Pinkie Promise

Chapter 3: Care

Dan sighed, pushing his fringe off his face again. He scrunched his face up into a little ball of concentration, staring at the textbook whose words were too blurry to read. Dan rubbed his eyes, trying to blink away the sleep even though they were already closing. Why did the law exams have to be tomorrow? If he had remembered, he wouldn't have stayed up until three the night before. His exam was literally in 10 hours' time and he had spent no time preparing for this very important test.

It didn't help that the background music of Spyro was playing as Phil sat enjoying himself, drowning out Dan's thoughts. Phil was giggling at the TV, having a ball compared to Dan, who was in the depths of despair.

As content as Dan was closing his eyes and giving into sleep's temptation, he opened them to stare at these words he wasn't taking in or even cared too. Maybe he should just move to his room to escape distractions, but he decided against it, preferring not to get up.

Overall, things had turned out great for their friendship which had only blossomed from high school. And here they were five years on, sharing a flat while Dan was studying law at university. Phil, being the clever clogs he is, had already gotten his university degree and had found his dream job. Who would have thought making videos on the Internet would turn into a career?

Dan wished he could be as certain as Phil was with his choices. Although he did make videos for the Internet, he couldn't give up on attaining a more normal and secure job. It was simple in his mind that he needed something to fall back on. So here he was: his exam happening tomorrow morning and he hadn't revised at all yet.

Why hadn't his past self realised what this could mean? He had attained good grades in high school, but this was the real world, and this was an important test.

For what felt like the fifth time in a row, Dan tried to read the boring and mind numbing law book, but his mind was distracted halfway down the page by Phil's giggles.

Dan, slightly annoyed, tried to find where he had been reading, realising that he hadn't absorbed any of the information. He attempted to read the same page again.

Phil was blissfully content and didn't notice Dan's growing frustration and more furrowed forehead, concentrated in his game.

Dan was just sat there reading the same piece of fucking bullshit over and over, but his mind was becoming more focused on hating Phil at that moment, his anger bubbling like a pot that's been on the stove too long. Every couple of seconds Dan would look up at Phil who was having a great time compared to him. Sometimes he wished so badly to be Phil and not have a fucked-up life.

He was just reading the same word over and over again: 'responsible'. That was what Phil was and what he wasn't. If it had been Phil, he wouldn't need to cram as he would already know it all. He would have revised and not wasted time on making stupid twatty videos all summer. Phil was a responsible adult and he was just a stupid child.

He sat there staring at the words, not taking them in before he heard Phil laugh again. In a fit of anger and frustration he suddenly stood up, the anger that had been slowly filling him bubbling over.

"Agh! I'm not doing it!" Dan shouted, throwing his revision down on the table.

"What?" Phil asked, confused, looking up from his game.

"I'm not gonna do it," Dan continued, teeth clenched and fists by his side as if someone would try and force the revision back into his hands.

"What?"

"No one can make me do it," Dan stormed as if talking to himself.

"Dan what are you on about?" Phil was getting more worried now.