SUPER RICH KIDS | PHAN

twenty eight.

phil.

phil stayed late at the shelter that night. he wanted to say it was because he had a lot of work to do, but it was mostly to make sure dan was alright. he was glad he and kat had made up so easily, it was nice to see them back to normal, although phil wasn't sure why he cared.

he sat at his desk in the back of the room even when it got dark, scrolling through his emails to pass time. there were bills he had to pay, and he sighed. being a good person was so much work. he also had an email from his father letting him know he was on a good track, and he and phil's mother were looking forward to the event. phil bit his lip, trying to think of how to break it to them that there wouldn't be an event, when he heard the door swing open through the silence.

he frowned, looking up just in time to see dan slipping out, his guitar slung over his shoulder.

phil stood up, trying to stay as quiet as possible as people were asleep. he carefully weaved around the beds to the door and silently pushed through it, peering out.

dan was leaning against the side of the building, his guitar in his arms. his eyes seemed to be closed, a loose curl hanging between them. phil watched him as he took deep breaths, puffing his cheeks out.

dan opened his eyes, staring down at the guitar, his expression unreadable.

without warning he grabbed the neck of it and pulled it back over his head. phil's eyes widened and he gasped, sprinting out in front of him and landing on his knees to catch the guitar as it came down. the impact sent pain shooting through phil's knees but he ignored it, taking the guitar away from him. "what are you doing?!"

dan's eyes were glistening. he pointed silently at a whale sticker on the side of the instrument, white and scratched off at the edges. phil bit his lip, standing up and holding his guitar as if it was a child.

"earl?" he asked, but it was more of a statement than a question. dan nodded weakly, hugging himself. phil sighed.

"what's the point?" dan mumbled, his voice barely audible. he leaned back against the wall again, looking down. "a few weeks ago i would've done anything to be a performer. it was, like, my dream. but earl was in all of those dreams, supporting me. so what's the fucking point?"

phil sighed again and moved to stand next to him. "there's still a point. you won't see it for a while, but it's there."

dan shrugged, avoiding his eyes. "i dunno. seems pretty gone to me."

phil paused before holding the guitar out. dan looked up curiously and took it slowly, frowning.

"play something."

"phil, i'm not really in the mood..."

phil shook his head, crossing his arms. "play something."

now dan sighed, but he pulled the strap back over his head and closed his eyes, tapping his fingers on the guitar for a moment, thinking. finally he strummed carefully, like dipping your toes into the water to find the temperature before diving in. soon he was playing.

whatever dan was playing wasn't anything phil would recognize; maybe it was original. but original or not, it was soft and calm and dan's fingers glided over the strings with practiced precision, his eyes still closed as if he could see music sheets on his eyelids. phil's heart did something weird and squirmy.

then dan opened his mouth and he sang. his voice was smooth other than a few cracks when his voice would break or when emotion seeped through his words like a bitter honey, but that almost made it better. the words came out slowly, as if he was thinking of them on the spot, but phil knew he couldn't be. dan sounded like the singers on the radio, if the singers on the radio had taffy for vocal chords and clouds for lips, filtering each note to make it sweet and stormy at once. phil didn't want it to end.

after a minute dan stopped, his fingers pulling away from the strings and his voice cutting off. he opened his eyes, his face pink, and he looked at phil nervously. phil stared at him.

finally phil moved so he was standing in front of him, and dan watched him curiously, nearly pinned to the wall from phil's position. phil got closer to him than he would if it had been bright outside, or if anyone was watching, or if dan hadn't just given him a piece of his soul.

"no matter what you lose," he said, his voice low and thick with... something. "do not give that up. do you understand?"

dan nodded slowly, his eyes wide.

"good. you can't waste something like that."

dan's face was even pinker, blushing like crazy. he nodded, his eyes searching phil's. phil stepped back.

"get some sleep, dan," he whispered, ducking back into the building so dan couldn't see the look on his face.