The Boy in the Garden (Phan)

Chapter 8- Falling Asleep to the Sound Of Your Voice

Phil sighed softly as he lay under the blue and green covers, staring up at the ceiling and rubbing his tired eyes that refused to stay closed. This happened every single night- no matter how tired he was, no matter how late he stayed up, no matter what medications he took, he simply would not be able to fall asleep until 10 minutes before he had to wake up for school. He had no idea what his problem was, but it was impossible for him to get more than an hour or two of sleep a night. Phil knew this probably wasn't healthy, and he'd talked to his mom and brother about it, but both of them had just dismissed it and said it was perfectly normal for him to not fall asleep right away. But he knew that wasn't the case.

Sitting up, Phil grabbed his phone off of the bedside table and turned it on, squinting at the sudden bright light. He immediately noticed two new texts from Dan. With a smile, he tapped the notification to view the texts.

Dan: good news, they managed to get all the paint off. 

Dan: they want to know if you want to press charges tho.

Phil: why would i want to do that?

Dan: well technically those kids were vandalizing your personal property, so it's considered a crime even if they're under 18.

Dan: so?...

Phil: i don't think i will.

Dan: but those kids messed up your car. it's fucking illegal for them to do that

Phil: yeah, but i still don't want to. 

A few moments passed when Dan didn't text back, and Phil thought he had somehow made him angry. Finally, a few minutes later, his phone buzzed.

Dan: can i call you? i feel more comfortable talking when i can actually hear your voice...

Phil: sure! :)

Seconds later, Phil's phone vibrated with an incoming call. He quickly answered it. "Hey..."

"Phiiiiiil," Dan instantly whined. "Phil, explain yourself..."

"What do you mean? I don't want to press charges. It's just make them more upset and make them wanna bother me more," Phil sighed. "Besides, it's already over and done. Everything's all set with my car. There's no point in beating a dead horse..."

"But Phil, these kids keep bothering you, and this time it's gone too far. You need to do something about it," Dan said with an audible sigh.

Phil groaned, laying down on his side and playing with the blankets beneath him. "Dan, it's fine. It's over and done now-"

"Phil, if you're not going to do something about this, I will," Dan snapped, clearly pissed off. There were a few moments of semi-awkward silence afterward, but eventually Dan spoke again, his voice slightly lower. "Sorry... I shouldn't have snapped at you."

"It's fine, Dan. Honestly." Phil smiled, even though he knew Dan couldn't see him. "Just please, don't do anything about this, okay?"

After a few seconds, Dan finally replied, "Okay. I won't."

Phil smiled again, flopping on his back with the phone still pressed to his ear. "Thanks."

"No problem... hey, why are you still up? It's two in the morning..."

Phil sighed. "I don't know. I'm tired, but I can't sleep... This happens all the time. I'm tired, but no matter what."

"Really?" Dan asked. "What do you mean?"

"This has been happening for the longest time! I've tried taking meds, I've tried staying up really late so I get tired, I've tried everything! But every single night, I can't fall asleep..." Phil sighed and hugged his pillow with his free arm. "I don't know what's wrong with me..."

"Have you talked to anyone about it?"

"I asked my mom and my brother, but they said it's perfectly normal for someone not to fall asleep right away," Phil said. "Sure, that might be the case for one night, but not for months in a row!"

"That must be horrible..."

"It is. I just wanna be able to go to sleep! I don't know what to do..." Phil mumbled. 

"Well... I don't want to worry you, but maybe you have a sleep disorder or something?" Dan suggested.

"Maybe..." Phil sighed and yawned softly. "I just wanna get a good night's sleep, just once..."

"...you want me to talk to you while you fall asleep? My mom would do that sometimes... maybe that'd help a bit..." Dan mumbled.

"Maybe." Phil nuzzled his head into his pillow, curling up in a little ball. "We could try it, but I don't think it'll work..."

"Only one way to find out," Dan chuckled softly. "What do you want me to talk to you about?"

"Just anything..." Phil said.

"Alright..." Dan let out a small sigh. "Well, um... I have a history test tomorrow I haven't studied for..."

Phil giggled softly, putting the call on speakerphone so he could hug the pillow with both arms. "Keep going..."

"Okay.. uh, I nearly fell down the stairs this morning when I tripped over my shoelace..."

Phil giggled again, yawning at the same time. "You're attempting to help me go to sleep by telling me about your failures?"

"You said to talk about anything," Dan laughed.

"Just keep talking, you spork," Phil snorted.

"Alright, alright..." As Dan continued to talk, telling him a story about the time he accidentally knocked over his grandmother's house plant as a child, Phil could feel his eyes slowly drifting closed. Pulling the blankets over himself, he put his head on the pillow and focused on Dan's soft-spoken voice. He could feel himself slowly beginning to drift off, and quickly managed to mumbled a goodnight to Dan before he completely fell asleep

~{}~

Phil awoke to the sound of birds chirping outside his window. The first thing he realized was that he didn't feel tired. Then, he remembered what had happened the night before. Oh my gosh! I actually fell asleep last night! With a huge grin on his face, Phil sat up and stretched before picking up his phone, which was still lying on the mattress. There was a new text from Dan.

Dan: you fell asleep while i was talking to you, i could hear you snoring a bit lmao

Phil: I was not! :p

Dan: okay, maybe i made that up. but you still fell asleep, that's awesome!

Phil: i know! I can't believe it!

Dan: me neither! i'm so happy :) 

Phil: me too! :D

Phil giggled and spun around in a little circle, feeling happier than he had in months. "I can't believe it!" he whispered to himself. "I can't believe it..."