a/n; guess who finally decided to update
i gently placed the crimson, fragile rose in wine glass filled to the rim with filtered water. i watched as the golden rays from the skylight collided with the transparent liquid, producing a rainbow on my bedroom wall.
dan had gifted me the rose because he claimed i had the better chocolate, but we both knew it was the kiss we shared. to be honest, my chocolate was pretty damn good as well.
i had received daggers from the other girls but i've gotten used to that by now. they might pretend to be my friend but in they end everyone's out for themselves. it's like the hunger games meets mean girls.
the only person i knew i could trust in this competition was emery. although we aren't close, it seems as everything she does is out of pure kindness. athena was getting better as well.
as i sauntered out into the kitchen, i knew people were still upset by me winning the first date rose. however, their distaste towards me was nothing like their jealously towards savannah, the recipient of the first one on one date. the moment she came back with a rose in hand rumors spread like a wildfire, most of which calling her a slut. it was high school all over again.
"yeah, so then i pushed him, totally with reason because he just called me a bitch-" veronica was ranting but stopped when i passed by her group and narrowed her eyes at me. i just ignored her and kept on walking towards emery in the kitchen.
"you're so right, ver-" chelsea began but was interrupted with a hard smack on her baby pink blush coated cheeks. she yelped and placed a gentle hand upon the mark it created.
"stop interrupting me!" screeched veronica, her complexion turning a bright shade of crimson. the whole room fell silent and i stopped in my tracks. "im so fucking sick of you chelsea! you don't need to comment on every fucking thing i say!" the cameras were eating this up.
tears rolled down chelsea's cheeks as she sprinted away from the scene, cameras following quickly behind her. i spun around and quickly walked away as i wanted to avoid any drama with veronica at the moment.
"here's the lucky lady now!" emery sung as she came sauntering towards me and away from the group of girls she was chatting with. "we were just talking about how everyone is totally jealous of you!"
"thanks." i said but it ended up sounding more like a question.
"anyways, how was it? tell me every little detail." she prompted, placing a hand on my shoulder. some girls began crowding around us and formed a half moon.
"um..." i cleared your throat as i tried to figure out what to say without it coming off as completely awkward. "it was nice, i guess."
athena rolled her eyes, "please. there has to be more than that. you'd be lying if you said you weren't turned on."
"i really don't know, honestly. i mean it was just a kiss. it didn't really mean anything." i lied.
"c'mon, at least tell us if he's a good kisser." emery pleaded. i rolled my eyes, giving in.
"yeah, dan's pretty good, i guess." i blushed as i spoke. unlike my prediction that they'd be a giggling mess after i admitted how he kissed, they all were dead silent. their eyes were glued on me and athena raised an eyebrow. "what?" i said through my nervous laughs.
"dan's pretty good?" athena repeated. i replied with a confused glance. i was completely lost. "dan?" she said again.
"yes," i answered. "that's what i said."
"(y/n)..." emery began in a soft tone. "you called him dan."
a gasp left my mouth as i came into realization what i just said. leave it to me to screw things up. i had failed to register that daniel only allowed me to call him dan. he hadn't even mentioned a nickname to anyone else or even the media. "well, i mean, he asked me to." i blurted out, messing up the circumstance even more.
"he asked you to?" joined in a brunette in the half moon of girls. their reactions were a mix of surprise and absolute loathing.
"no way. she's lying." rudely stated a tall girl in a floral dress. it was like they forgot i was standing right here. they carried on with making assumptions and calling me names for a while until i got sick of it and turned on my heels and left. emery ran after me, athena following shortly behind.
"it's okay girly." emery consoled as she put her arm around my shoulders. athena just walked next to me in silence.
"im not sad. im glad those bitches hate me. they all can go rot in hell for all i care. i kissed one guy that they all want to fuck and im called a slut!" i ranted as we entered our room.
"are you thinking what im thinking?" athena questioned as she looked between the two of us.
"we make them all apologize?" guessed emery.
"yeah right." athena retorted, rolling her eyes. "i was thinking more like revenge."
***
"athena, are you sure this is okay?" asked emery as looked at the array of alcoholic beverages before her.
"are you sure this will work?" i questioned, watching her crush the powder into all the drinks expect two.
"yeah, i use to do this to my sister all the time. my dog used to eat literally everything so we had to give him some dog emetic. it's the same thing expect this is the human one." athena explained as she brushed her hands together. "once they're throwing up all over the place, you can run off to daniel's mini mansion and steal his shirt or whatever and make sure show the girls."
