why don't we - imagines & preferences

cherry | daniel

"Don't you call him "baby", we're not talking lately; Don't you call him what you used to call me."

Daniel stood against the wall behind a couple people he didn't know, glancing around them to watch the beer pong game in the middle of the room every once in a while. Corbyn was throwing a party to kick off the start of summer and Daniel was having a good time, for the most part. He'd reconnected with a bunch of friends he hadn't seen in a few months due to touring, took some shots with the guys, got a drink spilled on his jeans and now he was glued to the wall staring at the glass doors to the backyard. He was scanning the party all night looking for you, his ex-girlfriend. You and Daniel broke it off a few months ago because he was so absent. Not physically absent, but he just never seemed interested in being around you. After a while you got tired of having to get his attention so you got into a huge fight about it; it obviously ended in you breaking up. Fast forward to now, Daniel standing stagnant in the middle of a party because he was nervous to bump into you. The sound of your voice caught his ear and he turned to see where it came from. You were leaning against the kitchen counter talking to people, but you weren't his focus. His eyes could've burned holes in the guy standing behind you with his arms around your waist. Daniel—convinced that he was over you—approached the group you were standing in. He cleared his throat before speaking, "Hey Y/N." he said cooly. You smiled gently at him, "Hey Daniel, how are you?" you asked. Daniel took another sip of his drink and nodded, "I'm good, you?" You broke from the guy's grip and introduced him, "I've been good! Daniel, this is Nathan. He's my boyfriend." The second those words left your mouth Daniel began to feel dizzy and his stomach was doing flips. Instinctively he reached his hand out to meet Nathan's and shook it, "Daniel, obviously. Nice to meet you." he choked out and Nathan seemed unphased by the ex-boyfriend. "Call me Nate, likewise bud." Bud, ew. You stood awkwardly between the two boys until Daniel cleared his throat and pointed to the yard with his cup, "I'm gonna head outside, it was nice seeing you Y/N. You too, Nate." he said and he headed for the door, seeing your soft smile in his peripheral vision. Once he reached the fresh air he leaned against the house, taking deep breaths and processing the past ten minutes. Jealousy flowed through his body when he saw you with Nathan—maybe he wasn't over you.

"I, I confess, I can tell that you are at your best; I'm selfish so I'm hating it."

Daniel laid on his couch staring up at the ceiling fan, watching the blades spin and drowning out the sound of the other boys in the room. "Damn, I'm out." Corbyn said from his spot on the carpet. Daniel was pulled out of his thoughts by a controller landing on his stomach. "You're up Seavey." Corbyn said as he stood up. Daniel shook his head and tossed the controller to Jack, "I'm not in the mood to play." He sulked over to the kitchen and opened the fridge, blankly staring at the shelves to ignore having to talk. "What's up with you?" Jonah asked from across the room. "Nothing's up with me." Daniel said back, earning a scoff from Corbyn. "Bullshit. You've been pouting since the party last weekend." Daniel rolled his eyes at his friend and shut the refrigerator door before coming out to the living room. "I'm not pouting, nothing is wrong. I'm fine, I'm just gonna go lay down." he insisted, heading up the stairs and leaving the conversation. Daniel flopped onto his bed and pulled his phone out of his pocket, immediately opening his contacts. He searched your name and twiddled his thumbs over the screen—would it be weird to call? To text? Daniel had been thinking about you nonstop since the party; he couldn't shake the image of you laughing in your new boyfriend's arms, leaning into his chest like you used to with him. You seemed happy with Nate and Daniel couldn't stand it. He moved on to his camera roll, scrolling up until he came across the pictures he couldn't bring himself to delete. Pictures of the two of you at your happiest—laughing together, cheesy couple poses you forced him to do, cheek kisses and random pictures he snapped while you weren't looking. Daniel's heart was aching as he slowly came to realize that he was still in love with you. How badly he messed up. How he was too late. He locked his phone and exhaled harshly, swallowing the lump in his throat. Looking to ease the heartache Daniel came and went to the kitchen without any of the boys seeing, grabbing a bottle of rum from the cabinet. He shut his bedroom door and put in his earbuds before taking his first shot, then his second, and then his third. By the end of the playlist the room was spinning around him but his only constant thought was you.

"I notice that, there's a piece of you in how I dress; Take it as a compliment."

You opened your eyes in the midst of your dark bedroom, rolling over half asleep. The sound of your phone ringing stirred you but when you woke up it was a missed call. You checked your phone, wincing at the bright screen and read a notification that woke you up quickly.

Missed Call from daniel seavey
1 New Voicemail

Confused but oddly curious, you opened your phone and clicked on your voicemail inbox. Your thumb hovered over the play button for a moment while you contemplated listening. You couldn't deny that you felt something seeing him at Corbyn's, your heart skipped a beat after not seeing him for so long. You missed his smile and his jokes—but you were with Nate. He's your boyfriend, not Daniel. Despite that, you hit play and brought the phone to your ear:

"Hey, uh Y/N it's Daniel. I-I ummmm, hehe, I don't know why I'm calling you honestly. Actually that's bullshit, I'm just really drunk. Like really drunk, from rum! You hate rum, I remember trying to get you to drink rum and Cokes with me but you always said "No! They're grosssss!" We always used to get each other to try stuff, influence each other or whatever. Y'know I still wear that shirt you got me from your trip to New York. And I always tuck my shirts the way you taught me, you used to always help me with my outfits. The drip....the FIRE! You did good work babe, wait—sorry. Didn't mean to say that. But I miss that. I miss you, god I miss you so much. Nate seems like a reallyyyy cool guy, Y/N and you seem uh, happy with him. But I fucked up so bad. I am still in love with you and I miss you and fuck, I-I can't believe I let you go! I, uh, hah I probably shouldn't being saying all of this to you especially when I'm hammered but I'd never have the guts to say it sober. So uh, yeah. I'm still in love with you, Y/N. I miss seeing you. That's all, okay. Bye."

You felt the hair on the back of your neck stand up and your pulse start to race at his words. For the entirety of that rambling, slurred drunk voicemail you completely forgot about Nate. All you could focus on was Daniel's voice and how it made you feel. Did he really mean what he said? Did he think all of those things sober? Why did it make you want to call him back?

a/n:
COUCOU