planets→phan

hotel//sun

phil opened his eyes slightly to reveal a horrible scene. dan was facing the outside world from the small hole both boys were tucked into. there was a loud arouse of police men and sirens. dan's breathing wasn't audible as phil suspected he was holding his breath. there were footsteps and barking dogs as they ran right past the tree where the boys were located. mud flipped up from the men's shoes and it flecked onto the tree, getting it inside the area and as a result, dan now had to deal with brown-stained dark pants.

phil's head tilted back powerlessly as he inhaled deeply. then he exhaled, relieved. they weren't caught. dan turned to phil and grabbed his hand. he smiled, also showing relief. phil leaned his head and rested it on dan's shoulder.

"we should get going after the rain lets up," dan said,"they could come back for us at any time."

after awhile, the rain did stop, and the sun was visible through the dark and menacing clouds. dan ducked down to crawl out of the small opening, and phil followed. dan collapsed on the grassy and muddy ground as he smiled up to the sky. phil smiled as he watched his friend revel in the relief that they were not caught.

"okay okay, enough fun for now. time to keep moving. grab your things and lets move out," dan shook his fringe as mud splattered to his surroundings.

dan put his arm around phil and hugged him as they continued walking.

after a couple more hours of trudging through the narrow trees and mud sticking to their shoes, dan saw a building. it was placed right in front of them, like an oasis in a desert.

"oh sweet civilization!" phil removed himself from dan's grasp and threw his arms up in joy. the sun shone down and it warmed up significantly.

"i never thought i would say this, but i am glad to see people besides you phil," dan chuckled,"aha, no offense."

"that's okay, dan. i brought some money for us to pay for maybe a one-night stay. i wasn't sure what i would use the money for but i am glad i didn't leave it sitting around. whaddya say?" phil waved dan over.

they both linked arms and skipped merrily to the entrance. the creaky automatic doors slid open, and a messy old woman stood at the reception desk.

"hello, ma'am, room for two, please," phil balanced himself on the counter.

"get off the desk, we just polished it," the woman smacked phil's arm.

phil stood up again, and inhaled,"oh, i am so so sorry! please forgive me,"

"what is your problem? we have been trudging through the forest all night, and we don't need some cranky lady to ruin our-"dan started.

the receptionist tugged the twenty-dollar bill out of phil's hand and landed two room keys on the table.

dan immediately took the key cards and led phil away from the desk.

"damn, some people need to learn respect others. her especially. anyways, whats our room number?" dan sighed.

"i think its 611," phil said.

"alright."

when the boys opened the door to their room, phil jumping on the bed and sighed as he let his body go limp and lifeless from exhaustion.

dan set his backpack down and began charging his phone. when it revived, there were at least fifty texts from his grandma. oh no. dan had totally forgotten hat he had run away from home, and that his grandma must be worried sick.

grandma-

"dan answer me, where are you?"

"where's that boy you were with earlier?"

"you are paying for the new window in your bedroom."

"come home right now!"

"okay, i just called the police. they are sending a search pod to rescue you."

"i don't want anything to happen to you!"

"why did you run away?"

"im sorry."

dan looked up. the search team. they were coming for him. they haven't even up yet. they could search the hotel. but it was getting late. both boys were exhausted. the sun was going on and the sky began turning shades of pink, purple, and blue. cotton candy skies. there were faint white stars twinkling like little sprinkles. dan licked his dry lips as he imagined the sky being one giant cup of ice cream. galaxies and stars and nebulas and darkness...

phil had fallen asleep on the bed, clothes and dirty shoes and all. his fringe fell over his eyes. dan shook his head and smiled. he took the shoes off of his friend's tired feet, and threw them on the ground. he slowly unzipped phil's jacket and heard jangling in the front pocket. dan lifted his eyes to check if phil was for sure asleep. there was faint snoring coming from the boy, so dan took the jacket out of the room and into the bathroom. he locked himself in and sat on the ground.

dan's hands ruffled around dint and dust inside the pocket, but that wasn't he was looking for. hard. shiny. bubblegum wrappers?

dan shook his head, and throw the bubblegum wrappers on the ground beside the toilet. he emptied the entire pocket out. there, dropped lifelessly were keys. a lion keychain. room 131. phil's birthday. dan remembered looking for phil's apartment the day the two wanted to run away. at least he thought it was two that wanted to run away.

dan knew what phil was hiding. he never wanted to leave in the first place. he brought his keys for that specific reason. dan couldn't believe this. his vision distorted as his eyes got watery. just when he thought someone was actually on his side. just when he thought he had a friend. just when he thought he liked someone.

dan got up and opened the bathroom door. he put the keys and the jacket on the ground next to phil's backpack. he couldn't wake phil to talk. he couldn't. being angry is one thing, but being rude is another. phil has had a long day, and so has dan.

so, he slept on the bed closest to the window and watched as the moon rose up into the sky, light up the hotel room and dan's pale face. tears streamed down his cheek as he wiped them away. he sniffled, ,and turned back to look at phil. a rising and lowering blob. dan then kicked off his shoes and laid his head down on the white pillow, which was smeared with dirt as soon as his head touched it.

tomorrow was another day. new opportunities. yet it is undetermined whether those opportunities will be good or bad for dan and phil.

11:59.

12:00.