When I heard Siva's words, all the lads ran past me. Nathan's hand finally let go of mine as he ran up with the lads.
"What's going on?" Nareesha asked.
"I don't know." Nina answered.
I sighed and plopped down on the couch.
Ariana came and took a seat by me.
"Dani. I know you said it was okay, but I honestly feel really guilty for what I did."
"Its alright, Ariana."
"I would never understand how badly you must've felt." Her eyes were pleading for forgiveness.
"I forgive you, Ariana. And I am fine. As long as I have my friends, Nathan, and my Mum, I'm good."
She smiled at me. "I promise I will never do that to you again. And if Nathan has wandering eyes, I'll make sure to give him a beating." She winked.
"Yeah, we'll be sure to help." Kelsey said as she sat down along with the other girls.
I laughed, "Thank you. You know, it feels good to have girls to talk to."
"Well, we're always here for you." Nareesha said, giving me a side hug.
"We'll see you girls soon." Siva said as he made his way down the stairs with the lads.
"Yeah. We'll try to come home as fast as we can." Max said.
"Okay. Stay safe, love." Nina called. Max nodded.
Nathan made his way over to me.
"Bye, love. Stay safe. Text me." He said, giving me a kiss on the head before heading off with everyone.
When the door closed, I fell back onto the couch.
"So what should we do?" I asked.
Ava looked at her phone. "Its getting kinda late, so how about we gets in our pj's and hang out?" She suggested.
"Sounds great. Let's go." Nina said getting up.
"Hey, wait," I started, everyone looked at me, "Want to do something fun that I usually do with Nathan?"
"Oh, I know. Jay told me about this once." Ava said excitedly.
"What is it?" Kelsey asked.
"Okay, so we go up, see who gets ready first, and the last one down here loses." I explained. They nodded.
"Okay, in 3, 2, 1, Go!" I said as we all ran upstairs.
I quickly put on some shorts, keeping my sweatshirt on. I put my hair in a pony, leaving my side bangs, which were around my chin length, down. I made sure to bring a blanket Nathan left at my house once, and a pillow. Then I ran downstairs.
Nobody there. Yes! I win again! Haha. Soon, Ava and Ariana ran down at the same time. Then Kelsey, then Nareesha, and last was Nina.
Nina ran down the stairs as she jumped onto the couch.
"Woah, that was fun." She laughed.
"So what do you want to do?" I asked.
"How about watch re-runs of the lads old family videos?" Kelsey suggested with a mischievous grin.
"Oooo! That sounds like fun! I want to see Seev's little butt when he was a baby!" Nareesha said, which caused all of us to laugh.
"Wait, how are we going to get them?" Nina asked.
"The lads put all of their videos in the attic. Kelsey, Ava, can you come with me to get them?" Nareeesha explained.
They nodded as they went upstairs. "I'm going to go get popcorn." I said as I went to the kitchen, Ariana following me.
"So how are you and Nathan?" Ariana asked as I warmed up the popcorn.
"We're alright. We just started going out a few weeks ago, and I am happy."
She nodded. "You know I am happy for you right?"
I nodded, "Thank you. But are you completely over, Nath?" I asked.
She sighed. "I'm getting there, and you are doing a really good job of keeping us together." She smiled
I nodded. "Oh! I need to get you a boyfriend!" I looked at her.
She laughed a bit. "Not yet, Dan. I don't think I am ready."
I sighed and nodded. "I think I forgot something in Nath's room. I'll be right back." She said and headed up.
I went into the room, nobody was there. I took a seat, as the three girls came in.
"I got you guys popcorn. Its in the kitchen still heating up. I'm going to go check up on Ariana." I said, getting up.
"Okay. Come soon. We're going to start the videos." Kelsey exclaimed with excitement.
I nodded as I went upstairs. I headed into Nathan's room where I saw Ariana sitting on Nathan's bed, looking through an album. The cover had a picture of Nathan and Ariana walking in Disneyland.
"You're not truly over him, are you?" I asked, taking a seat.
"I guess not. But you know, Dani. I want you guys to go out. I want that. I just need some time." She said. There were no tears in her eyes.
"You want to cry?" I asked, putting an arm on her shoulder. She let a breath and nodded as I pulled her into a hug. I pulled her in.
