Chapter 17

Daniela had spent the rest of the day trying to find the courage to go ask Megan. It was only after dinner, around 9PM, that she finally did.

She had just finished loading the dishwasher and was heading upstairs when she reached Megan and Lara’s room. The door was already cracked open, so she didn’t bother knocking. When she stepped inside, she saw Megan alone. Lara was probably in the bathroom.

Megan was sitting on her bed, writing in her journal, and didn’t notice Dani right away. The older girl walked closer, and that’s when Megan finally looked up. Her eyes widened, and she immediately slammed the journal shut, shoving it under her pillow like she’d been caught.

Dani raised a brow. ‘Weird’, she thought.

“Hi, Dani. Didn’t see you there,” Megan said awkwardly, forcing a little smile.

“Hi, Mei…” Daniela smiled back, teasing lightly. “What were you writing?”

“Oh..nothing important..was just writing about my day..boring stuff really..” She stammered.

Dani smirked “Right.”

“Anyways..” Megan started, changing the subject, “what are you doing here ?”

“Can’t a girl just want to see her gilfriend ?” Daniela answered playfully.

Megan’s heart swelled at hearing Dani call her her girlfriend. The word rolled through her like warmth, soft and dizzying all at once. She had to suppress a squeal but couldn’t stop the shy smile tugging at her lips, her cheeks heating up as she ducked her head.

Daniela grinned at her reaction, then shifted her weight nervously. “I did want to ask you something, though.”

“Ah! Knew it. What’s up?” Megan asked, still trying to sound casual despite her racing heart.

Dani hesitated for a beat, fiddling with the hem of her sweater. Her usual confidence seemed to falter as her eyes flicked between Megan and the floor. “Well… I was wondering if maybe… you’d like to, um…” She trailed off, biting her lip.

Megan tilted her head, curious. “Like to what?”

Daniela exhaled sharply, almost laughing at herself. “Go out with me. Properly. Like, not just hanging around the house, or movie nights with everyone. I mean… an actual date.”

The words hung in the air, heavy and thrilling. Megan’s breath caught, her chest tightening with a mix of joy and disbelief. A date. Daniela wanted to take her on a date.

Her lips parted, but no sound came out.

“Unless that’s dumb,” Dani rushed, waving her hands. “I just thought-since we’re, you know, girlfriends, we could…” She trailed off again, cheeks pink.

Megan blinked, still processing, then finally let out a small laugh-half nerves, half wonder. “Dani… that’s not dumb at all.” She smiled so wide it nearly hurt. “I’d love to.”

Daniela’s relief was instant, her face lighting up in a way that made Megan’s chest flutter all over again.

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We are now a week later and finally their date day has arrived, Megan was currently in her room emptying her whole closet because she couldn’t find anything cute enough for a café date, Lara was watching her, laughing.

“Lara, girl, stop laughing! I’m having a crisis right now, and you’re not helping!” Megan whined, holding up a shirt before immediately throwing it down with disgust.

“Sorry, babe,” Lara chuckled, flopping back onto the pillows, “but you know you could wear a trash bag and Dani would still melt.”

Megan turned to glare at her, cheeks pink. “That’s not funny! This is our first real date. It has to be perfect.”

“You’re literally acting like you’re meeting the Queen.”

“Worse,” Megan sighed, collapsing onto the heap of clothes. “The Queen wouldn’t make me nervous. Dani does.”

Lara laughed so hard she nearly fell off the bed. She reached over, picking a random oversized sweater off the pile and holding it up. “Wear this. Trust me, she’ll probably faint on the spot.”

Megan groaned into her hands. “You are the worst.”

“And yet, I’m still the best wingwoman you’ve got.” Lara smirked, tossing the sweater onto Megan’s lap.

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Megan sat in the passenger seat, sunlight streaming through the window, warming her cheeks. She fiddled with the hem of her sweater, twisting the fabric between her fingers. Her stomach was doing somersaults, and every bump of the car made her heart skip faster.

Daniela glanced over as she adjusted the mirrors, her sunglasses perched on top of her head. “You good, Mei? You look like you’re about to go to a job interview.”

