paper thin (phan)

t h r e e

fanart by @AileenMX

"Leave."

"Me? Leave? We aren't wolves and this isn't some territorial mark thing. You didn't pee on anything, Danny, quit being so salty." Dan reached for his pants zipper and Phil gasped, whacking his hand away. "Don't actually pee on anything!"

"Look, I-I've had a bad day and I just wanted some time alone."

"Who said you're the only one who didn't have the greatest day?" Phil retorted. Dan raised an eyebrow, leaning back to lay on his back and let out a breath.

"What, somebody wasn't in the mood to spread their legs for you?" Dan scoffed. Phil then avoided his gaze and Dan began to feel guilty. "Okay sorry, that was uncalled for. Wanna t-talk about it?"

Phil hesitated. This felt too familiar. Dejá vù, really.

Dan and Phil had history. They were very close when they were younger, since they grew up near each other and went to the same park. They had told each other their darkest secrets and their brightest imaginations. And as soon as Phil opened up, he shut down right after.

But this was simple. "It's just my mom," Phil began, his voice soft and sincere. "She's constantly upset with me- nothing I do pleases her. And it's all about money and education, not my mental or physical health. If she were to find out I smoke, she'd be mad at me for buying the cigarettes, not smoking them."

"Wait, you actually smoke?"

Phil pinched his fingers together halfway, indicating that it was a small amount, then continued after dropping his hand. "Maybe it's because my dad was rich and when they married they split it, so when he left and took it all with him then that's all she can think about. But she literally said that my funeral would be costly, not even the fact that it'd be my funeral. I could be dead right now and all she'd worry about is how much I spent while alive."

"I'm sure she cares, she's just not very good a-at showing it. Some people are like that." Phil exhaled and lay next to Dan, looking up at the wooden ceiling.

"Enough about me, what's with you and the crumpled paper?"

"Honestly? I don't know. It calms me down, I suppose. Everybody has that stress-reliever- that drug that makes everything, and crumpling paper is mine. Don't you have one?"

"I've only got myself, and that's never enough," Phil had whispered, so quiet that Dan barely caught the chance to hear him. He turned his head to look at the raven-haired boy but he avoided his gaze. "Hey Dan?"

Dan looked back up at the roof. "Yeah?"

"Do you think I'm annoying? Be honest please."

He took an intake of breath. "No, Phil, I don't."

"Why not?" He pushed, and this time he was the one looking at Dan while he didn't look at Phil.

"I think there's a story behind why everybody acts the way they do, I'm just one of the only people that a-acknowledges that. I wouldn't want people judging me before they get to know me, so why should I do that to others? Sure, you're a pain in the ass sometimes, but everyone bothers everyone at some point. But I'd never label you before you g-give me a reason to," Dan explained. Phil chuckled and he furrowed his eyebrows, locking eyes with him. "What?"

"You're weird," he replied. And Dan flinched. And Phil noticed. "Sorry, do you not like that?"

Dan shook his head, turning away again. "I-I've been called weird all my life."

Phil leaned onto his side, yawning. "If it makes you feel any better, I've been called annoying all my life."

These were the one things they hadn't told each other. The insults that bothered them, because they didn't want it backfiring.

Dan paused his music at that, pulling out his earphones entirely. "I promise not to call you annoying if you promise not to call me weird." He yawned afterwards, and there was a pause.

"I promise."

❦

"Wake up!"

"Mooom, it's-"

"I have a daddy kink, not a mommy kink, Danny."

Dan shot up, being hit with the realization that Phil and him had fallen asleep in the treehouse. He snatched his phone, seeing he had many missed calls and texts from both his parents. He checked the time, eyes widening. "We're t-two hours late!" He cried.

"Then why don't we be a day late?" Phil suggested. Dan blinked. "I mean: why don't we skip?"

"But I've n-never skipped before-"

"There's a first for everything. Now c'mon, tell your parents you're fine and at school then we'll catch a train."

"Why should I trust you?"

"You shouldn't, you know that now, but it'd be pretty cool if you did," Phil grinned, standing and extending his arm out. Dan flashed a nervous grin, taking his hand and pulling himself up.

"On one condition," Dan told him.

"What?"

"I-if we don't make it home before midnight, then you don't get to come to the treehouse anymore if I'm there."

Phil's lips formed in a tight line before he obliged, shaking the other boy's hand. "And if we make it before midnight, we have to have a proper sleepover in the treehouse together."

Just like old times. Dan and Phil never really had phones, so they'd simply throw pebbles at one another's window then meet up in the treehouse for a sleepover if one of them had a bad day and wanted to get away.

"If this is another one of your d-dates, I'm not intere-"

"It's not. Just a platonic sleepover, Danny. And only with your consent."

Dan hesitated then nodded. And so he sent a quick text to his parents, explaining the situation but leaving Phil out of it, then shoved his phone back into his pocket to follow the boy out the treehouse and to a train station.

Phil noticed the way Dan was fidgeting once they got on the train, clenching and unclenching his tiny fists. He had his earphones in and the guitar in the song was blaring. Phil eyed him.

"What is it? Have you never been on a train before?"

Dan looked at him, gulping. "N-no. I f-forgot to b-bring paper."

Phil's eyebrows raised in astonishment, turning back to face the front. Only him and Dan were sitting in the far back, and he knew how anxious Dan was, so he did what any flirtatious sweetheart would do.

He slowly snaked his fingertips over Dan's palm, waiting for any signs of protest, but Dan simply shut his eyes and let their fingers interlock.

Phil hid his smile and leaned back in his seat, but he could see how hard Dan was blushing with the tunes of a song playing through his headphones.