#fng

summary: you accompany daniel to a party as his fake date to make kim jealous, but maybe it's not all about kim after all

word count: 2.2k

warnings: not the best writing, a little angst, no use of y/n, gender, race and size inclusive reader (no specifics or descriptions)

notes: requested, back from my writing break and I usually write smut so my apologies if it sucks

divider credit: @pommecita

masterlist

When Daniel had asked you to come to a party with him to make Kim jealous you had been skeptical. You were sure Kim would go totally psycho and in the best-case scenario you would leave with a fat lip and probably broken-hearted. But you were always quick to give into Daniel and this time was no different. All he had to do was use his charm that always made your heart flutter and you relented. 

Knowing Kim and Daniel they’d probably fight it out and then make up like they always did. Though usually they’d be back together by now, the thought sparked a little hope in you. Maybe this time was different. The reason for their most recent break up had gotten lost in your mind, confused with the other hundred times they’d called it off. 

Maybe through all Daniel’s complaining he hadn’t even told you. It likely didn’t even matter and you wouldn’t get your hopes up. You two had been best friends for as long as the two of you could remember but that was all. You had decided a long time ago to push down the belief that one day that would change. 

Now he was guiding you through the party, hand in hand. Your eyes scanned the crowded rooms, searching for any sign of Kim. You should be focusing on the feeling of Daniel's hand in yours but instead the nervousness pooling in your belly and the paranoia were taking control. 

“Here.”, Daniel’s voice pulls you from your thoughts. He was holding a red plastic cup out to you, filled with whatever pick of tonight's poison. Upon tasting it appeared to be a cheap vodka mixed with a weak mixer. 

“Yum.”, you mutter sarcastically, eyes scanning the kitchen the pair of you were standing in. Daniel is leaning against the counter with his own drink in hand, his signature smirk plastered across his face as he watches you. He could read your mind, knowing exactly what you were thinking and he couldn’t help but be amused by it. He taps your shoulder to regain your attention and when you spot the look on his face you almost roll your eyes. 

“What? What’s that look for?”, you ask, earning a huff and playful eye roll from him. The kitchen was getting fuller, people pouring drinks and chatting in their groups. Empty bottles and cups strewn across the island in the middle, combinations of sticky liquids spilled across the surface. 

“You need to just relax, alright?”, he grins, speaking over the chatter and low music coming from the other room. His gaze on you doesn’t falter, his attention staying fully on you even as he chugs down his own liquor and places the empty cup beside him on the counter. 

“Relax? Don’t tell me to relax when your crazy ex-girlfriend is probably going to throw a right hook at me when I turn a corner.”, you say, the words coming out just sharper than you intended. You made your dislike of Kim pretty clear to Daniel after their first break-up, but you tried to dial it down for a while, especially after you were accused of being jealous. After the about fiftieth fight, you’d mostly given up on holding yourself back unless you could tell it was actually upsetting your best friend.  

“Kim’s not going to do anything, not tonight. So you can just chill, enjoy it.”, he says unfazed with a reassurance that sounds like he knows what he’s talking about. Like he knows Kim won’t be a problem. 

You eye him suspiciously, studying his face which just makes him chuckle and shake his head. How could he always be so laid back? 

He motions his head to the entryway of the kitchen that leads back into the living area, “C’mon, let’s go find the guys.” He pushes off the counter and rests his hand on the small of your back, once again guiding you through the packed house. 

You leave the kitchen to find the other two boys along with Lindsay. Again you look around the room on edge. You should be enjoying and making the most of being Daniel’s fake date but you just couldn’t. 

Nick is standing against a wall with Lindsay. You could already tell he was stoned, especially when he looked down at you with glassy eyes and an expression like he was holding back a chuckle at the sight of you and Daniel. Ken was on the other side of the room, drink in hand almost spilling as he was on the brink of passing out.  

“Hey, you two.”, Nick greets. Both he and Lindsay taking note of Daniel's hand on your back as he moves it to drape over your shoulders and pull you into his side. Nick definitely was aware of Daniel's plan, Lindsay on the other hand perhaps not so much. 

“Are you guys here… together?”Lindsay asks with furrowed brows, trying to work out the scene in front of her. She was used to the closeness of you two, as was everyone else. Daniel was always this way with everyone though, with you slightly more. Of course that was only when Kim wasn’t around but you had yourself convinced it was nothing. Daniel just knew Kim was over the top jealous and possessive. And she’d seemingly decided you were her number one threat. 

Nick turns to her, grinning. “Oh yeah, they are. Daniels conjured up a master plan to make Kim jealous.” You take a sip from your plastic cup and your eyes roll. Regret was starting to set in. 

“Shut up.”, Daniel groans, rolling his eyes just as you had. You take the moment to discard your cup, leaving it abandoned on the nearest surface. 

“But I thought-”, Lindsay starts saying before Nick stops her. You wonder what she was going to say but you don't get the chance to ask as Daniel pulls you away.

“Let’s go outside.”, he says, picking up on how alert and paranoid you were acting, and clearly he wanted to avoid whatever Lindsay had almost slipped out. 

You let him lead you out to the near-empty backyard. When you walk out the cold air is a harsh change to the stuffy alcohol-stale environment inside. Daniel finally drops his arm from around your shoulders, leaving you to cross your own over your chest in an effort to shield yourself from the cold. 