"You know, I am always here if you want to talk. Wether it's about Nathan, or its that time of month, or anything. I am here." I said. She laughed a bit and pulled back.
"Thank you, Danielle."
"Call me Dani." I smiled.
She nodded. I opened the album to see pictures of them laughing, them cuddling up, holding hands.
There was a picture of them kissing in a book store. Nathan was holding books as he leaned down to give Ariana a kiss.
"That's a cute one." I said, pointing to it. Ariana pulled back and laughed a little.
"Yeah. We saw it on a cover of a book, and Nathan just shrugged, before kissing me." She laughed.
"Ariana. When Nathan and you did that dare, the other night," I started.
"I am so so sorry about that, Dani. I honestly knew it wouldn't be fair to you since I knew you liked Nathan, but now knowing you guys were dating, it makes it so much worse." She said really quickly.
I laughed and calmed her down, "Its alright Ariana. But can I please finish what I was going to say?" I asked.
She smiled and nodded. "Kk, sorry."
I smiled and nodded. "When he looked at you. He's mesmerized. He looks at you with admiration and adoration. His eyes were filled with love."
A small smile formed on her face.
I nodded. "He used to tell me. You were his whole world. He says you mean everything to him. That you were the most beautiful girl to ever live. That without you, there was no point in living. That if he lost you, he would never fall in love ever again."
She looked at me and smiled.
"He said that?"
I nodded.
"Aw, Nathan." She blinked a bit and shook her head. "No, its not right. Nathan and you are together now. I don't want to interrupt with your first relationship."
"You are a really good friend, Ariana."
"You are a better one, Dan." Ariana smiled, pulling me into a hug.
"Should we meet the girls downstairs?" I asked, pulling back. Ariana nodded, smiling.
"Let's go." She beamed as she grabbed my hand in a sisterly way and pulled me downstairs.
The girls were laughing at little Tom throwing a tantrum over not getting the correct race car he wanted.
Just seeing Tom's red face cracked Ariana and me up.
The night went on and bowls or popcorn were emptied and refilled.
Soon it was 11. My phone buzzed. It was a text from Nathan.
Hey babe. Hope you are okay. We're going to be home in 5 minutes. Can't wait to see you. -Your Sloth xx
I smiled as I put my phone away.
"The lads are almost home" I explained. The girls replied with a nod or a yawn.
"OH! Want to do something fun?" I asked.
The girls looked at me right away.
"What is it?" Ava asked, scooting closer to me.
"Okay, okay. So its a prank." I started getting excited.
"Ooooh! What is it?" Nina asked, getting jumpy.
"Okay. So I was thinking, we should unlock the front door, and turn off all the lights. We lie around the room acting like a guy broke in or something!"
"Oh cool! I know the lads have some fake blood lying around do to their pranks!" Kelsey said, getting excited.
"Okay. Got get it. The lads are going to be home soon!" I said, getting up. Ariana lowered the lights, as Nareesha unlocked the door. We turned the TV so it was on the black and white screen, when it has no reception.
We messed up the pillows and made a bit of the mess to make it seem more real.
Then we ran upstairs into my room.
"How about we cut our clothes, to you know, make it seem more real?" Nina suggested.
"Great idea! Let's get to it!" Nareesha beamed with excitement.
...
I didn't cut my shirt. All I had to do was change into that jersey jacket and white shirt that Courtney and Adam tore. I just left my black worn out pj shorts on.
We all ran downstairs.
"Does everything look okay?" I asked. We were all out of breath.
"Yeah. Now let's get this fake blood on us." Kelsey encouraged.
I nodded, taking the blood.
"So who first?" I asked.
"Ooooh! Meeee!" Ariana squealed. I nodded as I poured some blood all over her arms.
"Okay, who's next?" Kelsey asked, clapping her hands.
"Me! Me!" Ava cheered.
...
"Okay, now here you go, Dan. There's not a lot left, so I'm going to give you the rest." Nareesha said, taking the bottle from me after I put it on her and putting the fake blood all over my chest and stomach.
"Thank you." I smiled.
Soon, we heard a car door close. I quickly made sure everything downstairs looked as if someone broke in.
