There's a Reason I Go to the Library & It's Not Cause I Like Reading

Chapter 7

If you asked Dan on the 24th of January 2009 whether he enjoyed Rawtenstall any more or less than Wokingham he would have asked you to repeat the question. He woke up dizzy and disconnected from the world; he tried to order his thoughts and focus on something but they wouldn't stay together no matter how hard he tried.

He wolfed down his breakfast and left the house, needing the fresh air. It was a quiet Saturday, the wind blew through the hills and he took a moment to listen to the quiet sounds as he usually did before pushing his earbuds into his ear.

'Cause I want it now
I want it now
Give me your heart and your soul
And I'm breaking out
I'm breaking out
Last chance to lose control

He walked down the connecting street and looked into the field to his side. The slightly browned grass bobbed and twisted in the wind forming patterns which mesmerised Dan. He stared into the field for a long time before he saw a dip in the long, dancing strands. He jumped the small wall beside the field and waded through the thick grass towards the figure. That hair, that shirt. He'd recognise it anywhere. Library boy.

"Hey!" he shouted at him. The boy turned towards Dan, startled, before standing up and beginning to run in the opposite direction. Dan chased him as he ran but the boy was much faster than he was, and Dan, already dizzy since he'd woken up that morning, found it hard to wade through the unkempt paddock in pursuit and he soon found himself on the ground. When he stood back up library boy was gone.

Dan needed answers, and although he wasn't usually the type to inquire, he'd just hit his head on the ground and he wasn't exactly in the best decision-making state of mind. So he reached for his phone and called the one person from school who might not tell him to fuck off.

"'Ello?" the voice through the phone answered.
"Yeah, hi Ella, it's, um, it's Dan," he began. "I just have a few questions about some guy at school, I think he's in our year."
"Um, sure I guess?" Ella replied.
"I know you tell me not to go in the library, but I just have to ask-" he was cut off by the thick Manchester accent from the girl on the other end of the line.
"Have you finally been told about Freaky Phil, Dan?" she laughed.
"Freaky who?" he asked.
"Oh my God, has seriously no one told you about Freaky fucking Phil yet? You poor fucking sod," Ella shouted through the speaker.
"Uh, no? Who's Freaky Phil?" Dan asked cautiously.
"Some fucking mardy shit who knocked himself off in the loo in the library like ten years ago or something, that's all I fucking know," she chuckled. Dan was slightly taken aback by her brass attitude.
"What does that have to do with my question though?" Dan asked, only letting a fraction of his annoyance slip into his tone.
"There's some fucking story going around about some girl pissing herself after seeing him in the ladies' room all dead looking and shit, I personally don't believe a word of it, it's fucking stupid shit that some knobhead's probably made up to get attention, but I'm pretty sure Freaky Phil was a real person from like 7 or 8 years ago I think," Ella explained. Dan remained confused.
"So is this like a ghost story or some crap?" he asked.
"Yeah, anyway what was your question?"
"I-I think I forgot it. Thanks anyway," he replied.
"It's no problem, see ya," she said, hanging up.

Dan stood in the field in silence for no reason while his brain went on a billion different tangents at once of thinking.

Who was this Phil person and could he possibly have something to do with library boy?