dan

"i don't know, dan." katrina stapled a flyer to a splintered post with incredible force. "it seems sketchy."

"how does it seem sketchy?" dan slipped another glossy flyer beneath someone's windshield wipers. katrina shrugged, her slender shoulders bobbing smoothly. she huffed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"it just does. he's a jerk, remember? he's not even trying to hide it. why do you want to work with a jerk just so he can get what he wants?"

dan blushed, biting his lip and shrugging, organizing the papers against his chest. "it's a cool opportunity..." for some reason, he didn't really want to tell her about the rest. he didn't want her to think he saw her as weak, because she wasn't. "how're the others?"

katrina hummed. "nina's tired, but at least she has a roof over her head for once. earl wanted to come along but i told him he couldn't, his head has been hot."

dan nodded slowly, not really listening, sitting down on the curb. he really needed to guilt phil into buying him more food, even a little bit of activity left him out of breath. katrina sat beside him.

"you okay?"

dan nodded, running his fingers through his hair and resting his hands on the back of his neck. he also needed a shower.

"yeah. are you?"

"i think so." she reached out and took his hand, squeezing. dan squeezed back. these little moments were so important; being alone with someone who had gone through similar struggles than he had. knowing she was there for him.

someone cleared their throat and dan whirled around to see phil, standing behind them, scratching at the back of his neck.

"need a break?"

➹

dan was incredibly uncomfortable in phil's sleek black car. jesus, how could he think he needed a new one? it was so nice, dan would feel privileged to have to live in it. but despite all the space he had, he felt cramped and hot.

phil had told him to sit in the back without explaining why, so dan was incredibly confused and a little offended until phil stopped in front of a building and a boy ran out, sliding a bit clumsily into the passenger seat. his blond hair very nearly covered his dimpled cheeks and he turned back to look at dan.

"hey!"

dan flinched automatically at the loud tone of his voice, but he smiled stiffly at him and shook his hand. his fingers were sticky.

"i'm sunny."

"dan."

"i know." the boy beamed at him. "phil talks about you a lot. he must really like you." he laughed and made a kissy face, mimicking a disgusting wet sound. dan scrunched his nose.

"do you want me to kick you out of this car?" phil snapped, and dan couldn't help smiling at how perturbed he seemed to be at the notion. phil glanced back at him. "don't flatter yourself. it's mostly complaint."

"don't worry, i wasn't."

"good."

dan chewed on his lip for a moment when the car went silent, shifting nervously. "so i'm s-sorry to pry, but why am i here, exactly?"

phil grunted. "it was sunny's idea," he grumbled. "he wanted to get to know you or whatever."

"where are we going?"

dan swore he caught phil and sunny glance at each other, which didn't help deny his theory that they were just going to kill him somewhere where no one would find him.

"tracks?" sunny asked, and phil turned back to the road.

"mhm." he turned off an exit. dan blinked.

"what?"

"you'll see," sunny told him happily.

they drove for about ten more minutes down an increasingly bumpy road until it seemed like it would hardly be possible to drive any farther. the car came to an abrupt stop and dan jolted forward.

sunny hopped out of the car and phil did the same in a less excitable manner, and hesitantly dan followed their lead. "where are we?" he had never seen this place before, he hadn't even left the city, and this seemed to be on the edge of a forest.

"these used to be train tracks," sunny answered him when it became evident that phil wasn't going to. he pointed through a thicket of trees. "right through there."

dan blinked. "really?" he had never been on the train, although he had always wanted to.

"yeah!" sunny grinned at him. "you go first."

dan nodded, biting his lip and walking forward, pushing through the evergreen branches. there was a prickling sensation as his skin fought against the spines, but soon it was over and he was stumbling into a clearing.

down the center of the area a long stretch of wooden and metal track stretched across the area, boosted off the ground by a hill of gravel that had fallen away a bit simply from the lack of care or protection against the weather.

he heard a crunch as sunny followed him and hopped down the small ledge, and phil after him, but dan couldn't move. it wasn't all that extraordinary, but he hadn't seen anything but city sights since he was eight and he went to the beach with his parents.

"you coming?" phil was watching him, his hands shoved in the pockets of his army green jacket. dan nodded and swallowed, blushing and following them.

they took a seat right on the tracks, and dan carefully followed suit, crossing his legs, his heart racing. sunny pulled an assortment of candy out of his pockets and organized it on one of the wooden strips. dan eyed it with an anxious sort of hunger, and he caught phil roll his eyes from the corner of his vision.

"do you want some?"

phil had hardly finished the sentence before dan was grabbing some kind of bar and ripping it open without checking what it was. he blushed when he realized both of their eyes were on him, and tried to slow himself down.

"w-why are we here?" he asked through a mouthful of chocolate. phil looked disgusted, but dan couldn't make himself care right then. so what if he was grossed out, phil could probably afford to go to a candy store and buy something, just for fun.

"phil and i used to come here all the time," sunny told him cheerfully. dan looked at him when he spoke; his expression was much more pleasant to look at than phil's. "we kind of stopped, but it's still a nice place to hang out."

dan nodded in agreement, fighting the urge to moan at the rich flavor melting on his tongue. "it is really pretty."

sunny smiled at him warmly at that, as if in pride. dan decided he liked him. he was nice, if not a little misguided by a lifetime of having more money than most. how could he hang around someone like phil? they seemed like complete opposites, but despite his cold attitude, dan could tell phil liked him. he cared about things, he just didn't like showing that. at least not to dan.

dan looked at him again. he had his arms crossed, his gaze roaming somewhere away from both of them, a less prominent but still permanent scowl etched on his carved features. dan wondered what it looked like when he smiled. he wondered if he could smile.

"so, dan," sunny spoke between bites. "do you need anything? i know living around this guy can be a challenge." he jabbed phil in the ribs and his scowl deepened.

dan bit his lip, fighting with himself. he did need things, but he didn't want to be a burden...

"i could use a shower."