All the girls were lying on the ground and the floor. Ariana took a spot on the small couch as she let her upper body hang off the soft cushion, letting a hand fall onto the floor.
Kelsey was on the floor, leaning her head on the bottom of the couch where her and Tom would always sit together.
Nareesha chose a good spot. She was on the recliner where her and Siva would just chill and snuggle together.
Ava chose the couch where she let her arm hang off of the couch arm.
Nina chose the floor. She laid flat on the ground, putting one arm above her head, and the other next to her.
A few of the girls kept their eyes open, while a few kept them closed shut.
I chose the corner of the room. It was similar to the one at my house, as I let my upper body rest against the wall, and my legs straight on the carpet. Allowing one to bend a bit and lean on the other. I kept one hand on my stomach as I let the other fall and dangle beside me. My head dropped as I rested my eyes, allowing me to see very little.
Everything was silent except the crackling sounds of the TV.
I heard footsteps getting closer, as the voices became more clear.
"Lads, the door is open." Tom's voice muffled through the door.
Tom slowly opened the door to the dark house.
The lights undimmed, but not all the way, because right when they were able to see, they wished they didn't turn the lights on.
"Oh. My. God." were the 3 words they said at the same time.
All the lads ran to the girls, but Nathan stood there. He was like a statue. Frozen as ice.
He slowly made his way closer. He past Ariana, tracing her face with his thumb. He leaned down, giving her a kiss on the head.
"I'm sorry. I love you.." He whispered.
Nathan made his way over to me. He leaned on one knee, as he gripped onto my hand that rested beside me.
"Oh Dani. I shouldn't have left.." His voice began to be shaky.
"I broke my life promise." He squeezed my hand.
"I told you I'd keep you safe. To not let anyone hurt you." His voice began to crack. "I am so sorry." A tear swept down his face. He pulled me up with my hand as he pulled me into his arms. He let go of one of his arms and put them under my legs. He brought me over to the couch where Ariana was as he laid me next to her. Me on the edge.
He put us both into a comfortable position, before leaning on the couch right next to me. My hand dangled over the couch as it fell on Nathan's shoulder.
He held my hand tight, giving it a kiss.
"I am so sorry, Dani. I-I love you." He whimpered, crying into my hand.
All the lads were laying next to their girls.
Max brought pillows and a blanket as he covered him and Nina, bringing her head to his chest as he played with her hair.
Siva lied next to Nareesha, reclining the chair and pulling blanket over them both, while he told her about all the stuff he wanted to do with her.
Tom put a blanket around Kelsey as he brought her into his chest, not letting her go.
Jay lied next to Ava, reading to her small stories about Avatar.
Then there was Nathan. He pulled his old blanket over us, giving Ariana a kiss on the head, and he gave me my first kiss on the lips. Our first real kiss as a couple.
It was so hard for me not to kiss back and not smile after. He pulled back as he grabbed a seat and leaned his head on his arm which rested on the arm of the small couch. He carefully lifted me up as he put my head to rest on his arm. He used his hand to play with Ariana's ear.
"I am so sorry girls. I wish I got my feelings cleared out before this. But I do know. I love you, Dani. And Ariana, its just so hard to move on." His voice was soft. He loves me. He actually loves me.
He slowly and quietly sang to Bleeding Love.
"Closed off from love, I didn't need the pain
Once or twice was enough, and it was all in vein
Time starts to past, before you know it, you're frozen
Ooohh.
But something happen for the very first time with you
My heart melted to the ground felt something true
But everyone's looking round thinking I'm going crazy
Ooooh.
But I don't care what they say, I'm in love with you
They try to pull me away, but they don't know the truth
My heart's crippled by the vein that I keep on closing
You cut me open and I,
Keep bleeding, keep keep bleeding love
I keep bleeding, I keep keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding, keep keep bleeding love
You cut me open, Ooooh.
Trying hard not to hear but they talk so loud
Their piercing sounds fill my ears, tryna fill me with doubt
Yet I know, that their goal, is to keep me from falling
Heeeey, yeah. Oh.
