Ice cream in the middle of a freezing winter sounded completely outlandish, but then again, Dan was nowhere near normal. After a surprisingly quick ten minute walk, we ended up at an ice cream parlor down the street from The Society. I knew part of me should have felt bad for leaving Oliver behind, but not one single ounce of me felt anything but ecstatic.
Something about being around Dan made me feel spellbound. Something was dangerous and edgy about him, but not in the orthodox way. He was a soft, sweet individual on the outside. Although, something lurked deep down under his glossy chocolate eyes and toussled brown hair.
We sat at a forest green table in the center of the parlor as the only girl working began flipping some of the chairs on the other tables, indicating the closing of the shop. "Should we go soon?" I asked as I held my milkshake in my hands.
"They don't close until eleven. 'Sonly ten forty-five." Dan said as he finished his last spoonful of vanilla ice-cream. I looked down at my cup and punched in the bubbles on the lid slowly. I bit my lip, contemplating asking Dan questions about himself, knowing all too well how deep in I already was.
"Dan, I don't really know much about you." I said finally, catching him off guard. He looked up at me, smiling only slightly as he put his spoon into the cup.
"What do you mean?" He laid his arms on the table and leaned closer.
I shrugged. "I mean, we have hung out before, but I don't know where you work or if you're going to school or-"
"Then ask me."
His eyes became intense; ablaze with passion as he watched me move my cup to the side.
"Anything?"
"Anything."
I took a moment before asking him a question.
"Where do you work?"
"Haynes Law Firm," He stated. "I'm an office assistant, among other things."
"Are you interested in becoming a lawyer or something?" I asked, not being able to picture him working in law. He shrugged.
"Kind of. I used to really want to do it, but I'm just going through the motions at this point. I'm hoping to find something I'm more passionate about."
"And you and Phil. How long have you guys known each other?" I felt like I was interrogating him, and he knew it fully. I couldn't be so blind with him anymore. I needed to learn more about him before I could continue even any sort of romantic thought with him.
"Quite a few years now," He said. "He's my best friend."
"Wait, where are you from?" I questioned, suddenly realizing I didn't even know that much about him. He chuckled, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
"Workingham, Berkshire." He said, but I could tell that he knew I had no idea where that was.
"Does your family still live there?"
"Somewhat, yes."
"And what does that mean exactly?"
He remained reticent for a moment, looking down at the table. He looked back up and raised his eyebrows slightly.
"My Dad and brother do. My Mum hasn't been in my life for quite some time now."
Judging by his facial expression and tone of voice, I decided to not continue on that question, leaving those details to be discovered later.
"I'm sorry," I apologized, but he waved it off.
"You didn't know," He smiled and nodded to me. "Anymore questions?"
I thought for a moment before deciding now was a good time.
"Are you single?"
I watched his grin turn smug.
"Why do you ask, Sophia?"
"You told me I could ask anything." I raised an eyebrow and propped my elbow on the table and rested my head in my hand. He laughed under his breath and shook his head.
"Yes, I am single. Can I ask you a question now?" He challenged, his eyes flickering between mine.
"Shoot," I replied, my stomach doing flips.
"Are you as interested in me as you often appear to be?"
I was left speechless as he smirked at me, quirking an eyebrow inquisitively.
"Are you asking me if I'm into you?"
He chuckled and shrugged, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms over his chest.
"Yes, I guess I am."
I looked away and smiled, trying desperately to think of a smooth-sounding answer to his sarcastically flirtatious ways. I noticed the girl working at the shop had her attention on the small TV that was perched on a shelf behind the counter. After focusing what attention I had on the television, I noticed the news was playing.
"We have just been informed that the girl who went missing no longer than a week ago, has just been found, and the police are left on their toes." The new anchor reported. I put my hands on the table as I was immediately drawn into the report.
"Her body was found at around four p.m. this evening when a park ranger was doing his rounds through the woods off Roger Drive." An image of yellow caution tape was shown along a few thick trees. The report continued with a detective discussing more about the killer Mr. Sandman. All the same signs and hints were left behind that were left with the last girl.
"Are you watching this?" I asked and looked over to Dan. He was not looking at the TV like I had been. He was still looking at me.
"I try not to." He said blankly, beginning to stand up from his chair. "The news always gets me down."
I stood up with him and we exited the shop. As we walked out, I tried my best to listen to the TV, but the news was cut by commercials. "Well, I work tomorrow, so I was planning on heading home soon." He looked over to me and nudged me softly. "Will you be alright walking by yourself?"
I looked over to him. "If it's not too much to ask, a companion on the way home would be nice."
He laughed curtly. "Now you ask for me to walk you home?"
"Well, if you don't want to..." I raised my eyebrows and he shook his head.
"I want to, I'm just surprised you are finally letting me." He offered his arm to me and I wrapped my arm through his, holding him to me tightly against the frosty air.
"Such a gentleman."
The walk to my flat wasn't too long, which was nice. Considering my building was in the center of almost everything, walking was always a convenience as opposed to a bother. As we approached my building, I noticed Dan suddenly became only slightly tense. But it was just enough for me to question it.
"This is my building." I said and stopped walking, unraveling my arm from his.
"You live here?" He asked oddly, looking up at the looming building.
"Yes, is that okay?" I asked and he waved it off.
"Yeah, yeah. Sorry, I had a friend that used to live here." He chuckled, but I could tell it wasn't a naturally laugh. A more forced laugh.
"Well, I guess the nice thing to do would be to invite you in. But I feel like that might be a bit inappropriate." I stuffed my hands into my jacket pockets to hide them from the breezy air.
"You're right, but there's nothing wrong with being a little scandalous sometimes." Dan's voice immediately became lustrous and soft. Through the dark, I couldn't see his face very well but I could only picture the expression on his face. After a quick second of debating, I acted.
I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him, surprised I was able to make it to his soft lips, due to his height and the current darkness we were in. I took him by surprise and pulled away, but he had other plans in mind. Almost as if he had expected it, he immediately wrapped his jacket-clad arms around my waist and pulled me closer to him, kissing me back with expertise and passion. My body immediately warmed and I forgot about the frigid air that surrounded us. I wrapped my arms around his neck as his breathing became more powerful.
I felt electric in that moment, but I knew there was a nightmare approaching like a storm; settling on the skyline of our horizon. I pulled back from his kiss, but he lingered, needing more.
"I should get inside." I mumbled as he rested his forehead against mine, his eyes still closed. He released me from his embrace and laughed nervously.
"Yeah, probably."
"Text me when you get home?" I asked as he looked to me and nodded.
"Worried about me?" He joked as I began to walk towards the door.
"If I was?" I asked and he rolled his eyes.
"I'd tell you that there's nothing to worry about." He said as he began to walk away. "Goodnight, Sophia."
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quick little announcement thing idk if anyone cares but whatever. so when i started this story i just really liked the idea and also am in love with dan howell so i was like hey that would be cool and yeah that was going to be it. but I've really fallen in love with writing again and have gotten like two more fanfic ideas so I've decided that after this story, I'm going to write a few more hopefully cool stories yay. thanks for supporting me you lovely fricks. yours truly, serena.