im here // phan

seven

I woke up spread across the couch, and my head touching Dan's. He was also laying on the couch, with his feet on the other end of couch. I guess we had fallen asleep watching that movie he so desperately wanted me to see.

My eyes were opened wide, and I rolled onto my stomach and poked Dan on the head.

"Dan. Dan. Dan." I repeated with each poke. He groaned.

"What?" He mumbled.

"Wake up! It's 11:00!" I aggressively whispered.

"Fine.." He sat up slowly and his hair was going every which way.

"Here. Hold on." I said, and leaned forward and tried to flatten Dan's hair.

"Thanks." He turned to face me when I was done.

"Fancy breakfast? I know I could go for some food." I stood up from the couch, still in yesterday's clothes, and stretched.

"Yeah, I'm pretty hungry. But are we ordering? No boxes are unpacked so we don't really have any cooking supplies. Or any food for that matter." Dan followed in my lead, standing and stretching.

"That's true. Where should we go?" I asked.

"Let's just get in the car and drive." Dan suggested.

"Fine with me. Just let me change my clothes real quick, then we can go." I smiled at Dan, and he smiled back. "Wait, I forgot. Boxes aren't unpacked."

"We should unpack before we go, Phil." Dan suggested. "There are scissors on the counter over here."

"That's I good idea I guess." I shrugged, and I walked over to the counter, grabbed the scissors, and started cutting open the boxes.

"I'll start to take all the stuff out. We can sort it out once you finish opening all the boxes." Dan nodded.

"Okay. Shouldn't take too long, right?"

———

Dan passed out on his bed that we set up in his room, because it took us 3 hours to unpack all of our stuff. 3 hours! We never even went out to breakfast. So, I decided that I would just make lunch for us now that we had unpacked everything, and my mum dropped off some groceries. I️ decided to fix up some sandwiches, because it was simple...and I️ was exhausted.

I️ headed over to the fridge, pulled out some ingredients, and walked back over to the counter. I️ stacked up all the ingredients—then did it again.

"Dan, I made lunch if you want it!" I️ yelled, carrying the plated sandwiches to the table. Oh who am I️ kidding, we aren't going to sit at the table. We're gonna sit on the couch. Who are we? Civil people? Thats funny.

"Ohhhkay." He groaned. I️ heard his feet hit the floor and he burst out of the room to his door.

"Hey, sleepy head. Your hair looks great." I️ joked. Dan rolled his eyes; he had on a smile, so I️ knew

"Let me see you when you roll out of bed." He play shoved me.

"Touché, my friend." I️ smiled. I️ sat down, and Dan followed in my lead, sitting down next to me.

"But your hair is nice and straight. I️ used to straighten mine, but then I️ got too lazy, and decided to let it be natural." Dan said, biting into the sandwich.

"I️ mean, my hair used to be lighter. I️ dyed it black. It didn't look good brown. Anyways, I️ love your curly hair. I️ may have to see it straight one time, though." I️ shrugged.

"Oh god, Phil. Maybe." Dan smiled.

"You know, it's nice having you around all the time now." I️ admitted. A pink blush popped onto Dan's face.

"Thanks, Phil. It's nice being away from my mum, and being here with you." He pursed his lips.

"I'm glad we got you out of there, really. I️ don't know how much longer I️ could have let you live there. I️ probably would have stolen you and kept you at my house."

"I️ would have been totally fine with that, honestly."

So, Dan and I️ sat on the couch—hours after finishing lunch—talking to each other about anything. We babbled on and on with pointless (but interesting) stories that we would probably remember about each other because of how random they were. It would be that one thing you bring up at a dinner, or when you need a silly story for an awkward situation. Dan was good at telling stories. He told them the way you want to say Oh, tell me more! Or Go on... I️ would sit back, look him in the eyes, and he would talk for straight hours if he could. One story lead to another which lead to another. Hearing about his life and how much love he needed in those harsh times just makes me realize how much he needed this move away from his mother. After all, we are old enough to be living on our own now; he's the perfect roommate to have.

"Oh my god, Phil! We've been talking for 3 hours!" Dan realized. I scratched the back of my neck.

"Wow, I guess we both just got caught up in the stories." I shrugged.

"That's crazy. I've never had such a long conversation with someone." Dan fidgeted with his thumbs.

"I don't think I have either." I admitted.

Dan's curly hair was never fixed; now, he tried to tame it. I decided that I liked his curly hair when it was messier, but I haven't seen his straight hair, so I guess I can't choose.

"Well, Phil, I actually have one more story. A sad one, kind of." Dan bit his lip.

"Go ahead." I egged him on with a look.

"Okay, so I was probably 5 years old when this happened. My mum was so much nicer back then. She only got like this after my dad left. Anyways, that's a story for another time. Okay, back on track here, Dan." He took a deep breath.

"You got this." I awkwardly smiled.

"So when I was younger I really wanted a dog. Every single year when my birthday came around, I begged my mom for a puppy. She said no every single time. But, her mindset changed when it came my 5th birthday. She decided that she would take me to adopt a puppy. It was probably the best day of my 5-year-old-self's life." Dan stopped. He looked at me for a second, and I nodded. "So, she drove me out to the kennel, and I saw just an array of puppies. I could have never imagined so many. But instantly, I connected with this one chocolate lab. She was beautiful, and quite lonely. Nobody was interested in her, but I was. My mum told me she was old, and I told her I didn't care. She said that she would die quickly, I told her I didn't care. She told me that she wouldn't buy me another puppy, I told her I didn't care."

"Wow." That was the only word I could muster.

"Surely enough, she got me that chocolate lab. I named her Star, I can't even remember why. I liked that word or something. Anyways, we took Star home, and I treasured her with my whole life. I fed her, walked her with my mum, and ran around with her in the yard. She was everything to me.

"Then one day, I woke up and she wasn't next to me on my bed. Star was always next to me when I woke up. I freaked out and started yelling and screaming for my mum. She came into my room, sat down next to me, and told me that Star had gone to play with her other dog friends. When I asked when she would be back, she told me Star was having so much fun and she didn't know when she would be back. I started to cry because I was smarter than that. My mum didn't know that I was bright, but I was. I figured it out pretty quick. Star was my first companion, and the first place I had to go." Dan stopped. "It seems stupid to get so upset over it..."

"No, Dan, it's not stupid. It's real life." I just wanted to wrap him up and make sure he felt loved.

"I guess. At least I have you, now."