DEADROSES | PHAN

-ˏˋ six ˎˊ-

☾ ☽

it would be an understatement to say dan was surprised when jarvis burst into his room, at six pm on a monday.

during these kinds of weeks when dan was instructed to stay completely quiet, the man hardly offered him a word, let alone visited his room while there were guests over. and dan knew there were people over- he had heard loud talking from downstairs. and he knew he hadn't been making noise, he had been on his bed the whole time.

so it would also be an understatement to say that dan was absolutely terrified.

his heart skipped a beat as jarvis walked straight up to him and took a hold of his hair, holding him still and leaning close.

"listen, brat," he hissed, his eyes flashing. dan hadn't seen him this mad in ages. "you are not to talk to people outside of this house, understand?"

dan struggled to think of who jarvis could be referring to, before his heart dropped. phil. phil must have come by again, to see him. it made him feel a little giddy that he had thought of him, but that was dashed when jarvis tugged his hair slightly.

"are you listening to me?" he asked, his voice laced with anger. "do you understand, daniel?"

dan swallowed, attempting to nod. "yes, sir," he whispered, still trying to keep quiet, knowing it would make it worse to have one of his clients hear them.

"good." jarvis let go of him, taking a step back. "this is a warning, dan. your second one this month, in fact. one more and..." he trailed off, but dan knew what he meant. he nodded anxiously.

"i understand, sir," he breathed. jarvis nodded.

"i hope you do."

he was gone down the stairs, closing the door behind him with a soft click.

dan took a shuddery breath, pushing his hair back frantically and feeling tears pricking his eyes.

he didn't like to be yelled at, and he couldn't handle the thought of being tossed out on the streets. he had no back up plan, he had no way of knowing he would be okay. he would be homeless.

a sob fell from his mouth, and he immediately slapped a hand over his mouth. he couldn't breathe, he felt like he was suffocating. he had nowhere to go.

he buried his face in his pillows, letting himself sob against the fabric. he felt like he was crumbling. he was going to fall with no control, and the only thing keeping him standing was a man that he was fairly certain would take any opportunity to get rid of him.

he let himself cry for awhile, before falling asleep, utterly exhausted.

when dan woke up again, his room was completely dark. no light was coming in from the window, so he assumed it was the middle of the night.

he sat up slowly, blinking sleepily and rubbing at his eyes. he squinted at the clock on the wall, getting nothing more than that it was some time around midnight.

he could still hear noises from downstairs, laughter and shouting, as if jarvis's dinner party had maybe had too much to drink.

dan was suddenly painfully aware of the aching in his stomach, and realized he hadn't eaten since lunch the last day. he bit his lip. at this rate, the people downstairs would be able to hear the grumbling of his stomach.

he played with his fingers nervously. it probably wasn't even worth the risk of being caught, but dan's stomach had taken control. his head throbbed as well- maybe he could make a quick trip of it, grab some food and water and advil, and then he wouldn't have to leave his room again.

he was taking off the boots before he could think hard enough to convince himself out of it, and they were off in a matter of moments. dan's feet hurt... making noise probably wouldn't be a problem, he would be limping anyways.

dan tiptoed to the door, taking a deep breath before pushing it open, just a crack. sure enough, he could see light from the office.

jarvis's office was huge: he had whole parties in there, that was generally where he worked with people. the doors were shut, so dan knew he could get away with sneaking past. they wouldn't hear him over their own voices anyways.

dan walked down the stairs slowly, watching the door carefully and taking soft steps.

he could feel that he was leaving a trail, but he didn't look back. he couldn't afford to lose even a second.

soon, dan was downstairs. he was making good time, and he was confident in his ability to pull this off.

that was, of course, until he heard the doorknob to the the office turning.

his whole body tensed, and his heart pounded in his chest like a drumbeat. he was almost directly in front of the door, and it was about to open, and he couldn't even force himself to run. he just stood there, fear coursing through his body, and the door swung open.

a stout man was standing there, holding several bottles in his arms. he stopped in his tracks when his eyes landed on dan, his expression changing to one of confusion.

"jerry, who's-" he began, but he cut himself off when his eyes drifted to the ground.

dan was completely frozen as the man's jaw dropped open.

"what in the world..."

dan braced himself for what happened next as jarvis joined the man in the doorway, his features shadowed with rage.

"dan. come with me for a second. we need to have a word."