"I'm Sorry I Lied"

Part 3: Safety and Questions

You woke up from your much more peaceful dreams on Dan's couch. Dan was nowhere to be found at first, but the pancake scent coming from the kitchen said otherwise. You looked at your phone to check the time. 11:46 AM. Cool, you're up before noon! That was a feat in your mind. You fixed your slightly messed up hair and made your way to the bathroom where you saw your toothbrush set aside for you. You brushed your teeth and splashed some cold water on your face. You felt great knowing Dan was making you breakfast. It felt safe.

You went into the kitchen to see how far along Dan was in the pancake making process, and to see if you could offer any assistance. "Morning, sleepyhead," Dan teased without even turning to face you. "Morning punk," you smirked. "Need any help?" you asked. "Nope, I'm finishing up. Thanks though," Dan replied. "I can offer you some clothes to wear home if you'd like to shower here, but you know that already. You're like my second roommate by now," Dan teased. He was probably still butt hurt from his Mario Kart loss. You chuckled. "Thanks," you said.

You sat down and ate breakfast with him. It was a great feeling, being with him when the day was at it's brightest. "Hey Dan," you started, your mouth full of pancakes. "Do you ever wonder about what the girl you're going to marry will be like?" you asked. "All the time, why do you ask?" Dan answered a bit more quickly than you anticipated. "I don't know. I was just thinking again last night. I had another nightmare about my father and I feel like I'd be so difficult to marry, and I can't even imagine a guy who would be perfect enough to be with me despite my unusual emotional needs," you said truthfully. Dan's expression dropped slightly. "I think you'll find him when you stop looking," Dan muttered. "What do you mean?" you asked. "I believe there's someone for everyone. Sometimes one person knows it before the other, and sometimes the person who doesn't know it yet just needs time to see them," Dan said. Starting to catch on to his response, you opened your mouth to speak. Dan looked down at his plate. "Forget what I just said, it's not important," he uttered, cutting you off.

Thankfully you were finished with your breakfast so you brushed off Dan's behavior as you placed your empty plate in the sink. "I'm going to take a shower," you called to Dan as you approached the bathroom. "I'll leave some clothes for you on the doorknob," Dan called in response. You closed the bathroom door behind you. You turned the shower on and undressed. Standing in the shower, you wondered why Dan was acting so strange all of a sudden. You were scared of Dan being into you because you thought he deserved someone who wasn't emotionally demanding like you were. You were fine as a friend to him. In fact, the fact that your parents divorced made you an even more loyal, trustworthy friend than you would've been. As a girlfriend, you were afraid of ruining him...

After rinsing conditioner out of your hair, you shut the shower off and grabbed one of the towels Dan and Phil had always kept ready. You wrapped the towel around you and opened the door slightly to retrieve the clothes Dan left for you, in a bag hanging from the doorknob. Phil approached from down the hallway, having just woken up. "Morning, Phil," you smiled. It was rare when Phil woke up later than Dan, so you assumed he was awake extremely late last night editing. "Morning," he said walking past you, his northern accent present in his groggy voice. You shut the door and unwrapped the towel to put on Dan's clothes. You put on your bra and underwear since Dan didn't have any of those to lend you... you hoped... and slipped on his [Your Favorite Band] tee shirt and some gray sweatpants. You brushed out your slightly towel-dried hair and proceeded to put your clothes from yesterday into the bag.

Not wanting to overstay your welcome, you said goodbye to Dan and Phil and went back to your flat. You had the ground floor of a two-family house so you owned a nice, small backyard where you kept a few easy plants, since you aren't really good at gardening. You tidied your house and relaxed for the rest of the day, missing that safe feeling you got when you woke up to Dan's hospitality that morning.

"I have to work," you remembered, as tomorrow was Monday.

You fell asleep that night missing the feeling of Dan's arm around you...