We are the ghouls of London // PHAN

•CHAPTER FOURTY-THREE•

School seemed to have a lot of a different atmosphere after Dan arrived that next morning. The guilt he had been feeling all night had not gone away but in fact worsened with many butterflies now gathered in his stomach at the thought of having to see  The Phil's face.

Dan was wearing black ripped jeans, black vans, a black t-shirt and a grey and black hoodie. And to no-ones surprise, his backpack was also black.

With his palms getting slightly warm and clammy thanks to his nerves building up, Dan entered the dining room where he saw his usual group hanging around their usual table. But a few people were missing, and one of them was the person Dan longed to see but avoid all at the same time.

"Hey Dan" Joey smiled brightly towards him before using his hand to gesture to the brunette boy sat next to him, there hands held onto one another's on top of the table, "Dan, this is Daniel, my boyfriend. He started here today."

"Hi," Dan smiled at the new boy as he sat down in a space between Connor and Louise who greeted Dan with a warm smile whilst, as Dan saw, Connor was scrolling through his Tumblr profile.

"Hey," Daniel had a strong, thick American accent which Dan guessed that he had only recently moving from America to England. His hair was pushed up into a quiff on top of his head but it suited him a lot. Joey and Daniel sitting together, it basically looked like it was meant to be.

A bit like him and Phil in a way...

"So who's missing?" Zoe spoke up as she leant on the table, "'Cos I think everyone should have a chance to meet Daniel before class-"

"I'm flattered," Daniel spoke up, causing a few giggles around the table.

"Tyler, PJ and Phil," Joe said after sitting up straight and looking around the table, "Which is unusual, because I can't recall Phil ever not being at school on time."

Dan felt his stomach churn and he looked down into his lap at his nails. He heard the click of Connors iPhone locking next to him and looking to his right slightly, he could see Connor looking at him. Dan ignored him.

"Tyler probably overslept again," Chris spoke up, "You know what he's like—"

Chris was interrupted by the bang of the door leading to outside the school crashing open and PJ stumbling in. Zoe immediately got up and went over to PJ, where he was leaning against the open door, a couple other students grumbling since PJ was letting in the cold air, since it was still winter.

From the dark bags under his eyes, messier hair than usual on top of his head and the clothes loose on his body suggesting they were the first things PJ had found and put on that morning, Dan knew it was bad.

Zoe brought PJ over to the table and once again, everybody budged up to make room for him. He looked very tired and his back was hunched forward.

"What's wrong Peej?" Caspar wondered, "You look... exhausted."

PJ nodded his head slowly, "I am... I hardly had any sleep last night—"

"Why? Is everything ok?" Louise asked as Zoe sat down besides PJ and rubbed his back.

PJ shook his head, "Not at all. It's far from it," PJ paused to take a breath before speaking once again, "At 1.30am this morning, I was awoken by my dads mobile phone going off... it was the police department..." Dan watched as PJ rubbed his forehead with his hand, "And... and it was about Phil's dad..."

"What? What happened with Phil's dad?" Caspar pushed.

"Well if you shut the fuck up, he'll tell you," Joe spoke sarcastically before turning back towards PJ.