"You should have slept for a while. You're gonna be way too tired for the rest of our journey now"
Dan blinked a few times, his tired mind taking several seconds to process what I had said. When he finally wrapped his head around the words I had just spoken he shook his head, rubbing his eyes while trying to stifle a yawn.
"I'll be fine" he mumbled, closing his eyes for a moment before forcing them open again.
I squeezed his hand, rubbing my thumb over the back of his hand and showing him a little smile.
"We're nearly here. See, we're slowing down just now"
Dan nodded, leaning against me more than before. We stayed silent for a minute while the train slowly pulled into the station.
"We have another train journey to make, okay?" I asked, nudging Dan and making him sit up straight. He mumbled a quick yes before picking up his bag and lazily slinging it over his back. We exited the train, looking up at the big boards trying to figure out where we needed to go next.
It didn't take long to spot the correct train. On the screen nearest the small shop in the station I spotted the name of our destination.
"It'll only take about 40 minutes at most to get there" I said softly, pointing up to the bored where the list of stations and the arrival time was. I lead him towards the correct platform, choosing to go to the gate with a man instead of the automatic gate. I showed him our tickets, offering him a small smile. He nodded, returning the smile before stepping aside and letting us through.
"I'm seriously exhausted" Dan groaned as he let the bag slip from his hand to the floor slowly as he stood on the platform.
"You could have just slept before. You didn't need to stay up you know" I mumbled quietly. It wasn't that I was worried that anyone would hear us. It was just that it I knew how tired Dan was and didn't want to scare him by speaking too loudly. He got really scared when we was half asleep and was woken up suddenly. Probably something to do with his asshole parents. He never told me why he was so jumpy. He told me everything else about how his parents beat him everyday, making him wear shirts that covered the bruises so no one notices. They had been doing this for years simply because they could.
That's why I knew we needed to get away. To get away form them. From my dad. From everyone. We were complete outcasts that nobody liked.
That's why we needed to escape.
I was about to try start up a conversation with him so he didn't fall asleep leaning against me, when the train arrived. The doors opened, inviting us in. I tugged Dan forwards lightly, guiding him through the door and to a seat. As soon as Dan sat down he curled his legs underneath himself and placed his head on my shoulder. I gently wrapped my arm around him and pulled him close to me. He moved his head to my chest, his arm moving to lay across my stomach. I carefully laced our fingers together, kissing the top of his head as a small smile tugged at my lips.
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About twenty minutes passed before someone actually got on the train. Dan was fast asleep curled up against me so he completely missed the new small flock of people who entered through the door and came wondering down the carriage. A little boy who must of only been about five or six wandered down the isle, looking at all the possibilities of where to sit when his eyes landed on us. A strange expression crossed his face as he walked over to the two seats facing Dan and I, and sat down. He grinned as he swung his legs, making it his mission to hit and kick Dan. Dan's eyes shot open as he felt the boys small foot hit is leg. Although they were still sort of curled under him, the little boy had somehow managed to kick them.
I laughed softly at the little kid. He was obviously incredibly bored of travelling like us and decided to play a some sort of game with us.
"What are you doing little guy?" I asked softly, flashing the small boy a smile. Dan cuddled closed to me as he heard me addressing the thing that had interrupted his previous sleep.
"My mummy said two guys together like you is bad" The little boy said looking at us. Dan opened his eyes again, biting his lip as he looked from me to a woman who seemed to be glaring at us.
"Mummy was mumbling something about it being nasty"
I just smiled politely at the little boy "Well, mummy is very silly then. She must not know that when two people love each other it doesn't matter about anything else" I replied in a gentle voice as I kissed the top of Dan's head
"Now, run along to mummy"
The little boy shuffled of the seat and rushed over to the woman who of course was his mother. Dan raised his head from where it lay on my chest to look into my eyes.
"How are you even dating someone like me?" he paused, casting his gaze downward. "Insults get to me and I'm all weak and stupid. But you…you take insults like compliments. Like you're the strongest person alive"
"They do get my down, but I just don't show It. One of us has to be strong, right?" I asked softly "Anyway, I can't live without you. That's why I'm dating you"
A small smile took over Dan's face as he leaned up. I leaned down, our lips connecting and fitting perfectly together. I tightened my grip around him as he curled up against me once again and fell asleep almost instantly.
"Fag" The mother of the young boy spat at us as she walked past and took a seat only a few rows away from us on the opposite side so she could still glare at us.
I just smiled at her then looked down at Dan again happily. No matter what people said, it didn't matter.
I was starting a new life with the boy I loved.