"so this plan is to basically make everyone hate me even more?" i questioned as i put the hoodie up to my sweatshirt.
"it's to make everyone be jealous of you even more and make them feel bad about themselves" athena answered. emery picked up the tray of drinks and set off towards the living room to give them out. "it takes about ten minutes for the medicine to kick in so you have to be quick. once they all start throwing up they'll know something's up!"
"and why aren't you upset that im getting closer to dan and you aren't?" i asked.
"let's just say, i like the big straws when i have a slurpe. have you even heard the rumors about his garage?" athena informed as she winked in my direction. whatever that meant, i didn't want to know.
i managed to catch a glimpse of athena taking a sip the non-medicated martini before i set outside.
i was deeply grateful that i put on a sweatshirt because i would've been frozen to death in the bitter evening air. i guessed it was around ten pm. since i didn't have a phone and don't own a watch, there was no way for confirmation.
the minute i came face to face with the door of dan's mini mansion, i thought for sure there was no way i could do this. i took a deep breath as i got ready to knock on the door. it wasn't like this was totally out of nowhere. we met up in secret before, what's the difference now?
when i tried to knock, the door quietly swung open but there was no one standing behind it.
what kind of celebrity forgets to lock their door?
i wanted to call out his name but i was too scared to speak. instead i silently crept into the foyer. i stood there for a moment, hoping he'd notice me. when he didn't i decided just to find his room, steal a shirt, and leave. i'd give it back in a day anyways.
i wandered throughout the halls, trying to find the bedroom or the laundry room. i needed to find some room the possessed an item of clothing. finally, i managed to stumble upon a room with a bright green post it note on the door with some writing scribbled on it.
don't forget to call mum
it was a good place to start. i turned the handle of the door slowly, making sure not to make any noise. i peaked through the crack in the door and my eyes grew as wide as the moon. there, in all his bachelor glory, was a shirtless daniel howell putting on a pair of grey sweatpants. what fans would pay to see this.
it felt like i was standing there for ages, too scared to move. once dan was finished with putting on the pants he glanced at the mirror for a moment and sighed. then, he turned around with his back still facing me and grabbed the remote to the tv.
"it's rude to stare, (y/n)." dan spoke suddenly, causing me to jump back. the only word going through my mind was 'shit'.
"how did you know i was here?" i asked. i was still in shock. dan replied with a nonchalant point to the mirror. in the reflection i could clearly see my startled face peaking through the door crack.
"did you miss me?" dan questioned as he sauntered towards me. his tall, shirtless might i add, figure loomed over me as he took my hands and pulled me through the threshold of his room. he laughed at my shocked state.
"you wish." i said as i began to calm down. dan leaned up against his dresser. "i actually came here because i need your shirt." he quirked an eyebrow.
"and why exactly do you need my shirt? i mean it's fine if you want to sleep in it or something but-" dan began but i interrupted him.
"no, i don't want it to sleep in." i said, fiddling with the strings of my sweatshirt. "there's kind of going to be a mansion full of puking girls in about five minutes so could you please just give one to me." i speed walked over to his dresser and tried to open a drawer but he grabbed my wrist aggressively.
"(y/n)," dan began gently, still grasping onto my wrist. "why is there going to be a house of puking girls and why do you need my shirt?"
"well, some girls sort of called me a slut because i kissed you so athena, emery, and i kind of put some medicine that makes them throw up in their drinks and i need to get your shirt to make them even more jealous. i don't really know. it was all athena's plan and now that im saying it out loud it doesn't really make sense." i rambled as dan just gazed at me.
"they called you a slut?" dan exclaimed as he let go of my wrist. i massaged it and examined the red mark he left.
"i mean, i called them bitches." i replied as i watched bite his lip in thought. god, how much i wanted to kiss him right now.
"but you had a right to. some of them are bitches." dan reasoned and then stepped towards me before taking a deep breath. "i can't give you my shirt unless you want to be eliminated for cheating, but you can stay here with me." his hands dropped to my waist and pulled me into his bare chest.
"i can't." i responded, attempting to pull back but his hold was firm.
"i have a tv." dan tried to convince but failed. as much i as i wanted to watch tv with a hot shirtless celebrity, my friends were waiting for me.
"im sorry dan." i apologized. "my friends need me."
i broke away from his grip and left, neither of us saying goodbye.