The Party

Chapter one

Dan had just returned from an exhausting and quite boring day in university. He dropped his bookbag at the door way and plopped onto the couch face first. He grunts into the couch crevice.

Phil, on the other hand, was eating a tasty sandwich in the kitchen. He asked Dan how his day had gone but Dan's response was just:

"ughhhhhhh"

Phil finished his sandwich, put the plate in the sink and went over to the living room. He raised Dan's legs, that were spread on the couch, and sat himself down putting Dan's legs on his thighs.

"Daaaan," Phil pouted, "what's wrong?"

Dan was very much unresponsive and had no desire to speak to Phil. He was clueless to what was wrong with him. But then, it hit him.

Dan was having an existential crisis.

"Not again." Phil sighed.
Phil knew what to do in these situations but this time, he went against his instinct, which was to leave him alone, and tried waking him up.

Phil rocked him around slowly waiting for a true response that he didn't expect getting. Dan grunted more and more. His pitch started increasing as Phil kept moving him. Phil stopped rocking. He looked at Dan with great concern because this high-pitched grunt started to turn to a cry.

Dan was sobbing. He got up and hugged Phil in tears. He was holding onto Phil's shirt so tight that
it got wrinkles. All Phil could do was hold him in his arms and ask him what was wrong.

"Dan, you can tell me. You can express anything to me, you know that." Phil assures.

Dan proceeds to sob into Phil's shirt and mumbles. He could not be understood because of how much he was crying. The poor thing was a mess. His face was covered in tears and boogers and his hair was uncared for. Phil hugged Dan and rose him up to take him to the kitchen sink. There he detached Dan from him and wet a piece of paper towel. He cleaned Dan's face with one hand and held the back of his head with the other. When he finished he put it down and asked him again.

"What's wrong?"

Dan, arms crossed, just looked at the floor in depth and started tearing up again.

"It's...It's uni.", Dan confesses.

Phil knew Dan hated studying law, but always said he should do it anyway just to have a degree now regretting that decision. The poor boy was exhausted and deprived from all the work. He sat him down infront of the oven and kept conversing.

"Dan, if you don't want to study law, then don't. If you keep doing this you are going to die! This is what is causing you to become depressed and make you so exhausted. It's all this studying crap!"

"W-what will my pARENTS SAY!?" Dan hides his face into Phil's shirt again.

Phil sighs deeply and holds him tight. He soothes him telling him everything will be alright. Dan begins to calm down and loses the grip on Phil's shirt. He sniffles and puts his back against the oven.

"What am I going to do..how the hell am I going to earn money..how will WE earn money?" Dan questions.

"Youtube."

Dan laughs a little and denies the idea.

"No no, more realistic."
"Dan, we can do it."
"N-no, we can't. That's prepos-"

Phil's phone rings. He apologizes for the rude interruption and gets up to see who it was. Martyn (Phil's brother). He picks up.

"Hi, make it quick." Phil demands.
"Huh, oh. I was going to ask you if you and Dan wanted to come to this rad party I'm having with my friends."

Phil looks back at Dan's depressingly pondering expression that was staring at the wall.
Phil looks away.
"Sorry bro. Not today."
"Ok then. Say Dan I say h-."
Phil hangs up.

"Sorry, it was my brother."
He sits back down.
Dan wakes up from his trance.
"Hu-h, oh. That's fine. What did he say?"

"He invited us to a party he was having today. You obviously don't want to go so, I denie-"
Dan looks to face Phil and says,
"You know what? We are going to that party. I want to celebrate."
Dan stands up and confidently looks up.
"I am done with this shit. I don't care if I fail or make my parents cry or become homeless. I'm going to enjoy what is left of my time before I go broke. We are going to have. fun."