the quiet ° phan

xii. belittle

After his meeting with Louise, Dan told Phil bits and pieces of her side of the story. Phil was hesitant to reconcile with his old mate, but he still listened to all Dan had to say and internalized it as though it was the truth. Whether things would go farther than that, who knows.

Phil picked Dan up for school every day even though Dan's hand was completely healed. Not that Dan reminded Phil of this fact every time the boy helped him in some way. After Dan's injury, he and Phil were attached at the hip more so than before. The only time Dan ever broke away was to go home or see Louise from time to time. Even then, Phil walked him to the very end of whatever route he was taking just to make sure Dan was safe.

Today, Phil arrived at 7:30 like he did every day. Dan would look at the clock and wait for the minute hand to touch the 6. At that exact moment, he'd hear a knock on his door. Then, he'd raise his palm to his mum to signal that he would get the door. He'd walk up, and 30 seconds after the minute, he'd open the door to find a smiling Philip Lester.

Dan would let Phil in and Phil would stand in the doorway with his right side resting against the frame. Then, Dan would bid goodbye to his mum and Adrian as well as grab his things. After that, he would approach Phil once more and they'd leave the house at exactly 7:32.

It was a lovely routine in a world full of chaos. It only took 16 years for such perfect order to come about.

What Dan and Phil talked about on the way to school was not routine. Sometimes they talked about schoolwork; other times, it was new music or video games. Dan constantly had his hands in the air on his walk to school with Phil.

Once Dan and Phil got to school, the routine continued. They stepped into English together and sat down together, Dan taking his seat first and Phil right after him. Phil always sat down with a sigh and a smile. Then Dan would smile back and bite his lip. They'd start on their work, but every so often, one would look at the other. Sometimes, they caught each other looking. Then, the shy turn, hair flip, and lip bite happened again.

Phil was examining Dan's features when Dan caught him staring. Dan looked straight into his eyes which made Phil try to turn away. Before he could, though, Dan signed to him.

I have to go to the bathroom.

Phil nodded and let him go.

After getting permission from Mr. Schneider, Dan left the classroom and headed down the hall to the bathroom. He went inside the nearest one and entered a stall to do his business. Sure, there were urinals, but that left him exposed and susceptible to awkward social interaction. Stalls protected him.

Just as he was flushing, he heard a loud noise. The flush drowned it out, but right after, it continued. Dan covered his ears with his hands to block out the harsh blare, but it only quieted it.

The sound scared him. His breathing got a little heavier and his heart beat a little faster. It was an ugly, harsh noise that hurt his ears. He couldn't remember hearing this noise before. He wished Phil was with him to tell him what to do.

Then, a different sound occupied the space.

"We've got...five minutes, probably?" a voice said.

"Right," another voice responded.

The voices stopped after that. Then, he heard some loud breathing and a moan.