i was sinking, and i couldn't swim. {phan au} highest ranking - #10 in danandphil

*'BEST PHANFICTION' WINNER (FANFICTION AWARDS 2018)* Daniel has anxiety and crumples paper to calm himself down. Phil has ADHD and diminishes hearts to bring himself up.

[completed] philgon: she can fuck you good, but i can fuck you better ; copyright © 2016

Dan gets saved from an oncoming truck that would have taken his life if he wasn't pulled back at the last second. After being saved he suddenly can see numbers floating above everyone he passes by and quickly figured out that those numbers represent the lifespan of that person counting down in seconds. He finds someone who's numbers are lower than everyone else's and realizes he is going to die within a couple of hours. He choices to stay with him as he watches the numbers count down, and hopefully by the time those numbers reach 0, he will be able to stop whatever is going to kill him and save his life.

"The less you care, the happier you are." He turned to face me, his blue eyes dull with traces of betrayal. "No. The less you care, the lonelier you are." - In a world where people have the ability to flip an emotions switch, many people lack feelings and sympathy in general- including Dan Howell after a tragedy strikes and he can't take it. However, he meets Phil Lester, the outgoing flirt with too big of a heart to handle. The two become close, and Dan soon realizes that even with his switch off, he can't deny that Phil is slowly reaching to turn it back on, and Dan can't seem to push his hand away.