Hurts Like Heaven

Chapter Twelve

An interrogation room.  He was sat next to Dan opposite to a tough looking police man.  The conversation was a simply constant battle between the two both trying to take the fall.  “Phil is shy, why would he even bother with spray painting things?  He’s never done anything wrong from what I can tell, I don’t think he’d start something stupid like that.”

“Dan’s from a good family, why would he feel the need to mark up the town?”

“Phil was probably asleep when that was recorded; he’s not some weird night owl.”

“I bet Dan doesn’t even know how to hold a can of spray paint.  Why would he?”

“Why would you know how to?”

“Why wouldn’t I?!”

The police officer was clearly getting sick of the back and forth between them.  “Why are the both of you really here?”   A brief silence ensued and the officer gave them harsh glances.

“What do you mean?  I’m confessing to vandalizing the town!” Dan interjected.

“You didn’t do anything!  I did it!” 

“Both of you shut up!”  Both he and Dan stopped talking. The police officer was obviously annoyed, giving them angry looks and leaving the room shaking his head.  Dan looked over to Phil with an impossible expression, he couldn’t decide what to make of it.  He shot a glance back trying to make himself look angry, but failing almost as miserably as Dan did when he tried to act aggressive.  They didn’t dare speak though, they knew they were being watched.  The officer returned a couple minutes later with an irritated look on his face.  “Get out, you’re wasting our time.”  He looked at the man in complete confusion.  That was not the ending he anticipated.

The police shooed them out of the station and they walked onto the street with words written up and down the road in faded paint.  It would probably take a while for it to all wash away, he figured.  Nonetheless, he admired the work and looked at all the pictures that seemed to have caused uproar among the townspeople a couple weeks ago.  Dan smiled, then laughed nervously.  “Why did you take up for me, Phil?  You really shouldn’t have,” his friend questioned. 

“Why not?  I did part of it, after all.  You didn’t want to get caught, and I didn’t want you to get in trouble.”  They walked over the light colored word freedom that Phil remembered painting on the ground their first night.  Irony at its finest.

“That doesn’t mean you needed to take up for me.”

Phil didn’t know exactly what to say so he kept silent as they walked back toward his house.  The entire walk was quiet, which was a first.  Everything happened as it would have if Dan weren’t with him which made him a little sad.  He enjoyed that sense of company he seemed to constantly have at that point.  They got to the park when Dan slowed down until Phil stopped.  “I need to get home, I’ll talk to you later?”

“Of course,” Phil replied.  Dan smiled slightly and walked away.  He supposed all of the stress of the day was probably too much for him too and carried on home where he plopped down on the couch and tried to take in everything that had just happened.