A few days had went by after you stayed over at Dan's. The office was cleaned up after the party, and you began to feel yourself sink in to the work environment comfortably, especially with Suzy's help. Bless her heart. You also lived with her, so you were extra grateful. She drove you to and from home unless one of you had to stay late. With the various schedules you two had, sometimes you didn't see each other, but she'd send you memes sometimes. Either by popping in to show you, or just texting them to you from another room. You began to get a lot more comfortable with her.

Arin was in the office almost every day as well, since he was the boss, below Brent. And below the 10 MPH producer. Arin signed people's paychecks, so he was here most of the time. Matt and Ryan were there almost every day it seemed like. They not only had their own show to worry about and record, they edited videos for the Grumps as well. You found yourself getting close to Matt as well. You two were the closest in age, and you shared a bit of the same humor. But mostly it was your shared love for Animal Crossing.

Matt had lost to one of the other interns for Dream Daddy for a coffee run, so he brought back everyone's order.

Brent had popped in to see how everyone was doing, but was interrupted by a warm coffee cup being placed in his hand.

"For Mr. Brent Lilly-" Matt said with a little grin. He turned around and then dropped the smile as if he was faking it when he brought it to Brent. Who was everyone's overall boss. Once he reached the table a couple of us had sat at, Matt exhaled,"Phew..he really does smell."

"Matt shut the fuck up-" you joked while glancing at Brent who was obliviously drinking and breathing in his fresh coffee.

"He knows I'm joking. Maybe one day everyone will like you enough to joke with you Y/N-" Matt winked and plopped himself down into one of the office chairs. You think it was probably Vernon's?

Acting offended, you narrowed your eyes at him, but you smiled to make sure he knew you were joking too,"I'm sleeping at Arin and Suzy's...aren't you and Ryan living together in a shitty ass apartment?"

One of the other interns chuckled while Ryan made an 'air horn sound'. Very obnoxiously.

Matt handed you your coffee,"Touche, touche."

"It's pronounced: "touchy", Matthew-" Ryan rebuttled. He completely ignored the fact that you had burned him too. It was a part of the bit, you figured.

"Ryan. I swear to God I just got you coffee. Do NOT give me a grammer lesson right now."

And then the playful bickering ensued. You could tell that's where this bit was headed. You rolled your eyes while you pushed yourself back on your office chair in the lounge. The wheels squeaked just a little while the warm liquid touched your lips.

"It's not fucking grammar you idiot, it's English!"

Ryan practically ripped the coffee out of his friend and roommate's hands, and you were about to watch Matt rip it right back, but a vibration against your leg caught your attention a little more.

You looked down after swallowing a small amount of coffee. It was your phone, or maybe a phantom buzz. Those happened quite a bit. Either way, you were curious and checked your phone. You were expecting it to be a tweet from someone who you had notifications turned on for.

Matt and Ryan were, of course, still going at it,"Touche isn't even English. It's fucking French!"

"I know!" Ryan raised his voice but still kept it quiet. Everyone who was in the room was either snickering or not paying any attention.

Your eyes checked the screen once it rose to meet them. You did see past notifications for Twitter, which you used too frequently. The one notification that made your heart race for some reason was a text from a number you didn't recognize. Maybe an old ex? Maybe a wrong number? You started to get anxious, so you stared at your phone, leaning forward to set your coffee aside while you gave all of your attention to your phone. You absolutely had to read the text and see for yourself.

When the phone recognized your face, you saw that it read underneath the foreign number:

Hey! This is Dan. Sorry about the weird, random text!!

The feeling you got in your heart felt like it was being tossed and shook around like a ragdoll being held by an upset toddler. You subconsciously touched your chest while reading more.

I was just wondering if you had time to talk for a second? If not that's totally okay and I get it, but I just wanted to ask.

You wanted to vomit. Dan hadn't spoken to you in a few days. You hadn't seen him in a few days, and now he was texting you. First of all, how the fuck did he even get your number??

Nearly sweating, you swallowed a lump in your throat and thought of a reply:

>Hey! No worries. Yeah, I got time to talk, what's up?

