Splattered Paint - Dan Howell

Apartment Tour

Darcy’s P.O.V

After Phil and I had finished our tea whilst chatting about future plans, he took our glasses back to the kitchen and left me to get used to my new home. Both the doctor and Phil had advised me to take things easy and relax, as my body was still undergoing its healing process and taking advantage of my ability to move freely would only make matters worse.

I still wanted to explore the apartment more thoroughly, but I knew I shouldn’t do anything too extreme so having another look around and then watching TV sounded fine. I brought my legs to the edge of my bed and placed them on the ground, glad to see the little bit of muscle and fat I had gained, no longer as skinny and bony as I was a matter of weeks ago. As I stood, my body stiffened and I stretched in hopes that the slight ache would subside.

Avoiding tripping on my few belongings in doing so, I made my way cautiously to the door of my room, peering outside in case Dan or Phil were to walk into me and cause a painful collision. Both boys were no-where in sight so I left the room and examined the many colourful pictures hanging in frames along the hallway walls. They added a sense of creativity and brightness, both of which were characteristics Phil had, I was unsure of Dan’s personality as of yet. Upon entering the toilet, I came to notice the inside of the door was decorated with a large poster including close ups of the faces of five random men. I assumed they were famous and hoped it was all a joke as toilets do not typically include something so random and marginally disturbing as that.

I entered the next open door, which brought me into the bathroom. I noticed two pairs of hair straighteners laid on the countertop and I giggled knowing both boys would probably use them every day. In the shower were bottles of men shampoos and conditioners as expected, but I was met by a surprise as I discovered a large bottle of woman’s body wash. I first assumed Phil had gotten it in preparation for my staying, but was surprised to see the bottle was half empty.

 I stood away from the shower and retreated back to the hallway where I felt obliged to open every cupboard. There were towel cupboards and bedding cupboards and cupboards full of random junk that I struggled to see the purpose of in the first place. I opened each one none the less, forcing myself to memorize which held what as I did not want to have to ask Dan or Phil each time I needed to find something. I came to another door and opened it, expecting to find more collections of random junk, but after the door had opened at least half a metre, I shrieked and slammed it shut again. It was Dan’s room, and he was inside. Shirtless. I had only glanced at his back briefly but it was enough to shock me, so I power walked down the hallway towards the living room and tried to distract myself from what I had seen.

Phil was sat on the couch in a fairly odd position, his laptop balanced on his stomach as his legs stretched under the coffee table. I sat beside him, relaxing slightly, though the image of Dan wouldn’t seem to leave my mind. I could feel my cheeks heating up the longer my thoughts were of him, though it didn’t bother me, I could pretend I was simply hot.
“Hey Darcy” he greeted in the way I wished Dan had when we first met face to face. I shook the thought out of my head, I couldn’t fall for Dan, that would be unbelievably wrong.
“Hi …” I replied. Phil seemed quite concentrated on browsing whatever website it was so I didn’t bother having a conversation with him, instead, I peered up at the TV and decided to watch something as I didn’t have much other sources of entertainment aside from my art.
“Phil, how do you turn the TV on?” I asked, looked over at him then back at the TV. Phil glanced over at me surprised, but his expression quickly changed as if he had come to realise something, and he put his laptop aside.
“I think the remote is down here” He muttered and he rushed over to the pile of electronics in front of the TV. I stood up, not wanting to appear lazy and useless, though I really was unaware of how to work the thing. As Phil started rummaging through the pile of chords and DVD cases, Dan entered the room, wearing a shirt, and a very serious expression. He eyes met mine suspiciously before he opened his mouth to speak and stared at Phil who was unaware of his presence.
“Who came into my room earlier?” Phil sat back and peered up at Dan, who was glancing between the two of us.
“Not me, you okay Dan?” I gulped knowing he was talking about the incident a few minutes ago. The red had certainly appeared in my cheeks again, and I pretended I was unsure of what Dan was suggesting as he glared down at me. I looked down at my feet and waited as Dan wandered into the kitchen, not saying another word.
“Found it!” Phil thankfully broke the growing silence, standing up and reaching out to hand the remote to me but Dan stood between us and butted in.
“I want to watch game of thrones” The remote was taken from Phil, who shrugged and looked over at me with a confused expression,  obviously not sure as to what had gotten into Dan. Maybe it was the stress of another person in his apartment, maybe his work, or maybe he was simply tired. I wasn’t sure but I decided that if he was going to let me stay, I better comply with his wishes.

Dan had now relaxed on the couch where I previously sat, completely ignoring mine and Phil’s presence. I didn’t want to bug him anymore, so I left the room.

I had done nearly everything that could take up two hours of my time. Phil had brought me in some food, though he invited me to eat on the couch with him as it would be more comfortable than the couch bed which Phil had kindly set up for me. Dan had already taken his food to his bedroom, obviously not interested in sitting with Phil and I. Eating was still a small issue for me as I had been severely starved whilst kidnapped, though I was slowly gaining weight and muscle.

Phil was an amazing cook, and I had eaten my portion within minutes as his home cooked food was far better tasting then that of the hospitals. Afterwards, I finally got a chance to watch TV which consisted of shows that did not understand or particularly enjoy. I didn’t complain though, I was lucky to even be watching a TV at all.

Time passed and it wasn’t long before I had said my goodnights and thank yous to Phil and was lying in the dark, soon taken away by my dreams.