chapter 2

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The two stay seated by Dan's bike, in silence. Phil wonders if somehow, Dan doesn't want anyone to talk to, or if he's just intruding. "So, what we're you doing before you, uh, fell?" Phil stutters, attempting to make a conversation.

"I just wanted to get out of the house really." Dan says, pausing, then changing the statement completely. "Actually, I didn't want to go out at all. I was forced out of the house." He sighs, letting his head hit the tree behind him.

Phil looks over at Dan curiously. He seems to be tired, and well, over the current situation. Somehow, he still seemed to be pretty.

"Why wouldn't you want to be out today?" Phil asks, wondering why anyone wouldn't want to be out on such a nice day.

"People don't normally talk to me." Dan says, not getting his hopes up on making a friend.

"Why not?" Phil asks, frowning slightly, hoping he won't come off as intrusive.

There's something about Dan that intrigues him. There's something about this beautiful boy, distressed, close to life's end that makes Phil want to know more about him.

"Well, because I'm me." Dan says, like its an obvious reason for someone to dislike him. He looks over at Phil with tired eyes, shaking his head at how naive he seems about his current situation in life.

"And what's wrong with that?" Phil wonders out loud, thinking that there might be a real reason behind why that bar is so low. He's not there just to save him.. From the moment he walked over to the adorable brunette, he had already promised himself he'd do anything to keep this boy safe.

"It's a long story.." Dan trails off, looking down at the rips in his jeans.

"I'm all ears." Phil says, earning a strange look from Dan. "Plus, I'm a stranger, why would I judge?"

It's almost like Dan had never heard anyone actually want to listen to his never ending troubles.

"My point exactly. You're a stranger, and how do I know I can trust you?" Dan asks, a slight smile appearing on his face. Although he tries to stop it, there's a silly, giddy feeling when those blue eyes meet his. Even if Phil won't stick around, those eyes give him a comfortable, warm feeling and in his eyes, that's all that matters.

"I'm a trustworthy person. I swear." Phil says, smiling back at him. Although the other doesn't yet realize it, the two both feel a strong connection. Somehow, Phil knows, he was meant to meet this boy.

"I don't have anything to lose anyways." Dan shrugs, leaning back against the giant tree with a heavy sigh.

"So, tell me about yourself." Phil starts, leaning forwards and looking at Dan expectantly.

"I'm not very interesting." He mumbles with another shrug.

"Just think of the first thing that comes to your mind. Like, what's your favorite color?" Phil asks, saying the first question he could think of, earning a laugh from Dan.

"My favorite color?" He asks, laughing at the childish question. Yet again, the stomach fluttering feeling starts as he smiles back at the older boy.

"Yeah." Phil nods, looking to him for an answer. "Your favorite color."

"Black, or blue if you don't consider black a color." Dan answers, making the both of them look down at his black clothes, as if it were obvious.

"Who doesn't consider black a color?" Phil wonders with a laugh.

"Lots of people I guess."

"Weirdos." Phil giggles, noticing the smile on the brunette's face. "Do you have any pets?" He wonders, determined to see his smile again.

"I had a crazy hamster once, but that's a long story too." Dan giggles, forgetting about the fact that this feeling won't last long and he'll have to go back to the real world. "It always managed to get out of the cage. I swear. I even put stuff on top of the lid!"

"That's crazy."

"It probably had superpowers." Dan says, still baffled at how that little thing could manage to open the cage every time. "What superpower do you wish you had?" He asks, the question popping into his head. He wonders what he said wrong when Phil's face turns bright red and he looks worried about something.

"Oh, I don't know." Phil answers quickly, my eyes flickering above Dan's head and reminding himself of the power he couldn't stop if he tried. A flood of shame washes over him as he wishes he could forget all about the bars, and the control it had over his everyday life. Things just would be so much easier without the power.

"Oh.. Kay." Dan says sort of worried he'd ruined everything. He self consciously fixes his hair at Phil's worried expression, a sinking feeling in his chest arising. Things go silent as both boys worry over two completely different things. "Hey, I should probably head home.." The brunette sighs, deciding to give up and cry in bed for the rest of the day. Surely he'd ruined any chances he had with Phil, friends or more.

"No problem. Hey, I'll walk you home." Phil offers, making Dan's eyes go wide. He thought he'd really screwed up, but Phil still would walk him home? No one had ever been this sweet to him before.

"You sure? I mean you don't have to-" Dan stutters, blushing like an idiot. Who wouldn't? This guy was gorgeous. Gorgeous and nice, too nice to someone like Dan.

"No, its fine. I don't mind at all." Phil smiles at Dan's flustered expression, picking up the bike with one hand, and grabbing Dan by the waist with the other. Dan's arm goes around Phil's shoulders, holding himself off of his ankle a little.

They walk to Dan's house in almost complete silence. But it wasn't awkward. They both had other things to think about, besides small talk. It was something that seemed quite unnecessary to the pair, seeing that they had much greater things on their mind.

They reach Dan's house and Phil walks him up to the door. "Thanks for helping me." Dan mumbles, opening his front door.

"No problem.. Hey, uh I'll see you around." Phil waves, walking away as his heart begins to race. It's not even been a day in this new place and he made a friend and maybe even a shot at a boyfriend. Not that he wanted to rush things, or get his hopes up..

"Yeah." Dan looks down, closing the door as Phil walks away.

Anxiety already hitting him at the fact that he'd have to go to school in the morning. He walks into his house, closing his eyes at the screaming already going on between his parents. When he reaches his room he closes the door and flops onto the bed, tears falling from his eyes almost instantly.

Stress, and the fear that nothing will ever go back to the way it once was. When Dan was younger, he always hoped that one day his mother would stay home, and his father wouldn't drink anymore. Dan knows better now.. This family will never be the same.

Not only did he have all that on his mind, he feels like utter crap, and also hurt his ankle. Of course, he's got no help getting around anymore. Although he was pretty sure he probably twisted it, he knew his parents didn't care enough to take him anywhere to fix it. Plus, he'd rather not be that much of a bother.

Although all of this had happened, and life was really hitting him hard, with no breaks.. Dan just found his reason to stay around for a few days. Although it felt silly, he had a slight crush on the older boy. He was overly sweet, optimistic, caring, and who wouldn't fall for those eyes and that sweet smile?

On the other hand, Phil was walking home, his only thoughts on the fragile boy who was too close to death for someone that young. He wanted nothing more then to help him, but really didn't know how. He had already decided that he would make it his mission to save him, although he had no clue how.


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