Your POV

"(Y/n)! Open the fucking door!"

Bang. Bang. Bang. He knocks on the door hard enough to put a hole in it. I hope to God no unsuspecting stranger tries to stop them, or they're gonna get their ass handed to them.

"(Y/n)? What's going on?" Dan demands, his eyes wide with fear and confusion. I only shake my head 'no,' trying incredibly hard to convince myself this isn't happening.

"Who the hell is trying to break into your apartment?" Dodie comes rushing into the kitchen, Phil crutching in behind her, terror transforming both their expressions. I gulp, feeling my stomach tie in knots. I vigorously scratch at my forearm uncontrollably, my anxiety going through the roof. With each bang, my heartbeat doubles in speed.

"(Y/n)! You really want me to believe you're not at home? I'll knock this fucking door down!" James growls, his voice ringing in my ears.

Dan's POV

My anxiety deepens as I see the color drain from (Y/n)'s face, her nails leaving red-hot marks on her left forearm. More than concerned looks fill Phil and Dodie's faces, and I feel like I'm going to pass out.

"Open the motherfucking door or I swear to God I will murder your bitch ass!" (Y/n) whimpers in fear, which sends a fire-like emotion through my veins. It's an emotion I'm completely unfamiliar with, yet I can pinpoint it almost instantly. Outrageous fury.

I attempt to storm off to the door, but before I move more than three feet, (Y/n)'s nails are dug into my bicep. I turn to her, and notice the tears shimmering .

"Please, don't," she breathes pleadingly, her lower lip trembling. It feels like a dagger through my chest.

"He's not going to go away if I don't do anything," I argue, my eyebrows creasing together.

"He going to kill you," she chokes out, bulbous tears streaming down her cheeks. I look to Phil and Dodie, and see Dodie clenching onto Phil, both looking petrified for their lives.

We wait there in terror-stricken silence, flinching with every bang and shout. I feel as if my body's turned to stone, unable to move. (Y/n)'s hand is still clenching onto my arm, her eyes glistening, and I'm unable to look away from her.

After an eternity, we hear a large, aggravated sigh, and then stomping down the hallway, fading away until eventually I can't hear him at all.

Suddenly, (Y/n) lets out a huge breath, as if she's been stuck underwater this entire time, and has only now just resurfaced. She lets go of me and backs away, basically falling into a chair.

Your POV

I drop into one of the kitchen chairs, trying to catch my breath, waiting for my heartbeat to drop back to normal.

"Who was that?" Dodie demands. "What do they want from you?"

"That was...my ex," I whisper, looking down as I feel everyone's eyes on me. I peer up, and notice their confusion. I then realize I just put the three best people in my life in danger. They could've been hurt, and it would've been completely my fault. What if Dan had gotten out of my grip, and went out there? What if James somehow knew I was here, and broke in to Dan and Phil's apartment?

And what if James doesn't give up? Who knows how long he'll stay here, possibly stalking me, until I show up?

