***

Walking home, Dan, Phil and Connor constantly chat, well, on their phones at least...

Dan: you have to leave by four thirty, dad gets home at five.

Phil: but that's only like an hour!

Dan: sorry Phil but you are never meeting my dad again

Phil: party pooper :/

Connor: it's okay Phil, there's always Skype for your long distance relationship.

Phil: haha very funny.

Dan: Connor the comedian

Phil: Connor has lost his FRANTAstic sense of humour

Connor: oi! no I haven't! You just lost your sense of humour Phil Pester.

Dan: I'm surrounded by idiots...

Dan laughs as Connor shoves him playfully. They arrive at Dan's house a few minutes later, following Dan inside to the kitchen to get a snack.

"Quinn! Stop eating all the good food!" Connor complains as he sees Dan's brother shoving chips in his mouth, "how does one little kid eat so much? Seriously."

"Who's that?" Phil asks, gesturing to Quinn, who stops eating to look up at him, "is it Dan's brother?"

"Yes, I'm the hotter Howell," he says, grinning proudly at his sad attempt at humor, and Dan shoves him playfully, smiling fondly at his little brother.

"Hello I'm Phil, and I'm amazing," Phil says, grinning and making Dan roll his eyes at his friend.

Dan sighs, shoving past his friends and brother, taking random packets of food out of the cupboard and fridge before practically pushing Phil and Connor out and upstairs to his room.

Connor takes up residence on Dan's black, leather desk chair, spinning back and forth, driving Dan insane as he opens his mathematics text book. Him and Phil are sharing Dan's bed, Dan leaning against the headboard, his legs stretched out, and Phil on the end leaning against the wall, his legs crossed as he looks down at his new assignment with a look of pure confusion.

"Will you stop spinning?!" Phil yells suddenly, sending Connor a look of death, "I need to understand this. Sit on the floor."

"No, we need to mutually decide this," Connor says, crossing his arms, "Dan, is it distracting or annoying you? Do you want me to sit on the floor like a peasant?"

Dan nods his head, giving Connor a knowing look, relieved he will finally stop, although Dan partly thinks it's the coffees they have from staying up late.

"So yes it isn't distracting you?" Connor tries, raising an eyebrow hopefully, "yes I shouldn't sit on the floor?"

Dan shakes his head, rolling his eyes and laughing silently.

"So that's a no I shouldn't sit on the floor and no I'm not annoying?" Connor asks hopefully.

"Connor, me and Dan would like you to sit on the floor because your swinging is distracting and annoying and I really need to understand this or else I'm screwed so please, please, please stop!" Phil says, starting to ramble, "just sit on the floor like a peasant."

"Dan and I," Connor says, reluctantly gathering his books and pens and moving them from Dan's desk to the carpeted floor.

"What?" Phil asks, confused.

"You said me and Dan, it's supposed to be Dan and I," Connor says matter-of-factly, "get your grammar correct."

"Sorry, I'm not a nerd," Connor says, scoffing as he sits cross legged on the grey carpet.

Phil and Connor's phones rumble and they pick it up, laughing when they see the text lighting up the screen.

Dan: no you're not a nerd, you're the definition of tumblr.

Connor: so sassy

Dan: I'm not sassy

Phil: ...

A car pulls in the driveway, interrupting them and making Dan spring up off his bed, running to the window to see his dad's car pulling up in the driveway. As these events unfold, Dan can think of exactly one word to sum up his thoughts at this current time:

Dan: um, how good are you at climbing out windows?

"You can't be serious!" Phil exclaims, his eyes widening, "there's no way I'm getting out of a second story window! I struggle climbing down a kids playground in the park and they're like, one meter high!"

Dan sighs, huffing as he tries to think about how else Phil can get out without running into his father.

Dan: sneak out the back

Phil: what about my stuff

Dan: we'll take it out later, JUST FOLLOW ME

Dan tugs on Phil's arm, Connor following them and they run downstairs, passing Quinn in the lounge before Dan shoves Phil out the back door as he hears a car door slam.

Dan: go to the end of the street, to the corner and wait on the bench, Connor and I will bring your stuff.

"Okay, see you in a sec then," Phil says, slipping out the door as the front lock starts to click open.

Dan and Connor shut the back door and Connor tells Quinn on the way through, "Phil was never here," before they run back up to Dan's room just as his dad enters the house.

"That was a close one," Connor breathes, looking at all Phil's stuff lying on the bed,"we just have to get him his stuff back."

Dan nods, beginning to pack Phil's things back in his backpack, packing this pens back into his pencil case as Connor stuffs the books in, zipping it all up.

Dan: you take it Connor, it will be easier.

"Okay," Connor sighs, "I'll be back soon, you should probably stay up here though."

Dan: I'd be glad to.

Connor swings the backpack over his shoulder, waving at Dan again before walks out, and Dan watches from the window as he walks down the street.

Dan sighs sadly, slightly wishing he was the one going to see Phil. He just enjoys Phil's company, but he never gets the chance to be alone with him.

Dan's door swings open, and Dan spins around, surely Connor can't be that quick... But it's not Connor; it's his father.

Dan's gaze slides to his feet, hoping his father will just leave him alone. It won't happen but Dan doesn't feel like engaging in a staring contest with him.

"Where'd your friend go?" His father asks, stepping closer to him, making Dan shrink against the wall, "the one that's staying with us."

