A/N: Before I begin the chapter I would like to thank @heddapie for making the current cover for this book 💕
30 January 2015
It is the day of the party and I am actually kind of nervous (when am I not nervous?). I don't know why, everything ended up getting done in time (barely).
Each of us got assigned a role as to what we would do to contribute for the party. Dan was in charge of purchasing or baking a cake, I am in charge of decorations and party activities, while (Y/F/N) is in charge of catering and other food related stuff.
Let's just hope that we all do our part otherwise we're screwed.
Until next time.
— (Y/N) xx
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The sudden unknown message caught you off guard. It made you question how exactly Dan had gotten your number — although you had a good guess as to who might have given it to him.
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After receiving yet another text message you hastily gathered up some of your necessities and heading out towards Dan's flat. You knew that something was bound to go wrong.
You trotted through the snow laden pavement, your eyes frantically searching for the flat number that you kept repeating in your head. Your bare fingers had frozen in the open air along with your ears and cheeks — which were very likely flushed red.
It was only minutes later that you had arrived at the building. You couldn't help but notice just how calm everything seemed from the outside, when in reality inside the walls of the building it was the opposite; hectic. You knocked, Dan answering to you not even a minute later; as if he had been waiting for you.
His appearance was something that you took in immediately; he was out of breath, his hair a mess, not to mention that he appeared to still be wearing his pajamas. It was an interesting sight; one that made you suppress a chuckle.
"Thank god you're here," he breathily stated, leading you into the mess that was once his kitchen.
Most of the counters were covered in a powdery layer of flour, and on top of said counters was a bowl of poorly mixed cake batter, not to mention the few eggshells that were carelessly tossed in the sink. It truly was a horrendous sight.
"Wow, you weren't kidding. . ." You trailed off, releasing a low whistle from your lips. "You do know that you could have easily purchased a cake, right?"
"Well, I didn't just want to buy any generic cake; I wanted it to have character!" Dan argued with you, his arms in the air.
You shook your head at his reasoning. "Well, lucky for you, I know a thing or two about making cakes, so we should be fine."
"You are a literal savior." He moved across the kitchen to give you an awkward side hug, his arms barely touching you — it was as if he was afraid of accidentally hurting you.
You stood motionless, waiting for him to step away. Unfortunately for you, the awkward embrace had lasted way longer than it should have. As for Dan, he too seemed a bit uncomfortable with his sudden gesture as he had let out an odd sounding laugh, rubbing at the back of his neck.
Instead of basking in the awkward situation you decided to get a head start on cleaning up — no baking would be happening in a dirty kitchen. Picking up all of the unnecessary utensils that were littered throughout the room, you placed them in the sink.
"I think we can work this out," you announced as you dumped the concoction that was supposedly cake batter in the trash.
His ears seemed to perk up at your use of words. "Was that supposed to be a High School Musical reference?" Dan cocked an eyebrow in your direction, a smug grin gracing his lips.
"I don't know, was it?" You retorted, mirroring his action and cocking an eyebrow as well. "Get to work, Danny Boy. We don't have all day."
You assigned him the task of washing all of the utensils while you skimmed over the recipe that he had previously printed out. It was a simple recipe that you did not understand how anyone could mess it up. Maybe he just used it as an excuse.
It wasn't long before you had the new batter all mixed up to the desired consistency. You poured it into the cake pan, then placing it in the oven.
"Cool, and now we wait for thirty minutes," you announced as you shut the oven and set a timer on your phone.
* * *
"Hurry up, (Y/N); people are going to start arriving anytime now!" Dan urgently pressured you. You were finishing the icing on the cake and Dan had been getting very impatient with your slow pace. He had been constantly messing with his hair, which you came to realize was one of his nervous ticks.
"I'm done," you announced as you straightened out to your full height and admired your work.
Heaving a sigh of relief, Dan too admired the small details on the cake. And then the doorbell rang with the arrival of the first guest.
* * *
You stood away from the guests, leaning against one of the furthest walls. You remained fairly unknown to everybody; to them you were just Dan's Random Friend.
You detested being such a buzz kill. Everybody was socializing and having a good time, yet you were standing in the corner swishing your drink around in the cup as you observed the scene before you. (Y/F/N) was chatting with a new group of people, leaving you completely abandoned. You watched her move her arms around animatedly and laugh every now and then.
"Hey, how's it goin'?" A male voice startled you out of your spaced out daydream. You had not caught his face in your peripheral vision, but you knew for a fact that it was Dan.
"I guess you could say that I'm enjoying myself." Staring off into the near distance you settled your sight on a small group of unknown people. "Shouldn't you be socializing with your friends?"
"Ah, but you are my friend," he replied cleverly. "Let's be loners together."
