Hate Me Closer (Phan)

Chapter Nine

Dan asked Chris to keep quiet about the loss of his parents. He was already the poor boy, let alone the orphan, too. In an ideal world, people would support him and offer their condolences, but he was pretty confident they'd just mock him instead.

He sat on his bed in 1b, staring at the ceiling above him with his hoodie wrapped around his body. Chris sat on his bed and their new dorm-mates were across the room. They stared at the brown-haired boy with his normally straightened hair matted into curls and wondered what was wrong, but none of them dared ask and Chris could assume.

Dan eventually sat up, eyeing the boys that stared at him with a glare on his face, "What are you looking at?" he asked, tumbling his way to the mirror with his straighteners in his hand. Chris followed him, standing by his side with concern pressed into his eyebrows, "What do you want?" he asked his friend.

"Uh..." he looked around, "Was just wondering if you want to go outside in a bit?"

Dan looked at him, muttering, "Sure." and nodding.

He finished straightening his hair, putting the irons on the side of the sink and following his friend down the stairs. His feet slammed with each step until he was out in the open air, the consistently perfectly trimmed grass crushed under the soles of his shoes.

He slumped onto the concrete step of Hepburn, burying his head into his arms with his back rising and falling with each harsh breath. He looked up at Chris, who was coming to take his place beside his best friend and to place his arm on his knee to comfort him, "Are you sure it's clever to be back at school?" he asked.

"Fucking hell." Dan cursed, "Yeah, it is, but not if everyone stares at me like I'm...different, I don't know!"

"Dan, you look horrendous, of course people are going to wonder what the fuck is wrong!"

"Jeez, thanks, Chris."

"I didn't mean it like that-" he tried to defend himself.

"Save it. I'm going to supper." Dan sulked his way back into the cold building of Hepburn, snatching a tray from the side and guiding himself around the caterers.

***

Chris walked ahead of Dan on their way to class the next day. They had Maths together and would sit beside each other at the back of the classroom as always. But, on their way between the corridors of the school, the tall boy with his tie accidentally tucked between the buttons of his shirt fell to his side. He made the mistake of looking in the direction of the slouched boy, who seemed to have grown another two inches over the Christmas holiday, although with his head between his shoulders he was hiding the height quite well.

"What are you looking at?" Dan asked, snarling at the boy.

"Sorry..." Phil muttered.

Dan stood up tall, stepping slightly closer to the other figure, "Don't give me that shit."

"Dan." Chris warned, grabbing his shoulder and pulling his friend forwards, "Don't. You said you'd give that up." Dan looked up, taking a breath as he nodded, and trod into the classroom beside Chris.

They sat in the polished wooden chairs, unpacking their backpacks onto their desk and slouching in their seats. Dan muttered something under his breath, tapping a pencil on the paper as their teacher began.

"Welcome back, everyone." he smiled, "I hope you had a good holiday." the man began writing onto the whiteboard, "Now, remember to write 2004, not last year's date, at the top of your page, I've already got it wrong..." he mumbled, erasing the numbers, "and we'll get started."