in which dan and phil are soul mates, and therefore share a telepathic connection. but phil lester is bullied, and sometimes a voice in his head simply isn't enough.
third person:
phil lester walked quickly with his head down through the empty, dimly-lit hallway. the sound of his footsteps resonated, disrupting the shortlived silence that consumed the space, filling it close to overflowing. he knew he shouldn't have gone that way, they always lurked in those parts of school, haunting the halls just as they haunted phil's every thought. he heard their loud voices bouncing from the walls and echoing around in his head. except this time, it wasn't simply his mind playing tricks. phil barely caught a glimpse of them before he turned to run, but his fate had already been deeply carved into the plethora of lonely trees belonging to the forest that constantly surrounded his exhausted mind.
a harsh hand grabbed phil's frail shoulder roughly and pushed him into the cold lockers behind him, forcing all the air to quickly leave his pained lungs. he gasped for air, finding himself face to face with his worst nightmare. "what are you doing here, fag?" kyle spat, still crushing the fragile boy between his strong forearm and the lockers. phil said nothing, he simply looked at the dirty floor and wished it would swallow him whole.
'dan, h-help.'
dan was phil's soul mate. in this world everyone has a soul mate; somebody they are destined to be with and therefore, they have a telepathic connection. it may seem impossible, but it meant that they could speak to each other through thought, despite the fact that they had never actually met.
phil hadn't had the best childhood, his parents divorced when he was 6 and when he came out gay at the age of 13 the whole school turned against him.
he had never really had any friends other than dan; nobody seemed to understand him or connect with him the way dan could. but when he came out there wasn't a day that went by where he wasn't beat or abused verbally.
the only person he had left was dan; his sweet guardian angel who helped him through everything, no matter what.
'phil? is everything okay?'
't-they're gonna hurt me again dan.' phil's thoughts were erratic, but he tried to concentrate on dan's soothing voice. he struggled in an attempt to escape kyle's tight grasp but was only met by a cruel fist coliding with his pale jaw. he kicked phil's shin, inevitably leaving a bruise, before releasing his shoulders and allowing the whimpering boy to crumple to the floor. 'dan w-what do i do?'
by now tears were streaming down his slightly flushed cheeks leaving glittering trails of misery, which he covered by hiding his face in his knees as he cowered away. 'hey, it's okay baby i'm here, don't worry. everything will be okay just concentrate on my voice -'
he recieved a few more careless kicks before kyle and his following stalked away, laughing as they did.
phil was beaten the majority of days and dan was always the one that cheered him up, kept him going.
'how bad is it this time?'
phil lifted his suddenly extremely heavy head and examined his aching limbs. they were covered in both fresh and healing cuts alike, along with an array of bruises.
he brought his shaking hand to his face. dried blood had collected below his nose, his jaw felt stiff and his bottom lip felt painful and swollen. 'not too bad i don't think, nothing that won't heal in a few days.'
'i'm so sorry phil. they're all twats, you know? please ignore them, at least try.'
'i do dan i really do, but it's so h-hard.' phil choked, his voice desperate and raw with hurt. 'even when they aren't here their words stay, and they f-fucking hurt.'
'i know baby i know, just stay strong for me. if you ever feel like you can't go on, think about the day we will finally meet. we can be together and no one will stop us.'
'i wish that day would come sooner.' phil smiled weakly.
'i promise you it will come soon, now come on love, get up off of the floor and get yourself home.'
'h-how did you know i was on the floor?'
'you're always on the floor phil.'
they both laughed light-heartedly, and phil managed to pull himself up and steady himself, before making his way out of school and on his way home.
'oh phil, i just wish i could come to your rescue and help you right now.' phil smiled slightly, nodding even though dan couldn't see him.
'it's okay dan, you already have.'
**
within half an hour phil had arrived home, managing to slip through the door unnoticed by his mother who would inevitably bombard him with questions. he quitely made his way up the irritatingly creaky stairs of his family home, eventually reaching his bedroom and collapsing onto his bed with exhaustion.
'dan, when can we see each other?'
'i.. i don't know, phil. one day though i promise.'
phil thought for a minute before an idea suddenly popped into his head, it was so undeniably obvious, how had they not thought of it before?
'dan, do you have skype?'
**
the two boys exchanged skype names and soon phil was sat tapping his fingers nervously on his desk as he searched for dan. his profile popped up but had no picture. he stopped for a second taking a deep breath before pressing call. it rang a few times before a nervous looking face popped up on his screen.
phil's mouth dropped open slightly but he quickly composed himself and took in dan's features. through a pixelated webcam he admired the way dan's soft, ochre curls sat atop his head, the odd strand spilling onto his pale face. his features were endearingly soft; his eyes a wide, warm umber and his cheeks dusted with a rose blush. his lips were plump and inarguably kissable, and phil was certain he had never seen a more beautiful boy.
dan also took in phil's features before phil cleared his throat awkwardly. "p-phil?" dan stuttered and phil nodded smiling slightly. "oh my god you're even more beautiful than i imagined." dan mused aloud.
"not as beautiful as you." phil blushed slightly looking down. "aw, you're adorable!" dan said only to make phil giggle and blush more.
**
"can i have your ticket?" a woman of average height, wearing a dark blue uniform asked politely. phil handed the small slip of paper to her with a wide and nervous smile. she took it and ripped part off before smiling back.
"you seem happy, most people that pass through here are annoyed and tired." she stated with a small laugh.
"it's uh.. it's a big day i suppose." phil replied proudly.
"that's lovely, enjoy the ride!"
phil boarded the train wondering why she was so polite, but wearing a massive grin nonetheless. once he had found a seat by a window, he put his earphones in and let the loud music fill his senses and consume his thoughts. after a few hours of slipping in and out of consiousness, the train came to a stop as everyone filed out.
he turned his music off, stuffing his phone into his pocket before grabbing his backpack with a firm grasp and leaving the train. he took a deep breath before letting his eyes scan though the crowds of people, searching for the boy he came to see.
as he looked left he felt his breath catch in his suddenly extremely dry throat and almost choke him, dan was stood right there, looking around near a bench.
before he was even aware of what he was doing, phil felt his body fire towards the boy, winding through the crowds and towards the oblivious boy. he eventually reached him and pulled dan into an embrace, almost knocking him over. he hugged the boy with every ounce of energy he had. dan tensed up, before realising who it was and hugging back with just as much force.
"you smell of vanilla." phil mumbled into dan's neck, his breath leaving goosebumps on the other boy's skin as they both stood as one, ignoring the stares they were earning. when they finally seperated they both had tears forming in their eyes. dan pulled phil back in placing his lips firmly on phil's.
phil wrapped his arms around dan's neck and dan's went around phil's waist, pulling the other as close as he possibly could. their warm lips fused together creating sparks of electricity surging between the two. after a minute or two of passionately kissing, almost as though the world had stopped around them, the boys split. each felt weak in the knees as they stared at each other, their lips tingling and their bodies numb with love and lust for each others company and compassion.
phil looked down, his cheeks tinted red. he then reached up, standing on his tiptoes and placing his lips near dan's left ear before whispering to him;
"thank you for saving me."