The car ride to the lake is filled with stunned silence from Arin, Suzy, and I. Dan is silent too, however his silence is smug. I'm curled up on my seat and am staring out the window, still flustered from the events that just occurred. The passing California scenery means nothing to me as I think about the kiss Dan just gave me.

   However, I manage to tear my eyes away from the window, the feeling that I'm being watched making me want to do so.

   And sure enough, Dan is looking at me, a handsome smirk lining his face.

   My face heats up as I look away once more. Well, isn't he proud of himself. No question mark needed.

"So..," Arin begins awkwardly. He coughs, not knowing how to continue. Even Arin, Arin, is speechless. Normally he has something to say about anything and everything. He finally says, "Dan, that was bold."

I look to Dan, wondering what his response will be.

   Another smirk crosses his face. "I know~" he says smoothly. He glances to me, his smirk growing wider.

   I have no idea where this confidence is coming from. But I ain't hating it. But I also am kinda hating it. But more not. I blush, smiling to myself.

Suzy snickers as Arin clutches onto the steering wheel with force, while he was loosely cruising with one hand before.

"What's wrong, Arin?" I ask, raising an eyebrow and leaning forward a bit.

He exhales, trying to calm himself. "It's nothing."

"Sure doesn't seem like nothing. You're practically strangling the steering wheel over there," I say with a small chuckle.

"I said it's nothing," Arin snaps. His mad voice always had made me afraid. And it sure is making me afraid now.

I sink back into the chair, shutting my trap. I look out the window once more and sigh.

Arin's expression softens. His mirror tells me so. He says, "Hey, I'm sorry. It's just...I don't know. Something about the way Dan said 'I know' and how you responded...it just makes me nervous."

Dan's expression turns from smug to concerned. "Nervous? Why?"

I nod, looking at Arin curiously.

He sighs. "It makes me nervous because (Y/N) is obviously head over heels for you, Dan."

"Whoa! Arin!" I gasp.

"Shh. Let me finish," Arin says, sternly eyeing me from the mirror. "And because (Y/N) is head over heels for you, anything that you say will impact her. One little remark could drag her down. Anything you tell her to do, she'll comply. And I'm worried she'll get her heart broken or something will happen to her because of that."

"Arin, you honestly think that I—" Dan began, eyeing Arin with hurt and annoyance.

"No! The reason I didn't tell you guys at first was because I knew it was irrational! But because (Y/N) is my little sister, I just...worry about her, I guess," Arin says. "I just want her little heart to be happy."

I smile faintly to myself. "Well, thanks, Arin. Happy to know that you don't wanna burn me along with all the Subway restaurants. But even if Dan does end up hurting me in some way, if we even get together—"

"(Y/N), I would never—" Dan cuts in.

I cut him off again. "Shh. As I was saying, if we even get together and if Dan hurts me, I'll tough it out. I'm strong. But, if all else fails," I smile, "I have an amazing older brother that would help me."

I can see Arin smile from the mirror. "Aww..."

"Aww!" Suzy squeals.

"Aww," Dan joins in, smiling at me.

I smile back, not knowing what else to do. I shift my gaze back up to Arin. "So calm yourself. I'll be fine."

"You will," Arin agrees with me. We then pull into the lake's parking lot. "WHOO! WE'RE HERE!" Arin yells suddenly, scaring Dan, Suzy, and I.

   "Jesus, Arin," I laugh, placing a hand over my heart. "Way to ruin a sentimental moment."

   "Well, what else did you expect from me? I'm Arin Hanson!" Arin smiles, finding a spot and parking the car.

"That is undeniably true," I said with a a shrug as I got out of the car.

Everyone else follows suit as Arin opens the trunk of the car so that he can grab the small bag that's filled with the minimal things we brought. "Danny, could you get the umbrella?" Arin asks, grabbing the bag.

Once again, I feel bad for not helping at all.

But, of course, Dan agrees. "Sure, man!" he says, reaching out for the umbrella. He's so freaking nice.

Arin hands him it with an appreciative smile. "Thank you~" he sings, shutting the trunk. We all then make our marry way to where the lake is, the sand getting in our shoes as we get nearer and nearer. The worst feeling ever, change my mind.

"This seems like a good spot!" Arin says as he sets his bag down on the sand. The spot he selected is away from the majority of the people at the lake, which makes me happy. He knows how much I hate strangers.

"Agreed!" I say with a smile. "Away from people, excellent view...you really know how to pick 'em, Arin."

Arin smiles as he unzips the bag we brought. "I sure do." He then takes out a couple towels from the bag and lays them on the sand. "The umbrella, please, Daniel."

Dan nods and hands his best friend the umbrella. "Here you are, my good man."

"Thank you!" Arin smiles. He opens the umbrella and sticks it in the sand. "Okay! I think we're all set up!" He then begins to rip his clothes and shoes off (that came out weird XP), revealing his bathing suit underneath. "Now, I dunno about you losers, but I'm going swimming!" He then flies toward the lake like the adult child he is.