What the actual fuck were you doing? Did you forget about how you two almost kissed? How he rejected you after somewhat flirting with you? Was it even flirting? Did Dan even feel anything for you? Was your brain even working anymore? You knew that's exactly what he wanted to talk to you about. And you knew that hearing about it was just going to hurt, so why did you even agree to anything?

Because you knew you wanted this weird, whatever negative feeling, about Dan to be gone. You wanted things to be crisp, clear and clean, even if you did want to tear the clothes right off of Dan's body sometimes. It could be just like it was before. You knew you could do it and make it so, and Dan seemed to want the same. He actually reached out to you and appeared to be making an effort. Which was more than most guys had done for you.

While urgently waiting for a reply, you decided to add Dan's number into your phone. So you did, and named his contact as: "Dan" with a star emoji in front of it. The physical buzz from your phone nearly scared you, so you gasped.

The text from him read:

Awesome!! I've actually been wanting to talk to you for awhile now, I've just been super busy and I know that sounds like a total asshole thing to say but I'm out of town and I'm texting you right now in the studio if that tells you anything haha

You read the text over a few times just to give yourself a reality check, and then another text appeared.

I'm sure you know what its about, you're a smart girl Y/N. I know I apologized to you already

Taking a deep inhale, you curled up in your office chair and prepared your body for whatever was to come.

And i honestly would rather have this conversation in person, but I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. And I just want to fix things as soon as possible, you know?

You were about to start typing when Dan had started to double text:

Look

I know

This is kinda shitty so you don't even have to respond. I just want to let you know that I truly am sorry. I have felt god awful ever since. I really do enjoy your company Y/N. And you are a nice, attractive young lady. I'm really sorry I brought you into that situation and then shoved you away and froze up like a coward. I like you and I want things to be okay at the office when we see each other.

God

That sounded really pretentious didn't it??

I am so sorry.

You quickly got a word in. You were barely breathing.

>It did lol ;) but I know exactly what you mean Dan. I promise I know exactly what you're feeling right now and I understand. I want things to be cool too. You're a cool dude and I'm sorry if I ever made you uncomfortable.

There was a few seconds of no responses from Dan so you felt especially anxious, you were hanging on pins and needles for him to look at the text and respond, but a minute went by and there was nothing. You liked him! You had liked him for years! And the concept of you liking him while he barely knew who you are suddenly hit you like a fucking bus.

Matt's voice dragged you out of your thoughts,"Heyyyy Y/N? You okay? Texting a cute guy?" He teased.

Your face instantly went red without you even trying, but you tried to seem unphased. You brushed him off with an eye roll,"Maybe I'm texting a cute girl Matt."

"Yeah don't be so fucking insensitive!" Ryan was still digging into him, so Matt turned his attention back to bickering with him.

Free again to think about Dan. You looked back at your phone to happily find out that he replied:

You could never make me uncomfortable

It was just that text for a second, and you were left to stare at it in wonder of what exactly that meant. Butterflies started to emerge from your stomach, the gross imagery made it worse.

Sorry! I'm recording and doing a bunch of NSP stuff right now :(

But yes! I'm glad you agree. If you ever need to talk to me Y/N. I'm here. I want to be your friend.

So, there's no other feelings whatsoever? Would that be too much to hope for?

Would that be so bad though? Just to be friends with the guy you idolized for years? Now your mind was fighting with itself, which soon gave you a migraine already.

>Thank you! I really appreciate you reaching out and getting a hold of me. Haha for your efforts I'll forgive you ;)

You exhaled sharply at yourself.

>I want to be your friend too. I'm sorry too about the whole thing.

You started to type more but you ended up deleting and retyping. Dan's incoming text stopped you.

Don't be! It's all good :) we can put it past us and laugh about it, right?

Yeah..it was kinda funny wasn't it? Now that you thought about it all you started to giggle.

There was a faint pain in your heart that you just couldn't ignore though, not even through genuine laughter.

