Boys of Summer

On The Road, UK
July 11th
10:23 PM
DANI'S POV

I sighed as I sat in the seat, the lights on the billboards flying passed as Dougie sped towards London. Our day together was fun, distracting, and undeniably over. We had a half hour until we would be back at the apartment, and therefore exactly a half an hour and half a minute before Harry would be on us like hawks, raving about Dougie's stupidity and my idiosyncrasies.

The day had been, to say the least, fun. It had started by going to the beach that, apparently, Dougie had gone to when he was a child, and what might be the only actual beach in all of England. When we got there, though, the beach was empty, and we realized it was going to rain. We stayed anyway, until it started to actually rain. By that point, I'd seen a flyer about a concert for a local band, and Dougie and I agreed it sounded like a good way to end the day.

Of course, the band was horrible, but again it was a good time... until someone decided that pouring a bucket of water on the audience would be good for the press, and I caught the bulk of it. That was how I'd found a reason to steal Dougie's sweatshirt, which I was still wearing.

I looked over at Dougie when we reached a lapse in our conversation, and it hit me that he had about as much fun today with me, a girl that he despised on first sight, as he has had with the McFly boys all summer. And that immediately got me to thinking about why that was.

This is what I came up with: McFly put out their first album when Dougie was sixteen, and ever since then, and for quite a while before, he's been working. That means that the summers that are supposed to be damn near the best of our lives - before we have to go to college and start growing up, but after we start gaining our independence - Dougie spent touring, singing, writing, and playing his bass.

And yes, I'd suppose that's all good, especially if you love music enough to make it your career, but at the same time it's almost as depressing as if he'd missed out on childhood because he was a child actor. At least, it seemed that way to me. This summer, last summer - I wouldn't give them up for the world.

That isn't to say that Dougie doesn't love being McFly, it's just to say that by being with them and having a good time, he's missed out on this completely other breed of good time, a good time he got a glimpse of with me today.

"Dans," Dougie said, drawing me out of my thoughts and sounding almost uncomfortable, "I want you to know that, whatever happened with your father, you can talk about it with me." "I know," I said, not planning on ever using his services.

"I'm not going to judge him, and I won't pity you or anything - you know, I haven't talked to my Dad since I joined McFly." My brow furrowed, "Why?" "Oh, he couldn't really stand me. I was too strange for his tastes, I think," Dougie said, very nonchalantly.

But a glance at Dougie told me that, should I talk to him, I would find something rare - someone who really wouldn't pity me, who wouldn't freak out and dare to kill my father, but would just... listen. And maybe he'd even get it a little, how I felt about my father - the fact that I don't want him dead or hurt, despite what he's done to me.

"Has he ever tried to contact you?" "Once," Dougie admitted, "But I didn't want to talk. I know he would've only put up with me for my money. Or at least, that's how I always would've felt." There was a pause, "What about you and your Dad? You two talk?"

"Oh, yeah, we talked... two days before I left." Dougie's brow furrowed, "You had that shiner when you first came." My eyes grew wide, "How did you know that?" "Your sunglasses fell off, remember? I asked you about it." "Oh, yeah, I blocked that out," I replied, sounding slightly sarcastic but serious. "Don't worry," he assured me, "I don't think anyone else noticed."

Another silence ensued, "So, he beat you?" "He didn't want me to come for the summer," I admitted, "He thought that you guys would be a bad influence and shit." I could tell Dougie wanted to laugh, but he knew better. Finally, he's got some sense. "What else has he done," Dougie pried, knowing there was more. Well, I've told Danny, might as well...

Apartment Complex, London, UK
July 11th
10:51 PM
DANI'S POV

Dougie took a deep breath as he pulled up to the apartment. I felt like a weight had been lifted off me, having talked to someone who knew, but hadn't freaked out. I didn't realize how desperately I need that until Dougie offered.

Putting the car in park and turning it off, Dougie questioned me, "You ready?" "Not at all," I admitted, eying the building carefully. Dougie laughed, grabbing my hand, "You'll be fine, Dans. I'm the one that should be terrified." "Aren't you?" "Nah," Dougie said, sounding much too confident, "Harry wouldn't ever actually kill us. We're in for a good tongue lashing, but that's all."

