* Lost Boys ~ Dan/Howell • Phil/Lester *

future

Dan was shaken from his deep slumber by pj. He noticed his hand was no longer on phil which led him to the conclusion that phil was not in his bed.

"wha-?" he muttered squinting his eyes at the blinding light seeping through the dirty windows

"Dan you should get up. Phil and I have been chatting about options and we really think you should be involved"

"uh-o-okay"

pj crisply sauntered out of the room and dan fumbled out of his chair and followed the green eyed boy.

he walked into the dining room to see a clean table (sans phils breakfast and some papers) and his companion sat at the table. He looked better. A blanket of relief settled on dans body. the colour had returned to the boys cheeks and his lips were now a darker shade of soft pink. his eyes were more vivid and vibrant and his eyes lacked baggage.

Dan sat down at the table beside pj who was beside phil.

Pj spoke up

"alright dan. we have a plan and we would really like your input"

"okay shoot i guess"

"phil will recover here. he will be fully rehabilitated within a month or two so until then you will be a functioning member of this club. you do not have to be hazed but if you would like to make things official, we can. when phil is rehabilitated, you two will go one the three or four day trips needed to retrieve beds or furniture you may want. once you have done those things you may either leave the furniture with us and go it alone together OR you can stay here and use it. The main reason we would keep the furniture is really as a form of payment. everyone here pays their dues in some way and with phil not working really we have to have something in return or we will be in debt. It sounds harsh but it's the reality. anyways what do you think?"

"i-i mean s-sure i gu-uess"

"W O N D E R F U L"
Dan really wasn't sure if he wanted to agree but if it made Phil happy, he would do it. It was all so complicated. So sudden. A few days ago his whole life was just those filthy rusty train tracks. Now his life consisted of a boy, a club, a house, a vow, and healing wounds. So much change in so little time it was all so much at once. He felt his breathing quicken and his heart rate became rapid. Through the awkward silence, the ringing in his ears grew violent
"Excuse me"
He briskly walked out of the room and disappeared into the first room he could find. It was dark, but the door had already closed. He turned around to open it, only to find it was locked. He slammed his fist against the door then turned his back to it and slid his legs outwards, falling with control to the floor. He threw his head back in anguish banging it on the door.
Stupid
He said aloud to himself
If I hadn't been such a burden my mom wouldn't have hated me.
If I hadn't had been so dumb my dad wouldn't have left
If I wouldn't have left in the first place I wouldn't have ever found this place.
If i had never found Phil
I wouldn't have cared
I wouldn't be here hurting like this
But its all my fault
If i would have run faster he wouldn't be hurting and we wouldn't be in this mess
His breath was ragged as the tears streamed down his face like water rushing towards a storm grate. A voice spoke up from the darkness. It was familiar
"I come here when I'm sad too"
"W-what?"
"Hold on"
Dan heard shuffling then what sounded like something being plugged in. All of a sudden there was light. He recognized that it was Jack sitting next to a lamp with little dots poked in the shade which decorated the walls with dots of lights. It was like a whole galaxy but contained in one little room. There was nothing else in the room.
"What even is this room?"
"It used to be a storage closet but then we built a shed so its just kinda empty."
"Oh"
"So why are you in here"
"Oh nothing just a lot going on"
He wasn't lying but he wasn't telling the full truth.
"Oh. Well yeah same here"
There was silence.
Out of nowhere, jack kept across the empty floor between them and hugged dans neck tightly. Dan was caught off guard. But he hugged back. Jacks tense form relaxed and he made himself more comfortable in Dans grip. The two sat and hugged each other do what felt like years.
The air in the room became a little cooler in the comfortable silence. Dan's stomach didn't flip over like it did with Phil though. This seemed platonic enough to him. But to Jack this was not completely platonic. He had a crush on Dan ever since they had met. The quiet mysterious boy was what he had always dreamt of. Dan was like an answered prayer to Jack. After this long embrace ended, Dan Brooke the silence.
"Thank you"
"Thank you"
"I'm gonna go now they might wonder where I went...can we keep this between us? I don't wan't Phil to worry."
The word Phil prodded at jacks heart a bit.
"Sure" the green haired boy replied.
Dan got up and left the room without a look back. Jack longingly watched the door close. There he was;alone in the dark again.