The Unknown. Phan AU

Chapter 19

I don't like this chapter. Both because it's sad and because it's kind of bad. (That rhymed yay)

"I w-want to b-break up." Dan whispered to Ethan. Ethan was sitting on his bed, reading a comic and Dan was standing in the door, watching him closely. He was ready to run in case he detected danger.

"You what?" Ethan sounded more than surprised, his head tilting to the side. He shut his comic without marking the page and stood up, glaring at his boyfriend. Then Dan's courage collapsed and he found himself frozen to the spot, unable to escape.

"B-Break up." Dan's voice was nothing but a squeak as Ethan walked over to him, way too calm for the situation. He slammed the bedroom door behind them and just that sound sent Dan spiralling down into the familiar feeling of panic. Then he was being pushed against the wall, the grips on his arms so tight that it made him cry out in pain. He couldn't even thrash around to escape the hold, his body completely stiff as if he was a statue.

"You don't break up with me. You need me because I'm the only person who will ever love you. Plus, if you leave, I'm going to kill myself. Don't think I won't." Ethan's fist was raising and Dan couldn't breathe. Black spots were covering his vision and the thoughts in his head were yelling at him but he couldn't escape. "You'll be all alone if we break up. Even Phil will hate you."

Dan shook his head and Ethan's fist swung. He let out a squeak as it came in contact with his face, destined to leave a mark. Dan had never had a panic attack that bad. Of course he had had them in the past but none like that one.

"You think Phil actually likes you? Yeah, right. Why would anyone love someone as pathetic, ugly, fat, stupid and cowardly as you? No one else will put up with you like I do."

Ethan's fist then came in contact with Dan's stomach.

"Do you still want to break up with me?" Dan couldn't even reply: his whole body was shutting down. He had no control over it as he felt his eyelids getting heavy. He couldn't breathe. "Fine, kill me. Make me feel like crap."

Dan wanted to scream out but he couldn't. Tears were streaming down his cheeks and then he just... collapsed.

Ethan took a couple of seconds to process it before he was frantically calling for Alice. "Alice! It's Dan!" Dan looked dead. His entire body was limp, his face was whiter than a ghost and his eyes were tightly shut. "Dan, Dan.." He muttered, trying to shake the boy awake. He had no idea that Dan would pass out and he actually genuinely felt afraid. (Good. Ethan deserves to feel afraid after what he has done oops.) Alice came running into the room, her eyes wide as she saw Dan lying on the floor.

-

Dan was waking up. He groaned, pressing a hand against his head but pulling it back when he realised it was boiling hot. "Are you okay?" He heard someone say but he couldn't figure out who said it because his vision was quite blurry and his head was pounding so loud it was hard to hear. "Dan, can you look at me, please?" Dan sat up, rubbing his eyes as the figures came back into focus. Alice had been the one talking and she was smiling softly to hide her concern. "Are you alright?" Dan nodded slowly, glancing around the room until his eyes laid upon Ethan. Even he looked slightly concerned.

"T-Tired." He mumbled, his eye lids getting heavy again. Alice was surprised for a second as she first heard his voice but she was too worried to be surprised for too long.

"What happened?" Dan saw Ethan's face drain of colour and he glared at him slightly.

"H-Haven't been f-feeling well."

"Do you think you need to see a doctor?" Dan shook his head, picking up the glass of water that was beside him. "Ethan, can I talk to you outside, please?"

-

"Did something happen that he won't tell me? Because I can tell you now we heard a door slam and then you shouting." Alice's voice was calm but the look on her face was stern.

"We had an argument..." Ethan looked down at his shoes, the emotions building up inside of him.

"Is that all? This happened before and you gave him a panic attack. If you're hurting him and you admit it, the consequences won't be as bad. The bruise on his face doesn't look too good, does it?" Alice knew the consequences would be the exact same either way but he was trying to coax Ethan into admitting the problem.

"That's all. He hit his face when he fell."

"And the thing with the phone? I assume that was an accident too, even if it did really upset Dan?"

"Yeah. I didn't mean to."

"Well, for now you can share a room with Jack. If I ever hear you and Dan having an argument again, I will not hesitate to punish you, okay? You won't be able to leave the house, you'll have extra chores and, worse comes to worse, you'll be sent out. Do you understand?" Ethan rarely saw Alice that angry but, at that point in time, he could imagine smoke coming out of her ears. He soon realised he had been staring into space and not responding when Alice repeated herself, louder and more strict. "Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Go upstairs. I don't want you talking to Dan until we've sorted this out."

"I didn't do anything bad!" Ethan grumbled, storming upstairs. His face was red because he was furious that Alice had figured him out and he wasn't sure what was happening with his and Dan's relationship.

-

Dan was still refusing to talk. He'd just lay in his bed and mope, his whole body weak. He had refused to eat meals and he would barely drink. "You have a visitor." Alice said as she walked into the room with a fresh glass of water. Dan looked up, actually interested as Phil walked into the room, waving timidly at the boy.

"I saw that you weren't in school and got worried because of what you told me the other day." Phil admitted, scratching the back of his head. "Alice told me you're sick?" Phil then quietly closed the door, perching himself on the end of the bed by Dan's feet. "What happened?"

Dan stayed silent, lifting up his shirt to reveal a dark bruise. He then pointed at his face too, which made tears well up in Phil's eyes.

"He hit you..." Dan nodded at the statement, finally having given up building the wall between himself and everyone else. "Why?"

"T-Tried to b-break up with him."

Phil's fists clenched at his sides and his face formed an expression that could only mean anger. "I'm going to kill him."

"That w-won't solve the issue. You c-can't fight violence w-with violence."

"He needs to stop."

"T-Talk to Alice f-for me?"

"Of course."

-

Dan looked up as Alice and Phil walked into the room. The whole time they were talking Dan could only hear hushed whispers and so he was worried that he would be called a liar. "I'm so sorry, Dan. I had no idea. You should have said something and we could have sorted it out sooner." Alice's voice was caring. Did she actually believe him?

Dan glanced at Phil with fearful eyes but he smiled, telling him that he was okay.

Once Alice left, Dan gave Phil the longest hug. He refused to pull apart because he didn't want to be forced back into the cruel world again. He wanted to stay in the safe world of Phil's hug where no one could ever hurt him again.

Will things be okay from now on? Will it all get bad again? Who knows? Only I do mwahahaha