He turns to you, looking down at you somewhat more seriously than before but still keeping his usual grin. “You’re not having much fun, are you?”

You huff and meet his eyes, “I’m sorry, Daniel, but it’s kind of hard when I have to worry about Kim the whole time.” You watch Daniel's internal struggle unfold after the sentence leaves your lips. Tonight obviously wasn’t going how he’d had it planned out in his head. 

Daniel’s reluctant to speak but he does, not being able to find a way to say what he wants any differently and he knows he can’t hide it any longer. “She’s not coming.” He hadn’t wanted to reveal it so soon if at all but he couldn’t watch you have a bad time for much longer.

You stare at him in a mixture of shock and disbelief, “What?” How could Kim not be coming? That would render the whole plan useless. 

He looks away and then back at the floor before finally meeting your eyes again, “I didn’t bring you here to make Kim jealous.” 

“Daniel-, I don’t understand. What are you talking about?”, you question, bewildered by the confession. . 

“I-”, he starts and stops like he doesn’t want to continue but he forces himself to, “I just wanted an excuse to take you out. For you to be mine for a night.” 

Your eyes widen in shock as you stare at him, your brain struggling to process what he was saying. When you don’t reply he speaks again, “Is that really so bad?” He searches your face for any hint of what was going on inside that head of yours.

When he still doesn’t get a response Daniel’s face starts to drop like he’s regretting saying anything. You’re having a hard time wrapping your head around it and you’re not entirely sure this isn’t some joke. You think back to the interaction you had with Nick and Lindsay inside, could they all really just be messing with you?

“Then why didn’t you just ask me? What did you expect to get out of me thinking this was all an act?”, your voice filled with ammunition. The whiplash of it all was getting you fired up, you couldn’t believe him, not just yet. 

Daniel, not being one who’s good with rejection was also getting heated, his tone growing defensive and voice louder, “I didn’t think you’d take me seriously, I didn’t know how to ask and I didn’t want to risk losing you!”. He pauses and rubs a hand across his face. His voice lowers back down, “I thought maybe if we pretended for one night then maybe, just maybe, you’d realise how good we are together. As more than just friends.”

Stunned. That’s the only word to describe how you’re feeling. Overall your years of knowing Daniel, you’d rarely witnessed him without his cocky grin, bravado and dry, sardonic wit. But here before you stood Daniel being vulnerable. 

“You’re serious, aren’t you?”, you murmur, looking up at his puppy eyes pleading with you to believe him, to not let this drive the two of you apart. “So none of this was about Kim?”, now you sounded like the pleading one. 

Daniel sighs and runs a hand through his hair, a nervous tic you’ve seen a thousand times, “I know I should have just asked you out like a normal person, alright? None of this fake dating bullshit. I messed up. And no, this was never about Kim.”

It was never about Kim.

Part of you didn’t want to believe him, to let your guard down when it came to something like this. But deep down you knew that if this was just some cruel prank then Daniel wouldn't be behaving like this. You knew him too well. 

When you answer your voice is barely above a whisper, “Prove it.” He steps closer to you, closing the gap between you.

The buzz of the alcohol, the party and the quiet chatter and laughter from the few other guests outside dulls. Your eyes stay interlocked except when both your gazes flicker down to one another's lips. Daniel reaches up to cup your jaw in his hand, thumb brushing against the smooth skin. 

“You want me to prove it? I’ll prove it, I’ll do what I’ve been waiting to do since the seventh grade.”, He lowers his face down and you reach up to meet him, lips connecting. 

His lips move slowly against yours at first, savouring the moment that's been slowly building between the two of you for years. Your fingers rake through the short hair on the back of his head, other hand holding onto his shoulder. 

You didn’t want to part, wanting this moment to last forever but eventually, when you're both red-lipped and panting you have to pull away. Your faces stay just mere inches apart as Daniel speaks low and husky, “Believe me now?”

You nod, eyes on his swollen lips begging to feel them against yours again. He smirks and kisses you again, he could never deny you what you wanted. This time the kiss is more feverish, heated. 

When his tongue slips against yours you can taste the faint hint of vodka. Once your lips are connected his forehead rests against yours, both panting for air with wide smiles and breathless chuckles. 

“I really love you, you know that?”, he grins like the happiest man alive, standing up straight so he can take in the full flustered image of you in front of him. 

You jab his side like you always do in a form of playful affection that makes him laugh and grin wider, grabbing your arm to pull you against him. He buries his head in the crook of your neck, taking in the sweet scent of your hair. 

“This is really for real?”, you can’t help but ask, the whole thing feeling surreal. 

“Yes, very real.”, he laughs behind you, arms wrapped tightly around your frame. 

“Just making sure.”, you hum, cheeks pink and warm. He presses a kiss to one, and you both stand there in comfortable silence, swaying slightly and taking in the moment. The cold air not the only cause for the goosebumps along your skin. 

The peace is only broken by the sliding door opening, the sound of the party inside cutting through the silent night. Drunk partygoers step out, paying the two of you no mind. Neither of you make an effort to move, Daniel's head resting atop yours.

Kim was still going to be an issue no doubt, but right now that didn’t matter. The last thing on your mind was Kim Kelly. She was tomorrow's problem. 

So I need both of them to have a heart to heart about Shappo being let down so many times by Multi and FNG being constantly reminded by Katie that "he's not her baby and she didn't want to adopt him"