-----------------------

(a few days later, in the Grump Space. around 9 P.M)

Dan hadn't texted you much afterwards. He mostly left you alone to work, which you were fine with. You mingled around with people at the office and talked to Ross for the most part. The environment you worked in was so positive and friendly. It was almost too loose. Everyone joked around with each other, but business was done regardless. Suzy handled the Game Grumps merch as well as her own store from the office space, Matt and Ryan practically lived here with you because they recorded and edited their own videos and podcasts, on top of editing the Grumps videos. Ross was here most days with you as well to check up on you or to help you with a few things. Sometimes the two of you just chatted each other up. The topic changed from animation, to cartoons, to how it was living in Australia. You and Ross got a little close as well. He spoke very fondly of Holly and his animals, and sometimes reminisced with you about the people who used to work here; Barry and Kevin being a few of them he mentioned.

You had gotten accustomed to how things worked around here fairly quickly, and became quick friends with the other interns as well.

Occasionally, since Dan had your number, he shared stupid memes with you. And you did the same. A few of them lead into some casual conversation throughout the day, but they didn't last all day because one of you had always gotten busy.

It still blew your fucking mind that you were just texting Dan. You heard this man's voice every day for 4 years and now you were fucking texting him.

On top of that, you were actually fucking living in the house of the other man who's voice you heard for years. And you were becoming friends with his wife who you also adored? Maybe you were actually in the hospital and you were in a coma. Maybe you died. Thousands of thoughts rattled your brain like that at night, but at the end of the day, you knew this was an amazing opportunity, not only for personal reasons, but also for your craft. Ross was one of the best animators you knew, and he was knowledgeable. You knew you could learn a lot from him, which was why you were so eternally grateful to him and everyone else who was so kind.

You were browsing around on your laptop, somewhat listening to Ryan talk to Tucker about something. You weren't paying that much attention. It was probably about one of the Power Hours. You knew Dan and Arin were in the nearby room recording something. Now that you had a time strained job, you didn't have much time to catch up with their videos. But you managed. At first you thought it was a bit weird, this was the first time you watched Game Grumps after actually meeting them. It was more than a little off putting, but you had gotten used to it. They were basically the same damn people you listened to for years.

You knew they were probably finishing up Majora's Mask. Or maybe they were on to something new? Maybe they were doing a one shot game? You caught yourself a few times tuning in to hear Arin shout about something and Dan cackle with laughter about it. Or about the game. You were curious, but remained diligent with the task at hand...even though you weren't really doing anything.

Things were normal. You were happy. You were content, more than you had been in awhile, especially after that weird encounter with Dan. You cringed at the memory, but you managed to push it back.

Now, pushing into your attuned ear drums, Dan and Arin's voice got louder and more clear. The door to the recording room had opened.

"Your Postmate here?" Arin's voice rang.

Dan's replied,"fuck yeah, be right back!" and then Dan's form rounded the corner.

Hesitantly, your eyes found themselves flickering up to his figure when he appeared in your vision. He was tall as usual, wearing an old Ghost T-shirt and jeans, and a happy smile on his face. He looked so casual..how could he look so good like that?

"Hey! Your Postmate's? I already got it for you buddy-" Ryan called over to Dan as he walked into the lounge in order to reach the front door.

Dan rolled his eyes as he crossed over,"Whatever, Ryan. Thanks though!"

You didn't even know it, but you caught yourself staring at Dan as he traversed. You also found out that you were twirling your hair nervously around your finger. Scorning yourself, you made a small 'huff' and shoved your hand onto your lap.

For a few minutes, he was gone, and you were left to browse in peace.

But then he came back, making very pleased noises,"OoooOOoooh yeahh..come to Daddy-"

Hearing him say this numerous times on Game Grumps, you thought you'd be desensitized by this by now, but it turns out it subtly turned you on even more hearing him say those words out loud. No one told you, but you knew your face was turning a bright red. Your eyes landed right onto Dan while he held a bag that was from Shake Shack. Beginning to be curious, you imagined he had gotten a chicken sandwich. Good thing you didn't say any of that out loud, because it was a little creepy now that you thought about it.

