The 100 Day Phanfiction Challenge

Lie

TW: eating disorders.
Also may I just say that although people close to me have suffered with eating disorders, I have never suffered myself so this may not be too accurate.

Oh and I'm not a fan of this one :p

Lies can add up. What may seem like a tiny lie could escalate and all those could add up and, soon enough, you could be suffocating around those lies you made.

"I'm not hungry." Dan whispered, pushing his plate away. Phil thought nothing of it, assuming Dan had just helped himself to food earlier. The first tiny lie.

-

"No, thank you. I already ate." Dan said to PJ, passing the bowl of Doritos to Phil who furrowed his eyebrows: they had been together all day and Dan hadn't eaten? Still, he shrugged it off. Second.

-

It happened more commonly from then on. The second lie soon led to a third, then forth, then twentieth. They didn't stop. Dan was slowly wasting away as his body lost more and more weight. He was pretty much stuck thin but, still, Dan saw his reflection as ugly and fat. It wasn't. He was sick. "I'm ugly and fat." Dan mumbled, pinching his stomach and frowning. Lies.

-

"Dan!" Phil gasped as Dan stood up, just to black out momentarily. Phil was quick to catch him and it was only then that he realised how light the man was. "Have you been eating properly?" He found himself asking, extremely concerned.

"Y-Yeah..." Dan's voice was weak and he wouldn't look his best friend in the eye. Phil could finally see through the lies.

"You haven't." Those two words lingered in the air as Dan didn't dare respond. "Why?" Phil's voice wasn't angry: it was fragile. His lip was trembling along with his words, tears welling in his eyes. A tear escaped and Dan weakly wiped it away from Phil's cheek.

"Please don't cry." Dan's voice sounded even more broken.

"You're beautiful, Dan. You were never fat, always healthy. Why would you hurt yourself like this?"

"I'm not. That's why. I'm... I'm ugly and fat and-"

"No, Dan. You're sick."

"No, I'm not-"

"You are. You need to understand that you aren't ugly or fat, you're ill? And it's only going to get worse if you don't eat."

"You don't under-"

"I know I don't. I don't know how you're feeling. Do you understand this from my point of view? My best friend is slowly killing himself."

Dan opened his mouth but he had no more to say. He wasn't just hurting himself- he was hurting everyone he loved too. And it all started with one simple lie- "I'm not hungry."