A/N: Hey fellow Danosaurs (or other people who happen to be reading this story)! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Reviews are much appreciated (hint, hint).

DAN POV:

I rolled over and looked at my clock. It was 4:30 in the morning. Why the hell am I awake right now? Then I heard it. The sounds of dry, heaving sobs were coming from my living room. Oh my god. Marley. I jumped out of bed, not even bothering to put a shirt on and ran into the living room.

I found her exactly where I had left her, curled up under the blanket. But she was sobbing uncontrollably. I went over and knelt down next to her.

She looked at me and blushed. "S-sorry," she stammered.

"What's wrong?" I put my hand on her shoulder to try to comfort her.

"I just…. I just feel like such filth," she sobbed. "I can't believe I let it get that carried away. My boyfriend is always so sweet in public. Its just when we are alone, he can get… mean"

"Has he hit you before?" I asked, aghast.

"Never that bad. I feel so worthless. If I had meant anything to him, he wouldn't have hit me. He must have never cared…" And she dissolved into sobs again.

I don't know how long I was there, but I could have stayed there forever. She truly was beautiful, even crying. And the way the moonlight played across her long brown hair and reflected in her blue eyes was entrancing. I marveled at how captivating this girl on my sofa was. I didn't know her, but I wanted to protect her. I wanted her to be happy. And I wanted to be the reason for that happiness. I sat there next to her, mesmerized by her beauty and offered occasional words of comfort until her sobs died down.

"Thanks. I didn't mean to wake you up. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," I said, rising reluctantly to my feet to go back to bed now that I was pretty sure she was stable. "Will you be okay now?"

She nodded and I pulled the blanket back up around her as she laid back down. I was almost around the corner when I heard her say faintly, "Please don't go."

I stopped and turned, not sure if I had imagined it. But when I looked back, she was looking at me pleadingly, tears threatening to spill down her face again. I walked back to her and knelt down.
"I'm sorry. I just feel so alone right now. I need someone. Please stay with me."

Wordlessly, I wiped away one stray tear that was glistening on her cheek. I climbed over her onto the sofa and crawled under the blanket beside her. I tried to leave space between us but the small couch made this impossible. Her back was pressed against my chest; I could feel her breathing. And her long curls tickled my nose. Her hair smelled nice. Like honey with a hint of almond. That was the last thing I remember before drifting off into sleep.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooooo

I woke up on the sofa, wearing nothing but my boxers and covered in just a blanket. A pang of panic shot through me when I realized that I was alone, but it was quickly subdued when I heard Marley's voice coming from the kitchen.

"No…. No…. Don't even go there with me right now, Jake. I told you: we are done. I should have done this a long time ago. I don't want to see you. Just leave my things on top of my car…."

I figured I should give her some privacy and put some clothes on, so I got up as quickly and quietly as I could, wrapping the blanket around myself, and went to my room. Unfortunately, Marley's voice was rising and I could still clearly hear everything she was saying.

"Yes, I make a point of sleeping with all my customers at the cooking store," she said sarcastically. "What the hell do you think, Jake? Of course I haven't been with anyone since we have been together. Who do you think I am? …That's none of your business…. Well how do you think I am supposed to trust you now? I refuse to spend any more of my life living in fear of you—or anyone else for that matter…. Fine…. No…. No! How dare you? I'm done. I'm not talking to you anymore. When I get to my car, I expect to find all of my stuff with it…. No…. Bye Jake."

I counted to ten then decided it would be safe to reenter. I found her in the kitchen, face in her hands. "Hey, Marley."

She responded with a small "Hey" and looked up at me with red-rimmed eyes. "Sorry. I—" She broke off, unable to continue and dissolved into tears. Without thinking, I crossed the room in three long strides and pulled her into a hug. She immediately wrapped her arms around me and buried her face into my chest. I rested my cheek on the top of her head, inhaling the honey-almond smell of her hair, running my hands soothingly up and down her back. Eventually her sobs died down and she sniffed and looked up at me. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were shining; tears pooled in her blue eyes and clung to her long eyelashes.

Standing on her tiptoes, she stretched up and delicately kissed the corner of my jaw.

My mind whirled. My breathing stopped. Had those delicate lips really just touched my skin? They must have, because my skin was now burning.

Whether it was a second or an hour later, I realized that I was still holding Marley in my arms and she was looking up at me with a faint smile. I quickly and somewhat awkwardly pulled away, registering the shock that she had somehow become very important to me in the last 12 hours and realizing that I did not want to take advantage of this girl who was obviously going through great emotional turmoil.

"Um, can I get you some tea or something?" I offered.

"That sounds great, thanks."

"How's your head feeling?" I asked as I busied myself with the kettle.

"Much better, thanks."

MARLENA POV:

I had just kissed Dan. I don't know what made me do it, but I had done it. As I sat there making small talk, I hoped that he had just seen it as a friendly gesture. But I knew my motivation had been more than simple gratitude. He was the sweetest person I had ever met. He had saved me from my rampaging boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend, I corrected myself in my head. And he had let me stay in his apartment. And last night. Last night, he came in and stayed with me while I was crying. The image of his deep brown, concern-filled eyes was burned into my memory. And he had stayed with me through the night. He made me feel protected. He made me feel less worthless.

In the course of talking to him, I learned that he was 21—almost exactly one year older than me. He went to university to study law for two years then dropped out and was now a professional YouTuber, by the name of Danisnotonfire. He met Phil three years ago and it was actually Phil that encouraged him to start making YouTube videos. I told him about my rather boring life: I was studying medicine at university and had been working at the cooking store for about a year. I told him I was originally from Manchester but had moved around quite a bit because of my dad's job. It turned out that he was from there too and we bonded over the fact that our houses had actually been quite close to each other.

We talked for quite a while, but eventually I realized that I had to leave sometime. I asked Dan if he could drive me to the cooking store to pick up my purse then to my car so I could collect my things.

I waited in the car while Dan went in and retrieved my purse from the store. I didn't want to go back in after what happened there yesterday. Was that really yesterday? It felt like ages ago. When he parked next to my car, he got out and quickly opened my door. Getting out of the car, I gave him a big hug. I didn't want to leave him, but I didn't want to be an imposition and it's not like I knew him all that well. "Thank you so much. For everything."

"It's okay. I'm just glad I could help."

I turned to go.

"Marley," Dan said, grabbing my hand. I turned back around and met his intense gaze with one of wonderment. "You are most definitely not worthless."

I squeezed his hand in response and gave him a small smile. Then I got in my car and drove away.

I found myself in front of my apartment without having intended to drive there. It was still tented so I parked and got out my phone to call Rachel in the hope that I could stay with her until I could go back to my own apartment.

When I unlocked my phone, it was on a page in my contacts. "Dan Howell" was written at the top of the screen and his number was just below it. I smiled. He must have put his number in when he went to get my purse.

Thankfully, Rachel said I could stay with her. But a part of me was disappointed. Part of me wanted to call Dan and tell him I had no place to stay. Part of me wanted to go back to his apartment and curl up in his arms.