surprise date ~ dylan gardner
word count: 2222
request: yes!
@bitweird1 “Could you maybe do one where the reader is part of the squad and after Shane and the others see the reader and Dylan meet for the first time they see that they both like eachother and they set up a date for them (Like the one they did for Andrew and Megan in the video "BLIND DATE FOR MY CAMERAMAN!") and maybe Shane or one of the others sees them kiss while they're out side like that part near the end of the video?”
description: in which your friend group sets you up on a date with a guy you have a crush on...without telling you
pairing: dylan gardner x female!reader
warnings: swearing
masterlist
The first hint I had that something was going on was when I stepped into Shane’s house and was immediately met with Andrew holding the camera.
“What’s going on?” I asked him, noting that Shane was missing as well.
“Shane has a surprise for you,” Andrew responded.
I cringed. Shane’s surprises can be super crazy or super sweet, or both. Usually I was in on these surprises, so I didn’t have to worry, but today I wasn’t sure what to expect. I didn't know what Shane could even surprise me with.
Andrew led me over to the couch and told me to sit down and close my eyes. I rolled my eyes but did as he said. I felt my anxiety increasing as I waited for whatever the surprise was.
“Is she here?” I heard Shane call.
“She’s here!” Shane confirmed!
I heard footsteps approaching, two sets of them. I wasn’t sure if that was part of my surprise or if it was just Shane and Ryland, or Shane and Garrett.
The couch dipped next to me, indicating someone had sat next to me. I heard Shane’s voice in front of me, which told me that it wasn’t him next to me, saying, “Okay...open your eyes!”
Shane was stood in front of me wearing a button up shirt and a tie, matching what Andre w was wearing. I looked to see that the person sat next to me was Dylan Gardener, a friend of Shane’s.
I had to stop myself from jumping off the couch right at that moment, but I couldn’t stop the blush creeping up on my face. I had met Dylan about a week ago when the Squad filmed a video where we made a squad song as a joke for Garrett’s channel. I found myself developing feelings for Dylan, which of course Shane noticed cause Shane notices everything. He promised he’d keep it a secret. If he broke that promise...
“Welcome to your surprise date!” Shane announced. “An accidental series on my channel, apparently.”
…I’m gonna kill him.
I wasn’t sure what to say. Dylan had a small smile on his face but I could tell he was also feeling as awkward as I was. I stood suddenly, addressing Shane as I said, “Can I talk to you...alone?”
Before he could respond, I took his hand and led him somewhere more private.
“I thought we were keeping this between us,” I whispered.
“He doesn’t know you like him,” Shane responded. “I mean...not entirely. I told him I wanted to set you guys up because I think you’d be cute together and you’ve both been single for a while and you know how I like to exploit that.” I couldn’t help but smile a little at that. “I’m serious though, (Y/N), you two would be so cute together. Just give this a chance. Please?”
Shane smiled at me, expectantly. I sighed. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to go ahead with this surprise date. I definitely was too awkward to ask Dylan out on my own.
“Okay, fine,” I sighed. “Let’s do this.”
Shane clapped excitedly and I tried to roll my eyes but I couldn’t help but smile as I did.
~~~~~~
Moments later, I was sat at Shane’s dinner table with Dylan sat next to me. Shane and Andrew were in Shane’s kitchen getting our “meal” ready for our “date.”
Things were awkwardly quiet. Neither of us really knew what to talk about. What do you say to someone you had a date with sprung upon you out of nowhere?
“This is awkward, isn’t it?” Dylan asked after our prolonged silence.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Very awkward. I’m sorry Shane put you up to this.”
“He didn’t put me up to anything. He asked me if I wanted to come over and do a surprise date video, but he said it’s also not just for the video that it could be a real thing. I thought you were pretty cool, so how could I pass up that opportunity?”
I felt my face heat up again. He thought I was "pretty cool”? What did that mean? Was that a good thing? It must’ve been if he was here on a date with me.
“I would’ve liked to get to know you more before being set up on a date,” I told him. “No offense or anything obviously. You’re really nice, and you’re pretty cool too. But I’m not really a person who meets someone and immediately plans to go on a date, you know? I prefer to get to know someone first and make that decision. I don’t even go to clubs to meet people. That scares me, actually.”
I was rambling. I needed to stop rambling.
But Dylan was laughing. He didn’t mind my rambling! “I understand that. Too many people are okay with jumping into relationships right away and I also prefer to get to know someone before I go on a date. It’s like what if you go on a date and they really like you but you don’t feel the spark and then it’s this awkward thing where you have to tell them you don’t see them like that?”
“That’s exactly what I say!” I told him.
“At least we have that going for us,” he said with a laugh. I laughed as well. I was starting to feel a bit more comfortable.
“The food is served!” Shane announced as he entered holding two plates.
The food actually looked pretty good. Judging on the food from the last two times Shane did this, I was expecting something like a plate of Cheez-Its and some Diet Cola. “This looks edible, wow.”
“Hurtful!” Shane exclaimed. “But that’s because it’s Hello Fresh, not spon but Ryland is so we have a lot.”
I shrugged and decided to start digging in. Dylan did as well, so there was no awkward silence in between us as we ate. Shane sat down across the table from us and Andrew stood beside him, filming everything. I looked up at the two of them, curious as to what they were to do next.
