Hold me [ Dylan Sprayberry Fanfic ]

Chapter 16

Bridget's POV
"Hey, Bridget." Daniel smiled, slipping his hands from out of his pockets. "Hey," I said, matching the enthusiasm in his voice, hoping it'd hide my confusion.
"What are you doing here?" My mind briefly flashed back to him, holding my hand in the movie theater.
"About that," He cleared his throat, and reached up to run his fingers through his hair.
"How are you?" Daniel asked concern flashing over his face.
"You just ran out of the movie theater-and that guy said he'd go after you..."
"Dylan." I corrected, and he nodded curtly.
"Blood kind of freaks me out." I explained uneasily, hearing my voice crack.
"Oh." Daniel nodded again. An awkward silence weighed in on the air around us, and we kind of just stood there, our eyes anywhere but on each other. We made eye-contact twice, on the second time Daniel opened his mouth.
"Are you like, seeing him or something? That Dylan guy?" I shook my head, and looked at the sky. The sky was exploding with colors today, the orange sun was sinking behind the ocean in the distance, pinks, oranges, and reds fled across the sky in beautiful contrast. For a lingering second, I wanted to reach up with a hand-to see if I was able to touch it, and if I did, the colors would stain my fingertips like paint. Even now, I couldn't stop my mind from wandering back to Dylan.
"Hear me out," Daniel's washed-out tone brought me back to reality. "You've probably noticed by now but," He paused to smile indifferently at the ground.
"I really like you, Bridget. Ever since I met you at the store actually, I just can't seem to shake you. I've tried, believe me..." My head was white, like a loose leaf waiting to be written on. I could hear the pulse of my heart in my ears, and a fuzzy cloud fogged up my thoughts. I didn't know how to respond, how to look, even.
"What...what happened to Crystal?" I choked out; I thought I was going to be physically sick. Not because I was utterly repulsed, but Crystal-she'd be heartbroken.

I didn't really believe him, either.
Daniel's eyes fell to the ground, and he wet his lips nervously,
"I knew I'd only be hurting her and myself if I continued playing boyfriend; I tried Brisget, I did. I just don't care for Crystal the way I care for you." Daniel looked me in the eyes and chuckled darkly,
"And now you're probably going to scream at me; tell me I'm an insensitive asshole, that I'll ruin your friendship-why couldn't I try harder?" He seemed genuinely upset, like he had thought about it.
"I'm not going to scream at you..." I said emptily, keeping my eyes level with his, controlling my expression. Daniel stared at me, his brown eyes boring into my skull. I regret not acting fast enough; I regret not realizing what he was doing-I regret freezing up like I did. His hands left his sides and slipped behind my neck gently, he leaned down to my face; eyes fluttering close. I felt the heat of his lips near mine, and my breath instantly quickened, that's when I remembered where I was, who he was-and what would happen if I let it escalate a second further. I put my hands on his chest and pushed him away as gently as I could; feeling the pressure of his lips erased the moment's hesitation.

The last thing I wanted to do was hurt his feelings. But I had. Daniel stared at me, hurt distorted his features. It looked like, if I would've touched him; he'd crumble into pieces in front of me. "You're joking right?" I forced a puff of oxygen out of my lungs, and let a pitiful laugh escape along with it.
"Don't play around like that-" I paused to swallow, ignoring the overwhelming need to run my fingers over my tingling lips.
"You almost had me, you know?" His lips broke into a heart wrenching smile, and for a moment I wanted to give him a hug; for the wrong reasons.
"You really believe someone can't love you?"
My heart ached.
I raised my eyebrows, pretending to be oblivious.
"What are you saying?" I punched his shoulder in a playful manner.
"Stop being so serious, Daniel." I reached up and readjusted his features, to only have him show me an even more watered down smile. He took my hand in his and I froze,
"It's really unlike me, huh Sunshine?" He beamed, toying with each of my fingers. Slowly, I pulled my hand from his unable to find the right words. I didn't think it'd hurt this much to play a game like this.
"I guess I'll be on my leave now, since you figured me out." Daniel breathed, turning around, and taking a step off of the porch.
"Hey," I called after him, shoving my hands in my jean-pockets. Daniel turned around, his brown hair blowing out of his face.
"See you later?" Daniel's eyes dropped to the driveway, a shadow casting over his face again.
"Yeah, I'll see you Bridget."