Dan passed you again on his way back to the recording room, but he stopped when he was right in line with you. His eyes caught yours, and so did his smile,"Hey Y/N! You're still here huh? How's your night going?"

You had been here since this morning, and it was now 9 P.M. So you had been here most of the day. Dan got here at around 5 P.M, you remember because he waved at you. And that genuine little grin he owned was ingrained into your mind.

You blinked back to reality, to this very moment,"It's good. Busy, which is how I like it..you got Shake Shack huh? Again?" You teased him, curling your own lips into a grin.

Dan shook the bag in his hands gently,"Don't judge. It's way better at night time.."

"I've never had it..but I'll take your word for it Dan."

"You've never had Shake Shack?" Dan's eyes widened and his expression turned from warm to pleasantly surprised. The whites of his eyes got more intense, and his smile opened to a shocked mouth.

"I lived in the Midwest.." you boasted, your smile growing at Dan's silly ways. "We don't have Shake Shacks around there."

Dan chuckled,"It's probably for the better, honestly." He raised the bag up slightly to indicate it,"Just think about Taco Bell..the end result is the same."

You laughed along with him and shook your head. You had originally thought after that comment he would return back to the recording room, but he didn't. He was still standing there in front of you.

He said,"You've never had it though? Do you want some of my shake? That's about the only menu item that doesn't kill your insides...as much-"

Flutters and kicks of your stupid, stupid heart were flipping around inside your chest. God dammit why did he have to be so nice?? Of course you said yes.

You acted like it was nothing and agreed, eyeing the plastic cup as Dan pulled it out with his toned looking arm and hand,"You get chocolate or vanilla?"

"Vanilla," Dan answered,"Do you not like vanilla?"

"Oh no no..vanilla's my favorite." You shook your head and smiled at Dan as he handed you the shake.

Dan chuckled and glanced at the ground for a second. You could've sworn he mumbled something under his breath. It sounded like he had said 'well that's a shame'. But you weren't gonna ask him to repeat himself. You were honestly probably hearing things. Hearing things you wanted to hear.

"Good. I'm gonna set this down in the recording room and be right back for the shake." He held up the bag again and then started towards the hall where the room was located.

You let out a small, soft giggle and said to Dan as he departed for a moment,"Better hurry..there may not be a shake for you to come back to!" Then you sucked gently on the straw and practically gulped down the delicious shake. It was similar to a diner's back home, creamy and sweet, and most of all cold. You cursed yourself because of the brain freeze you created for yourself, and also for how comfortable you acted with Dan. It was border line flirty. Almost too comfortable.

Quicker than expected, Dan returned with a somewhat childish grin on his face,"You didn't drink it all did you?"

"I would never.." You said in a very fake and condescending manner, stealing one last sip.

The smile widened on his handsome face,"Uh huh..thank you Y/N-" Dan graciously took the shake back from you and immediately wrapped his lips around the straw. The fact that his lips were yours were a few seconds ago was painstakingly obvious, and his mouth was all you could look at. It was all you could think about.

"No problem.." You said in an almost monotone. You were dumbly distracted. You watched as his lips pursed around the straw tip and then his Adam's apple bob up and then down as he swallowed.

Dan's chuckle was what brought you out of your gaze. Instantly,  your face began to burn as red as a tomato.

"Was it any good?"

Out of instinct you swallowed and pretended you didn't just ogle Dan while he drank a damn milkshake,"Oh yeah. I liked it."

"Good." he said simply, and with a casual wink he made his way back to the recording room with his shake,"I'll see you round!"

The wink was friendly in nature but every god damn time he even breathed it caught your attention. You tried your best to get the image of him being charming and winking again by waving,"See ya-"

And after that you stuck your nose back into your laptop, waiting and praying that the red tint in your cheeks would disappear as well as the haunting image of Dan's lips.

-----------------------

"You're going to karaoke right bud?"

