Although we had packed everything up last night, Dan and I were still in a confused rush to catch our flight the next day. Even with the spacious hotel room, we ended up colliding with each other multiple times as we scrambled to get everything together, and Dan ended up spilling both our coffees all over the carpeted floor. I had accidentally washed my hair with body wash, and Dan was incredibly irritated for the rest of the morning when he realized the breakfast bar wasn't even open yet.

After our painful morning, we're both finally ready, and Dan checks us out of the hotel as I make sure I have both our tickets are downloaded to my phone. The last thing I need right now is to be stuck in Los Angeles.

We grab one of the cabs lined up outside the airport, and are driven to the airport. I take in the LA streets one more time, trying to soak up as much of America as I can. Too soon, we reach the airport. Dan and I pull our luggage out of the trunk, and walk into the airport. Our suitcases are scanned, and an officer wands us. Luckily, no incidents come up, and we're sitting by the terminal with forty five minutes to spare.

We walk around the airport, stopping in all the different shops. I have to convince Dan to not buy a 'pet-sized palm tree,' and beg him to buy me an iced coffee from Starbucks. He also gets me a teddy bear with an 'I heart LA' shirt, and before I know it, we're called to board the plane. The line moves speedy quick, our tickets are scanned, and we walk through the terminal to the plane. Our seats are all the way in the back, and we have to squeeze through a narrow aisle to reach our seats. Dan lets me take the window seat, and puts our suitcases in the compartment above our heads, and sitting down next to me. I give him a small smile, along with a piece of gum to keep his ears from popping, before popping one into my own mouth. I plug my headphones into my phone, and pull out my camera, wanting to film out my window as the plane takes off.

Thirty minutes later, the pilot lists off any rules and such from the speakers, and the plane starts to move. My chest tightens, and I instinctively grab Dan's hand, using my other hand to film the window. Finally, the plane lifts off from the ground, and I watch the city below us become smaller and smaller, until eventually, we're above the clouds, everything disappearing below us. The seatbelt light flicks off, and I let out a huge sigh I didn't realize I was holding in. However, I don't let go of Dan's hand, letting it rest on the armrest in between us.

Dan falls asleep almost immediately, and I plug in my headphones, playing music as I watch the clouds below us. I'm a lot more relaxed this time, partly because this is something I've now already gone through, and partly because I'm still filled with happiness from everything that's happened this past week. Thinking about that, I check out the ring on my left hand, and become just as giddy as the night he proposed. I look at Dan, and smile, before looking back out the window, and drifting into sleep.

Five hours later, I wake up to Dan poking me, his hair all over the place from his nap.

"What?" I ask lazily, my voice cracking from just having to wake up.

"They're coming with food and are gonna ask you what you want," he replies, and as I look forward in the aisle, I see the flight attendant three rows ahead of us. I stretch, taking me headphones out of my ears, and see on the screen in front of me that our plane is right in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. I look out our window, but the only thing I can see is clouds lazily floating by.

"What can I get you to eat for lunch?" The stewardess asks, handing us a menu with only three options; beef stew, a ham sandwich, or a Caesar salad. I'm not really hungry at the moment, so I go with the salad, and Dan does the same. He hands the menu back to the waitress, and I rest my head on his shoulder. He wraps his arm around me, rubbing my arm.

"I can't believe this week is over," I mumble. It feels like it went by in only a few hours, but also feels like it took years."

Dan nods his head. "This was probably the best week of my entire life," he says, and I can't help but smile.

