cliché (phan)

fifteen

DISCLAIMER: this is connected with the prologue

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Monday at rehearsals, Nick and Phil wouldn't stop shooting daggers at each other. We zoomed through them, and that night, I found myself running.

I was running, overthinking, crying, grunting. I was on the soccer field, the few yards of grass that seemed to claim my life.

I had heard Phil call my name, and I guess my body has shut down, and I hit the ground.

So when I woke up in the my room surrounded by my friends and family, I was beyond confused.

My eyes ran over the few people staring at me like I was a newborn puppy: Victoria, Phil, Tyler, and Nick. My parents were stood in the doorway.

"Thank god," was the first words I heard. My mother let out a sigh of relief, running over and feeling my forehead. "You're okay, right? What's your name? How old are you?"

I groaned. "I'm fine. I'm Dan Howell, and I'm sixteen. You can stop pestering me now."

Dad opened his mouth to protest but my mother shot him a look and he closed it. They followed one another out the door and shut it after them. Phil clambered onto the bed, grabbing my head in his hands and running his eyes over my face.

"What's my name?" He spoke worriedly. I shoved his hands off.

"Get offa me, shithead."

"Yep, he's definitely still the same Dan we know and hate," Tyler laughed. I gasped.

"Hey!" I whined.

"How are you feeling?" Nick murmured gently, stepping over to sit by my bed cautiously.

"Tired, annoyed, and hungry," I told him. Vic laughed.

"I feel like that every day," she giggled. We chuckled along. "Anyway, do you remember why you might've blacked out?"

"Dehydration or stress, I suppose," I shrugged. "All I remember is I was running, then I saw Phil and it was black."

"I carried you home," Phil confessed quietly. "In my arms, all the way- I was so scared. . ."

I noticed the way Phil's eyes left mine and sadness replaced his usual cocky voice. I reached out, ruffling his hair. "Hey, I'm fine, Lester. I mean, look at me, I can still bottom!"

Phil's eyes lit up at my cheery attitude. "You're something else, Howell."

I giggled, and Nick spoke up. "You're still alright to perform in the play tomorrow night, right?"

I nodded.

"You two better make the kiss hot," Vic told Phil and I. "Now, Nick, you comin' or not?"

"Sure thing," Nick nodded after the girl, and they left together.

"How hard did I fall?" I joked.

"Hard enough."

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"I think I'm actually going to shit myself."

"You'll be great, Howell," Phil reassured me, peeking through the red curtains to look at the growing audience. I gulped, feeling my body tremble in fear.

"No, Lester, I mean I really think I'm going to shit my pants if I don't find a toilet right now."

"Around the corner, sillypants," Nick piped in, filing onto backstage in his costume. I raised an eyebrow after noticing the way he stumbled with every step.