Dan points out the window while mouthing 'walk', hoping that will be enough for his father to understand in his slightly tipsy state.

"Why didn't you go with him? You need to go for walks more than he does," he sneers, making Dan's heart twist, "you're such a fat, useless kid."

Dan bites his lip to try and hold back the tears which are welling in his eyes. He doesn't want to cry, but hearing his own deep insecurities out loud makes it ten times worse than when he says it to himself.

"Gonna have a cry?" His dad asks mockingly, "I'll give you something to cry about."

And before Dan can process what's happening, his father's fist meets where his ribs sit, and he winces as he hears the sharp thud of bone meeting bone. Dan sinks to the floor, holding his injured skin to protect it and to try to make it hurt less.

"You wouldn't have felt that anyway, you have that much fat," Dan's dad snarls, "better get yourself together before your friend gets back."

And then he's gone, and Dan is left on the floor, his right side of his ribs aching miserably and his eyes wet with tears he refuses to cry.

He should've gone with Connor.

***

Dan lifts the corner of his shirt, inspecting the now blue and black patch of sore skin.

It looks a lot like the bruise Phil had, and he feels sick when he realizes that. Did it hurt Phil this much? Probably more because it was on his face.

Dan hates his father, he hates how he makes him feel, he hates the abuse, the drunk nights, the punches, but that's only to Dan. His father knows that Dan can only stay silent about it, there's no way for Dan to tell his mother.

It's worse for Dan, because he'd have the confidence to stand up to his dad, but he doesn't have the words to say it.

Dan sighs and drops his shirt, wincing only slightly as he pokes the bruise under the fabric. He's going to have fun trying to hide this if someone accidentally bumps him there.

"Dan hurry up we have to leave now!" Connor says from outside the bathroom, making Dan jump, "we can't be late again! Plus, it's Friday."

Dan opens the door, revealing Connor holding his backpack up while he wears his.

"What were you doing in there so long? You don't wear makeup, oh but wait, you straighten your hair. Does it look straight enough now?"

Dan huffs, rolling his eyes and shooting Connor a purposely fake smile as he snatches his bag, slinging it over his shoulders and marching ahead downstairs.

He waves goodbye to his mum and brother before walking out onto the street, Connor beside him, chatting his ear off about anything and everything. When they arrive, Connor immediately locks into conversation with Alfie and Caspar about something online, while Dan gives a small wave before heading to his locker.

He doesn't mean to feel this way, but sometimes he just gets in that mood where everything makes you feel just... Down, deflated, empty.

He sighs, tugging his lock open and staring into the wall of his locker, probably looking like a complete drugged up lunatic, but still. Better than watching Connor get along better with Dan's friends than he ever will.

"Are you the new kid?" A girl asks, smiling at Dan, leaning on the locker beside his just as he shuts his locker, "well, you've been here over a month but you're the newest kid here anyway."

Dan smiles awkwardly at the (obviously) shorter girl with long, curly brown hair and a cute outfit, giving her a small wave.

"I'm Bethany, you must be Dan, sorry if that sounded creepy!" She laughs, making Dan smile at her genuinely.

She seems like a really nice person, but why is she talking to him? She's pretty, Dan will admit that, she looks like a popular kid.

"Dan!" Joe calls, walking over to him and swinging an arm around his shoulder, looking down at Bethany with an expression Dan cannot decipher, "why are you talking to her?"

Dan gives Joe a confused look, his eyebrows knitting together. There seemed to be nothing wrong with this girl, in fact, she seemed especially nice.

Joe tugs Dan away, and he frowns as they halt to a stop at the end of the hallway. Joe frowns back at Dan.

"You can't talk to her! It's social suicide! Two years ago, Zoe was dating someone else, he's left now, but anyway. Bethany made out with him right in front of Zoe! And the two were best friends! She claimed he kissed her, but we all know he didn't," Joe explains, "she hasn't had a best friend since then. Her own fault, she still insists on denying it. So stupid."

Dan stands there, chewing his lip as he processes the story. She seemed like a nice person, and Dan doesn't think it's fair she's still being punished for a mistake two years ago. Sometimes people just do stupid things, and it sounded like that was one of those times.

Dan looks down the hall, spotting Bethany, alone looking slightly sad. As she walks down the hallway, a few books piled in her arms, that is until some jerk pushes her over, sending her and her books flying to the ground. Her face falls as laughter echoes through the hall and people just walk past.

Dan takes a step forward to go help pick up her books, but Joe grabs his arm, stopping him.

"No Dan," Joe says, tugging him away, "you don't want to do that."

She looks up from the floor then, locking eyes with Dan, and he swears he's never felt more guilty than when he turned and walked away. He makes a mental note to try and be nice to her in the future.

He was in that position once, and he knows that in those situations, as little as a smile and a help up off the ground can go a long way.

He swears he'll never bully, but he knows it's just as bad to walk away, so he stands up, and goes to find the girl.

He never wants to see anyone else suffer alone, at least, not when he can help it.

_______

AN: hey hope you liked it! Sorry it's a tad late but I've had lots of homework :/ but it's over 2K words so....

Comment your thoughts on the chapter! What'd you think about Dan's dad and Dan's thoughts about Bethany? :)

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P.S: I CAN'T WAIT FOR WILD!! ASDF