Whiskers

Skinny Love

Dan's POV

I get up, and i'm ready for the day. Phil's awake when i get up. He's gorging himself on cereal, eatign it right out of the box. "Phil!" I exclaim, taking the box away from him. "What? I'm hungry!" He argues, smiling. "NO!" I say laughing as he reaches for it again. We end up spilling cereal everywhere. Then there's a knock on the door. We instantly stop and look at the door, Martyn emerges from it, struggling to his key out of the lock. "Martyn hi!" Phil says and as Martyn's eyes gaze upon the mess he glares at us. "Pick it up!" He says. "Nope sorry, we have to go! School, you know that annoying thing you don't go to anymore." He says. "Phil!" He yells. Phil grabs my arm and grabs ,y scarf off of the hook. He pulls me past Martyn and down the stairs. Only when we're out on the street does he let go and hand me my scarf. I put it around my neck.

As we walk to school, i catch myself looking over my shoulder and side to side looking for the guys that beat me last time. "You ok?" Phil asks. I nod, but i still have a visable bruise on my eye and a busted lip. "They won't touch you again." He says, firmly. "How do you know that?" I ask, thinking for a second he knows something about the thing that happened on Tuesday night. But he onyl shrugs and keeps walking. I think i hear something, and i grab Phil's wrist stopping him. "What is it?" He asks, serious. I stay silent, still listening. But i don't hear anything. "Nevermind." I mutter. He nods, and just when we're starting walking again someone comes up behind me. He's on a skateboard and grabs an end of my scarf as he zooms past. I had put it on tight, because it's cold outside.

The scarf chokes me as it unravels from my neck. I'm spun around and yanked forward, losing my balance and face planting. Phil rushes by my side. "Dan, are you ok?" He asks, his voice strangely stable and calm. I nod and try to pick myself up, but three other guys comes rushing on skateboards, and one runs over my hand. I screech in pain. I hold my hand in my other under my body and lay there for a moment, waiting for the next wave of football players to come and hurt me again.

"Dan, get up." Phil growls. "What?" I ask, looking at his eyes that have gotten a little darker. The spark from them gone. "Get. Up." He says. "Phil please..." He cuts me off. "Dan." He says, extending a hand. I take it, and we immediately get responses from the four kids there. "Fags are holding hands boys." The one who still has my scarf says. "Bastard." Phil says, his jaw clenched and his hands balled up into fists. "Phil, don't." I say, pulling his arm back so he follows. "Want your scarf homo?" one of the player asks.

Phil's eyes burn with hatred even more. I had always though of Phil as innocent and nice. Never could hurt or hate. Then one of the players throws the scarf, it landing in the space next to the curb. The scarf quickly soaks up all the nasty water. The dirt and filth. "Really?" I exclaim. "This is how you treat your fear?" I yell. This stops the players, and make them listen. "Fear?" One of them snaps. "You're obviously afraid of things that are new!" I yell, "Or then why do you hate us?" Phil joins in. Us? "Because your disgusting!" He yells back. "We're only different!" I yell back. "Love is love. And something tells me you know about that!" Phil yells.

"What?" The player yells. His friends start to back away from him. "I'm not gay!" Johnathan yells really loud. "Well neither am I!" Phil yells. The other three players skate away, not mentioning a word to their friend. "Johnathan, I don't know why the hell you hate gay people. Maybe it's because you are one and you're afraid of how people will react. Maybe it's because you think liking a boy is weird. Maybe you're just close-minded! But i'm not gay, and i'm also not violent. So stop beating up Daniel!" He yells, using my full name.

"You don't get it! My mom is single now because of some gay man coming and stealing away my dad! The horrible act destroyed my family. It's not natural!" Johnathan yells back, and starts skating away after making eye contact with both of us.

As i watch the letterman jacket fade away down the street, i notice how my heart dropped. Phil's not gay? Or was he just trying to make Jonathan feel bad? "Dan, i'm so sorry." Phil says, and starts walking. But i'm not sure what he's apologizing for. I don't even know if he knows what he's apologizing for.

I back up, and grab my scarf. Phil doesn't wait for me.

Phil's POV

I spend the whole day wondering why i did what i did. It's not who i am, and i think it hurt Dan. He was really quiet the whole day. I tried working on him on the project we had to finish.

Whenever i saw him walking in the halls, i tried talking to him but was always cut off trying by Dan being pushed into a locker or tripped. "Fag" "Gayboy" "Gaylord." I felt really bad for him. Was he even gay? I didn't feel comfortable asking him.

The walk home was uncomfortable and silent. But i didn't want to give him space, he could be beaten again.

Right when we got home, he went right to his room. He closed the door and turned music up. I went to my room too, we had a lot of homework to catch up on. I work through it all, going in order from hardest to easiest. I was on my easiest subject, my last, when i heard Dan singing. But i couldn't hear him in the shower. My door was closed, but it sounded like he was right there. I walked over to my door and sat against it.

It was the second time i had sat on the other side of a door than Dan. But this time was different. I knew what he was feeling, his song explained it all.

He was singing Skinny Love by Birdy.

"Come on skinny love just last the year,

Pour a little salt we were never here,
My my my, my my my, my-my-my my-my...
Staring at the sink of blood and crushed veneer.

Tell my love to wreck it all,
Cut out all the ropes and let me fall,
My my my, my my my, my-my-my my-my...
Right in the moment this order's tall.

And I told you to be patient,
And I told you to be fine,
And I told you to be balanced,
And I told you to be kind,
And in the morning I'll be with you,
But it will be a different kind,
'Cause I'll be holding all the tickets,
And you'll be owning all the fines.

Come on skinny love, what happened here?
Suckle on the hope in light brassieres,
My my my, my my my, my-my-my my-my...
Sullen load is full, so slow on the split.

And I told you to be patient,
And I told you to be fine,
And I told you to be balanced,
And I told you to be kind,
And now all your love is wasted,
Then who the hell was I?
'Cause now I'm breaking at the britches,
And at the end of all your lines.

Who will love you?
Who will fight?
And who will fall far behind?

Come on skinny love,
My my my, my my my, my-my-my my-my...
My my my, my my my, my-my-my my-my."

He was amazing. Then i had an image in my head. An image of his getting up and singing in front of a bunch of people. Then, i got an idea. Our project in our language arts class was to do a project of the other person in our group. Our pairing. It was to learn more about the person. I take my phone out and record him singing, he really is amazing. I think my project is coming together on Daniel Howell, and i think he's been the best friend I've ever had.

~~~~~~~~~~•3•~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for reading!

Song- Skinny Love by Birdy

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