SUPER RICH KIDS | PHAN

four.

phil

"i know what i wanna do."

phil's hands rested firmly on his fathers desk as he looked him in the eyes. this man had been the one who taught him to be fiery, yet something in phil still shriveled when he looked him in the face. nevertheless, phil held his ground. he would need his strength.

he had come up with the idea after seeing that homeless guy, having gone straight to sunny's house afterward. they had devised the plan together.

his father raised his eyebrows, watching him as if he might flip the desk and storm out. "and what's that?"

phil grinned. "i want to start a shelter."

it was pretty genius, actually. phil would start a homeless shelter all his own; that way he wouldn't have to be ordered around. he could hire people to do any of the actual work while he just made sure his parents saw his progress, and he could abandon the whole project after he got that car. that part was a bit more disapproved by sunny, but what else was he supposed to do with it after he had succeeded? he wasn't a volunteer.

his father leaned back in his huge leather chair. he always looked like some kind of villain from a cartoon. it was annoying as all hell.

"do you plan on actually maintaining this shelter?"

phil nodded, standing up straight and crossing his arms loosely over his torso, what he did when he lied, something his dad hadn't payed enough attention of him to notice or take note of.

"of course."

he hummed, nodding slowly while he thought. phil kind of thought he was ugly; thin and almost pointy features that didn't melt into each other rather than jutted.

"and i'm guessing you're going to ask for an investment?"

phil nearly rolled his eyes- as if renting a stupid property in stupid downtown was so hard. they probably already owned the lamborghini, and were just hiding it from him in one of their garages. nevertheless, phil nodded.

"yeah... please. i promise i'll make it worth it."

the man grunted, taking another considerable pause.

"i'll talk to your mother."

➹

"it's not straight."

phil's voice came out more snappy and short tempered, but it was six am and it was cold and phil's expensive denim jacket wasn't particularly helpful. luckily sunny was there, and he knew how to deal with phil's moods.

"we'll straighten it," he said to phil, turning back to the designer. "can we straighten it?"

the woman looked as tired and bitter as phil felt, but she was clearly trying to cover it up. she nodded stiffly. "of course, sir. i'll call the guy who did it."

phil nodded, tightening his jaw and trying to pull the jacket tighter around himself, a coffee cup gripped in his left hand. "good. you do that."

after his parents had finally agreed - six hours after phil had asked they were giving him a key and a rather stony pat on the back - phil had immediately called someone to help him decorate and prepare the empty building for use. it was a little smaller than phil would have liked, but he figured the space would have to do.

the sign looked old, which was the way phil wanted it. not some strip club neon sign shit- it looked homey. friendly. ponderosa boulevard homeless shelter it read in red letters on a soft brown background. and it was right next door to a good will. it would be great if it wasn't crooked.

phil sighed and checked his phone. 6:32. he really needed more coffee, the cup was very nearly drained and phil was still exhausted.

"what's the next move," sunny mumbled as the designer bustled off in her tall red heels, leaning against the glass of the building. truly, sunny deserved more credit; he was always around for phil's excavates to keep him in control, which annoyed him sometimes but was necessary.

phil shrugged, sighing and rubbing at his face. "putting up fliers? spreading the word? i dunno, is that how you do this?"

"how would i know?"

phil laughed. "yeah, i guess you're right."

there were people gathering, a little boy and a man had approached the building. the older boy had his head tilted toward the sky in order to read the sign, the little boy had a toy rocket that he was slamming into the glass repeatedly with no regard. phil scowled.

"hey," he barked, frowning. "can you get your kid to stop? he's gonna scratch the glass."

the boy looked down to meet his eyes, and phil nearly choked on his own spit. it was the boy from the other day, the one who was playing the guitar on the sidewalk. now that phil was actually paying attention, he noticed he had the same guitar clutched to his chest like a human baby, his slender fingers wrapped protectively around the neck. he blinked; his eyes were large and a warm sort of brown, something phil hadn't been close enough to notice the other day.

"earl isn't my kid," the boy said, as if it was obvious, as if phil knew jack-shit about him, or wanted to. phil rolled his eyes.

"don't care. he's still gonna break my glass."

he raised his dark eyebrows, seemingly shocked. "your glass?"

"yeah, my glass," phil snapped. "why the hell else would i be standing here? get lost."

sunny tugged on his sleeve and phil whirled on him, glaring, wound up. "what do you want?"

"he's homeless," sunny murmured, seemingly embarrassed. "maybe you should be a little nicer..."

phil yanked his sleeve out of sunny's grip. honestly, he couldn't care less who this boy was right then, he was pissed. who did he think he was?

he and the little boy were still staring at him blankly. phil smiled meanly.

"what are you looking at? i don't have any food to give you," he told them, his tone sickly sweet. "do you want this empty coffee cup? here, fetch, it probably costs more than the mattress you sleep on." he chucked the cup hard, watching it hit the older boy's chest and tumble to the ground. he stared at him with his stupid perpetually surprised brown eyes, his hands shaking with what phil was sure must be rage. phil waited for the explosion but it didn't come.

"if you plan on having a homeless shelter," he said finally,his voice so quiet phil nearly couldn't hear him. "you should probably get a behavior coach first, just some advice. i'm sure you could afford that."

he grabbed the little boy's hand and pulled him away from the window, and walked past phil with his eyes straight ahead.