Secrets to Keep (Phan)

Chapter 14

"Here you go." I muttered a little impolitely, sliding an ID card, (that may have not been one-hundred percent genuine) across the counter to the blonde lady at our new hotel. She continued gazing uncertainly between Dan and I, her thinly tweezed eyebrows raised a little while she chewed on the inside of her cheek. I felt like I was being a little rude, but she wouldn't stop looking at us like that.

She probably had every right to be suspicious, or whatever the stupid little eyebrow raise meant. Dan was obviously younger than the both of us, although I couldn't imagine how old I looked after forgetting to shave today, and most likely stress littering my face. It was probably making the situation look a lot worse than it really was.

She handed us two room keys with a fake perky smile, "First floor, room 206." she instructed, pointing to the staircase that lead to the only other floor.

"Thanks." I replied, taking all of the cards and handing one to Dan, before starting towards the stairs. He slipped his hand in mine gently on the way up, and I could feel a small smile spread across my face, his grasp warm and comforting.

We tried not to be too couple-y in public (aside from that time in the rain, but no one was really paying attention to us anyways.), as it normally led to strange looks like those, but small gestures like holding hands or even simple touches could always make me feel better.

I pushed my glasses a little higher on my face as they began to slip down my nose. I hated wearing the glasses, but after crying earlier my eyes were incredibly sore, so I just took the contacts out as they weren't helping anything.

"I love you." I murmured quietly once we had reached the top of the steps, giving Dan's hand a squeeze.

"I love you too." he replied, and I could hear the smile in his voice as he returned the squeeze. Just his presence was making me feel a million times better, although our previous visitor's words still rang around in the back of my head.

You'll surely return when you have nothing left to come home to.

It wasn't an empty threat, there was no doubt in my mind about it, but if he really thought that killing Dan would make me come back then he was dead wrong. I didn't care how bad things got, returning to that lifestyle was the last thing I'd ever do.

I slid they key card into the lock, opening the door with a tiny beep and the flash of a green light, leading both of us inside and setting our things on the floor. This room was bigger than our last one, complete with a couch, larger TV, and small kitchen area with a few appliances.

I flopped down face first into the fluffy white bed, the duvet smelling of cheap detergent, with the tiniest hint of other chemicals. I felt the mattress shift beside me, and I turned my face slightly to see Dan lying there next to me, his eyes closed and feet hanging off of the bed. I leant forward, giving his forehead a small kiss and watching his eyes flutter open, the brown and amber colors in his irises mixing beautifully in a way that could only be seen from this close up.

"Hello beautiful." I mumbled softly, watching his cheeks pinken at the compliment as he scooted closer and nuzzled his face into my chest.

"You're the beautiful one." he replied shyly into my shirt.

"Aww shucks." I chimed in a mock American accent, hearing the sweet sound of a giggle ringing from Dan's lips.

"Shut up." he muttered between his tiny laughs, and I could feel his breath going through the thin fabric of my shirt, creating a warm spot on the cloth. I draped my arm around the smaller boy's waist, absent-mindedly tracing my finger between his shoulder blades and causing him to shiver. Smiling, I kissed the top of his head, my nose catching a whiff of the previous hotel's honey-scented shampoo.

"We need to talk to Paul the next chance we get." I muttered into Dan's soft, straightened hair, feeling him nod slightly. "Maybe he'll know what to do."

I dreamt of Dan while I slept that night. His soft skin, shining brown eyes, his smile and his laugh; all flashing about my unconscious brain. I dreamt of the way he blushed with every compliment, and how when he concentrated really hard, his tongue would poke out a little while his eyebrows furrowed and his dimples would make an appearance on his cheeks, the left one always more prominent than the right.

I dreamt of the way his hand felt clasped in mine, his warm hugs and nature-y scent. It was all so vivid, down to the last detail, and when I awoke later that night with a smile on my face, I knew that I would go to the end of the world and back to keep Dan safe.

I'm sorry it's so short. I wrote something nearly twice as long as this but it got deleted and I was frustrated and didn't even touch wattpad for a day or two. I needed to post something though so here's this I guess.