2009 // phan

två

october 19 2009, 12:39 pm

next stop: manchester piccadilly

dan swung his bag over his shoulder to proceed to the doors. his heart was almost racing at this point. racing at the thought of getting to see the boy in real life. was it appropriate to go in for a hug? he didn't want to get awkwardly rejected in the middle of manchester's main station.

a man pushed past him just as the doors slid open. must've been in a hurry, dan thought.

the gap down to the concrete platform felt huge. sometimes he wondered how the fuck wheelchair bound folks and elders managed to survive and not fall and get stuck in that gap. that was a fear of his. at least in his childhood days, when he wasn't a tall lanky giraffe, but a tiny - usually terrified - little outsider type kid.

without looking back into that hell hole of a carriage he leaped out onto the safe concrete, immediately greeted by a sign spelling out "manchester piccadilly." just the sight of the damn sign made his heart race. the only thing his peculiar mind could think of when hearing about manchester was someone very special to him, named phillip lester. or did that sound too shady? very special. but phil was special alright.

he ran his fingers through his hair a few times to make sure the humidity hadn't fucked up his perfect fringe. he'd spent an extra 15 or so minutes to get rid of his repugnant hobbit hair that morning, in case phil would think he looked pathetic and ugly. his confidence climbed the chart just a little knowing that his hair was looking better than ever.

he began pacing around the strangely quiet platform like a hungry stray puppy, not knowing where to go. everyone else was entering and exiting, traveling strictly from point to point, and seemingly they all knew which direction they were heading. unlike dan. he thought about it twice. the whole concept applied to his bizarre life. being like none else, being lost while everyone else knew what they were up to.

the woman in high heels that he spotted home in redding 3 hours earlier was now leant up against a wall. an unlit cigarette hung lazily from her bottom lip as she fiddled with one of those newfangled fancy iphones. she seemed like just another distressed businesswoman, making her way around the country to earn money and reputation. dan would never be able to maintain a lifestyle of that kind. honestly he couldn't really maintain any sort of lifestyle, especially if you excluded the whole procrastinating and eating ice cream part. because that's really all he did in his spare time.

after a few deep breaths of the fresh manchester air he quickly slid past the woman who had just struck up a heated conversation with someone on the phone. even though she seemed occupied with whoever was on the other end she had plenty of time to throw glares at the hunched over, slightly terrified boy who had just passed her by. dan could feel them burning into his back as he trotted on along the now almost abandoned platform. he was sure phil would stand right by the exit, so he made the obvious decision and followed the few signs pointing towards freedom. and the boy. hopefully.

a few leaves swayed just before him with the october wind. the chilling climate ran shivers up his spine. his arms automatically pulled his long coat closer to be able to maintain some type of heat. he cursed at himself for forgetting to bring gloves, because it had been a particularly cold october, more so up north.

his eyes watered slightly from the damn wind. he tried to blink the burning, dry feeling away, but to no avail. now his first priority was to find a bathroom so that he could fix up and look presentable at least. what would phil think if he turned up with red, puffy eyes? he'd think dan was pathetic. he at least doubled the length of his steps. or that's what it felt like.

he shifted his sight upwards, and spotted a guy standing about 10 feet away from him, pretty much his own height, facing away. he practically had a mane of fluffy, black hair on his head. he looked an awful lot like...

the guy turned around, and dan could stare straight into his blue orbs.

"phil?" he tried, not sure if his voice was even hearable.

as if it didn't already seem impossible to have eyes that bright blue before, they grew even brighter and more impossible now. with no other word or move phil had engulfed him in one of the biggest bear hugs ever. without hesitating dan threw his arms around him as well, nuzzling into his neck. he didn't know if the latter counted as crossing the line, but phil didn't seem to mind.

"welcome to manchester, dan."

he wanted to cry, not out of sadness, but out of the fucking insane happiness he felt. this was what he needed all along. he had a feeling that the following weekend would turn out amazing.