PHAN ONE SHOTS :)

The Only Exception

Summary: Based on the song The only exception by Paramore. Dan doesn't belive in love. He meets Phil and suddenly things change. Yada, Yada, Yada. Cliche, Cliche, Cliche.

WC: 1250

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"Jennie, I don't want to do this anymore! I'm tired! We're both tired!" Dan heard his dads voice rise above his mother's insistent arguing.

This had become a regular occurance in the Howell household. It seemed evey day there was a new fight, another argument, a new day to scream about something. Dan was tired of hearing his parents argue. He was past the point of wishing they would makeup, he wanted them to get divorced. He was over it.

"Well, if you can't take it anymore than maybe I'll just leave! You're not the victim here, so don't turn this around on me!" The sound of the slamming door punctuated his mother's sentence.

Dan stayed in his room and gazed up at the ceiling that had watched over him for the last 14 years. It was a cream color, bland and boring. It was dull but it matched how he felt.

There's a certain point in your life when you're done feeling bad for people who keep putting themselves through bad situations. They say it's "for the kids" but 89 percent of children would be happier if their fighting parents would just leave each other. A honest truth.

After a few minutes of silence went by, Dan heard his father make his way up the creaky stairs, each step groaning underneath the weight of a marriage that was crumbling.

A soft knock sounded at th door and Dan suddenly felt like he was about to be in a car wreck, so he tensed and braced for impact.

Hid dad opened his door slowly, maybe he was bracing himself too.

His dad tried to smile but halfway through it turned into a grimace, so he let his face fall. It wasn't hard to see that his dad was miserable. They all were.

His dad sighed as he made his way into the room and sat on the edge of bed. They were quiet for a moment both basking in the silence that was sure to stay.

His father finally looked at him, eyes reflecting in the dull light, "I'm sorry you have to go through this every night, Dan."

"We didnt mean for it to end like this. Somewhere along the way, things just didn't work. Your mother and I...we don't work. Not like we should, anyway. I'm sure you know better than anyone that things were bad."

Dan shrugged his shoulders and avoided eye contact. "She's not coming back?"

His dad sighed again, like that release of air was all he had left to offer the world. "Not this time. I think-, I know we're done. It's not good for us and it's not good for you."

Dan finally raise his eyes to look at his dad. "I know why it's over and I'm not...I'm not mad. I just-, did you guys ever even love each other?"

Dans dad looked to the ceiling, like it would grant him an answer to give to his son. "I think there was a point where it was easy. It came naturally and we were truly in love. Time changes people though, that's the hardest part. You'll learn in life that the people that once held the sun, the clouds, the stars, and all of the planets can turn on you. Or maybe you'll turn on them. The sun will burn you, the clouds will drift away, and space is just a big black sea of nothing. I did love your mother and she loved me. That's over now, okay? It's you and I now. It's going to be tough, but you're strong. I broke my heart and now you have to watch as I reasemble it."

Dan sat up and hugged his dad. He had no words to offer. Nothing he could say would ever make a difference. He buried his head in his dads shoulder and vowed to never do this to himself or anyone else. It's not worth it.
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