Those Who Trust (Phan)

Part 3

Dan watched the other man warily. He was honestly confused. Only last week the man had been screaming at him and now he was introducing himself and talking to Dan as if they were old friends. Something was fishy. Where did this man's sudden change of behaviour come from? Why would he possibly want to help Dan write a paper?

"It's about the dramatic irony in Macbeth," Dan said quietly before the silence between them went on for too long. He shuffled around in his chair, ducking his head under the scrutinizing eyes that were fixated on him.

"I don't think many people agree with me when I say this, but I think the best use of dramatic irony in this work is in act one, scene six. When Duncan arrives at the castle and admires its beauty while the audience already knows it's the very place he's going to get killed at."

Dan takes the used copy of Macbeth he had taken from the bookshelves earlier and goes to the scene Phil told him about, his eyes roaming over the lines.

This castle hath a pleasant seat; the air
Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself
Unto our gentle senses.

"I never noticed this before," he muttered to himself. Dan looked up at Phil, still avoiding the older man's eyes. Instead his gaze lingered on the man's pointed chin. "How do you know that play in so much detail?"

"I completed a degree in English Language and Linguistics at the University of York. We studied Macbeth for an entire semester. I'm guessing your studies are similar to mine?"

Dan nodded. "I'm doing my Bachelor of Arts in English at University College London." He heard Phil whistle approvingly and ducked his head again, feeling his face heat up. "Anyway, I really need to go now. It's late already."

"It's 7 p.m. Dan, that's hardly bedtime for a student."

Dan froze in the movement of packing his bag. He swallowed harshly. "How do you know my name?" The words tumbled out of his mouth quietly. He felt Phil lean closer to him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that. What did you say?"

Dan shot up in his chair, back straight and jaw tense. "I said how do you know my name?"

Phil opened his mouth and closed it again. He stared at Dan for a few seconds, before answering. "You told me, remember?"

But the younger man shook his head. "No, I didn't."

He knew that he had not told this stranger his name, he wasn't that stupid. He didn't give out his name unless necessary, and giving this man- this dominant- his name had never been a necessity. His fingers trembled as he closed the zip of his bag and he got up from the table, not caring to return the books he had taken back to the shelves. His priority was to get out of here and get back to his dorm room as fast as possible, because there was a stranger knowing his name, a stranger who just happened to be at the library two times when Dan was at the library as well. Dan didn't believe in coincidence.

Without a word but with fast steps he left the place behind, welcomed by the remaining lights of the sun. The days were slowly getting longer now and Dan appreciated not having to go home in the dark. He disliked the dark.

He walked down the pavement with quick steps. He could either take the tube or walk, his dorm wasn't too far away from the library. It's why he had chosen this one in particular as his studying place. Now he had to go and look for a new one. He would surely never come back to this place, not with someone, who knew his name for no reason, waiting there for him.

"Dan, wait." There was a hand on his elbow and he shied away from the touch and slowly turned around. It was no surprise to him to see Phil standing there. He had to remind himself that he was in public. People were around him, he had no need to worry. They were out in public. Phil wouldn't be able to hurt him here.