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Dan had grown accustomed to his surroundings; the faint hum of his laptop, distant rumble of traffic and delicate tick of the clock had all merged into a silence that intensified his concentration. He had pressed himself into the corner of the couch with his legs raised, a hard-back book balanced on his thighs.
Suddenly, a thunderous patter of feet chased down the hallway, softening slightly as they tackled the stairs ahead. Dan rolled his eyes impatiently and glared at the living room door, pondering the urgency beyond. He continued to death-stare the white wood as the bombardment faded, before returning his attention to the words in his lap.
"DAN!?" A familiar voice screeched from beneath, hurtling through - and breaking - the silence. Without thought or hesitation, Dan tossed his book aside and lunged from his original position, yanked open the door and flew down the corridor.
As he bounded down the stairs towards the front door of their building, Dan hollered his flat-mate's name over again. With his head tilted forward, the younger man watched the motion of his feet as he attacked each carpeted step.
"DAN!" The older man screamed again, the shriek much louder than previously. The howl vibrated and rang throughout his ears as Dan descended down the final set. He lunged forward once more before grasping ahold of the chrome door knob and pulling viciously.
The frosty wind smashed into his face as his eyes rapidly traced Phil's torso. The coal-haired man stood a few meters from the entrance, his left shoulder facing Dan. His jaw was lowered slightly, his intrigued eyes fixed onto something, an icy expression pasted over his washed face.
"Dan," he started, turning to face his room mate, "look how big that dog is!" He cried excitably, pointing across the road.
Dan stared in disbelief at the fully grown man-child before him, a huge grin across his face, eyes dancing with joy. He calmly attempted to collect his thoughts, sighed gently and then took a deep breath. Dan twisted his torso further so he was fully facing Phil.
"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!?" He exploded, his voice dramatically stronger than usual. "You cannot be serious. Really!?" He cried, a bitter rasp in his words.
"It, urm, it is a pretty huge dog," Phil replied innocently, flushed with embarrassment by the younger man's reaction. He lowered his head, his black fringe falling over his eyes, and kicked some nearby weeds, decapitating multiple plants.
Dan sighed gently, he'd upset Phil, "Yeah, I suppose it is," he stared softly, "we're still not having one," he mocked, a delicate giggle unraveling in his voice. Phil responded with an expression of sadness, anger and relief, his eyebrows lowered and lips pressed. "Hey, not my fault!" Dan chuckled, throwing his arms up innocently.
Dan and Phil stood a little distance from their apartment building, admiring the grand black and white dog across from them. The men watched the patched animal as her owner chatted to another until a particularly monstrous gust of wind blew their focus back to the rest of their surroundings. Dan turned his back on the road and stepped further towards their building, his gaze fixed on the bricks ahead.
"Ah, crap," Dan mumbled under his breath, springing forward a few paces, attempting to prevent the inevitable. As he leaped onto their welcome mat, the vast door ahead slammed shut, the latch clicking into place with a tick. "Bollocks," Dan muttered, maneuvering away from the front door.
Phil observed Dan's absence a few seconds later and mimicked his movements - turning and stepping up to the entrance of their building. He stepped past the younger man who was staring straight ahead, eyes fixed on the dark, classic door knocker.
"Coming?" Phil asked, nudging his room mate slightly with his right shoulder. Dan stood impatiently, laughing at the darker-haired man's own reaction to the locked door ahead.
"This isn't funny!" Phil hissed, rattling the door knob once more, "I don't have my keys on me, do you?"
"What!?" Dan erupted, his smile dropping, "why don't you have them? You always have them!" He continued, whining in the frosty evening air.
"You were upstairs," he started, the sentence trailing away as a cold dribble of water trickled down his forehead. Phil turned his attention from the hazel eyes ahead to the leaking clouds above, black with anger. The wind that swirled around the men was no longer a gentle flutter, but now more of a villainous bombardment. It blew the delicate rain drops into their faces harshly, stinging them as the cold water met warm skin.
"What are we going to do?" Dan asked impatiently, a slight anger in his throat, "neither of us have keys, or a phone. Do we go somewhere? Wait for a neighbour?" Phil only shrugged in return, sighing deeply as he slid down the wet bricks, pulling his legs to his chest as he sat on the cold concrete below.
After of a few minutes of debating, swearing and pounding the wall, Dan, too, gave in and joined Phil on the damp, hard floor. The men sat closely to one another with their shoulders pressed together, attempting to keep themselves warm from the wind that wrapped around and the downpour that stung their skin. They watched in silence as hundreds of cars flew past, and people ran to avoid the weather, occasionally smiling as some tripped in their hastiness. As the icy downpour continued, their clothes stuck to their wet skin, making the uncomfortable concrete almost unbearable.
"Dan," Phil started slowly, a cautious tone masking his words.
"Phil," Dan replied tiredly, glancing into the street, "before you start again, I know, that's a really big cat."
"No - urm - I..." He stuttered nervously, gently pulling a tangled collection of metal from his front right pocket. Phil attentively maneuvered his eyes from the silver in his, now open, palm to Dan's own gaze. The younger man had squinted his eyes, nostrils flaring, a mask of both confusion and anger hiding his smile.
"Keys," Phil spoke gently, a humorous twang in his voice as the corners of his lips rose slightly. Dan brushed his dripping fringe backwards, revealing his pale forehead, stuttering, muttering and cursing as he did so.
As Dan and Phil shook against the cold bricks of their building, surrounded by puddles of rainwater with the wind howling into them, they started to laugh. Each man let out a strong, musical laugh at their situation; a laugh of pure carelessness. The anger in Dan's eyes, and the fear in Phil's, had disappeared amongst the sparkle of happiness that shone brighter as their giggles continued.
Dan's amusement fell to an end as he pulled Phil's keys from his lap and stood in one swift motion. He forced the key into the lock, rattling the metal between his damp fingers. As the lock ticked, Phil began to rise slowly, cracking each bone as he stretched. Before he could fully unravel each limb, Dan had tugged the metal free, pushed the wood open and quickly forced it closed once more.
Phil faced the locked door ahead, a reassuring grin replacing his initial disbelief. He traced the knocker with his stare, an eruption of laughter rising from his stomach, pondering responses.
"Do you wanna slam your door any louder!?" He mocked with a strong sass in his tone, his laughter vibrating through the door.
"Your mum's a door!" Dan chuckled loudly as he reopened the entrance, the icy breeze attacking him once more.