Dream a Little Dream // Daniel Howell x Reader

Chapter 49

"What's with that face, (Y/N)? If you keep that up, you'll keep scaring everyone that walks past us."

You watched with embarrassment as a stranger walked past you and Allison, eyeing your misshapen expression before quickly looking away, their eyes darting forward when you accidentally made eye contact with them. You soon became hyper aware of your face and the demented smile that graced your lips; a pleasant mixture of shame and unbearable awkwardness. You placed your hands to your face, rubbing rhythmically as you tried to stop this awful look from progressing any further. Try as you might, the crooked smile made no effort to disappear, falling back into another unfortunate position once more.

You sighed as Allison eyed you with raised eyebrows, probably wondering how she got stuck walking with a loonie such as yourself. "Sorry, I can't stop thinking about what happened today at Dan and Phil's place. It's always the same; I make it awkward whenever I leave 'cause I can't even show an ounce of affection to Dan." You thought back to your cringy exit, wishing you had something to scream into as a way of venting your shame away.

Allison let out a loud laugh, bringing her hand to her mouth as she snickered at your misfortune. "Seriously, (Y/N)? You're still struggling with the concept of directing affection towards Dan? Who— let me remind you once more— is now your boyfriend? A boyfriend of three weeks nonetheless?" You gave a feeble nod of shame, feeling your face flush in embarrassment as you walked down the street with your friend. Thank goodness you were heading to a bookstore. It would give you the perfect opportunity to hide your growing humiliation from the world.

"Well, it's not like there's been a good time to ever, you know... kiss him..." You felt like a high-schooler with how immature you were being at the mention of a kiss. But you couldn't help it; this was a very embarrassing topic! You didn't know the first thing about showing affection, let alone towards the boy you just started dating. You didn't want to screw anything up, but it already felt like you were by doing nothing at all! It was all very confusing, making your head spin whenever you thought about this tricky ordeal. " I can't just randomly... y'know. That would be uncalled for and he'd probably think I'm a weirdo."

The brunette beside you lowered her eyes, slowly turning her head with a look that screamed 'you've got to be fucking joking'. She crossed her arms, eyes still narrowed as she looked at you with disbelief. "(Y/N), you can't be serious. You think it would be weird for his girlfriend to give him a little kiss?" You nodded your head quickly, an embarrassed blush beginning to dance across your features. "So you're telling me that you're just going to go this whole relationship without so much as a simple hand hold?"

You quickly interjected, feeling a small flame of pride wiggle its way to the surface. "Ah! We've held hands already! And hugged too!"

Allison kept a monotone voice, still unable to process how hopeless you truly were. "Friends do that as well. I think you guys are a little past that stage. I'm not trying to be mean but... Well, honestly that's a little sad, hun."

A dusty pink made its way to the tips of your ears, knowing that Allison was completely right. By this stage you should be able to be comfortable showing affection, yet it was so hard to muster up the courage! Anytime you thought about it, it made your heart race an entire marathon. Even imagining it made you feel weak in the knees, the possibility of fainting quite real. "Allison, I can't just do it! I... I'm not ready!"

"And that's fine. Everyone should be able to progress at a speed they're comfortable with. But hun, this is probably the 10th time you and I have had this exact same conversation once you've left their house. With how bad you want this to happen, something tells me you're ready even if you don't feel like you are!" The two of you rounded a corner, the bookstore coming into view. Allison's voice peaked with sudden interest when she spoke to you again. "Why all the hesitation? Is something holding you back, love?"