All My Heart

8th December 2012
London, England

"I'm going to mess up." Dan stated, staring at a blank wall.

"Don't be stupid." Aria groaned from her spot on the couch next to him.

The two were currently in You Me At Six's dressing room at Wembley Arena. It was their first time playing there and they'd gotten a sold out show. It was a milestone for the band, and everyone was immensely proud of them. The guys were humbled by their growing success; making sure to invite their family and girlfriends over to the Final Night of Sin.

Dan had made sure that his mother and sister were coming, and he didn't even bother asking Aria. If she said that she had school work to do, he'd just tie her up and carry her into the venue. Not like she would've ever ditched him on the biggest night of his music career.

"I'm going to mess up!" He repeated, tugging at his hair. "I'm the drummer, and the drummer is the person who keeps the beat, yeah?"

Aria eyed him, nodding.

Dan sighed. "Then when I mess up, the guys are going to mess up. Then they'll hate me and the fans'll hate me and everyone in the whole world will hate me then --"

"Shut up!" Aria interrupted him, pushing him in the shoulder so that he fell to lay sideways on the couch. She sighed, moving to kneel on the floor in front of him as he slowly sat up - still internally freaking out.

Aria grabbed his shoulders, shaking him so that he would look at her. Blue eyes on blue eyes. "Listen to me." She spoke slowly, looking into his eyes. "You are not going to mess up because you are an absolutely amazing drummer. Even if you do mess up - which you won't - no one will care. Do you know why?"

Dan shook his head.

"It's because they love you. The fans will love you even if you played the wrong beats to a song. The boys will love you even if you make a tiny or massive mistake while on stage, because you're their best friend. And I will love you even if you couldn't play a fucking triangle, because you are my best friend in the whole entire world and I wouldn't have you any other way."

Dan looked at her, a soft smile coming to his lips as he opened up his arms; burying his face in the crook of her neck as she hugged him tightly, softly running her fingers through his hair.

"I love you. To the stars and above."

"I love you, to the moon and back."

***

Dan's smile was barely there as he brought the soft, fuzzy blanket over the shoulders of the girl who lay asleep in bed. They'd gotten back from their drive at four in the morning, and much to his delight, she cuddled up in his arms as they sat on a hill; watching the night sky.

Ever since the incident, Aria had been apprehensive about physical contact with anyone. Dan was no exception, no matter how long that they'd been friends and how much she knew that he wouldn't hurt her. The incident with James made her realise that not everyone was as they seemed.

The guy was literally one of the sweetest guys that she thought she'd ever meet. The five months that they'd been together were utter perfection. She never understood how come Dan disliked him. Neither did she understand why James was related to why Dan came home with a blackened eye one night.

Dan had gone out for a drink with his mates and came back to Aria's flat with an absolute shiner. He had promised to come stay the night since she had some project work to do, keeping her company. She had told him that she didn't need any company but he went and promised her that he would anyway. And if there had to be the most important thing that Aria loved about Dan, it was that he always tried his hardest to keep his promises, no matter the circumstance.

He had spat out James' name before going to administer ice to his blackened eye, leaving Aria confused. She had asked him about what Dan meant, and James had feigned confusion, only saying that he hoped that Dan wasn't hurt too badly.

If only Aria had listened to Dan about how much the guy was trouble. She'd seen him drinking and drunk before, yes, but he'd never been violent. The drunkest that she had ever seen him resulted in him passing out before she could bring him to bed.

Dan had always hated the guy, even more so after the incident. And even though he'd already gone over to James' house, he was sure that he should've caused him more damage. What Dan had done to James was nothing compared to what James had done to Aria.

Dan let out a small sigh, walking out of her bedroom and into her living room; collapsing onto the couch. He was dead tired, but he promised his mates that he'd call at least one of them when they got home from their drive so that they wouldn't have to worry about James hurting either of them. Aria had told the police what had happened that night, only on the condition that Dan would be in the room. His fists were clenched so tightly that even he, himself, was surprised that he didn't start bleeding from the pressure of his nails against the palm of his hand.

"Hello?" A groggy voice answered on the other end of the line.

"We're alive." Dan laughed lightly, yawning midway through.

"Good," Josh sighed, the sound of his shuffling - probably getting out of bed - was heard in the background. "How is she?"

Dan shrugged his shoulders, even though he was currently on the phone with someone. "We cuddled, which is something different. The last physical, willing contact we had was her holding my hand while she fell asleep."

"She'll be fine, mate. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow. But eventually. She will be fine."

"I know," Dan sighed. "It's just... -" another sigh. "I know."

"It's not your fault, Dan." Josh's girlfriend, Abigail, spoke softly, her voice soothing.

"Hey to you too, Abi." Dan laughed slightly.

"Hi Dan." She chuckled. "But honestly, stop blaming yourself. She'll be fine."

Dan blew out a breath, resting his head against the back of the couch. "I just -- I feel like I could've prevented it from happening, you know? Like, if I had insisted on sending her there, or picking her up, none of... None of this would've happened." He spoke, shutting his eyes close. "She's my best friend. She's my other half. She's my whole fucking world. I can't bare to see anything bad happen to her."

Abi was silent for a moment before she spoke. "When you saw her like that... You felt like someone had stabbed you in the chest, someone had ripped your heart out of your chest and stomped on it. You felt guilt, because you think that it was your fault. You felt like you would die if she hadn't made it out in time."

Although Dan was sure that it was meant to be a question, it came out more of a statement. He nodded, before he realised that he was still on the phone. He cleared his throat, "yeah." His voice was croaky, his throat dry.

"You're in love with her, Dan." She whispered. "You're completely and utterly, head over heels in love with Aria, and you don't even realise it."

The line clicked gently after a whispered "goodnight" came from the woman's lips. Dan held the phone up to his ear for a few long moments, wondering what to make of what had just happened. The guys had been insisting that he was in love with her ever since they noticed the closeness of the two. They said that the pair had 'undeniable chemistry', and Dan had rolled his eyes, saying that it wasn't true.

He didn't know what to think anymore.

He walked over to Aria's bedroom where she was still snoozing quietly, her eyebrows scrunched up into a frown as her eyes screwed shut - a single tear dripping from the corner. She was asleep, but she was having nightmares. That was the thing about Aria; she didn't cry out during her nightmares. Never once did she cry out, no matter how terrifying the nightmare might've been.

Dan brought a hand to her face, gently brushing her cheekbones with his thumb before he leaned down to place his lips upon the skin of her forehead. She relaxed in her sleep and Dan let himself smile.

So maybe they were right all along. Dan Flint was madly in love with Aria McAllister, and there was probably nothing that he could do about it.