In, out. In, out.

   Breathe, (Y/N).

   I tell myself this as I'm curled up in a ball on my bed, rocking back and forth. Despite me trying desperately to regulate my breathing, I inhale and exhale at an abnormal speed.

   Thank God someone's coming to help me out. Otherwise, I don't know how I'd be able to handle this.

   I feel like my parents' killer is watching me. That they're lurking around my house, ready to grab me at any second.

   I try to convince myself that it's just me being paranoid. Despite that, the feeling doesn't go away. My heart pounds faster, and my breathing becomes quicker, erasing what little progress I had made with regulating my breathing.

   I can hear feel my blood pounding in my ears. I then hear a sickening ringing sound as more tears escape my eyes...

   And just as I feel like I'm about to actually lose my mind...

   My doorbell rings.

   I sigh with relief, knowing that my knight in shining armor has finally arrived. I get up from my bed and walk down the hall, turning every possible light on in the process. I try to ignore the quick beating of my heart, but it's kinda hard to.

   I finally make it to the front door, and that's when my brain has a thought.

   What if that's not Dan?

   My body trembles slightly at that possibility. But I know that in order to receive the comfort that I need, I've gotta open the door. I've gotta throw the dice and hope that the curly-haired softie known as Dan Avidan is waiting at my door...

   I grab the doorknob and pull open the door, trying my best to ignore the pit in my stomach.

   I breathe a huge sigh of relief as I see Dan standing there. He's in a long, white T-shirt and some pajama pants, and his hair looks as messy as ever. Probably because he just rolled out of bed.

   Finally, I can relax. Fresh tears begin to roll down my face as I wrap my arms around Dan and hug him. He's so warm, and that makes me not want to let go.

   Dan chuckles and hugs me back. "Hey to you too," he whispers, rubbing my back.

   We stay like that for a bit. I finally pull apart after about a minute. I wipe the tears from my eyes with the back of my hand and croak out, "Thanks for coming..." as I gesture for Dan to come inside.

   "Oh, of course!" he says, smiling softly at me as he walks inside, shutting the door behind him. "I'd hate myself if I wasn't here to help you."

   He guides me to my couch, as if this is his own house. He sits me down on it, sitting next to me afterward. With a sigh, Dan looks at me, and, seeing the tears that are still falling down my face, wipes them with his abnormal-looking thumb. "God, there's nothing I hate more than seeing you cry..," he says. He says this so quiet that it almost sounds like he's saying it to himself.

   "I'm sorry..," I mumble, looking away.

   "No, no, you have nothing to apologize for, beautiful," Dan coos, cupping my face with his hand so that I'll look at him. "This isn't your fault in the slightest."

   I don't know how to respond, so I simply nod. My face is burning up, and my heart is beating fast.

   Dan looks like he wants to do something, but he stays still. He bites his lip thoughtfully, clearly uncertain.

   He then releases me, deciding against whatever he was planning on doing. He instead wraps an arm around me and pulls me close. "So...do you watch 'Rick and Morty'?" he whispers softly.

   I nod. "Yeah...I love that show..."

   Dan smiles as he looks down at me, my figure being tiny in comparison to his tall, twig-like one. "I happen to like that show too. So, what do you say we binge it until you feel better, all right?"

   I nod, snuggling further into him. "That sounds nice..." I smile as I grab my remote, logging into my Hulu account right after.

   I click on episode one and let it play. I smile to myself as the pessimistic grandpa known as Rick Sanchez makes his debut. Sure, he's a jerk most of the time, but I can't help but love him. He has his special moments.

   Dan sees me smiling, and that makes him smile. "What are you smiling at, huh?" he giggles, tickling my side.

   I laugh a little, squirming a bit. After I recover from that surprise tickle, I respond, "I just like Rick a lot. He's just so jaded."

   Dan laughs. "I like him too. I aspire to be him once I reach his age."

   "So...a jerk to your grandkids?" I ask, looking at Dan.

   Dan thinks for a minute. "Well...maybe not in that regard. But more so a sarcastic, funny, smart guy."

   I think for a minute too. "Well, in that regard, you remind me a lot of him," I say with a small smile.

   "Aw, you flatter me," Dan says, giving me a quick shove.

   I giggle as I go back to watching the show.

***

   We finish the first half of the season. I look over at Dan after the fifth episode's credits roll, and he's looking a little sleepy.

   "Aw, is someone tired~?" I tease, playing with Dan's abundant curls.

   Dan makes this strange purring sound as he leans into my hand. "No..," he says, obviously lying. "Play another one...I can still listen..."

   "No, it's okay!" I say. "If you need to sleep, I'll turn it off and let you rest." I fluff Dan's hair a bit more, loving how floofy it is.

   "I don't wannaaaa~!" Dan whines, seemingly struggling to keep his eyes open. He wraps his arms around my waist and buries his head in the crook of my neck. "I wanna stay awake with yooouuu~!"

   I roll my eyes and blush, pulling Dan closer. "Fine, fine."

   "Actually..," Dan mumbles, releasing me. "I wanna do something before watching another episode."

   "Oh? What is it?" I ask, looking at Dan. He's got an apprehensive expression on his face.

   Dan chuckles awkwardly to himself. "I'm gonna really regret doing this, but..." He cups my face once more, making my face heat up.

   "Um...what are you doing, Dan..?" I ask quietly.

   "I kinda wanna...kiss you..?" he says uncertainly, his voice getting quieter with every word.

   My heart races. "Uhhh...I'm—I'm...cool with that..," I barely manage to get out.

   Dan smiles with relief and presses his lips to mine.

   I immediately kiss back, wrapping my arms around his neck.

   Dan rubs my back with one hand as he runs his other hand through my hair.

   Finally, after what felt like not long enough, Dan pulls apart. He smiles warmly at me and says quietly, "So...about that 'Rick and Morty' episode..."

   I smile as well. "Yeah. I'll put it on."

   I do, and we watch in comfy silence. We don't talk about what just happened, even though it probably needs to be addressed. We do this with a few more episodes, and before we know it, we're both asleep, cuddling with each other.