pause // dan howell x reader

Chapter 41 - Distraction

Your POV

You and Dan stroll through the city together. Your clothes are drenched, making water drip onto the pavement with every step. Dan's hand tightens around yours, kind of like a pulse. The world is paused. Nothing can be heard, even the busy people, busy cars and busy shops are quiet. You embrace the silence, the tranquility, and all you can hear is your nervous heartbeat in your ears.

You dawdle through several markets and turn sharp corners onto new streets. Dan looks upon each place with wonder. Big flower boxes span across all the buildings, and the small neon signs make the streets all the more colourful. As you're gazing at the parts of London which you had never seen, Dan starts whistling. The heartbeat in your ears quickly becomes white noise. His soft whistling relaxes you and you can't seem to focus on anything else. You watch him, grinning. His wet hair basically a complete mess; the small water droplets on his face that join together and roll down, eventually falling to the ground; his lips, a mixture of purple and blue from the cold, yet they are playful and warm because of his smile.

He catches you staring and stops whistling. He gulps, momentarily embarrassed so you squeeze his hand again and he looks down at you charmingly.

You both arrive at a bridge. Not a bridge like the one at the river. A blue bridge that's constructed over a seaport. The expanse of the bridge is filled with cars locked in time. The amount of cars is so endless that you can barely see the other side. The two of you are nothing compared to them. Dan rubs a part of your hand with the pad of his thumb. He only does it a few times though, to show that he's thinking of you.

He softly lets go and jogs towards a man frozen a few feet in front. Before you could ask what he was doing, he pulls the helpless fella's pants down. You erupt into laughter as you gawk at the man's 'Elmo' underwear. Dan looks surprised himself.

"Let's see how many people we can mess with." He gestures to you, adrenaline rushing his words. You shrug and run towards him, making sure to not drop the bouquet of roses. You spot another guy and decide to ruffle his neat, waxy hair. "I hope he wasn't going on a date." Dan chuckles.

You're unsure where Dan's energy came from, but it makes you smile. Both of you continue to run with reckless abandon, weaving between the cars on the bridge. Wind flushes in your ears and your wet clothes start to dry up.

"Sweet Jesus, I can't feel my legs," You yell, still sprinting. Dan huffs something inaudible back but he sounds excited. You continue to run further until you realise that Dan stopped. You look at him concerned - exhausted but concerned. Is something wrong? To quickly answer your question, his face scrunches up and he sneezes. For such a tall man to let out such a mouse-like squeal baffles you. The closer you walk towards him, you see how much that sneeze did to his face. His nose is bright red, like a traffic light, and his eyes are watery.

"Hey, Y/N?" He shivers and you send him a reassuring smile as you place you hand on his bicep. "Let's not jump in rivers again... at least bring a towel."

-

You take Dan back to your apartment as it was more nearby. His place is all packed up anyway. Dan flops onto the couch face first. If he gets snot on it, you're not afraid to kick him out.

"When do you move into your new flat?" You ask him as you search for tissues.

"Umm..." He trails off, his mind foggy. "I think this weekend." You nod, it is May after all. You place the green box of tissues next to him and he hastily grabs a handful. You leave to fetch a blanket for him, there's bound to be one in your room. When you enter the living room again, you stare at Dan's face, figuring out what else to get him as if you're psychic.

You layer the blanket on top of him and he watches you with a weak and endearing smile. Once you tuck him in, you kiss him on the forehead and he blushes.

"Thank you." He whispers and snuggles into the couch. You lie next to him, getting as close as possible. He sneezes again and you're so surprised that you sit up straight. "Sorry." He laughs lightly, feeling guilty for frightening you. You look up at him, about to tell him off, but his face looks so hilarious that you can't take him seriously.

"Oh my god, Dan." You chuckle again. "Are you okay?" He furrows his eyebrows. His eyes are red and puffy, the poor guy.

"No, I'm crying." He says groggily. It makes you laugh more and eventually, he laughs as well.

"You look like a pregnant frog," You comment.

"Wow, that's not nice." He frowns, picturing it. You continue to laugh until you're moved to tears. "It's really not that funny." The tone of his voice is that of a prepubescent teen - emotionless with a sprinkle of voice cracks. You get up and laugh your way into the kitchen.

"I'll make us something." You call once you've calmed down. You reach for a saucepan, placing it on the stove.

"What? Pancakes?" Dan says, his words dripping with sarcasm.

"No, my speciality is boiling water." And with that, you turn on the gas.

-

After eating some delicious soup you made, you and Dan cuddle on the couch and watch the news. Though, you're more focused on him. Feeling under his shirt as his chest rises and falls. Feeling his finger gently twirl around a loose part of your hair.

"Can you please get me some chocolate?" He sniffles. You smile at how he asked and slowly get up. As you enter the pantry, an idea comes to mind. You know Dan won't be up for it but, it'll be funny.

"Daniel, I have a challenge for you." You sing-song in a taunting way and he replies with a groan. You return to the couch and jump onto it annoyingly. Dan just looks up with weary eyes. "If you can pause, play and rewind, then you'll get chocolate."

"What? I'm not a show animal." He covers himself with the blanket more, refusing to oblige.

"Come on, I'm sure it'll be easy." You pat his upper leg.

"Pause." He sighs. You peer out the window but the streets are still moving busily.

"Try again." You laugh. You stay at the window-sill as he attempts it once more and it works. He sits up, more desperate for chocolate, but as much he tries to unfreeze time, it doesn't work. You feel Dan's eyes on you and you turn your head to see him hopelessly gazing at you. He quickly smiles.

"Stop distracting me."

You quirk your head and shuffle back next to him.

"How am I distracting you?" You chuckle and go to squeeze his cheek.

"You just are." He playfully smacks your arm while laughing. You laugh with him and place your hand on the side of his face; pulling him into a deep kiss as he tangles his fingers in your hair.

Who cares if you get sick, you're already sickly in love with the man in front of you.

hi! haven't seen you for a while :)

i'm sorry for the wait, i really struggled writing this chapter. i've received such an overwhelming response to this book that i've put a lot of pressure on myself to live up to your expectations.

so now i'm going to focus on writing because i enjoy it, though you are an amazing bonus.

i love you as much as i love BTS

and next chapter is probably gonna be a song that i wrote okAY SEE YA