Turning Tables

Chapter 1

AN: ALL OF THIS IS FICTION, except for the names of the characters "Dan, Phil, Zoe and Alfie" as well as the physical attributes of them. I MADE IT ALL UP, BECAUSE I AM CREATIVE AF… Obviously this includes the address of their Flat and what Dan's voice message says. I have no way of knowing what they really are. Haha. Please be nice, as this is my first PHANFIC! I will try and upload a chapter every Wednesday night. If there are any fact checks you notice, please let me know! :)

Also, there is no smut or lemon of any kind until Ch.4. Be patient, perverts. ;)

31/10 (Halloween)

Dan and Phil's Flat

7:50 PM

Phillip Michael Lester was adjusting the ears of the hat of his Lion costume. His overgrown black fringe stuck out of the bottom of the cap that rested on his forehead. His blue eyes contrasted well with the marigold color of the costume.

Phil and his flat mate, Daniel Howell, were on their way to a Halloween party hosted by Zoe Sugg and Alfie Days. Phil looked at the clock on his bedside table. It read 6:50. The party started at 8:00. It took roughly an hour and a half via the A-line to get from London to Brighton. Phil hated being late, especially to parties. He thought it was rude, but Dan had told him at least one hundred times, six of those times being just today, that no one ever showed up to a party on time; that it was better to be late and rude than on time and lame.

Dan had finally compromised with Phil earlier that they would leave at 7:00 on the dot, and, providing that the tube was running relatively on schedule, they would arrive at the party at around a little after 8:30, making Phil relieved that they wouldn't be the last ones there, and soothing Dan's social anxiety of being the first ones there.

"Dan, are you almost ready, yet?" emerging from his own personal bathroom into his bedroom. He wanted to make sure he had everything, and he was very grateful to have discovered that the costume he had rented from the shop had pockets. He gathered his phone, his ID card, keys, money, and metro card and stuck them all into the pockets of the costume. It made him look a bit bulky and awkward, but it would have looked even more awkward if he carried a bag.

Phil did not hear Dan answer, so he called again, louder. "Dan?! Let's go! You promised we could leave at 7:00." Still no answer from Dan. Phil let out a long sigh and headed down the hallway towards Dan's room. The door was not shut all the way, so it gave way and swung open when Phil knocked on it.

"Dan?" Phil called out. No answer. Had Dan left already? While Phil would not be surprised, (Dan had unintentionally left for events without Phil a few times just out of habit. "Auto pilot" Dan called it) he could not help but feel a little hurt. Dan had said they would leave at 7:00 and take the A-Line together, and he knew that Phil hated taking it alone, especially at nights for long periods of time.

Phil pulled out his phone from the left pocket of his costume, and checked the time again. 7:02. Feeling disgruntled and confused, he unlocked his phone, and dialed Dan's number. His phone was turned off, and Phil was greeted immediately by Dan's voice message: "Hey, uh, you've reached Dan the Existential Crisis Man. Sorry I can't answer your call. I'll call you back when it's all over." Typical Dan. Always with the existential crises.

Shaking his head and rolling his eyes, Phil stuck the phone back in his pocket, left Dan's room and went back down the hallway towards the kitchen. He took the bag of candy he and Dan had bought for the party, tucked it under his arm and made his way towards the front door. Then, he heard a shuffling sound coming from the bathroom across the hall back down by Dan's room.

He heard it again, louder, and then heard the opening of the bathroom door. Almost immediately after, he saw a dark figure emerge from the bathroom, and scurry into Dan's room. The door to Dan's room opened and slammed with force, making Phil jump and squeal.

"Dan?" Phil called down the hallway. No answer. Feeling terrified, he pulled out his phone once again, as well as set the candy back on the counter top. He dialed "999" on his phone. He also went to the kitchen, and grabbed the first knife he saw which, to his relief, a big butcher knife was the one he had grabbed.

"999, Emergency please?" said the operator on the other end.

"Hi, my name is Phillip Lester. Telephone is 020 7946 0986, address is 2824 Brook Road, number 906. I think there is an intruder in my flat." He said this very quietly, so that the intruder did not hear him.

"Does the front door look broken into, sir?" the operator asked.

Phil walked over to the door, and inspected it. It appeared to be intact.

"No ma'am" Phil said to the operator.

"Okay, sir. Are there any other people who live in the flat with you? Or any pets we should know about?"

"No pets, but I have a flat mate. His name is Daniel Howell, but he is not home at the moment." Phil told the operator.

Phil had actually forgotten about Dan for a split second. Had he come in contact with the intruder outside? Phil quickly tried to push that thought from his mind.

"Okay, sir, thank you for that information. What leads you to believe that there is an intruder, sir?" said the operator

"I hear weird noises, and I'm almost positive that I saw a figure emerging from the bathroom and into my flat mate's bedroom."

