Bad Boys Don't Smile / phan

chapter four

dan

Dan walks down the many aisles, scanning the packed shelves for the items he needs.

He hopes no one from school is here - what would they think if they saw Dan, the bad boy, buying fruit, things for dinner, cereal, yogurt, a birthday cake and milk? Dan walks to the checkout, paying for the items before carrying the plastic bags into the video shop with him. He finds marked down pokèmon DVD and takes it to the counter to find Phil standing behind it.

"What are you doing here?" Dan asks sharply, trying to keep up his tough, cools persona, "I didn't know idiots worked here."

"My family happens to own this shop," Phil replies, scanning the DVD and frowning slightly as Dan hands him the crumpled ten pound note.

"Did you steal this off a junior at school?" Phil asks, staring at the note on the counter.

"What's it to you if I did?" Dan snarls, glaring at Phil.

"You shouldn't steal you know," Phil whispers, "it's bullying and wrong. How do you think that kid feels now?"

"I don't think that kid cares. He's always gloating about how he's mega rich anyway," Dan scoffs, "and it's not bullying, I simply needed more than him."

"For a pokèmon DVD?" Phil asks doubtfully, raising his eyebrow at Dan as he finally takes the note, handing Dan the change and bag with a receipt, "wow, so important. Never had you down as a pokèfan Dangerous Dan."

"Just fuck off," Dan snaps, snatching the bag and shooting another glare at Phil, "the DVD isn't for me anyway."

"Who's it for?" Phil asks.

"None of your fucking business," Dan snaps, turning and walking out of the store, his anger levels building.

By the time Dan arrives home, he's more exhausted than angry. It was a particularly big shop today, the plastic handles were digging into his skin the whole way too, so he has deep, red indents on his arms. He takes the DVD upstairs and hides it in his room and them goes back downstairs to unpack the shopping.

"Hey Dan," Shawn says, emerging out of his room a few minutes later, helping Dan put the things away, "what's for dinner tonight?"

"I'm thinking pasta," Dan says, pulling the packet out of the bag and laying it on the bench.

"Dan, my friend told me that his brother is at your school, and he says that everyone thinks you're scary," Shawn says, sitting on the bench top and frowning at his brother, "why? You're not dangerous and scary!"

"Well, people think I am," Dan shrugs, laying out the bottle of pasta sauce and putting the last box of cereal in the cupboard, "that's just the way it is."

"But, why do they think you're someone that you're not?" Shawn asks.

"Well, they make assumptions, throw a label on you and make up rumors about you, and then they never check again to see if the label still fits," Dan says, leaning on the countertop next to his brother.

"I don't want to grow up," Shawn says, looking down at Dan with sad eyes, "it sounds bad."

"It is bad," Dan says, "but it's part of life."

When dinner is made, Dan takes a bowl upstairs to his mother, who's sitting up in bed now, just staring at the blank wall. She's so far gone she doesn't even notice that her son has entered the room holding her dinner.

"Mum, I have your dinner," Dan says, stepping forward and handing her the bowl as she snaps back into reality.

She looks over at Dan, their matching brown eyes making eye contact, and for a second, she looks almost normal. She takes the bowl, staring at it in her lap before looking back over at Dan, not saying a word.