bruised knuckles - a phanfic

chapter two

He let Tally Hall consume him as he sat at his desk, looking out the window. It was foggy with streaks of clear spots where raindrops had rolled down. As he looked through it, everything was blurred. That's how he felt at the moment. Blurred. Unsure. Delusional.

He bit at his lip ring, sighing as he looked down at the paper he had been doodling on. It was al scribbles of growling wolves and dogs as well as other angry animals. He couldn't quite decide why he was feeling this way. Something nagged him in he back of his mind that he did.

Maybe that was true. Maybe he did know. He wouldn't want admit that something was bothering him though. It was probably just something else. Like that assignment that he was procrastinating on. Yeah, that was it.

Dan flipped through his sketchbook, filled with mostly unfinished doodles. Everything was pretty different, from people he had seen on the street to characters from the animes he watched.

Don't go in there. You'll become one. Freaky creatures. Monster party. Eyes of yellow. Scales and feathers. Tails in tethers. Turn the lights off.

Dan glanced up as the next song started. It just happened to be his favorite by them. He signed again before grabbing his jacket and walking out of the room. He didn't bother telling anyone that he was going on a walk and just decided to leave.

As he stepped outside, fat, lazy drops of rain landed on his coat. He pulled up the hood, not wanting to get his hair wet because he knew what the result would be. A mass of brown curls or hobbit hair as he referred to it as.

He had always loved the scent of the rain. He stepped in shallow puddles, listening to the beat of the raindrops as they hit his coat. Dan could hear a dog barking in the distance as he walked down the street, wondering where to go. He didn't feel like going back home and yet he didn't want to stay out in the rain too long.

Not long after, he found himself in town at an indoor botanical garden. He stepped inside, feeling warm almost instantly. He found himself shrugging off his coat and holding it as he looked around at the posters and smaller plants in the front room. A lady offered to take his coat and he let her, glancing about nervously. It was so quiet.

Slowly he made his way into one of the rooms, looking at the tall trees and overhanging vines. There was ferns and bright colored flowers all over the place. He couldn't help but enjoy it. It was so serene. His anxiety slowly shrank back into the shadows that it had come from as he walked around.

He found himself wishing that he had brought along his sketchbook so he could draw the plants. It would be good practice and quite relaxing. He considered getting out his phone and taking some photos but it gave him a reason to return.

Dan walked along, travelling from room to room. Some were filled with cacti and succulents, others with exotic flowers and ferns and trees. In the end, he found himself in a room with a pond in the middle. It was filled with koi fish, turtles, and frogs. As he made his way over to the bench, he noticed someone familiar. A certain person with black hair. Phil.

He was holding a camera in his hands, bringing it up to his face here and there to take photos. It wasn't long before Phil sensed the presence of someone else in the room. He looked up at Dan, almost bewildered to see him.

"What? Did you follow me here?" He partially snapped. Dan looked at the raindrops that streaked down the glass of the room before turning back to Phil.

"No, I actually was taking a walk and sorta stumbled upon this place." Dan replied before looking at some of the little trees that were planted near the pond. He watched Phil from the corner of his eye, who was staring at him in somewhat disbelief. Dan looked back up at him with a hard gaze.

"What?" He huffed, eyes narrowed. Phil just scoffed at him before looking away. He didn't want to be friends with Dan again but, at the same time, he did. He had a yearning to know Dan once more. The real Dan. Had he ever known him?

After all, he was sure Dan had completely forgot he existed and didn't notice him at all and yet he did. The voice in the back of his mind told him to stop caring about dan and what he thought but he honestly really couldn't in a way and it was bothersome.

He had been such an asshole to him and yet here he was, standing in the same room as him. Talking to him. It was unbelievable.

A/N: Another chapter as promised!

Word count: 830 words