, Jess grabbing a knife and forks for all of us.
“It’s chocolate,” she informs us, cutting into the dark brown pastry. She gives everyone a huge piece, and we all settle back into our same spots around the table. Again, I see Penelope go back to breaking it up into small pieces, pushing it around the plate as a way to pass the time.
“Pen…” I whisper, and she looks up at me.
“I’ve eaten a lot today. I mean I’ve had pancakes, brownies, and pizza… I can’t have all this,” she tries to reason with me.
“I know you feel like you’ve had a lot, but you’re comparing the amount to what you were eating before, which was next to nothing. Anything will seem like a lot compared to nothing. Please, eat it. Who can resist chocolate cake?” I grin.
“Penelope, isn’t this great?” Phil asks her from across the table. He must have noticed she wasn’t eating again, as this was his way of getting her to have some.
“Very,” she replies, taking a tiny bite. Jess looks slightly confused by all this, and I realize she must not know about Penelope’s habit. She doesn’t say anything though, so I choose not to mention it to her yet. I finish off my slice, as does Phil and Jess, but Pen can only manage a bit less than half. She stands up quickly, grabbing everyone’s plates before anyone can ask her to eat more and brings them to the kitchen. “Well, this really has been great. Why didn’t you call to say you were coming? We would’ve planned something to do.”
“Dan just couldn’t wait.” Phil tells her, smirking at me as I blush.
“I wanted to congratulate you as soon as I heard. This is a huge deal!” I explain.
“I get it,” she smiles at me as we all join her near the breakfast bar. “It’s just that we didn’t expect anyone…”
“It’s fine. Can I see you tomorrow?”
“That doesn’t mean I want you to leave!” she counters. Eventually we pick a video game from their surprisingly large collection- they could open a shop if they wanted to- and settle into the couch for an all-out battle.
WOW! It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I’m so sorry; I really was dealing with a lot. However, this new chapter has FINALLY been posted! I have two requests for the comments: once again, tell me something about yourself if you like so we can chat. Second: does anyone know the band Hands Like Houses? I had their album before, but recently rediscovered it on my iTunes and have since fallen in love. The problem with this is that no one else knows them, and it’s very upsetting to me. So, if you happen to know their songs and like them, please tell me because I feel like an outcast. Or if you don’t know them, tell me whom you’ve been listening to recently. Stay amazing guys <3