What the hell have I just gotten into?

~~~~

Dan's POV

"Please, just try to calm down!" I plead with (Y/n) as she paces around my room, biting her lips and scratching ferociously at her forearm. I had tried to pull her hand away, but it only caused her to yelp, and I realized touching her would only make it worse. "There's gotta be something we can do! We can call the police, or-"

"That's not gonna work!" She interrupts, her eyes bouncing sporadically around the room. "That's not gonna stop him, he doesn't give a fuck about the law. It'll only make him more agitated, knowing that I knew he was here!"

I press my lips into a firm line, not knowing what else to say.

"I need to leave!" She suddenly blurts out.

"What?" I shout, caught off guard. "You are not going anywhere, especially by yourself. We have no idea where he is; he could be camped out right by your door for all we know."

"Somehow he's gonna find me, it's inevitable," she says, panting from anxiety. "And if he finds me with you, it's only gonna make everything worse. There's a chance he wouldn't hurt me because he's, like, obsessed with me, but he'll snap your neck the second he lays eyes on you."

"If you think I'm not gonna do anything I can to keep you safe, even if that means putting my life on the line, then you obviously don't know me at all," I insist assertively.

She stares at me, trying to think of a retort. "Ugh!" She grunts frustratedly, balling up her hair in her fists, and I'm scared for a moment that she's actually going to pull it out. "That's it, I guess I'm just gonna have to become a hermit and never leave this apartment again!"

"I mean, I'd be fine with that," I joke before I can stop myself, earning myself a scowl from (Y/n). However, she seems more calmed down, so I take the opportunity to walk up to her, and silently take her hands away from her head and into mine, rubbing the back of them in a circular motion with my thumb.

"Can you at least explain to me why he's here?" I ask in a low voice. I look down into her reddened face, and am received to see the tears have seemed to stop falling.

"He...He was in prison for dealing," she whispers. "And he got bailed out. We used to date, and...we ended on bad terms."

"How bad of terms?" I ask.

She gives a heavy sigh, then says, "Let's just say, he's ninety-five percent of the reason I moved away." With this, I can make the assumption that he's also the reason (Y/n)'s always on edge. Why she can't handle being touched unless it's by someone she really trusts. Why she flinches when someone's voice gets too loud. The reason she can't be called beautiful anymore.

That's when I get the horrible urge to find this guy, just so I can rip his head off and shove it up his ass.

~~~~

Your POV

"Spend the night here. He could probably come back tonight, thinking you'd have come home and gone to bed," Dan insists.

"I was planning on it, anyway," I reply. "I don't think there'd be any way I could sleep for a minute in my own apartment tonight."

"Hey, (Y/n), wanna help me with the pasta?" Dodie asks, walking into the lounge.

"Sure!" I reply, standing up from the couch, almost tripping over the ottoman.

"Ouch!" Phil exclaims jokingly. "What, you trying to break my leg even more?"

"Ugh, how are you already onto me?" I reply, smirking at him as I head to the kitchen.

Dodie turns on the stove and starts boiling water in one pot and heating up another for the marinara sauce as I start gathering things on the counter for the garlic bread.

"So, um, do you think he'd actually try to hurt you?" Dodie blurts out.

I hesitate for a second, not really knowing the answer. "No, he just likes yelling and making empty threats to scare people," I answer. However, I mainly just say this to not worry her. James may insist he loves me, but that's never stopped him from hurting me, physically or psychologically, in the past.

"Oh, thank God," she replies. "I'm so sorry you have to deal with this."

"Oh, don't be sorry," I say. "I'm sorry that I'm basically putting the three of you guys in trouble of getting hurt. You're the three most important people in my life, and now I have you guys petrified for your safety."

"You don't need to apologize," Dodie says in response, dumping the spaghetti noodles into the pot. "You don't have control over him, and it's not like you can go in the past and make sure he doesn't end up in your life, or whatever."

"Still," I instinctively say.

"'Still,' What?" She counters, moving out of the way so I can place the tray of garlic bread into the oven. "You said you're sorry we have to be part of this, especially because there's nothing we could do. But you're in the same position. You left your past just to escape this guy, and yet, he still found you. You tried to keep this from happening. I'm not going to let you accuse yourself of anything."

I stay silent, leaning against the counter as I can't think of anything to say. Suddenly, the oven goes off, and I hurry to pull the grab the garlic bread.

"DAN! PHIL! FOOD'S READY!" Dodie calls out, taking the noodles off the stove as I pile the garlic bread onto a large plate.

Phil limps into the kitchen, Dan trailing behind him. Dan comes up behind me, placing one arm around me, using the other to grab one of the pieces of garlic bread in front of me.

"Ay!" I yell, slapping his wrist. "Wait for the food to be served before you start pigging out!"

"Sorry," He apologizes, his mouth already stuffed with bread.

I roll my eyes. "Get away, you git. You're making me nauseous with your garlic breath."