But nothing's greater than the rush that comes from your embrace
In this world of loneliness, I see your face
Yet everyone around me, thinks that I'm going crazy, maybe, maybe
But I don't care what they say, I'm in love with you
They try to pull me away, but they don't know the truth
My heart's crippled by the vein that I keep on closing
You cut me open and I,
Keep bleeding, keep keep bleeding love
I keep bleeding, I keep keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding, keep keep bleeding love
You cut me open, ooh.
And its draining all on me, only find it hard to believe
I'll be wearing these chords for everyone to see
I don't care what they say, I'm in love with you
They try to pull me away, But they don't know the truth
My heart crippled by the vein that I keep on closing
Ooh, you cut me open and I
(Keep bleeding, keep keep bleeding love,
I keep bleeding, I keep keep bleeding love,
Keep bleeding, keep keep bleeding love)
Ooh, you cut me open and I
(Keep bleeding, keep keep bleeding love,
I keep bleeding, I keep keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding, I keep keep bleeding love)
Ooh, you cut me open and I
(Keep bleeding, keep keep bleeding love)
Oooh."
Nathan's voice quieted as sleep took over him and all of us. I felt a tear hit my cheek. Nathan was crying. He was crying...
"Sykes, please don't cry. You'll get a better grade next time."
9 year old Nathan just got a C on his test, and let's just say, he wasn't taking it very well.
"No. I am a failure!" He cried into his hands.
"No you're not, Sykes. You passed the test! And if you want to re-take the test, I'll help you study." I urged him.
He looked up at me. "Promise?"
I nodded. "I promise."
He smiled at me. "Thank you, Dani."
I woke up early the next morning. I woke up the other girls quietly. Time to see the reaction of the lads. We all woke up and quickly got ready for the day. I changed into jean short to mid thigh, and a black crop top.
We all made our way downstairs and into the kitchen, making breakfast for the lads.
We decided on poached egg on a piece of buttered toast, with a side of fruit.
"G-Girls?" We heard 5 groggy voices. We turned around and smiled at the lads, who were barely awake.
"I must be dreaming." Nathan said, rubbing his face with his eyes.
"Yeah. I probably am too. The girls are dead." Jay said hugging Nathan from behind.
"I just wish I could have saved them." Tom said, leaning into Max.
"Guys. We're here." Kelsey laughed.
I smiled and turned back to buttering the toast.
"K-Kelsey?" Tom started towards his girlfriend. He poked her face.
"Is it you?" He asked. Wow, Tom.
"No, I'm the ghost of your girlfriend. Here to steal your soul. Yes it's me, you idiot!" She laughed jumping onto Tom. A smile formed on his face.
"For your information, I'm YOUR idiot." He laughed, setting her down.
I smiled and looked to the other couples who were all hugging and enjoying each other's company.
I looked around for Nathan and found him talking to Ariana. He gave her a hug and a kiss on the head. He pulled back and looked to me.
His face glowed as his smile grew. He ran to me, as I jumped onto him, wrapping my arms around his waist. He put his arms around me securely as we both laughed.
"ERRG, I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU!" He laughed.
"You love me?" I asked.
He smiled his adorable smile. "I love you."
"I-I love you too." I beamed.
His smile grew, which I honestly thought was impossible, but it grew.
"You love me!" He cheered. I laughed as I pulled him close by bring the back of his head to my shoulder.
We pulled back as he set me down. I put the butter from the knife and put it on his nose.
His jaw dropped. "Oh, wow." He laughed before starting to chase me. I grabbed the small tub of butter and started running. I past Jay and Ava, as I put a plop of butter on each of their noses. I ran past Max, Nina, Siva, Nareesha, Kelsey, and Tom, doing the same thing. I ran to Ariana, as we both grabbed a tub of butter.
"Don't try it." Ariana said, defending herself if a tub of butter and a buttery finger.
Nathan laughed.
"My two girls go against me. Funny how things turn out." He laughed. We looked to each other and laughed.
I dipped my finger in butter and plopped it onto Ariana's nose before running into the living room. But Nathan, caught me.
"You buttered all of us!" Max yelled, with laughter in his voice, as he and the other ran into the living room with us. Nathan wrapped his arms around me as Ariana came up to me, plopping a bit of butter onto my nose.
