Outcast ✧ Phan

Eight

The man he was greeted with in the doorway was definitely a teacher, one he had seen glimpses of in the hallways before. He was known to be rather strict, and now Dan could fully see why.

He didn't have any hair left on his head, but he had a moustache, one slick and black. His eyes were a dark hazel colour, and his eyebrows were bushy and big.

He was a little scary looking, honestly.

"What's the matter?" The man asked, trying to sound as sincere as possible with the loud, deep voice he had.

Dan sniffed, deciding best on a lie. If he told him he was having issues with a friend, the immediate solution from him would be to force them to make up. He didn't even want to look at Louise right now, so that would not be good. "I miss my mum." He said quietly, not meeting eye contact with the teacher.

"Its time to go home, now, anyway. You should be able to see her soon. Are you ready?"

Dan nodded, following him back to the classroom before parting ways and gathering his stuff. After that, he set out to the car-riding line to wait for his mum to pick him up, disconnectedly pulling at his bookbag straps, no longer sniffly or puffy eyed.

His mum rolled around eventually, and Dan quietly climbed into the back seat. The monitor, who was a teacher that watched the kids in the line, smiled brightly and waved, not even taking notice at the dark mood Dan's mum was in, her eyes wet and red, head slouched. She looked worse than usual.

Dan noticed, though. Especially since she didn't even ask him about his day, like she always does.

"What's wrong, mum?" He had asked softly, an uneasy feeling settling in the pit of his stomach, churning his insides around like a slow paced blender.

"Nothing." She croaked, her normally bright green eyes dully focused ahead of her, visible to Dan from the front mirror.

Dan was quiet for a few minutes, eyes narrowly set on her, watching. "You're lying, I know you're upset." He decided to pipe up.

Bad move.

"I said it was nothing!" She snapped, anger flaring in her voice, a kind of tone Dan had only heard her use on his father.

Something cracked inside of Dan at that, and he tried not to cry, he really did, but he couldn't stop himself, tears already streaming down his cheeks.

His mum noticed this, of course, guilt washing over her face and she softened her voice. "Look, Bear, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you, I'm sorry." She said slowly, and Dan nodded, but he didn't stop crying, he couldn't. Not until he got home did he manage to, mainly forced out of slight fear his dad would notice his tears and either call Dan weak or blame his mum and yell at her.

And he definitely didn't want another person forced on something negative because of him.
No, he's done enough damage already.

When the two walked in the door, the atmosphere was extremely tense, because they both knew what was coming--like a bomb, the timer ticked, his father seated quietly in the recliner chair eyeing them as they entered.

Dan didn't want to be there when it blew, so he edged quickly to his bedroom, closing the door behind him.

It was quiet for a few more minutes, and Dan hoped it would stay that way, even if he was aware how flimsy of an effort hope gave.

He decided to try and sleep, but as soon as he was settled in bed, the bomb went off. All at once, his parents' yelling traveled through the thin walls and into his room. Dan shoved his face in his pillow, hoping to mute out the noise a little, but, of course, no prevail. He could hear some bits of the conversation, the one sticking out most being that mum had apparently lost her job.

It continued on for hours, and by the time it stopped, a thick duvet of silence over the house following a door slam, Dan was just barely drifting off. The quietness was broken just slightly by the sound of his bedroom door clicking open at least thirty minutes after the halt to the arguing.

Footsteps shuffled against his carpet, stopping at the side of his bed where his head lay. His mother's soft whisper, laced with heart shattering sadness filled his ear.

"I'm so sorry, Dan. I love you, so much, but I just can't take it anymore."

Dan felt the soft press of lips to his forehead, before her presence was whisked away by his sleep, the last thing he could remember before entering his dreamland completely being the sound of the door closing back again.

Dan had absentmindedly decided it was only a dream.

A/N - 70 reads holy shit, btw I made new cover :D