Drive // PHAN

18.

sorry that last chapter was in first person POV but i felt like it was the best way to show what he was feeling.. but no one seemed to mind so that is good!!!

trigger/ sad, mention of ED

-

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

And it stopped. He was dropped, his ass hitting the ground as Phil looked this guy dead in the eye with a scowl on his lip and a glare in his eye.

"Phil, man, the kid begged me to. What's got you so worked up?" He spoke, as if he was the victim. Dan's eyes welled up, he stuffed his head between his knees as he tried to tune out the conversation in front of him. He shouldn't have let this happen, it was really all his fault for being so rude before, right? He should definitely be nicer to people, and maybe things like this wouldn't happen.

Tears tumbled down his cheeks, and without care more freely flowed down in their tracks. He let out a shaky sob, his breathing uneven as he covered his eyes with his hands, just hoping this could all be a dream, that he'd wake up any second and forget that this ever happened, but no.

"Dan— Dan, baby. What's he do? Are you hurt?" Phil spoke, his hands running down Dan's back as he spoke. Of course he was angry, but he needed to focus on Dan right now. Because he doesn't know all what happened. He doesn't know if this guy went any further than just what Phil saw, if he caused some sort of immense trauma that Phil could've fixed if he would have just come with Dan.

But the guy was unconscious, Phil probably punched him, and Dan couldn't be more grateful.

Dan shook his head, tearing his hands away from his eyes as he looked at Phil. "N-nothing more than you s-saw." He spoke, playing a slight smile on his lips as he tried to wipe away the tears that kept on coming. Phil scooted closer, wrapping his arms around Dan's shoulders, rubbing his back through the thin fabric of his shirt to calm him as he continued to wipe away his tears.

"Thank god, Dan. I'm so sorry I let that happen."

-

It was 6:07, and Phil was over at Dan's house. His parents were at work, they worked at third shift doctors, so Dan usually had to fend for himself. In his case, he just didn't eat, but it's not like anyone really noticed anyway, right?

Dan was thinking, about nothing in particular, but everything. They were out back, looking at the clouds, because video games got boring after a while. It was beautiful out, the clouds covering the sun just right so rays of light flowed through the parted clouds. The visible sky was baby blue, evenly spread across the open parts of the sky.

"I want to start painting." Dan stated out of the blue, turning his head to look over at Phil. The older boy smiled at him, nodding his head.

"You'd be good at it, I think." He encouraged, pushing his hands on the ground to sit up. They were sat on a blanket, because the grass tickled and gave rashes. The blanket was a bit too small, their arms touched every time one of them move, which made Dan blush, but he'd never admit that.

A wind blew over them, making the already slightly cold air chillier. Dan shivered, pulling his knees to his chest.

"Should we go in? You look cold," Phil suggested, putting a hand on Dan's shoulder as he spoke. It really was getting a bit cold out as it got later, it'd be better if they went in. Dan was so skinny, he was probably freezing right now.

"N-no, it's fine! We can stay out." He lied through his teeth.

"That's nonsense." Phil told him, as he picked Dan up off the ground in one slick motion, causing Dan to let out a squeak of surprise, then cover his mouth embarrassedly. Phil smiled at him, setting him down on the couch once they were inside.

Maybe it wasn't such a good idea, because now they weren't focused on anything and there was an awkward lull in conversation, the only sounds filling the room was Dan idly tapping his fingers against the wooden table next to him. It made him think about talking to Dan about his problem, his obvious eating disorder that Phil really should've noticed so much sooner. There were other problems, too, but Phil figured if Dan were more confident about his body, he wouldn't have nearly as many.

"Dan? Can I ask you something?" He started, Dan wasn't offended by his question, because really Phil was only doing his best to help Dan.

Dan nodded his head, looking at Phil from the other side of the couch curiously, as if telling him to go on with his eyes.

"I was just wondering, do you have an eating disorder? Because, don't get my wrong, you look great, but you also look sickly thin. I just want to help." He explained, and he knew he was poking a bear with a stick, but he needed to know. If he couldn't afford food, Phil would buy him food. He just wanted Dan to be happy and healthy, and he looked so frail at that time.

"No, Phil. I'm fine."