*Book One* Slave Boy (Phan)

Chapter Five

Word count: 2310

Chapter Five

"Dan?" A voice calls in the distance. Dan spins around. Standing across the street is someone Dan never thought he'd see again, much less approach him. "Dan, hey!" he calls, running over to him.

"Hey...Nick."

"Well? Long time, no see! How have you been?"

Nick pulls Dan in for a hug, but Dan just stiffens more. "I-I've been good," Dan lies.

"Oh, I've missed you old buddy."

"You have?" Dan never thought that Nick would ever think of Dan again.

"Of course!" After a short pause, Nick continues. "Walk with me?"

"Sure."

"Look Dan, I've got some things to say."

"Go for it," Dan replies stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Nick stops and turns to Dan. "Dan, I need to confess something." Dan stays silent, awaiting this confession. "I think I still love you. I can't stop think about you–us."

"But...Charlie," Dan summarizes.

"That day, I went into denial. She couldn't be dead, in my mind, but I eventually accepted it. I know that it wasn't your fault. I was just too blind to realize it then. I know I don't deserve you, and you've probably moved on, but-"

Dan doesn't care to hear the rest of that sentence. He presses his lips to Nick's, excited to even have the chance to again.

But how long does bliss ever last?

Nick pulls back from Dan, a smirk on his face. "You're so pathetic Daniel." Nick goes into a fit of evil laughter. "What'd I tell you?" Nick says to someone behind Dan.

Dan turns around, only to find a group of five people, all of which he recognizes from school.

Worthless. Faggot. Pathetic. Unlovable. Useless.

All the insults come racing at him, one from each person.

"You got that, right?" Nick asks the group. All of them hold up their phone, the screen facing Dan. A picture of Dan kissing Nick is visible.

"Wait until your friends see this," Nick says.

Worthless. Faggot. Pathetic. Unlovable. Useless.

Nick adds one more: Outcast.That is exactly what Dan will be if his friends ever find out.

*

Dan wakes up, sadness taking over him for the second night in a row. All those names... All those names that he's tried to avoid for nine years now; since he was eight.

Dan has hidden the fact that he is pansexual–Nick was the only person he ever told. He's seen how others are treated. He even has friends who use the word gay as a derogatory slur.

Sure, he disapproves of his friends' words, in his head at lease. Come on, if he spoke up, his motives would be questioned.

He can kind of understand how Phil feels. Phil...

Dan hurt Phil; he knows this. He hurt Phil–the nice kid who let Dan in, who gets shit from just about everyone, and Dan is now on that list. Dan managed to hurt him with just his words.