20th November

Your POV

"Are you sure you don't want to come?" Dan gives me his puppy eyes and pouts, causing me to chuckle.

"I've seen you run around the stage and wear that golden suit plenty of times," I joke, forcing a smile.

"But it's Dublin, Y/N. You love Ireland. Please," he begs. "It's not too late to pack and buy tickets."

"I know it's Dublin, and I don't want to go. Don't worry, I'll be fine here. Besides, I'll have someone to keep me company."

"Tess isn't coming either?"

"She wanted to go but... she also didn't want to leave me alone. Just, go, have fun!"

"For you," he smiles and leans towards me, pressing his lips to mine. From the living room, we hear Tess scream.

"Phil, I love you, but I swear to God, if you don't stop tickling me right now, I'll make sure that your plants die!"

We break away from the kiss, laughing.

"Oh, shut up!" She snaps at us.

When she's silent, probably snogging Phil, I wrap my small arms around Dan's waist and bury my head in his chest. He quickly returns the embrace and sways us side to side.

"Please be safe, Dan," I mumble into his chest.

"I will," he reassures me. "I promise I'll Skype you before bed. I love you."

"I love you, too." And with that, we pull away. Phil joins us in the hallway, followed by Tess who nags him about what and what not to do in Dublin.

"-and it's going to be cold there, so keep warm."

"Yes, Mum," Phil rolls his eyes.

"Seriously, though. I love you."

Phil leans down and pecks Tess on the lips.

"And I love you, too. So don't go out alone, lock the doors-"

"Okay, bye," Tess shoves Phil towards Dan and I.

The boys pick up their suitcases and say one last goodbye, then walk out the front door, leaving just Tess and I alone.

I would go with them if Dublin didn't hold such bad memories. But, oh well. I've travelled with them enough this year.

I follow Tess into the living room and sit on the couch.

As I sit down, I can't help a certain thought popping up in my head. The same thought that's been randomly coming up this past month.

"Do you think Dan loves me as much he acts?" I blurt.

"Y/N, what do you mean?" Tess almost shouts, shocked.

"You know exactly what I mean."

"Dan's not like... you know who. Of course he loves you. And he definitely loves to show how much you mean to him. However," she says, her voice getting really serious. "I know you can give him more than you do. I don't mean you should, you know, but you should try... harder to make him feel loved."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I snap.

"I know you tend to hold yourself back because of what happened, but it's been almost a year now! And don't say you're over it, I've been living with you for almost two months now, I know you aren't."

"I was hurt, Tess, of course I'm not over it! You can't blame me for being insecure about my relationship when the last one I had ended with the police having to barge into my house! Do you know how scared my parents were when they came home to their daughter being treated by paramedics and my brother hiding in his closet in fear he would be hurt next?" I shout, breaking into tears.

I feel her sit on the couch next to me and wrap a long, thin arm around my shoulders, pulling me close to her.

"You need to know that Dan would never do that to you. I mean, the guy is still afraid of the dark! As if he'd have the guts to hit you."

"I'm just so scared, Tess. It's harder to recover from such events than it seems. I can't just shrug it off and live life like the world is nothing but sunshine and rainbows. It's there, it's part of me, and it always will. The bruises can't be seen anymore but that doesn't mean they weren't there at some point. I will always remember they were there, on my skin, and how they got there."

"Okay, stop now, you're sounding more depressing than usual and it's driving me nuts." I laugh and wipe away my tears. "Now I didn't move here just so you can have a shoulder to cry on while Dan's not around."

"What do you want to do then?" I sniff and wipe my eyes again.

"Do you have any other friends here?" She asks, a cheeky smirk creeps onto her face.

"Yes," I reply, knowing exactly what she's planning. I take out my phone and open contacts.

There it is!

I press call and hold my phone up to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Joe."

"What's wrong? You sound like you've been crying."

"I'm fine. Would you and a few of the boys like to have a party?"

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A/N

Damn, moody, aren't ya?

Kidding.

Looks like things are going great. You and Dan are still dating and are as cute as ever, your childhood best friend has moved in.

Would be a shame if something happened and changed all that... 😉

(Also I don't remember if Joe was still on his book tour around that time and I'm too lazy to check, don't hate me)