Megan laughed nervously, eyes darting to the window. “Feels kind of like it.”

Dani smirked. “Wow. Harsh. I thought I’d be more fun than paperwork.”

“You are!” Megan rushed to say, her voice a little too high-pitched. “That’s… actually the problem.”

Daniela raised a brow, amused. “The problem?”

Megan turned back to face her, cheeks pink. “Yeah. You’re… distracting. Way too distracting. It’s impossible to act normal around you.”

That earned a laugh from Dani, rich and warm. She tapped her fingers lightly against the wheel as they stopped at a light. “Good thing I don’t want you to act normal then.”

Megan blinked at her, caught off guard. “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Dani said simply, glancing at her with a grin, “I’d rather have the real you. Even if that means nervous rambling and sweater-fidgeting.”

Megan’s chest tightened in the best way possible, and she couldn’t help the smile tugging at her lips. She ducked her head, trying to hide it.

The car rolled forward again, sunlight spilling through the windshield, and for the first time since she’d gotten in, Megan felt her nerves start to melt into excitement.

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Now they just got out of the car and were about to enter the little café, when Daniela grabbed Megan’s hand.

Megan’s eyes widened, then she froze for a minute, blushed, smiled widely and proceeded to keep walking, while intertwining their fingers.

They entered the café, the lighting was soft, there was not a lot of people inside, Dani and Megan sat at a corner table, and started looking at the drink Menu, Megan frowned it was written in weird fonts, the letters were all loopy and Megan was struggling, she did not want to say anything, but obviously Daniela noticed.

“Hey Mei, what’s wrong ?” She asked.

Megan looked up from her menu,”oh, it’s nothing.”

“Are you sure ? You’ve been frowning at that menu for a minute.” She says, unconvinced.

Megan sighs,.”It’s just..the letters are all in weird fonts and.. you know, my dyslexia is making it hard for me to read..” She says, usually Megan doesn’t care about her dyslexia, making jokes about it, but right now in front of Dani she’s feeling embarrassed.

But Daniela doesn’t say anything she simply starts to read the menu out loud, from the coffee names to the ingredients in each of them, and Megan smiles widely.

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Their order came about 15 minutes later, Dani had simply ordered an iced latte, but Megan had choosed a lavender iced latte, and a cupcake with a ridiculously large amount of frosting.

So when she took a bite, some frosting got on her nose, and Daniela had found her so stupidly cute and couldn’t help but to take a picture.

“Ooh I wanna see, show me, show me!”

Daniela turned her phone to show Megan, the latter giggled and just when Dani was about to turn her phone around a text notification appeared.

Ben:
Hey Dani, I liked our date last time, are you up for a second one ?

Megan froze, her laugh dying in her throat has she frowned, Daniela raised a brow finally turning her phone and realised why the sudden change when she saw the text.

“Oh, I forgot to block him last time, i’m gonna do it right now” she says typing on her phone. “Done.” Daniela put her phone face down on the table and leaned forward, resting her chin in her hand as she studied Megan’s expression.

“Mei,” she said softly, her voice careful, “hey… don’t frown like that.”

Megan shook her head quickly, forcing out a laugh that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I’m not. I’m fine. Really.”

Daniela tilted her head, unconvinced. “You think I can’t tell when you’re lying?”

Megan’s cheeks warmed. She looked down at her cupcake, poking at the frosting with her fork like it had suddenly become very interesting. “It’s just… you said it was nothing, but-he called it a date.” Her voice faltered, the word catching. “So maybe I’m-maybe I’m not the only one?”

Her insecurity bled into every syllable, and Dani’s chest squeezed at the thought that Megan could even doubt her. Without hesitation, she reached across the table, gently taking Megan’s hand.

”Listen to me,” Dani said firmly. “That guy was nothing. He was me trying to convince myself I wanted something I didn’t. That’s over. Done.” She squeezed Megan’s hand for emphasis. “You’re the only date I want. The only one I’ll ever want.”

Megan’s throat tightened, her eyes flicking up to meet Daniela’s. There was no teasing grin, no playful smirk-just raw honesty in Dani’s gaze.

