Up All Night // phan

Two

  For the last two weeks, Dan had been leaving his flat at about two or three in the morning to go out. It was kinda weird to do, since he was usually so lazy. But it was also pretty fun.

  At the moment, he was deciding whether or not he should bring a jacket this time. It had began to get warmer over the last few days, but he also didn't want to take any chances. He sighed and decided to just bring it along anyways... just in case.

  The streets were empty, as always. Dan had been to pretty much all the shops that were still open at this time, but his favorite by far had to be the small coffee shop at the end of the block.  It was almost always empty, save for the three or four waitresses and the two chefs, Jake and Arnold. They had become pretty good acquaintances over the last few days.

  Dan made his way swiftly down to the shop and pushed the door open, waving to Jake and making his way to the booth in the back where he usually sat. But there was someone there.

  It was a guy, maybe only a few years older than Dan himself. He had really dark black hair which went well with his cobalt blue eyes, and was wearing skinny jeans and a blue T-shirt. Dan would have thought that this guy had gone into his closet if the shirt wasn't so... colorful. The guy was on a laptop, and Dan saw in the reflection of the window that he was on Tumblr.

  Dan laughed quietly and sat down in the booth next to this seemingly interesting person. The guy looked up at him quickly, then returned to his browsing.

  One of the waitresses came over and set a cup of coffee next to Dan's elbow, and Dan smiled politely up at her. The guy looked over at him suddenly and Dan stared back at him until he looked away, cheeks flushed a light red. Dan smirked to himself.

  Picking up the coffee on the table, he took a sip and almost immediately spit it out. It was decaf, and it was disgusting. He stood up to go and get a different cup, but of course with fate being the cruelest motherfucker, Dan tripped over nothing and spilled the hot liquid all over the stranger.

  "Fuck." Dan cursed, grabbing some napkins from the dispenser on the table and wiping the guys shirt. Which was really stupid cause obviously the man could clean his own shirt. "Sorry." he muttered.

  The guy laughed at Dan's apology. He didn't look at all angry about having coffee spilled all over him. He grabbed the napkins out of Dan's hands and continued to clean the drink from his shirt and pants.

  "You think you could maybe help clean it off the table?" the guy asked, and Dan was surprised that his voice was as deep as it was; he'd expected it to he higher. He snapped out of his thoughts, grabbed more towels and wiped at the mess on the table. They gathered all the wet towels and threw them away before heading back to their seats.

  "I really am sorry." Dan said, rubbing the back of his neck guiltily. The guy laughed, shaking his head. "No problem, it wasn't your fault." he replied, then held out his hand. "I'm Phil, by the way. Short for Phillip."

  Dan awkwardly shook Phil's hand, since he was left handed. "Dan. Short for Daniel."

  Phil smiled at him. "And what are you doing out here at four o'clock in the morning, Daniel?"

  Dan laughed and said, " Well, I could ask you the same thing, Phillip." They both laughed at their weirdness.

 

  "Just some mindless internet browsing." Phil said. "Couldn't get to sleep for some reason, and I don't live that far away, so why not. It's too creepy in my flat late at night."

  Dan secretly agreed, coming up with conclusion that all houses were creepy when empty and dark. "I'm always here." he said. " Insomnia, since I was thirteen. Its not a horrible thing, just annoying at times." He'd never really explained this to anyone before, never really had to. But he just had this sudden urge to tell all of it to Phil, this stranger who might no longer be a stranger. Hell, he would probably tell him his life story if he asked.

  "Seems pretty cool, actually." Phil said. "So, what, is it like you physically can't sleep, or you just don't want to?"

  "Kind both? It's like, you do get really tired, physically, but your brain just doesn't want to go to sleep. I usually get a tired around five am and sleep till one pm."

  Phil seemed genuinely interested by this issue of Dan's, which was something Dan wasn't used to. People usually thought he was weird when they found this out about him. Back in high school, he was constantly teased about the bags under his eyes and his tired manners, being called things like "zombie" and "brainwashed". Stupid, really.

  "I like your shirt by the way." Phil said, snapping Dan back into the present. He looked down and remembered that he had on his My Chemical Romance T-shirt, then smiled at Phil.

  "You know them?" he asked excitedly. It wasn't everyday you met an MCR fan, especially this late (early?) at night.

  "Love them. Too bad they broke up, really." Phil replied. Dan cried internally.

  They continued talking for what seemed like hours. The sky was growing lighter, and Dan yawned widely. Phil chuckled. "Guess your time is up, then?" he asked.

  Dan didn't want to leave, Phil was too interesting. But he yawned again and nodded. "Yeah. I'm gonna go then, but maybe I'll see you around?" he asked hopefully. Phil nodded, then closed his laptop, which had gone into sleep mode, and stood up.

  "See ya'!" he yelled over his shoulder, and Dan waved back at him. He downed the rest of his now cold coffee, left some money on the table, and left. It was five thirty am; there were tired looking adults headed to work and teens who looked angry about being woken up so early.

  Dan entered his quiet flat, taking off his shoes in the hall and heading to his room. He didn't bother putting on any pajamas, just climbed into bed in only boxers. As he closed his eyes, Dan thought about the night he'd had with Phil. He'd really like to talk to him again. He might never see him again though. Don't think all negative, he thought. He shut out the world and fell asleep.