Misfit (Phan AU)

Chapter Eight

*Dan's POV*

The first thing I registered as I drifted out of sleep was the thing I was clutching to my chest, a disgruntled groan leaving the back of my throat as I clumsily pushed it into my line of view. I opened my eyes slowly then, wincing slightly at the amount of light filtering through the window. It's definitely way too bright in here, I always close my curtains before falling asleep. Unless Phil sneaked into my room and opened them, I wouldn't put it past him to pull something like that, just to make sure I woke up earlier and spent time with him.

After taking the time to adjust to the change in lighting and a lot of weary blinking, I finally managed to figure out the color of the object. It was mostly blue, with some sort of brighter picture- Oh, it was one of Phil's stupid throw pillows. Can you imagine how embarrassing it would have been had he seen me hanging on to that thing like my life depended on it? I don't think he'd ever let me live that one down.

Then again, that brings me to the question of why I'm passed out in the vicinity of these pillows in the first place. Whatever possessed me to fall asleep on the couch? And why doesn't my back hurt like it usually would? I sat up slowly, my hand fumbling around where my back had been moments before. I frowned when I found yet another one of his stupid pillows, refusing to admit it might be the cause behind my pain-free slumber. I would never admit that the childish-looking things actually added any positive attributes to my life.

I grabbed this one, pulling it out from behind me and setting it in my lap, staring down at it in an unimpressed glare. There was some blue character on it, vaguely resembling a poorly-drawn porcupine, possibly a hedgehog. Either way, why did it need shoes but not any other piece of clothing? I've only really played cheap third-party games and even they made more sense than whatever this is. Maybe someday I'd get the chance to see Phil playing one of them and it'll make a bit more sense, but for now it's about as confusing as why he bought all these pillows in the first place.

I tossed the pillow across the room toward the wall, careful not to send it too far in either the direction of the television or the piano, not wanting either of my most prized possessions to be damaged. It gave a very light thud as it hit the wall and I took that as my queue to fall backward again, my back nearly hitting the couch before a quiet giggle sounded not far from where I was. I jolted back upward then, memories from the past night all rushing back to me at once, the sound making the remaining bleariness fade instantly. 

"Cat?" I asked hopefully, before my eyes even fell on her. She was sitting on the far opposite end of the couch, looking at the blank TV screen with a pout, making me wonder silently when I'd turned it off. I almost always left it on in case she wanted something to keep her busy while I was sleeping or working, it was the only thing she could really interact with without touching. Her gaze shifted to me after a few seconds though, finally addressing the way I'd spoke up. A small lopsided smile found her lips, growing into a huge dimpled grin the longer I stared at her in disbelief. While, in retrospect, it wasn't really surprising she'd come back, it definitely felt like she wouldn't last night, it felt like the end of the world.

"Morning, idiot." She chuckled, sighing loudly as she tilted her head and stared at me. She looked like she was waiting for me to show some sort of reaction but yet I was still just gawking at her, too relieved to see her again to really think coherently. I jumped forward suddenly on an impulse though, throwing my arms out and lunging toward her. Of course I went through her, it wasn't like there were any exceptions to the whole 'can't physically touch anything' rule, but that didn't matter to me. Right now it was just the thought that counted, hopefully she got from the pathetic failure what I was trying to say, which was how happy I was to see her. "Why do you even try that? It's only awkward on both of us."