"Me, too."

~~~~

The flight seemed way shorter the second time, and before I know it, we're home. The flight left at seven in the morning, California time, and we get back to London at eight in the afternoon, England time. Getting off the plane and going through customs is a blur, and by the time we're walking out, I feel like I'll be falling asleep any second.

However, the second we're past security, a loud scream feels my ears and skinny arms wrap around me. I nearly fall to the ground, but am able to somehow regain my balance.

"I missed you so much!" I recognize the high voice as Dodie, and laugh as I wrap my arms around her, returning the hug.

"I missed you, too!" And as I hug her tightly, I realize how much I've really missed her, and am somehow on the verge of crying. Finally, she lets me go, and gives me a warm smile. Her eyes suddenly go wide, and I'm about to ask what's going on, when she grabs my left hand, looking at the ring on my finger.

"Oh, my god! It's so beautiful!" She nearly cries, and I laugh. She then turns to Dan. "You didn't even tell me before you planned on proposing, you bloody idiot!"

He gives her a blank look, but I can see the grin he's trying to suppress beneath it. "Was I supposed to tell you?"

Dodie rolls her eyes. "Well, I haven't seen you guys in a week, and now my best friend is fucking engaged, so obviously we have to celebrate."

I can't help but grin. "What're you planning?" I ask, but Dodie only gives me a mischievous look.

"Well if I told you, that would only ruin the fun," she replies, grabbing my hand. "C'mon, let's go."

We convince Dodie to let us stop at the flat first, so we can drop off our luggage, and I can dress in something a little more appropriate, since I'm guessing were either going to a pub or a club. Due to not being used to the London weather anymore, I dress in a thick black sweater, a leather skirt, tights, and boots. I do my eyeliner and red lipstick, giving the illusion that I'm wearing more makeup than I really am, and walk out to the foyer, where everyone's already standing. I watch as Dan checks me out, and smile to myself.

We walk out of the building, and even with me wearing thicker clothes, a breeze immediately causes me to shiver. I wrap my arms around me chest, when Dan pulls off his bomber jacket, and hands it to me. I give him a small smile, or fire sticking my arms through the oversized sleeves. I'm swallowed by fabric, and even as I roll up the sleeves twice, they still hang over my hands.

We walk a bit, before a rather fancy restaurant comes into view, and I raise my eyebrows as Dodie opens the door. I look up at Dan, but he only shrugs. This definitely wasn't what I was expecting. Then again, when you're friends with Dodie, you sort of have to always expect the unexpected.

We walk into the restaurant, the quiet chatter of people and the soft notes of a piano filling my ears. I look around the menu, and see everyone dressed in button ups and dresses. I'm suddenly happy most of my skin is actually covered.

"Table under Clark, please," Dodie asks the hostess. Without a word, he grabs four menus, and walking toward the tables. He weaves around all the diners, and I try to ignore their eyes on my as I immediately begin to feel judged. We're seated at a small, round table right in the middle of the dining room, Dan and I sitting across from each other, and Dodie and Phil on either side of me. The hostess walks away, and I quickly begin looking over the menu. Thankfully, it's all food that I can pronounce.

"When you said we were going out to celebrate, this really wasn't what I was expecting," Dan mumbles, still looking around the restaurant.

"What, you thought I was bringing you clubbing, or something?" As Dan and I both nod our heads yes, she rolls her eyes. "Contrary to popular belief, I can be classy, as well."

Phil snorts, and Dan and I both burst out laughing. Dodie slaps him across the table with her napkin, but it doesn't stop him from laughing. We get a few judgmental looks from the people surrounding us, but I don't even care anymore. It's not my fault these people have a stick so far up their asses that they've forgotten how to have fun.

A few minutes later, a waitress takes our drink and food orders. She comes back, placing our drinks in front of us. After a few sips of my moscato, my head already starts to feel light. I realize at a fancy place like this, they're making enough money to make their drinks with a normal amount of alcohol, rather than watering them down. After a few sips, I realize I should probably pace myself, and stick to water until my food comes.

"So, how was California?" Dodie asks. "Or more importantly, how was Shane fucking Dawson?"

Dan and I both chuckle. "Shane, and all his friends, were amazing. Los Angeles was also one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. The amount of sun I was exposed to was definitely an intense contrast to London weather."

"Ah, that's amazing!" Dodie replies. "Yeah, when I first saw you guys, the first thing I noticed is both of you actually got some color in your skin, rather than the pasty paleness I'm used to."

I roll my eyes, Dan and Phil laughing. I'm about to retort, when the waitress comes to our table, placing a plate in front of each of us. The smell of the food nearly slaps me in the face, and I sigh with bliss.

All the chatter dies down as we all dive into our meal, everyone's full attention on the food in front of them.

After we eat, Dodie pays for the meal, and we leave the restaurant. Even though it's only been a few hours since we arrived at the restaurant, the sun has already been replaced by the moon,the buildings and lights being the only source of light. Dodie links her arm through mine, and we head back in the direction toward the apartment. I give a silent sigh of relief. Although I had missed Phil and Dodie incredibly, I'm also exhausted and jet lagged.

A few minutes later, we arrive home, and I'm greeted by the warm indoors as we walk through the doors. Dodie leads us up to the apartment, unlocking the door and stepping inside. The smell of clean laundry and coffee erupts throughout the room, and the I immediately feel cozy and safe.

I walk to the bedroom, Dan following behind me, as we're both exhausted. I stand in front of the mirror, and just as Dodie said, it does seem like I got some sun over the last week. As I'm looking at the constellation of freckles on my cheeks, Dan comes up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and snuggling his face into my neck. His lips send a chill down my spine as he kisses my collarbone. He looks up, making eye contact with me in the mirror, and gives me a small smirk.

He turns me around so I face him, smiling down at me as I crane my head up to look at him. His hands softly hold my face, and he kisses me softly on the lips, then again, then a third time, this time with more passion. My hands rest on his chest, feeling his heartbeat underneath his shirt.

My back ends up pressing against the wall, my lips never leaving his. I sigh as he untucked my sweater from my skirt, his warm hands coming into contact with my bare skin.

I pull away, Dan's lips following mine for a second before he realizes what I'm doing. He gives me a questioning look, as if he thinks he's done something wrong, and I give a soft laugh.

"As much as I'd love to do this right now, I'm about to fall asleep any second now."

He laughs. "Yeah, me, too." He steps away from me, and I begin to undress, pulling a pair of sweatpants and a shirt out of the wardrobe. Dan gets undressed behind me, dressing in nothing but a pair of pants. Both of us get into bed, and I place my head on his chest, falling asleep almost instantly.

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In art we have to do self portraits and being someone who has body dysmorphia I don't really have a single picture of myself to use for reference so I'm having a great time. Somehow I've been writing constantly, and I hope you guys have been enjoying it. I hope you liked this chapter, and I'll see y'all later 💜