Waiting for the Night [Dalan]

Chapter 20

Paris had been getting sleepy, so Alan had excused himself from the conversation with Nicole so he could send Paris and Mrs. Cheung home first. Before he did, he gave Nicole his business card, and she scrawled down her number on the back of his hand. In the car, he had glanced at it with mild apathy. Nicole was definitely someone whom he could see himself working with for a future album, but his interest in her stopped there. She was definitely pretty, confident and interesting, but the spark had been missing from their conversation. It was getting rarer and rarer for him to have genuine chemistry with someone. On the extremely rare occasions that he did, it always seemed to be with men, and rarely women.

Well, not all men, but one in particular, it seemed.

Alan didn't know why he got on so well with Dave. At times, their conversations almost felt like flirting, and Alan found himself laughing a little too much or standing a little too close to Dave, so he had to force himself to pull back and dial it back a bit. Dave was such a nice guy and he didn't deserve to have someone like Alan getting insidious thoughts about their friendship.

Whipping out his iPhone, Alan dialed the now familiar number as he pulled into the driveway of his house. Paris was nestled comfortably in Mrs. Cheung's arms, and Alan opened the door for them as she clambered out. There was a click, and a very subdued voice answered, "Hey Charlie."

"Dave? What's wrong?" Alan was rather taken aback at how sombre his usually cheerful friend sounded. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, nothing. I'm just being an idiot." There was a low sound of anguish. "Argh, I'm the stupidest idiot in the world!"

"Are you sure nothing's happened?" Alan was getting worried now. "Did Knox throw up on anyone?"

"No." Dave sounded mildly amused, and Alan was relieved. "Hey, where are you? I don't see you downstairs."

"Oh, I had to send Ris home first." He lowered his voice as Mrs. Cheung put a finger to her lips with a frown. "Ris was getting tired and I didn't think it'll be a good idea for her to be around so many drunk people."

"Yeah." Dave really sounded down and distracted. "Um, are you coming back to the party?"

Opening the door and cradling the phone against his shoulder, he took the sleeping Paris from Mrs. Cheung so he could carry her upstairs and tuck her in. "Don't think so," he whispered, not wanting to wake her. "I'm really tired, and I promised Ris breakfast in the morning, so I should head to bed myself."

"Yeah, you should." There was a pause, and Alan really had to wonder what had happened to throw the normally gregarious Dave off course. "Hey, thanks for helping me to distract Knox. And for all your help with the party."

"Of course, mate." Alan skillfully maneuvered Paris's bedroom door open with one hand, while still managing to keep the phone cradled against his shoulder. He gently put her in bed, letting her feet dangle off the edges. He could take off her shoes and socks later. "Taking Knox out was like taking a big puppy out for a walk."

Dave's laugh was a welcome sound in his ear. "Shit, thanks for cheering me up."

"You sure you alright, Dave?"

"Yeah. Go put your daughter to bed. I'll call you tomorrow. Stay safe, yeah?"

"Alright. Goodnight, you silly tosser." Alan hung up with the biggest smile on his face, although he couldn't help wondering what could have happened to make Dave so out of sorts.

Maybe he would find out tomorrow.

After taking off her shoes, socks and changing her into her pajamas, Alan tucked Paris into bed and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, smiling down at his beloved daughter. Brushing aside her soft blonde hair, he yawned as he let himself out of the bedroom, checking the time on his watch. It was already going to be eleven o'clock. Small change compared to the normally late hours he kept all night, but he had barely slept the day before to take Knox out, and the lack of sleep was taking its toll on him.

He wondered if the party was still in full swing, and a part of him was tempted to head back there, to at least see if Dave was okay. But the rational part of his brain – the one that was yelling out for sleep – quickly convinced him that Dave was a grown man who could take care of himself, and besides, they could always see each other tomorrow anyway. Also, he was sure that the party would be a smashing success, with or without him. Knox was the life of the party and the guest of honour, and there were a lot of other people there to celebrate it with him.

After a quick shower, Alan quickly brushed his teeth and got ready for bed. Lying in bed and staring up at the ceiling, he thought about Hep again, wondering what she would think about him going out with someone like Nicole. In fact, Nicole even looked a little bit like Hep. That was probably why he had found her interesting in the first place, without knowing why. He raised his right hand and glanced at the back of it. The numbers had been scrubbed off cleanly now, and he lowered his hand again. Why wasn't he interested in dating anyone?

He thought of a joke Dave had once made, comparing dating in London to some kind of psychotic lottery, and he chuckled again at the memory of it. How could he ever have thought that Dave was an awful guy? He was still making the mistake of judging a book by its cover, apparently. Dave was one of the smartest, funniest, craziest blokes he had ever met, and one of the very rare people whose sense of humour was just as dark and dry as Alan's own. Despite only knowing each other for a few weeks, Alan felt like he had known Dave all his life.

He smiled to himself as he stretched out under the sheets. From being depressed and antisocial to finally releasing his album and gaining a group of fantastic friends along the way, his life was really changing. Hep would be happy for him.

Sleep overtook him quickly, leaving him oblivious to the soft sobbing outside his window, which was darkened by the generous expanse of a white feathered wing.