I drifted off to sleep peacefully that day, which was suprising, I hadn't been able to sleep for months properly. But that night, my mind seemed to be free of depressing thoughts, worries, & nightmares. I felt great the next morning. That was very unusual.

I managed to climb out of bed when I realised it was time for me to get out. Walking towards the bathroom, I thought over what had occurred unexpectedly yesterday. As I brushed my teeth and washed my face, I couldnt help but think about my encounter with no other than Dan Howell.

He was definitely full of surprises, but the one thing that had struck me was the fact that we were so alike- and I loved it. I've had plenty of trouble and lessons about the men of this city- but he was so different. I was intrigued by his character, also his looks drew me in.

The thing about the guys in this city, is that they practically act like half their age, or just cannot speak properly. Dan's accent clouded my head, ringing in my ears. Which reminded me of how decent he was compared to the other douche-bags in this area. He was literally one of a kind- and I liked that.

I don't think I'm falling for him just yet- something is there, but not fully there. I don't think I could see us strolling down the street hand-in-hand just yet. I can't fall for a guy I've known for less than a day.

However, that little voice in the back of my head is convincing me to see him again. I just feel like there is more to learn and love about this guy. So far as I know, my head is definitely not disagreeing with that.

I felt a pang of worry strike me, I was not a very talkative person, but yesterday I felt like I could talk to Dan about anything, but now I know if I possibly see him again, I will make a fool out of myself.

This stupid anxiety problem has definitely gotten the best of me. I've turned down so many opportunities because of this problem, and it was destroying me.

I stared into the reflection of myself in the mirror- eyeing my blue-green irises, my ombré hair (inspired by Zoella Sugg, of course), and my dark blue bags plastered under my eyes. They were horrible, dark, and deep. I had struggled with this problem since I was about seven. In high school, I used to get teased a lot because of them. I was always asked if I was on drugs or steroids.

But now staring at the mirror, I felt a little bit of inspiration flutter through my veins. If I was going to get to know this guy, I'd have to stop worrying and overcome my anxiety for just one day. This should be fun for my brain.

I turned on my heels and headed for the kitchen- spying on the time on the oven clock, 9:42am.

Opening the fridge, I scanned the shelves for something for breakfast, but to my horror, I barely had anything in the fridge.

I sparked an idea, and smiled, closing the fridge door, then skipping to my room.

I reached for my phone, unlocking it to find no calls or texts from Dan. Just a text from Miya, asking if he had contacted, I typed no.

So then, I decided to do something spontaneous and a little embarrassing. This required twenty seconds of courage. Twenty seconds of embarrassing bravery.

It rang. And rang. And rang. No picking up.

I sighed and hovered my finger over the 'end call' button ready to press it as I heard a faint "hello".

My heart jumped as I replied, "hey Dan, sorry, did I wake you?" I tried to sound sorry.

"Um- no I was already up- er, it doesn't matter, how are you?" His voice was sleepy, I couldn't help but feel attracted. I could tell I did wake him up. Great.

"Dan, if I did wake you up, just go back to sleep- I don't mind." I encouraged.

"No, no- it's fine. I'm awake now, I don't mind. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm completely fine-" major lie. My stomach was in knots, "I was just calling to ask you something."

"Shoot."

I took a little breath, "um, do you wanna go have breakfast? My fridge is empty and my Tesco delivery won't get here till four, so I was wondering if we could go McDonalds- er, you know just for breakfast- sorry for asking if I, um, woke you-" if I order now, my Tesco delivery would probably come a little earlier than four.

"Don't be silly, I'd love to come. I haven't been to McDonalds for their breakfast for so long, what time do you wanna meet?"

I thought for a moment- "um, twenty minutes okay for you?"

"Yep, sure."

"Okay! See ya." I hung up.

A huge Cheshire Cat grin crept upon my face- I couldn't believe it. I had actually made plans to go out with a guy. This was truly amazing, I never knew I would ever be able to do something like this, mostly because anxiety was weighing me down.

I couldn't stop grinning, my cheeks were becoming sore, but I eventually forced myself to stop. I quickly picked out a simple outfit for my meet with Dan- which consisted of a red & black flannel, paired with dark blue jeans, a pair of combat boots teamed with a chunky cream scarf and green parka, topped of with my tan leather-look backpack and a cross necklace.

After I had threw those clothes on, I quickly applied my makeup. I had to rush slightly because I didn't want to waste Dan's time. But it came out okay, which I was proud of for taking a little over five minutes to do it.

