Identity (Phan)

Chapter 6

Warmth. It was all around Dan, the tingling sensation trailing throughout his body as if a heated blanket was encompassing him. Dan breathed in, inhaling the scent of raspberries, and smiling. 

Smiling, that was, until he felt steady breaths moving his hair slightly, heard the pounding of a human heartbeat in his ears, and felt the pair of arms wrapped around him protectively. That is when his eyes flew open and came face-to-face with a Gengar shirt. Dan's eyes trailed from the printed design of the shirt to the pale neck and finally to the peaceful, sleeping face of his own flatmate. 

What the hell is Phil doing in my room? Dan thought, feeling panic begin to fill his body. How long has it been? A sudden feeling of dirtiness washed over him as well, replacing the original warmth. Every part of himself that Phil touched felt as if Dan's skin was crawling, like he was being eaten alive by the germs and all of the skin molecules rubbing against him.

It's okay, he tried to tell himself. It's just Phil. Phil would never hurt you. 

Dan took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself down enough so that he didn't wake sleeping beauty with his violent quaking. He felt a slender hand slide lightly over his back before the arms tightened around him, and Phil buried his nose into Dan's hair. At the gesture, the hair on Dan's arms rose, but he couldn't deny that it made him relax ever so slightly into Phil's lean body.

He couldn't remember ever being held like this, ever even being touched so intimately. The kids at his public school had always stayed away from him as if they would catch a disease by so much as conversing with him, his little brother would always sleep over with his friends, and his mum, well, he never saw her except on occasion, but they never said so much as a sentence to one another.

Dan decided that maybe being held like this was mildly comforting. But that still didn't explain how it had come to be.

"Are you awake?" The throaty whisper was right by Dan's ear, sending shivers down his spine at the feel of Phil's breath on his neck. 

Dan nodded. "Why are we cuddling?" His voice came out somewhat shaky and he mentally slapped himself for being weak.

Phil was silent for a small amount of time, making Dan's anxiety heighten slightly. "Dan?"

"Yes?"

All of a sudden, Phil's body relaxed, letting out a big whoosh of air that ruffled Dan's hair. "Thank God, I thought I'd lost you," He breathed, leaving Dan in a ginormous hole of confusion. "You had some nightmares last night and wanted me to stay with you. I didn't mean to frighten you, though." He released Dan slightly, leaning back to look into his eyes. "What do you remember last?"

Dan could feel his throat swelling and he panicked, knowing that something was wrong. Definitely wrong. But he tried to push it down swallowing the cotton in his throat the best he could. 

Don't be a wuss. 

"I remember being at the party. I drank a lot and I blacked out for a while. I woke up when I saw you coming towards me. I never felt more relieved." Dan swallowed again. It felt as if bile was rising in his throat. "The last thing I can recall is you asking if I wanted to go home. Then I woke up here."

There was a sharp intake of breath, blue eyes staring into Dan's as if trying to peel apart his skin to look into his soul. "Dan..." Hesitation and a confused expression. "That was four days ago. It's Saturday now."

For a moment, all Dan could see was red. He could feel it, all the red pulsing through his veins, blinding him, making him angry. When it cleared, Phil looked scared, like he'd been smacked. "You're lying!" Dan screamed, trying to get away from the blue-eyed monster. He pushed away, struggling against the strong hold Phil had on his waist. "Why would you lie to me like that?! How could you do this to me?!"