Dream a Little Dream // Daniel Howell x Reader

Chapter 34

All was peaceful in the Dan and Phil apartment, the comforting tone of the television playing in the living room. Phil had set up one of those generic baking shows on Netflix, both for background noise and educational purposes. With the pleasant shift in weather, the wind brought with it the scent of a long awaited spring. In celebration of the agreeable weather, Phil had felt the need to think about possible videos for the future. With spring came Easter and the scheduled Easter baking he and Dan did. With any luck, he'd be able to pull some doable recipes from the baking series.

Deciding to have a little break, Phil had momentarily walked away to water the numerous plants that inhabited the flat. Some were large planters while others were bite-sized blooms. With delicate precision, Phil began to water the large, leafy stalks with what he believed to be the desired amount of water; these plants would be treated with the utmost care. Looking at some of his tiny flora, he took notice of the yellow speckles beginning to climb up the edges of the leaves. Phil made a face, smiling nervously as he doused them in copious amounts of water. Plants loved water, so they'd be fine right?

As Phil continued to unintentionally drown his plants, a horrendous groan echoed throughout the apartment. The hairs on Phil's neck stood at attention, a chilling stream crawling across his spine. After the momentary shock, Phil rolled his eyes, his body relaxing as he recognized the noise. "Dan, it's only for a couple of days. Surely you can manage."

Out of sight was Dan sprawled across the couch, one leg lazily swinging over the edge of the sofa. He draped his arm across his forehead, looking up to the ceiling as he wailed with extra exaggeration. "I'm going to die, Phil. This is the end." He rolled on his side with dramatic flare, stretching both arms over the edge of the furniture. "Make sure my tombstone says that I died of literal boredom. As for what to play at my funeral, do something that'll make all the retired emos cry. I want their tears to lift me from the pit and into an ocean where I'll be ever more bored. Because you know, I'm so bo—"

"You're bored, yeah yeah, I got that the first twelve times you told me." Phil left his plants to soak as he came back into the living room, heartlessly nudging Dan's body away so he could sit on a cushion. Dan let out an appalled grunt but repositioned himself nonetheless. "You honestly can't be that bored. We've got lots to do around here."

"Oh, but I am!" Dan's face became a stubborn pout, placing his elbow on the arm of the couch as he held his cheek in his palm. He began to play with a stray curl absentmindedly. "This day feels like it's been going on for an eternity."

Phil scoffed at his friend's ridiculous dramatics. "It's the afternoon of 'Day 1'. You've only got a couple of days until (Y/N) will come back."

Dan huffed loudly, narrowing his eyes defensively. "That's not why I'm bored."

"Oh sure, and my name is actually Johnathan. Admit it, you just want to be near (Y/N) again."

"T-that's not—!" He seemed like he wanted to deny it, but seeing as Phil already knew the truth, he seems more inclined to giving in to the accusations. "So what if I do?"

Phil smiled, sniffing in amusement. "Knew it. And you said I can't pick up on basic cues." Dan looked away with an annoyed growl which Phil ignored. "Don't worry, if you keep yourself busy then the days will fly by. Trust me, I miss her too. But she's been waiting ages to see her friend again, we can't take her away from that. And for obvious reasons, we can't really interact with Hailey as (Y/N)'s friends. Things would get unnecessarily complicated."

"Hmph, I know that... " Dan's cheeks were dusted with a faint pink colour. "Still sucks though"

Looking at how lost Dan was without (Y/N) was both cute and hilarious in Phil's eyes. He never acted like this before (Y/N) showed up, but then again she did bring big change in both their lives. However, it seemed like she had the biggest impact on Dan overall. "You can always text her. We do live in the 21st century."