Illicit (phan)

II - Past

(i'd strongly recommend rereading the last 3 chapters before starting this one)

They were now both 12, although Phil was turning 13 soon. Things had changed for them since they were 9. They were still best friends, though, and they'd vowed that that would never change.

Phil hated going to school, he'd much rather spend the days with his dead beat mum at home than come here. The only reason he didn't do that, was because of Dan.

Phil saw the way people acted around Dan, every glance, every whisper. He knew what they were thinking. Dan's handwriting was neat and loopy, he dotted his I's with hearts. His locker was ordered and decorated, his books were wrapped in sparkly gift wrap. Whereas he used to enjoy video games and reading comics, he now spent all his time painting and drawing.

And so, Phil had to come to school everyday, if only to protect Dan. He was lucky that most of the school was scared of him, because that made his job easier.

Phil was waiting in the lunch line, thinking about whether he should have curly fries or chips when Benny Malone and his friends walked into the lunchroom, laughing and high-fiving. This made Phil's stomach twist and he quickly looked around for Dan.

Benny's dad was the leader of the local gang and had allowed Benny to get the gang symbol tattooed on his neck a few years back. Apparently the school thought this made Benny 'cool' and the small snake had made him rise to popularity. Benny and his group of friends were of the few people who didn't seem to fear Phil and picked on Dan relentlessly.

After realising that Dan was definitely not in the lunch room, Phil decided to give Dan exactly one minute to show up, otherwise he'd go looking for him. He tried to keep his mind off the matter at hand by subtly focusing on the girl next to him in the line. He compared her sharp nose to Dan's soft ones and her boring eyes to Dan's warm ones. He stopped as soon as he realised what he was doing and glanced at the clock again. 50 seconds had gone by.

At that exact moment, Dan walked into the lunchroom, his weak frame slouched over. His hand-me-down shirt was untucked, and the fact that it was way too big on him became more obvious. One of his shoes was missing and there was a rip in the bottom of his pants. Dan's mother would not be happy.

Phil dropped his tray and ran over to Dan's side. "What did they do to you?"

Dan looked up at Phil, some of the light returning to his eyes. This allowed Phil to see the bruises and cuts that littered Dan's face. "Hey, did you just get out of the lunch line? Is the world ending?"

"Who was it?" Phil asked urgently, his fists curling.

"Benny and his friends. They took my lunch money," Dan admits, looking away from Phil's angry eyes.

Phil scowled when his suspicions were confirmed. He turned to glare at them across the lunch room.

"Phil, it's okay. I'll just share your food. I mean, you owe me for all the times my mum's given you breakfast... and dinner."

The intensity of Phil's scowl increased. He knew it was true but he didn't like when Dan mentioned it. "No. I'm getting your money back," he said firmly, taking a few steps towards Benny.

"Phil, let it go. You don't have to protect me."

"Yes, I do, you're my best friend," Phil argued, though he was doubting himself. Was he doing this because they were best friends? Is this what best friends did?

"Phil..." Dan began, but Phil had already stormed away. He sighed, scurrying after him.

"Benny," Phil said stalking towards the boy.