moods / phan

chapter fifteen

/ photo of my puppy because why not. /

phil

Phil looks up to face the man sitting opposite him at the table.

His dark hair is of medium length and slicked back off his forehead, showing his widows peak. His skin is pale like Phil's, however he has stubble growing along his jawline. He looks like Phil's father, but his blue eyes are these hard, emotionless things, polar opposite to Phil's wide, gentle gaze.

His father is different than how he expected. Phil expected a half drunken, dead-ass of a man to show up, not this well dressed, suit-wearing business-type man. However, Phil can tell that behind his smile, there's something smouldering and slightly unpleasant.

"So, Philip, how have you been?" He asks, his tone sharp and forever up, sounding more like a command than a simple question.

"I've been great," Phil says, looking down and stabbing the pasta in his bowl with the fork in his hand, "fantastic."

"How has school been?" He asks.

"Why did mum leave you?" Phil asks, looking back up to see a stern expression cross over his father's face.

"She didn't tell you?" He asks with an eyebrow raised, "she thought I was working too much, so she just packed her bags and left with you two, never to be seen again until we officially divorced."

"Is that it?" Phil asks, pretending to believe his father's lie.

"Yes," he says, looking at Phil the way a lion would look at a cornered deer, "that's why."

Phil stands up then, handing his father some money for his unfinished meal. He tries to ignore the looks of steel from the fuming man in front of him.

"What do you think you're doing?" He asks forcefully.

"I'm leaving," Phil replies, "if I knew I was going to sit there and be lied to, I wouldn't have come in the first place."

Phil quickly walks out of the cafe, breaking into a run down the street and back towards his home. He never wants to face that man again, thank the lord he grew up without him there. It's so unfair, Phil thinks, he tries so hard to make others happy so why did he get stuck with the stupid ass father?

When Phil reaches his house, he feels his blood run cold when he sees his father's car parked out the front and the man is leaning on the sleek, black vehicle. Phil tries to turn and walk away, but he's already seen him.

He grabs onto Phil's wrist - tightly.

"Never walk away from me," he says threateningly, his eyes boring into Phil's own.

Phil can feel his heart thumping wildly in his chest as fear fills his body and mind. He tries to pull his wrist out of the vice it's locked in.

"P-please let go," Phil whimpers, tugging even harder to get free of him.

"Listen Phil, you're my son and I'm going to get you back no matter what," he says, gripping him tightly and staring down at the scared boy, "tell your mother she is going to lose the custody battle."

He lets Phil go then, laughing as he watches the boy run to his house and lock the door behind him. Phil closes his eyes, clutching his bruising wrist and sinking to the ground with his back against the door.

One thought is ringing through his brain, screaming at him. Custody battle.

Phil squeezes his eyes shut even more than they were previously. He feels the burn of tears needing to escape but he won't open his eyes. Soon, he'll turn back to being happy-go-lucky Phil so that no one will see anything is wrong. But for now, he's broken, shaking in fear and dreading the monster that is his father.

That's the problem with being happy all the time, no one will ever dig deeper to see that maybe, the happiest people are the most broken.

***

Phil stays off school for the next few days, saying that he's ill.

He spends those days just lying motionlessly in his bed whilst he ponders and wonders how his life could have possibly changed so quickly. His mother is to busy to suspect anything, she believes Phil's lies and smiles.

Eventually though, Phil acknowledges the fact that he cannot hide from the world forever, so he stands at the school gates, looking around the yard full of kids blankly.

Suddenly, Phil gets attacked from behind, a pair of arms wrapping around him and squeezing him tightly. Phil jumps in surprise but relaxes when he catches sight of brown hair and a black line with only a few pieces out of place.

It seems ironic to Phil how Dan seems to be piecing himself back together as Phil is breaking apart.

"Hey Dan," Phil says, hugging Dan back as best he can but his arms are trapped.

"P-Phil! I was s-so worried, w-where were you?" Dan asks, stepping back and looking at Phil with those wide, brown eyes.

"I was just ill," Phil says with a dismissive shrug, "I'm okay now."

"W-well you r-really worried me!" Dan says, smiling shyly at him, "sorry a-about hug-attacking y-you as well. I w-was just e-excited to see you again."

Phil wants to freaking hug the cute, blushing squish of a boy in front of him. Hug-attack, Phil thinks with a grin, he's like an adorable puppy.

"Well in here and I'm fine," Phil says with a wide smile which makes his face ache, "I missed you as well Daniel."

"Hey d-did you want t-to hang o-out this w-weekend?" Dan asks, looking down at his shoes, "it's o-okay if y-you don't."

"I'd love to Dan," Phil says with a laugh, "have you seen Pj and Cat and Louise around? I haven't seen them in ages."

"Philly!" Pj yells on cue, appearing with Cat and swinging an arm around the boy, "I've missed you mate."

"My boys are all back together!" Cat says, hugging all three of them with a grin and Phil finds himself smiling despite everything.

This is why he loves his friends, they make him feel happy and better no matter what mood he was previously in.

He just dreads the time when he will have to leave them all, and walk back to his his life which is slowly fragmenting apart.

**********

an// shorter and pretty shit chapter sorry but I wanted to update cause I'm going to Canberra on a school camp this week!

also I have a teen fic book up called evanescent and I'm v excited to write it!!

so yeah hope this chapter was worth your time! see you next update ^_^

(p.s: new covers!!!!)

(p.p.s: pls watch my newest YouTube video so I feel special ^_^

woop bye)