Highschool Dreams - a danisnotonfire fanfic

Chapter 5 - Runaways

Ann's POV

   The brisk wind chills my skin. I shiver as I walk next to Dan. We walk into a sort-of run-down building in Manchester. There is a man sitting behind the front desk, and he looks up from his newspaper to see Dan and I. Dan grabs my hand somewhat protectively. If anyone else did this to me, I would surely freak out, because of what happened earlier. But with him, it's okay, because he is the only person here that I trust.

   "What'cha need?" the man behind the desk asks.

   "Logan sent us," Dan tells the man. Who the hell is Logan?

   "Ah. Here's the key," the man says, casually handing Dan an old key. Dan nods, and we walk past the desk and down a short hallway. We take an elevator with worn-out buttons to the third floor. When the door slides open, Dan tugs on my hand and we walk together down another hallway and to a door. Dan unlocks the door with his key, and we step in. I find myself in the middle of a small, one-bed room with a small bathroom that can only fit a sink, a toilet, and a tiny shower.

   "So why are we here? And who the hell is Logan?" I ask Dan.

   "We're here so we can hide. And Logan is the runner of this craphole; let's just say I found out about him when I came down here another time. He told me I could come back here and stay for free whenever I wanted, because nobody uses this room, anyway," Dan explains. I nod in understanding as I smack my back down against the bed.

   "I'm so tired," I sigh.

   "Then go to sleep," Dan suggests.

   "But where will you sleep?" I raise my eyebrows.

   "I don't know. On the floor, maybe," he tells me.

   "Well you can't do that," I disagree, "This bed is big enough for the two of us. Don't worry, we won't end up making out or anything. It's the least I could do after you helped me and all today."

   "Alright," he reluctantly agrees. He sits on the opposite side of the squeaky bed, making sure to keep his distance from me. I playfully roll my eyes.

   "I'm not a time bomb. Just go to sleep," I comment before rolling over and falling into a deep slumber.

   I have an absolutely awful dream that night.

   I am in a square, concrete room. I see Dan shackled to the wall opposite mine, and he is unconscious.

   "Dan?" I gasp, starting to move toward him, but I am restrained by shackles as well. Suddenly, Roman appears in the room. I become furious. I want so badly to break free, but I am trapped.

   "Look at her. So puny and weak. Is he your little boyfriend?" Roman accuses of me, pointing at Dan.

   "Just let him go! Do whatever you want to me; I'm the one who beat you up. He hasn't done anything wrong!" I scream at Roman.

   "It's not that simple, bitch," Roman sneers. I catch a whiff of his horrid breath again. I see Dan slowly wake up from his unconscious state. Roman whips his head around, and sees Dan, now fully awake. "You!" he yells, "You're the one who stabbed me!" Roman walks over to Dan and takes his knife out of his pocket. He puts the knife up to Dan's throat.

   "No! Roman, please, stop!" I scream.

   "And what if I don't?" Roman snarls as he walks back towards me and puts the knife up to my throat instead. Instead of answering, I spit on his face. "Wrong answer," Roman whispers. I scream just before he slits my throat.

   I bolt awake, screaming. Dan is sitting up, wrapping his arms around me.

   "Are you alright? What happened?" he asks, now alert.

   "It was a bad dream," I start crying. He doesn't let go of me until I'm done soaking his shirt with my tears. I can see his ruffled hair in the pale twilight.

   "What was it about?" Dan coaxes.

   "I dreamt that I was being chased," I lie. I have always been a good liar.

   "Well, it's okay now. Nothing's chasing you," he reassures me.

   "Okay," I sigh. I force my breathing to be normal again, to convince Dan that I really am fine.

   "It's about four in the morning," he informs me, "Do you want to go to sleep again?"

   "Maybe in a little while. You can go back to bed, I'm going to go wash my face," I tell him. He nods, and lays back down when I get off of the bed. I walk into the cramped bathroom, and I close the door as I enter. I turn the faucet on, and make sure the water is nearly ice cold. I can't find the soap, so I just splash the cold water on my face to wake me up. I doubt Dan will be awake until nine, so I decide to go into town quickly to get a thing or two. I'm sure that he won't notice.

   I didn't ever change out of my clothes last night, so I just slip on my shoes and fix my hair a bit. I take Dan's backpack with me, since that's where the money is. Also, his knife, so I can use it if I need to. I gently take the key off of the table next to Dan's side of the bed, because I don't want to take any chances of having him wake up. I quietly slide out of the room, and I lock the door back. As I walk past the front desk again, the man we talked to earlier is still sitting there. Except now, he's looking at a Victoria's Secret catalog. I roll my eyes. Boys.

   I find my way to a twenty-four hour market/pharmacy, and I step inside. I make sure to keep my hood up. Eventually, I find some soap. I get the cheapest kind, and it smells kind of like watermelon mixed with orange. It's nice. I also get two water bottles and a loaf of raisin bread, so that Dan and I will have something to eat for breakfast. And since I didn't get to bring any of my stuff, I get a cheap toothbrush, off-brand toothpaste, and a stick of cheap deodorant. I take the things and I go to pay for them.

   When I get back to the room, it's about five-thirty in the morning and Dan is thankfully still asleep. I lock the door back after I enter, and I set the plastic bag down on the floor. As if not to arouse suspicion, I take off my shoes and peel Dan's hoodie off of my body. I am left wearing one of Dan's t-shirts and I guess a pair of his mother's jeans. I lay my head back on the pillow, facing him. He looks so calm. I really don't want him to get hurt. He's done nothing wrong. He was only trying to protect me; I'm the one who fucked it up.

   Before I drift off to sleep for the second time, I grab his hand, and I hold it tight. His hands are always warmer than mine. But he makes me feel safe.