The Boy in the Garden (Phan)

Chapter 5- Embraces in a Parking Lot

When Dan left the school two hours later, he noticed something strange. And that something was the multiple bottles of acrylic paint that had been dumped on somebody's car. Raising an eyebrow, he walked over towards the car, curious to see what had happened. There were several empty bottles of paint on the ground near the car, and the car itself was splattered with pink, purple, and blue splotches that were dripping onto the pavement. I wonder who did this... Dan thought. More importantly, I wonder whose car this is... 

As if in answer to his question, there was a small gasp from behind him. Turning around, Dan's eyes widened when he saw Phil standing behind him. "Oh my god..."

"Phil? Is this your car?" Dan asked tentatively. He vaguely remembered Phil saying something about having to drive hime instead of walking home that day, but he couldn't remember why due to his still being in a pissy mood.

Phil nodded slowly, taking a couple of steps closer. "What happened?" he asked softly.

"I don't know. I just came out and saw it like this..." 

Phil let out a shaky sigh, walking up to the car and poking the paint with his finger. "Why would somebody do this?" he asked, his voice trembling slightly.

"I don't know... but whoever did it is an asshole..." Dan put a hand on Phil's shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. Phil sniffed quietly in response, simply staring at his car. Dan waited for him to say something. When he didn't, he glanced over and saw that Phil had tears welling in his eyes. Not even thinking about it, he pulled Phil into a hug, letting the black haired boy rest his head on his shoulder. "It's alright, Phil... I'll help you fix it... I'm sure it'll wash off since it's still wet."

"That's not it," Phil mumbled.

"Then what is it?" Dan asked softly.

"I'll show you..." Phil extricated himself from Dan's arms and picked up a torn piece of notebook paper stuck underneath the tire. Written on the paper in big black letters were the words: Make up your mind, freak.

"I don't get it..." Dan said.

Phil bit his lip, looking down at the pavement. "Look at the colors of the paint. Those are the colors of the bisexual pride flag..."

"I still don't... oh." The realization hit Dan. "Y-you're bi?"

"Yeah. And a lot of people here don't appreciate it. It's just another reason for them to pick on me..." Phil rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hand. "They tell me to make up my mind and just pick one or the other..." He put his head on Dan's shoulder, hugging him. 

Dan put his arms around Phil, squeezing the shorter boy like a stuffed animal. He could feel Phil's shoulders beginning to shake with sobs, and he gently rubbed his back like he was comforting a small child. "It's okay, Phil..."

"No it's not," Phil choked out, his voice slightly muffled. "I just want them to leave me alone... I don't know what I ever did to them..." 

"Phil, lemmie promise you something. If those people ever do something like this again, I swear that I will personally kick their ass."

"You don't have to do that," Phil sighed. "I've gotten used to it at this point..."

"No you haven't, Phil. And even if you have, people shouldn't be doing these things to you just because you're different..." Dan put a finger under Phil's chin and tilted his head up, forcing him to look him in the eye. "I wanna help you deal with these people..."

"Okay..." Phil gazed up at him unblinkingly, his blue eyes still sparkling with unshed tears. He managed a small smile. "Thanks, Dan..." 

"It's nothing..." Dan couldn't help but stare at Phil, taking in every feature of the shorter boy's face. With a sudden jolt of realization, he noticed that he was attractive, in a weird sort of way. A split second later, Dan quickly pulled out of the hug and retreated towards the car, praying that Phil couldn't see the blush spreading over his face. What the hell... why would you think he was cute? He's a guy... you shouldn't be thinking about him that way...

"Dan? Are you okay?" Phil asked, slightly confused. 

"Y-yeah," Dan stuttered. "I'm fine... we should probably start getting the paint off your car though..." 

"Oh, yeah..." Phil chuckled softly. "You think it'll come off with water?"

"Yeah, unless it's dried already. Then we'll have to think of something else."

"There's a hose in back of the school. If I drive my car onto the lawn, it'll reach far enough," Phil said. 

"Alright, I'll go get it set up." Dan went back around to the back of the school, eventually finding the green garden hose sitting in a neatly coiled pile near a faucet sticking out of the brick wall of the school. Picking the hose up and attaching it to the faucet, he turned around and waited until he saw the paint splattered car rumbling over the grass and slowly coming to a stop a few feet away. Phil clambered out of the car and walked over towards Dan, still rubbing his eyes with his hands. There were visible tear marks on his pale face, and he was still sniffing slightly. Frowning slightly, Dan pulled him into a one-armed hug. "Hey, it's okay.."

"I'm just still a bit upset, that's all..." Phil sighed, shuffling his feet and looking down at the grass. 

"Understandably. But it'll be fine, we'll find a way to fix this." Dan smiled at him. Phil chuckled softly and smiled back.

A/N: Hello, beautiful readers! Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I've had a serious case of writer's block. :( Also, sorry the ending kinda sucked. But either way, I hope you like this new chapter!