Boys of Summer

Harry/Danny's Apartment, London, UK
July 13th
1:39 PM
DANI'S POV

"God, guys," I said sarcastically as Harry told me that I'd be staying with Jess, "Just TELL me that you don't want me around." "We don't want you around," Dougie said nonchalantly as he spooned some cereal into his mouth.

I shot him a glare, "What time will I be heading over?" "Around three," Harry said, "Tom'll drive you over." "I'm kind of sad I won't be going to Ireland with you," I admitted. "We'll be going again later this summer," Danny said, wrapping an arm around me comfortingly.

My eyes immediately shot to Dougie to see his reaction. His face was unperturbed, but I could see his arms tensed and his knuckles a shade whiter than they should've been. I smirked, "I know, thanks Danny."

I could tell that Danny was disturbed at how easy I'd been to comfort. "Not a problem, love," he said, rubbing my shoulder with his hand and kissing me on the forehead. I couldn't help but let my smirk grow when I saw Dougie jump a little, his mouth tightening. Mission accomplished.

Sighing, Danny pulled away, and it occurred to me that that particular mission might not have been the brightest. But when I turned to look, I saw no regret or sadness in Danny's eyes, but simply remembrance.

My lips pursed as Tom walked in, smiling proudly. "What're you so happy about," Dougie questioned, splashing some milk onto the counter. "That was my flying instructor-" "Flying instructor?" "Tom wants to get his pilot's license," Harry explained from the counter he was sitting on to my left.

"What he'd say?" "That he thinks I know enough to test for my license." "Cheers, man," Danny said, raising his glass of soda towards Tom. "Cheers," the boys all echoed, raising their own glasses. Satisfied, Tom sat down, and I stood awkwardly, "I'd cheer if I had a glass."

Danny handed me a glass, and I raised it slightly, "Cheers." I took a sip, but spit it onto the ground immediately, eliciting laughter all around the room. "Probably should've warned you, I mix all the pop in the fridge together."

"That tasted horrible," I said, handing the glass back to Danny. "Yeah, but I don't like deciding." "So he puts himself through torture instead," Dougie finished, causing me to smile. "Teaches him for not making decisions." "Yeah," Dougie agreed with me, and I caught Dougie's eye.

For a moment, he and I froze, just smiling at each other. Harry's distinctive throat clearing brought me back to earth, "Uh, Dans, don't you need to go pack for Jess'?" "Uh, yeah," I said, blinking and ending the trance suddenly.

Taking a deep breath and a loud swallow, I turned to go and pack. I could feel everyone's eyes on me as I exited the kitchen, and didn't doubt that they'd turn to Dougie once I'd closed the door to Harry's room. Guess they know something's up.

Oh well, Dougie can deal with it. I think I want to take a nap...

Tom's Car, London, UK
July 13th
2:56 PM
DANI'S POV

I sighed as I sat in Tom's car, staring up at Jess' building with interest. I'd never actually been to her apartment, but I knew she lived on the third floor, and there were no elevators. She didn't live in the nicest part of London, but I've been spoiled about the areas that my friends live in, so I have no right to judge what is and isn't dodgy if I've never seen dodgy.

"Thanks, Tom," I said breathlessly as I unbuckled my seatbelt. "Dani, hold on," Tom called as I was about to slam the door. My eyes clenched shut - I could tell he wanted to talk about what was going on between me and Dougie.

"What's going on between you and Dougie?" Bingo. "Nothing, see ya in two days." "Da-" I slammed the car door shut, running for Jess' apartment door. I pushed the buzzer next to Jess' name, speaking into the little box, "Hey Jess, guess who!"

I was expecting a playful reply, but only received the sound of doors unlocking as my answer. My brow furrowed, I made my way up the stairs to find the door to what I assumed to be her apartment open, the quiet sounds of sobbing emanating from them.

"Jess," I called worriedly, pushing into the apartment and leaving the door open behind me. Turning to the left, I saw Jess sitting on her loveseat, curled into a pained little ball, "JESS!" I jumped the back of the loveseat to take the redhead in my arms.

"Are you hurt?" Jess shook her head into my chest as I pulled her into a hug, cradling her. "Shh," I whispered, "Tell me what happened." "Steve, he-" My heart stopped. Steve was Jess' apparent boyfriend. They'd only been dating for a month, and from what she'd told me about him, I didn't like him at all.

Her voice broke, and I hushed her again, "What'd he do?" "He... he left me!" "What," I questioned, amazed. Despite the fact that I didn't like the guy, he was very taken with Jess. At least, according to what she'd told me.

