Silver Shadows

It Will Never End

The stars were shining, twinkling in the sky above him. It was midnight, two hours after curfew, and Dan and Phil were on the roof.

"I just can't believe she's gone," Phil whispered, a couple of tears sliding down his cheeks, "I never even got to say goodbye."

"I know kid," Dan whispered sadly, his hand gently rubbing Phil's arm in an attempt to comfort him. He was trying to keep it together, but there was nothing he could do to stop the tears trickling down his cheek. It had been a rough day for everyone.

"She was always so happy though! Why didn't she say something!" Phil whispered, hiding his face in Dan's chest, not wanting the other boy to see his tears, "We could have helped!"

"I guess it all got too much for her," Dan told him quietly, "I think Matt just took it too far. Some of those comments were horrible."

"I hate him so much," Phil whispered, his voice venomous, "I can't believe he's not being expelled. They keep saying we need to help him and I hate it. He's killing people!"

"He didn't actually kill or assist with the suicide Phil," Dan told him, trying to keep his anger at bay, "She didn't say it was him in the note either. So nobody has any proof."

"He's a biphobic bastard," Phil spat, swallowing hard and wiping his eyes, "I can't believe Bella's gone. She was so sweet. She made me cookies once when I got sick."

"I know, she was nice to everyone," Dan sighed, "she deserved better. She's in a better place now."

The bell rang for the Seniors curfew and the two boys sighed, knowing they really needed to head back to bed. They didn't want to be separated yet though, not after today. Dan sighed and got to his feet, helping Phil up and steadying him when he wobbled a little.

"Come on kid, I'll walk you back to your dorm," Dan said quietly, wrapping an arm around Phil's waist as they slipped through the window and into the common room, treading silently so they didn't wake anyone. They climbed the staircase to the dorms and turned the corner, holding their breaths as they crept past the senior prefect dorms. They were the head boys, girls and people and they could be very strict at times. Dan had been given detention for a week just for running down the corridor.

Phil sighed softly and stopped outside the Nalterna dorms, turning to face Dan. The brown haired boy leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead, gently moving a stray hair out of Phil's eyes with his thumb. He smiled softly, wishing he had the words to make this all okay. Dan knew such words didn't exist, so he settled for gently stroking Phil's cheek with the pad of his thumb.

Phil leaned into the touch ever so slightly, looking into Dan's chocolate brown eyes and sighing lightly. He mouthed the words 'goodnight' and smiled gently back at him. Dan nodded and pulled his hand away, taking a step backwards as quietly as he could and waving gently before walking around the corner to the Panima dorm. When he walked in, he saw Evie, El and Lily sitting on his bed, tears dripping down their cheeks. The three boys he shared a dorm with looked equally upset, sitting on the bed opposite Dans and trying to hold it together for the girls. They only had candles to light the room, and so the room smelled like strawberries and the students were lit by the soft glow.

Dan sighed softly and closed the door behind him, going to sit on his bed. They all looked over at him and shrugged sadly, wrapping his arm around Evie and pressing a kiss to her hair. He knew they had all been friends with Bella, good friends even. This was hard on everyone, but it was hardest on them. He wondered how her family was holding up.

"We couldn't sleep," Lily whispered, wrapping her soft blue blanket around her shoulders, wiping her cheek with the back of her hand.

"It's okay," Dan told her, his voice barely louder than a whisper, "None of us can. The Nalterna dorm is a wreck."