Open Eyes (Phan)

One

Hey guys! This is my first phanfic and I hope you enjoy!

Dan

"Get out of here, fucking fag!" The slurred words of my drunken step father followed me as I dashed out the front door. It slammed shut behind me, the sound echoing in the chasm in my head, but I barely paid attention.

I almost tripped as I ran down the front steps, but I managed to catch my balance before I slammed face first into the pavement.

I ran.

I ran down the small driveway.

I ran to the end of the street and around the corner.

I ran until I couldn't run anymore.

And when I finally came to a stop at the edge of the broken neighborhood, I was wheezing. My legs ached. My hands were shaking. My heart was palpitating.

I crossed the street in front of me. I half hoped a car would appear out of nowhere and come hurtling at me. But of course, I had no such luck. The street was dead, which was strange for a Saturday afternoon. I let out a heavy sigh.

I could feel myself slipping into a comfortable numbness. It was easier to not care about the world that was spinning around me. It was simpler to ignore the stars and stones orbiting around my head.

I walked down the next street, past the little coffee shop that I occasionally went to, along with several clothing stores. I trudged past the little park, and a tiny pharmacy.

Until I came to the shop on the corner. It was a bookstore. It was a red brick building with ivory accents. The windows were framed with rusting black metal. I ascended the four steps toward the glass door. I slid my hand along the smooth black railing as I went.

I opened the door, and a tiny bell jingled. Signaling my arrival.

The store was small, but cozy. Bookshelves lined the walls and filled empty spaces. Leaving little room to walk in between them. The air was stuffy and smelled like old paper and dust.

I walked past the check out counter, where a tall man with a black fringe was hunched over the counter, messing with a bookmark stand. He glanced up as I shuffled along, but I looked away before I could see his face.

I thought I could feel his gaze burning into my back as I slipped between two shelves and into a hidden corner of the store.

I plopped down on the grey beanbag, landing with a soft thud. I felt my shoulders lighten. As if this beanbag had magically made all of the weight vanish into thin air.

No one really knew about this little corner. I'd never seen any one else go back here in the million times I'd been back here since I discovered this place a few months ago. I liked to think it was just mine. I liked to pretend that no body else ever came back here. That it was here just for me. When ever I needed it.

I immediately pulled out my phone. I mindlessly messed with it. I didn't really pay attention as I scrolled through social media. I was not focusing while I played a level of Candy Crush.

All that really mattered was that I was not at home. And that I was not at school. This was the heaven in my hellish life.

At some point I ended up passing out with my phone covering my face.
I slept for about two and a half hours, which was more sleep than I had gotten in a while.

I rubbed my eyes and blinked. When my eyes adjusted to the light I sat up. I hit the power button on my phone. Thin white letters at the top of the screen showed 5:34.

Crap.

My step father was not going to be happy about me being gone for three hours.

With that thought in mind, I hauled myself out of the bean bag and shoved my phone into my back pocket. I stumbled out of the corner. The same man with the black fringe was still there, behind the counter. He was focused on a slip of paper in front of him.

I tried to get past without attracting attention.

But he did notice me, much to my dismay. And he looked up at me.

For a long, breathtaking moment, all I saw was blue. A blue so deep I could have sworn I was drowning in the middle of the ocean, surrounded by nothing but dark blue water and grey skies. It took me another long moment to realize that I was not watching the waves of the ocean, but a pair of dark blue eyes. I blinked when a fringe as black as ash fell over his snow white face.

I wanted to stop and stare at him for minutes. Hours. Days. He was one of those people you could stare at forever and never get tired.

But I forced myself to look away and continue on my path towards the door. I ripped my gaze away from the unforgettable blue and focused it on my worn out black shoes instead.

I left the bookshop, knowing I'd be back the next day, and began the unbearably short walk home, to a fate that I was positive was worse than death itself, thinking only of oceans and the night and snow.