“Molly! Where’s Phil?” I asked, going up to her in school.

                Molly shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know. What happened on the date Nick?” she asked.

                I sighed and explained everything. Molly frowned and pulled me in for a tight hug. I hugged her back and took a deep breath, releasing her.

                “I’m going to make this right,” I said, my voice more confident than I actually felt.

                “Nick, what the hell did you do to Phil?” Angel demanded, storming over.

                Molly shoved him away from me roughly and glared at him. “Nick was honest with Phil, and Phil flipped out. Don’t get mad at Nick,” she said sternly.

                Angel snapped his mouth shut and took Molly’s hand in his. He nodded tightly, not looking at me anymore. I mentally sighed.

                “Angel, where is Phil? I need to talk to him,” I said quietly.

                Angel sighed and shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen him. I don’t even know if he’s at school today. He hates skipping school, but he does it when he’s really upset.”

                I winced a little. Oh Phil. Poor Phil. This was all my freaking fault! Oh my lanta. I should’ve just been honest with him right from the beginning. I should’ve just let him pound my face in. But no. I had to be my usual cowardly self, and now Phil was hurt because of it.

                The bell warning bell rang and I walked away from Molly and Angel. I searched the halls for Phil before going to first period.

                The day went slow until it was lunch time. I scanned the cafeteria and, seeing no sign of Phil, made my way outside. I sat at our usual table and waited until Molly and Angel had sat down with me.

                “Have you guys seen Phil at all today?” I asked.

                Angel and Molly shook their heads. Angel sighed. “I’ve been keeping a lookout for him, but I don’t think he’s here. He wasn’t in any of the classes we have together, and no one that I’ve asked has seen him.”

                I slumped my shoulders in defeat. Had I really hurt him that bad? Had I hurt him so much that he didn’t even want to come to school?

                I began to eat, falling silent. How was I supposed to get back together with Phil? He obviously wouldn’t trust me. I had lied to him and used him, after all.

                “Phil!”

                My head shot up and I stared at Angel in confusion. I followed his gaze and my eyes widened a little as Phil came outside.

                He sat down silently next to Angel. He didn’t look at any of us. He just sat there, staring off at nothing and drumming his fingers against the table.

                “Phil, where were you all day?” Angel demanded, smacking Phil in the arm to get his attention.

                Phil shrugged. “Around,” he said flatly.

                “Hey Phil…can I talk to you? Please?” I asked quietly.

                “No,” he said simply.

                “Let me try that again. Get your ass up, and come talk to me!” I growled.

                Phil barked a laugh. “Make me Nick. You’re not tough,” he snapped.

                “Phil, please. Just let me talk. Please,” I begged.

                Phil got up and came over to me. He grabbed my shirt roughly and dragged me out of earshot of Molly and Angel as they watched us nervously. Phil shoved me a little and nodded.

                “Talk. This is all I’m listening to though,” he snarled.

                I sighed. “Phil, I love you. I love you so goddamn much. I’m sorry I lied to you. I’m sorry I used you to toughen myself up. It wasn’t my idea. It was Molly’s. But I chose to go along with that, and I deserve blame for that. I’m so sorry. If you give me just one chance, I can prove to you that I’m not that different than the Nick you got to know. I just don’t like to insult people, and I don’t like violence. That’s all. I’m not a mean guy. Please give me one more chance.”

                He stared me down. I gulped as I saw the anger rising in his expression. He clenched his fists tightly.

                Before I knew what was happening, Phil had struck me and I was on the ground, gently placing my hand over my violently throbbing eye.

                “Phil!” Molly and Angel cried, jumping up.

                “You lied to me! You used me! I loved you Nick!” he cried, slightly furious and slightly desperate. “Why did you have to do that to me Nick?” He began to punch at me more.

                Angel ripped Phil off of me and held him tightly. “Phil stop! Stop hurting him!” he cried in terror.

                Molly dropped next to me and pulled my hands away from my face. She turned and glared at Phil in disgust as she helped me sit up.

                “Yea Phil? You call this love? Trying to beat the shit out of Nick? He’s still the Nick you fell in love with. Yea, he’s not an asshole. Big fucking deal. Grow up. And if you ever, and I mean ever, so much as lay a finger on Nick, I will fucking murder you Phillip Brooks,” she snarled viciously.

