Sincerely; Phan

Twenty Nine

after going to the school, they head out to the town where they'd sometimes meet. some of the shops have changed but most still sit. they pick up some coffee and pastries from a local cafe and head towards something they haven't seen in a while.

"I can't believe I lived here..." Dan looks at the dreadful place he once called home. it seems completely abandoned and for a good reason. although, the for sale sign gives it hope for a better family.

"did you want to look inside? we could probably get in if we tried" Phil asks. Dan nods and starts walking towards the front door.

"I fucking hated this house" Dan mutters, trying the door handle but it's locked. he looks in the window and sees it's got the same setup from when his mum lived there with him. surely no one was there now.

"I know you did," Phil says in reply. he decides to pull his wallet from his pocket and inside is a half cut iTunes card. swiftly, he slides it between the door and the frame, jiggling the handle and pulling back on the card around where the lock was until they hear a click and the door creaks open.

"what the-"

"I used to pick locks, remember?" Phil chuckles, kissing Dan's cheek. Dan looks at him in horror, making him laugh.

"right...." Dan asks, looking shocked.

"don't worry, I haven't done it in a long time and don't intend on doing it any time soon" Phil reassures him. Dan sighs and walks in the house. dead air fills the room and everything seems to be covered in a thin layer of dust. Dan takes a deep breath, walking into the kitchen and looking at the once tidy house trashed out of rage.

"she's a mental case" Dan mutters, heading into the pantry, off food on the shelves but instead, he moves boxes away from the Bottom of it to reveal floor panels. Phil watches as Dan lifts one of them up. inside, a safe.

"Jesus, that's a bit over the top.," Phil says, Dan hums a yes as he enters a pin and unlocks it.

"I thought she must have forgotten the pin.," Dan says, pulling out some important documents, including his birth certificate and id's and any other things he needs.

"needed this" Dan says, sliding them into his bag carefully. he makes sure everything else in the safe isn't needed and closes it all back up.

"to your room?" Phil asks. Dan nods. they head down the hall to a staircase, climbing it up to 3 rooms. Dan grabs his door handle but it's locked too.

"I've got it" Phil chuckles, pulling the card out and unlocking it for Dan. Dan thanks him and opens the door. surprisingly, only half of Dan's room is destroyed out of anger, but it's not as bad as the rest of the house.

"I've never really got the chance to look at your room before," Phil says, looking around at everything. all the trinkets and pastel aesthetic stuff.

"yeah. we were kind of running from her last time we were here.. have a look" Dan smiles. opening his cupboard and looking at all his old clothes, but more importantly, for a box.

"what's this?" Phil asks, pointing to a small wooden box. Dan gasps and rushes over to it.

"this is my memory box! it has everything that I've collected over the years inside, like tickets or photos or overall good memories.... and, you know... you're in there too" Dan says, picking it up and opening the lid and showing Phil the inside. Phil pulls out a stack of photos wrapped in rainbow ribbon.

"what's this?" Phil asks, looking at the stack. it seems to be all blank.

"open it" Dan smiles, watching as Phil carefully unties the ribbon and looks at the stack, flipping through them. Phil looks confused at the small coloured pieces of paper with grey and white paint on them.