The Unknown. Phan AU

Chapter 20

Phil was holding Dan's hand, squeezing it as Ethan stood at the door. They weren't holding hands out of love but out of comfort and support. Ethan was glaring at them, looking like he wanted to hurt them both. An officer opened the door, sending a gentle smile to the boys before taking one of Ethan's suitcases.

"I hate you." Ethan mouthed as he dragged the other case out of the door. Dan glanced at Phil with a terrified expression on his face but Phil just squeezed his hand, reminding him that he was okay.

Then he was gone. Dan was safe. He could only wonder how much longer he would be safe for.

-

Dan now had a room of his own and Alice had kindly bought him a new phone. The posters had all gone, being replaced with new ones of other bands that Dan liked. If it wasn't for the constant reminder of Dan's past, he would have kept the Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance ones but he ended up replacing them with new ones too.

The walls were still grey but you could barely see them behind the colourful posters Dan had put up. The book case was filled with Dan's favourite books and the wardrobe Dan's clothes. He had definitely made it his own. He had even got new bed covers: cute galaxy ones.

Although it was obvious that most of the new stuff was bought for him out of pity, he really liked it all. He was proud of his room.

-

School was getting better because he could actually allow himself to get closer to Phil again which was nice. Dan had given Phil his My Hero Academia book back (after Ethan was forced to give it back) so Phil was happy too.

"So," Phil started one lunch time. He smiled softly when he noticed Dan was eating a sandwich and not skipping the meal. "What do you think?" Dan was about to question what Phil was talking about but he followed his gaze to the second Death Note book.

"G-Good." Dan grinned.

"I'm glad."

-

"Do you want to go out after school?"

"N-Need to a-ask." Dan looked down at his new phone, typing out a text message to Alice. His phone lit up a couple of minutes later and nodded.

"We could go into town?"

Dan glanced down at his lap, hoping that Phil remembered his wallet and wasn't going to be like Ethan. He took a deep breath, reminding himself that Phil wasn't Ethan; he was kind and a genuinely good person.

-

"Let's get a coffee!" Phil exclaimed as he pulled Dan into one of the coffee shops. "What do you want?"

"W-What you're h-having?" Dan was still nervous when talking to people in public so Phil would have to do the talking but he really didn't mind. Phil was glad to help Dan out whenever needed.

Phil recited their orders to the worker who wrote them down and gave them an amount to pay. Dan reached into his pocket to get out some money but he was stopped when Phil handed over the full amount. "Thank you!" Phil grinned at the worker before stepping to the side and waiting for their drinks.

Dan took out half the amount, trying to give it to Phil who was refusing to take it. "It's on me." Dan smiled because Phil really was the opposite of Ethan and he really liked him.

Once they received their drinks, they went to sit down at a table in the corner. They were just silently sitting there, sipping their hot drinks when a question slipped out of Phil's mouth. He had said it without thinking and wished to take it back as soon as it came out of his mouth. "Do you think you'll move on?"