Dan smiles. "I guess I'll join him. Somebody's gotta keep him outta trouble." He then removes his cover-up shirt, shorts, and shoes, exposing his bathing suit body.

I blush, looking away. He's just too pretty. "Y-yeah, I'll go with you, Dan." I, too, take off my cover-ups and shoes.

Dan looks at me a bit. He smiles, his cheeks a light pink. "All right, then. Let's go." We begin to walk, but realize that we forgot Suzy. Dan looks back and says, "You coming, Suze?"

Suzy's struggling to get her clothes and shoes off. "Yep! Just give me a sec!" she says, her head stuck in her shirt.

Dan and I laugh and wait for her.

Suzy eventually gets them off and skips up to us. "Sorry about that. I'm ready now!"

"Okay, cool," I say as we begin to walk towards the lake.

Arin's amusing himself by the buoys. He's doing front flips under the water and splashing obnoxiously.

I go to run into the waters to meet him there, but stop once I feel the temperature of the water. "Holy sh—" I begin, but realize there's kids here. "...Strudel."

Dan laughs and says, "What's wrong?" as he approaches the edge of the water, Suzy next to him.

"This water's colder than my fifth grade bully," I mumble, not moving at all.

He laughs again and puts a foot in the water. After processing the temperature, he says, "Yeah, it's a little chilly. But it's not that bad!"

Suzy, without even thinking twice, runs into the lake and swims to her husband.

"See? If Suzy can go in, so can you," Dan says. Then, without even giving me a chance to respond, he picks me up and begins to carry me further into the water.

I blush and squirm against his chest. "Noooo!" I whine, fidgeting wildly. But Dan holds me steady. He has surprising strength in those noodle arms.

"Oh, don't be a baby!" Dan giggles. He carries me to where Arin and Suzy are, and once we get there, he puts me down.

"Oh, boy," I gasp as the water chills me to the core.

Arin laughs. "Nice work, Dan. We shouldn't let this stick in the mud ruin our time." Arin then walks up to me (the buoy area isn't that deep) and ruffles my hair.

I go underwater to escape him.

But Dan lifts me up from under the water. "You really thought that you could escape that easily~?" he teases, tickling me.

I squeal and squirm around. "Now, guys!" Dan commands.

Arin and Suzy join Dan in the tickling, making me laugh like an idiot. "Stop! Stop!" I plead, tears in my eyes.

Suzy's the one to end my misery. "Okay, guys. I think we've punished her enough," she says, stopping.

"Yeah, I'd say so," Arin agrees as him and Dan cease their tickling also.

   I breathe a sigh of relief as Dan puts me down. "I hate you all..," I mumble, crossing my arms.

   "Aww, we love you too, sis!" Arin says with a big grin.

***

   After about ten hours of farting around in the water and laying in the sun, we start to think about heading back to Arin's place. I assist Arin with putting things back into the bag as Suzy closes up the umbrella.

After I'm done, I stare at the setting sun. It sure is beautiful. Smears of orange and yellow paint the sky as families enjoy the last few minutes of their trip. I glance around the beach, and I realize that Dan's not here.

Weird. He didn't even tell us he was leaving. "Hey, Arin?" I ask as I put my cover-ups and shoes back on.

"Yeah, sis?" Arin says.

"Where'd Dan go?" I question, giving the beach one more scan. Still no Dan.

"Oh, yeah!" Arin exclaims, remembering something. "I almost forgot! He's in the wood patch. He wants to see you~"

Arin giggles evilly as he pulls me toward the little patch of woods that's by the lake. "Um...why, exactly?" I ask, a bit scared, and a lot confused.

"You'll see~" Arin purrs. He weaves us through the trees and stops at a little clearing in the woods.

What I see there makes me even more confused.

Dan is sitting on a towel, his cover-ups and shoes on as well while classical jazz music plays in the background. I look around and see that he's playing it from his phone. An odd choice for casual music, especially since he's the type of guy that likes Rush and 80s jams. But all right. Dan looks at me and smiles.

"I'll leave you guys to it~" Arin says. He bows deeply and runs back to the main area.

As soon as Arin's gone, Dan says, "Ah, (Y/N). Please, sit." He pats the spot next to him on the towel he's sitting on.

I obey. "Uh...hey, Dan. What's going on?"

"You're beautiful, that's what's going on," he says genuinely. He smiles crookedly and looks at the sunset that can be seen through the trees, seeming to be lost in his own world.

"Oh...thank you..," I say shyly, blushing a little. "But really Dan, why did you want me to meet you here?"

"I'd like to ask you something," Dan whispers, grabbing my hands and squeezing them.

"Okay..?" I say as his eyes burn into mine.

"You're obviously such an amazing person," Dan begins, a soft smile playing on his lips, "and...I kinda wanna experience your amazing ways, and I wanna do so as more than friends. And I feel that the first step to achieving that goal is with a date."

My heart jumps.

"So, (Y/N), will you go on a date with me?"