Fleeing The Past || PURPLEPHONE

Alex.

((Ahh! Just realised I call Chris's brother Thomas originally, though that was just a placeholder name, I changed it to Alexander. Alexander Xylander. Heh. It rhymes. ))

Scott paused in the hallway to wait for Dan, "Hey, what's all this stuff?" He gestured to the pile of miscellaneous odds and ends in the hallway.

"It's what Alex left to Chris," Dan said. "Pretty much everything, by the looks of it. The police dropped it off while you two were... Sleeping." He put a certain sarcastic emphasis to sleeping that made Scott give him an unimpressed look.

"Not even a good joke," he shook his head.

Dan shrugged and continued down the hallway to Chris's room. Scott followed, passing him and knocking on the door, "Hey, Chris. How are you? I brought you something..."

"Go away, Scott..." Chris mumbled, his voice muffled - he must have been under a pillow or blankets - and depressed.

"C'mon, Chris. It's gonna get cold..." Scott said.

Chris didn't reply, but a loud sigh was heard.

Scott frowned for a second, then shoved the plate into Dan's hands. "Fine, you do it, then."

"What makes you think he's going to let me in?" Daniel asked.

Scott simply smiled, "Because you two are soul mates."

Dan rolled his eyes, "You're like a creepy old man, interested in my love life. I'm 19. You're technically a pedo."

Scott gaped for a moment, taken aback, then crossed his arms, "You seem to be alright making jokes about me and Vincent... Fine. Prove me wrong."

Dan sighed and knocked on the door. "Hey, Chrisso. It's me, Danny. Can I come in?"

There was silence for a while, and Dan gave an 'I told you so' look to Scott.

"Okay..." Chris's voice came from inside the room. "As long as it's just you."

Scott grinned, "Soul mates. I'll give you two some time." He walked downstairs.

Dan stayed frozen for a moment, surprised that Chris really had allowed him to enter, and then opened the door and walked in.

Chris was sitting up with his knees drawn to his chest, a pillow balancing on his knees - by the look of it, he'd had his face buried into it a moment before. He looked awful. There was no colour left in his skin, great bags under his eyes, and if he was already underfed before, he was almost anorexic now. His thinness gave him an even more unnaturally tall look than ever, so he looked rather more like a limp scarecrow than a human being. Dan felt concern well up inside of him. "Oh, Chris..." He placed down the plate of toast in front of him, and Chris stared at it but made no move towards it.

"Come on, Chris..." Dan urged. "You haven't had anything to eat in almost a week. It's really getting to you."

Chris stared blankly back at Dan and shook his head slightly. "Don't feel like it."

"Chris, you need to stop this," Dan insisted. "I'm really worried about you."

Chris looked up at Dan and stared at him for a while, his cloudy blue eyes staring into Dan's crystal clear green ones. He managed half a sad smile and picked up a piece of toast, taking a small bite. "I'm fine."

"You're not fine," Dan said solemnly. "You haven't been since your Uncle died. You've been bottling it up, smiling on the outside but being torn into pieces on the inside. Nobody gets this thin in two days unless they've been stressed for a long time. It's finally showing through."

Chris shook his head and smiled again, wider but with no genuine happiness. "You're really sweet, Danny, and caring, and the best best friend I could hope for. But I'm fine."

"I wish you'd stop saying that," Dan sighed. "It's not about being fine, or having to appear strong. Everyone has bad times. But you can't shut everyone out because you're afraid they'll see you as weak. We only want to help you, Chrisso."

"You know, you're the only person apart from Alex who I let call me that," Chris said, deliberately changing the subject.

"And you're the only person apart from my Mum I let call me Danny," Dan replied.

Chris smiled, "You know, he left me a letter. I'm too scared to read it. Once I do, I'll know he's really gone."

"Maybe it'd be a good thing," Dan suggested. "Help you move on with life."

Chris sighed and pulled a letter out of his pocket. "...Maybe... Since you're here... Maybe it won't be so bad." He tore it open and started to read out loud. "Dear Chris,

What to say? It's hard to sum up everything in a letter. You might wonder why I didn't just come and talk to you. Well, I don't know if I'd ever have the guts to be able to say what I'm about to write in real life.

I've always admired you, Chris. I'm so proud of you. I can't believe you showed up our Dad like that back when we were kids. I wasn't allowed to have much contact with you after the whole kicking you out of the house thing, but I left as soon as possible and moved in with my boyfriend.

His boyfriend!?" Chris exclaimed. "He was... We both were... Wow."

"Well, you were twins..." Dan said, "And sexualities are genetic. Makes sense."

Chris continued, "Yeah, that's right. My boyfriend. We have to spend most of our lives acting like we're 'only friends', and that we're against you and all other members of the LGBT spectrum... It's hard and... It's cowardly. You were brave. You stood up to Dad, and now you've got your freedom, at least.

I'm sorry I couldn't be more like you, and I'm sorry I couldn't say this to your face.

I love you, Chrisso.
Your brother,
Alex." Chris put the letter down. "Wow."

"Feeling better?" Dan asked.

Chris nodded, "Yes and no. It kinda felt like he wasn't really gone for a second, but I also can't believe he died before I ever got to tell him he didn't have to live in hiding, and that I admired him, too."

"I'm sure he knew," Dan said. "It wasn't fair that he died."

Chris sighed again. "Thanks, Danny."

"It's alright, mate, it's the leas-"

"No, I mean it," Chris leaned forward and grabbed Dan's hand, staring into his eyes. "Thank you. For understanding, for sticking by me."

Dan lost the ability to speak for a second, his throat momentarily closed up, all his energy focussed on the hand Chris was holding and the sincerity in his words. He felt his heart try to force its way up his throat, and almost told him, almost spoke those three little words, but again, his conscience took over, told him it'd be selfish while Chris was stressed, to wait until a better time, "It's okay."

Chris continued to stare at Dan, and Dan was almost certain he was going to lean forward and kiss him, when he looked away and let go of his hand. "Can you take this plate down to Scott, for me?" He asked, holding out the plate of toast.

"Um... Yeah, sure," Dan tried not to let disappointment show through in his voice and he took the plate off of him and walked to the door. "Hey, what's the bet I walk downstairs and our two lovebirds are making out in the kitchen?"

Chris laughed. "How's a thousand dollars if they're not?"

Dan's eyes widened, "You're so on."