"I, I just mentioned that I'd been talking to Tom about something, and he got all defensive. He called me a whore. I tried to tell him that nothing would happen between me and Tom, that it was all ancient history, but he just wouldn't listen! He said it was over!"

My face fell, and I instantly felt guilty. If it hadn't been for me, Jess wouldn't still be hanging out with the McFly boys.

Hearing another of Jess' distressed sobs, I pulled her tighter against me, "Shh, he's a jerk. An insecure wanker. He doesn't deserve anyone as gorgeous as you."

"He was a lawyer," she wailed, "He had his life on track! He was going to make partner! He had... he had goals and plans to reach his goals!" "Even determined people can be jerks. In fact, it's more likely that they will be. That's scientifically proven and everything."

Jess smiled at my joke as she pulled away, wiping her nose, "Thanks." "Oh, you're not done yet. Where's the closest convenience store, I'm picking up ice cream-" "Dani," Tom called, running into the room and holding my purse in his hand as he used his other to swing him around on the doorframe, "You left this in the... Jess?"

Jess turned quickly to see Tom, and she blushed as she wiped at her tear-streaked face, hoping to rub off the running make-up. "Oh, hi Tom." "Jess, what's wrong?" Without thinking, Tom jumped the couch as I had, landing awkwardly in my lap.

I scrambled out from under him, feeling ignored as I picked up my purse off the ground. I mean, I understand being concerned, but do you think I could NOT be jumped on? Any chance of that?

But when I saw the look in Tom's eye, I knew that there WASN'T any chance of me being noticed. Smiling to myself, I reached into Tom's hand and took the keys to the car out, "I think I'm just going to go tell the boys that you're not going to Ireland just yet."

Tom turned, like he was going to fight what I was saying when tears welled up in Jess' eyes again and she, mindless to any awkwardness, threw herself into Tom. I glanced over my shoulder at the pair to look at Tom, who mouthed a 'thank you' to me. I smiled and waved before slamming the door shut.

Harry/Danny's Apartment, London, UK
July 13th
3:03 PM
DANI'S POV

"What'd you mean he got sick," Harry questioned. "He got sick," I said, shrugging, "And Jess wanted to take care of him." "Jess isn't a doctor!" "She still took a biology course," I replied, acting as if Harry was dumb for not realizing.

Harry rolled his eyes, and I smiled, "Guess I'm going to Ireland with you guys." "Yeah, yeah," Harry said, "Just try to not kill Dougie." "That could be a problem," I said, smirking at my cousin as I sat on his bed and swung my legs happily. "I'm asking for you to try."

I smirked at Harry as Danny leaned in the door, "Hey, Paul's here, time to go. Dani, you're coming?" "Tom got sick," I said proudly as I pushed passed Danny, a newly-packed overnight bag in hand.

"Tom's sick?" "I don't know, she's being strange," Harry admitted behind me as he turned off his lights, following me down the hall and to the elevator. I heard Dougie groan as I entered, "She's coming?" Danny slapped Dougie upside the head as he stepped between us, "Be nice!"

Dougie pouted as he rubbed the back of his head, the elevator doors closing in front of us silently and starting on it's descent to the ground. I let my eyes wander around the steel-walls until the doors dinged and opened in front of us.

We made our way dutifully towards the van, where Paul was sitting and looking annoyed. "Hurry up, don't dally, we're late!" Three of us piled into the back of the van, leaving Danny to slam the door shut and Harry to take the passenger seat next to the semi-panicked manager.

Gatwick Airport, London, UK
July 13th
5:23 PM
DANI'S POV

Danny groaned to my right, "Paul, why did you have to drive so fast?" "Oh, you aren't sick," Paul scolded. "Yeah, but I'm bored. Why'd we have to get here so early?" "Sorry, I didn't know the flight would be delayed, beg your pardon majesty," Paul responded sarcastically.

"I'll go check on the flight stat-" "Thank you for your patience. We are pleased to announce that Flight 443 from London to Dublin will be boarding shortly. Would all business class ticket holders please form a queue at the boarding station to have your tickets checked, please? Thank you, and have a great flight."

I flinched at the girl's peppiness as I stood with the other boys, making our way towards the door where two people were waiting to check our tickets. Feeling very much like I'd done this before, which I haven't at all, I let them scan my ticket and led the way into the plane's cool cabin.

