*Book One* Slave Boy (Phan)

Chapter Three

Word count: 3332

Chapter Three

"You wait here. I have to go get some things." Phil says, making Dan sit on the bathroom counter.

"I'm not moving," Phil hears Dan say quietly while he exits the bathroom.

Phil rushes throughout the halls and down the stairs. In the kitchen, he opens the cabinet under the sink and finds the first aid kit. Then he grabs a few bags of random frozen vegetables from the freezer. He wraps all of them in paper towels too.

Phil makes his way back up the stairs, and he finds Dan still on the counter when he gets back.

"Okay, come with me," Phil says.

Phil leads Dan down the hall to his room, and lets him in cautiously. Phil's normally the only one who goes in his room. His parents, and his best friend Lance are the only ones who have ever been in his room actually.

He pulls his computer chair over to his bed and makes Dan sit down in it. He sits on the bed.

When Dan sits down, the chair moves backwards a couple inches, and Dan doesn't show any sign of moving forward any.

Phil rolls his eyes. "Come here. I won't bite."

"You sure?"

"What reason do I have to?"

"I don't know, but it seems like you hate me."

Phil sighs and looks at his hands. "Dan," he says, "I don't hate you. I just despise everyone like you."

"Like me?" Dan wonders.

"Yes, like you. I mean, you break the rules and make others miserable."

"Do I make you miserable? Phil, that's never what I wanted to do. I never wanted to make anyone miserable. I do it because it hides-" Dan cuts off before he reveals too much, and Phil notices it. Dan has one goal now: to make sure Phil doesn't despise him. 

"It hides what?"

"Nothing." Dan scoots closer to Phil. "Fix me up?"

"Okay. Were you drinking?"

"A bit," Dan answers with a shrug. "Why?"

Phil shakes his head. "It's not healthy, especially underage."

"Right, because of our still-developing brains. I don't think a lot of things I do are healthy, but oh well."

Phil hands Dan the four bags of frozen vegetables whilst saying, "Put these on where it hurts the most. That's all I have for now."

"Wait, what? What happened to fixing me up?"

Phil blushes slightly out of embarrassment. "I need you to shower before I can see the real damage, but first you need to ice."

"Why?"

"It takes the swelling down and helps the bruising."

"You seem to know a lot about this," Dan notes. Phil shrugs, unsure of what to say. Dan notices Phil look away slightly, and the incident from earlier today pops back into his head.

"Phil, what happened in the hallway today, is that a recurring thing? Do they hurt you a lot?"

"No," Phil mumbles.

"Phil, you don't have to lie. Do you not want anyone to know?" It seems to Phil like Dan is more persistent than his own parents.

Is Dan genuinely being nice? Phil wonders. It's kind of unexpected...