Track Twenty-One
Dani's POV
She doesn't sleep much. Not because she's upset. Because she's thinking. Your breathing is steady beneath her ear, your arm heavy around her waist. Normally that would calm her. Normally she'd tuck herself closer and let that weight mean something solid.
But last night keeps replaying.
"I don't know how to promise perfectly."
She knows you meant it honestly. That's the problem.
You didn't lie to her. You just didn't reassure her either.
So she stares at the ceiling before sunrise, tracing invisible lines in the cracks above your bed.
She doesn't want to be the girl who pushes.
She doesn't want to be the one who asks for more than someone can give.
And she definitely doesn't want to feel stupid.
Again.
You shift beside her. " You awake?"
She waits half a second before answering. "Yeah." She keeps her voice even. Not cold. Just... normal. She feels you looking at her. She can always tell when you're studying her, trying to read what you don't ask about. "Why didn't you wake me?" You sound soft. Careful.
Because you know. She shrugs lightly. "You looked tired." What she doesn't say:
You looked overwhelmed.
You looked like you needed space.
You looked like you were already halfway gone in your head.
When you pull her closer, she lets you. She wants to cling.
She doesn't. Instead of wrapping around you like she usually does, she rests her arm on your chest. Looser.
Testing herself. If I don't hold tight, will they stay anyway?
"You okay?" you ask. She almost laughs. You really don't hear yourself, do you?
"Yeah," she says easily. "I'm good." She decides something right then. She's not going to ask again.
Not about promises.
Not about leaving.
Not about where this is going.
If you want to give it and be honest, you will. She won't beg.
Later in the kitchen, she makes your tea the way you like it. Two spoons of sugar.
A little milk and for some reason stirred counterclockwise because you swear it tastes different. She hands it to you. Your fingers brush hers. She feels the hesitation in your grip.
You feel the hesitation in her release. "Tour bus leaves around noon," she says casually. She watches your reaction carefully. You nod. "Are you heading straight there?" "Yeah." She waits for you to say something else. "Stay longer. Call me when you get there. I don't like how last night ended."
You don't. So she smiles instead. "Don't overthink," she tells you gently.
Because she knows you are. And because she is too.
When it's time to leave, she kisses you slowly.
Not desperate. Not heated. Just deliberate.
She memorizes the way your jaw tightens slightly when she pulls back.
You want to say something. You don't. She almost does too.
Almost says:
I need you to choose me without me asking.
But she swallows it. "I'll text you when I get there," she says instead. You nod. "Okay." She waits one second longer than necessary. You don't stop her.
So she turns first, getting ready to leave. And that's what hurts. Not that you didn't stop her. Not that you didn't care. Just that you didn't fight the silence. On the way to the bus, she stares out the window. Manon glances over at her. "You good?" Daniela nods. "Yeah."
"You don't look like it."
Daniela exhales softly.
"They just... it feels like they don't know how to stay or i dont know cant accept that i really wanna be here for them.
" Manon raises an eyebrow. "Or maybe they're scared.
" Daniela leans her head back against the seat.
"Scared people still leave." And she doesn't know if she's strong enough to wait and see which one you are.
She's aware that loving you might mean always wondering if you're about to retreat.
And yes love. She realized it last night, the minute she let you do something no one else has ever done. You've gained her trust and love in the most intimate way and now she's not even sure what you want.
Time Skip
It's a few days after, tour goes on. Dani's days are the same. Wake up, rehearse, sound check, perform, hotel. Things that used to be a great distraction but lately it hasn't worked. There are like pauses, and those pauses are you. The first couple nights after she left, you text like normal.
You: Good. Rest up.
It's simple, neutral, fine. Next time, she waits for you to text first, but you text later than usual. She tells herself it doesn't matter, you're busy. She doesn't even double text, doesn't ask what you're doing, doesn't ask if you miss her. Choosing to not measure herself by your actions.
Backstage, the girls are stretching. Sophia and Manon looking at edits from the last show.
Daniela sits on the couch, phone in hand.
Deleting. Typing again. How's the studio?
Delete, too dry. You eat yet? Delete, too domestic.
She locks the phone instead. Megan glances at her.
"Are you two good?" Daniela shrugs. "Yeah.
" "You sound convincing." Daniela gives her a look.
Megan smirks slightly. "You're quieter." Daniela leans back into the couch. "I'm just... matching energy. I guess"
Manon looks up at that. "Matching or protecting?
" Daniela doesn't answer. Because she knows the difference.
That night in the hotel, the adrenaline from the show hasn't fully faded.
She faceTimes you. You answer on the fourth ring.
Studio in the background. Music playing faintly.
"You busy?" she asks. "A little," you say.
"What's up?" Nothing is wrong. But something feels.
.. thin. "I just wanted to see you," she says evenly. You smile. "I'm right here."
She studies your face. You look tired. Focused.
Somewhere else mentally. "How was the show?
" you ask. "It was good." You nod. Silence stretches for two seconds too long.
She waits for you to fill it. You don't. She swallows.
"I don't want to feel like I'm interrupting your life every time I call," she says calmly.
Your brows pull together. "You're not." "But it feels like I am." You shift slightly in your chair. "That's not fair." She keeps her voice steady. No tears. No edge. "I'm not accusing you. I'm just telling you how it feels." You go quiet. There it is again.
That silence. She feels it in her stomach this time.
Not explosive. Not dramatic. Just familiar.
And she decides something at that moment.
If she has to convince you to hold her closer, she won't. "I don't want to rush you," she says softly.
"Or push you." "You're not pushing." "But I don't want to be the only one leaning. " That lands.
You don't argue. You don't reassure immediately either.You think. And that thinking?
That space? It feels like distance to her. She nods slowly. "Okay," she says gently. You blink. "Okay what?" "Just... okay." She doesn't elaborate. And that scares you more than if she had.
After she hangs up, she stares at her reflection in the dark TV screen.
Manon's voice drifts from the other bed.
"You almost said it." Daniela doesn't look at her.
"Yeah." "You almost walked away." Daniela exhales.
"I don't want to." "But?" "But I don't want to feel small either.
" And for the first time since this started, she wonders how long she can balance both.
For some reason its not letting me add a poll... But ive been contemplating adding Jonah for the plot. I dont really care for his ass cause ik i could treat my baby Dani better but i wanna see what y'all think. lemme know.