“Dan,” I sigh, studying him and taking in the amount of damage that has been done. “You’re bleeding.” I stand up and walk closer to him, stopping halfway between the couch and him. His lip has a gash in it, with blood trickling ever so slightly down. He has the beginnings of a black eye forming, as well as a bruise budding on his cheek. He has small open cuts scattered around his face, too small to result in a trip to the emergency room. I hear Phil get up from behind me, and he walks over to Dan.
“Where did you go?” he asks.
“I went over to James’ flat, and we had a chat.”
“A chat.” Phil repeats.
“Maybe a bit more than a chat…” Dan chuckles, running his fingers through his hair quickly to fix it.
“What the hell were you thinking?” I ask, stepping closer to him. Dan’s face lights up at the sound of my voice.
“Well I wasn’t about to let him get away with lying like that, now was I?” He grins, a dimple emerging on his cheek.
“We should get you cleaned up.” Phil says, turning to go into a different room. Dan and I stay in the lounge. He grabs my shoulder and leans on me for support. That’s when I realize he must be really hurt, and putting up this tough-guy-‘I’m not in pain at all’ face. I wrap my arm around his waist, not asking any questions yet. I lead him to the sofa, and he sits, dragging me down to be next to him.
Before a single word can be exchanged between us, Phil comes back with paper towels, pill bottles, and a glass of water in hand. He dumps everything on the coffee table, and sits on the other side of Dan. He grabs a spray bottle from the counter, and sprays the cuts. I take a paper towel and start dabbing the blood away gently, not wanting to hurt him. “Guys, I’m fine.” Dan insists.
“Yeah, right.” Phil laughs, looking over the things he brought back. “Pen, do you think I need anything else? I brought everything we have, but I can go get something if you think we’ll need it.”
“I’m not sure…” I reply, still clearing away the blood. “The cuts aren’t bad, but I’m not sure about his lip, and I think he’s more hurt than he’s letting on.”
I go to focus on his mouth, the paper towel turning a deep crimson color almost instantly. I frown, my eyebrows knitting together. “Why do you think I’m in pain?” Dan asks, brushing a piece of my hair that had fallen into my face behind my ear.
I raise an eyebrow at him, silently replying. “Phil, can you go get some ice?” I say finally, and he nods before going off to the kitchen. “What happened, Dan?” I ask as soon as Phil leaves. “Don’t act all tough around me, I know you’re hurt.”
“My head is throbbing,” he tells me.
“Do you want to go to the ER? Or, A&E rather?” I add, remembering they call it something different.
“No, I’ll be fine.” He notices that I don’t believe him, so he continues, “Besides, I’d much rather you take care of me. I hate the hospital. If it’ll make you feel better, we have a neighbor who is a doctor. I can call him up and he’ll be over in a minute; we’re friends.”
“Can you?” I ask. He nods, pulling out his phone.
“Hey, Jim! How are you? …” Phil comes back, a packet of frozen peas with a paper towel wrapped around it in hand. “Listen, I have a favor, can you come over and check something out for me? I tripped and hit my head, and my girlfriend’s worried… Great. See you in a bit.”
I take the peas from Phil and place it on Dan’s lip, trying to reduce the swelling. “Jim’s coming over?” Phil asks, and I nod. We sit in silence until the doorbell rings, and Phil runs off to get it.
A man who looks around 30 comes into the lounge, and sits where Phil was before. He asks Dan some normal questions, such as ‘What’s your name?’, ‘Who is this girl?’, and ‘Where do you live?’. Phil and I don’t say a word as he checks his vitals and reflexes. Finally, he turns to me and says, “He doesn’t have a concussion. His vitals look okay, and it seems like all he really needs is some medicine and a day of rest. He should be fine.”
“Okay. Thank you.” I smile.
“He’ll be good as new soon, don’t worry.” Jim tells me with a grin. Both Phil and I thank him again for coming over so quickly, and he’s gone.
Phil’s phone buzzes as I spray Dan’s lip with the antibacterial stuff Phil brought over. “I forgot; I need to go!” he exclaims, running to pull on shoes. “I have to meet up for a collab today. With everything that’s happened, it totally slipped my mind. Will you guys be alright by yourselves?” he asks.
