Polaroid (A Phan AU)

Chapter Twenty

Maybe it's just hiding somewhere. Or gone on a trip to come home. But falling in love is always a pretty crazy thing. It might appear out of the blue and just grab you. Who knows — maybe even tomorrow.

~Haruki Murakami

Mrs Howell was out collecting the girls from school and Lily was at home catching up on her schoolwork when I arrived, bruised and battered, at Dan's door.

He opened the door and gaped at the state of me, hustling me inside and leading me to the kitchen.

Dan sat me down and turned to grab a cloth and run it under the tap, and collected some antiseptic cream and bandages from the cupboard.

When he turned to me, I saw the concern clouding his eyes and knew his words before he spoke them:

"Who did this to you, Lion?"

I wanted to smile at the pet name, but my face hurt too much.

"Toby Smith and Ben Gulliver, they found out that... I'm gay, and they think I'm a freak. They're right. I'm a freak."

I began to sob erratically and buried my sore face in my bleeding hands, the salty tears seeping into the cuts on my cheeks and lips. I was unprepared for the cold, slender fingers that wrapped around my hands and wrenched them away, cradling them gently. Chocolate brown orbs stared into my eyes earnestly as Dan gripped my hands, caressing my palms with his thumbs.

"You're not a freak, Philip. There's nothing wrong with being gay. No matter what those losers think. They don't have a problem with your sexuality, they have a problem with you. They're jealous of your potential, and finding out about your sexuality is just an excuse to take it out on you. People were never like this when they found out that I was bisexual, because nobody was ever jealous of me. There's nothing wrong with being gay, nothing at all."

"Y-you're bisexual?" I breathed. This was something I had never known, and the discovery made my chest contract.

"Yes. And there's nothing wrong with it. Now take off your clothes."

"What?!" I shrieked, blushing immensely as Dan laughed hysterically.

"I need to fix your bruises and stuff, idiot! Please keep your boxers on, Jesus Christ Phil."

I laughed along with him as the awkwardness passed. I kicked off my trousers and struggled with the buttons on my blazer and then my shirt. Dan helped me undo my tie and peel my shirt away from me, and dropped them on the floor by the table.

He took the cloth and dabbed gently at any dirt marks he could find, mostly on my face and legs. When I was cleaned up, he squeezed some antiseptic cream onto his hand and carefully smeared on the cuts that adorned my face, knees and elbows. I winced in pain at the stabbing sting as he rubbed it in, but revelled in the sensation of his soft, gentle fingers against my skin.

The last thing Dan did was cut off a section of the bandage roll and wrap it slowly around my waist and chest, tying it off at the end with a flourish.

"There," he murmured, resting his hand on my bandaged chest and smiling at me reassuringly. I hoped to God he couldn't feel the uneven thumping of my heart.

He disappeared into his room to grab me some clean clothes and helped me dress.

I sent Cassie a text saying that I was staying at Dan's for the rest of the week. I couldn't go home and face them in this state.

Mrs Howell didn't object, only smiled at me sympathetically, and the girls were thrilled to bits.

That night, dressed in Dan's tracksuit bottoms, lying on Dan's bedroom floor, and staring at Dan's white washed ceiling, all that was on my mind was Dan.

Maybe it was wrong, maybe I was crazy, or delusional, but...

Something about those liquid eyes and that silky hair and vanilla smell had me falling head over heels for Dan Howell.

A/N

Imma leave that with you

Songs I listened to:

Hold On Till May by Pierce The Veil

Don't by Ed Sheeran

Skinny Love by Birdy

Recommended:

Silence by @KalelSaysHello

A troyler au. Hasn't even started properly and I'm already in love, check it out!

The Midnight Man by @xSillyTilly

Holy crap it's a classic if you're not reading it then what you doing with your life bruh

~Georgina <3

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