direct message from @danisnotonfire
@danisnotonfire: hey
@phanclock: hey ??
@phanoclock: you're literally like two metres away from me
I glanced up at Dan, who was standing on the train, arm up, hanging off the handrail. We'd been partially separated by after-work public transport traffic, and a balding, mildly fat man in a business suit that didn't fit him anymore was jammed between us. Dan met my eyes through the crook in the man's raised arm, and he grinned at me, rolling his eyebrows like two little caterpillars doing a Mexican wave. I giggled quietly to myself.
@danisnotonfire: yeah but mr potato man here is in the way
@phanoclock: hey!! i thought i was the only potato in your life
@phanoclock: </3
@danisnotonfire: aw bby don't worry it's only you
@danisnotonfire: i have eyes for only one potato
@phanoclock: mnnn do i believe you or do i smell him on your collar
@danisnotonfire: it was the hot chips from earlier i swear!! you are the only potato for me
I laughed a little more, aware that I was now that idiot who laughed at her phone. A soft drizzle of happiness spread through me. These interactions with Dan were never anything short of absolutely perfect. We seemed to fit in with each other - our words bounced off one another. This is great banter. The viral clip played in my mind and I almost laughed again.
The train shuddered to a stop, and I reached my hand up and pointed to the doors so Dan and Phil, who was close by, would know this was where we were supposed to get off. I shuffled off with Dan and a few other commuters, hopping off onto the platform. Dan bounced off next to me, ruffling his hair. I stopped, glancing around for Phil. I frowned.
'Wait, Dan, where's Phil?' Dan looked with me, until my eyes lifted as the doors shut and the train started to pull away, and Phil's two little lost eyes stared back at me from behind the glass.
My eyes widened. 'Dan! Phil's still on the train!' I cried out, grabbing his arm, and Dan's face split into shock before settling into a roar of laughter. He bent over on all fours, hands pressed into his knees, laughing his head off as Phil pulled off helplessly from the station. I was laughing too, but I hit Dan in the back. 'Stop laughing! The other half of your stage tour just vanished on a foreign train!'
Dan grabbed my arms, grinning, pretending to look shocked. 'What do we do, Meg? Oh Phil. He died too young.'
I shoved his shoulder. 'You're so overdramatic. We've just got to meet him at the next station which is-' I glanced up at the electronic board, '-City West.' (i have no knowledge of adelaide pls forgive i even googled train maps then gave up)
'Let's go, let's go, let's go!' Dan cheered, grabbing my hand and dragging me up the escalators. I was giggling, his hand warm around mine, the buzz of alcohol like a warm blanket nestled over my brain. We'd just finished up at a bar a little way out of town, where they had live music and surprisingly good bar food. The world felt all gooey. The final round of tequila shots (which we'd done, gagged at, but laughed a lot) had finally started to set in.
We ran up the stairs at the top, past people walking slowly, heads down, bags in hand, up and into the night. We jogged to a stop at the top, both breathing hard. Someone blew past on a bike. I tugged a hand through my hair as Dan glanced each way and we crossed the road.
'I just texted Phil that we'll be there as soon as possible, and to just wait at the station,' he said, pocketing his phone. His eyes were almost wild, fevered with excitement. I guess it's not everyday you get to run through a strange city with a strange girl tucked into one hand. 'Uber?'
I blew air though my pouted lips. 'Are you kidding? It's a, what, five, maybe ten minute walk to the station,' I said. I pointed a finger in its general direction. 'We're walking. Or running. Running is fun.'
Dan let out a breathless sound. 'Oh, running, right, because I'm so good at that.' He mouthed at me, fake fan. A laugh tugged at my chest as I linked his arm with mine and we started walking.
'I'm okay with just this,' I hummed. I could feel Dan looking at me. We walked in quiet for a moment, the silence broken only by the sounds of the city - the brush of leaves together in the trees above our heads, the gentle mumble of ambient conversation. A bus trundled past, stopping near us, its doors opening with an exhale.
'My feet hurt,' Dan complained, and I nudged my shoulder against his.
'So do mine.'
'Yeah, but I think mine hurt more.'
I pretended to look shocked. 'Aren't you supposed to be British? Where's your chivalry? You should offer to carry me.'
'Alright then.'
I blinked at Dan as he hunkered over, legs and back bent. He looked back at me over his shoulder. 'What are you waiting for? Hop on.'
'I was kidding, you know,' I said as I stood behind him, trying to figure out the logistics of the situation. I pressed a hand experimentally against his shoulder.
'You can do me next,' he grinned, and then I hopped on.
