Wilted (A Phanfiction)

Chapter 1: Just Before

Snoring filled the flat. It was quite a chilly night for the month of September which made Dan and Phil both freeze during the night, even though they were both wrapped as if they were in a cocoon in their duvets. In each bedroom, the windows were shut, the doors locked, and some form of light was on. In Dan's room, an electronic candle was on top his dresser. In Phil's room, a blinking light was coming from his smartphone screen. He was so fast asleep that he didn't notice.

Dan's head that night was occupied with a dream that had repeated for the past several nights. It involved some of his best friends he met through YouTube, Chris Kendall and PJ Ligouri, his flatmate, Phil, and a horrifying sight. He was holding a gun and his friends were in front of him, stumbling, blindfolded. A voice in his ears was telling him to shoot them and he would be saved. Night after night, he was unable to do so and woke up in sweat when he heard a gunshot from within his dream.

Phil's brain was peaceful, unlike Dan's, and he dreamed of going to a farm like he used to on school field trips when he was younger. He dreamed of petting the bunnies and riding the horses, running from stray farm cats and running towards birds. However, he was an adult, surrounded by children he remembered from primary school, except for one. One was oddly familiar, with dark brown eyes and chestnut colored, horribly straightened hair and wore a lot of black. He recognized this 12-year-old as his flatmate Dan as a young teenager. He hung out with twelve year old Dan throughout the dream, and although Dan was a child and Phil an adult, Phil was the childish one, what with stomping in puddles when it rained, and begging Dan to go to the stables like one would beg their mum.

Dan awoke with a start in his bedroom due to his dream. He was panting, sweat covering his body and drool all over his pillow. His eyelids were tired and heavy, but he didn't dare try to go back to sleep. He was too afraid of his dream, so afraid that no man would like to admit. Instead, he reached over to his side table and yanked his phone from the charger. Dan pressed the home button and was almost immediately blinded by the bright screen. After his eyes got used to the brightness, he was able to check his notifications. There was only one, which was unusual, since he would usually get a text from someone halfway across the world in the middle of the night asking to chat, or a few social media mentions. This notification had a gray icon, which meant that it was either about his settings or an important alert about something going on in his area. It was an alert. Dan, who was still blurry-eyed due to the bright light coming from his smartphone, could barely make out the words. It read;

Virus spreading from the Royal London Hospital. Stay inside until the Royal Guard reaches you. Do not leave your residence. Keep all windows and doors shut.

Dan was in disbelief and thought that he was still, somehow, in his dream. He slid the notification left, pressed the X button to dismiss it, and fell back asleep with his phone on the table.

-

That morning, Phil woke up first. This was unusual, however, since Dan was always up before Phil. Dan would always suffer from an existential crisis at 4 am and would pace around his room until about 9, when Phil would wake up and help him through it. Phil was quite relieved at this, if he was being honest with himself. He always liked to make people feel better about themselves, but didn't necessarily like doing that deed as soon as he woke up.

Phil rubbed his right eye and simultaneously grabbed his glasses to shove them onto his face. As he got up from his bed, he realized that he was incredibly hungry and thirsty, so he ventured to the kitchen. He was so tired that he ran into the clear door which was the only entrance to the kitchen. After a bruise started to form on his forehead, he opened the clear door and stared around at the kitchen. What could he eat? They hadn't gone to the supermarket in a while. All there was for breakfast was Dan's cereal, but he didn't want to eat it without Dan's permission. Dan would always catch Phil devouring his cereal without his permission, which greatly angered Dan and made him cranky for the rest of the day.

Phil eventually decided on making eggs and toast. He dug out the pan from the bottom cabinet and set it on the stove. On the countertop, he began to crack eggs into a bowl and mixed them. Afterwards, he cut a slice of butter to butter up the pan, heated the pan, and moved the butter around. Phil dumped the newly mixed eggs into the pan and waited for them to cook. He then got some bread from the bread basket to put in the toaster. That was when a sleepy Howell walked in.

"I didn't eat your cereal this time!" Phil exclaimed as he dropped the bread into the toaster.

"Thanks, Phil," Dan laughed, "but I do hope that you're making some breakfast for me as well." Phil nodded, smiling.

"How did you sleep last night?" asked Phil as he scrambled the nearly cooked eggs.

"Great," Dan lied, "except that my phone woke me up with some stupid notification."

"Oh... was it important?" Phil asked. Phil had gotten the same notification on his phone as well, but he didn't know it yet.

"I dunno. I think it said about some virus spreading from the hospital. It must be pretty big to send me a notification about it."

"Did it say anything else about it?"

"Yeah, it was weird. It said stay indoors and, like, keep the doors and windows shut until the Royal Guard comes or something."

"The Royal Guard?!" Phil exclaimed as he filled the plates with eggs and buttered toast for him and Dan.

"Yeah. It must be Ebola or something," said Dan, taking his plate to the dining room table.

"It's not Ebola, Dan. If it was Ebola then it would be all over the TV!" Phil reassured him.

"Yes, but if this is so important that the Royal Guard has to come, then why hasn't it been on the TV?" Dan asked before shoving the toast into his mouth. Phil shrugged. There was a part of him that doubted Dan, since there hadn't been anything that would cause the Royal Guard to come. And what did Dan mean by "come?" Was it come as in come to their door? Their apartment building? Into the street? Phil's thoughts had wondered so far into the depths of his brain that he didn't notice Dan was trying to talk to him.

"Earth to Phil!" said Dan, waving a hand in front of Phil's dazed eyes. Phil immediately snapped out of his trance.

"Yeah, sorry, what?"

"We have almost no food, Phil. How do they expect us to not go outside for food?"

"We have food, Dan. Calm down," lied Phil. They really did not have much, but it was enough to last for another week at the most. And if all else fails, they have a neighbor across the hall. Phil was sure they would be fine.

"Okay," mumbled Dan through his food.

"Should we continue to make our videos, then?" asked Phil after he finished his food.

"Well, yeah," Dan said, "We can't just stop. When we do run out of food in the house-"

"If. The Royal Guard might make it here before we run out." Dan ignored Phil's comment.

"-we'll need money to buy food otherwise we'll starve."

"You're making it sound like we're in an apocalypse, Daniel."

"We could be. Has this ever happened before? No, I don't think so," Dan stated.

"You're watching too much TV. I even watch The Walking Dead and I don't think this is an apocalypse," said Phil.

"Whatever."