Hurts Like Heaven

Chapter Sixteen

Police were furious at the markings across the park and Phil almost died laughing as the posh residents called it “obscene” and “horrifying.”  People all over town had come to see their masterpiece and he was simply one in the crowd as he stepped over the messages he and Dan had written.  Some asked what they meant, some took photos, some left the park smiling more than he’d ever seen them smile before.  Phil stood over the final message ‘make your mark’ and felt the inspiration and courage Dan must’ve had all this time for a split second. 

Ordinary townspeople raved over the creations for a week, finally seeing the good in it.  He huffed.  They should have paid attention sooner so Dan could see this.  The rain washed away his chalk messages and faded away some of the spray paint, though someone petitioned the idea that they keep the paint on the stones.  Much to his shock, the petition went through and the stones stayed florescent and neon through the rest of the year before an angry resident scrubbed it off themselves. 

Phil walked past the remaining messages and confessions on his way to school, which always made him smile.  A part of Dan was always around; the thoughts his heart needed to let out were painted on various walls that people managed to overlook in a recent attempt to clean up the town.  He still sat in the back of the classroom where everyone avoided him, always noticing Dan’s empty seat in the second row.  His ‘friends’ didn’t seem to care that he’d left and could care less that Phil existed again with Dan’s absence.  It was good, it was normal.

He made his way around the building and through the park then back to his house as he did before anything had happened.  He missed having a friend around to walk with, but he got accustomed to it and made up for it by talking with Dan on Skype most days.   He was sure to mention any other chalk drawings or messages around town as he found them, which were becoming more and more common.  Dan always smiled when he heard about it, which made Phil happier.  It especially made him happy to see Dan’s look when he reported was a news article about the town’s messages immortalized on newsprint.  He was sure to send a copy.

One night he found himself reading over the tons of messages quoted in the paper.  Not a single thing was negative; he had no clue why people had been so harsh.  As he read through them, he couldn’t help but understand why Dan wrote them and imagine Dan saying it himself.  He closed the newspaper long after he felt he should have gone to sleep and turned out the light dreaming about painting the town once again.

 ‘Cause you use your heart as a weapon,

                and it hurts like heaven.

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A.N~  Thanks for reading ^u^  Hope you liked the story!!  (Once again, it's based on Hurts Like Heaven by Coldplay :))  Vote if you want, comments are always lovely, and if not, have a lovely day :)<3