Work Text:
That friday night she had to stay late at work to finish an important rapport for her boss. Being wrapped up in it, she didn’t think of telling Dan that she was going to be late for their usual friday movie night.
Dan arrives at her place at 7, as every Friday, a pack of 6 beers under his arm. He knocks, and knocks again before sending her a text to see why she « let him rot on the doorstep forever ».
Her heart gives a leap seing Dan’s name appear on her phone. It always did. She laughs quietly reading his drama queen text, and answers him quickly that she was going to be late. She gives him the location off her not so well hidden key under a flower pot, and tells him to make himself at home.
Dan takes the key with a frown. A whole lot of creepy men could easily find this key and get in… he’s gonna have to have a word with her about that, he can’t let that happen.
He gets in and ends up standing behind the closed entry door for a good five minutes not knowing what to do with himself. After all, they're just friends, new friends at that just having met a couple of months ago. They hit it off really quickly and strongly one night at the local bar, and since then became really close but still… He finds it kind of weird and unconfortable being in her appartement without her in it.
He finally moves to the couch and sits awkardly on it. Something black and worn out, a journal probably, immediatly catches his eye on the usually neat table. She, unlike him, was good at keeping her appartment tidy with everything put on it's right place.
He looks at it, and looks, and looks, and it seems like he can’t look anywhere else. A thousand of questions per minute are swirling inside his head (is this hers ? did she wrote in it ? if so, what could she possibly have written in it ? did she wrote about him in it ? of course not, how stupid was he… what would she even write about him pfff…).
He knows he shouldn’t do it, he knows damn well he shouldn't. He knows he’s gonna regret it as soon as he'll open it but he can’t, he really can’t restrain himself from getting up and plucking the journal from the table, opening it immediatly.
On the first few pages they are doodles, doodles of eyes, monsters, and some unrecognizable things. She was never good at drawing, but not being good at a thing never stopped her from doing it. It was one of the many, many things Dan liked about her.
He watchs carefully all the drafts, trying to comprehend what she was trying to represent. He laughs genuily about a particularly ugly drawing of a dog, but he's soon cut short when his eyes fall upon a page where actual words were written.
It's a song or a poem, he's not quite sure, she had written. It's about a guy. Not just an average guy, no. A guy who she depains as the sun, the moon and every other fucking planets too.
According to her words, he was an universe by himself. And a better one that the one we live in that is. According to him he was just a fucking bastard. A fucking lucky bastard.
His stomach drops. He knew when he met her, he knew when he fell slowly but deeply aggravated with her… He knew he was only settling himself for a big disappointment. And here it was, the cold shower.
He closes the journal, not daring giving a look at the next pages. He’s seen enough already. He places it back on the table and busies himself on his phone, despite his mind only focussing on her with a mysterious man that, sadly, wasn't him.
She's finally free. Her rapport completed, printed and on top of her boss’ desk.
Like everyday, she takes the tube back home. Her mind having erased the rapport as soon as it was done was now only concentrating on him. It was the only thing it seems to concentrate on these days. She couldn’t wait to be home, to sank herself deep into the cushions of her confortable couch and watch wathever movie he had planned for them while sipping on a cold beer.
She opens the door to find him on her couch, watching her. An immediate big smile makes its way to her face only to be met by a really fake one by him. She goes to sit on the couch with him, not daring to make a comment about it yet.
She lets herself fall lazily on the couch with a content sigh, only to froze half a second later when her eyes meet the journal on the table. She had totally forgotten to hide it in it’s safe place after drawing on it this morning.
She gets up again and snatches up the journal from the table, holding it close to her chest. Her eyes move to him, who's watching her carefully. She asks him with a surprisingly calm tone whether or not he had read it.
She can read him like nobody else, despite not knowing him for a long time. She sees in his eyes that he's actually considering lying to her, finally deciding against it and watching her with guilty eyes without saying a word.
The tears are coming to her eyes rapidly and, against the better judgment, she makes a run for her bedroom slamming the door shut.
He sits, frozen on the couch. What the hell did just happen ? He knew even before reading it that he souldn’t do it, but he was absolutly not prepared for this kind of reaction.
He gets up slowly, still groggy from what just happened and makes his way to her room. He knocks softly. She doesn't reply. Of course she doesn't.
He can't stand it, he just can’t stand seeing her like this, even more knowing it's his fault. He goes inside without being invited to. At this point one more or one less mistake anyway…
She's sitting on her bed, the journal still clutched to her chest. She's not crying but is close to. He knows one bad choice of words from his part will open the flow of tears she's restraining for now. So, knowing himself quite well, he just shut up. Besides, it's not like he has any idea what to say, or what is happening...
« You ruined it. » she simply states.
« I… what ? »
« You ruined it. Our friendship. »
« Wait ! What ? No ! You can’t , oh my god, you can’t just say that… Just because I read it… I… you have to forgive me, come on now… I… »
« We can’t be friends now that you know… it would be too weird and painful. »
« Now that I know what ? That you can’t draw for your life ? I already knew that, I can't possibly forget this game of pictionnary that you lost majestically ! »
She doesn't smile. Actually she doesn't react at all at his lame attempt at a joke. Ignoring it, she just adds :
« I think you should go now. »
« But… why ? Look, I apologise okay ? I know I shouldn’t have done it and I’m an asshole for invading your privacy but… please. Why are you making such a big deal out of this ? »
« BECAUSE DAN » she says raising her voice, the hysteria she’s feeling slowly getting the best of her.
« Are you really going to play dumb right now ? I told you... it would be to painful for me to pretend that it’s not killing me spending time with you, laughing with you and looking at you, now that you know. »
« NOW THAT I KNOW WHAT FOR GOD'S SAKE ? »
« THAT I’M IN LOVE WITH YOU !
« I… you… what ? »