SUPER RICH KIDS | PHAN

thirty three.

dan.

dan was sitting with kat outside the shelter, watching cars pass on the busy street. it was a pastime that had been much more common when they had been living on the street, when watching tv was so far from an option it wasn't funny. sometimes they spoke, made a comment about the people passing, but a lot of it was comfortable silence. kat kind of thrived in comfortable silence.

dan missed spending time with her. they used to be utterly inseparable, but these days dan was out more and more, and when he was around he was likely planning or practicing the guitar or busy in some other way. dan felt guilty for doing things like staying up just to talk to phil, when his best friend of a few years was right there. he didn't want her to think she was being replaced.

"dan," phil said from the doorway, and dan frowned and looked up at him.

"what?"

"we have to put out fliers with sunny, remember?"

dan sighed, glancing at kat. the fundraiser was in only a few days, and he was up to his neck in preparing, as was phil. honestly, phil seemed like he might snap, and dan didn't blame him.

dan grinned. kat had always been able to calm him down when he was stressed out about coming home empty handed or when one of them got sick. she had an amazing way with words, she always had.

thinking about the past only brought him melancholy sadness now, but he knew it wouldn't be like that forever. kat was looking at him with a sort of worried curiosity, and dan realized he had been zoning out. he pushed himself up.

"alright. kat's coming with us."

phil said she is? at the same time as kat said i am? and dan nodded.

"yeah. come on."

kat gave him a look but let dan help her up. "um... okay."

dan knew kat didn't really like phil; that was clear. he didn't blame her. but he and phil were kind of partners now, at least until this event was over, and he figured it would be easier if phil got along with his friends.

phil shrugged, even through he was frowning. he ducked back in to grab his car keys before slipping back out and moving toward his car. "alright. let's go."

dan sat in the passenger seat and he watched kat nervously get in the back through the mirror. he offered her an encouraging smile. he realized he was almost used to phil's atmosphere, but she wasn't. phil hummed as he started the car.

"we have to pick up sunny," he said, clearing his throat. "he has all the copies. this should only take a few hours."

dan nodded, pulling his knees to his chest, his shoes scuffing against phil's leather seat. phil didn't flinch and dan smiled, turning up the radio.

phil pulled up in front of sunny's place but didn't get up, taking out his phone and texting him to let him know they were there. soon sunny came running down the steps, opening the back door.

"oh!" he exclaimed when he saw kat, but was smiling in seconds. "hi! i'm sunny." he sat down and held out his hand to shake hers. kat seemed surprised and she shook his hand timidly.

"hi... dan, how many rich kids do you know?"

sunny laughed and dan smiled. kat tended to go quiet when she was nervous, so the fact that she was cracking jokes was promising.

"um... two so far."

"ah." she scrunched her nose. "i like this one better."

dan caught phil chuckle and shake his head, rolling his eyes, and sunny blushed in the back.

"people tend to like him better," phil told her, still smiling. "sunny and i are like... if i used to be a normal person, but all the nice in me was extracted and put into him."

kat actually laughed. dan bit his lip to hide how happy he was this was working out so far. he looked at phil and phil glanced at him, flashing his teeth. dan smiled back, blushing.

they stopped after a few minutes and dan got out first. they were on the street in a busier part of the city, perfect for spreading the word of the event. kat joined him and grabbed his hand, and dan squeezed quickly. he was so glad she was at least trying to be nice.

"alright," phil said, clapping his hands. sunny struggled to close the door, his arms full of papers. "we should split up."

"i'll be with sunny," dan said quickly, and sunny gave him a boyish grin. phil raised his eyebrows and dan could feel kat's gaze burning into him.

"um... alright," phil said. he actually sounded nervous. "that's fine."

kat sighed and rolled her eyes, nodding. dan beamed.

"great."

they quickly divvied up the fliers, and dan and sunny set off in one direction, phil and kat in the other. dan took a deep breath.

he really hoped this worked out.