hello i love u guys !! also homophobic slurs at the beginning of this chapter so be careful!!!
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in another world, daniel howell would have been rational. in another world, he would have greeted his father. he would have asked how he was doing and if the eleven years away from them had been refreshing. daniel howell would have been civil.
but this wasn't in another world.
instead, dan screamed, and dan cried. he threw things, and asked his father if he still hated his son for being a faggot. he cursed at him; his mother tried holding him to calm him down, but he pushed her away.
he stormed to his father and stood so close that their chests touched. he may have been too young, too naïve, and too small to stand up for himself before, but now he was nearly as tall as the man in front of him. now he understood rage.
"you have absolutely no right to be here." dan seethed. "none. you are an old, miserable bigot who abandoned his family all because he couldn't handle a gay son. nothing you say will fix what you have done. you ruined our lives, and i will never forgive you for that."
dan stood staring at his father, only a few centimetres taller than him. he noticed the bags under his eyes and the wrinkles on his forehead and around his mouth. his father was old now, but dan felt zero sympathy for him.
a slow smile spread across the man's face, only fueling the hatred buring a pit in dan's stomach. he shook his head, chuckling softly to himself.
"oh daniel, son. you've n-" he rested his hand on dan's shoulder, only for it to be shrugged off.
"don't you fucking call me that!" he exploded once more. "i am not your son, you are not my father! i don't fucking have one. all i have is a bitter old man coming into our home trying to act like it! i want you out of this fucking house by the time i get back, or i will fucking kill you."
"dan-" his mother pleaded.
"don't." he snapped. "y-you let him in here. don't you th-th-think i'm happy with y-you either."
turning on his heel, dan left the house without another word, slamming the door behind him. he he hopped the fence and crossed through the yard, bursting into the milstein's house.
"dan? good lord, are you alright? what's happened?" reagan's mother rushed across the den to dan's side, observing his face closely.
dan allowed her to wipe the tears from his cheeks. "i-is reag-gan here?" he whispered.
mrs. milstein nodded, eyes brimming with concern. "of course, my dove. she's just upstairs in her room." dan thanked her quietly and began toward the stairs. "dan," reagan's mother's voice halted him. "i want you to know you're always welcome here if things become difficult at home, okay? we're here unconditionally."
tears sprung to dan's eyes again. "yes, i kn-know. th-th-thank y-you,"
dan climbed the stairs slowly, listening to the soft mutters of the two adults in the den. he could tell that mrs. milstein was close to tears, and it only hurt more.
dan burst into reagan's room, startling his best friend.
"holy sh- oh, dan." reagan jumped up, and as did phil, who had been sitting at the window.
dan met reagan halfway and collapsed in her arms, his sobs wracking his body. phil watched from a distance, knowing his boundaries, but dan could feel the concern radiating off of him.
"dan, baby, let's get you to the bed so you can sit down, alright?"
reagan guided dan to the bed and he sat down, immediately hiding his face in his hands. he took erratic breaths in an attempt to calm himself down, but it only led to him dry heaving into his hands.
"phil, could you give us a few please?" reagan murmured to her brother.
dan heard the quiet affirmation before phil stalked out of the room, closing the door behind him.
"dan howell. you have so much to explain."
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would you guys be at all interested if i made a rant book?¿
