Dan's POV

(Y/n) sobs into my chest for God knows how long, but I'm more than willing to hold onto her for the rest of my life, if I have to. I rub slow circles into her back, giving her a chance to let out all the pain that must've been building up for the longest time.

Eventually, she's cried out, and takes a step away from me. The color of her eyes stands out against the bloodshot red, the rest of her eyes swollen and the corners of her mouth still quivering. She tries to wipe the tears from her face, but more just replace them in less than a second.

"I'm...I'm sorry," she quickly apologizes, her voice still shaking. "It just must be the stress from being here, and having to bring up all that old stuff, and I just can't stop thinking about it..."

I let her go on. It's beyond painful to listen to the way she talks about herself, but I know she needs to let it out at some point. Finally, she finishes mid-sentence, as if she's finally run out of ammunition. She gives a final dramatic sigh, before taking a step back and pacing in a circle, still clutching the jumper to her torso.

Then, she says the words that really leave a sting.

"I just...I don't see how you could ever really love me. Part of me wants to believe it, but another part of me believes this is all just some sort of...cruel joke, or something."

Heat rises in my cheeks, and anger bubbles in my gut. Not anger at her, but anger at the fact that she is this amazing thing, yet believes she's something totally opposite.

"(Y/n), you're literally the one thing I'd give anything up for," I say, taking a step toward her so she has to tilt her head up to maintain eye contact with me. "I know you have no control over your thoughts, and I know those demons in your head are telling you you don't deserve anything but pain and misery. But in reality, you deserve the whole fucking world. And it eats me up inside that you can't get yourself to believe that."

Her eyes gloss over, and I know she's about to start crying again. I can see the gears turning in her head as she tries to find some sort of argument, but I can tell she isn't able to bring up anything. Instead, I take advantage of this moment of silence to say one more thing.

"(Y/n), I am so fucking in love with you."

Tears brim over her eyes, but she gives me a weak, wavering smile that somehow meets her eyes. "Dan, I'm so fucking in love with you, too."

My heart feels light as air, an explosion of some emotion I'll never be able to explain filling my chest. I become incredibly impulsive, and grab her face in my hands, kissing as deeply as I can. Her hands grab my waist, pulling herself close to me as her thumbs touch the bare skin underneath my shirt.

Much too soon, we pull apart, and her sparkling eyes gaze into mine, a contagious smile playing on her lips. "I think that's all I really needed," she breathes, and I give a small chuckle.

"Well, don't worry, because there's more where that came from," I reply, and her nose wrinkles as she laughs, stepping away from me.

"That's probably one of the lamest things you've ever said," she says, pulling on her jumper, and rolling up the oversized sleeves.

"Yeah, well, just because it's lame doesn't mean it's not true."

