Alan (Leave Me To Dream)

Chapter 6

---timeskip to a couple days later, it is now Tuesday morning---

Dan stared into the mirror at his groggy appearance as he brushed his teeth. His mouth gradually filled with more foam until it began spilling out over his lips and dribbling down his chin. A large drip landed on the collar of his work uniform, crawling down his shirt and over the 'the coffee bean' logo. He wiped it away but there was still a damp patch, barely visible against the black material of the button up. He was still feeling grumpy, even after a warm, relaxing shower. His alarm had interrupted his and Phil's game of quidditch. He had just been about to win as well. But the high pitched beeping noise had beckoned him, drawing him out of the dreamscape until he was looking at the bland walls of his bedroom.

The last two nights had been spent mastering the art of flying, both him and Phil being highly proficient now, to the point where it was almost as easy as walking. They were not however, quite as good at producing items at will, often bringing into existence things by accident. For example; Sunday night Phil had commented on how 'Peter Pan like' their newfound flying skills were and before they knew it Captain Hook was chasing them through a strangely diminished version of the Alps. It seemed just by pondering too long on the idea of something or someone it could be created. This didn't always work though. Last night Phil had tried to enter the room of requirement to get himself a broom for their quidditch game only to find himself in a room filled with cacti growing out of bright blue play dough. Despite concentrating very hard on the item they wanted to find or create, the boys were usually unsuccessful, finding the skill much harder to perfect than flying.

But it wasn't just the newfound level of freedom and creativity that Dan enjoyed about the dreams. It was Phil himself. Over the past two nights the boys had gotten to know each other a little better, finding many similarities in their interests and temperaments. And, although they got along very easily, this only made Dan question Phil's existence further. He'd never gotten along with someone so quickly in his life. His brain had managed to craft him up his ideal friend.

Dan spat into the sink, washing his mouth and face before drying himself off and straightening out his bed hair a little. He exited the bathroom and grabbed his backpack and keys, trying to open the door quietly so as to not wake PJ. He slowly closed and locked the door behind him before beginning the short walk down the street to work, arriving in less than ten minutes and only three before the start of his shift.

"Not good enough Daniel." Dan's boss, Vicky, shook her head, tapping her finger against the silver watch on her wrist that always seemed to be at least five minutes ahead of the time on Dan's phone.

"I know, I'm sorry, it won't happen again." There was no point in arguing with her, all it would do is risk his employment, something he really couldn't afford.

"It better not." Vicky then disappeared into the back room, probably to make a start on the week's paperwork, leaving Dan, Emily, who had been there since 6am, and Mason, who worked in the kitchen, to run the cafe.

Dan was happy he didn't start until 8am on Tuesdays as the first two hours of opening on weekdays were always the worst. You had the constant flow of grumpy city workers who always seemed to be in a rush and never seemed to think you made their coffee fast enough. Luckily they petered off by about eight. Most workers who entered after that time being much more relaxed, probably from the extra couple of hours sleep they were getting each night. He could already tell from looking at Emily that this morning had been particularly busy. She looked not only exhausted but highly irritable, encouraging Dan to steer clear for a little while, instead busying himself with clearing a few tables from breakfast and making a start on the small pile of dishes that had already accumulated by the sink.