Secrets to Keep (Phan)

Chapter 10

The train station was absolutely hectic. I held tightly to Dan's hand as the waves and currents of impatient people threatened to pull us apart. Of course we eventually found our way out, and now we stood in Times Square, not really sure of what to do.

"So what's step one?" Dan asked cheerfully from beside me. It was almost as if we had switched places, and now he was the excited one and I was the one who was nervous to the point of silence.

"Well I suppose we should get a hotel... Pick up a newspaper and start looking for flats and a job for me. I've got some money stored away in an account I started when I was younger, and I think it might be enough for a downpayment." I answered, looking over to Dan who had a look of excitement and wonder in his young eyes.

"Alright Mr. Adult." Dan teased. "Lead the way then."

We walked the streets for a bit, picking up a few tourist-y map pamphlets and a newspaper with todays date on it. I also made sure to pick up aplications from several little shops because hey, it was a start. 

We stood in the lobby of a pretty decent hotel. It was one of the few cheap ones that didn't look like the back alleyway of a whore house, so that was nice. The lady at the front desk wasn't very cheery, and the smell of tobacco smoke lingered in her navy-blue work uniform. Her dirty blonde hair fell over her shoulders in a Lord of the Rings Elvish style, only messier, and her flat voice crackled slightly as she handed us a room key.

I thanked the slouched over woman, who looked as if she would've rather been anywhere else than here, and led Dan over to the lift that we would be taking to the third floor.

The thinly carpeted hallways seemed nice enough, with pictures of flowers and old buildings lining the creamy walls that could've used another coat of paint. The card key took a few tries on the old door, but eventually it opened to a cozy little room with a queen sized bed right in the middle. Dan immediately dropped his bag and fell face first into the cushiony mattress, snuggling deeply into the duvet.

I chuckled slightly, shaking my head, and carried both of our bags to the corner of the room where they wouldn't be in the way. After flopping down onto the bed beside Dan, he abandoned the blanket he was gripping and held on to me instead.
God he was always so cuddly and I loved it.

I wrapped my arm around his shoulders, pulling him even closer, and for the first time all morning my near lack of sleep was affecting me. "I'm gonna call to get you registered for school... after a nap of course." I mumbled into Dan's hair, the sentence being broken by a yawn.
"Why didn't you just sleep on the train?" Dan asked, his breath making the hair on my arms stand up as it trailed across the skin on my chest.
"I couldn't." I answered quietly, as the fatigue that I hadn't even realized was there began slipping away on the cozy mattress.

"It's alright." Dan nearly whispered, his hands bunched up in the shirt I wore, "We've got the rest of the week to figure things out. Just sleep."

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I awoke several hours later in the dark hotel room, Dan still cuddled into my side. I searched around for whatever had woken me up, because I knew enough to be able to tell that my sleep had been interrupted, and did not end naturally. Then I heard it, a light knocking on the door, muffled slightly by what must've been gloves. I glanced to the red digits on the clock that glowed in the nearly dark room, seeing that they read 18:38. It was too late for the knocking to possibly be a maid, and we definetly weren't expecting anybody, so I sat in shock as the knocking continued.

I debated just waiting until the knocker get tired and left, but then decided to get up and at least check who it was. I untangled myself from Dan's arms and legs, and readjusted my clothes that had twisted uncomfortably around my body while I slept, before silently making my way across the carpeted floor to check the peephole. The muffled knock came again, a little louder this time, as if its owner was getting getting impatient, and some shuffling sounds that could've been footsteps could be heard from the other side of the thick door.