| university | d.h

| six |

(a/n: congrats to the friend that got 40K a little while ago, you rock bud)

// Dan //

The first thing that I notice when I open my eyes is the intense pounding in the back of my head. The second is the fact that I'm not in my own bed. I crack my knuckles and stretch out, sitting up in the bed slowly and taking in my surroundings. The dark hardwood floors and questionably inappropriate decorations in the room help me to instantly identify my location as one of the upstairs bedrooms of the frat house. I sigh in annoyance, dropping my head into my hands. What the fuck am I still doing here? Where's Phil?
When I move to stand up, the mattress beside me shifts and I jump, almost falling over the edge and onto the floor.
"What the-"
My sentence dies half way through, and I slap a hand to my mouth when I notice the mop of blonde hair on the pillow beside me.
"Shit."
I mutter quietly, peeking over the side of the mattress and finding my pants and boxers. Shit. I did not sleep with someone.
As quickly as possible I slip out of the bed, trying to ignore the bare skin of the girl's shoulder that is visible above the hem of the blanket. Once I have managed to lazily slide on my boxers and skinny jeans without face planting, I retrieve my phone from the pocket of my pants and dial Phil. It rings twice before he picks up.
"Dan? Where are you mate?"
He asks loudly and I turn the volume on my phone down. The last thing I need is Phil waking up the girl that I plan on running away from.
"Phil, come get me."
I hear the jingling of keys on the other end of the line, despite Phil's agitated sigh.
"Where are you?"
"Frat house."
He hangs up after that, and I check the room for any more of my belongings before slipping out into the hall and closing the door softly behind me. The pounding behind my eyes demands attention, and I stumble off to Michael's bedroom to find some pills.
The door to his room is wide open, and he's sprawled out starfish on the bed in his underwear, messy, disheveled hair spread down over his face. I sweep it away quickly and tug his comforter back over him, glancing out into the hall to make sure that no one saw. Michael has always been like a little brother to me, the kind of little brother that you want to tuck in and hug and protect.
I let myself into the bathroom and dig through drawers until I find what I'm looking for, swallowing two hangover pills and splashing some water on my face before leaving quietly.
When I get downstairs, Troye is sitting at the dining table with a bowl of cereal in front of him, his eyes locked on the television across the room.
"Morning,"
I mumble, falling into a chair beside him and resting my forehead against the table.
"What are you still doing here? Is Phil upstairs?"
I shake my head but don't bother to look up, not wanting to make the effort to move unnecessarily.
"Where's that girl that you were with last night?"
This makes me sit up straight. Shit. Alex.
"Oh, fuck."
I groan, rubbing my hands over my face. Did I really fucking sleep with someone that wasn't my date?
"Apparently she left with Tyler."
He states, shoving more cereal into his mouth. Before I can say anything, the front door swings open and Phil steps inside, waving me over.
"Let's go, Dan. We've got shit to do today."
I bid Troye farewell and follow Phil out to the car with heavy feet, trying once again to ignore my monstrous fucking head ache.
"So, what happened last night?"
He asks when I'm settled in the seat bedside him, flicking my hand away when I try to turn the radio on and block him out.
"You are an asshole."
I lean my head back against the seat and he pulls out of the drive and onto the road. Not this again.
"Phil, I am not an asshole!"
He chuckles and I reach over to punch him in the chest.
"You are so! You brought a girl out to spend time with her, and then left her stranded at the frat house and slept with someone else. That is the definition of asshole."
I sigh and turn to look out the window. He's right, but I won't admit to that.
"Phil, you are literally intensifying my headache to levels that I did not know were possible."
He shuts up and we drive the rest of the way home in complete silence. Once we get back to the dorms, I stumble into Phil's with him and lay down in his bed for a nap. I close my eyes when my head hits the pillow, but can't concentrate on falling asleep, because Phil is pacing the bedroom nervously, opening drawers and digging through them like a fucking mad man.
"What is it, Phil?"
I ask impatiently, wanting nothing more than to get some sleep.
"I, um... I'm taking Tillie out for dinner in a bit. I don't know what to wear."
I thank the heavens that his problem has an easy fix and send him over to PJ's for help before falling asleep.