everything I wanted🏠

Fourth part of Home. Has nothing to do with prompt. Enjoy!

“Yeah, I like it here.” Daniel says into the phone.

TJ called him after Daniel had taken a shower.

His room is simple. And blue. Why is it so blue?

 The walls are indigo, and the dresser is sky blue. There are paintings of water and the sky, hung on the wall. He has a light blue comforter and royal blue pillows. He feels out of place in the over sized green shirt, and black shorts he’s wearing.

“What's wrong?” TJ asks him.

Daniel’s laying on his back on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

“What do you mean?” He says. Something is wrong, but he’s not going to admit it right away.

“You sound sad. And distant.” TJ informs him.

He bites his lip. “I do not.”

“Yes, you do. And, I bet you're biting your lip right now.” TJ says.

Dang it, TJ. You know me too well. “How do you even know that?”

He laughs. “When you're upset about something you don't want to talk about, you bite your lip.” 

“Whatever.” Daniel says. He stops biting his lip.

TJ laughs again. “ But really, what's wrong?”

“It’s - well, I’m just worried about my dad.” He says with a sigh, running a hand through his wet hair.

“What are you worried about?” TJ asks. (TJ wants to be a therapist, so Daniel was constantly a practice patient.)

Daniel bites his lip again. “What if he gets mad I called my mom? Or he wants me to come back? Or he wants to hurt me? Or-”

TJ interrupts him. “Danny, it’s fine. If you don't want to go back, you don't have to. If he’s mad about your mom, he shouldn't have kicked you out. I don't think your dad would hurt you. Even if he did, he’s gonna have to get through me first.”

Daniel snorts. “Thanks, I feel very safe.”

“I could totally take him!” TJ protests.

Daniel tries not to laugh. “I would love to see you fight my dad, who, by the way, works out daily and is twice your size.”

“Shut up.” TJ replies, laughing. “I would, though. For you.”

Now Daniel’s grinning. “Thanks. I would too.”

“With your ninja skills? Or your seducing ones?” TJ teases.

“Don't worry,” Daniel says. “The seducing skills are only for you.”

TJ laughs again. “Okay, good.”

Someone knocks at the door. 

“Hold on.” Daniel says, rolling off the bed.

He opens the door. 

“Hey! I’m Angel! Your Daniel, right? Wow. You look just like Catherine.”

Daniel blinks. “Uh… yeah?”

The girl in front of him has long black hair, and light skin. She was smiling, which showed off her perfect looking teeth. She had dark brown eyes, and freckles splattered across her face. She’s shorter than him by a few inches.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Angel. Mom said dinners ready.” She says.

Daniel nods. “Hi, Angel. Will you give me just a sec? I’m on the phone.”

“Yeah, I’ll wait.”She says.

Daniel turns , and puts the phone to his ear. “Are you still there?”

“Of course.” TJ replies.

“Okay, I’ve got to go. See you tomorrow?”

“Okay. Love you, Danny.”

“Love you too.” Daniel replies, smiling.

They hang up, and Daniel turns back to the door. Angel’s smiling at him.

“Who was that?” She asks him, grinning.

He walks out into the hallway. “TJ.”

“Would this TJ happen to be your boyfriend?” She asks, following him.

Daniel stops. “How’d you figure that out?”

“I know you got kicked out for something. I heard you ‘TJ’ you love him. I’m assuming TJ is a boy. Most boys don’t say that to each other. So.”

Daniel thinks about what she says. “Nice.”

They talk as they walk down the stairs, and into the kitchen.He finds out that she’s sixteen, asexual, and loves drawing, writing, crafts and watching movies.

When they reach the bottom of the stairs, Catherine passes them some plates and cups to bring into the den. They help put stuff down, and then sit on one of the couches.

Almost everybody that had been in the house was in the den.

The couches were packed, and people were laying on blankets in front of the T.V.

They eat pizza that has been made by Eva, the transgender chef. They watch the movie, and eat pizza and cookies. Angel falls asleep, leaning her head on his shoulder.

As Daniel’s drifting to sleep, he realizes he now has two friends.

Daniel woke to the smell of bacon and pancakes.

He blinks his eyes open, and sits up. 

He had fallen asleep on the couch beside Angel, who’s curled up, with her back to Daniel. Someone had put a blanket over each of them during the night. The den was empty other than him, so he got up quietly to see who was in the kitchen..

A clock reads 10:46. He checks his phone to see how far the movie theater is. Twenty minutes away. 

He looks in the kitchen.

Catherine is standing at the counter, in black shorts, and an undershirt. She has on a long white apron, and headphones. She’s mixing something he assumes is a pancake mix. 

She's so focused on the food, she doesn't even see him. She’s singing along softly to whatever she’s listening to.

Finally, Daniel goes into the kitchen. She smiles at him, and takes out the headphones.

“Hey, Daniel.” She says. “Want some food?”

“Hi. Yeah, food would be great.” He says, sitting in a chair.

She makes him a plate, and sets it in front of him.

 There are two amazing looking pancakes, and two pieces of bacon. She sits down at the table too.

“So, how do you like it here?” She asks him.

He smiles. “I love it here.”

She beams. “Good. I hope you know you're safe here. Nobody will judge you here.”

“I know.” He tells her. “I like everybody here. And this house is beautiful.”

“Thanks.” She says, smiling.

 Now, they don’t have anything to talk about, and Daniel tries to think of something to say.

Oh yeah. “I promised TJ I’d go see him today at twelve.”

“Do you need a ride? I’m going to the grocery store today, and I can drop you off.” She offered.

He smiled. “Could you? That would be great.”

“No problem. Can you be ready to go by eleven thirty?” She asks, looking at the time.

10:56.

“Yes.” He says.

She gets up to keep working on the food.

He finishes his food as Angel comes in.

“Morning,” She yawns.

Catherine puts a plate in front of Angel as she sits next to Daniel. 

“What are you doing today?” She asks him,

He smiles. “Going to the movies with TJ.” 

 “You're going on a date?” She squealed.

“Yeah? And I have to leave in about...” He looks at the clock. 11:07. “About 20 minutes. So, I should probably change.”

He goes upstairs, and looks through the clothes five times, and still doesn't know what to wear.

He sighs and drops on the bed, swinging an arm over his eyes.

“Do you need help?” He hears Angel ask after a while.

He uncovers his eyes and sits up.

“Yes, please.”

She starts looking through the clothes, as he glances at the time.

11:23. 

“Okay, here.” Angel says finally.

She hands him some clothes, and steps out.

He quickly puts on the black jeans, and pulls on the black shirt, and blue jacket.

“Okay, I’m dressed.” He tells Angel, opening the door.

She looks him over, then grabs a black scarf, and wraps it around his neck.

“There.” She says. “Now, hurry up and go to the car. It’s nearly eleven thirty.”

He hugs her. “Thank you so much.”

“No problem.” She replies, grinning.

He grabs his bag, and rushes down the stairs. Catherine’s dressed, and waiting by the door.

“Ready?” She asks, after smiling at his outfit.

He nods. “Yep.”

He’s trying not to show it, but he’s really excited to see TJ for the first time in three weeks.

He checks his phone, and almost trips.

There's a text from his dad.

There's the cliffhanger I love. Ha ha.