Phil was holding Dan's hand, squeezing it as Ethan stood at the door. They weren't holding hands out of love but out of comfort and support. Ethan was glaring at them, looking like he wanted to hurt them both. An officer opened the door, sending a gentle smile to the boys before taking one of Ethan's suitcases.

"I hate you." Ethan mouthed as he dragged the other case out of the door. Dan glanced at Phil with a terrified expression on his face but Phil just squeezed his hand, reminding him that he was okay.

Then he was gone. Dan was safe. He could only wonder how much longer he would be safe for.

-

Dan now had a room of his own and Alice had kindly bought him a new phone. The posters had all gone, being replaced with new ones of other bands that Dan liked. If it wasn't for the constant reminder of Dan's past, he would have kept the Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance ones but he ended up replacing them with new ones too.

The walls were still grey but you could barely see them behind the colourful posters Dan had put up. The book case was filled with Dan's favourite books and the wardrobe Dan's clothes. He had definitely made it his own. He had even got new bed covers: cute galaxy ones.

Although it was obvious that most of the new stuff was bought for him out of pity, he really liked it all. He was proud of his room.

-

School was getting better because he could actually allow himself to get closer to Phil again which was nice. Dan had given Phil his My Hero Academia book back (after Ethan was forced to give it back) so Phil was happy too.

"So," Phil started one lunch time. He smiled softly when he noticed Dan was eating a sandwich and not skipping the meal. "What do you think?" Dan was about to question what Phil was talking about but he followed his gaze to the second Death Note book.

"G-Good." Dan grinned.

"I'm glad."

-

"Do you want to go out after school?"

"N-Need to a-ask." Dan looked down at his new phone, typing out a text message to Alice. His phone lit up a couple of minutes later and nodded.

"We could go into town?"

Dan glanced down at his lap, hoping that Phil remembered his wallet and wasn't going to be like Ethan. He took a deep breath, reminding himself that Phil wasn't Ethan; he was kind and a genuinely good person.

-

"Let's get a coffee!" Phil exclaimed as he pulled Dan into one of the coffee shops. "What do you want?"

"W-What you're h-having?" Dan was still nervous when talking to people in public so Phil would have to do the talking but he really didn't mind. Phil was glad to help Dan out whenever needed.

Phil recited their orders to the worker who wrote them down and gave them an amount to pay. Dan reached into his pocket to get out some money but he was stopped when Phil handed over the full amount. "Thank you!" Phil grinned at the worker before stepping to the side and waiting for their drinks.

Dan took out half the amount, trying to give it to Phil who was refusing to take it. "It's on me." Dan smiled because Phil really was the opposite of Ethan and he really liked him.

Once they received their drinks, they went to sit down at a table in the corner. They were just silently sitting there, sipping their hot drinks when a question slipped out of Phil's mouth. He had said it without thinking and wished to take it back as soon as it came out of his mouth. "Do you think you'll move on?"

Dan shrugged, just staring at the coffee in his cup like it was sending him into some sort of trance. He wanted to say yes but his heart was so damaged from everyone he thought loved him hurting him. He watched as the froth bubbled on top of the drink, wishing he could just disappear as easy that.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked..." Phil joint Dan in watching his beverage. Silence was coursing over them again and, instead of being comfortable like it usually was, it was the opposite.

"W-Why?" Dan asked after taking a long sip of his drink, taking the time to think a little.

"Just wondering..."

"H-How's your l-love life?"

"Crap, really." Phil let out a harsh laugh. After a while, he decided to test his waters and see how Dan would react if he did like someone. "I like this guy."

Dan raised his eyebrow, discreetly asking for more information.

"He has brown hair and brown eyes which, to me, is a perfect match."

'So he has a type.' Dan thought, watching as Phil blushed ever so slightly. Phil's face was lighting up as he told Dan about the boy; it was cute.

"He's so sweet, polite, funny... He's also very shy which is the cutest thing." Then Phil's face dropped and he proceeded to look sad. "But we can't be together."

"W-Why not?"

"He..." Phil paused, thinking about a way to phrase his response. "...has had bad experiences in the past and I don't want to burden him with another relationship, as well as his problems."

Dan blushed as he realised the guy had a lot in common with him. He wondered if it was him but he didn't dare ask in case he was getting the wrong message.

"D-Does this g-guy go to our school? D-Do I know h-him?"

"He does. You know him very well."

Dan knew barely any people. Phil was his only friend who he knew very well and he couldn't have a crush on himself so.. crap it was him, wasn't it?

He needed time to think so he took out his phone and pretended to look surprised. "N-Need to g-go. A-Alice texted me."

Phil nodded, finishing his coffee before standing up. "Do you want me to walk you home?"

Dan shook his head, mumbling, "It's o-okay."

-

"You're home early?" Alice questioned when Dan walked into the house half an hour earlier than planned. He just shrugged, turning to go straight upstairs before Alice spoke again. "Are you alright?"

Dan started to nod before realising it was okay not to be okay. He then started to shake his head rapidly and Alice hugged him gently. "What's up?"

"I t-think Phil likes m-me." Dan mumbled, looking down at his feet with a saddened expression on his face.

"That's a bad thing?" Alice took a seat on one of the kitchen chairs and Dan did the same, feeling like they were going to be there for a while.

Dan nodded. "I c-can't deal w-with it at the moment..."

"I know, darling but you need to ask yourself, will you ever be ready to completely move on?"

Dan shook his head because he really didn't feel like he would ever want to be with another person. He would prefer to just end up alone with a million dogs who he knew would always love and appreciate him.

"Exactly. You need to try."

Dan shook his head again. He really didn't want to ruin things with Phil.

"You won't feel like this forever, you know? I promise you you will find happiness."

"I w-won't."

"Dan, you will. If you like Phil back go for it. I'm sure he will understand if you don't want to rush into things and I'm sure he will be there to reassure you every step of the way."

Dan nodded: she was right. Phil would be always be loving and he would always look after him.

"You need to trust him."

"I c-can't, what if-"

"He's a good person, I can tell. Listen to your heart: it's telling you to go for it, isn't it?"

Dan sighed and nodded. "I s-suppose it i-is..."

"He'll understand."

Dan didn't notice he had been crying until he felt his cheeks getting wet.

I am so tired blehhh :(