Dan let out a grunt, rising slowly, teetering for a moment as I let out a yelp before he regained his balance and started walking. I wrapped my legs around his torso, my arms around his neck, face next to the side of his head. His hair brushed up against my face. It smelt vaguely of dry shampoo.
'I'm so high up,' I said, a little quietly, seeing as I was right beside his ear. When he chuckled, I could feel it through my own body - a deep hum in his chest, a slow rumble, and then pieces of it throughout my own.
'Welcome to the world of the six-foot-three,' he said, hefting me up a little higher. We walked like this for a while longer, him holding me, me clinging to his back like a baby monkey, until he huffed out, 'how far away are we?'
'Like, two minutes,' I replied. 'Are you holding up okay? I can get off.'
He shook his head, which clanged into mine. We both laughed softly. 'Sorry,' he said, a little breathlessly. 'And I'm all good.'
'Are you sure? Because-'
'Meg,' he interrupted, trying to look at me, but my face was right next to his so he sort of just ended up pressing our cheeks together. One brown eye peered back at me. 'Just take the damn ride, will you?'
I shut up after that. We soon arrived at the train station, where Phil was waiting outside on his phone. I dropped off Dan's back just as he glanced up, lighting up in a smile when he saw us. 'Thank goodness,' he said as we approached. 'I thought I'd been sucked into Adelaide's transport system forever!'
The hotel was close, so we just walked back, and Phil told us about the cranky old woman who wouldn't budge when he had tried to get off the train, and had then proceeded to whack him with her cane when he tried to get past. Being the absolute unicorn of rainbows and happiness that Phil was, he apologised and went to a different door so he could get off at the next station. Dan and I laughed.
'You need to stop being so nice, Phil,' Dan said as we approached the hotel reception. 'Or more old ladies will hit you with their canes.'
We all stopped in front of the hotel, looking around at each other. I always hated goodbyes. Goodbyes could suck a dick.
'So, um, it was so cool to meet you guys,' I said, fumbling with my hands. 'Honestly. And not just because of your channels or whatever. You're just really cool people.'
Phil beamed at me. 'Aw, shucks, Meg. So are you! I'm so glad you sent flurries of tweets at Dan however long ago. Was totally worth it.'
I laugh, a little awkwardly. 'Man, I was embarrassing.' Dan hadn't said anything yet. I could feel him watching me. I reached over and gave Phil a big hug. 'I'll miss you guys,' I said, pulling back.
Dan said to Phil, 'I'll meet you inside, okay?' Phil looked at Dan, then me, and then nodded, hurrying off into the lobby and up to the room. Dan watched him go then turned back to me, his hands deep in his pockets. He was still, quiet, sombre, almost. I offered him a small smile, which he returned, but his eyes were bright, determined.
'So when exactly are you coming to London?' He asked me, his stare intense. I wasn't used to this from Dan. I ran a hand over the back of my neck.
'Um, like, January. So about four or so months.'
Dan seemed to consider this. 'Four months,' he muttered, mostly to himself. 'I think I can wait four months.' And then he did something I wasn't expecting at all.
He bent in and kissed me hard on the mouth.
When he pulled back, there was that same intensity to his eyes - like he was on fire, from the inside out, and I felt like I could just stand there frozen forever, trying to figure out how many different shades of brown were in his eyes.
'Don't forget about me, Meg,' he murmured, kissing me again. I felt like I was falling over and over again, rolling over myself, until there was nothing but just us, and his hands on my waist.
'Forget about you?' I asked breathlessly. 'I don't think I could ever forget about you, Dan Howell.'
He broke his fierce mask with a smile. 'I'll see you in four months, Potato Girl.'
Four months. I held those words to me as he turned and disappeared back into the hotel, the feeling of his lips against mine like a ghost, the heat in my cheeks and my waist form his touch the only souvenir of what just happened. I closed my eyes and let out a long breath.
Don't forget about me, Meg.
I opened my eyes and the stars were bright tonight. The sky was clear, cloudless.
I'm more worried that you'll forget about me.
| t h e e n d |
gUYS THIS IS REALLY CUTE WTF
also cliche lol and i hate cliches but i feel like if there's anywhere for cliches on the internet, it's wattpad (i say this in great love).
BUT WAIT
DON'T WORRY
IT'S NOT TOTALLY OVER
I WANT TO START A SEQUAL
i feel like if i just continue this story into London it will get wayy to long, plus four months of tweets will get annoying af to read/write. so i think i'll write a sequal to this starting when she arrives in london. let me know if you want a similar style with tweets/dms, or more of a 'proper novel'. also from dan's perspective too or nah?
or maybe i could just do a part 2 of this book which is the second one
hm
i'm a terrible writer i apologise
BYE FOR NOW BUT NOT FOR TOO LONG Xx