"Are you sure it is not your flat mate, sir?" the operator asked.

Phil hadn't thought about that. He supposed it could be possible. He had no idea where Dan was at the moment, and Dan did have a history of pranking Phil. However, Phil knew Dan wouldn't go this far, so he pushed that thought out of his mind as well.

"Sir, are you still with me?" the operator said.

"Erm, yeah, sorry," Phil said, "No, Dan isn't here, I am sure of it."

"Okay, sir please stay on the line for me, and please do not try to go towards the intruder in case he is armed, okay?"

Phil had heard the command and even answered with a "Yes ma'am", but both thoughts of Dan were not leaving his mind no matter how hard he tried to push. He and Dan were both tall, but neither were fighters. Dan would have had no way to protect himself. Playing video games on their gaming channel were the only combat practice either of them got.

With one hand holding the phone, and the other one holding the knife, Phil mustered up all the courage he had and slowly made his way back down the hallway towards Dan's room.

Phil began to play out all the different scenarios in his head. There were three.

The first one, and the option Phil sincerely hoped it was, was that his mind was playing tricks on him, and that this was all just an illusion. A combination of the added spookiness of it being Halloween, and Phil's natural sensitive and paranoid state were taunting him, and there was no real threat. While, of course, it would be annoying, and he would feel guilty for calling "999" without there being a real emergency, it was the best of the three.

If the intruder was, in fact, Dan, Phil would not know what to think. His flat mate was prone to pranks. Dan had made several "prank" and "dare" videos, where he tricked and scared Phil all the time. However, that was the extent of Dan's pranks: hiding in cupboards, prank calls, hiding Phil's house plants and wearing Queen Elizabeth masks to get a squeal or two out of Phil. He had never done anything this extreme, and Phil liked to think he wouldn't.

Then, Phil's mind went to the worst option of the three: That the intruder, was in fact, a real intruder, and that Dan might be hurt, or worse, dead. A wave of fear and pain rushed over Phil. He tried to shake the thoughts away, especially the last one, but to no avail. Dan was Phil's best friend, and the closest thing to being family as possible without being biologically related.

Phil had reached Dan's room again, and this time the door was all the way shut, so Phil did not have the option of sneaking into the room all stealth like, and catching the intruder in the act, being the hero, and avenging Dan's death. His hands were trembling like crazy. He almost dropped the knife, AND his phone multiple times. "Clumsy oaf." Phil thought to himself.

He heard sirens in the distance, and spoke into the receiver to the operator.

"I hear sirens," he said, "Are they for me?"

"I can't be sure, sir, we have a lot of officers out tonight, since it is Halloween. Sit tight, they will be there as soon as they can."

Phil debated whether or not he should listen to the operator. If this was a real intruder, he had no chance of beating him down. If Dan really was dead, what was left for Phil to do? There was no one to save. Even though Dan was four years younger than Phil, he was so brave, and put on a much scarier front than Phil did. Every time Phil tried to be manly in a video, or in real life, Dan would just laugh and say "Oooh, so manly, Phil."

Phil started weeping silently. He was starting to admit defeat. His mind could not think of anything other than Dan being hurt. Then, almost instantly, a wave of anger, adrenaline, and power rushed over Phil. Dan was possibly dead at the hands of this intruder, and now the intruder was mocking Dan; being in his room, going through his things, and thinking he was free. But he wasn't. Phi had never thought this way about anyone before, at least not at this level of intensity.

With all the strength he could muster, and that he hadn't lost in the midst of all the worrying about Dan, he reached his foot up, swung it back and kicked at the door. A giant hole appeared in the wood. Phil angled his body more towards the handle, and kicked again, and a third time. He kicked twelve times, and on the thirteenth time, the door opened, coming off its hinges.

"Sir, what was that noise?" the operator said.

"I kicked the door of my flat mate's door down." Phil told her, surprisingly casually.

"Mr. Lester, did you go towards the intruder?!"

"Yes, I believe he hurt Dan… Mr. Howell."

"Sir, the police have arrived at your flat, please do not go any further."

Sure enough, Phil heard three loud knocks at the door.

"Police! Open the door!"

Phil, still full of adrenaline, was breathing heavily. He started to walk away to go open the door for the officers, but then he heard a noise from underneath Dan's bed. Phil turned around, holding the knife out in front of him. He saw a figure start to emerge, and all of Phil's adrenaline was gone. He was back in panic mode. The figure stood up, and dusted off dirt and dust that lay on his jeans. It stood straight up, head snapping back, and a strand of brown fringe remained in front of its face.

Phil lowered the knife, but was still trembling. His eyes grew wide, and his breath got short and raspy.

The figure spoke.

"Really, Phil? You called 999? That's a bit dramatic, don't you think?"