The Unknown. Phan AU

Prologue

@doodle5sos made me the cover and it's awesome!! So thank you very much I appreciate it<3

Also I'm just reminding you of the trigger warnings. Please don't dismiss them like they aren't serious because I really don't want any of you to get upset or anything, okay?

TW: Abuse (both physical and emotional), depression, self harm, kind of a suicide attempt although the person doesn't get very far with it, Dan's kind of mute

If there are any trigger warnings that I've missed and I come across them when editing, I will add them to this list :)

Dan slumped back into his seat as the tests they completed last week were given back. He flipped his paper over to reveal a giant F marked in a red pen. His response was nothing but a simple shrug, having expected to fail right from the beginning. It was Science, after all. He hated it. Well, he hated every subject but Science the most.

"Dan, I need to speak to you after class." The teacher said, making Dan look up momentarily and nod. It was probably so they could remind Dan of how terribly he had performed in the end of unit test.

The lesson went by agonisingly slowly because Dan was just daydreaming. Fortunately, he sat by the window, meaning he would just look outside at the nature and think about everything going on in his life at the moment. When the bell rang, Dan took his time putting his book and pencil case away, knowing he would have to wait for everyone to leave anyway.

The teacher sat on the edge of the desk as the last person left. "Dan, I think you know what we need to discuss." Dan nodded, picking up his test and sighing to himself. "Is everything okay? We know you're... struggling but is there a reason for it?" Dan shook his head as the teacher sympathetically furrowed her eyebrows. "We're always here if you need to talk. Do you ever revise for the tests?"

Another nod.

"You can spend lunchtimes or sometime after school with me to catch up if you need. I can do every day except Wednesdays."

A shrug.

The teacher sighed, obviously giving up. "Just come visit me whenever, you don't need to give me warning."

Nod.

Dan then left the room and wandered down the corridor at his own pace. He didn't want to rush home because he knew exactly what was coming and he hated going home. He was one of the tiny percentage of people who'd rather be at school then at home. Even if school wasn't much better than home.

-

Dan closed the door silently behind him, hoping to be able to sneak upstairs and put on his headphones on at the highest possible volume but no. His dad walked into the hallway, his arms folded as he glared at his son. "Aren't you a bit late?"

Dan nodded, looking down at his feet with a frown on his face.

"Use your voice."

"W-Was talking to a teacher." Dan's voice was so quiet that it was surprising his dad could tell what he was saying. Dan's dad was aware that Dan didn't speak to anyone and he always used that against him, knowing that using his voice was very hard for him.

"Why? Were you in trouble? What did you do this time?" He said that as if it was a common occurrence for Dan to get in trouble but, in reality, he hadn't had a detention since he forgot to hand in some homework a couple of years ago.

"I f-failed a test."

Dan's dad let out a loud 'tut', shaking his head in disappointment. "That's not really surprising." The younger didn't say anything, he just tried to push past his dad to go up to his room but a hand grabbed his shoulder. "Don't push me." The grip on his shoulder was hard, so much that Dan could feel a surge of pain. He was then shoved slightly into the wall, making him gasp. His dad then shook his head again and walked away, allowing Dan to sprint upstairs.

He knew what was coming next.

"He failed a test again! What an idiot!" His dad yelled as Dan slammed his door shut. He shakily reached for his headphones, plugging them into his phone.

"He probably failed because you're always bothering him and making it so he has no time to study!" His mum shouted back, equally as loud.

The rest was drowned out as he put his headphones on, the music most likely making him slowly deaf.

-

There was a boy that was in most of Dan's classes. His name was Phil. He was quite good at everything, getting mostly As and the occasional B. It was a miracle he was doing so well, considering he spent most of his time staring at another boy, Dan. He had quite a big crush on him and he had done so for quite a while (ever since the start of the year when they were put in most of the same classes together).

After a few months of just admiring the quiet boy from afar, he had decided that he was going to talk to him. The bell for lunch had just rung and so he walked casually over to Dan.

"Hey," Phil said, sending a smile to Dan who just glanced up at him momentarily and forced a smile. "My name's Phil. You might have known that already but in case you didn't, I thought I'd tell-" Phil cut himself off after Dan let out a tiny laugh. He was rambling, wasn't he? "Anyways.. Can I sit with you at lunch?"

Dan shrugged a little before nodding slowly. Phil couldn't hide his excited smile as he followed Dan out of the room.

Dan guided Phil to the the back of the library and they both sat down. They took out their lunchboxes and, as soon as Phil noticed Dan's he had to say something. "I love Pokémon!" Dan nodded as he took his apple out his box, taking a small bite. "My favourite Pokémon is Pikachu even if they are one of the most popular. I just think they're really adorable! What's your favourite Pokémon?" Dan pointed to the Charmander on the lid of his lunchbox. "Yeah, Charmander is awesome too. He's always my choice of starter: I love Charizard too." Dan was happy that the boy would just ramble as he listened, obviously he had realised that Dan wasn't one to talk.

They finished eating just as the bell rang. "Same time tomorrow? Or are you sick of hearing my voice already?" Dan smiled softly, nodding. "Was that a yes to being sick of my voice?" Dan shook his head rapidly, making Phil grin. "Okay. See you tomorrow lunch then!" Dan waved a little as they went their separate ways.

-

Dan was home on time for once. He walked in the door and into the kitchen, placing his bag down on the table for a second as he made himself a drink. "What are you doing? You know you can't leave your bag there." His dad said, stumbling into the room. Dan gestured to the glass filled with water in his hand, hoping his dad would understand. He put the glass down onto the table as his dad moved closer, towering over his son and making him feel tiny. "How was school?" Dan just shrugged because it was alright. Nothing too special. "Speak."

"It was a-alright." Dan hated talking. He only ever talked when his dad forced him to because he knew words were just recipes for lies, deceit and pain. He didn't want to cause arguments or hurt people so he just stayed silent.

"Well, that's okay then. Still a loner, I assume?" Dan looked down at the floor, nodding his head even though he spent the lunchtime with Phil who he actually liked a lot. "That's not surprising." His dad pushed him a little; to an oblivious passer-by it would have looked playful but it was more forceful. His dad's head was then so close to Dan's ear that he could feel his warm breath. "No one loves you, after all. The only reason you're still here is because we're nice enough not to kick you out onto the streets. You're worthless, you know that, right?" Dan only nodded, finding it hard to breathe due to the fear that was welling up in his chest. "Right?" His dad repeated but louder this time. He accompanied his words with a harsh punch to Dan's chest, making him lose his breath.

"Right..."

I hope you enjoy this story :3

(I will try and update this every Thursday)