                Phil’s struggles died down. “It was…he…It was an accident,” he said, looking confused. “He needed to be punished. It was just an acid…” He snapped his mouth shut and shrugged Angel off of him.

                Looking horribly upset, Phil hurried back into the school. I watched him go, my heart sinking. Oh that poor, confused, abused boy.

                “I’m fine,” I mumbled as Molly and Angel pulled me to my feet.

                Molly shook her head. “You’re not fine Nick. You have a black eye, and a nasty bruise already forming on your cheek,” she said, frowning deeply as she eyed my face.

                I shrugged. “I deserved it. I lied to him and used him,” I said miserably.

                “Nick, he needs to grow the hell up. You didn’t do anything bad. He was going to hurt you if you didn’t stand up to him. He’s being a brat,” Molly growled.

                We went back to eating silently. The end of the school day came without another sight of Phil, and I went home.

                I let myself inside and kicked my shoes off. I pet Cujo as he excitedly barked. I made my way upstairs.

                My mom came out of the kitchen with a bright smile. She opened her mouth to greet me, but then her eyes widened.

                “DAVID!” she shrieked before running to me.

                “Nick! Your face! What happened? Who hurt you?” she cried, grabbing my chin and tipping my head so that she could look at my bruises.

                I had checked them out in the school bathroom, and they were pretty nasty. My eyes was starting to swell and was disturbing colors. The one on my cheek was pretty big, and also disturbing colors. Phil was a tough guy.

                “Nick! What happened to you?” dad asked, coming over to me.

                “Tell me who hurt you Nicky. Tell me so I can kick their sorry ass. No one hurts my baby,” mom said fiercely. I mentally sighed. I did love my mother, but she was being way too overprotective.

                “I’m fine,” I grumbled, shaking them off and heading towards my room.

                “Nick! Was it a fight? Were you in a fight? Or did someone just hit you?” dad asked, coming over and grabbing my arm.

                “Dad, just let it drop!” I begged.

                He sighed and released my arm. “I’ll drop it for now Nick. But I will find out,” he said, turning and going to calm my mom down.

                I went in my room and collapsed on my bed. “This sucks,” I groaned, glaring up at my ceiling. What was I supposed to do now? Phil wasn’t going to listen to me. I should’ve known he wasn’t going to listen to me.

                His mom had hurt him again, too. I knew she had. His palms had been tightly bandaged. He had been wincing in pain when he had punched me. She had hurt his hands.

                I got up and looked at my reflection in the mirror. My eye hurt like a bitch, but I deserved it for hurting Phil. Still, I hadn’t been lying when I had told him I loved him.

                Somewhere along the way, I had fallen in love with that crazy boy. His mood swings, his appearance, his laugh…everything. Just everything about Phil.

                I sighed and left my bedroom. I went out to the living room and glanced at mom. She shook her head at me.

                “Nick, don’t keep things from your mommy,” she said sternly. “Your father just left for work but when he gets back tonight, we are going to have a long talk about this.”

                “Yea, okay,” I mumbled, shoving my hands in my pockets. “I’m going out. I’m going to grab a slushie at the gas station. I’ll be back later.”            

                I pulled my shoes on and left the house. I turned on my iPod, sticking in a headphone as I walked.

                “It’s like love, but it’s real. It’s like blood, it’s like steel. It’s like falling asleep at the wheel. To lose everything in the world is to feel. So come on, let’s feel alone together. We can feel alone together. You and I can feel alone together.”

                “Stupid iPod playing songs relevant to my current situation,” I grumbled in annoyance. I had to come up with some way to get Phil back. There had to be something I could do.

                He was unstable right now. Trying to talk it out wouldn’t work. If I got in a fight with him, he would kick my sorry ass. So what could I do?

                Maybe Angel could help me. He wasn’t afraid of Phil. Plus, he was Phil’s best friend. Surely he would be able to get Phil to listen to him!

                I wouldn’t give up. I would find some way to get Phillip Brooks back. I was in love with him and whether he wanted to admit it or not, I knew he was still in love with me.

                I looked up and froze. There were two police cars outside of the gas station. My eyes widened in terror as I saw my dad leading Phil Brooks out of the gas station in handcuffs.