"Duh, I never miss a karaoke night with you Arin-" Dan scoffed as he set aside his shake that he had by now finished. He was very glad he finished it and very glad that Arin and the show he co-hosted with him distracted him from the fact that Y/N's lips had wrapped themselves around the exact same straw. And now he was cursing himself, because now he found himself thinking about it again.

Idiot.

Arin nodded happily,"Good. Same place, so don't go to the wrong one-" he joked.

"That almost happened once, dude." Dan defended with a grin while he dusted off his jeans. He stood up and reached for his empty fast food bag.

For a split second, Dan's stomach dropped because he had just thought of Y/N, and how she probably would end up not going. She would miss out on the fun all because of him. Now he was in an even shittier mood. He grabbed the bag a little tighter than necessary.

Arin noticed and gave him a tight lipped, reassuring smile,"Just making sure you don't fuck anything up Dan."

Dan gave in to his gloomy mood, much to Arin's dismay. He slumped his shoulders but kept his expression firm,"Little late for that."

"Dude-" Arin stood up now too so he was standing up straight, right next to his good friend. "You have to move past that. I'm sure she has too. Just relax and have fun with us tonight.." Resting a hand on Dan's shoulder, Arin's smile turned from reassuring to somber. "She probably won't even be there."

"Yeah Arin, that's what's pissing me off." Dan uttered in a low tone. He felt angry. He wasn't angry though..was he? Dan truthfully felt like a teenager again, bubbling and boiling with emotions that coincided and crashed with each other. He had some he didn't even understand.

In all reality, he did. He just wished he didn't.

"Dan.." Arin started, squeezing his friend's shoulder in order to get him to make eye contact.

"I just want things to go back to the way they were..and they are!" Dan defended, his voice slightly raising in pitch, almost squeaking. He shyly looked away from Arin then,"It's just.I don't want to make her uncomfortable by being in another public setting with me.."

His friend's smile evolved from sad to jovial, his eyes slightly squinting,"There won't be any alcohol this time buddy."

Arin being happy and goofy rubbed off on Dan, causing him to relax his stance. He softened emotionally and physically, and mirrored Arin's hand on his shoulder by putting one on his own,"You're right Arin. It was alcohol who started this whole thing."

The two shared a laugh and then a small, comforting bro hug. After they pulled away Dan tossed his trash away and started to walk out with Arin out of the Grump Space. And of course the first thing Dan laid his eyes on was Y/N. Why on earth was she still here this late? He expected that she went home shortly after he shared his milkshake.

Yet, here she was, bantering happily with Matt. Dan found himself rolling his eyes while he and Arin exited the recording space. He wasn't sure why either...or did he? There was a slight burning sensation in his chest and in the pit of his stomach. Heartburn maybe?

He had to watch as Matt asked the young intern,"Are you going to karaoke with everyone?"

"Karaoke?" her small voice repeated.

Dan had to stop listening, he had to tune her out. He shook his head and forced himself to look away from the two of them. She couldn't even be in his peripherals.

Of course. Arin the Asshole opened his mouth and raised his voice so Y/N and Matt could hear,"Yeah! We're all going. It'll be pretty hilarious hearing us all try to sing!"

Dan stopped in his tracks to stare at him, wide eyed and confused.

"Dude-" He whispered.

"What?" Arin mouthed right back to him over his shoulder.

Y/N replied,"Suzy's my ride..sooo-"

"That's a yes!" Arin answered for her and shot a finger gun at her, and then continued his walk to his wife's workspace, where Dan followed hesitantly.

He wanted to run after Arin and punch him right in the arm, but he decided to do that later. And not in front of a young lady. So he turned his torso towards Matt and Y/N and smiled while he waved quickly,"See you two there!" He bade his goodbye, and then he was on Arin like a dog on peanut butter.

Once he reached his friend and Matt and Y/N were out of earshot, Dan whispered, only a little louder than before,"Um, Arin? The fuck was that?"

Arin turned to look at his suddenly confused and lanky co host,"What was what?"

"A few minutes ago, you told me she probably wouldn't come, and you basically told her to come!" Dan kept his voice to a hoarse whisper, brow furrowed.

