paper thin (phan)

e l e v e n

fanart by @islandofships

Phil exhaled, knocking on the front door. Nobody answered and he considered leaving, turning to go when the door opened behind him. He spun back to find Chris with his hand on the door, eyebrows furrowed.

"Phil? What are you doing here?"

"I was wondering if Dan was here?" Phil spoke, expecting Chris's confusion to leave when it only strengthened.

"I thought Dan was with you. . ." Chris murmured, rubbing his face. Phil froze. "Someone came by and dropped off a letter directed to him- I  thought it was from you? Dan left an hour or so ago."

Phil pushed past him and into the house, running up to Dan's room with Chris following suit.

"Did you see his face?" Phil questioned whilst digging through Dan's things for any hints on where he might be.

"No. . . There was a knock, and by the time I opened the door, it was just the letter on the doormat."

"Oh god," Phil breathed out, looking down at the letter Dan had left. He then looked up at his brother, gulping. "Call the police."

Chris nodded without bothering to question, running downstairs to grab the phone. Phil stared at the letter and shut the drawer he found it in, tilting his head when it wouldn't shut. He paused, looking down and opening the drawer again to see what was jamming it. He pulled at the object and slid it out, feeling sick to his stomach.

Antidepressants.

Dan was tearing himself up and Phil had been giving him the scissors. He had to save him, mentally and physically. He had to catch him when he learned to fly.

❦

"Jason."

"Uh uh, not just me," Jace grinned deviously, and Dan heard the laughs outside the treehouse. Jason had brought his pack. Jace then looked down and noticed the alcohol, snatching it from him. "This is illegal you know, I could snitch you out for this."

"Y-you wouldn't, I have m-more to blackmail you f-for," Dan tried, clenching his fists.

"But I have more friends to lie for me," Jason spoke, getting up in his face. "And I can at least talk right. With your stutter, you'd sound more like the liar than me."

"Get away fro-om me, please," Dan begged, eyes watering. Jace simply nodded, pulling out a lighter from his pocket.

"You know, this lighter seems really familiar," Jace chuckled, and Dan noticed it immediately- it was Phil's lighter from when he threw it after not working.

"That doesn't work-" Dan began, but Jason switched it up and a flame instantly appeared. Dan began to shake. "That didn't w-work before. . ."

"Well it is now, and it belongs to a friend of mine named Phil. Ever heard of him? Recently made a bet on if he could take a little brunette's v-card?"

"I-I-" Dan was speechless, hurt, angry- every emotion at once.

"Well you aren't going to be seeing him again. He belongs to our group, he doesn't hang around little closeted depressed freaks."

"You c-can't do that," Dan protested, tears beginning to stream down his face that he furiously wiped away with his sleeve.

"I just did," Jason snarled, and flicked the lighter back on. Dan tensed and Jace noticed. "You afraid of fire, Howell? Why is that?"

Dan gulped. He didn't want to remember, he didn't want to relive the worst moment of his life.

Jason simply moved the lighter until it was centimeters from Dan's freckled nose, laughing at the way Dan cowered away. He figured this was enough of a scare and climbed out the treehouse, leaving Dan trembling. He moved and looked out the door, staring at the three boys in the grass.