I rolled my eyes, before gripping Dougie's hand harder, "I still don't want to go." "Shh," Dougie hushed, and I could hear the laughter in his voice. He slipped his hand out of mine, wrapping a comforting arm around my shoulder, "You'll be fine. I kidnapped you." "Yeah, but if I say that, you might die." "I won't die," Dougie laughed quietly at my apprehension.

"Says the man on death row," I muttered. Dougie didn't respond, though, and so I continued. "Dougie, I really don't want to go back," I said. Wow, must be a day for confessions. "I know what you mean," Dougie responded, his thumb gently rubbing my arm through the sweatshirt.

And it was strange, that he did.

Had we not been in a car, and straddling the gap between the seats, I would've laid my head on his shoulder and probably sat there for another ten minutes. But, as it was, we were in a car awkwardly straddling the gap, and so we had to leave for the elevator.

The entire way I was clutching Dougie's hand, the guilt of leaving today and for the party last night compounding in my stomach and making me question the milkshake I had gotten for dessert, along with every other piece of food I had eaten that day.

"You need to calm down. We didn’t do anything wrong," Dougie assured me, and I nodded. "Calming down would entail letting my hand get some circulation," he joked, and I blushed as I let go, scooting away from him in the elevator as it dinged open.

He took a few steps forward, and I followed him. It wasn't a far walk, Harry does have the corner apartment on the side of the elevator, and that was more unnerving. With a steady hand, Dougie raised his fist and knocked on the door. "You don't have a key?" "I don't think I want to just walk in," Dougie corrected.

I smiled, which made me feel sicker, and the sickness drove me to find comfort, which I in turn found by hugging the nearest body, aka Dougie. I could tell he was taken back by my sudden affection, but I was utterly terrified at how my heart stopped when he wrapped his arms around my shoulders.

I guess Dougie felt it too, because when I raised my head to look at him, he was staring right back at me with interested eyes, confused and blue-green. Slowly, I stood on my tip-toes as Dougie leaned down, kissing me softly.

If I compared it to the time I'd kissed Danny, then it wouldn't be fair to Danny. Yeah, fireworks went off in my head when Danny kissed me, but Dougie's kiss elicited feelings I hadn't thought existed, and were nameless to me. It made Danny's kiss almost shallow by comparison.

See? Unfair to Danny.

We'd only just pulled away when the door was opened behind us. I jumped away, both from the shock of the kiss and the sound of the door opening. But I wasn't fast enough, "Oh, so it wasn't enough you took her away and shirked your duties for the day, you've got to snog her in the time it takes from me to get from my room to the door!"

"We weren't snogging, Harry, it was a hug," I defended. "You, don't talk, get inside." Every fiber of my being wanted to fight Harry, but my brain knew it was best to walk inside. So I walked, turning once I'd been behind Harry and wishing I could be out there, helping Dougie. He seemed so lonely and vulnerable out there, and Harry was about to kill him.

"I really can't believe you, Dougie. You leave without telling ANY of us where you're going, you don't pick up your cell phone, you left us without a bassist for the performance, gave us no time of return-"

"Harry," I cut him off, finally finding my voice, "Chill out. We went to the beach. Go cry about it." "Stay out of it, Dans," Harry spat, only turning over his shoulder to give me this order. "No, this has as much to do with me as it has to do with Dougie!"

"I'll deal with you later-" "No, you'll deal with us at the same time," I said, wondering if Dougie would ever jump in and, I don't know, help a little. "What Dougie did for me today was really thoughtful, and you have no right to complain. You SENT Dougie to watch out for me last night, meaning you trusted him to make sure I wouldn't be hurt. So what is so bad with trusting him to do the same for a day?"

"It isn't that I don't trust him, Dani, it's that it was all very irresponsible-" "It wasn't at all," I cried, side-glancing at Dougie and seeing that he was standing awkwardly. "He took great care of me today, he thought everything out, he attended to my every need! He was a commendable host and friend, and the fact that you're angry with him for it simply shows your irresponsibility as my host, as my cousin, and as my caretaker for the summer."

With that, I turned on my heel, stomping into Harry's room and slamming the door closed behind me.

