After returning from a long walk in a cold breeze, Dan begins to return to his natural tone and staggers up the stairs and into the hallway of the apartment.
"We're back!" You call out.
Whilst Dan slips off his shoes, you look up to see Phil approaching you both.
"Hey guys." He smiles, "How did it go?"
Whilst Dan is still looking down, you mouth the words 'don't ask' and shake your head. Phil sighs and then walks off into the kitchen.
"Anyone for coffee?" He calls.
"Yes please!" Dan responds, "After next to no sleep last night, I desperately need one!"
He looks over at you and smirks, reminding you of the texts he sent you early this morning.
"What about you (y/n)?" Phil questions, poking his head around the corner.
"Oh, no thank you Phil" You smile.
Phil nods and then spins back around into the kitchen. You turn around and see Dan heading towards his room, holding his head. Concerned, you follow him in and watch as he flops onto his bed with his eyes tightly shut.
"Headache?" You guess, knowing his symptoms well by now.
Rubbing up and down his face with his palms, Dan nods. You lay down beside him and put your arms around him, keeping him company.
"So what did the doctor say?" You ask, placing your chin on his collar bone.
"It doesn't matter."
"Dan, we've been over this!" You groan, "It matters to me!"
"Yeah well I don't need you badgering me for information (y/n)!" Dan complains, "Just let me think things over first!"
You feel slightly annoyed at Dan's response because you don't want to keep pestering him but he won't open up to you when he knows that you care a lot about him. You release him and sit up on the bed, crossing your legs.
"Look, I'm sorry babe but it's all just a lot to take in!" Dan explains softly, placing his hand on your thigh.
"Then don't take it in - let it out!" You sigh, running your fingers through his soft, brown fringe, "I'm here for you to vent out your emotions and you know that, but you still bottle it up deep inside you and it always hurts you in the end!"
"Because I don't want to load all the pressure onto you!" He replies.
"Daniel, you don't need to protect me. Standing up for me is one thing but hiding things from me is another." You tell him.
"Coffee's ready!" Phil calls out, entering the room with a tray of mugs and some biscuits.
Dan sits up beside you and pats the space next to him, signalling for Phil to sit down. Phil does so and hands Dan his mug of coffee, whilst you reach over Dan's lap and take one of the biscuits.
"Cheers!" Phil announces in a deep voice, clunking his mug with Dan's.
Dan rolls his eyes jokingly and goes with it, making you giggle.
"So what do you guys have planned for the afternoon?" Phil questions, looking at you both.
"I don't know really." You answer, taking a bite of your biscuit.
"Well I need a shower after this but I guess we could do something later!" Dan suggests.
"Buffy marathon!" Phil yells.
"No!" You and Dan reply in sync, making you both burst out laughing.
"Oh, you guys are no fun!" Phil sulks, folding his arms.
~ Time Skip ~
After talking about random things between the three of you, Dan puts down his mug .
"I'm going to shower now guys." Dan says, standing up.
"Okay." You smile.
"Have fun getting all wet and foamy!" Phil calls out, making you and Dan look at him with very concerned facial expressions.
"Just...don't speak again Phil okay?" Dan jokes.
"I didn't mean it like that I meant-"
"Phil. I love you and all but please shut up before you hurt yourself!" Dan chuckles, picking up his towel.
You watch as he leaves the room and you turn to face Phil.
"So what have you been up to Philly?" You ask, taking another biscuit from the tray.
"Not a lot really." Phil replies, placing his mug down, "I mean, I was transferring some more TABINOF photos onto my laptop earlier on."
"Awesome" You smile, "Did you get a lot then?"
"Yeah, Dan and I were actually considering making a photo album out of them." Phil explains, standing up, "Wanna have a sneak peek?"
"Sure!" You respond, following him out of Dan's room, into Phil's.
You sit down on Phil's green and blue sheets and watch as he pulls his laptop out from under the bed. He lifts the lid of it and you discover many different tabs of images.
"Dan & Phil Go Outside" You read out loud.
"Yeah it was supposed to be ironic but it ended up staying." Phil smirks, rolling his eyes, "We have to go through loads of publishing but I guess it's gonna have to wait, considering Dan's health."
Your smile falls a little and you look up to see Phil showing a similar expression.
"Phil." You say, "Do you think he's going to get better?"
Phil shrugs and closes his laptop lid.
"I don't know (y/n)" Phil replies, "I knew something was up and it still hasn't really sunk in. I am incredibly worried about him and I'm sure you are too. We just have to be there for him and help him fight it. That's all we can do."
You slowly nod as you agree with needing to help Dan but something else in the back of your mind seems to be bugging you.
"I know we keep telling him that he can fight it but, what if..." You trail off, your face becoming numb, "What if...he can't?"
Phil silently gulps and stares blankly at the wall.
"I was thinking about that too." He admits, rubbing his eye, "I don't know what I'd do. I can't imagine life without him."
"Well I'm glad we're on the same page." You say, putting your arm around him, "We just need to help him as much as we can and hope for the best."
CRASH!
Jumping out of your skin at the ferocious clutter of noise, you and Phil immediately get up off of the bed and stand still frozen.
"What the fu-"
"Dan!" You quickly yell, alarm bells suddenly ringing in your head.
Your mind becoming a blur, you run as fast as you can out of Phil's bedroom and up the stairs to the bathroom door.
Please, let him be okay!
A/N Things are seeming incredibly tough and you and Phil are now on edge about what the future holds for Dan. But what has happened now? Is he okay? What is to come? Find out soon and don't forget to vote if you enjoyed this chapter! Also, feel free to comment any ideas or suggestions! Thanks again!
~ Katie ;D
YOU ARE READING
Afire Love // Dan Howell
Fanfiction"It's really nothing" "If it's nothing Dan, why are you trying to hide it from me?" When a major event happens, turning Dan's life upside down, he must accept the help of Phil and yourself despite having his defenses up in order to protect your pot...
