We are the ghouls of London // PHAN

•CHAPTER FOUR•

It was Caspar who spoke first as he saw Connor and Dan appear together, "What's Dan doing here?"

"Yeah I thought you said on Friday Dan was nothing we needed to worry about," Zoe frowned.

Ouch, Dan thought to himself.

Connor smiled, "I think I sat by Phil for too long in History... some of his concern for others has rubbed off onto me."

Phil looked at me, "What happened to your eye Dan? You didn't have that on in History."

"I- I wear it to hide the scars I got around my eye from when I was attacked..." Dan lied as he rubbed his arm. That was such a bad lie, but Dan had to roll with it now he had said it.

However, everyone except Connor took the lie and didn't even question it. Were they really that gullible?

Obviously they were.

"So what even happened with the attack?" Tyler asks.

"Yeah where did it take place?" Joe eagerly asks.

"I heard it took place in that alley behind Pizza Hut," Chris says.

The alley way behind Pizza Hut? That made Dan cringe that people actually thought Dan would go down that alley way in the first place.

"Guys give him a break," Connor scowls.

"Yes dad," Pj rolls his eyes.

Dan ended up sitting down in between Phil and Connor. He was at this massive table with loads of people but even so... he felt like an outcast. No one talked to him. It was like he was invisible, everyone talked around him. And if they did talk to him, they wanted to invade on his privacy of what the hell happened to him that night.

Dan just looked down. He wanted to leave the table, go to the back of the school where he use to go when he came here before the attack and crawl into a ball of loneliness and listen to his music through blasting headphones. He knew that would calm him down hopefully.

He goes to get up when Phil then grabs Dan's wrist and pulls him down gently, "Listen." His voice was hushed so no one else could hear them, "They haven't really got use to you being here, that's all. I'm fine with it, they're just use to it being the ten of us. You don't have to answer their questions. They just like being nosey." He pushes the hair out of his face, "I just want you to know that I'm here for you. I'll look out for you, ok?"

"O- ok..." Dan stumbled on his words out. This was the first act of kindness Dan had had towards him in a while. Not even Termika was as nice as this to him when they first met.

Then again, Phil did have a reputation if making people feel good on the inside after all. No wonder he was being nice...

Thoughts began to spiral in his head as realisation hit him. Phil didn't mean any of those words. Not one. Everyone knew Phil was nice to everyone but why would he be nice to him, the guy who should be dead right now? No, this was all an act. He wanted to make Dan believe he sympathised him when really he just needed to make sure people saw him as a good person.

Of course those words meant fuck all.

Sighing, Dan felt a prod in his arm. Dan looked to his left to see Connor holding out his phone to him, open on notes.

Meet me and Termika tonight. 8pm. West Park, by the bandstand.

Nodding to tell Connor he understood, Connor deleted the message and put his phone away incase anyone saw.

Dan had a urge of why they were meeting. Connor had said about them teaching him how to hunt. Maybe this is what they would be doing tonight?

Dan looked up and watched people talking. Pj, Chris, Joey and Joe talking about video games with Caspar half listening as his main attention was on eating a large, greasy slice of pizza to himself. Zoe and Louise were sharing beauty tips. Tyler had gone back to talking to Connor and then there was Phil who was-

"Dan?" Phil snapped his fingers in front of Dan's face causing him to jump, "You were daydreaming again."

"Oh," Dan blushed slightly.

"By the way, I meant every word I said," Phil says, as if he had heard every one of Dan's thoughts earlier.

"I know..." Dan said shyly.

Phil smiled calmly at Dan before pushing his phone in Dan's direction.

"What are you doing?" Dan asked shocked.

"Put your number in my contacts. And if you need me, call me." Phil says with a smile.

Dan does the same with his phone as they exchange numbers. This feeling felt foreign to Dan. He had never given anyone his number like this apart from his mom and his Uncle Stewart.

Dan hands his phone back to Phil when he see's nine other phones in front of him, fully unlocked and in the contacts app.

"Add your number to our phones," Pj smiles.

As Dan put his number in, he hoped these people wouldn't take his number as an advantage and contact him more to find out about the attack.

Dan had a strategy though for anyone who DID want to know. Play it off as though you have forgotten everything that happened that faithful night even though the wounds from the attack were still fresh.

Literally. If someone hit him too hard on the shoulder where the permanent mark was, it made him wince with pain.

With him thinking about the mark, memories began to flood back in his head. The abandoned car park. The girl and her pearly white fangs as she smiled ar him. How Dan has tried to run but soon ended up lying flat, head squashed by her foot against the rough concrete. The blood.

The blood was the most vivid memory of all.

Dan shook his head. He would think about this later, more than likely when he was back home, on his own, lying on his bed when he was suppose to be asleep when in reality a whole storm of thoughts and embarrassing moments filled his head.

Dan finished typing out the same 11-digit number into each phone and handed them back. He noticed and identifies everyones unique style with their choice of case they had on each of there phones.

"Aren't you going to eat anything Howell?"

Dan groaned to himself in his head mentally as the annoying ring of Alfie's voice sang around the table.

"Go away Deyes," Dan said with gritted teeth, "I've already told you I don't need you watching me."

"Dan you just got out of hospital and mom said-"

"I know your mom said that I should eat a proper diet, ok? I KNOW! SO SORRY IF I'M NOT HUNGRY! I JUST GOT OUT OF HOSPITAL WITH NURSES WATCHING MY EVERY MOVE FOR FIVE MONTHS LIKE HAWLKS. I NOW DON'T THEN NEED THEIR SON TO WATCH ME TOO TO REPORT BACK!" Dan barked angrily.

Even though Dan tried his best to make Alfie run away with fear, he just stood there, amused by the whole thing, "Good speech Howell-"

"Oh will you piss off Alfie?" Connor snaps, "You're clearly not wanted here."

Alfie shrugged before walking away. Dan sighed and buried his head into the palms of his hands to hide his shame. He's been back at school one day and so far, achieved in making a scene in the hall in front of one of the populars.

Fan-fucking-tastic.

Just what he needed to have happened to him.

•••

I just finished writing chapter 7 in my drafts and OH MY GOD IT IS EMOTIONAL!

I think i almost cried...

Just thought I'd warn you