Golden

Truth Or Truthiness pt. 1

The alarm clock beeped once to indicate the change of the hour. It was midnight. And Dan still wasn't asleep. It wasn't a surprise - his usual bedtime was after three. He sighed and shifted, trying to get more comfortable, as if that would magically make him sleep. Phil's steady breathing was the only other sound in the room. He seemed to be fast asleep. Dare he risk it? Dan thought it was worthwhile. He rolled over to his good side.

Phil's eyes were shut, and his face was relaxed and pale - like a ghost of some sort. Not a creepy ghost, or a vengeful ghost, but like .... a lovable hipster artsy ghost that gives rooms a mysterious air. ((If that made any sense to you, wow *high five* if not, continue, it's unimportant.)) His hair lay haphazardly across his forehead, jet black and striking in comparison to his skin. Dan couldn't make out many of his other features in the darkness, but his eyes followed the shadows as they danced from Phil's nose-ish to his lips-ish to his chin-ish to a bit down his neck. Dan stopped himself from looking further before things got weird.

Phil was really beautiful. Not even in the way that would imply Dan was sexually or romantically attracted to him. Yeah, Phil was sexy and cute, but Dan wasn't focusing on that. He was focusing on how Phil seemed to be ... not quite human. Just - how could he describe it? Phil was a piece of art, perfect in a way that left people in admiration and doubt whether he was real. He was a song; lyrics that everybody heard and felt, but the true meaning was never really known. He was a nebula - bursting with starlight but never truly visible to our plain human eyes. He was straight up beautiful, anyone could recognize it. And Dan had a sneaking suspicion that his personality was just the same way.

Dan glanced back to his face. He lay there for a little while, taking in the pale, the dark, the grey and black and white, the curves, the angles, the little fluttering breaths escaping from his lips. Dan decided he could look at Phil for years and never get tired, never truly understand him.

"Hey," Phil said.

Dan tensed and his eyes went wide.
OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD SHIT SHIT SHIT OH WAit
Phil's eyes were still closed. Dan quickly slowed his breathing and faked being in a deep sleep.

"Hey," the voice came again.

Breathe in, two, three...out, two, three....in, two, three.....out, two three.....
Keep your eyes closed and he won't know, just pretend to be asleep and it'll all be good.
Dan didn't even know what he was hiding from. Phil catching him staring? Being in a bed with Phil? Being shirtless in a bed with Phil? Staring at a shirtless stranger in his bed? Whatever the case, it was wrong and Dan needed to sleep.

"Hey Dan
Dan
Dan I know you're awake
Dan
Daaaaaannnnn
Pssssst Dan"

Silence.

Then, not silence.

"She paints her fingers with a close prescision," came Phil's soft but deep voice.
"He starts to notice empty bottles of gin."
Dan could feel Phil's breath as he sang.
"And takes a moment to asses the sins she's paid for."
Dan could tell Phil was staring at him, but he kept his own eyes adamantly shut.
"A lonely speaker in a conversation, her words are swimming through his ears again. There's nothing wrong with just a taste of what you paid for."

"Say what you me-e-ean," Phil sang.
"Thrl mm mn rrrrt," mumbled Dan under his breath.
"And let the sun rain down on me." Dan could hear the smile in Phil's voice.
"Send me a siiiign," Phil practically questioned.
"I wanna beleeeeeeeeiiiiive,"
Dan practically answered.

"WOAOAOAAH MONA LISAAA
YOU'RE GUARANTEED TAA
RUN THIS TOWN
WOAOAOAAH MONA LISAAAAA
ID PAY TO SEE YOU FRoo000OWN!"

"Cute, tall, and a Panic! fan. I picked the right guy to fall alseep on," Phil joked.
"Oh please," Dan kidded back. "I don't even like Brandon Hewey."
Phil couldn't help but snicker a tiny bit.

"Hey Dan."
"What, do you wanna sing Fall Out Boy too?"
"No. Truth or Dare."
"What?"
"Truth or Dare."
"Phil..."
"Dan it's really not that hard of a question."
Dan sighed audibly. "Truth."
"What is your favorite animal?"
"Llama," Dan replied as soon as the words had Phil's mouth. "What about you?"
"Lion! Favorite color?"
"Black. Like my soul. What's yours?"
"Blue. Favorite non-Panic band?"
"Muse. What about you?"
"Dan you can't keep asking the same questions I do. But Muse. Ummmm, favorite cereal?"
"Winnie the Pooh Honey Bees."
"Excuse me, what?"
"They're discontinued but I loved them when I was like five. They were great. Like Cheerios but shaped like cute little bees. Trust me." ((Please tell me if you had these I don't want to be alone))
"Okaaayyyy."
"Umm, favorite Pizza topping."
"Olives."
"Black or Green?"
"Green."
"Wrong. Black olives are superior. Black is superior. It is always superior," Dan said with a strange amount of emphasis.
"Jeez Dan, are you secretly emo or something?"
"We all had a scene phase Phil, don't lie to yourself."

Phil was silent for a second.

"Favorite movie?"
"Oh fuck I don't know. But not The Ring. I know that for a fact." Dan shuddered. That movie was fuckin creepy. "Would you dye your hair if you could?"
"I do. But maybe I'd go blue or purple if the black fringe wasn't so iconic."
"You'd look great with blue hair. It would bring out your eyes."
"Oh, um, thanks, I guess." For the first time, Phil seemed a little bit flustered.

"Uh.....have/want any piercings or tattoos?" Phil responded after a second.
"I've got pierced ears," said Dan. "And I always wanted a tattoo but never got one."
"Of what?" Phil asked.
"Hey, that's two in a row, wait your turn," snapped Dan.
Phil snorted angrily at him.
"But I've been thinking about getting a geometric design with drippy watercolor over the top, either on my arm or back but I don't really know if it would suit me..." Dan trailed off.
"You should put it here," said Phil. His fingers brushed Dan's bare ribcage. They were warm, and he could feel them even after they had left his skin.
"Or here," Phil mused, brushing Dan's collar bones.
"Or here." He brought his hands up to Dan's neck. Dan tensed for a second, but then relaxed. He wasn't exactly sure why.
"It would look great," Phil said sincerely.
"Really?" Dan asked.
"Yeah! Oh, and Dan?"
"Mmm?"
"You're fucking freezing, get under the blanket."

They kept talking, but about what, Dan forgot. All he knew was that he was telling this man more about himself than he had told practically anyone. He had no clue why. Phil just had this....air of trust around him. He made Dan feel safe, and important. He made Dan feel wanted.

"Tell me about your dream house. And don't say something like 'I want a mansion in the Bahamas'. Describe every room. Tell me about the furniture and the color of the walls and who lives there and what you see when you look out the windows and do you have homecooked meals every night."
See? It was questions like these that made things different. It wasn't like Phil was secretly trying to settle down, that's not what this was, but these aren't the questions you ask just any random person. These are the questions you ask a best friend. Had Dan ever had a best friend? He didn't know. But he did know that there was no way in hell he was gonna let Phil go.

So there is definitely more to this scene, but I feel like this is already kind of long, so I'll be making a part 2 (next chapter). It'll be relatively short, but I feel like this was a good ending spot for this part so that'll be up ASAP. And by that I mean in about 3 weeks because I'm horrible at updating I'm sorry I try.