The tension in Megan’s shoulders slowly eased, replaced by a shy, shaky smile. “You mean that?”

Dani nodded instantly. “With everything I’ve got.” Then, trying to lighten the moment, she added with a crooked smile, “Besides, no guy has ever managed to look half as cute as you do with frosting on your nose.”

Megan let out a soft laugh, finally, and Dani reached over with a napkin to gently wipe the frosting away. The touch was tender, lingering a second too long, and Megan felt her heart stumble over itself in her chest.

“Better,” Daniela whispered.

Megan ducked her head, but her grin was unstoppable.

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The rest of their date went well they decided to take a walk in the little park near the café, and Dani insisted on holding Megan’s hand the whole time, making the younger girl smile widely.

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They had arrived home a few minutes ago and Megan had rushed in her bedroom, currently she was ranting about how well their dates went, and how much she liked Daniela.

“I swear Lara, I think I’ve never liked someone half as much as i like her !” Megan exclaimed, her smile never leaving her lips.

Lara just listened to her, happy for her best friend.

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On Dani’s side it was a different mood, she was kinda afraid that Ben’s text had ruined the date, even tho Megan didn’t talk about it after and seemed to have enjoyed the date.

She was currently in the living room, telling Manon and Yoonchae about it, Sophia was not home.

“Dani, I don’t think it ruined it, I’ve seen her smile when y’all came back, she loved it I’m sure.” Manon tried to reassure her.

“Yes, I agree with Manon, but maybe talk to her if you’re scared, communication is key.” Yoonchae joined in.

Dani let out a tiny laugh, “Since when have you become the wise one ?”

Yoonchae only shrugged her shoulder, and Daniela knew she was right, she should talk to Megan.

So she did just that about 10 minutes later when Lara came downstairs, Daniela went to see Megan.

Right now they were cuddling in Megan’s bed, Dani was playing with Megan’s hair while the younger was tracing little shapes against her arm, absentminded and content. The soft glow from the bedside lamp made everything feel warm and safe, like the world outside didn’t exist.

But Dani’s chest was still tight, the words she needed to say pressing at her throat. She didn’t want to ruin this perfect moment, but she couldn’t let the silence stretch forever.

“Mei?” she murmured, her fingers slowing in Megan’s hair.

Megan hummed in response, tilting her head up slightly to meet Dani’s eyes. “Hm?”

Dani swallowed. ”About earlier. At the café.”

Instantly, Megan stiffened just a little, her hand stilling against Dani’s arm. “Oh,” she said softly, almost carefully.

Daniela sighed, shifting so she could look directly at her. “I just… I don’t want you to think for even one second that you’re competing with anyone. That guy-Ben-it was nothing. A mistake, honestly. I was trying so hard to be someone I’m not.” She paused, her voice faltering. “And then i realised I wanted you, and suddenly I didn’t want to pretend anymore.”

Megan’s lips parted, her eyes wide and shining in the dim light. She opened her mouth to respond, but Dani rushed on, afraid she’d lose her courage.

“You’re not second choice, Mei. You’ve never been. You’re the only choice I want to make. Always.”

For a long beat, Megan just stared at her, her throat bobbing as she tried to swallow the lump of emotion rising inside her. Then, slowly, she leaned in, pressing her forehead against Dani’s.

“You didn’t ruin anything,” Megan whispered, her voice trembling with sincerity. “You just… made me fall harder.”

Dani’s chest ached, but in the best way possible. She let out a shaky laugh, relief flooding her as she closed the small distance and kissed her-soft, unhurried, the kind of kiss that didn’t need to prove anything.

When they pulled back, Megan giggled, her cheeks burning red. “Wow. You’re really good at reassurance, you know that?”

Dani grinned, brushing her thumb over Megan’s cheek. “Only when it’s about you.”

Megan buried her face against Dani’s shoulder, hiding her smile, while Dani held her tighter, silently promising herself she’d never let Megan doubt her again.

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When Lara came back in her room she saw Megan and Dani fast asleep, all cuddled up, limbs tangled, so naturally she took a picture and send it to the group chat.

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AN: Here it is, I think it’s the longest one I wrote, anyways hope you liked it.