lethal //phan

s e v e n t e e n

PJ
"I don't trust him." PJ stated stubbornly.

There were numerous things about Dan that confused him - he'd heard things, he saw things both with his ability and without, and it was a rare occasion in which Dan did anything pleasantly surprising.

It was one of the few downsides to knowing everything - there were some things he didn't want to know, certain thoughts that should stay in people's heads and memories, never to be discovered by someone else.

"I don't know, PJ, he's gotten better than he used to be since Phil came here. He was far worse a few months back - he hasn't had an isolation since Phil's arrival." Tyler replied.

"Plus the only time he's lashed out was on Phil's first day, but since then he's been fine. Everything he's done after that has been with good intentions." Joe added.

Phil. He was just as big a part of the problem as Dan was. Dan was beginning to deceive everyone, they were thinking that just because Phil didn't have a problem with him, it meant he couldn't be all that bad. But he really was. They were clueless, they had absolutely no idea.

"Just think about it: Dan used to scare everyone, he was mean, constantly angry and would shut people out. Now Phil's here he's the opposite, he talks to him, they stay together. He's not like that with anybody else. He hasn't been that way for years he's been here. It's not exactly what I'd call normal," PJ remarked. "You can't just change your personality three times and expect people to think there's nothing off about it."

As hard as PJ was trying to persuade the group to at least consider what he was trying to say, it wasn't working. It was the whole reason he'd asked Chris, Tyler, Louise, Zoe.and Joe to meet up with him; he needed to convince them that something was wrong, he simply had a feeling - and a supply of everyone's memories and thoughts, of course - that something wasn't as it should be.

"Peej, you're just being paranoid. So what if he's changing? Change isn't always a bad thing, especially not in this case. He's finally learning to settle down. We should be happy for Dan, that he has a friend like Phil who can support him. We should be doing the same thing as Phil instead of talking about them both behind their backs." Louise was trying to stay calm but her voice was starting to crescendo halfway through her speech.

It was obvious she was unimpressed that she was here and being made to talk about it.

"We're not even Dan's friend's for heavens sake!" PJ was almost shouting.

"That doesn't matter. We're Phil's friends. You of all people should know how much he's trying to get along with Dan, and they're both happy in each other's company, so please can we stop acting like there's an issue here." Tyler was quick to add.

"He has a hidden agenda, I'm telling you all." PJ warned. "I'm only trying to look out for Phil here, I don't want anything bad to happen to him."

"Phil can take care of himself. PJ, please calm down, classes are over so we can go back to your room and we can play video games or something. You need to relax." Chris told him, the others agreeing.

Even Chris was against him, Chris usually agreed with everything he'd say, they were alike in many ways and shared identical opinions regarding every single topic imaginable. Especially when it came to the likes of Dan.

"Stop making me out to be the bad guy here!
You were all scared of him the last time I checked, and now all of a sudden you change your minds,"

"People change, PJ," answered Zoe, who became the voice of reason after staying silent until now.

"Fine! Just don't say I didn't warn you all," he spoke gravely, his voice becoming quieter and calmer, eerie even.

He left the other five stood there in silence, not even bothering to look back at them as he walked away.

Phil
What had Dan ever done to him?

It was impolite to eavesdrop, he knew that - he was guilty of the act on numerous occasions. It was becoming an issue. In his defence, he was one of the main themes of conversation - Dan more so, but he'd heard his name several times.

Could he ask Dan for the reason why? Or would he shut him out again - he'd only properly known Dan for a few days. He didn't want to regress back to where they were before.

Was it really worth it - to lose a potential friendship over an accusation that could end up being total lies? He decided no.

But just because he didn't ask Dan, it didn't mean he couldn't ask PJ - as long as Dan wouldn't find out, it'd be fine.

After ten minutes of searching around the academies grounds he'd found PJ sat on his own, isolated from all the other students.

"Why are you here?" asked PJ, before Phil could even say anything. He sounded somewhat irritated, like he wanted to be left alone, Phil had to ensure the conversation would be short.

"Why wasn't I at the 'gathering' you held before?" Phil responded coolly.

"Listening in again? It's becoming a real bad habit for you, isn't it?"

To which Phil simply nodded.

"Has Dan done something to you that makes you dislike him?"

"I never said I disliked him, I just don't trust him."

"And the reason for that being what?"

"I don't think you realise just how big the difference is between who he was two years ago, then who he became before you got here, and who he's starting to become as of late. It's as if there are three different people, not just one being. You simply can't trust those types - they have so many alternate personas you have no clue as to which one is real.

He had no emotions aside anger until you came here, his personality can change like the flick of a switch, to what I know he rarely feels any form of guilt, uncalled for acts of violence, fits of rage, easily offended. Sounds sociopathic to me."

Phil understood PJ's views on Dan, admittedly he did think the sudden shifts in personality were a little odd to say the least, but they were simply a part of the only Dan he knew - he'd become accustomed to them; unlike the others who'd been around him for years now. To say 'sociopathic' was a little farfetched in his opinion, but he didn't want to start an argument. It only looked to be PJ that had an issue with him - but he could have many a reason that no one else had a clue about.

"The real question you should be asking me is: what hasn't Dan done to make me suspicious?"