She only rolls her eyes, before walking back up to me, and kissing me on the jaw. "Just go take a damn shower."

~~~~

Your POV

After Dan and I both take showers, we lie in bed, taking up only about a fifth of the mattress as we cuddle. Dan had turned on some TV movie I've never heard of, and both of us fall asleep before we can even figure out the plot.

I wake up the next morning to an empty bed, the curtains pulled wide open and letting midday sun flow into the room. I sit up on my elbows, squinting as I let my eyes get used to the light.

Crawling out of the bed, I lazily walk into the living room, where Dan sits on his laptop, quiet music coming from the speakers.

"Morning, sunshine," he greets me as I rub my knuckles into my eyes, an explosion of fireworks clouding my vision.

"What time is it?" I ask, flopping down next to dan and peaking at his screen. He's currently editing all the vlog footage we've taken in LA so far.

"Ten to noon," he replies, and I drop my head onto his shoulder.

"Ugh, it's too early for this," I whine, and he chuckles, closing his laptop and putting it down next to him. I snuggle my head into his shoulder, willing myself to fall back asleep.

"As much as I'd love to go back to bed, I know future Dan would be incredibly disappointed with my wasting the day asleep when I could be venturing Los Angeles."

I sigh heavily, taking my head off his shoulder and looking at Dan. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"As always," he jokes, before kissing me lightly on the forehead, and getting up from the couch. He walks into the bedroom, and I can see him digging in his suitcase through the doorway. After a minute or two of having to convince myself, I stand up and walk to the bedroom, squatting in front of my own suitcase. I dress in a light yellow pullover, along with faded blue shorts. Even with it being nearly winter, I feel the need to take advantage of the LA heat.

However, when I look at Dan, I realize he must have the opposite mindset as me, dressed in a black and white pullover and black skinny jeans, a classic Daniel Howell outfit. I only roll my eyes, before putting on a pair of socks.

"Where do you plan on us going?" I ask Dan as I start tying my Converse, and watch him struggle into a pair of sneakers. However, instead of answering me, he just gives me a cheeky grin, and I roll my eyes once again. "I'm guessing that means you're not going to tell me."

"Nope," he replies with a cheeky grin. "You'll just have to wait to find out."

I only shake my head, before grabbing my bag, and putting my phone in my back pocket. Dan opens the door for me, grabbing one of the room cards and putting it into his wallet. After I step into the hall, he comes right behind me, closing the door behind him.

We ride the transparent elevator back down to the lobby. I watch the ground come closer and closer to me, and I realize I could stay in this hotel the rest of my life, and still never get used to it.

We get into one of the cabs waiting outside the hotel, and Dan gives the driver the address. As the car drives down the street, I can't help but become mesmerized by the view out the window, watching the palm trees and perfectly tanned people pass by.

The drive takes a lot longer than I was expecting, and after about forty five minutes, I start to become restless. However, when I ask Dan how much longer we have until we get there, he only tells me we're close. I can tell by the smile on my face, he loves the fact that he's torturing me, and I give up talking to him for the rest of the drive. If I have to be bored, he can be, too.

Finally, after what feels like forever, the driver pulls over right by the edge of the beach, and as I step out of the car, the smell of saltwater hits me in the face. Dan grabs my hand, and starts leading me down the pavement, until a large, busy pier comes into view. We come to the entrance of it, where a giant sign reads, in large, neon letters, Santa Monica Yacht Harbor, sport, fishing, boating, cafes.

I look up at Dan, who has a shit-eating grin on his face. I can tell he's waiting for my response, and I can't help but laugh.

We walk into the pier, and I'm hit in the face once more with the smell of salt water, this time accompanied by candy and seafood. My stomach immediately grumbles, and I realize I haven't eaten yet today. I look back up at Dan, and I can tell we're both thinking the same thing.

We stop in the first restaurant we find, which happens to be Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. A young waitress grabs two menus and brings us to a booth toward the back of the restaurant, taking our drink order and leaving us to look over our menus. However, I'm immediately intrigued by the nautical theme of the restaurant, and take in the rustic wood panel walls, the metal ceiling, and the eccentric decor all over the restaurant. It isn't until Dan asks me what I'm thinking of ordering, when I'm brought back to reality.

"Have you ever even had shrimp before?" I ask Dan. I've only now just realized that about half the menu consists of seafood, which isn't exactly something I'm very fond of.

"Yeah, actually," he replies. "However, it's not really something I'm very fond of. Have you ever tried it?"

When I shake my head, the all-too-familiar grin spread across his face, and I already know what he's going to say before the words come out of my mouth. "I am not going to try seafood, Dan," I say sternly.

"Why not?" He asks. "I mean, we're in a new place, it's the perfect opportunity to try new things."

"I'm not risking it," I reply. "For all I know, I could be allergic to seafood."

Dan only rolls his eyes. "For all you know, it could be your new favorite food. We didn't even know we were going to LA a little over two weeks ago, and yet somehow we were able to manage that. In comparison, trying shrimp doesn't seem that hard."

When he puts it that way, I know he's right. Before I can think of another argument, the waitress comes back, whipping out a pad of paper and a pen.

"Are you guys ready to order?" She asks. "Would you like something to start with?"

"We'll start with the...traditional shrimp cocktail," Dan says. I try my best to give him an angry look, but it only amuses him further. "And I'll also get the captain's fish and chips."

The waitress looks at me, and I instantly panic, since I haven't even had a chance to look at the menu. "Um, I'll have the...Texas chicken sandwich," I answer before I can stop myself.

"Okie dokie." The waitress takes our menu, and Dan gives me a cheeky grin. I can tell he's trying his best to hold back his laughter, and I want nothing more than to slap the smile off his face. However, I remind myself we're in public, and keep my cool.

Fifteen minutes later, the waitress comes back, placing a cocktail glass in front of us. Five shrimp balance on the edge, the glass filled with some red sauce. I wrinkle my nose, and as I look up at Dan, I can tell he's enjoying every moment of this. The urge to strangle him resurfaces, but once again, I'm able to hold myself back.

I grab one of the shrimp, dipping the tail of it into the sauce, and examine it closely. I know I must look like a picky toddler playing with their food, but I'm having serious issues with eating something that doesn't really look like food. Also, the smell of fish is a lot more off-putting than I had expected.

I cautiously take a bite, and am surprised when the taste is a lot better than I thought. The tangy sauce is better than I had expected, and the shrimp tastes nothing like fish, like I had expected.

"Well?" Dan asks me, raising his eyebrows.

"Tastes like chicken," I rely, taking another bite. He only chuckles at me, before taking one of the other shrimp, and placing it in his mouth.

~~~~

After we finish eating, we walk out of the restaurant and onto the pier. We explore nearly all of the shops lining the boardwalk, and even go to the amusement park that sits the farthest from the shore. We go on a couple dollar coasters, play in the arcade, and Dan attempts to win me a prize at the ring toss. However, he fails miserably, and I'd be a liar if I didn't say it amused me at least a little bit.

Before I know it, the sun starts to set, and Dan takes me onto the Ferris wheel. As we rise to the top, I can't help but slightly lean over he side of the car, looking down at the ant-sized people below us. Neon lights cover the pier, and it's as if I can see all of Santa Monica. As I look out into the water, the sun reflects off the ocean, the sky streaked with purple, pink, and orange. I can't remember a time I've seen anything more beautiful.

As we reach the highest point, the car stops, and I have to take a picture of the pier, then of Santa Monica, then of the sunset. As I put my phone back into my pocket, Dan laughs.

"What?" I ask him, raising my eyebrows in confusion.

He only shakes his head. "Nothing," he relies. "I'm just...happy."

As I comprehend his words, I can't help but smile. "I am, too."

Suddenly, a breeze runs over us, and I shiver violently. Dan instinctively wraps his arm around me, pulling me closer to his warm body. I look up at him, my face only inches from his, and kiss him lightly on the lips. I pull away, but it doesn't seem to be enough, as he kisses me again. Dan shifts his position in his seat, letting me put my arms around his neck. After a few seconds we pull away, and I snuggle my head into his shoulder. The car starts moving again, and we start moving back toward the ground.