ART DECO | PHAN

sixteen.

1/21/17

phil lester watched dan run away in shock. what the hell?

he fell to a knee, grabbing the notebook from the ground.

"n-no, i-" eva breathed, but phil ignored her. he flipped a few pages to the one dan had been looking at, and his breath caught.

his beautiful work was completely ruined. phil looked up, glaring at her and pushing himself to his feet.

"what the hell is this?"

eva flinched, clearly not used to his anger. "it was just a joke... he's overreacting. and i didn't even write that."

"so you think that's an excuse?" phil was furious. he'd always prided himself on being a good person, how had he been so blind to her actions? was he that self centered?

"n-no, i just-"

"stop." phil tapped his temple in thought, frowning deeply. "just apologize to him. okay?"

she looked shocked. "no!" phil met her eyes.

"no?"

she nodded, crossing her arms. "i have nothing to apologize for. i won't apologize for something my friends did, and that he freaked out."

phil's jaw tightened. "the fact that you didn't specifically write that means nothing to me, don't you get that? you let it happen. and i'm sure you thought it was funny. am i wrong?"

she paused, chewing on her lip, before nodding slowly. phil nodded back.

"that's what i thought." he held the notebook close to his chest, turning to walk away.

"where are you going?" she called after him, her voice laced with shock.

"to find dan."

"what?" she hissed. "you're choosing him over me?"

phil stopped in his tracks, the blood beneath the surface of his skin absolutely boiling. "yeah, eva, i am."

she huffed. "well, don't expect me to forgive you so easily."

phil laughed, a sort of dry noise, devoid of kindness for once. "i won't count on it."

he pulled his phone out of his pocket as he walked, calling dan. no answer. he listened to dan's recorder until it beeped, shoving his free hand in his pocket.

"hey, dan..." he took a deep breath. "please call me back... i'm worried. eva's a bitch, what they wrote isn't true..." he chewed on his lip. "yeah. so, um. call me." he hung up.

he checked the gazebo first, but dan wasn't there. he tried all the bathrooms, even dan's room. his roommate was giving phil a weird look, phil figured he might have given eva the notebook, but he didn't have time to grill him.

finally he thought of katie's room.

he stopped before knocking, and pressed his ear against the door. he was only acquaintances with her, and he didn't want to barge in if dan wasn't even there. he heard muffled voices.

"... dan ..."

so dan was in there. he knocked. the voices went silent for a moment before he heard footsteps, and a more clear voice; dan's.

"wait," it whispered, more of a hiss. "don't tell him..."

phil frowned. was dan talking about him? and what couldn't she tell him?

"okay," katie muttered back, opening the door. phil smiled sheepishly.

"hi..." he peered past her at dan, who was sitting on her bed, his eyes red and his cheeks tear stained. he was avoiding phil's eyes. "can i come in?"

katie nodded, stepping aside for him. phil took a timid step inside, watching dan.

he moved to the bed, sitting down slowly. after nearly a minute, dan spoke.

"please don't say it," he said softly, his voice broken. they both looked at him, surprised. dan looked up. "i don't need you to apologize for her, or fix it." he took a shaky breath. "you can't fix it."

phil was quiet, nodding slowly. "okay," he breathed. "i won't."

katie sighed, sitting down between them. "dan, why don't you stay the night tonight?" she asked softly, reaching out to stroke his hair. he nodded mutely.

katie turned to phil.

"hey, could i talk to you in the hall for a second?"

dan sat up quickly, giving her a pointed look. "i know, i know," she muttered. "i won't." he lay back down.

phil nodded, frowning. he let katie tug on his sleeve, leading him out and closing the door behind them. she chewed on her lip.

"look..." she paused, thinking. "i think dan's going through a really bad time right now. he'd kill me if i told you..."

"tell me anyways."

she met his eyes, shaking her head. "i can't, i'm sorry. but... i-i just wanted to ask you to be there for him. just be around him... care for him, i think he needs it."

phil nodded, his brow furrowed. "of course." i already was. she smiled a bit.

"good. and i will too." she laughed softly. "we can be a protection team."

phil chuckled. "yeah. sure."

katie held out her hand for him to shake. phil grinned, taking it.

"friends?"

phil smiled, nodding. "friends."

when they got back inside, dan was asleep, curled up on the duvet of katie's bed like a kitten. he was twitching a bit, and frowning. phil wondered if he was having bad dreams.

he sat down beside him, and reached out, threading his fingers through his hair gently. dan subconsciously leaned into the touch, humming softly. phil smiled.

"you're gonna be okay," he muttered to him softly, watching his face relax a bit. "i know it."

phil bit his lip. did he know it? or was he already too late?