Glancing up at the seat and row numbers, I smirked when I found I'd gotten the window seat. Too bad for you all, SUCKAS! Smiling, I slipped into the row, shoving my bag under my seat and curling my legs up.

"Oh, no," Dougie moaned, glancing at his ticket, at the seat numbers, at me, and then back down at his ticket. "Harry? Will you please switch seats with me?" Paul walked into the seating-area, rolling his eyes, "Sit down, Dougie. They decided to check Harry's and Danny's bags."

"Paul, will you switch seats-" "Sir, if you could please take your assigned seat," a flight attendant said, smiling falsely from the other side of wear Paul was sitting, "You're blocking the flow of traffic."

Scowling, Dougie took the seat next to me, his foot bouncing as he kept a firm watch over his shoulder for Harry and Danny. They were among the last to come on, "Sorry, mates, random search, you know how it i-"

"Harry," Dougie called, jumping up, "Switch seats with me." "Why, you gone crackers," Danny joked as he slid in to sit next to Paul "No, please, I don’t want to-" Dougie was cut off by the firm voice over the intercom, "Welcome to flight 443 on British Airways, London to Dublin, departing at five-thirty-two and arriving at approximately seven o'clock. If everyone would please be seated-"

"Harry, come on, switch with me," Dougie urged, pulling at Harry's arm as Harry sat down. Harry had yet to look over and see why Dougie wanted to switch seats so badly, "Mate, you're acting like a proper weirdo, sit down." "No, please-" Danny laughed and pointed at me, "Oh, I get i-"

"Sir, would you please take your seat," the flight attendant from before said, her voice a bit more stony and annoyed. "But-" "Take your seat, sir, the aircraft is in motion." Indeed, the plane had started moving towards the take-off strip. Since when do planes take off this fast?

Childishly, Dougie plopped into his seat. He buckled his seatbelt, pulling it tight against his hips. I smirked, pretending to not have known what'd just gone on as Danny laughed and teased the bassist, "Watch out, Dougie, she might bite you!"

"Don't joke," Dougie urged, "She just might." Still smirking, I turned to hiss at Dougie, causing him to jump. Obviously, he thought I was deaf to what he was saying. Danny and Harry broke into fits of giggle. Oh, yeah, this might work out...

Jess' Apartment, London, UK
July 13th
8:09 PM
OMNISCIENT POV

Tom sighed as he jumped the couch, a white plastic bag in his clutches as he sat across from the cross-legged redhead. He let his foot rest on his knee as he dumped the contents of the bag into the space on the loveseat between them.

"Okay, we have some Chunky Monkey, some Rocky Road, plain Chocolate, Chocolate Caramel Fudge Delight, Brownie Blast, Mi-" "Tom," Jess laughed, "We're only two people. We're not going to eat all this."

"Yeah," Tom admitted, blushing a little, "But I forgot what you liked, so I bought a lot." Jess rolled her eyes, smiling at the boy as she grabbed the Chunky Monkey and the plastic spoons, "And the spoons?" "No dishes," Tom explained as he grabbed the Chocolate.

Jess laughed, "Clever." "Thank you." A pause came to pass between the two friends, and they ate a few bites of ice cream in the silence until Tom spoke again, "So, why were you crying so hard." "I... got dumped." "What? I thought you said you and Ian-"

"Not Ian. This other guy, Steve. He broke up with me this morning." Jess' eyes fell, and the pit of Tom's stomach dropped out. Jess has been seeing another guy this entire time? "Why'd he break up with you?" Jess bit her lip, "He thought there was something going on between us."

"Oh." Tom was at a loss for words, how does someone respond to that? "You wanna watch a movie?" "Yeah." "Dirty Dancing?" "You always know how to make me feel better," Jess said, rolling her eyes. "I'm good." "Mr. I-forget-my-ex's-favorite-kind-of-ice-cream." "Hey, I tried!"

Hotel, Dublin, Ireland
July 13th
8:34 PM
DANI'S POV

I sighed as I sat on the hotel bed, flipping through a magazine I'd bought at the gift shop downstairs. I'm pretty happy right now - I got Tom's room! It's so exciting! My own room! No sharing a bed with Harry!

Shut up. He snores, and he doesn't always shower. And I share a bed with the smelly noisy man, night in and night out. My excitement is completely and totally credited.

Everyone else was still settling in, I suspect. They said they'd give me a call when we were going to dinner, and I haven't heard so much as the ghost of my ring tone.

I threw my magazine to the side of the bed, giving up on staring at the skinny-thin models, knowing I'd only be able to think of a few key issues. You know, the normal stuff; school, my parents, whether I should dye my hair...

