american idiot ; phan

20

TRACK TWENTY: PORTUGUESE KNIFE FIGHT

phil was unconscious at the hospital. 

after throwing up into the trashcan, he fainted against the wall and they couldn't get him to wake up. they rushed him to the hospital, liam phoning cole but the manager didn't answer. when the nurses asked for names liam said that phil was his brother, worried that they would kick them out for not being family. she believed him and liam let holly and sam and dan stay inside the room. they had him hooked up to an iv, dan chewing off all of his nails in the process. holly glared at him from the corner and sam glared at her right back for doing so, the twins in a silent standoff. 

this was the first time dan had seen holly since they had broken up and he felt like crying and vomiting and telling her everything all at the same time. liam placed his hand on dan's knee, the brunet looking up at him.

"he's gonna be alright," he whispered, careful not to let holiday hear but dan was sure she did anyways.

dan nodded. "are his parents going to show?"

liam shrugged. "i gave his mom a call but it went straight to voicemail. when i called the number stored for his father said that wasn't available anymore. i told them where he was so i guess we'll have to see." 

dan just nodded, looking over at the boy his heart jumped for. it hadn't dawned upon him until now that phil was his boyfriend, not just his friend. but the labels didn't matter to him because phil was all he wanted and he didn't need some word to tell him that. 

"don't people who faint, i dunno, wake up?" holly asked from the corner, all heads turning towards her.

"the nurse told me they put some stuff in his iv so they could stabilize his heart and make sure he's body is working normally before they wake him up. she should be in at any moment."

they all sat in silence, staring off at other points in the room before a woman walked in with a clipboard. she looked around at the boys and holiday, surveying the crowd. she looked at liam and frowned. "you're not his brother are you?" 

liam stayed silent before she added. "i know you guys," she pointed with her pen. "my little sister loves you guys. i know for a fact you are not his brother."

"none of his family is going to show up, we tried already. we're all he has." liam said, biting his lip.

"alright. i'll let you stay. but who's the closest to the patient?"

they all looked at each other before sam and liam stared at dan. sam said, "dan is." holiday groaned, sam shot her daggers.

"alright. come with me." the nurse walked out of the room, dan in toe. as he was passing the black haired boy, liam grabbed his hand and muttered,

"he's gonna be alright." dan nodded before meeting the nurse in the hallway.

her blonde hair was tied back into a messy bun and her name tag said brooke. brooke closed the door behind daniel, flipping some papers on the clipboard. "okay so, i'm not supposed to tell this to you since you aren't family, but given the situation..." she trails off before clearing her throat. "i have bad news. they did a brain scan on philip and the scans show that there is a very small tumor in his brain, which caused the fainting spell. it's very small, so if acted upon now, there is a large chance that he will survive."

the words didn't sink in right away. brooke stared at daniel with worried eyes. the hallway was all too silent as dan's mind raced around and around. cancer. he stumbled to the side, catching himself on the door. he didn't know phil's situation at home, would they even be able to afford chemo?

"how long if not acted upon?" he whispered, not wanting to hear but he needed to. he needed to know.

he squeezed his eyes shut as she gave him an answer. "if not acted upon, at most, five years."

at most.

cancer.

five years. 

dan stumbled down the hall and threw up into a trashcan, all stomach acid that wiped away the feeling of phil's lips on his own.