Misfit (Phan AU)

Chapter Thirty-Three

A/n: ok i know i said i was going to be updating fast but,, oh look!! thats some great fanart!!! hahaha :) Anyway, the warnings for this chapter: just general spook and the demon force chokes dan, nothing too intense imo

*Dan's POV*

I startled awake, hands flying across the smooth wooden surface I'd passed out against in an instinctive reaction to the sudden blaring noise. It was only after a few seconds of total and utter panic that I registered it was my phone going off, with the specific overwhelming ringtone I'd set for Chris to ensure I didn't miss a single message.

Now, normally learning the source of the noise would have calmed me down considerably, but knowing all of the things that he could be contacting me about made it difficult to calm my racing heart even then.

Blearily blinking my tired eyes to register my surroundings, I managed to locate my phone where it'd been knocked to the floor during my impromptu nap. Not even taking the time to inspect for any damage that might have been done to the device, I clicked on the incoming call the second my hands had stopped shaking enough to do so.

"What's wrong?" I blurted, unaware of what I was planning on saying until it was already out in the open. I couldn't take it back then though, nor did I want to. As grim as it was to automatically assume the worst, it was what I'd come to expect out of my life and the things that meant something to me. I was beginning to think that I simply wasn't meant to be happy.

Damn it, he could be dead already. I'm sitting here at the kitchen table we used to spend hours talking and laughing over, and he could be gone. I'm so afraid, never in my life have I wanted to run and hide so badly, yet here I am clinging on to the feeble hope that it'll all work out. Why can't I back off and distance myself? Prepare for the worst so the blow doesn't sting so badly when it hits?

It's not fair, I've given up everything I've ever wanted without a fight, so why does the world just keep taking?

"He saw us! He saw us in the freaking trees!" Chris roared in response, sounding borderline hysterical. I breathed a sigh of relief, the simple knowledge that Phil was still alive and capable of seeing anything at all taking a weight off my chest and allowing me to breathe again.

I heaved a deep breath of air into my lungs, letting my weary eyes fall shut to savor in the fleeting sense of calm numbing my anxious thoughts. Truthfully, I was probably supposed to be alarmed by the nonsense Chris was spewing through the phone speakers, and I felt a bit bad about the fact I couldn't bring myself to care at all, but I'd already received everything I needed from this call.

Phil was okay, he was still breathing, and there was still time to find a way to fix this.

Where I'd been swamped with enough relief to put the first weak smile back on my lips since yesterday afternoon, Chris only seemed to be growing more panicked by the second. He'd started to stammer, making useless stressed noises that very faintly resembled words. It took him a while to get something intelligible out, but eventually he managed. "Shit, Dan, what if he calls the cops on us? We're in this country illegally, they could deport our asses!"

"Calm down, idiot." I snapped, making it adamantly clear just how much I cared about what he had to say on the topic. It likely would have been a genuine means for concern, had we been dealing with anyone but Phil Lester. Hell, I'm surprised he didn't run out to greet the pair of them with open arms like the naive dork he is. "Phil is the most oblivious person I know, how visible were you for him to notice you?"

"You're supposed to be concerned for me right now, this isn't the time for lectures! What kind of friend are you?!" Chris groaned dramatically, drawing out all the syllables in a woeful moan. If he were here, I likely would have been tempted to hit him for the dramatic act. As it was, I didn't even bother gracing him with a verbal reply and instead gnashed my teeth together in severe annoyance.