A/N: This chapter is a little longer than most but I couldn't find a good place to end the chapter any sooner. Please review and let me know what you think! Seriously, any suggestions for improvement are welcome :)

MARLEY POV:

I spent my entire weekend looking around for apartments to move into. I spent forever looking online and then I drove around London for a while. It was tedious and I ended up not finding anything suitable for human life. Overall, my weekend was uneventful. The only bright spot was when I got a text from Dan saying, *Missing you.*

Monday morning was dreary. I had to drag myself out of bed and I made myself a cup of coffee before putting on my raincoat and heading out the door to go to university. Rain splattered all around me and sloshed under my shoes as I ran to my car. When I managed to clamber in, I immediately started it and cranked up the heat. The steady rain and regular thumping of my windshield wipers almost put me back to sleep. When I reached the parking lot, all I wanted to do was turn around and drive back home. I sat there in my warm car for a good ten minutes debating over whether to go out in the rain and go to class or just go home for the day.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed.

*Making spaghetti for dinner tonight. Wanna come over around 7?*

It was Dan. All of a sudden, the pounding rain and oppressive clouds did not bother me. It was as though the sun had come out. I quickly responded with a *I would love to.* With my thoughts of Dan protecting me from the rain, I stepped out of my car and headed to class.

Not seconds after opening the door to my math class, I was assaulted by a mass of black hair that started jumping up and down in front of me. When Tina finally calmed down, I could distinguish the giant smile on her face and disbelieving and awed look in her eyes. "How come you didn't tell me you were dating Danisnotonfire?!" she said loudly.

"Shhhhh!" I said, trying to quiet her down. I did not want the whole world knowing that we were dating because I knew Dan would get a lot of crap about it from his fans. "No one is supposed to know about that! How did you find out? You haven't told anyone have you?"

"I saw you guys after class on Friday. And no, I haven't told anyone, but oh my gosh, Marley! When did this happen?"

"Um, we met about two weeks ago," I said, wishing she would speak a little softer.

"He is so gorgeous! I'm so jealous!"

Thankfully our professor walked into the room at that moment and we had to quietly take our seats. That did not stop Tina from passing notes to me all throughout the class asking for details about Dan. I told her as much as I could without sacrificing Dan's—or my—privacy.

"What happened to Jake?" she wrote.

I stared at the paper, unsure of how to answer. "We broke up," I wrote simply.

"After you met Dan?"

"Yeah."

"Did you break up with him because of Dan?"

"Nope. I just realized that Jake was a douche bag."

"Oh, sorry…. But at least you got Dan out of it, right?"
"Yeah :)" The thought made me smile. It seemed like everything I had been doing with my life had guided me toward Dan. From going to university in London, to meeting Jake, to having Jake punch me in the face. If fate could be this kind to me, I realized that I should stop hesitating and start doing.

"How serious are you guys?"

"Well, we only just met, but I feel like it's more serious than Jake and I ever were."

"Have you guys…"

I rolled my eyes. She should know that I was not the kind of girl to jump in bed with a guy that I had only really been dating for about a week. "No, not yet."

"You should fix that ;)"

I had to laugh at that. Tina was not exactly a slut but she was definitely freer with her sexuality that I was. "Lol! Thanks for the advice, Tina."

"Always here for you."

I rolled my eyes again at her response. But I could not help but think about what she had just said. Of course I thought Dan was extraordinarily sexy but I had not really got around to thinking about actually having sex with him yet. But now the idea was in my head and I could not stop images of us together from flooding into my head. I imagined what it would be like to have his large hands running up and down my naked body as he kissed my neck. The thought of his lips touching every square inch of my skin gave me goosebumps. And I wanted to run my hands over his chest; I wanted to feel his strong, bare arms wrapped around me. I imagined how it would feel to hear our breathing grow louder and more ragged as we slowly climbed higher and higher together toward release.

Tina hitting my arm broke my reverie. "Daydreaming about Dan?"

I blushed, realizing that class had ended and I had not even noticed. "Shut up," I responded, but I could not hide the smile on my face.

I spent the rest of my day in school fantasizing about Dan. It was amazing how quickly my day had turned around. I woke up dreading the day but I was now perfectly content to sit in class and daydream. And I was even more excited to get home and get ready for dinner with Dan. When I was finally dismissed from my last class, I practically ran to my car. Throwing my backpack into the passenger seat, I started the engine and threw the car into reverse.

Before I could step on the gas however, my phone rang. Frustrated, I put the car back in park, but thinking it could be Dan, I scrambled to get my phone before it went to voicemail.

"Dan?" I answered.

There was a pause.

"Guess again."

Shit. I glanced at my phone to check and my worst fear was confirmed. It was Jake.

"Jake," I said, my mouth going dry.

"Marley, can we talk?"

"I don't know what there is to talk about Jake. You hit me. I left you."

"Don't you blame—" He cut himself off, taking deep breaths to steady his voice. "Sorry. I'm sorry, Marley. I have never regretted anything more in my life. I miss you. I love you."

"Jake…. Can't you see why I don't trust you anymore?"

"I made a mistake, Marley. Why can't you forgive me?"

"A mistake?" I asked indignantly. "You knocked me out! And you used to threaten me all the time. That's hardly a mistake. I'm not having this conversation with you again Jake. We are over."

"Can I at least see you?"

"No."

"Just think about it, okay?"
"Bye, Jake."

"Who's Dan?"

"I said bye." I hung up angrily. I could not believe he had the nerve to call me after what he did. And to ask for forgiveness? I was fuming as I threw the car back into reverse and quickly exited the parking lot. I had to force myself to calm down as I drove home so I would not get in an accident. As I forced my anger to dissipate however, I felt a new emotion take its place. It was doubt.

What if his apology was sincere? What if he could make sure that it never happened again? Would it be so bad to still be with him? I had enjoyed the year I spent being his girlfriend, hadn't I? It would feel so normal to go back to him. I might be scared of being hit, but it would still feel like home to be in his arms.

When I reached Rachel's apartment, I got unsteadily out of my car and made my way into my room. Just then, my phone buzzed.

*Do you mind if Phil and his girlfriend join us for dinner? It will be like a double date ;)*

An overwhelming wave of sickening guilt crashed over me.

*That's fine* I managed to respond before my eyes flooded with tears.

I felt like I had betrayed him by even thinking about Jake. He was the sweetest person ever and did not deserve to be with someone who was so broken as I was. I was like a moth to a flame. I felt myself being pulled back to Jake because he was familiar. I had been with him so long that it felt natural to be with him. Dan on the other hand was practically a stranger. I loved his personality but I did not really know him. I had no way of knowing where Dan and I would be in our relationship a month from now, or even a week from now. Why was it worth taking the risk when I could so easily return to what I knew?

But as I sat there on the edge of my bed, head in my hands, and tears pouring out through the cracks in my fingers, I realized something. At that moment, it was not Jake that I wanted there to comfort me. It was Dan. I wanted more than anything to curl up on Dan's lap and have him hold me. I wanted to feel his arms wrapped around me and have his hands soothingly stroke my shoulders. I wanted to feel his delicate touch on my face as he wiped away my tears.

This realization brought me back to earth. I willed myself to stop crying and attempted to dry my face with my sleeve. Blinking away the remaining tears, the time on my alarm clock came into focus. With a start, I realized that I was about to be late for dinner with Dan. I quickly jumped up, changed into a nice pair of jeans and a fuzzy, light blue sweater that matched my eyes. When I went to put on my makeup, I saw that my eyes were red and puffy and my face was all splotchy. I did my best to cover it up with makeup and prayed that I would look more normal by the time I got to Dan's.