summary: dhalia haven’t seen drake all day so she decides to check up on him +in this super perfect world both hana and maxwell knows that dhalia is in love with drake and not the prince because they’re bffs and can tell each other anything
a/n: this is loosely based on chapter 17 from book one and when i say loosely i really mean loosely +this will probably be a little ooc but i need this Drake in my life so just bear with me pls thanks
Today was one of the most tiring days for Dhalia. Not physically but mentally. She truly didn’t mind doing some manual labour. After some time she learned to quite enjoy it. But today she got stuck at yet another dinner with the royal family. And dealing with King and Queen and trying to look like she’s still interested in the Prince was more exhausting than any physical work she could think of.
But what was absolutely the worst about this whole situation was the fact that this super fancy dinner meant none of her friends was there – almost none to be completely honest – but even tho Hana was there she was sitting almost on the other side of the table so there was no way Dhalia would have a chance to talk to her. So no Hana, no Maxwell and sure as hell no Drake. And she was certain that the lack of interaction with her friends made her so tired. She could bearly stop herself from yawning in the middle of the meal.
And if that wasn’t enough when she thought she was finally free Liam’s parents for some reason insisted she’d join them on the walk. And Dhalia certainly didn’t have much to say so of course she agreed and spent another two and a half hour wandering through the garden area behind the palace. She’d probably spent even more time with them but Maxwell came to her rescue. They drank some coffee together and then she could beyond any doubt head to her room and rest for a while. She laid on her bed and after few minutes she was fast asleep.
When Dhalia woke up the clock on her bedside table was showing 10 p.m. She yawned and was ready to change into her pyjamas and go back to sleep when suddenly Drake popped up in her mind. She didn’t see him today at all. Normally he’s always somewhere near, keeping an eye on her or hanging out with Maxwell. But today there was no sign of him and Dhalia already missed his sarcastic sense of humour and snarky remarks. So she ditched the previous plan and decided to go to his room and just check how he’s doing.
“Where are we sneaking?” Maxwell appeared beside her out of nowhere.
“Oh my god Maxwell! You scared the hell out of me! Where did you even come from?” Dhalia asked with one hand on her heart. “You know what? Actually, I don’t wanna know. And we are not sneaking. I am sneaking into Drake’s room. I haven’t seen him today at all. I’m kind of worried.” She explained.
“No one told you? For real?” Maxwell looked surprised. “Drake’s ill. He spent the whole day in his room. I thought you knew.”
“As you can tell I did not know that. So if you excuse me I’ll now go and see if he needs anything. Thank you very much.”
“Sure thing. And don’t you worry if something happens I’ll cover for you.” He winked at her and started to back up. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” He added smirking.
Dhalia only shook her head and headed to Drake’s room. She was really glad that both Maxwell and Hana knew that Drake and she are something more than friends. She was so scared of telling them the truth but they were really understanding and Maxwell even claimed he kind of knew that there was something between them – in what she didn’t believe at all. But it was reassuring to know that they have her back.
The not-so-good part about it was that she finally would have to tell Liam that she fell for his best friend. She already tried that once but he was too busy and there was no way they could talk in private. At first, she was angry about it but then she realised that maybe she should talk about it with Drake first so later they can both tell Liam what’s going on.
When she stood in front of the doors to Drake’s room a small smile found its way on her face. There was something about this grumpy man that never failed to make her smile. No matter how bad things might be he always brought her joy.
She knocked a few times and when was met with no response she decided to just go inside. She gently opened the door and quietly went inside. At first, she didn’t even notice Drake but when she was walking closer to the bed someone moved there and then she saw him. With a fond smile on her face, she made her way to where Drake was laying.
His face was a little more pale than usual. His hair was all over the place and his lips were parted a little as soft snores were coming out of his mouth. Dhalia couldn’t help herself but think that he looked just adorable. And she cursed herself for not taking her phone with her.
Sleep was clearly something Drake needed right and Dhalia really didn’t want to disturb him but at the same time, she was just unable to leave. So she took one of Drake’s shirt that was hanging on the chair and as quiet as she could take off her clothes and put on the shirt. Then she laid down beside him. Almost instantly Drake’s arms pulled her closer to him as if he knew that she’s the one laying next to him.
“Now that is a nice surprise.” He murmured in a hoarse voice placing a light kiss on her neck.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.” Dhalia whispered feeling a little guilty.
“Cole, you can wake me up whenever you want. But shouldn’t you be asleep as well? It’s kinda late.”
“I was going to but I haven’t seen you all day and I just wanted to see how are you and then Maxwell told me that you’re sick so I had to come in case you’d need anything.” She explained as she turned to face him. His eyes were still closed but there was this playful smile on his lips.
“Right now I have everything I need in this bed.” He whispered making Dhalia blush.
“Drake I’m serious.” She chuckled. Before Drake could say anything he turned away from Dhalia and sneezed. “Bless you.”
“You’re here so clearly I’ve already been blessed.” He stated and reached for a tissue but as he groaned Dhalia figured out that there weren’t any near him.
“You’re impossible when you’re sick you know?” She referred to what he said. “Stay here and I’ll bring you more and maybe some glass of water.” She added.
“You realize you don’t have to do all of this, right?”
“I do, but I want to take care of you. I care about you.” She said simply and a moment later they were cuddling in bed again. “And I missed you today. It was so tiring.”
“Maxwell told me that you had dinner with Liam and his parents. How did it go?”
“Like always. It was really boring and of full of not-so-subtle comments about how I clearly shouldn’t be here.” She rolled her eyes. “And then I spent almost three hours walking in the garden with the royal family until Maxwell came and rescued me. I hadn’t even had time to talk to Hana or Maxwell for that matter.” She sighed. “But luckily it’s over now and there’s nothing to do tomorrow so I can stay all day in bed with you.”
“You sure you want that? I will probably infect you.”
“We have a whole day to catch up on. Plus I’m not scared of flu.” Dhalia said and leaned in to kiss him on the lips.
“Well, then I’m more than happy to spend tomorrow here with you, Cole.”