Drive North-Phan

♦two♦

I hate Venice Beach
I hate Highland Park
I hate Tarzana too
Cause I hate Los Angeles

I really love this book already so here's another update:) enjoy:)
(The attatched song is gr9™)
--

"Hey," Phil said, sliding into the booth opposite of Dan. His smile was sad, but big.

"Hi," Dan replied, his eyes cast down at his hot coffee.

"You know," he consoled, "it's okay. You're just going through a bit of a funk. I'm sure you'll get a role soon enough." He grabbed Dan's hand, and the sudden touch sent a shock up his arm to reach the back of his neck. He shivered slightly, looking up at Phil.

"Yeah," he said, more breathlessly than he intended.

"I get that it's upsetting. I was there for a while when I acted before deciding I liked managing and producing better. But look on the bright side! Now there's another opportunity to audition, and you're not pinned down with a movie whose director, if you ask me," he said, cupping his mouth with the hand that wasn't holding Dan's, "isn't top notch at all."

Dan smiled a bit. "It's always disappointing when I don't get a role. But honestly, now I'm just starting to hate this city even more. Everything about it is just so...draining. Especially the snobby people and equally as snooty producers. Excluding you, of course," he admitted.

In all honesty, Dan was considering leaving the city altogether. He wanted to go somewhere with cold winters and warm summers. He wanted normal, everyday civilians who weren't constantly auditioning. He wanted somewhere where the tourists were sparse and there to enjoy the nature. He wanted waterfalls and the northern lights and a back porch where he could read a book with a coffee and enjoy the sunrise. He wanted something that was different than LA, the city he'd lived in for years.

Phil had let go of Dan's hand by then, and Dan grabbed his coffee, deep in thought. He sipped as Phil looked him over with a cocked eyebrow.

"What are you thinking about?" Phil asked, and Dan looked at him. He wasn't thinking about what he was saying next.

"Leaving," he said bluntly.

"What?" Phil asked, slightly incredulous.

By then Dan had realized what he had said, and thought briefly about lying and saying he meant leaving the Starbucks they were sat in. But he figured Phil was trustworthy enough to confide in.

"Leaving LA. I'm sick of it. I feel burnt out. I know I'm only 27, but the past four auditions I've been to I've not even gotten an extra. I need to get away. Go somewhere with climate, and green lakes, and dense forests," he professed. The words tumbled out of his mouth in a kind of word vomit that would have Cady Heron jealous.

"But Dan, you can't leave! You've got a career, a job! Everyone would be pissed and so disappointed. I can hear Reynolds scolding you over the phone," Phil said in a defensive tone.

"Hey, don't be so loud. And I'd quit, tell them I wasn't doing anything worthwhile here. Besides, Reynolds is not my dad, he's my boss. If I quit, so what? He never particularly liked me anyway," Dan reasoned. The idea of leaving was becoming more and more rational and plausible in his mind.

"Dan, I-you're not actually going to leave?" Phil asked, hushing his voice slightly.

Dan thought about it for a second. It was really tempting and appealing, but he couldn't tell Phil that. He'd call Reynolds or something and tell him to force Dan to stay. He couldn't risk that.

"I mean, no. There's...not really anything for me to do out of the city..." Dan said, biting his lip and trying to seem convincing.

"Oh, thank God. We need you, I need you." Phil looked down at his coffee, dragging his hand over the lid and looking up at Dan through thick eyelashes. Dan's heart began to beat faster.

"Yeah..." Dan took a sip of his coffee to distract himself from the fluttery feeling in his chest.

Phil suddenly finished off the last of his coffee and went over to the trash to throw it away.

"Anyhow, why don't I walk you home? Your apartments not far from mine, is it?" he asked, and Dan stood up to throw his coffee away.

"No, it's not. But what is this? A highschool date or something?" Dan teased, smiling.

"Well, it wasn't, but do you want it to be?" Phil asked flirtatiously. Dan blushed furiously.

"Well..." Dan murmured, stepping out into the bleached out LA sun. Another thing he was sick of. Being blinded whenever he walked outside.

"Bright out, isn't it?" Phil asked, handing Dan his sunglasses. Dan happily accepted, and chuckled.

"This is LA isn't it? If it's not raining it's blindingly sunny."

"You're not wrong, Howell, you're not wrong," Phil contradicted, and they proceeded to Dan's flat.

"This is where we part, I guess," Dan said cheesily.

"You're a dork. I'll see you tomorrow?" Phil asked, and Dan unlocked his flat.

He considered saying that no, he'd already planned to quit tomorrow, but Phil didn't need to know that just yet.

"Yup. See you," he chimed, and Phil waved as Dan shut the door. Dan realized he still had Phil's sunglasses, but he's get them back to him before he left. He glanced around.

Guess I better start packing, he thought.

Time skip to next morning
--
Dan sat in his bedroom looking around at it. He knew he'd end up right back there. There was no preventing it. But he would get away for as long as he could. Starting the day after next, he decided.

He was fixing himself some cereal when his phone rang. It was Phil.

"Dan!" he cried through the phone. Dan had anticipated this.

"Yes?" Dan replied as calmly as he could.

"What the hell? You quit! What are you doing?" he asked frantically. Dan could hear the frustration in his voice.

"I need to get out of this goddamn city. I'm leaving day after tomorrow."

"Not without me you're not."

Dan froze. He hadn't expected this. "What!?"

"I said I'm going with you. I'll pack my bags today. We'll meet tomorrow, and leave. No need to wait another day," Phil said. The franticness was gone. The only thing left was calm and a bit of something indescernable.

"So you're just gonna quit too? What's Reynolds gonna say?"

"Oh, he'll give my position to Jenna. She's been waiting for it for a while, anyway. Reynolds doesn't like me too much anyway, nor does he you. He wasn't all too fazed when you called in, said he'd expected it almost. Bet he doesn't know you're planning on leaving, though."

Dan thought about this. A road trip out of LA? Great. A road trip out of LA with Phil? Maybe not so great. Loneliness was not that great though, Dan considered, so he just sighed.

"Pack your bags. I'll pick you up tomorrow at 7am. I better not have to wait for you," Dan replied and Phil said a quick "mhm" in response. They said their goodbyes, and Dan slumped against his fridge. His cereal was soggy from talking on the phone a while, and he didn't feel like eating any more of it.

What an unexpected twist to his long-desired getaway. But it was Phil, he was nice, and cute, so it couldn't be too bad and torturous.

Right?

A/N damn it's kinda late. I'm currently in my bed in a hotel room. This hotel is super fancy, but you have to pay for like...everything. The wifi's not even free! It's horrible. But I have data, so it's whatever. I added two more songs to the playlist, cause I felt like they fit. There's a lot of SWMRS because the album "Drive North" just generally symbolizes this book. Anyway, I hope you're enjoying:) p.s. should I start watching Free!? DnP really like it so Idk. Anyway, be cool, don't juul, and stay in school.
Love you!
Liv🌛