Curly Hair » Phan

Forty Two

One day was worrisome, but not bad. Two days was upsetting. Three days was stressful. A week with Dan locked in his room was too much.

Phil would knock, often to ask Dan if he needed anything. There wasn't ever really a reply. Not usually.

But today, when Phil knocked for the fourth time, Dan's door slid open slowly.

"Bear, are you feeling any better?" Phil asked. His face was full of worry. Yes, Dan needed his space when he was upset. But Phil was getting scared for him.

"Have you looked online?" Dan sniffed. He wasn't crying now, but clearly had been a few minutes before Phil knocked. "Is there more?"

"N-no," Phil lied. "Yeah. There's some, but not a lot."

"Okay," Dan kept his door open for a few seconds. "Phil, am I really that bad of a person?" He whispered. Tears were forming again.

"No. No, no, absolutely not." For the first time in a week, Phil pushed Dan's door open. He grabbed Dan, pulling him close. "You're the best person I know. You care so goddamn much about other people. I promise, you aren't a bad person."

Dan hugged him back. Phil pushed his curly hair back, kissing his forehead gently.

"I love you, Dan. Come here, yeah, come on. We'll go for a walk or something outside, okay? Nice change from this room." He led Dan out of his room, running a hand through Dan's hair. "Hey, did you take a shower? You smell good."

"Y-yeah. I took one last night," Dan replied, face still against Phil's chest.

"That's good," he led Dan to the door. "Here, let's put your shoes on. Yeah, come on."

Dan dropped down to his knees, and slipped his shoes on. He stood again, and Phil opened the door. He closed it shut, not bothering to lock it. He put an arm over Dan's shoulders.

"Fresh air is nice, hmm?" Phil asked, noticing how Dan became more relaxed. He nodded.

"Yeah." He leaned against Phil. Phil smiled gently, feeling better already.

They walked until they got to a park, taking pictures with a few fans. That boosted Dan's ego, even just slightly.

"Philly? Can we get something to eat?"  Dan asked. Phil nodded. They walked to the closest McDonald's, stepping in and finding a place to sit.

"I'll go order, okay? What do you want?"

Dan told him what he wanted, and Phil nodded.

Dan looked down, afraid to look up. What if somebody from online talked to him? Accused him of abuse?

He sighed, fingers tapping the table.

"Dan? Dan Howell?" He looked up as a man walked his way. He hoped it was a fan.

"Yeah?" He asked. The man looked slightly angry. Dan tried ignoring that.

"Hi. I'm Deven Hercoun. You remember me?"

"Faith's brother?" Dan felt fearful. His eyes widened. He backed away, but Deven grabbed him by the arm, and tugged Dan to his feet. He dragged him outside, and shoved him against the wall.

"You really think you can go around and hurt my little sister?"

"I swear, I didn't touch her. I wouldn't ever do that. The police even said she lied!" Dan squeezed his eyes shut. "I know you're her brother, and you have a protective thing over her. But I swear to you, I would never have hurt her."

"Howell, I have every right to beat your ass into the ground right now. She told me all about the nasty stuff you did to her. I know all about that night you forced her into all sorts of kinks. It's fucking gross. And then you cheated on her like a fucking faggot. What's your excuse?"

"I didn't!" He snapped. He didn't try to fight, he did slowly open his eyes. "Please, sir, I promise I didn't touch her."

"Hey!" Phil walked outside of the fast food place, setting his bag down. "Leave Dan alone."

Deven stood shorter than both Dan and Phil, maybe only five nine. And even though Phil had no muscle to his name, taking one step forward was enough to make him back off.

He stalked back inside. Phil immediately ran to Dan, who was still cowering against the wall. His eyes were still shown with pure fear.

"Dan, Dan it's okay." Phil pulled Dan away from the wall, and closer to him. "We're going to go home. It's going to be okay, Dan."

Dan followed as Phil practically dragged him home.