Simple Jokes

Chapter 3

Arin's POV
"Arin?" Dan mumbled sleepily, slowly blinking himself awake.
"Arin's here," I whisper, remembering how adorable Dan could be, falling in love with him all over again, "G'morning, sleepy sheepy."
Dan hummed contently, "I thought it was all a dream..."
"Nope," I sighed gleefully.
"That's good, I might've kicked a wall if it was!" Dan laughed quietly.
"Really?" I smiled.
"Na, I'd just be like, 'Well then. I guess I'm upset.'"
"Heheh, me too."
"Wanna get up, make some breakfast?" Dan asked, "I'm a bit hungry..."
"And face everyone in the real world? Hm, no thanks."
"I know, but are we just gonna sit here forever?"
"Might as well," I muttered, closing my eyes, trying to fall back into a deep sleep.
"Arin," Dan called my name, "C'mon, we're gonna get up, and we're doing it now," he ordered.
"Stop yelling at me," I fake-cried.
"C'mon, let's go," Dan sounded like he was talking to a puppy, encouraging me to get up.
"No," I grumbled, pulling a blanket over my head, and probably Dan's, too, as I hear a surprised noise from him.
"Arin!" His voice was muffled by the blanket, and he was trying to shout through it, "Arin, stop it!"
"Hmmm... No thanks," I joked.
"Arin," Dan sounded a bit irritated, actually, which I didn't expect from him.
    "Yeah?" I knew Dan was being serious now.
    "Come on, let's get up, okay?" Dan's seriousness melted back into kindness.
    "Alright, sorry," I apologize for being so stubborn.
    "Na, it's fine!" Dan helped me up after freeing himself from the blanket.
"What're we gonna do, though?" I asked, discouraged. I couldn't think of any good solution.
"Let's not worry about it right now. We'll go home and think it over. Okay?"
"Alright... Do you think I should just tell Suzy, plain and simple?"
"Uhm... I won't tell you what to do, but she could be hurt..." Dan considered.
"But she'll have to find out at some point!" I remind him.
"Yea... Well, it's always better to tell the truth, or so I'm told."
"I'll tell her, okay?" I let Dan in on my (not so much of a) plan.
"Alright. Call me to tell me how it turns out."
"Okay!"
We walk out the door together, side by side. We say our goodbyes, and go our separate ways. As I start the car, I realized that I already missed him, and very badly, too. There was nothing I could really do about it, either. I couldn't take my mind off him, what we were going to do, how people would react. There was no way I couldn't think about Dan, and when I thought about him, I missed him.
    Whenever I thought of Dan, my heart hurt just a little bit more, and I was thinking of him constantly, what with everything that happened between us. Should I call him? I asked myself that question time and time again, considering it briefly a few times during the car ride, but ultimately deciding to not bother him. Dan, how can you do this to me?
    Dan, I need to hear your voice, hear it call my name. I need to see you and your smile. I want to hear you laugh. Dan, I wish you were here. I can't believe we've only been separated for a few minutes. It felt like months, or maybe even years.
    I arrived at home, still not having any idea what to say to Suzy. I wish I had Dan with me for this, it might make things a bit easier. I hesitated to enter my own home, still unable to think of how to phrase what had happened last night. I take a deep breath, and finally open the door, fearing what was to come next.
"Hey, I'm home," I called out, alerting anyone who was inside of my presence.
"Hi, Arin!" Suzy cheerfully greeted me, not knowing of what I had to say.
"Can we talk?" I decide I might as well get straight to the point.
"Uhm, sure, what is it?" Suzy hears the serious tone of my voice.
"Well, before I say anything at all, I just want to apologize, so I'm really sorry, okay?"
"What do you have to apologize for? I'm sure it isn't too bad," Suzy's support only made this harder for me. She didn't have any idea what was coming.
"So Dan and I were recording last night, and we were joking around like usual, and I said that I loved him. Of course, I was joking! But after we ended the episode, Dan got serious and asked if I actually loved him. I told him that as a friend, yea. But then he said that he might love me, and one thing led to another, and... Well, I was on top of him, and we were... We were both enjoying ourselves. Now I'm thinking that I like him, too, and-" I take a deep breath, needing to remain calm, "I'm just really sorry that all of this has to be happening."
"Wait, what? So, you like Dan..." She seemed sad and hurt.
"Y-yea... I'm so sorry," I apologize again, even though no amount of saying how sorry I was would do anything.
"It's okay, it's not your fault! I'm happy you found someone who makes you that happy. Go on, go get him!" Suzy smiled at me.
"Thank you, thank you so much!" I almost cried. Everyone was happy.
Suzy's POV
As Arin walked out the door, I felt heartbroken. I always wanted to be there for him, even now, even if it means him moving on. I have to be happy for him, he's really happy now.
I wonder what he's doing right now. Right as I think this, I see my phone ring; I had gotten a text from Arin. Will be back tomorrow to get my stuff.
I replied with a simple OK, and went off to do something, anything to take my mind off Arin. I couldn't stand thinking about him for any longer.