Alan (Leave Me To Dream)

Chapter 9

---timeskip to one week later, it is now Tuesday evening---

Trigger warning: Anyone who is lactose intolerant probably shouldn't read this chapter due to a high risk of allergic reaction. You have been warned.

Dan practically skipped into his room, more than glad to be home after spending an entire week cooped up in the hospital. His friends had come to visit often, bringing him his laptop, along with an array of DVDs and games to pass the time. But it wasn't the same without Phil. Dan had gone the whole week (including the days he spent unconscious) completely dreamless, feeling more disappointed each day that he woke up unsuccessful. Although he hadn't quite lost hope yet. He had spoken with one of the doctors out of curiosity and was told that it could take several days for all the medication to leave his system. If his speculations were correct then it was possible the medicine that was still in his system was somehow prohibiting his entrance into the dream world.

As the night approached and Dan's drowsiness rose he grew increasingly anxious. What if it didn't work again? Then there would only be a couple more days until the likelihood of ever seeing Phil again, of ever being in that place again, would plummet to almost nothing. Dan closed his eyes, laid down on his pillow, and began breathing deeply, attempting to quell his anxiety to a point where he could fall asleep. Eventually he drifted off, the sound of soft snores quickly floating out into his room.

~ ~ ~

Dan's eyes shot open. He looked around but there was nothing, just an empty void, trailing on endlessly in every direction. Where was- with a flash of light another body appeared in the void - a tall man in his twenties, with jet black hair and bright blue eyes.

"PHIL!" Dan cried in excitement, whizzing over to his friend faster than lightning, just about knocking the air out of him with a tackling hug.

"Dan... You're alive." Phil stood in shock, unable to believe that the person who he had been searching for for days now, who he had almost given up hope on, was standing there with his arms wrapped tight around his body. Tears of joy filled his eyes as he brought his arms up to hug Dan back, the embrace lasting for over a minute as they soaked up each other's presence.

"I thought I had deleted you somehow, like I accidentally did to that first incarnation of Aslan after the quidditch match." Phil sighed, fading worry still evident in his voice.

"How could you delete me, you're a figment of my imagination."

"No I'm not, I'm real. You're the figment of my imagination..."

"Prove it. How do I know you're not just my subconscious telling me that?" Dan said matter-of-factly, still not letting himself believe that Phil might really exist so as to not get his hopes up.

"Well how do I know that you're not just my subconscious saying that?"

"Well I'm real."

"Ok then Dan, if you really are real then meet me at the Manchester eye tomorrow morning at 11am. I hope to see you there."

"I hope to see you there too Phil. My sanity is seriously riding on it. 11am at the Manchester eye it is."

~ ~ ~

Dan scanned his eyes across the crowd nervously hoping to catch a glimpse of jet black side fringe. He checked his phone again, it read 10:59. He looked up again, this time spinning to check the other side of the ferris wheel. There he stood, clear as day, wearing a thick, shiny silver coat and black skinny jeans, scanning the crowd. Dan's legs began moving uncontrollably, running towards where Phil stood. He shouted his name, drawing Phil's attention just before they collided and wrapping him up into a monumental hug. Phil paused for a moment, still trying to register the blur of events before settling into the hug, wrapping his arms tightly around Dan's lower back.

Eventually the two boys released their grip on each other, taking a very small step back to look each other in the eye.

"Hi," Dan grinned, bigger than he ever had before, at Phil, the real life Phil, standing in front of him in flesh and blood.

"Hey," Phil replied, smiling just as deeply.

"You know, since you're not actually my wild imagination at work, that uh.. that kinda makes you the most amazing person I've ever met." Dan spoke nervously, looking down at his feet awkwardly, praying that Phil didn't think he was weird for telling him that. But whether Phil thought Dan weird for saying it or not, it was true.

As always, Dan's anxieties were for nothing. Phil took his hand, drawing Dan's attention away from his feet and to the eyes of the beautiful boy standing in front of him. Phil smiled softly, their eyes locking for an extensive period of time. Dan relaxed into his gaze, that familiar tingling feeling emanating from within his chest when he realised Phil's hands had snaked their way around his waist, slowly pulling him in close. Dan's hands moved, almost by instinct, to rest upon Phil's shoulders, pulling him in closer still. Their chests were pressed up flush against each other, a small amount of warmth passing between their thick jackets. They rested their foreheads against one another, faces touching all the way down to their noses. Dan let his eyes drift shut, tilting his chin ever so slightly to close the final distance between them. Their lips pressed together gently, slowly picking up momentum, all the while the kiss remaining soft and sweet.

Passers by wandered past as the kiss continued, both boys completely ignorant to their surroundings. After a few seemingly short minutes they broke apart, staring, entirely content, at each other's beaming faces.

The End

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