It was Arin's turn to roll his eyes,"Yeah, I knew she probably wouldn't, but if anything is gonna change between you two, no matter what that change is, you two have to hang outside of work.."

He was right, and Dan knew it. He also hated it. With a soft, long sigh, Dan scratched the back of his neck while Arin crossed his arms. He knew this would be a good opportunity to test the waters and see if he and Y/N could actually be friends, or whatever.

"But also-" Arin interrupted Dan's thought train,"You two need some fun. Like I said before, just relax and have fun with everyone. Whatever happens, happens."

Defeated, but also somewhat giddy, Dan nodded,"You're right Arin. I'll see you at the karaoke bar."

--------------------------------------

Dan was going. He saw you and waved goodbye, and said he'd meet you there. Your heart was suddenly fluttering and you felt a similar feeling you hadn't felt since you snuck  out of the house when you were 15. Anxious and excited, you beamed at Matt, trying not to look like a lovestruck idiot.

"Is Ryan going too?"

"He's not sure, I think Allie and Leighton and Jory are going though. You'll get a chance to hang out with the gang." Matt quirked his lips into a smirk.

"The gang?" you crossed your arms, suspicious. You'd seen and spoken to Jory, Allie and Leighton a few times, but you had never once heard anyone call themselves a 'gang'. Especially with Matt.

"The cool kids gang..you wouldn't understand."

"Uh huh-" you eyed him up and down like you definitely believed him.

"You're just jealous that-" A ringtone interrupted whatever he was about to say. He paused and deftly flipped his phone out of his pocket, catching it and sliding a finger across the screen to accept the call. He held a finger up while looking at you, backing up to leave,"Hello?" He mouthed to you and changed his hand from one finger to an open wave, 'See ya Y/N.'

"Byeee-" You whispered to him.

As Matt departed, your mind began to race to what you needed to bring with you, since Suzy was probably going to go straight to this karaoke place. You patted your jeans for your own phone, but you were sad to find out it wasn't there. So you went back to the last place you remember having it, the lounge where you had your laptop open.

You picked up the pace on your way there and decided to lightly jog into the room, since you didn't know exactly when Suzy was going to leave. That was all you needed right?

"Dan!" You gasped in surprise at the tall, lanky and curly headed man that was headed into the room at the same time as you were.

"Y/N!" He laughed and made a cheap imitation of the noise you had just made.

"Shut up-" You knew he was teasing. You smiled at him to let him know you knew. Although his sudden presence in the same room you were in made you grow curious. You tried desperately not to focus on the fact that you two were alone in the same place for the first time in awhile. Your mind wanted to wander. Easy Y/N..

You walked over to the desk where you yourself was lounging,"Forget something?"

"Yeah, just my phone. You?" Dan cocked his head slightly. It was so fucking cute and charming that he could've been a puppy.

"U-uh yeah. Forgot mine too." You gestured with your phone that you now held in your hand.

Dan's chuckle rang in your ears and settled itself deep into your heart,"Nice one." He then slinked past you and went into the recording room where  you assumed he had left his phone. There was a growing suspicion within you that made you think whether or not he really had forgotten his phone.

But that was a very stupid suspicion.

After you grabbed and checked yours for any important notifications, the sound of Dan closing the door made your head spin to look at him.

"Got it!" He said, holding it up high and looking very proud of himself.

You fake clapped with a condescending grin,"I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks-" Dan adopted a voice that was reminiscent of Steve Urkel or a stereotypical nerd on a Tv show or movie. It made you laugh, and pulled a little at your heartstrings. His wide, sparkling smile didn't help either of those feelings.

He walked over to you and you suddenly became hyper aware of everything but at the same time you only focused on Dan, on his footsteps as he approached, his features becoming more and more clear, the lingering smell of his cologne even after the day had long been over. He even had a stray curl that got stuck in front of his eye once he had gotten close enough. You subconsciously wet your lip while Dan put on his white and black striped jacket and raked that stray curl away from his face. The gesture alone was enough to take your breath away.

