SUPER RICH KIDS | PHAN

thirty four.

phil.

"how long have you known dan?"

phil was trying to give dan what he wanted, mostly because if he didn't dan would just keep pushing it. he was rather stubborn, which phil both admired and despised. kat shrugged.

"we met only a little while after he was kicked out," she muttered. she wouldn't look him in the eyes, but phil didn't take it personally. he could tell she was kind of shy around him. he nodded and pinned a flier to a post quickly.

"what happened to you?" he bit his lip. "i mean, how'd you..." he didn't know the term. "get homeless?"

she gave him a look, but it was more amused than offended. "get homeless?"

phil's face flushed. "yeah."

she laughed softly, shaking her head. "it's... a long story, i guess."

"we've got time." phil smiled. "especially since dan probably won't drop it until we connect on a spiritual level, or something." katrina laughed. she played with her sleeve, sighing.

"there was this absolute shithead boy," she said softly, leaving a paper on the hood of a red car as they passed. "i was a sophomore and he had, like, just graduated from high school." she shook her head. "but he started paying attention to me. he'd show up when i was hanging out with my friends or he'd wait for me to get out of class just to walk me home, or he'd ask me to go to parties with him. to me, it was such a big deal, because getting attention from an older boy was, like, the best thing ever to a teenage girl."

she sighed and played with her hair. it had been braided but some hair was escaping, making it look frizzy. she seemed frustrated.

"so, um. i slept with him. turns out he didn't give a shit about me." she shrugged. "enough to wear a condom, at least. i didn't know that much about safe sex and he took advantage of that."

phil watched her as she talked. she didn't seem upset yet, really, just a bit affected by the memory. things had clearly really gone to shit for her. phil could see where this story was going.

"obviously i got pregnant. i remember desperately trying to call him because my friend told me to take a pregnancy test... and he had changed his number." she clenched her teeth. "i never saw him again; no one knew where he had gone, but he disappeared. my parents didn't like that i was pregnant at all, they said i had to get rid of it or get out."

phil nodded slowly. "but you didn't want to get rid of it."

kat shook her head. "it was my baby. i know i was young, but... i couldn't do that. even if sleeping with him was a mistake, it was my kid. i wanted to keep it, or at the very least put it up for adoption." she shook her head.

"so they just kicked you out? what about the baby?"

she smiled stiffly. "they had the decency to wait for me to have the baby. they took her. they took her away from me." she sniffed, misty eyed. phil sighed.

"people fucking suck."

katrina laughed through tears. "you've got that right. i found earl a little bit after i went homeless. i cared about that boy so much..."

phil bit his lip, nodding. there was a moment of silence between them and phil put out a few fliers before speaking again. "you love dan like that too, huh?"

she nodded, looking at him for a second. she seemed to be searching for words. "phil, look... i don't know you. i don't actually know if you're a terrible person, and don't take this the wrong way, but i don't really care. but dan..." she shook her head. "i know how dan is. he falls harder than he has the strength to get up from. he likes people who he shouldn't like, and when they don't like him back, he falls apart. i've seen it a thousand times."

phil wasn't sure what she was suggesting, but he listened, watching his feet.

"especially now. he's fragile, you know? i just don't think..." she sighed. "just... don't hurt him. i don't think you should make a move on him or anything, not now."

phil blushed darkly, eyes widening. "i wasn't... i'm not..."

she sighed. "i know. i don't care if you like him or not, don't bother. just don't hurt him."

phil ran his fingers through his hair, frowning, thinking hard. oh god... was he leading dan on? was he exactly like the boys dan had liked before? or did dan not think about him that way at all? katrina's words put doubt in his mind. maybe he shouldn't be so friendly with him... he wasn't sure what he had thought he was doing, but he shouldn't be doing it.

"i won't hurt him," phil said softly after a second, wetting his lips. she nodded.

"okay. good."

the self doubt and stress was accumulating in phil's mind and he just wanted a nap. he sighed and tugged at his hair, his heart racing confusingly fast. he had thought maybe he was getting somewhere with kat, but now he just felt like she hated him again, and he was more insecure than he ever wanted to admit. after a minute he realized she was looking at him.

"i'm sorry if that seemed harsh," she muttered. "i just really care about him."

phil nodded stiffly. "i get it."

she reached out and touched his arm. her touch reminded him of someone else's. "you're alright, yeah? if dan likes you, so do i."

phil laughed. "dan doesn't like me."

"yeah, he does." she hummed. "don't think i don't know you two talk at night. he values your opinion, which is really important."

phil blushed. "you think so?"

she nodded. "i do." she offered him a smile. phil smiled back timidly.

"you know," he said slowly. "i think i know someone you should get to know better." he smirked. she raised her eyebrows.

"who?"

they had come full circle and phil could see dan and sunny walking toward them down the block, wrapped up in some exaggerated conversation. he grinned.

"his name is sunny. you two would get along."