“Have you guys been talking? Getting to know one another?” Shane asked, leaning forward was near excitement.
“We were talking before you came in,” I confirmed. “About first dates and stuff.”
“Good start, good start,” Shane said, looking at Andrew and nodding as if they were both agreeing. “You should talk about something you’re both passionate about.”
“Like what?” Dylan asked.
“Music?” Andrew suggested.
“Yes!” Shane exclaimed. “I mean obviously Dylan has a passion for music, but what you may not know is (Y/N), too. She’s an amazing singer.”
I shook my head. “No way, singing is not my passion. Singing is something I do in the car or the shower when I’m joking around.”
“No, you are a really good singer,” Dylan said. “When we did that song last week I was honestly blown away with how good your voice was. Like you should sing more often, make a cover channel or something.”
I shoved another fork full of food into my mouth, not sure what else to say. Sure, the Squad was always telling me that my singing was good, but I never really believed them. To hear it coming from Dylan, who was an actual musician, and who I had a sort of crush on, was a whole other thing.
“I feel like this could be like a bad thing to talk about on a date,” Andrew started, “but maybe you could talk about like past relationships or past dates or something. You know, swap dating horror stories.”
Dylan chuckled. “Unfortunately my stories aren’t all that scary. The longest relationship I had was maybe six months long and we broke up because we just weren’t right for each other. After that I went on a lot of Tinder dates but nothing that really stuck.”
“I have plenty of dating horror stories,” I admitted. “Most my exes have been absolute nightmares; manipulative, mentally and verbally abusive, just all around toxic. I somehow have a type of guys who start out nice and turn out to be awful. It’s really scared me away from dating as of late because I’m afraid of how things will go with the next person.”
Dylan reached out and took hold of my hand. “That’s awful. I’m so sorry you’ve had to go through that. You deserve someone who’s going to treat you like the queen that you are, and give you the world and then some.”
I had never been told that before. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from crying. That would be real romantic on a first date. I smiled at Dylan and he smiled back. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Shane exchange a look with Andrew.
~~~~~~
After an awkward date that was mainly that way because we both knew we were being filmed, Dylan told Shane he wanted to talk to me in private. I started to feel anxious again as he took me outside.
“I really am sorry about this,” I told him. “I know tonight was super awkward. I really didn’t know that Shane was doing this.”
“I know, Shane told me the everything,” Dylan admitted.
I raised an eyebrow at him. “How much is everything?”
“He told me that he figured you had some feelings for me, and he wanted to help you act on those because he knew you wouldn’t do it on your own.”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Shane did tell Dylan about my feeling for him. I was definitely going to kill him when Dylan left.
“I’m so sorry,” I said again, pinching my nose in slight frustration. “God, that’s so awkward! I’m so sorry, Dylan.”
Dylan was laughing. “No, don’t be sorry. Really, you have no reason to be. I mean, I agreed to this, and I did that because...well...I like you, too.”
I wasn’t really sure how to respond to that. It was like my entire brain shut down when he said it to me. How do I respond to that? What do I say?
I looked down at my feet, trying to find the words. “Do you really?”
He chuckled again. His laugh was so pretty, I liked it a lot. “I do. I meant what I said earlier, you’re pretty cool. You’re really nice. When Shane asked about going on the date tonight I was actually very excited. Like you said, I would’ve liked getting to know you first and then see where things take us, but if I’m being honest I’m glad to get the awkward first date out of the way now so the next one isn’t as awkward.”
I looked up at him quickly. “The next one?”
Dylan shrugged. “If you want I’d like to go on another date.”
If I wanted to? Of course I wanted to! I wanted nothing more than to go on a second date with Dylan, more than a second date. Many, many, dates! But I didn’t want to seem too forward just yet.
When I didn’t say anything, Dylan cupped my face in his hands and tilted my head back to look up at him. “I know you said you’ve had troubles in the past with boyfriends and you’re afraid to date, and I understand that with what you’ve gone through. You’ve probably heard this multiple times before, but I promise you I won’t be like that. I meant what I said, you deserve the world and more. If you’ll let me, I’d like to give you the world.”
Unable to voice a response, I leaned forward and kissed Dylan instead. I felt the smile against his lips as he kissed me back.
When this night started, I definitely did not expect it to go this far. I didn’t expect us to be talking about future dates, a future relationship, and I definitely did not expect us to be kissing. But I’m glad it was exceeding expectations. The kiss was definitely exceeding expectations, it was probably the best kiss I had ever had in my life.
He pulled away and I couldn’t help the wide smile on my face. Dylan’s smile mirrored mine. We stood like that for a while, just smiling, not wanting the moment to pass.
“I wish I could stay longer,” he told me, “but I have a full day of editing tomorrow and should probably get some sleep. But...can I maybe have you r number and we’ll plan a less awkward, more private second date?”
I nodded excitedly, taking Dylan’s phone and adding my number. As he took his phone back, he quickly dipped to place another kiss on my lips before walking to his car. I watched him go, up until his car pulled out of the driveway and drove away.
I took a deep breath, still a wide smile on my face, and turned to walk back into Shane’s house. When I stepped in, I was met with Andrew still filming and Shane with a wide smile on his face.
“Shut the fuck up,” I told them, but was still smiling. I didn’t think I’d stop smiling anytime soon.
