'I thought so' I smile wryly.

'Well, do you want to?' Dan asks me.

'Do I want to what?'

Dan exhales. 'Stop being so difficult'.

'I'm not difficult. I just have layers'.

'No, you're difficult'.

'Layers' I mutter under my breath.

'You keep telling yourself that' Dan laughs. He holds out his hand. 'Shall we go?'

'I really don't care'.

'Let's go then'.

Dan and I walk out of his house and I insist on going home first to change before we go to the cinema.

'Are your parents not in?' It's Dan's turn to ask me.

'Aboard' I say as a way of explanation as Gerard lets us in.

'Are they ever home?'

'Usually. Around nine months out of the twelve'.

'Do you miss them?'

'I guess' I shrug as we enter my room and I head straight for my walk-in wardrobe.

Dan sits down on the loveseat in the corner of my room, and tries not to look bored as I decide what to wear.

'I don't have anything to wear' I moan.

'Yes you do' he replied.

'But I've worn them before'.

Dan sighs and shakes his head. 'First world problems. Can't you just pick something already?'

I ignore his barbed comment. 'Fine' I grumble as I pull out a red Miu Miu Cire skirt and a Chinti & Parker blue cashmere sweater. 'Don't look' I say to Dan as I undress. 'Done' I say, looking at myself in the full length mirror. 'Not bad'.

'Ready?' This time, Dan can't keep the monotonous tone out of his voice.

'Yeah, just let me grab a pair of shoes'.

'Oh God' I hear him mutter under his breath.

Grabbing a pair of white Celine leather Mary-Janes, I smirk at Dan.

'That was quick'.

'I'm a woman of many talents'.

'What talents do you possess then?' Dan asks me as we walk back downstairs and out into the cool night.

'Why do you want to know so much about me?'

'It's completely your own fault. The less you want me to know about you, the more I want to find out. Especially if it annoys you.

'Nice. What gives you the right?'

'You kind of set the predicament when we first met, didn't you?'

When we get to the cinema, Dan insists on paying. 'Popcorn?' He asks me.

I shake my head. 'No thanks. You can though if you want'.

'How generous. I think my nice attitude is rubbing off on you'.

'Don't count on it' I mutter and Dan laughs. I like his laugh.

We pick our seats and I'm distinctively aware of Dan's arm touching mine as he taps the armrest.

'If I knew why you liked me, I could probably handle it a lot better' I say as Dan's head turns towards mine. The glow of the screen illuminates part of his face, leaving the rest in the shadows.

'That makes two of us. Do you even like me at all?'

I look at him properly. His fringe blends in with the dark background, and the shadows fill the space under his cheekbones.

'I-' I start before I'm cut off.

'Shhhh!' A woman in front of turns around and glares at us, shaking her head disapprovingly. I resist the urge to giggle.

I lower my voice and Dan leans forward so my mouth is at his ear. 'I don't know. It kind of freaks me out so I try not to think about it'.

Dan moves back and nods slightly. 'Okay'.

His expression is so forlorn that I feel guilty and I want it to go away. So I do that really stupid thing.

I lean over and kiss him.