Harry/Danny's Apartment, London, UK
July 11th
11:00 PM
DOUGIE'S POV

Dani will always amaze me with her ability to tell people off. It is one of the many things I've come to admire about her. But I can't deny that it got me in more trouble when Harry turned to me and, with a final glare, slammed the door in my face.

I stood there for a moment awkwardly, licking my lips as the last minute replaying in my mind, starting with the hug, slow-motioning through the kiss, and ending with the door slam. I reached up to touch my fingers to my lips, to check that they were still there. At that moment, it seemed quite possibly that Dani had stolen them with her lips in some cruel, elaborate prank.

Finding they were intact, I turned and hit the button for the elevator, and I pondered the age-old question that is almost forever running through my mind: what the hell just happened?

Of course, I'm not thick. I know that Dani just kissed me, and Harry yelled at me, and Dani defended me while I stood there, twiddling my thumbs and letting her my battles after showing such confidence in the car downstairs. This is what technically happened. If you asked anyone passing by, that's the answer you'd get.

But I mean, emotionally. I felt like a bit of a pansy for wondering, but I had to. Where in the hell had that kiss come from? There was this tightness in my chest and stomach, and it both constricted and loosened when she and I kissed. I was on the verge of vomiting and flying and going completely numb all at the same time. It was too movie-esque, too perfect to have been real.

Then again, could I deny it? Harry had obviously seen, or nearly seen, it. He'd commented on it. Or did I imagine it all? While Dani hugged me, did I imagine the kiss, but Harry assumed we'd kissed anyway?

Reaching my flat, I walked in on Tom, who was up with his kittens. One of them jumped off the couch, running to meet me. Absent-mindedly, I scooped her up, scratching her head and letting my eyes wander around the apartment.

"Hey, thief," Tom greeted, turning away from me and back to the kitten still in his lap, "What'd you do today?" "Went to the beach, saw a band..." "I'm glad to see that you did NOT get high while you were driving Dani around," Tom commented, smiling as I collapsed on the couch across from my blonde friend.

"I didn't," I protested, still wandering what had happened in the hallway, "Something just... came up on the ride home." "Did Harry give you a good yell," Tom questioned, smiling at me and stroking the kitten's back.

"He would've, but Dans went off on him and you know how she can get." Tom nodded, "Well, I was just staying up to make sure you got back alright. I'm off to bed, see you in the morning. Bright and early, we're hitting the road." I nodded, letting the kitten mew and follow Tom into his room.

I sat back into the couch, shaking my hair out of my face. Without anything else to do, and knowing I should be in bed, I went into my room. Greeting my animals, I realized the one thing I'd forgotten, besides extra clothing for Dani (which simply hadn't occurred to me) - food for my pets.

Biting my lip and letting my eyes grow wide, I let the world of my animals draw me away from the real world as I ran over, cooing at them that I was sorry. Absent-mindedly, I grabbed the remote for my stereo, turning it on and pushing 'play.'

Glancing up at a strange whirring noise, I realized the stereo had been set on random, and was now blasting out number thirteen on whatever album I'd last been listening to. Figuring it would be fine, I turned to attend to Jerry and Zukie.

It was when I heard the first strands of the music that I froze. I wasn't given much time for a reaction before the words pulsed through the speaker. "Oh no, it happened again. She's cool, she's hot, she's my friend."

Dropping Jerry back into the tank, I grabbed the remote again before Blink could continue to spew my feelings from the speakers. Pushing 'next,' I was displeased to find 'Short Story of a Lonely Guy' playing.

But, giving up, I blocked out the music from my mind as I reached back in to the tank, grabbing Zukie and letting him perch on my shoulder as I made my way to my bed in the corner, closing my eyes and trying to ignore Tom Delonge's persistent preaching.

"It's dumb to ask, cool to ignore. Girls posses me, but they're never mine. I made my entrance, avoided hazards, checked my engine, I fell behind. Dada, dada, dada, dada da. I fell behind. Dada, dada, dada, dada, da. She makes me feel like it's raining outside. And when the storm's gone, I'm all torn up inside. I'm always nervous on days like this, like the prom. I get too scared to move cause I'm a fucking boy."