Take me to church (Book 1)

40- Bowl-Haired Dude

( The amazingly cute fanart was done by SamaraAimee !! Thank you sm and fanart is always appreciated <3 )

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Car rides with Dan always seem to go fast or slow at times. It's never a fully decided thing, the speed and time of the journey is completely unpredictable.
Phil often has trouble deciding whether he prefers the car rides to go quickly or not. As of now, Dan is being quiet and seems slightly stressed which is never a good mood to have when you're Dan Howell.

The drive is still confined within the city but to the rougher parts. It's even more dragged down than the area in which Dan lives.

The streets aren't like a generic GTA game, but they're still disfigured with pot-hole filled roads, rubbish blanketed pavements and a whole lot of shopping trolleys... Honestly Phil wonders how there can be so many shopping trolleys. There's probably more here than the local supermarket.

Dan seems to know where he's going though, driving through turnings and occasionally nodding his head to someone who he most likely knows.

From Phil's personal prospective he feels as if everyone's being a bit over-dramatic about the whole Charlie situation. He wasn't exactly difficult to beat to the ground last night and realistically, Charlie should just leave them alone, and in a perfect world they would have money to have showers and breakfasts... However there's isn't a limited supply of money in every persons pocket. Sooner or later you're going to have to work for what you want. Phil knows Charlie is working for what he wants which is to watch Dan crumble. Damn, the boy isn't even hurting Phil and yet Dan's a mess.

The church boy leans back in the seat of the car and chews on his bottom lip, his mind at deep thought. His actions don't go unnoticed by Dan however and instantly the brown haired boy is engaged with what Phil could be thinking.

"What is it?"

Phil shrugs in response, acting as if it's no big deal, because really, it isn't. This whole thing isn't something to fuss over. "Didn't Chris and Emma say they're were going to sort our problem out?" Phil questions and Dan nods without hesitation. "So why are we doing... This?"

"Because I'd rather do my own protecting."

"So... You don't trust them?"

"Not with protecting your life, no."

"If I'm honest, I'm not feeling very protected at the moment."

The car jolts to a stop, Dan reaching his arm out as always to prevent Phil from smacking against the headboard. It's a simple gesture but one that shows a lot of compassion.
Phil doesn't even have time to protest about the abrupt stop as Dan unclips the church boys seat belt before unclipping his own and getting out of the car.

Phil's eyes watch as Dan walks around the front of the car, arriving by the passengers door to which he then opens, waiting for Phil to get out.

As much as he wants to protest and stay inside the car, Phil knows that Dan's on edge right now and he'd rather not push him over that edge; for his own sake.
The black haired boy gets out the vehicle and jumps slightly when Dan slams the door, his hand immediately slipping around Phil's waist as they begin to walk.

So many mixed signals.

Walking down the street, there's people begging for money and promiscuously dressed women. If Phil felt out of place at a house party then he sure as hell feels like an alien species here. Although he doesn't disprove of the people here, he knows they have to act like this and do what they do to make a living. He only hopes that Dan and him don't have to go to these extreme lengths once they run out of money.