All My Heart

9th April 2013
Weybridge, Surrey

Dan huffed in annoyance as his sister laughed at him from the doorway of his bedroom. She'd come to visit before he left for tour, the next day. And Dan, caught up in making sure that Aria was okay, had completely forgotten about packing up until the last minute. So while he tried to pack his clothes, his sister just watched, snickering under her breath.

"If you're just gonna laugh at me, I swear -" He stopped, cracking a smile while he rolled up another t-shirt, chucking it into his bag.

Sarah chuckled, shaking her head in amusement before she finally made a move to step into his bedroom, snatching the t-shirts from his hands and folding them properly.

"Is Ari coming on tour with you?" She smirked.

Dan felt some colour rush to his cheeks but he rolled his eyes, scrunching up his nose in her direction as she laughed joyfully. Literally everyone could see that he was in love with his best friend before he did. Sarah liked to just blame it on his male stupidity - as she called it.

"She has school." He replied in a matter of fact voice, shooting her a flat look.

Sarah snorted. "Like that's ever stopped you. All your late nights together?"

Dan's jaw unhinged as he blinked at his sister incredulously. He thought no one had ever heard him sneaking out and back in, in the early hours in the morning.

"You're not as quiet as you think you are when you sneak out." Sarah chuckled, amused.

Dan chuckled as well, shaking his head as he flopped down onto his bed, watching her pack his clothes for him. "That was just a 'for the night' thing. Tour is... Tour. I can't just ask her to up and leave school because I want her there."

"HAH!" Sarah suddenly exclaimed, swivelling around to point a finger at a wide-eyed Dan. "So you do want her there!"

"Of course I want her there, she's my best friend. Why wouldn't I want her there?"

Sarah opened her mouth to spew out a witty retort, but the ringing from Dan's phone cut her off. She watched as Dan pulled his phone out from his pocket, smiling - almost unconsciously - as he read the name that lighted up the screen. He darted his eyes over to his sister, asking for permission to pick up the call, to which she chuckled, giving him the 'go ahead'.

"Hey." Dan greeted, smiling brilliantly as he walked out of his bedroom.

"Dan." Aria's voice came through the line, soft and shaky.

The smile slipped right off of his lips and he froze. "What happened?" He demanded.

"He found out." She choked out. "He knows where I live, Dan. He knows."

"I'll be there in five." He spoke, his voice monotonous as he cut the call. "I need to go." He called over his shoulder to his sister, shrugging on a jacket and grabbing his keys; speeding his way over to Aria's flat.

When he arrived at the flat and used his spare key to enter the place, he found her sitting on the floor, her back against the side of the couch; a white note in her hand. She held it out to him silently, watching as he read it and cursed under his breath. James had never been over to Aria's flat. He never even knew where she lived; he only knew that she didn't live that far from where he did, because she always seemed to be able to walk over to his own flat. But now that he knew where she lived...

Dan dropped down next to her, gathering her in his arms as he planted kisses in her hair and cooed softly into her ear. "You'll be okay. Everything will be okay."

"I don't want to see him again." She sobbed quietly, clinging onto the front of Dan's t-shirt.

"I know, baby, I know." He sighed, burying his nose in her hair. "I don't want to see him either. I mean, I can only take so much ugliness." He joked, earning a small laugh from the girl in his arms.

They stayed silent then. Aria's mind probably reeling with thoughts on what she could do to stay away from civilisation while Dan went on tour. Dan, however, had an idea in his head. But he didn't know if she would be up for it.

"Come on tour with me." He blurted out, pulling away from her.

"Dan -"

"No." He shook his head. "Come on tour with me." He repeated, his voice gaining confidence as he brought a hand to the back of her neck and leaned their foreheads together. "That way I won't have to worry about that asshole hurting you again. Please, Ari. Come on tour with me."

She shook her head, pulling away to rest her head on his shoulder. Her lips landed on the skin of his neck lightly. "The guys -"

"The guys won't care." He cut her off again. "It'll be fun, I promise. Please come on tour with me?"

Aria was silent, seeming to be thinking it over. Dan simply hugged her tighter, wrapping his arms around her small waist and sponging kisses to the skin he had access to.

"Okay." She sighed softly, nodding. "Okay."

Dan pulled back, grinning handsomely. "It'll be fun, I promise. And I'll keep you safe."

"I know you will."

***

10th April 2013, 8.21 PM
25,000 feet above sea level

"Miss?"

Aria snapped out of her daydream, glancing at the concerned face of her best friend and the commercial smile on the face of the air stewardess, beside him.

"Would you like something to drink?" She asked again, her voice tight as though she was getting annoyed.

"Oh, um, no thank you." Aria declined politely.

She only nodded curtly, waltzing away and mumbling something softly under her breath. Aria sighed mutely, turning back to look out the window. They were flying in business class, and they were due to land in a couple of hours. She could hear Max complaining about how his bum was starting to get sore, and Matt constantly asking him to shut up because no one cared. She chuckled softly when the sound of skin-on-skin contact followed by Tom's voice asking the both of them to stop bickering was heard.

They were scaling the tour down - going in a van with a couple of their friends. Compared to how they'd been travelling in luxury buses with bigger crew teams, this was basically just a group of friends, travelling across America.

A muscled arm slid around her waist - the arm rest was pushed up - and pulled her into Dan's toned chest. She breathed a laugh as she collided with him; Dan immediately bringing his face closer to hers. The tip of his nose trailed her skin before he kissed her cheek, smiling when she nuzzled her nose against him.

"America's going to be fun." He murmured against her skin.

"You said that already."

"I know." Dan chuckled softly, burying his face in the crook of her neck as his lips massaged her skin.

To anyone else that might've been looking at them - such as the air stewardess from earlier - the interaction between the two would be perceived as one by lovers. The closeness and gentleness - it only made sense that they were lovers. However, to the rest of You Me At Six, this was them. They'd always been that way, even before and when Dan had joined the band. They had assumed, many a time, that Aria and Dan were a couple, when they were really just best friends. The undeniable adoration they had for each other made almost all of them jealous; for their relationships didn't even have that much passion and love that two separate people who weren't even together had.

"You don't have to worry about school." She mumbled, smirking a bit as he laughed quietly against her skin.

"The internet still exists in America, love."

"Yeah... But," she cut herself off, sighing.

Dan chuckled, drawing her in closer than anyone thought possible. "Since you're here, I'll be able to keep you safe." He whispered into her ear. "So safe."

She hummed, pulling back so that she could lay her head on his shoulder, his arm still wrapped tightly around her. "Why go through all the trouble? I'm no one special." She mumbled, tiredness laced in her tone.

"Because you're you. You're Aria. You're the girl I grew up with. You're the girl who genuinely believes that your death trap of a motorcycle is safer than a car." He chuckled, hearing her laugh lightly under her breath. "You're the girl who's shy when taking photos even though you're a model. You're the girl who's so beautiful, but doesn't believe it. You're the girl who's so selfless and compassionate, caring for people before yourself. And you're the girl that I'm in love with."

Dan took in a breath, awaiting a reaction. The only reaction he did get, though, was her nuzzling her head closer to him as her breathing grew even. With a sad smile, he realised that she'd fallen asleep. Maybe it was for the better that she fell asleep and didn't hear his confession. She was probably not ready for something like that.

"I love you." He spoke softly to the sleeping girl, running his hands through her hair and planting a sweet kiss to her forehead.

He'd wait, though. He'd wait for as long as it took for her to be ready - for him to see that she was ready. Because he was certain, Dan would never love another woman as much as he loves Aria. And Aria was worth the wait.

She would always be worth it.