Gorgeous >> phan

o n e

"Dan, get your ass out of bed. We're going out," Dan's best friend PJ poked him lightly and Dan groaned and rolled over, burying his head in his pillow. "Look, I know you're tired, but this is important. This is good. You'll like this."

Dan looked up at PJ, blinking until his eyes were less blurry, and wondering why anyone with any sense would try to wake him up at 8am. He rolled over and reached for his eye drops and shampoo, then flung his covers off. PJ laughed and covered his eyes.

"Dude, you could warn me! I don't need to know what your boxers look like, you know."

"Dude," Dan said, mimicking PJ's tone, "my boxers are exactly the same as yours. It's not exactly news to you." He rubbed his eyes vigorously, yawning.

PJ gave him a half-hearted scowl. "Go for a shower, you twat. I'll make breakfast."

"What are we having?" Dan asked with a small smile. It was something of a running joke between them - to ask what was for breakfast - ever since PJ had asked that by accident one morning. Dan didn't think he'd ever laughed so hard. He didn't spend a lot of time laughing, of course, but that moment had been too funny.

"Oh, I wonder," said PJ. "What's in the cupboard? Oh yeah, twenty boxes of that cardboard shit."

Dan tried to look sympathetic, failed, and headed into the bathroom. He hung his dark-blue, government-approved towel up on a rail and stepped into the shower.

Showering never took long for Dan. While some people liked to spend hours mixing shower gels to create new scents and attempt to feel different, he preferred to use the non-scented soap. He lathered his hair with the special shampoo - designed to turn you into an almost-natural-looking blonde - and rinsed it off quickly.

After drying himself off, he wound the towel around his waist and leaned over to the mirror, examining his eyes. They were fading from the usually vibrant blue to his natural brown colour, so with a sigh he opened the bottle of eyedrops and tilted his head back, letting the colour drip into his eyes and splash over his irises. Blinking, he looked back at his reflection. Blue again. Much better.

Getting dressed didn't take much time either, but that wasn't unusual for anyone. The only outfits on sale anywhere were loose navy trousers and light blue shirts, so all Dan had to do was throw on a clean outfit and pull on a pair of black socks patterned with the Imperial Leader's family crest (although 'family' seemed like the wrong word, seeing as the Imperial Leader had in fact killed most of his family in order to claim leadership of the country) and straighten his hair. By law, everybody had to have completely straight blonde hair, and although Dan knew he would be safe as long as it looked straight from a distance, he chose to spend twenty minutes making himself look perfect.

After a final glance in the mirror, Dan headed downstairs, marvelling at how their navy blue carpet got uglier every day. He hadn't chosen it, of course - he lived in the Navy area of Prae (their island) so his outfits, house decoration and possessions all boasted the same unattractive shade of blue.

PJ stood in the kitchen, pouring squares of something that was supposedly cereal (but tasted more like cardboard) into a bowl. "I can't believe they make us eat this shit," he said as Dan walked in.

"Have you still not got used to it?" Dan asked him, searching for milk in their gleaming navy fridge. "I mean, you've eaten it for about six years now."

"I know, but every morning I hope it'll magically turn into something better."

"Like what?" Dan looked curiously at him. It wasn't that the idea of better cereal was alien to him - more that he couldn't think of anything better that he'd ever eaten. When you spend six years eating the same cardboard-y substance every morning, you forget what other food tastes like.

PJ winced, coming to the realisation that he couldn't remember the name or taste of the cereal they used to have. "I can't remember," he admitted, "but there are definitely better things out there."

"If you say so," Dan answered, taking the bowl and spoon PJ was offering him. "It's not like we're ever gonna taste them again, though."

"Well." PJ's face suddenly lit up. "Well."

"What have you done this time, Peej?" Dan asked, his usually calm facade cracking. He knew PJ was something of a rebel - he never straightened his hair, for one thing, which in a stricter district would be punishable by death - but he hoped his friend wouldn't be stupid enough to steal food.

"So you know how we're going out today?"

Dan nodded, still sceptical.

"We're going," PJ said, lowering his voice, "to one of the clubs."

"No."

"Dammit, Dan, live a little, why don't you?" PJ looked frustrated.

"Live a little? We'll be shot as soon as we leave! Do you even know how illegal that is?"

PJ nodded delightedly. "That's why I want to go. But I can't go on my own."

"You're not going at all, point blank." Dan's voice was rising steadily. "To a club? For God's sake, PJ, you're going to get yourself killed someday, and I'm not going through all the paperwork to get a new living partner."

"Dan, calm down! Someone's going to hear you, and then whose fault will it be when we get arrested?" PJ put a hand on Dan's arm and glared at him. "Come with me once. Just once. So we have something to do now that we're not working at the ports. Then, if you hate it, you never have to go again."

"If I get shot it won't make much of a difference, will it?" Dan snapped, but his resolve seemed to be wavering.

"You won't. Trust me. It's underneath one of those propaganda bookshops. Nobody will suspect a thing. They'll think we're two of those really hardcore supporters."

Dan looked at the ground and sighed. "Straighten your hair so we're less conspicuous?"

"Is that all it'll take?" PJ asked. When Dan nodded, he rolled his eyes. "Fine, just this once. But as soon as I get in there, I'm ruffling it up again."

"You do whatever you want when you're in the death trap, Peej."

"It's not a goddamn death trap!" PJ called, taking the stairs three at a time.

Dan smiled, throwing the rest of his cereal away. He hated to admit it, but the idea of going to one of the clubs was already starting to appeal to him.

So... New book...
I'm really really really excited about this one so I hope you enjoyed this first chapter :)
Don't forget to vote if you liked it if you like
:D