pretend (phan)

fifteen

Their lives were going good, for now at least. At the moment, Dan decided to go out on his own and was drinking at a strip club. Phil said he wanted to stay home, so Dan was going to do whatever he wanted with no rules for once. No mother to tell him to be polite, no father to judge him, not butlers or maids to watch over him like a hawk.

He kept his sunglasses on, not wanting magazines to accuse him of getting drunk alone. Besides, he wasn't even drunk. Yet. 

"Only assholes wear sunglasses inside," a man said to Dan. Dan raised an eyebrow. 

"Takes one to know one," Dan slurred out, his eyes widening after realizing what he said. The man furrowed his eyebrows, turning away and talking to someone else. Dan ordered another drink, elbows resting on the table with his face in his hands. 

The bartender slid him another drink, this being his third cocktail. He chugged it quickly, deciding this was boring and getting up. He ran into one of the strippers, the short brunette looking up at him with big eyes. 

"Sorry," Dan murmured. She tilted her head. 

"You're a new face. Well, from what I can see," she responded, joking about his glasses. "I'm Kara." 

She extended her hand and he took it, not wanting to reveal his real identity so he went with his middle name. 

"James," he responded. They shook hands and she looked down, giggling. "What is funny?" 

"You know this is a straight strip club? I see the gay pin on your jeans," she smiled softly. He looked down at the rainbow item attached to his pocket, pausing. 

"Sorry- my husband must've put that there. He likes to decorate random things," he replied. She laughed. 

"It's cute. My girlfriend's the same way," she spoke. Dan nodded before freezing after replaying what she said. She chuckled at his expression, gazing up at him. "I'll keep your secret if you keep mine." 

He found himself grinning. "But if you're not straight either, why work here? Isn't there any gay clubs around?"

"They're not close to where her and I live. I'm doing this all for her- dancing on old, perverted men and being assaulted when touching isn't allowed. I'm trying to save up money for a ring. I want the job to stop, but this is the only job I can afford to get. So once I get enough money, I'll quit, find a new job then propose to her." 

"That sounds like a plan." 

She giggled. "People go crazy for money. It's how we function." 

"I have money if you need some-" 

"I want this ring to be spent with everything I've earned. That's extremely sweet of you, and you're a sweetheart- but it's not so bad if I get to go home after nights like these. I get to go home, fall asleep in her arms and wake up the same way. Nothing is impossible if you have the right person to motivate you. Besides- this job teaches me new tricks to use in private, if you know what I mean." 

Dan cackled, nodding. "Well I hope all goes well for you." 

"You too. Tell your husband I appreciate his decorating and when my girlfriend and I move into a proper house, I want him to help me with the house. Here's my card- wait, your husband won't be concerned if you show up with a stripper's name in your pocket, right?" 

"It will be okay, trust me. I've never been gayer." 

She flashed him a lopsided smile. "Okay James. Now go get yourself home and remind your man how much you love him." 

She reached up and pat his shoulder, sauntering off. Dan pulled out his phone once he was outside of the club, taking off his sunglasses and viewing the rainy midnight streets. He called Phil, wanting him to pick him up since he wasn't sober. 

No answer. 

Dan huffed, contemplating dialing one of his drivers but deciding that their house wasn't too far and a walk could be nice for him. Besides, no one was really out this late in the streets, so he wouldn't have to worry about being noticed. He already missed Kara, wanting to learn more about her, but he really should be getting back home just in case Phil was lonely or bored or both. 

The brunette shoved his hands in his pocket, hair starting to curl from the humidity as he walked down the dimly lit pavement. Dan thought it was odd for Phil to not be answering, the guy always being on his phone. 

Maybe he's just watching a movie, Dan told himself. But he was starting to worry, speeding up his pace. He turned a corner, suddenly feeling uncomfortable when he heard footsteps trailing behind him.

Was someone following him? 

Dan could barely walk in a straight line, vision blurry from the alcohol still present in his body. He turned around, seeing a stranger in a hoodie following him from afar. When he turned around, however, another stranger in a hoodie was right in front of him. Dan tensed up. 

"Going somewhere, Dan Howell?" One of them snickered evilly, voice gravelly as he stepped towards him. Dan tried to back up, only running into the other one. They instantly shoved him to the ground, kicking him and beating him until they knew he wouldn't get up or try to fight back.

They dug around in his pockets, taking out his wallet and loose change and lastly, his phone. His only hope for gaining safety. Dan could feel himself bleeding, numb but the small tingling of trickling blood on his skin was tangible enough. His body was throbbing from the pain they inflicted on him, the two deciding enough was enough and surprisingly running off.

Dan thought they would've killed him, but with how much pain and hopelessness he was experiencing right now, he wished they did. He lay still on the ground, on his stomach as his scratched face rest on the cold, damp ground. 

Nobody was out, no one there to save him or help him up. The two were gone, nowhere to be seen. They took everything he had. Dan used the lightpost close to him to hoist himself up, whimpering and hissing as the limbs he moved stung. 

He could barely walk, but he couldn't stay here when they could come back and do worse. There weren't any payphones around, besides: he didn't have any change. So he walked, he trailed his aching body all the way to his house. He felt blood dripping off of him from where they beat him, maybe even cut him although Dan had lost feeling of his body after the first few blows. 

When he got to his porch, he fumbled to put the key in the door, pushing it open. Phil wasn't home. He wasn't anywhere to be seen. He went to walk in, but suddenly his figure felt heavy and he was falling to the ground.

Everything was black, like the hoodies on the men that caused this.