"You going tonight?" He asked casually.

You nodded, politely putting your phone into the pocket of your jeans,"Mmhmm. I've never been to a karaoke bar before."

Dan zipped up his jacket once he was a few feet away fro you. It was a comfortable distance, but you could tell 10000% that there was unresolved tension. At least on your side,"You'll love it. It's like the party, except more fun I think. And less alcohol for you, kiddo."

Kiddo? Your heart plummeted.

Your eyes ran over Dan's face for a second before you replied with,"Are you gonna sing?" Your mind then started to go over everything you remembered from that first office party. You remembered having a glass of wine, talking to Holly, and being utterly entranced with Dan's performance and rendition of 'Africa'. You remembered how his eyes pierced into your soul in the nicest way possible. It was like you could've watched him forever. If there was any chance to be able to get a glimpse of that side of Dan again, you would take it. Whether that was good fo you or not, you didn't care at the moment.

"Pftt-" Dan scoffed and waved his hand at your question,"No, I'm gonna let all the non musicians have a little fun tonight." He joked, adjusting the collar on his jacket you had seen him wear time and time again,"Yes. I will definitely be singing. What about yourself?" He asked.

You had to process the question, so you swallowed while smiling somewhat nervously. You didn't have a voice like Dan's. It wasn't even close. "We'll see. If you suck then I'll think about showing you up." You said glibly.

Dan appeared to eye you up and down like he was amused with the sass you were giving him. It sent a shiver up your spine, but you knew you were probably just imagining it. His smile was distant, but visible,"Then I guess I'll just have to sing off key to get your ass up there like the rest of us huh?"

The two of you shared a little laugh, and while Dan was snickering, he placed his phone into his pocket as well. You watched his body move before looking back up into his eyes,"I don't know.." You shrugged, and shyly looked to the side, like you were a pathetic school girl admitting she liked her crush,"You sang Africa really well at the last party.."

"Oho.." There was Dan's deep little chuckle again. Whatever tension you felt between the two of you softened yet heightened at the same time. What the fuck were you doing?

Getting way too comfortable with each other. Again.

But it was so easy to be comfortable with him. You could say whatever you wanted, just about. You felt most like yourself around Dan..and most of all you felt..happy.

Dan continued,"You actually remember me singing that night?" He smirked. Probably because you poked one of his pride buttons.

"Oh stop it!" Instinctively, you reached out to smack at Dan's arm, which he allowed you to do,"I wasn't that drunk, Dan."

"Just keep telling yourself that Y/N.." Dan kept his prideful, playful and snide demeanor up as he rubbed at the spot where you his his arm.

He had said that sentence in such a low, gravelly purr that your mind played it over a few times just to hear it again. His voice was like liquid chocolate. But the words and meaning behind what he said stuck in your mind more than anything. You still had no idea what had happened that night. Dan didn't tell you, and you didn't ask. It couldn't have been that bad, could it?

"It can't have been that bad, I remember everything up until that point." You added.

Dan shoved his hands into his jacket pocket,"I asked you multiple times if you wanna know Y/N." he said, still messing around,"It's gonna be a mystery forever.." He started to giggle again, in turn causing you to do the same.

After he stopped though, Dan closed the gap between the two of you, but he didn't step in front of you. He walked in the direction of the door, but stopped at your side. The sudden proximity caused you to give him a look of concern. He was so much closer too, not as close as about a week ago, but pretty damn close.

His hand brushed against yours. It was out of its pocket and his knuckles were intentionally and physically touching yours. It was a simple gesture, and not inherently a romantic one either. Regardless, your eyes read Dan's expression as worried. Why would he look at you like that?

His handsome brow furrowed while his bony knuckles touched your free hand,"Just be careful, okay Y/N?" His finger tips then slid across your own knuckles and soon his body warmth faded away.

You were left alone after a solid,"Okay-" that somehow fell out of your mouth. Dan's mouth curled into a satisfied grin, and in a flash he was out of the room and out of the building.