How Did We End Up Here? - A Phanfiction

Chapter Nine

Three months passed.

These three months felt like a beautiful high. Everything was going well, Phil was happy, Dan was happy, Anna was happy, and life was good. Their viewers online were getting more and more supportive by the day, and Dan and Phil were closer than ever. Phil didn't know exactly when, but at some point their kisses that they'd plant on each other's hair turned into each other's foreheads, and this somehow felt even more intimate and filled Phil with a sweetness and joy only surpassed by his moments with Anna. Dan and Phil's families both visited at different times throughout these three months, and doted on Anna. Dan had been right, neither of their families believed them about the relationship being a lie, but they didn't seem to care, so neither did Dan and Phil.

Everything was going so well, but all good things must come to an end.

At least Phil saw this one coming. He knew it'd be a hard day, and when he awoke to the bed cold, hearing soft sobs from the next room, he drew in a deep breath and went to comfort Dan.

He found Dan, as he expected, looking at the same picture he had found him looking at months earlier. The picture of the first day they had met Alice. Phil felt a knot form in his stomach as he thought of what this day meant.

Today would have been Alice's birthday. Not only was today, November 14th, her birthday, it was also the day Dan and Phil had met her.

He remembered that day in late 2011. PJ and Chris had won a bet about some silly thing, Phil thought it was which dog would win an agility course on TV, but he didn't remember that part all too clearly. He did remember, however, that the bet entailed that PJ and Chris would get to choose what they did that night, and they ended up dragging Dan and Phil out to a club. Not just any club, a male strip club. PJ and Chris were having a blast, partying and drinking, but neither Dan nor Phil were huge on clubs, and this one was crowded and loud. Nearly immediately after making their way into the club, Dan and Phil sought out the least-occupied space, finding a couch wedged into the corner of a side room where it was a bit quieter and there was only one small girl there, slowly sipping a drink with a tiara reading '21' on her head. She looked miserable.

Dan and Phil sat down on the couch, and Phil turned to the girl, mostly out of obligation. It was a small couch, and they had to sit fairly close to her, so not saying at least 'hi' felt rude.

"Hey." he had said.

"Hey." she returned, kind, yet subdued.

"You doing alright?" Phil inquired, feeling bad for this sad girl holed away in this club.

"Yeah... sort of I guess. This isn't really where I'd have chosen to spend my 21st birthday... but my friends insisted on surprising me, so here I am." she laughed a bit sickly, stirring her drink with the two small straws.

"Well it sounds like you need some better friends." Phil had joked, trying to turn the smile into a genuine one.

"Happy birthday by the way, I'm Dan." Dan had chimed in, and Phil introduced himself as well. She told them her name was Alice, and they talked for about thirty minutes, having to halfway shout over the music. Eventually she located her friends to find that one was going home with one of the dancers and the rest were absolutely sloshed, and she decided to leave. Dan and Phil had also decided to take off, Chris and PJ were nowhere to be found and they didn't want to spend any more time here than they already had.

They walked out of the club together, and Dan and Phil walked to the curb to hail a taxi when they noticed Alice walking slowly, arms wrapped around herself, down the street. Phil shot a concerned look to Dan, and they followed her, jogging slightly to catch up.