dan
the shelter was slowly turning in to a nice place to be. the beds had been completely assembled, and they all even had comforters now. dan's back finally didn't ache all the time.
more people had been trickling in; some of them dan recognized from the streets. it was nice to have company, even if phil was keeping him busy most of the time. but dan actually appreciated having something to do.
one thing he didn't appreciate, however, was what phil was doing. he had started hiring people to handle the shelter, which would be fine if he was doing anything, but it was starting to seem like he wasn't. it was starting to seem like he had passed off the entire project to his employees without even supervising. it was becoming more and more clear to dan that he only cared about the image of the shelter. he had already taken an interview for some rich people magazine that dan didn't recognize.
at least phil wasn't treating them horribly. they had a roof over their heads and meals every day, so dan figured he could keep his hostile feelings towards him in check. for now.
"dan!"
dan turned his head toward the other side of the room, his brow furrowed in confusion at the soft voice saying his name. "hm...?"
"psst! dan!"
dan squinted his eyes and finally realized where it was coming from. he caught a glimpse of a tuft of earl's hair, sticking out of a makeshift fort built from blankets in the corner of the shelter. dan smiled, making his way toward him.
"earl! what're you doing?"
green eyes flashed and the boy gave him a toothy grin, peering around as if they might be being watched before ushering him in quickly. dan played along, crawling under his duvet into the tiny space he had formed underneath. dan smiled to himself; earl had always felt safer in enclosed spaces.
"are we hiding?" dan asked in a whisper, leaning closer to him. earl laughed.
"no," he spoke in his regular voice. "jus' wanted to make you act funny."
dan rolled his eyes, shaking his head. he gently shoved the boy. "rude."
earl giggled. now that dan was closer to him, he could tell that he looked a little paler than usual. a few freckles stood out on his hollowed cheeks. dan reached out to touch his face, frowning.
"have you been eating?"
earl nodded, chewing on his chapped lower lip. "yes. kat brings me food every day, but i've been asleep a lot."
dan blinked. "why?"
"i've been tired."
dan nodded slowly. he could see how all this might be exhausting for a child his age, their situation changing so drastically. "make sure you don't eat too much at once..."
earl nodded, his hair flopping against his forehead. "i know, dan."
"and don't eat anything that you don't understand."
"i know."
dan nodded and pressed the back of his hand against earl's forehead. "you're feeling okay other than being tired?"
earl pushed his hand away, and he was smiling. "i'm fine. i think i have a cold."
even those words alone made a spike of fear stab at his chest. it made dan anxious if earl sneezed, and who knew what a cold could lead to? deep down dan knew he was probably overreacting, but on the surface, the thought terrified him. he pressed his lips together, toying with earl's hair and pushing it back.
"hey," he said softly, looking him in the eyes. "i'm sorry i've been so busy. i promise we'll hang out soon, yeah? we can play cards. and i've been working on a song..."
earl nodded happily. "yeah, okay. soon?"
dan smiled. "soon. i swear."
even just dan's promise seemed to make earl so much brighter, some color returning to his cheeks, and dan's fear died down a bit. he was just overwhelmed, it was normal. it made dan's heart hurt a little to know he had been handling it alone.
"in the meantime," dan said through a soft grunt, pushing himself up. "i'm gonna get you some medicine for that cold."
earl winced. "you don't have to..."
dan shook his head, ruffling earl's messy hair. "shut it. i'm getting it. don't worry, i'll make phil pay for it."
"make me pay for what?" phil's voice came abruptly from outside the fort, and earl giggled. dan gave him a knowing look.
"stay strong," he mumbled to the boy, squeezing his hand quickly before climbing back out of the tent-like structure, tucking the blanket back over the entrance so earl could be closed in again.
phil was standing a few feet away, an eyebrow raised at him and his arms crossed. dan nearly scoffed. how could someone so rich be so cheap when it came to other people?
"let's go for a drive."