Stay [a danisnotonfire fanfiction]

The art room

I know, I know, I lied about uploading a hundred chapters... I got a bit distracted... By, uh, Dan and Phil... Sorry...

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As I lay in the dark staring up at the ceiling, I can't help but think of Dan. Max was the only friend I'd had in this city, and now that he'd left, it seemed almost deliberate that I'd bumped into someone new. Maybe it was a sign for a fresh start. I'm not usually one to believe in fate but this seems too good to be a coincidence.

The soft morning light from outside spills through the curtains and into the room. I sigh and roll over onto my stomach, grabbing my phone from the bedside table and checking the time.

5:04 AM.

Nice one Envy, yet another sleepless night. Good going.

I drag by fingers through my hair and sit up against my pillows, wondering what to do with the few hours of night time left. Sighing again, I push the covers off me and climb out of bed. I grab my JAGK hoodie and pull it on whilst wondering into my art room - it's supposed to be a guest bedroom but as no one ever stays here I have no use for it. I flip the light switch and stare around at the boxes and boxes of art supplies. Standing in only a pair of pyjama shorts and a hoodie, I begin to shiver, but it's masked by the excitement of creating something new. Various notepads and sketchbooks are scattered throughout the room, pages lined with ideas for art projects and sculptures. But I ignore them completely and walk over to the corner of the room, where an enormous canvas is propped against the wall. My lips curve upwards a little at the idea forming in my head, and I begin the hunt for paint brushes and paint pots which lie in random places across the room.

I gather the supplies I need and sit clumsily on the soft carpeted floor in front of the giant canvas, still smiling at the image I had created inside my head. I begin to transfer that image onto the canvas, starting with a tiny Starbucks coffee cup in the corner.

*****

I wake up on the cream carpet of my art room. I rub the sleep from my eyes and pull myself up, looking around in confusion.

"Oh, smart move Envy, fall asleep on the damn floor until two in the afternoon!" I say sarcastically, reaching for my phone which lies half way across the room. I groan, realising that I have to move to actually get my mobile. I crawl towards it on my hands and knees with my eyes half closed, and collapse when I get there. I groan again and roll onto my back, throwing my legs in the air and checking twitter.

A tweet catches my eye. Weird, because its only a few words.

"I'm a massive twat."

Max. I resist the urge to tell him otherwise, and continue scrolling. But I'm not paying attention to a single other word. He's all I can think about.

Max and I are over.

Max and I are over.

Max and I are over.

I throw my phone away from me and curl into a ball, hugging my bare knees to my chest and staring into nothing.

I lay there for hours. The room gradually grows dark, and is slowly replaced with the artificial city lights from out of the window, and before I know it its nine p.m.

There goes another wasted day, throwing itself into the past as my eyes begin to close.

24 hours of my life I'll never get back.

As I lay there rethinking the meaning of life, I hear a faint knock at the door.

I'm not getting up.

I turn over and face the other wall, still hugging my knees to my chest. But whoever's at the door knocks again, louder. I lay still for a few more minutes, contemplating getting up and answering; it might be good to get up and escape my mind for a little while.

I let go of my knees and roll onto my stomach, pushing myself up onto my elbows. I wander reluctantly into the front room and deliberate actually opening the door when I reach it. But maybe human interaction will do me good, it could be days before I bother to venture out of this apartment again. I sigh and turn the door handle, eyes heavy as it swings open to reveal some old guy holding a box.

"Delivery for Envy Lotus?" he asks, looking at the door frame above my head with an incredibly bored expression.

"Yeah...?" I say, completely clueless as to what this is.

He shoves the parcel towards me along with an electronic signing device. I sign for it, barely even thinking. According to the delivery label, it's sent from Australia, and realisation dawns on me.

"Thankyou," I say with a small smile, and the man nods grumpily before turning and walking back down the corridor.

I stare down at the brown paper and start to close the door with my foot, not noticing when Dan appears behind me.

"Hey, Envy!" he says cheerfully, catching me completely off guard and making me drop the parcel in shock. I spin on my toes to face him, throwing a hand to my mouth and breathing fast.

Dan doubles over in laughter, clutching his stomach.

But I quickly recover from the fright and get my own back. A quick push to the side sends him crashing to the floor, and its my turn to laugh.

"Envyyyy!" he whines once he's stopped laughing, sticking his hands out towards me in an effort to get me to pull him up.

I roll my eyes and help him to his feet, standing in place for a few seconds before dashing back into the apartment in a bid to get away, in case he tries to get me back.

Which is likely.