Up All Night // phan

Up All Night

  It was three o'clock in the morning, and Dan Howell was on his computer, browsing through Tumblr. The laptop was almost dead, but he didn't feel like plugging it in. Too lazy.

  Rolling over onto his stomach, Dan stretched and kicked the covers off of himself, standing up and walking out of his bedroom. He needed a break from the glow of his computer and the dark of his room.

The rest of the flat was also completely dark, and Dan hurried to flip on all the lights, bathing the rooms in fluorescent lighting. He sighed in relief before making his way towards the kitchen, his tummy craving some type of carbs.

He wasn't afraid of the dark; just a little, teensey bit frightened. Which was stupid because it totally contradicted him being an insomniac. Staying up all night and sleeping all day.... it was a hard life but someone had to live it.

  His insomnia had started at age 13, when his friends had dared him at a sleepover that he couldn't stay up all night. He had, and had every night after that. He would read all night long, until he was 16. Then he started sneaking out at night, walking all over the neighborhood. Now he mostly sat on the computer or watched TV to pass the time.

  In the kitchen, Dan searched the fridge and pantry for anything to eat. Nothing seemed like the right thing though, but he eventually settled on some leftover pizza. Too lazy to heat it up.

  After grabbing a cold slice, Dan made his way into the living room and flopped onto the couch. He picked up the remote and flipped through various late night shows and infomercials, taking a huge bite of pizza. He chewed slowly and tuned out the sound of some lady trying to sell outdated jewelry, thinking longingly of the adventures he had as a teenager.

  Adventures may have been an overstatement. It usually just involved Dan discovering something he hadn't known about before, like some secret clearing in the forest. It had been really fun and extremely entertaining though.

  Stuffing the last of the pizza into his mouth, Dan made a split second decision. He quickly pulled on some skinny jeans and a tee, slide his shoes on, grabbed his keys, jacket, and wallet, and left the house, seeking an adventure...

                     ____________

  It was hella cold outside, and Dan was glad that he had grabbed his coat. London weather was shit. He hadn't brought gloves though, so he had to keep his hands in his pockets to prevent frickin' pneumonia.

  Dan had had an aversion to the outside world ever since he had discovered that he could just stay inside all night where it was warm...and bright. But now, while he was walking through the empty streets and breathing in the chilled air, he decided that maybe it wasn't so bad.

  Up ahead was an intersection in the road, but instead of going left like usual, Dan turned right. It wasn't much different from the rest of the streets, but he had never seen any of these shops and restaurants. It was kinda exciting, discovering things he hadn't known about before. A lot of them were closed, but there were a few all night places, still lit up brightly. Dan walked into a convenience store, blowing in his hands as the warm air inside wrapped around him.

  The store was empty except for the sleepy looking clerk behind the counter, who looked up at Dan for a second, sizing him up, before continuing to read some newspaper.

  Dan sighed and paced in the aisles, looking for nothing in particular. The pizza from earlier hadn't been to filling. He grabbed a bag if candy, two packets of crisps and a large coffee from the machine in back. After paying for  stash, Dan left the warmth if the store and walked back out into the cold.

  He walked around a bit longer, until his coffee cup was empty and only one bag of crisps remaining. The sky had started to get lighter. At the moment, it was a really deep blue, but gradually became more bright. Dan pulled out his phone and saw that it was almost five in the morning. The early commuters were up and Dan no longer had the streets to himself. He had began to grow tired anyway.

  While passing back by all the newly discovered shops, Dan saw that they weren't too special now in the growing daylight. They were just... there. He walked the rest of the way with his head lowered to the ground.

  After reaching his flat, Dan quickly undressed and crawled into the covers. His eyes fell shut, and before he fell completely asleep, he thought that he would do this adventure thing more often...

                         *******
A/N:
So if you are reading this, sorry it's kinda lame, but I promise the next chapter will be more interesting.