A certain blonde bassist who happens to have recently stolen my heart.

Immediately I was overwhelmed with feelings of confusion; as hard as I tried, I couldn't stop thinking about how badly I wanted to give up every moral and every thought of a moral I'd semi-formed, just to go on a date with Dougie, to share a few more sweet kisses.

But it made no sense - he isn't all that special. He plays the bass. He likes Blink 182 and lizards. He's got this uncanny ability to know exactly what it is I need to hear or do, and he tries to do it... when we're getting along. He knows how to fucking listen without questioning how illogical my feelings and fears are.

Well, when you put it that way, he sounds damn near perfect. I chewed on my cheek thoughtfully as I pondered the thought. He isn't perfect. I mean, more often than not he uses his ability to read me for evil, he's stubborn like an ass, and apparently has a rather unsettling obsession with porn.

Those are things I can deal with, though. I mean, I think I can. But that makes it stupid, that the only thing keeping me from going on a date is the fact that I don't want to have to tell my cousin. It's cowardly, it's sad, and in fact it's everything I'm against.

Feeling extremely emotional, tears started to well in my eyes, I'm such a hypocrite! When did I start letting fear dictate my life, my emotions? I KNOW I'm going to regret not doing something about this later, and where does regret get me anyway? Why don't I just tell Harry that I like Dougie, that I want to go on a date with Dougie? Where does a date end, anyway? Not in anything bad, for sure!

As if the mind-speak mock-slang was an affirmation, I stood. If there is one thing Danselle Lilia Fry isn't, she isn't a hypocrite and she ISN'T a coward! My jaw jutted out as I tried to swallow the tears out of my eyes.

I stormed across the hall, driven by my anger at my own actions. I didn't know what I was going to say when Dougie opened the door, but I'll fucking slap him if he doesn't get to the door in five... four... three... two...

The door was pulled open just enough for me to grab a hold of the door, "Hold on, Tom, give me a secon-" "Dougie," I cut off the boy as I slipped through the door and let it fall closed behind me. Dougie turned to face me, small droplets of water flying from his hair at the snap of his neck.

"Dani-"

"Look, Dougie, I'm a bitch. I'm uber bitch. And I hate that about me but I like that you like lizards and I like that you can listen to me without fucking bitching about my father and I like that you always seem to be right there for me when I fall and I hate that I've been so hypocritical and probably been the anti-everything you ever liked about me but I would absolutely love for you to give me another chance."

Dougie stood there for a moment, looking over me in my bare, vulnerable state. The tears I'd tried to swallow in the hallway had worked themselves back up, but it didn't matter. He just heard me ramble off the most dramatic speech I've ever made; if he's gonna make fun of me for wet eyes, then something's wrong with this picture.

He smirked at me, loosening the knot in my stomach but making my heart skip a beat, "You're assuming that I like an awful lot about you if you think that I like you that much." I smiled at what I took to be his acceptance, taking the step to crash into his lips.

Jess' Apartment, London, UK
July 13th
10:29 PM
JESS' POV

I sighed as I lay against Tom's chest, sniffing at the ending of Dirty Dancing. "Are you crying again," Tom questioned. I smiled as I felt the reverberations of his voice through his T-Shirt. "This is good crying," I responded helplessly.

"Okay, good, because otherwise I'd have to go buy more Kleenex." I smirked as I looked up at Tom, resting my chin against his chest, "Thanks for staying over." "Well, I had nothing else to do." "You had a gig," I accused, my eyes narrowing playfully.

Tom ignored the fact as he tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ears, "You're so beautiful, Jess. That Steve guy-" My face fell as I realized what I must look like. I pushed off Tom's chest, running towards the bathroom, slamming the door shut and hurriedly splashing water on my face, scrubbing at the stubborn make-up.

I could hear Tom's panic, "What'd I say? Do I have to make a Kleenex run?" "No, no, just washing my face." Now I could hear his confusion as the springs on my couch groaned, signaling he had gotten up, "I just said you were beautiful!"

I didn't respond, leaving Tom to ramble on, "Why is it that whenever you call a girl beautiful, they can never just sit and take it?" "Because I looked like a raccoon," I defended as I grabbed my lip gloss, spreading it across my lips quickly.

As soon as I put it down, the door burst open and Tom turned me around, taking my face in his hands, "You're gorgeous, Jess. A beautiful raccoon." I smiled gently at Tom, "Thanks." Tom smiled before leaning down, kissing me gently.