As I finished I took one last glance in the mirror, my hair was natural and wavy today, thank god I didn't have to waste time on that. I nodded as I approved of my look, snatching my bag from my messy bed and grabbing my keys. I left the flat in an instant.

I strolled past the traffic lights as the winter breeze washed over my face, blowing my hair back. McDonalds wasn't far from my house- possibly a five minute walk. I pushed past a towering woman, trying to reach my destination, but she looked at me with disgust.

I sighed and turned a corner to enter the shopping centre I was once at yesterday, and travelled up a couple of escalators. It wasnt quite as busy as yesterday, but still full of people. I reached the top of the escalator and strolled towards McDonalds. I hope he wouldn't come too late- other wise I'll just be waiting by myself awkwardly. Ugh.

I pushed the door open and peered around; the line was short, thank god but I couldn't see him-

"Aria?"

I spun around to see his angelic face peering down at me, smiling gently. His eyes were soft- like melted chocolates with his dimples imprinted into his soft cheeks. I was a little flustered.

"Hey, how are you?" I asked calmly, trying to stop staring at his face.

"I'm fine, what about you?" He replied, leading me to the queue so we could wait to be served.

"I'm alright, as usual." I smiled, thinking of some other things to say.

Just as I was about to open my mouth, the McDonalds server called 'next' and we shuffled towards her as she asked for our requests.

"I would like the pancake and sausage meal please- and a hot chocolate." I smiled, she returned it whilst turning to Dan.

"Um, I'll get the same thing please, but I want a coffee instead of hot chocolate."

She registered our orders and I scrambled in my bag for change, but just as I held my hand out to pay, he pushed it away and handed her a ten pound note.

"Dan, you dont have to pay for me, that's unfair on you."

"No, its fine I insist," he smiled at me, I smiled thankfully.

The woman handed him the change and a tray of food, we walked over to a table, I picked up some sugar packets and wooden stirrers for our drinks. We say down opposite each other, selecting our food from the tray, I smiled.

"So, what do you have planned today?" He broke the silence, shoving a forkful of pancakes into his mouth. I took a sip of my prepared hot chocolate.

"To be honest, I don't know. Maybe go window shopping or something, what about you?" I asked, slicing my pancakes and drenching them in syrup.

"I dont know either," I nodded, panicking because I hadn't the slightest idea on what to say next.

"Actually," he began, "i forgot to ask yesterday. What part of London are you from? I don't know what your accent is." He grinned.

I giggled a little, "it's quite a long story, but I'll tell you anyway. I was born in Wembley, the suburban area of London, but when I was five I moved down south of England to Brighton, then six years after that I moved back down to Wembley. When I moved back, my accent was evolving into a London accent, but still had hints of my English accent. So now I'm stuck with a really crap accent." I ate some pancake after finishing.

"it's not crap- I love it," he smiled, flipping his hair to the side.

"Thanks, but I prefer yours, its very..." I struggled to find the right word.

"Articulate?" He suggested.

"Yeah, articulate. I was going to say posh- but that would've sounded dumb." He smiled then ate more of his pancakes, when he'd swallowed I noticed a little blob of syrup on his chin, I giggled stupidly.

"Dan, you have a bit of syrup here," I tapped on my chin to demonstrate. He nodded and grabbed a napkin, completely wiping the wrong area.

I grabbed a napkin and bravely lent across the table, he lent forward too as I wiped the syrup from his chin. I have to admit, his skin was flawless.

"Thanks," he smirked, he ran a hand through his hair, then dropping it over his coffee and spilt it.

"Fuck," he muttered, eyes wide and franically trying to clean up the mess with napkins I had picked up earlier. I laughed as he cleared the last of the liquid.

"So, is this how you seduce women?" I smiled, trying to be flirty.

"Depends," he grinned, deepening the dimples, "did it work?"

I lent forward, resting my chin on my hands, with my elbows on the table, "what do you think?" I challenged.

He copied my posture, our faces were quite close, "I think we should spend the day together."

My heartbeat picked up, heat radiating from my body. My mind was screaming no, but my heart protested against that. I am definitely taking this chance.

"Doing what, exactly?" I fluttered my eyes.

Shrugging, he continued, "go for a walk? I haven't been doing anything around here since me and phil moved in last week."

The corners of my lips curled up, "I'll take you somewhere for a walk, yeah? I know a great place."

He grinned, and whispered, "show me."