How Did We End Up Here? - A Phanfiction

Chapter Three

*Author's Note: I know nothing about babies, I'm sorry if any of this is incorrect*

The next week passed slowly, yet all at once. Dan didn't speak. Phil didn't speak. Michelle's mom came from out of town, and the broken pregnant woman went back to stay with her. Phil ate, slept, and drank water. Dan drank, but not water. After two days, Phil finally cried. It felt like such a relief, and such a release, and from then on he was a bit more present and a bit more aware. He watched as his friend spiraled. Dan was never not drunk for this week. He went out a few times and brought back girls. Phil stayed out of their way, and he never saw a girl more than once.

The third day, Phil tweeted out to his followers that there had been a tragedy, and that both he and Dan were alright, but they wouldn't be posting anything for a while. He spent the rest of his day doing a puzzle. He had an old 2500 piece puzzle of one of the scenic frames from the Lord of the Rings movies. He did the puzzle. He finished it. He broke it apart, and started again. After five days, he and Dan began having light conversation. Mostly just passing words and some very forced small talk, but it helped to break up the silence that had been consuming Phil. After a week, he and Dan were getting back to normal. Dan was dead behind the eyes, and Phil still just couldn't quite seem to feel anything completely, but they were back to talking.

They spent an afternoon mindlessly playing Donkey Kong, and Phil actually saw Dan smile once as he got the DK at the end of the level. This made a small smile tickle Phil's lips, but he watched as his friend realized the expression on his face, and immediately shut down the game. He looked angry, and guilty, and spent the next hour holed up in his room, but came out to make pasta that night, and he and Phil talked about the weather, sitting at the dining table they never used.

"Yeah I guess it's getting warmer." Phil said.

"Mhm."

"I can't believe it's already May."

"Yeah."

It wasn't much, but it was something, and Phil was grateful for it. Eight days in, Phil woke up at 4am to the sound of light crying. He made his way out into the living room, and saw Dan looking down at his phone. Dan didn't make any effort to hide what he was looking at, as Phil walked up to see Dan looking at a selfie the two of them had taken with Alice the day they met. Phil sat slowly on the couch next to Dan, and put his arm out, Dan leaning in against him, dropping his phone on the floor and burying his sobs into Phil's shoulder. They sat this way for a long time, and eventually Dan fell asleep on Phil's shoulder, Phil following soon after, leaning his head against Dan's.

The next day they got a call. Dan's phone was the one to ring, but he shoved it towards Phil, as Phil answered for him.

"This is Phil."

"Hi, Phil... I'm looking for Dan?" It was a woman's voice. It sounded raspy and rough, as if she had smoked a pack a day for sixty years.

"Dan can't talk right now..." Phil responded, looking at his friend across the table, who nodded gratefully. "Who is this?"

"This is Michelle's mom. She's in the hospital in labor, and told me I needed to call Dan and have him come here."

"Oh..." Phil's mind began racing. "Okay what room is she in?"

"Room 201."

"Okay we'll be there."

"Bye" she hung up.

"Dan?"

"Yeah?"

Phil didn't know how to bring this up, so he decided just to say it like it was.