ADOPTED BY PHAN

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Hey there! Before I get on with the chapter, I'm here to say that I'm lonely and like friends so hit me up on Twitter yo @lesbolester . . . Oh god I don't talk like this . . . often . . . I hope.

Anyway, another reason why I've decided to put my Twitter out there is because I thought, why not have a little fun? If you want some secrets about this story, DM me there and I'll share a little something ;-) I'm mostly just lonely though lol.

You can also ask questions and stuff there! (You can do that here too but I can't guarantee even a remotely immediate reply).

Fuck this author's note is longer than the actual chapter. It always is.

OKAY ENJOY!

The next day, Phil's plan is voiced to his friends.

Dan and Phil have already left for the radio show, leaving Iris with Pj and Chris to keep her company. She informs them about Phil's idea, and they even add onto it. In the end, it's practically a fan fiction.

"So I'll just randomly appear with a camera, like 'hey guys! This is totally not suspicious!'?" Pj questions.

"Yes Peej, you just show up with a huge fucking professional filming camera slung over your shoulder, with lights and everything!" Iris replies, much sarcasm intended. "No, you'll have a small vlogging camera hidden in your pocket, you know what I mean?"

"Oh, I get it!" Chris chimes in, smiling sheepishly.

"Yeah, I understand now." Pj adds with a nod. "What restaurant are they going to?"

"Phil said that Dan has a favourite out there in Manchester, I forget what it's called but I'd assume they'll be going there." Iris answers.

Chris jumps in, "Wait, how are we going to convince Dan to travel out to Manchester-"

"Phil will cover that." Iris interrupts, putting her hand in front of Chris' face. Or as she would say, annoying face.

She means that in the kindest way. She loves Chris - has no problem with him at all - she just likes to torment him. It's something they've done with each other from the start, and it'll probably go on forever.

"So what day is this happening?" Pj asks, as Iris hasn't told them yet.

"Friday."

"Friday?" Pj's eyes widen.

"Yeah," Iris replies, beginning to fear his unspoken dilemma. "Is that a problem-"

"No!" Pj reassures her, "Of course not, I'm just surprised; didn't think Phil had it in him to pounce on this idea so quickly."

"Oh, he didn't. I pounced on him to do this already." Iris giggles, mocking Pj's use of wording.

"Keep teasing me and I'll pounce on-"

"Woah! Hey now, I hope you end that sentence with my name." Chris jumps in, wriggling his eyebrows at Peej.

That whole tormenting each other thing mentioned earlier? That goes around for all three of them. It's really quite enjoyable to watch, but also super obnoxious; Dan and Phil would know.

Speak of the devils, the front door opens, causing the three to jump. They scurry to hide their notes, then act upon Chris' request of 'act natural!', striking violent poses.

To say Dan is confused when he enters the room, is an understatement. He simply walks in, stops, stares at the three, stares behind him, stares back at them, then shouts to Phil.

"Yeah?" Phil asks, coming up behind Dan. The chestnut haired boy gestures to his daughter and friends, and Phil's only response is, "Oh."

"Hey gayboys," Chris says, wriggling his eyebrows again whilst still posing ridiculously.

Dan chuckles into his hands, then looks up and points to the door. Saying between his laughter, "Get out."

Chris and Pj leave in a hurry, silently reminding Iris to contact them later. After saying their goodbyes, the two boys are gone.

Dan takes a seat next to his daughter, "How was their visit here this time?"

"Well," Iris chooses her words carefully, "I can see why people ship them now."

"Yeah, they're an interesting two . . ." Dan trails off. He then brings up a question Iris never expected to hear, "How are things with Skye?"

Iris blushes, awkwardly answering, "Good."

"Just good? You're not going to give me any juicy details? Come on-"

"Dad," Iris states firmly, "This is weird."

"Sorry," Dan looks down, clearly embarrassed. "I'll- uh- I'll let myself out . . ."

He clumsily gets up off the couch, exiting the room to go take a shower.

As soon as he's gone, Phil runs into the room. Iris immediately pulls out all of her notes, showing them to Phil. He reads over them and agrees with everything, especially impressed by how Pj will film it. Everything is perfectly planned out.

All he needs now, is an outfit. Him and Iris agree to go to the mall tomorrow, after school of course.

School. Iris is extremely nervous about it, she hasn't gone in weeks. Hasn't spoken to Floyd or Vic at all. What will they think of me? Iris worries. What if they ask me where I've been? Do I tell them the truth? Do I make up an excuse?

Iris excuses herself to go to her room. She can't handle all these thoughts. As soon as her bedroom door is closed and she's behind the walls, she breaks down. She rips her hair clip out and fiddles with her lighter, but no sparks ignite. It's all out of fluid.

"No." Iris whispers. "No, no, no, no. No!"

She throws her lighter across the room, breaking something in the process. She sits on the edge of her bed and pulls at her hair, ripping out several strands at a time.

Closing her eyes, she counts in her head to try to calm down.

"You're okay." She whispers to herself. "There's no need to freak out, it's all in your head. You can get through this. Sleep it off. Come on, do it for Dan, for Phil, Floyd, Vic, Peej and Chris. Do it for Louise, Zoe, Darcy, everyone else. Get better for them. For Skye."

She manages to steady her breathing out and get into a healthier state of mind. After changing into her pajamas, she wipes away the last of her tears and crawls into her bed.

And just before Iris falls asleep, there's a small voice at the back of her mind that whispers, Do it for your family.