Hurts Like Heaven

Chapter Two

Phil was walking to school the next day, noticing the dramatic scene of the park owner’s cleaning staff scrubbing off the bright letters.  The pinkish purple foam fell off of the bridge and into the small lake causing rude stares from people passing by.  He decided to take the longer way to school just in case if they were in the mood to point fingers.  He laughed a bit to himself; he was not the kind at all to vandalize.

He hated walking the longer way, there was an abandoned factory hidden by the trees between his house and school.  It was creepy to see the vacated building covered in overgrowth and rotting away as the world ignored its existence. He noted the breaking sound echoing around the area, adding it to the list of reasons he snuck through the park and continued on quickly. 

Something caught his eye though.

A bright yellow sign confirming the building was dangerous was stripped naked of the normal black letters and replaced with just-as-vibrant yellow spray paint.  A kid from his class was reaching up with a black marker, his familiar hoodie pulled over his head.  It was Dan Howell, the more reserved boy who lived uptown in the posh community.  He stood there and watched with slight confusion and interest trying to sort out any reason why Dan, of all people, would be marking up something. 

He looked over at Phil shortly after he wrote the last word in bold letters.  Phil watched as the color of Dan’s lightly tanned face drained.  “You… you didn’t see that,” he tried to say aggressively—it was no use though, Phil could see fear written on his face.  He walked over toward Dan leaving the sidewalk so he could see what was written on the sign.  “I struggle with the feeling that my life isn’t mine.”  He stared at it for a minute, the similarities between the handwriting there and on the bridge slowly becoming more and more apparent.  Again, he couldn’t help but relate to the words. 

Phil tried to reason why an upper class kid wrote that—and of all ways, why graffiti?  “Do you really feel this way?” he asked.  Dan had a reputation for being popular, though somewhat quiet, and just overall happy.  Rumor had it that he only came to school here because he didn’t want to live in the city, though he had options if he wanted to leave.  Everyone said that he could get anything he wanted and he could do anything he wanted.  He seemed like the kind of kid everyone else would envy--a polite family with a good name and a nice house living presumably high class in a small town.  Why would he be writing this?

Dan sighed.  “Of course I feel this way, do you really think I’d tell people?”  The tone was angry and scared, Phil figured because he had been caught in the act by someone.  Dan huffed, “Tell anyone and I swear I’ll…”  The threat never came and a pause followed.  Phil smiled a bit to himself, though the nervousness from pissing off the popular kid hadn’t quite worn off.  Dan didn’t have anything to say, Phil worked out, and he walked away without looking back.