Lost Cause [Imagine Dragons Fanfic]

25 - Storytime

Platz:

"Is that why we couldn't find you over the past weeks? Because we're getting too close and you can't trust us? Is that it? Did you just need your space?"

Dan looks at me and listens to my woeful words, I didn't even mean to let them sound like that, I guess I feel hurt even though I know I shouldn't.

He softly shakes his head: "No, it's not because of that. It's difficult, okay?"

Suddenly Wayne's dad speaks up again: "Guys, I guess it's better to take care of that on your own. Dan, maybe you can open up to them, they're your friends and no grown-ups. I guess that makes it easier for you. Just please tell them something okay? It will help, not only you, but those three young men sitting in front of there, desperately trying to help you. Olivia and I will be in the kitchen, call us if you need anything."

As soon as they closed the door behind their backs, Dan looks like that just took a load of his mind. "You know that they wouldn't hurt you, you don't need to be afraid of them," Ben says exactly what I am thinking right now.

"I'm trying to tell myself that all the time, I just haven't convinced myself yet," Dan replies without looking at any one of us. An uncomfortable silence hangs between the four of us. I don't really know what to say, it feels like we're walking on thin ice and one wrong move could destroy everything.

This time, Wayne's soft voice breaks the silence: "Look, you don't have to tell us your whole life story, that would be way too much, but maybe tell us something small, something that seems unimportant, but still matters to you. Just to make it easier. I'll start, one thing you need to know about me is that I am an insomniac, which means that on some days, I just can't convince my brain to sleep and then I'll stay up for two days straight."

Dan listens to Wayne and for the first time today, he seems okay with something and not like he wants to disappear any second. "Uhm, I used to sing in a choir when I was eight."

"Were you good?" I ask interestedly. He half shrugs his shoulders: "I was the soloist, so I guess so."

Ben clears his throat and says: "My mother wanted me to dance ballet when I was little and my father wanted me to play soccer and then I decided to become a musician, which neither pleased them, but they were okay with it because the other one wasn't going to get their will either."

That makes me chuckle. "I didn't know that. Did you at least try it?"

"My mom made me go to ballet once and that was the worst experience for an overweight five year old to be put into a room with twenty girls and having to wear really tight pants. I honestly don't know what my mom was thinking..."

I guess all of us just imagined that scene because a second later we burst out laughing. But since I guess that happy mood doesn't make it easier for Dan, I decided to share a story of mine too.

A few minutes later I clear my throat and say: "So, I know that you don't want to tell us anything about you, so maybe we'll just let it be." I'm earing three strange and questioning faces for that sentence.

"So here is my deal. We don't push you to tell us your story, maybe you can tell us sometime when we're older and when we spent more time together and when you hopefully trust us. I just want to know one single thing and then we're all good. How does that sound?"

"You really mean that?" Dan asks hopefully and I nod.

"If Ben and Wayne agree, yeah, why not. Why should we push you to tell us something? I don't think that it would help to build trust and friendship."

Ben and Wayne nod simultaneously and as soon as Dan sees it, he nods too: "Ok, of course, I'm in. What's your question?"

"Do you have a safe place to sleep?"

"I wouldn't call it safe, no."

That's just what I was expecting. Secretly I was hoping for him to say yes though because he doesn't really like talking to us. How should we get him a safe place to sleep?

"Well," Wayne starts talking: "I'm sure that you could stay at my parent's house, here. And I know that you're not to keen on that idea. But just listen to me! You could stay here just for the night and maybe breakfast. You can walk around the city as much as you want to all day long. But it would take such a load of our minds if we knew that you're safe at least at night. How does that sound? Could we try it?"

Dan shrugs his shoulders: "I guess, it's worth a try if that makes you happy and if your parents are okay with that of course."

...............................................

I'm going to the movie premiere of Avengers Endgame tonight at midnight and I'm so excited, although I have school tomorrow, but who cares?