Together is enough // phanfiction

Part 40

Dan

"I don't want revenge." Dan said determined after a few seconds of silence. This was a shock to Nick apparently. "What do you mean? Don't you want to get back at him?" he frowned.

 Dan reluctantly shook his head. "I already could've had payback if I wanted to." he shrugged. "I don't want to hurt him, I just want him to leave me alone." Nick narrowed his eyes as he just stared in confusion. 

Dan grinned seeing him so thrown off track. "I'm not really a revenge kinda guy." Nick bit his lip and paused for a minute. "And what about Phil?" he eventually asked.

Dan stopped grinning. Phil. The name alone felt like a punch in the gut. "Phil is better off without me." Dan blurted out. He'd never said that out loud but he had always thought it. "I hurt everyone around me and I don't want him to get hurt." Dan said without showing emotion.

"I don't believe that." Nick mumbled. He nervously ran his fingers through his hair. Dan smiled slightly. "He seems happier now, more confident." Dan shrugged. "Maybe he found his place with Spencer and the guys."

"How can you say that when you know what kind of a guy Spencer is?" Nick looked slightly upset. Dan obviously didn't respond the way he expected. "How can you let anyone you care about get near that guy?!"

"What am I suppose to do?!" Dan cried out throwing his hands in the air. "He's not gonna believe me anymore if I warn him now, and I can't tell him why I broke it off with him cuz Spencer will tell his dad!" Dan clenched his fist, getting frustrated just by thinking about Phil's father.

"What is his father gonna do that is worse than what Spencer can do?!" Nick really didn't understand, Dan could see the confusion on his face.

Dan's stomach shrunk at the idea of what Phil's father could do. It was apparently also visible in his face because Nick seemed to be startled at the sight of Dan's response. "What is his father gonna do, Dan?" Nick got up from the couch with a worried look on his face.

Dan couldn't say it. He would never betray Phil like that by just saying it out loud, but he didn't have to. He just shook his head and Nick covered his mouth with his hand. "Shit..." he mumbled. 

"Yeah..." Dan looked down at his feet. "That's why Phil is better off with those kind of friends..." he bit his lip. "I'm pretty sure he has a girlfriend now so..." Dan could feel himself getting choked up at the idea.

"What? Mia?" Nick let out a short laugh. "Mia is nobody's girlfriend. She just sleeps around." Nick looked kind of sad while saying her name. "I should know." he shrugged.

"What?" Dan frowned, "You and...?" Nick nodded, "Yeah... she was my first... but she broke my heart." he smiled but Dan could see he just tried to hide the pain. "And she'll break Phil's heart too." Nick continued. "And Spencer will drop him as soon as he's bored. That's why Phil's not better off with them."

Nick swallowed and paused for a second. "Nobody is better off with them." 

Dan couldn't still quite grasp it. Why now? Why did Nick go a full 180 all of a sudden? "What was so awful about what happened in the locker room that made you drop your best friend?" Dan put his hands in his pockets. "It doesn't really make sense..."

"Eh... yeah... I just..." Nick started to stammer and he avoided Dan's eyes. "I realised... that if he once actually was in love with you... he would do all those things he did to you to Jessica as well without a doubt." he bit his lip and scratched the back of his head. "So..."

"So..?" Dan frowned. For a second it was quiet but then it hit Dan. "You love her." he had said it before he knew it. Nick looked up in shock. "No! No not.... not like love love." he shook his head.

"Riiiiight..." Dan chuckled. Nick sighed, "She's not a dumb blonde you know." he says quietly. "She just pretends to be." he starts to fidget with his fingers. "Sometimes..." he looks up hesitantly, as if doubting if Dan was the right person to talk to.

"Yeah?" Dan nodded, as if saying it was okay. "Sometimes... after Spencer is passed out from drinking too much... we talk." Nick smiles. "And like really talk you know? About real things in life." his smile becomes bigger and bigger. "And she's like really smart actually, she just hides it."

Dan can't help but smile, seeing Nick obviously head over heels for this girl. "And now you finally realised she deserves better than Spencer?" 

"Yes!" Nick exclaims! "And Phil's deserves better than Mia!" he adds. "Come on Dan, we can find a way around this mess!" he looks at Dan full of hope.

Dan sighs, "I don't know Nick... I can't risk that." he shakes his head. "Spencer is gonna hurt him too, and so is Mia, so is everyone in that group." Nick nods. "You're not protecting him from anything by lying to him."

Dan closes his eyes for a second. He wants to do it, more than anything. He wants to put Spencer down and he wants to be happy for once. He wants Phil. But can he turn back what he did? Can he undo the damage and save Phil from his dad at the same time? 

When he opens his eyes he sees Nick smirking, as if he knows what Dan is about to say.

"I want Phil."