How Did We End Up Here? - A Phanfiction

Chapter One

Today was the day of the shower. Phil rose from bed, turning his alarm off. He slowly made his way to his dresser and began lazily putting together an outfit. He pulled on some nice black slacks, and a light blue button up. He looked at himself in the mirror as he adjusted his hair, beginning to worry about the day to come. Yes, Alice and Michelle had been he and his flatmate Dan's friends for a long time, but things had changed in the past nine months.

Phil remembered when the couple came to their apartment, flushed red with excitement, but also with a bit of hesitation and worry. They had sat down over lunch, and explained how the two women had decided the day prior that they were ready to start a family. Dan and Phil had reacted enthusiastically, congratulating them, until they noticed that the women seemed nervous and weren't partaking in the excitement. When Phil asked them what was wrong, Michelle went on to explain that they wanted to find a donor amongst their friends. They didn't want some stranger's child, they wanted to know who the genes were coming from. After a long silence they got up and apologized, saying they were sorry they asked, and started to leave, but to Phil's surprise Dan stopped them.

Dan told them that he had to give it a few days to think on it, but he was willing to consider it, and by the next morning he had agreed to donate. Phil hadn't understood at first, until Dan reminded him. The two men were very close with Alice and Michelle. It wasn't known by their YouTube fans, as per the request of the girls who had no interest in internet fame, but they had been close friends for a very long time. They had known Alice since November 2011, and met Michelle when Alice and her had started dating in late 2014. Dan began to explain his reasoning behind considering the girls' request, taking Phil back to near the beginning of their friendship with Alice, and reminded Phil of a day he had worked so hard to forget.

Phil was reminded about that dreadful night in early 2012. Dan had just dropped out of University, and was spiraling. No matter what Phil tried, he just couldn't find a way to help his friend. He tried to help and got pushed away, he tried to give Dan space, and was yelled at for abandoning his friend in such a hard time in his life. Phil was lost, and he did his best, but it wasn't enough. Once Phil was reminded of that day, it was if he was there again. He vividly remembered getting that call.

The woman on the other side of the phone was so calm as she gave Phil the news, and all he could think was to hate her. How dare she be so calm about this? How dare she act as if this didn't matter? Phil remembered getting to the hospital, sitting in the waiting room all night, not able to fall asleep, but not able to see his friend, as he wasn't 'direct family'. Fuck that. Dan was Phil's family, and to be told otherwise sent him into a rage. At 4:27 AM (yes, he remembered the exact time, he could never forget anything about that night), Phil felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to hear a raspy, "Phil? Is that you?"

Turning, he saw the face of his friend, Alice. Her eyes seemed just as bloodshot and heavy as his, and she just leaned down to pull him into a hug. "I gave them your number and told them to call, I'm glad they did."

"Alice..." his voice came out crackly, but he didn't care. "What happened? All they told me was there was an overdose and someone found him and..." his voice cut out then, and he didn't even attempt to finish the sentence, hanging his head as tears streamed down his cheeks.

"He... I. I stopped by the flat last night to pick up my water bottle that I left the other day. I guess you were at a friend's, I don't know... but no one answered, so I used the spare key you guys lent me for plant-sitting a while back when you were out of town, and let myself in. I was just going to stop in, grab it and go, I knew Dan had said it'd be right inside the door, but when I turned to leave I heard choking. I followed the sound, and got to his room right as..." She looked at Phil, tears of her own falling freely, and checked with him silently to see if he was really up for hearing this. Phil nodded slightly. He had to know. "He was coughing and choking and... he looked a mess. I think he was drunk, there were a few bottles around the room. I saw the pills open, and called 999 right away, and sat with him as he lost consciousness. When they came, they let me in the ambulance, but I wasn't allowed in the room. I've just been pacing the halls since then, I couldn't sit still." Phil nodded once again, choking slightly as a whimper involuntarily left his throat.