Chapter Text
Dan’s P.O.V.
I knew something was up right away. The three of us were having a day out (without vlogging, for a change) and stopped at a quiet, almost-empty Starbucks- because how could we not?! Anyway, Phil and I ordered without a problem, but despite Vi’s shyness, she seemed extra flustered and awkward while ordering. “Hi, um, can I get an, uh… A- a tall Java Chip Frappuccino?” She stuttered way more than she normally did. “Of course! Can I get a name for that?” the barista asked sweetly. Based off of her nametag, she went by ‘Chloe’. She appeared to be around 17 or 18 years old and had light skin, big, dark, almond shaped eyes, short, bleached hair with lavender highlights, and a black, backwards hat. She was certainly a nice girl, so there was no way Vi could be intimidated by her, right? Then what was wrong? Vi’s blush was obvious in contrast to her fair skin as she gave ‘Chloe’ her name. “Um, Vi spelled V-I.” “Cool! By the way, I like your hair,” the barista commented on Vi’s long hair pulled into low, messy double buns. Her blush darkened as she received the compliment. “Oh! Um, thanks… I like yours, too,” Vi giggled nervously, not looking up from her hands. “Thank you! I’ll let you know when your guys’ orders are ready,” Chloe looked at me and Phil, now, before walking off to prepare our drinks. We headed towards a nice table by a sunny window and sat down (with Vi still blushing profusely). Phil nudged me and motioned to her with his eyes. I shrugged, understanding his silent question of “What is going on with her?”. Then I noticed she kept staring at the barista without realizing then looking away quickly. That’s when I realized what was happening. Phil looked at me with a strange expression on his face- having obviously figured it out as well. “Well? Do we say something?” I whispered in his ear. “I have no idea!” he whispered back, “What do you think?” “If I had any clue, why would I be asking you?” “Ugh, I don’t know, Bear,” just then Chloe called out, “Dan, Phil, and Vi!” “I’ll go,” I walked over to the counter and thanked the friendly girl who smiled and nodded before walking away again. “Here you go,” I handed everyone their drinks and Vi said “Thanks” so quietly, I almost didn’t hear her. We finished up in silence and headed home. Once we arrived, we plopped down on the sofa with Vi snuggled into Phil’s side. I finally brought up what we had been avoiding. “So… That barista was very nice, wasn’t she?” Vi’s eyes darted around nervously and a light blush crept onto her cheeks again. “Oh, uh, yeah, she was, um, nice, I guess…” I looked at Phil over her head. “You seem anxious- are you ok, Vi?” he asked carefully. “Um, yeah, I’m fine,” she attempted to sound normal, but to no avail. I shrugged at Phil and I continued, “Really? You seemed really flustered when you were talking to her. Do you know her?” “N-no…” “Oh.” At least she wasn’t being all defensive and mad. “I just liked her hair… That’s all…” Awkward silence… Then I took the leap of faith- “What about her face?” Her eyes got bigger than I thought possible and her whole face finally went red as she stuttered frantically, “OH! UM. I, UH…” “DAN-IEL…” Phil muttered in annoyance at me and I looked away guiltily. “Ohmygod, I am SO sorry, Vi… I don’t know what got into me… I shouldn’t have- GAH!” I hit himself on the forehead in frustration. What did I just get us into? Vi’s eyes got misty and she began blinking at the ground. I knew I shouldn’t have gotten into this- it was her personal business! She let her hair down so that it could keep her face hidden. I saw a drop land on her trembling hands. Phil and I kept looking back and forth between each other and our silently crying daughter, unsure of whether we should hold her close or give her space. Why did being a parent have to be so complex? She got up quickly and ran to her room, still silent, her hair flying behind her. I saw her that face was screwed up as tears slowly trickled down her cheeks for a moment as Phil and I jumped up after her. She slammed her door as we got to the hallway and I could hear her shuffle around before she started playing Moonlight Sonata on the piano. It didn’t sound right, though. She pounded on the keys and played too fast. It was loud and harsh, I could feel her hurting. God damnit! What have I done?!