"Oh, I'm sorry, does my breath gross you out?" He asks, laughing, an inch from my face. I playfully push his face away, making a gagging face. He quickly pecks my cheekbone, then walks over to the table. I place the garlic bread in the middle of the table, then help Dodie fill up bowls and place them around the table. I sit down next to Dan, and we all start digging in.

"Hey, hey, Phil," Dodie says, giggling. I look up and see her balancing a noodle between her upper lip and nose.

Phil gives her a funny look. "What are you doing?"

"I mustache you a guestion." She giggles at her own joke, causing the noodle to fall and land on the table.

Phil groans and rolls his eyes. "Wow, your humor is even worse than mine."

"I think that's a compliment," Dodie replies, smirking as she grabs a piece of garlic bread from the middle of the table. Phil only shakes his head with fake disappointment.

~~~~

"Why the hell did you have to get me into this show? Now I'm stuck between laughing my ass off and questioning life," Dan says, playing the seventh episode of BoJack Horseman in a row.

"You know, must people would say 'thank you' for being shown such a piece of art," I reply, braiding my hair in front of Dan's mirror as he lies in his bed, playing Netflix on his laptop.

"Sorry, Thank you so much for ruining my life," he replies.

"Oh, stop being dramatic. There's only four seasons, you'll be done before you know it."

"Don't tell me that!" He exclaims. "Every time I finish a show, I just get depressed because it's like all the characters I've grown to love and cherish have all just simultaneously died."

"Whoops," I chuckle, plopping down next to him, and going onto my phone. I check out the comment section of the video I uploaded with Dodie.

Already becoming like every other London YouTuber. You're only trying to start drama to get more subs 🙄

I'm so glad to see you're already doing well! Love you!

R u gonna do a collab with Dan or Phil?

I turn my head and look at Dan, who's still completely absorbed in the show. What would he say if I ever suggested a collab? I know it would only add more fuel to the hate-fire we've only just escaped. More fans would start speculating more about whether or not we're together, considering the fact most YouTube fans think anyone who makes eye contact is fucking.

I turn back to my phone, and see I've somehow reached over seven hundred thousand subs. My sub count has almost quadrupled since I moved here a little over a month ago. Yes, I have noticed my making more money since I've moved here, but I haven't really realized exactly how much I've grown since I've moved here. I guess now I can tell all the people who thought I couldn't do this to suck it.

Except I can't tell one person. Because I'm still sure he's planning on murdering me if he ever sees me again.

Oh, and he knows where I live.

For every amazing thing in my life, there always has to be something incredibly sucky to counter it. I guess that's just called balance.

~~~~

Dan's POV

I realize I've just finished the first two seasons of BoJack Horseman in one sitting, and decide it's probably time to take a break. I close my laptop, and look over at (Y/n), who's fallen asleep with her phone on her chest. I carefully take it and place it on the nightstand, then delicately drape my duvet over her.

I get up, and go to the bathroom. When I come back, she's curled into the duvet, only the top of her head visible. I cautiously crawl into bed, not wanting to wake her up. However, I'm caught off guard as she gives a large sigh, turns to the side, and wraps her arm around my chest, placing her head by my shoulder. I settle down cozily, and fall asleep in seconds.

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Wow I had the PSAT today and it was actually fun to just sit there in silence and work things out? Like when it was over I wished this was like all I had to do for school? Then I got a blueberry muffin because McDonalds catered breakfast for the juniors taking SAT's and there were extras, and hung out with my friends in the hallway during lunch. Then I went to a fun assembly(which was just about internet safety, but I messed around the whole time), and for my last hour(the only hour we had today)my art teacher let my friends and I walk around the school the rest of the day. Like wow sorry for that but it was just a good day, and I haven't had one of those in awhile. Hey, if you ever have a good day, and want to rant about it, please do! Like that would be so fun and uplifting actually 😂
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Blah, I'm trying to make less...bad things happen😂 if you did enjoy, please comment, vote and follow! Thanks! Ahhh I love this story and the responses I'm getting from it make me so happy! I just wanna say thanks and I love you all! 💜