Everyone laughed. "Revenge!" I heard Jay yelled as he cheered.
"I'll take that." Nathan whispered in my ear as he kissed my nose, taking off the butter. I laughed and kissed his unbuttered nose.
"So is breakfast ready? I am curious to know what you girls pulled last night." Tom asked.
"Yup! Come on. Let's eat." Ava smiled, bring Jay into the kitchen. I looked at Ariana who had a grin on her face. I walked over to her, and pulled her into the kitchen along with Nathan.
...
"Thank you for breakfast girls." Siva said while heading into the living room after washing the dishes.
"No problem." Nareesha smiled, as she patted the seat next to her for Siva to sit.
"So how was the meeting last night?" I asked.
"Oh." Max said. I looked to the girls in worry, then to Nathan who looked down at his hands.
"Have you heard that rumor that we might be signed off the record deal?" Jay asked. I looked up.
"Yeah?" We all said at once.
"The rumors aren't true. But we were discussing ideas to why our album isn't selling." Max explained.
"Wait does that mean-" I started, but Nathan shushed me, pulling me close.
"No, no, no. We won't be signed off. Don't worry. We just wanted to discuss reasons to why it wasn't selling." Nathan said. I nodded.
"So, what did you girls do last night?" Siva asked.
"Oh nothing." Nina smiled looking up at Max who gave her a really look.
"We just watched some of your baby videos." Ava nodded.
"What?" The guys said at once.
"We went through your baby videos." Ava repeated.
"What did you see?" Max asked.
"I remember seeing many many many Tom Tantrums." Kelsey smiled. We laughed at remembering his tantrums.
Tom snarled.
"Aww, baby. Don't be like that." Kelsey rubbed Tom's chest, giving him a kiss on the chin. He smiled and kissed the top of her head.
"So what else did you girls do?" Jay asked.
"We did that prank." Ariana laughed.
"Ohh. What was that about?" Nathan asked.
"Dani came up with it." Ariana smiled.
"Oooohh, Dani." The lads said at once.
"What?" I asked, raising an eye brow.
"Nathan told us about your sneaky mind." Siva said holding up and finger, pointing at me as he circled his pointer finger.
I shrugged.
"You're just like me. A pranker!" Jay cheered. I laughed and stuck my tongue out at him.
"Why did you prank us?" Max asked.
I looked to the girls who shrugged.
"What? Did you want us to sit around being bored out of our minds all night?" I asked, raising an eye brow.
He nodded no.
"And you got to admit. It was kinda funny." Ava laughed.
"But it was also really sweet." Ariana smiled.
"Sweet?" Nathan asked, raising an eye brow.
"Sweet." Ariana nodded.
Nathan put his mouth into his pouted face and nodded his head side to side.
"Well, we got to get ready for the day." Tom yawned, reaching his hands in the air.
"Oh, yes you do." Kelsey said, making a face as she waved her hand in front of her face.
"And take a shower." She said through that face. We all laughed.
Nathan got up along with the other lads.
"Oh! Can we choose your clothes for the day?" Nareesha asked.
The guys turned to us, a hand on each of their hips, causing us all to laugh.
"Of course you can." Siva said, snapping as he and the lads headed up the stairs in 'style'
We all turned to each other, and turned into a fit of laughter.
"Okay, let's go." Nina said excitedly as she and the girls headed upstairs to their guys' room.
I looked to Ariana. "You happy?" I asked.
She nodded, a big smile on her face.
"I have a great relationship with Nathan, with you, my best girl friend, and I am just happy to be back home." She smiled.
I laughed as I grabbed her hand and ran upstairs with her.
"Let's pick out Nath's clothes." I smiled as I opened Nathan's closet.
As we walked in, we were met by tons and tons of snapbacks.
"I'm going to take this one for today." I picked up a black and blue hat.
"I think Nathan should wear this!" Ariana said, showing me his white V-neck. I nodded as I picked up some blue jeans.
"How about we pair it with some chains and a leather jacket?" I asked. Ariana nodded and smiled.
The shower door turned off. "Let's go."
As we ran downstairs, all the girls were already there.
"I can't wait to see what you all dressed the guys in." Kelsey smiled.
We heard a yell from upstairs, "Here we come!"