“Of course, go have fun.” I tell him. With that he leaves, and Dan reaches over me for a bottle lying on the coffee table.
“For my head.” He says, grabbing the glass of water and swallowing two of the reddish pills. “I’m fine, I promise.” He tells me again.
“I don’t believe you.” I say, touching my finger lightly to his now purple-washed under eye. I can’t help but feel like this is my fault, knowing that the only reason Dan is in this state is because of me. Guilt eats at my insides, not yet bubbling to the surface. If I forgave him when he first tried to talk, he wouldn’t be like this. “I’m sorry.” I murmur, apologizing for causing this.
“Don’t be. I’m sorry.” He says. “The fight was my fault.” My mind flashes back to this morning for the thousandth time today. How his mouth formed around the venomous words and shocked me to the core. How he called me a slut, and how I was immediately back to the night where hurting myself became the only option left. I sigh, and get up to go get him another glass of water and some food from the kitchen. “Wait, where are you going?” He asks, getting up to follow me.
“I’m getting you some food, so please just sit on the couch. I don’t want you moving around too much today.” I reply, not being able to stop my head from replaying what he said yet again. I frown as I continue walking. I hear his footsteps behind me, but don’t turn around again. “What do you want for lunch?”
“I was planning on just ordering delivery.”
I pull out the menus stored in a cabinet, and we decide on spaghetti and meatballs from a local Italian place. Before we know it our food has arrived, and I pay quickly as Dan grabs bowls and forks. We each take a helping and head back to the lounge, turning on the television as we sink into the couch. My eyes stayed glued to the screen, not wanting to look at Dan and see his beat up face. I feel too bad for what happened, but I’m not sure whether or not I can forgive him just yet for what he said. Fights happen, but calling me a slut was way out of line. It’s all I can hear, repeating endlessly in my head. His beautiful voice is twisting and turning and mixing in my mind with those of my former tormentors, resulting in a chorus of unwanted words and unwelcome memories.
“I was going to do something today,” Dan says, and I know he’s staring at me, studying my face. “I was going to Skype with my family, and introduce them to you.” That makes my gaze dart to him, and I see he’s frowning. “I want you to meet them, and I want them to meet you.”
I don’t reply, not knowing what to say.
“And you know what I was going to do tonight?” he pauses, putting his bowl on the coffee table and spinning to fully face me. I bite my lip and turn to him, our eyes meeting again. “I was going to call you over during my live show, and tell my fans about you and how happy you make me.” He sighs, taking one of my hands and interlacing our fingers. “Please listen to me when I say I’m sorry, Pen. I should’ve believed you, and I shouldn’t have called you a slut. I was wrong, please forgive me. I love you.”
I think back to when we first met. How his voice made me melt and his stare made my heart skip a beat. I remember our first kiss at that Christmas party, how it sent shockwaves through my body. I go back to the first night we spent together, how he held me tight and promised everything would be okay after he found that terrible post online. How he kissed my scars and, again, promised everything would be okay. I believe him when he says that; with him, I know everything will be okay. And that feeling of safety and euphoria that only he can deliver is not something I’m ready to lose. “I love you too, Dan.” I say, wrapping my arms around his torso and hugging him tight.
“Ow…” he groans, and I detach myself from him instantaneously.
“What happened?”
“Did I tell you James also hit me in the stomach?”
“No! That bastard…” I mutter the last bit. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Can you kiss me and make it better?”
With that, I pull him closer and let our lips connect.
Okay so a new chapter! YAYAYAY This chapter is dedicated to @WeirdCareBear for the AMAZING idk what to call it, fanart? thing? she made for this story! You can see it right on the side of this chapter. Every time I look at it I want to scream because it’s fantastic and just HOLY SHIT. If you want to make a thing for this story, please please PLEASE send it to me, because this actually made my entire life. And of course, I’d dedicate a chapter to you (if you have a favorite one and want it to be dedicated to you (as long as it’s not dedicated to anyone else) I can do that as well :)) and say thank you and love you for the rest of eternity. Please remember to vote/comment/fan if you enjoyed this chapter, and stay amazing guys xx