So Far Away

The Start Line

When Phil arrived at the beach, he saw Jacob sitting on the sand by himself. As he approached however, Jacob greeted him with a serious expression.

"Woah, why so solemn?" Phil joked. He was slightly nervous at this change in Jacob's persona.

"Phil, can I talk to you about something? Feel free to punch me in the throat or something, like, if I offend you or what not." Jacob said, patting the sand beside him, signalling for Phil to sit down.

"You're making me nervous.." Phil chuckled, before sitting next to Jacob.

"I just wanted to say, there's obviously some interest with you and Dan. I gave him a slight hint that you weren't straight today, but not directly. He got really flustered, it was fucking adorable. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but be careful Phil. It's his first proper day with us all. First, no guarantee's he'll stick around with us. Second of all, the guy's gonna have to go back home at some point. Be careful Phil. Please. I remember how heartbroken you were when Charlie moved, and nothing even happened between you two. I don't want to see you upset." Jacob said, playing with the sand, avoiding eye contact.

Phil was touched by Jacob's words. "Oh, man. Thankyou. Really. I understand completely where you're coming from, but don't worry about me. Honestly. I'll be fine."

Jacob smiled. "OK, cool."

"But about how he got flustered..."

"Shut the fuck up!" Jacob laughed, pushing Phil over. Phil grabbed a large handful of dry sand and lobbed it at Jacob.

"Hey! You two!" Luke called, jogging over to them, towel slung over his shoulder. 

Phil stopped to look at Luke, before he was rugby tackled into the sand by Jacob.

'Oh hey, Luke! Phil was just being a fucking creeper so I decided to bury him!" Jacob laughed.

"Wait what-" Phil managed to say before Jacob began shovelling sand onto Phil's body while holding him down.

"Oh come on, I want to go for a swim, you two!" Luke chuckled.

Jacob groaned, climbing off of Phil. Phil stood up carefully, brushing off the sand. "Hey, where's Dan?" 

Luke's face changed. "He said he was tired, the poor guy looks wrecked."

"Oh no, Phil! You can't flirt!" Jacob whined, earning a headlock from Phil.

The three boys ended the roughplay, before heading into the waves to cool off.

~

When Dan woke, his head ached and his eyes felt dry and scratched. He rose from the bed, to look out the window and see the sun beginning to set. He noted the lack of music, and as he reached for his phone, it presented itself as flat. Dan groaned before standing up to resume his unpacking.

He heard the boys approaching from the pathway outside the house. Dan shot up, looking in the mirror at his reflection. His hair was curled and stuck up at strange angles, with red bloodshot eyes decorating his face. Tear stains reflected off of his cheeks, and his nose was clogged. Dan was a wreck.

Rushing to the bathroom, he rinsed his face and flattened his hair to the best of his ability. After looking slightly less like an emotional wreck, he left the bathroom just in time to see Phil, Jacob and Luke in the kitchen downstairs, laughing and talking.

Dan slipped into his room, trying to present the image that he had been unpacking incase the boys made an appearance. This proved to appear true, as he heard heavy thuds of feet up the stairs. Out of fear and embarassment, tears yet again glazed Dan's eyes. 

The three boys made an apparent turn for Luke's room, until he heard a single pair of feet approach his bedroom door. The door creaked open slightly, and Luke peeked his head through the gap.

"Hey Dan. We're about to order pizza and play some video games, wanna join?" He said quietly.

Dan lost his battle with the tears, a few running down his cheek. "Oh, it's fine. I still have loads to do." He immediately noted how hoarse and upset his voice sounded.

"If you're sure, but if you change your mind, just come across to my room. Hey, you OK?" Luke asked, traces of worry in his voice.

Dan mustered all his strength to make his voice sound as normal as possible. "Yeah, thanks. I'm fine."

"OK. Hope everything's fine." Luke exclaimed, before Dan heard a click of the door.

It took all his strength not to sob. He was just so exhausted, all his energy gone. Forcibly, he continued to unpack all his belongings.

~

Luke appeared back into the room, in which Jacob and Phil were chatting.

"Hey, Dan's a wreck, so I think he just needs some rest." Luke whispered.

"That's fine." Phil said, slightly disappointed the brown-haired boy wasn't joining them. However, he was concerned. "Is he OK?"

"He said he was fine, but he sounds horrid. I think he just needs time." Luke said, sitting at the end of the bed. "So, pizza?"

"Fuck yeah!" Jacob exclaimed, rolling off the bed.

The boys laughed, before settling down in Luke's room. Unknown to them, down the hall, Dan was huddled into a corner, sobbing, using every ounce of strength not to rush into that room.