bruised knuckles - a phanfic

chapter one

Dan leaned against his car, watching the students filtering slowly out of the school. He was glad summer break was staring in a few weeks. He was graduating school and his parents were going on vacation for the entire summer, leaving him behind. All alone. The thought excited him.

He had convinced them that he could take care of himself, especially considering that his 18th birthday was coming up the day after school let out. Then he was officially an adult and could do as he pleased. Not that he didn't already do that but he could do it without getting grief from his parents.

Now he could get tattoos from someone without bribing them or already knowing them beforehand. His dark brown eyes caught sight of a particular black haired boy. Dan's lips twisted up in a small smirk.

He'd known Phil for a reasonably long time, not that they talked often. They were a bit closer when they were younger, before he became such a bad influence, according to multiple parents of old friends that were no longer allowed to associate with him.

Dan did have a few regrets with the fact that he had pushed Phil away but he figured it was for his own good. He had his doubts now but if Phil had valued his friendship, maybe he would have tried harder to keep it going.

He rolled his eyes to himself before getting into his car. He hesitating for a few moments before starting it. Two days out of school and then he had to return. Just three more weeks though. Three more and this hell would be over. Of course, not if he went to college. Though he hadn't applied to any schools yet, he planned on taking a year off and just figuring out what he wanted to do. His parents didn't find that so appealing but he would be 18 so they couldn't tell him what to do. Thought there was a chance that they might anyways.

Dan huffed before speeding out of the parking lot, pulling onto the road. Not wanting to be home because he would get pestered to do homework, he decided to head off to the music shop. Little did he know, that's where Phil had started just a few days ago and he was rushing to get there before his shift started.

As he stepped inside the small, dim lit shop, Dan was greeted with The Judge. He hummed along quietly as he walked down the aisles. He scanned the music quietly, looking for anything that he might take interest in.

He grabbed a few CDs from his favorite bands that he didn't own and a couple other artists before deciding to head up to the checkout.

He quirked an eyebrow when he saw that it was Phil. Phil offered him a smile, nervous to be seeing Dan outside of school. He scanned the music, reading over every title. He was pleasantly surprised as some of the music that Dan was into.

"I would have never thought you were a fan of Tally Hall." Phil glances up at Dan to see his expression.

"Just because I have a certain reputation, doesn't mean I can't like certain music." Dan huffs, though his tone was more playful that it was snarky. Phil chuckles lightly, though he couldn't deny that he was still hurt over the fact that Dan had pushed him away a year ago. Something told him not to be nice to Dan, to push back and snap at him. To yell at him for what he did but something kept him from doing it.

There was a pull in his chest as he looked at Dan, who had now become sidetracked by the first few chords of a song that has started playing throughout the store. He still knows Welcome to the Black Parade just by hearing the first few chords of the piano. Phil thought as he studied Dan profile as he concentrated on the song.

Dan felt eyes on him and turned to look at Phil once again. Almost immediately, Phil looked away and down at the CDs.

"That with be 32.65$." Phil told him, keeping his gaze low. He could feel the back of his neck growing hot and he worried the inside of his cheek. Dan handed him the money as he took the plastic bag of CDs from him, watching him carefully. He noticed how nervous he was and he wondered why, though the back of his mind told him it was because of what happened a year ago.

He felt a pain in his chest as he turned away, sucking in his bottom lip and biting down. He left the store and ran a hand through his hair, glancing back and seeing Phil through the store window. He was leaning against the counter, propping himself up with one elbow.

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A/N: Wow, look at this another phanfic. I got the idea the other night and wrote this after tons of editing and rewriting. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as Teen Idol. I'm thinking that Chapters with be around 600-900 words so I can try to write a chapter a day like Teen Idol.

Word Count; 804 words